241 Untitled (2/2)
Seeing how the number of enemies around her was as dense as snow, how the two of them were as dumb as cattle, and how the new Empress had forced her into dangerous grounds even before showing her face, Jian Xue felt her heart drop. Suddenly, she recalled what her wise and farsighted grandmother had said when she entered the palace.
”Don't be silly and never get involved in the fight in the harem. The fight in Xuanyuan's harem is far eviler than that in any other country because that is no longer a fight between women for favor, but one that concerns the power over the country. It is a highly turbulent situation now, the Emperor is not without support, and every woman there is backed by their clans. Glory and downfall may happen to you at any moment, so don't fight. If you're forced to fight, then choose to follow the most malicious one!”
Choose to follow the most malicious one…
In an instant, Jian Xue made her decision.
Slowly looking up, she smiled. ”Since it is brought up, I apologize for that incident. It was actually intentional on my part to be down with the flu.”
”Oh?”
Jian Xue stood and bowed respectfully towards the middle seat. ”When I first saw Her Majesty in the first round of selection, I immediately thought that Her Majesty had such a majestic presence to look after the land under the Heavens. I dared not to fight with Her Majesty, so I chose to voluntarily step back.”
Although she said it in such a sincere and solemn manner, the other concubines revealed expressions of mistrust and distaste. They had seen shameless people who boot-licked, but they had never seen one so shameless!
Jian Xue beamed and sat down - it was not meant to be said for them anyway.
While there was a battle of words in the outer room, the situation was vastly different in the courtyard. The weather was too cold for the concubines to speak, and there had no news even after they had been kneeling for such a long while. Seeing that there was no one else, they started getting restless. The timid ones would try to move their legs as they leaned their weight on their hands, and the brazen ones directly stood up, holding on to the walls as they groaned and exercised their leg muscles. For a while, the courtyard was filled with the sounds of stomping.
”This is trying to torment us on such a cold day!”
”There should at least be a coal burner to keep us warm.”
”Forget it, someone is bent on making you kneel. What burner could there be!”
”I heard that she was not very favored when she was in the Zhang Ning residence? She probably knelt a lot when she was young. Now that the tables have turned, she would want us to have a taste of that!”
”Sister, you're too nice. I'm more worried about this - does she even know what a coal burner is? Don't tell me she has yet to know all the things we use in the palace?”
Giggles ensued.
”Hah.”
A sudden voice appeared, and it seemed as though the speaker was very interested in joining their conversation. ”I heard that the northern areas don't even use a proper coal burner, and all they use are heated brick beds.”
”That's right,” said Concubine Liu, whose father was not ranked high but held significant authority in the court. As a Vice Minister at the Ministry of War, he was in charge of weapons and was a trusted confidante of the Regent King. Naturally, Concubine Liu basked in this honor and was able to speak with such confidence. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall and rubbed her waist. In a casual tone, she added, ”I heard that the beds are huge in the northern area, and male and females sleep together and roll around on the floor.”
”Ah… there's really such a way of sleeping?” The same person continued asking with much enthusiasm.
”Yes,” Concubine Liu answered and smirked nonchalantly. ”I wonder who our Empress sleeps with on that big brick bed? Her elder brother? Younger brother? Grandfather or uncle? Hah.”
She was happily speaking away and did not notice that her surroundings had slowly turned quiet. The lively chatter just now had entirely died down, and the atmosphere was eerily silent.
”I feel that it's nothing much to sleep with the younger brother. It won't be nice if it was the grandfather or uncle,” replied that person, who raised her opinion in a very earnest voice.
”What do you know?” Concubine Liu raised one corner of her lip. ”That's already pretty mild. There are even cases of people who crawl into the beds of their daughter-in-law! Didn't the third master of the previous generation in the Yuwen Clan commit suicide because of this? The genes do pass down…” she spoke, and she removed her hands from her waist in smiles. Turning to look back, she added, ”Sister, you're so naive and cute…”
Suddenly, she choked, and her eyes slowly widened.
Behind her, all the concubines had already knelt at their original positions, but one person was standing who did not wear any make-up. With hair tied up simply, she was clad in simple but strange clothes, and steam was still evaporating from her head. She beamed and looked at Concubine Liu with her hands behind her back.
Seeing that Concubine Liu looked back, she smiled and asked, ”Say it, continue and say it. Why are you stopping?”
Concubine Liu's lips quivered. From the surroundings and the accessories on this woman's waist, she had inferred the identity of the woman. And just now… just now… just now, when the Empress led her on, what exactly has she said?
Slowly recalling what she had uttered, Concubine Liu felt as though she was struck by thunder and her body shook. Her knees gave way, and she knelt down immediately. In tears, she cried, ”Your Majesty… Your Majesty… your humble servant is ignorant… it was all nonsense… your humble servant will slap herself!” Making up her mind, she raised her hand and gave herself a tight slap across the cheek. The sharp sound of the contact made the women in the courtyard bow down even lower, and Concubine Liu shivered as she looked up pitifully at Meng Fuyao.