Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 457 Missing

"What? Qu Jieyu is pregnant—"

Consort Qi took a deep breath and abruptly stood up from the soft couch. Princess Lingyi, whom she was holding, was startled by the sudden movement, her little mouth trembled, and she burst into tears.

In the latter half of the afternoon, when the heat subsided a bit, she specially brought Lingyi to visit Lingcui Palace. She was talking to Meng Shu about Ruixue not yet being released from the Yeting Bureau when she suddenly heard the news that Huajin had inquired about from outside, and she froze.

The wet nurse, who was standing by, quickly stepped forward, carefully took the ceremonial regalia from Consort Qi's arms, and then curtsied to Consort Meng and Consort Qi before leaving the bedchamber with Green Willow.

Meng Shu's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

'She's pregnant, no wonder...she dared to act like this.'

She was secretly pondering: Qu Jieyu's actions were not without reason. She could indirectly harm Yu Nu'er through the wet nurse, and at the same time, she could conveniently accuse the Empress of "incompetent management of the palace," killing two birds with one stone.

But upon closer examination, something felt off. This risky and ruthless approach was not like her usual cautious and timid nature.

Looking back now, it was probably her pregnancy that gave her the confidence to take such a desperate gamble. Carrying the dragon's offspring, she dared to take this risk, hoping to disrupt the power structure of the harem and secure a future for herself and her child?

Consort Qi could no longer contain herself and paced back and forth in the hall: "This is truly strange! She's pregnant, yet she hasn't given a single word? When she visited Afu a few days ago, she seemed no different from usual. Could it be...?"

She suddenly stopped and looked at Meng Shu. "Could it be that you already knew all along and deliberately kept it a secret, just waiting for this moment to cause a commotion?"

The cicadas outside the hall had started chirping again sometime earlier, their incessant chirping disturbing and unsettling people.

"Hongyu," Meng Shu called out, "Have Dong Ming go to the Imperial Household Department and ask Lord Tong to come over."

Hongyu responded and left, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

Consort Qi's tone held a hint of worry: "Consort Qu has always been a woman of few words, never vying for anything, so no one can fathom her true nature. Now that she is pregnant, she has an extra layer of protection, and her thoughts will likely become even more unpredictable in the future."

......

Around dusk, the sunlight slanted across the glazed tiles of Lingcui Palace, coating them with a warm gold.

When Tong Bo arrived, Consort Qi had already left with Princess Lingyi. Only a few eunuchs who were sweeping the palace road remained. Upon seeing him, they quickly lowered their heads and retreated to the side.

Dong Ming led him through the covered corridor to the study in the front hall on the east side. As soon as they turned through the moon gate, they saw Meng Shu sitting by the window, with several scrolls of books spread out on the table. Her fingertips were lightly twirling the edges of the pages, as if she were waiting.

"Lord Tong, there's no need for such formalities. You should know why I summoned you here."

Tong Bo bowed and handed the dossier in his hand to Dong Ming, who was standing to the side.

"Your Majesty, since yesterday, I have interrogated seventy-eight people in the Bureau of Clothing and Apparel, including the head clerk, female officials, embroiderers, and eunuchs. It has now been determined that Head Clerk Chen, at the instigation of her eunuch Zhang Quan, switched the wet nurse's summer clothes before they were sent to Lingcui Palace. As for the tampering with the fabric, even after being tortured, Head Clerk Chen still insists that she was unaware of it and that it was Zhang Quan who colluded with Chen Fu, an eunuch in the Bureau of Jewelry."

Meng Shu took the dossier from Dong Ming. Seeing that the ink was fresh, she understood a bit about it. Her eyes quickly scanned the first half of the confession before finally stopping on Rui Xue's pages.

"Weren't we supposed to be detaining Consort Qu? So why is the final statement in the case file...?" She looked up at Tong Bo, "It's not related to Consort Qu anymore?"

Tong Bo felt a chill and lowered his head even further. The dossier had already been completely revised when he arrived.

"According to Ruixue, a palace maid in Chunxi Palace, it was indeed she who advised Chen Fu that Chen Zhangyi and Aunt Zhou had always been at odds, and that Chen Fu took the opportunity to get close to Chen Zhangyi. However... Ruixue had already committed suicide by lying on her desk, but she never admitted that the perfume powder came from Chunxi Palace until her death."

As for Chen Fu, he succumbed to his injuries after being tortured and died. Zhang Quan, however, survived, insisting that the perfume powder on his clothes was given to him by Chen Fu.

"So, the turmoil at the full moon banquet has been resolved after the deaths of these two people?" Meng Shu closed the file and chuckled softly.

Tong Bo immediately knelt down. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only say one sentence: "This humble official has failed in his duties and begs Your Majesty for punishment."

......

As dusk approached, the hazy night, like silk gauze soaked in ink, slowly enveloped the sky.

Cuiyu Hall.

Green Willow entered quietly and whispered, "Your Majesty, in the afternoon, the Empress Dowager sent her personal nanny to Chunxi Palace. Although the Emperor did not go in person, he sent Eunuch Jing there and issued an imperial decree ordering Physician Sun to take charge of protecting Consort Qu's pregnancy."

The study was dark and gloomy, as the lights were not yet on.

Meng Shu sat in the armchair in front of the bookshelf for a long time. A sliver of moonlight filtering in through the window gently enveloped her, but her features exuded an unyielding coldness.

"She probably didn't even care about her health and went to the Funing Palace to 'apologize'."

Meng Shu's lips twitched slightly, as if she were smiling, or perhaps sighing.

As she spoke, she shifted slightly, and the armchair creaked softly, a sound that was all the more distinct in the silence.

Green Willow lowered her eyelids and nodded gently: "Consort Qu went to Funing Palace at the end of Shenshi (3-5 PM) and knelt before the palace to beg for forgiveness. Dong Ming, taking advantage of his past relationship with the Emperor, found out that Consort Qu's words of apology were... 'I was not strict in managing my subordinates, which led to gossip and disputes among the palace women, almost causing a great disaster.' Your Majesty..."

"There's no need to say any more," Meng Shu interrupted her.

The emperor's laxity in managing his subordinates is a minor fault, but the stability of the imperial descendants is a major issue. Since the emperor has sent the imperial physician, he has tacitly approved of this attempt to "settle the matter peacefully."

Green Willow fell silent and stepped aside.

It was already past 7 PM, and the night had grown even darker, swallowing up even the little light that had managed to get in. The study was so dark that only the outline of the bookshelves could be seen.

Meng Shu raised her hand to press her temples and said softly, "Green Willow, light the lanterns."

"Your Majesty, you... haven't had dinner yet. Donggua has prepared quite a few dishes, and said he wanted you to try some new ones..."

Before Green Willow could finish her worried words, Xia'er's voice came from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Jing has sent someone to say that His Majesty will be coming to Cuiyu Hall soon..."

"not see."

Meng Shu slowly got up, walked around the desk to the door, took a ram's horn palace lantern from Xia'er, and went straight to the East Warm Pavilion without saying another word.

"Sister Green Willow... what's wrong with Her Majesty..." Xia'er shrank by the door, looking flustered. "The eunuchs from Funing Palace are still waiting for a reply in the front hall. If they are neglected..."

Green Willow hurried to the door, watching Meng Shu's figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

He then composed himself and said to Xia'er, "Go and tell her that Her Majesty is still weak after her confinement period, and the imperial physician has advised her to rest and not serve the emperor for the next few days."

She paused, then added, "Speak more respectfully, and say that Her Majesty asked the Emperor to apologize on her behalf, and that she will go to the Funing Palace to express her gratitude once she is feeling better."

Xia'er quickly nodded in agreement and turned to head towards the front hall.

.......