Twenty-first Imperial Noble Consort

  The palace is the place where rumors spread the fastest, and any wind or grass cannot escape the eyes of the concubines arranged by each other. How can it be that Yu Shi's poisoning of me with medicine has become a topic of conversation for the people in the harem after dinner?

  In just a few days, the news spread throughout the palace that Yu Shi died because of me. The resentment was overwhelming, and her vengeful spirit did not disperse. Her ghost would often appear in the Cold Palace and Yongxiang, even disturbing Tong Li at midnight, scaring me so much that I couldn't sleep at night. Rumors always spread further and wider, with more and more fabrications added, straying further from the truth. Moreover, it's a story about ghosts and spirits, which has always been believed by the people in the harem.

  The rumors of Yu's vengeful spirit grew more and more intense, with over a dozen palace maids and concubines claiming to have seen her ghost, dressed in white with long hair and a face covered in blood, wailing and demanding that those who wronged her be punished. The situation became so chaotic that everyone was on edge, and even the chickens and dogs were restless.

  I was tormented by nightmares every night, and my spirit became increasingly weak. Xuan Ling was worried but couldn't do anything about it. Just then, the monk from Tongming Temple spoke up, saying that the emperor's yang energy was at its strongest, and that the ghost of Tangli would not dare to disturb us again. He also held a grand Dharma assembly in Tongming Temple day and night to help the spirits of the cold palace ascend to the afterlife. As a result, Xuan Ling stayed with me every night in Tangli, and indeed, my nightmares gradually subsided.

  Morning and evening shifts are the rules for concubines to attend. Recently, I have been experiencing setbacks one after another, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. The empress is very considerate of the emperor's intentions, showing extra care and sympathy, and has excused me from attending the morning and evening shifts for several days. These two days my spirit has improved, so I went to pay respects and thank the empress as usual. Summer weather often brings thunderstorms. On that day, in the late afternoon, I went to pay respects to the empress, and when I left, the weather was still fine, with a sunset glow in the sky. Unexpectedly, after chatting with the empress and other concubines for just a short while, the sky suddenly darkened, thunder and lightning struck, and the rain poured down like a deluge.

  Jiang Fujun walked out and took a look, saying: "This rain is coming down extremely heavily, I'm afraid it won't stop for a while, which will delay the return of all the princesses and young masters to the palace."

  The queen smiled and said, "This sky is as changeable as a child's face. It seems that the heavens want to keep you girls here to chat with me and dispel my boredom."

  The empress led the way, and whoever dared to complain about the weather hurrying back to the palace would laugh and say: "Isn't it the old heaven who has a kind heart, seeing that the empress's phoenix body has recovered and her headache is gone before sending down this sweet rain."

  The queen was delighted by the clever conversation and became more enthusiastic, chatting with us at leisure. It wasn't until three o'clock in the afternoon that the rain gradually stopped, and everyone bid farewell to the queen and dispersed.

  The heavy rain had just stopped, and most of the imperial consorts were walking in groups. I saw Shi Mei Ren alone, so I pulled her to walk with me, Mei Zhuang, and Ling Rong.

  As I left the Fengyi Palace, I saw Empress Huai and Consort Li exiting to return to the palace together in a sedan chair. However, Cao Ronghua, who usually accompanied me, was nowhere to be seen. The four of us paid our respects to Empress Huai and Consort Li. Empress Huai looked at me for a few moments before saying, "Wei Yi looks even more haggard than usual. It seems that being haunted by nightmares is not easy to overcome."

  I was startled and shrank back, looking around nervously, and whispered: "Your Ladyship, don't say that, that thing has a spirit, it will haunt people."

  The Empress Hua said disapprovingly: "Is Consort Wan Yi's mind unclear? She speaks nonsense in front of me."

  Meizhuang hastily made a way out: "Princess Hua, please forgive me. Zhen Wei's fright this time was not small, it's really...". Meizhuang carefully looked around: "It's really that many people have seen it with their own eyes, can't help but be careful."

  Shi Mei Ren nodded in agreement, "Indeed, I heard that one evening, he even scared a small inner servant in Yong Xiang to the point of wetting his pants, and he couldn't get out of bed for several days."

  I anxiously said, "She hates me, that's fine. I heard that when the Emperor wanted her to take her own life, not one of the consorts who were close to her on a daily basis pleaded for mercy on her behalf, which is why she died such a miserable death in the Cold Palace..." I saw Consort Li's body tremble slightly and her face turn pale, so I stopped talking.

  The imperial concubine immediately pulled a long face, disdainfully saying, "As a consort, how can you have the same understanding as those slaves? You've lost your identity. Besides, she's looking for her own death and deserves to be punished, who can go beg for mercy on her behalf?"

  I hastily said, "These words are indeed not what we should be saying, it's just that nowadays people's hearts are in a state of panic." I looked behind Empress Hua and said, "I heard that Cao Ronghua has always been bold, if she were to accompany us, we would feel more at ease. Hmm? Why isn't Cao Ronghua here today?"

  Li Gui Bin said: "Wen Yi Di Ji has contracted a cold, so Cao Rong Hua needs to take care of her, that's why she couldn't come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager today."

  The imperial concubine stared at me, smiling slightly: "Yan Yi's thoughts are meticulous, and she must have thought too much. Yan Yi should put her mind at ease. Only those who have done wrong will hear the midnight knocking of ghosts."

  "My voice sounds like it's being squeezed out of a narrow space, unreal and faintly trembling: 'The princess is right. If she knew who led her down the path of death, I'm afraid her resentment would be even greater.'"

  Li Gui pin's face turned slightly pale, staring at me and saying: "Zhen Wei yi, you... what's wrong with your voice?"

  I involuntarily floated up a faint, mournful smile and stared straight at her, as if I didn't know: "What did the noble concubine say? I'm fine." I raised my head to look at the sky, pulled the sleeves of Mei Ren and Ling Rong, and said: "Hurry up, hurry up, it's getting dark." Shi Mei Ren was frightened by my tone and quickly pulled us to bid farewell to Empress Huai.

  Ling Rong and Mei Zhuang smiled awkwardly at Hua Fei and hastily left.

  The road was slippery and difficult to walk on after the rain, and with the darkness and strong wind, the group walked extremely slowly. The sky was as dark as ink, and even the streetlights on both sides of Yongxiang Alley seemed much dimmer than usual.

  The wind was blowing through the trees, making an eerie sound. Ling Rong and Shi Mei unconsciously moved closer to me and Mei Zhuang. I glanced uneasily at Mei Zhuang, when suddenly a few shrill cries pierced the quiet night air of Yong Xiang, sending chills down everyone's spines. The four of us looked at each other in alarm, no one daring to go forward to see what was happening, as if even our scalps were tingling with fear.

  That voice let out a frantic shriek - "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I have nothing to do with it!" I grabbed Browning's hand and said, "It's the voice of Li Gui Bin!" I turned around and pushed Xiao Yuansu behind me, saying, "Go quickly! Go tell the Empress!" Xiao Yuansu immediately ran towards Fengyi Palace.

  Shi Mei Ren was still hesitating and didn't dare to move, while Browning and I, along with Ling Rong, rushed over hastily and stood there together. Indeed, it was Li Gui Bin, and several palace maids who attended the imperial carriage were so frightened that they fell to the ground, unable to utter a word. Empress Hua stood beside her, scolding loudly, but couldn't stop her shrill cries. The imperial carriage stopped at the side of Yong Xiang Road, Li Gui Bin cowered under the carriage, her hair disheveled, her face deathly pale, her eyes wide open like bronze bells, as if she was about to bleed from them, and let out one shrill cry after another, as if she had seen something terrifying and received a great shock.

  Then, Shi Meiren rushed to the scene and saw Li Gui's condition. Suddenly, her face turned pale, she stumbled a few steps, leaned against the palace wall, looked around nervously, "Has she come?! Is it really her?!"

  The Empress was already shocked and angry, but hearing Shi Mei Ren's words, she could no longer hold back. She took a few swift steps forward and shouted at Shi Mei Ren: "If you dare to speak nonsense again, I'll have you sent to the Cold Palace immediately!" Her voice was full of authority, but her body couldn't help but tremble slightly. The Empress turned around and pointed at Li Gui Bin, shouting at the eunuchs beside her: "What are you standing there for? Don't drag her out from under the carriage for me?"

  Everyone rushed to pull Rui Gui Fei, Rui Gui Fei desperately struggled, her hands waving wildly, and she mumbled: "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! The medicine was what I got for you, but it wasn't me who told you to harm Zhen Huan..."

  The Empress's face changed greatly as she listened to her chaotic and frantic cries, her voice also lost its tone, and she angrily shouted: "Li Gui Fei has gone mad! Don't you dare bring a cloth to cover her mouth and take her back to my Hua Xiu Palace!" As soon as the Empress gave the order, someone hastily rushed forward.

  Meizhuang saw that it was not right, and she stepped forward to block Huafei's path, saying: "Your Highness should think thrice. At this moment, it is still unclear what has happened. Your Highness should send Rui Gui Bin back to her palace first and then urgently summon the imperial physician. Why must you go to Miao Xiu Palace first?"

  The Empress Hua spoke slowly and calmly: "Li Gui Fei is extremely out of line, it's not dignified. If she were to be seen by the other consorts in her palace, how could she possibly take charge as the mistress of a palace in the future? It would be more convenient for me to take care of this matter."

  Mei Zhuang said: "Your Ladyship is absolutely right. But since this matter has come up suddenly, the concubines think that we should first send someone to report back to the Emperor and Empress."

  Huawei's eyebrows slightly jumped, seeing a group of eunuchs being held back by Zhuang and unable to take action immediately. She was extremely impatient: "This is an urgent matter. If Li Gui Bin continues like this, it will tarnish the emperor's reputation. It won't be too late to report back later." Seeing that Zhuang still didn't retreat, she couldn't help but feel annoyed, her tone becoming urgent and severe: "Besides, I have always assisted the empress in managing the six palaces. Does Hui Bin think I am powerless?!"

  Meizhuang has always been calm and didn't like to cause trouble, but today she actually stood her ground against Huafei, the most favored concubine in the palace, and showed no signs of backing down. Everyone was shocked into silence, and for a moment, no one dared to make a move on Li Gui Bin. Huafei glared fiercely at Zou Ninghai beside her, and Zou Ninghai finally came back to his senses, covering Li Gui Bin's mouth with his hand to prevent her from shouting again.

  I anxiously worried that the Empress might not arrive in time, otherwise all my efforts would be in vain. For now, I can only stall the Imperial Consort Huai and drag out some more time to wait for the Empress's arrival. Once Rui Gui Bin enters the Mei Xiu Palace alone, it will be a big trouble!

  Meizhuang gave me a signal, I stood beside Meizhuang and said: "The concubines in the six palaces dare not doubt, but Li Guifei is the main palace owner, this matter is of great importance, it should be reported to the emperor and empress to avoid being blamed by the emperor afterwards."

  The Empress's eyes narrowed in anger, her silver teeth clenched tightly as she said coldly: "Even if Yuanyi sees the Emperor every day and receives his favor, there is no need to bring up His Majesty to suppress me. Are you trying to make things difficult for me by blocking my way like this?"

  "The consorts are terrified by your words. It's not that the consorts want to be at odds with you, but since Rui Gui Fei mentioned the poisoning incident involving the consorts in her speech, the consorts have no choice but to take this step."

  The silence around was like a thick fog, except for the muffled sobbing of Li Gui Bin and the howling wind, no one dared to make a sound. The Empress Dowager glared at each other, the atmosphere was tense, ready to erupt at any moment. That silence lasted only for a moment, but I felt it was extremely long. Finally, the Empress Dowager couldn't hold back anymore and shouted to her attendants: "What are you standing there for? Take Li Gui Bin away quickly!" As soon as she finished speaking, someone stepped forward to drag Li Gui Bin away.

  It's about to be too late to stop it, and I'm filled with regret. All these thoughts have been wasted.

  Far, far away, the announcement was heard: "The Queen's sedan chair has arrived——" Only to see the eight silver and eight treasure lanterns led by the front guide gradually approaching, surrounded by palace maids and inner attendants, the phoenix sedan chair hurriedly arrived. My heart relaxed a little, and indeed it came.

  At night, the wind was strong, but the queen still sat upright and properly dressed on the phoenix carriage, showing the majesty of the mistress of the harem.

  The Empress Dowager had no choice but to take two steps forward and, along with us, curtsy. The Queen's expression showed not a hint of displeasure, she merely called us up and directly asked: "What on earth happened to Consort Li?"

  The Empress saw that the Queen Mother was asking this, and knew that she already knew about the matter, so she couldn't deceive her. She had to say: "Li Gui Bin suddenly fell ill, I was thinking of sending her back to the palace to summon a doctor for treatment. Because it happened suddenly, I didn't have time to report back to Your Majesty, I hope you will forgive me." The Empress composed herself and looked at the Queen Mother, saying: "However, Your Majesty's news is also quick, but in this short period of time, the news couldn't be rushed over. Shi Lan really has nothing to compare with." As she spoke, she gave me a fierce glance, I seemed not to notice, only standing according to etiquette. My and Mei Zhuang's matter had already been settled, what followed next was the Queen Mother's turn.

  The empress nodded slightly and said, "Since it was sudden, how could I blame you, Consort Hua? Besides..." The empress smiled warmly: "Knowing about the major and minor matters of the harem and handling them properly is indeed my duty as the empress." The empress's words were warm and gentle like a spring breeze, but they carried an air of dignity that pressed down on Consort Hua, who was furious and had turned pale with rage, yet could not refute her.

  The empress said, got down from the phoenix sedan chair and went to see Li Gui Bin. As she approached, she exclaimed, "Hmph!" and frowned, saying: "Zhou Ninghai, you're just a slave, how dare you cover Li Gui Bin's mouth? This is a case of a lower person offending a superior, what kind of behavior is this?"

  Zhou Ninghai saw the empress questioning, although he was afraid but did not dare to let go, and secretly went to see Hua Fei. Hua Fei stepped forward and said: "The empress does not know that Li Gui Pin had a sudden illness and spoke nonsense, so I ordered someone to cover her mouth to prevent her filthy words from disturbing people's minds."

  "Oh." The Empress raised her head and glanced at Consort Hua, "Then release Li Yu Bin first, do you want to cover her mouth like this and send her back to Yanxi Palace?"

  The Empress Dowager nodded to Zhou Ninghai, and Li Gui Bin suddenly gained her freedom. She rushed to the Empress Dowager's knees and cried out wildly: "Your Majesty save me! Your Majesty save me! Yu Shi has come for me! She's come for me! Your Majesty knows it wasn't I who taught her to do this, it wasn't me!"

  "Right. It has nothing to do with anyone, it's her own fault." The Empress Hua bent down and slowed her tone, softly coaxing: "Don't be afraid, Concubine Gui, let's go back to the palace since Yu Shi hasn't arrived yet."

  Li Gui Bin took a step back, her eyes rolling around to look at the surroundings, and then her gaze fixed strangely on Empress Hua: "She's here. Really! Your Majesty, she has come to seek revenge from us for letting her take the wrong path!" In the quiet night, the wind in Yong Lane rolled over the ground, Li Gui Bin's words were scattered in the wind, and those who heard it couldn't help but change their faces, feeling a chill on their bodies, as if Yu Shi's ghost was wandering around them, grinning at us.

  The imperial concubine heard her say something unbearable, and angrily scolded: "Do you want to die?! What nonsense are you talking about?!" Glancing at me with great self-control, she said: "Injustice has a head and debt has an owner! Even if Yu Shi wants to come, it's to find the person who killed her, what does it have to do with us?!"

  I stood behind Empress Hua and slowly said: "Empress Hua is right. There's a beginning to every injustice, and someone is responsible for every debt. Your Majesty doesn't need to be afraid."

  Rui Gui Bin stared at everyone around her, then suddenly rushed to the empress's feet. In extreme terror, she had extraordinary strength and almost knocked the empress over with one pounce. The palace maids nearby were startled and hastily supported the empress while pulling Rui Gui Bin away. Rui Gui Bin cried out in a panic, grabbing onto the hem of the empress's skirt: "Ghost! There's a ghost! I...I don't want to die!"

  The empress also felt uneasy, waving her hand, "What a commotion. Like this, even if we return to Yanxi Palace, I won't be at ease. Let's carefully escort Ruiji back to Fengyi Palace in our palace to rest."

  The Empress hastily said, "Your Majesty, Li Gui Bin's illness seems to be a case of losing her mind. How can she disturb your rest in the Feng Yi Palace? It would be better for me to take care of her in my own palace, Miao Xiu Gong."

  The queen smiled and said, "The Fengyi Palace is so big that there must be a place to put it. The Huafei doesn't have to worry about it in vain. Moreover, although Li Gui was confused, she mentioned the case of Zhen Wei's poisoning again and again in her words, which involves major issues. This palace needs to investigate. Does the Huafei think that Li Gui has something wrong with this palace?

  Huafei raised an eyebrow, her phoenix-like eyes exuding an aura of dominance. "I naturally wouldn't worry that the Empress would be remiss in her duties," she said. "But since His Majesty has personally ordered me to assist with the governance of the six palaces, I believe I am capable of sharing some of the Empress's burdens. The Empress surely won't refuse my offer to 'share her burdens', will she? If that were truly the case, wouldn't His Majesty blame me for not being considerate of the Empress?"

  The Empress's words were extremely impolite, and the palace maids beside her all showed a look of discontent. The Empress was taken aback for a moment and had no reason to object, but hesitated and didn't speak.

  I see things are going to get complicated again, if the Li Gui concubine follows the Hua Empress, I'm afraid all our previous efforts will be in vain. I immediately said: "Your Majesty is the master of the six palaces, and since you're taking care of it personally, the Emperor will definitely feel more at ease." After speaking, I quickly knelt down and said: "I bid farewell to Your Majesty."

  Meizhuang reacted extremely quickly, pulling Ling Rong and Shi Mei down to kneel together and say: "Pay respects to the Empress." The Empress didn't hesitate, taking Li Gui'er back to Fengyi Palace.

  The Empress was furious but could do nothing, watching helplessly as the Queen led away Consort Li with a mixture of anger and frustration that made her hands tremble and nearly faint.

  Back in the palace, Flowing Vermilion had already prepared several small dishes for a midnight snack. As I closed the door, I smiled at Little Lotus who was waiting inside and said, "I've been troubling you to pretend to be a ghost these days."

  Xiao Lianzi hastily said: "Master, your words are really going to kill me." He made a ghostly face and laughed: "However, I secretly took a look in the mirror, and that appearance really scared myself."

  I couldn't help but laugh and nodded repeatedly: "Indeed! You scared Li Gui into a mess, she's been talking nonsense and letting out many slips of the tongue."

  "I didn't think that this trivial skill of mine would still be useful, I really have to thank Liuzhu sister for teaching me how to arrange the water sleeves and Huanbi sister for drawing the ghost face."

  Li Zhu couldn't help but burst out laughing: "What's the big deal about our stuff? It's still Miss's idea." After thinking for a moment, she said to Xiao Lianzi, "I'm afraid that if you secretly burn the ghost costume, it might leave some clues and cause trouble instead." Xiao Lianzi quickly agreed.

  "Wait, don't be too happy. It's clear now that the Empress is behind this, and Consort Li won't be able to escape responsibility either. However, Consort Li is like a madwoman, her words may not count."

  I pondered for a moment, gently stroking my hair with a jade comb, and said, "What you say makes sense. However, the Empress may not necessarily let go of such an opportunity either. We only need to observe from the sidelines, and when necessary, give it a little nudge. The play has already begun, the drums have been beaten, and everyone will have to take their turn on stage." I smiled lightly, "Get a good rest tonight, for I fear there is a sudden change awaiting us next."