24 Sooner or Later, You'll Come Around

As June approached, the days grew longer, and the silver-gray horizon was stained with a faint, golden luster by the morning light.

Changchun Palace.

Consort Rong, who had been kneeling before the deity statue for who knows how long, opened her eyes. Her gaze fixed intently on the incense, which had already burned down more than halfway in the burner.

Light, half-obscured by the small window, fell across her, and Caiqiu, watching the shifting light and shadow make the Consort’s face appear increasingly gloomy, felt a tremor of fear.

Only when she heard movement at the palace gate did Caiqiu exhale, a sound she hadn't realized she was holding. She hurried toward the entrance and scolded the person arriving: "Qin’er, the auspicious hour is almost upon us, why are you dragging your feet?!"

"It is fortunate that the auspicious time for Her Ladyship’s medicine has not been missed; otherwise, a mere caning would be getting off lightly."

The young palace maid, having been reprimanded, entered the small Buddhist hall with practiced caution. Once inside, she knelt beside Consort Rong, lowered her head respectfully, and raised the tray high. "Your Ladyship, please take your medicine."

Consort Rong reached out—

*Bang!*

The steaming bowl of medicine crashed back onto the tray.

As the decoction splashed, Consort Rong’s face twisted instantly. She snatched the bowl and hurled it at Qin’er’s head. "You base slave!"

"Not only did you miss the auspicious hour, but you also brought me medicine this scalding hot. What is your intention?!"

Taking the blow squarely, blood began to stream from Qin’er’s temple. Yet, ignoring the pain, she knelt in terror, kowtowing repeatedly as she stammered, "Your Ladyship, please hear me out. The kitchen maid who brews your medicine had an upset stomach this morning, and it just so happened that at the Imperial Hospital..."

Caiqiu rushed over to check Consort Rong’s hands, asking anxiously, "Your Ladyship, were you burned?"

Seeing that only the tips of Consort Rong’s fingers were slightly red, Caiqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She turned and slapped the still-defending Qin’er across the face. "You foolish thing, is this a place for your chatter? Hurry and clean this up!"

"Be careful! If any shards remain to harm Her Ladyship, how many lives do you have to pay for it!"

Having been struck, Qin’er fell silent, frantically picking up the broken porcelain.

Consort Rong watched the miserable sight of Qin’er for a moment, then let out a cold laugh, muttering to herself, "Ha, I knew it..."

"I knew that because I consulted a shaman for an auspicious hour and started a new course of medicine, hoping for a royal heir, everyone in this palace is burning with envy and trying to ruin my affairs!"

With that, she glared at Qin’er and demanded with chilling certainty, "Who ordered you to sabotage my auspicious rites?!"

It was truly a disaster out of the blue.

Being crushed under such a massive, false accusation terrified Qin’er out of her wits. She trembled and kowtowed frantically. "Your Ladyship, please, I am innocent! No one ordered me, no one else is involved. This was truly an unintentional mistake."

Consort Rong nodded with a bared-teeth smile. "Good, I didn't realize you were so 'loyal and devoted.'"

"Someone, come here!"

"Drag this base slave out and cane her."

"I want to see if her tongue is stiffer or her bones are harder!"

The attendants outside quickly dragged away the pale-faced Qin’er, who was bleeding from her temple and screaming for mercy, claiming her innocence.

Caiqiu, having witnessed the disaster, turned pale. She fell to her knees before Consort Rong, begging her to reconsider.

"Your Ladyship, you have spent so much effort bringing the master shaman into the palace. It was only after Her Majesty the Empress finally relented that we proceeded, and now everyone in the palace is watching. It is truly not the time to stir up trouble..."

"Furthermore, there is no precedent for such a punishment within the palace. Your Ladyship, you are of noble birth; how can you let such a lowly creature stain you with her filth?"

If it were any other matter, perhaps, but regarding a royal heir, Consort Rong would not budge. She stubbornly insisted on having the punishment carried out in the courtyard.

"Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship, I am innocent!"

"Have mercy, Your Ladyship, have mercy..."

...

In two days, the new palace maids would enter the Forbidden City. Such a commotion in Changchun Palace naturally stirred the entire inner court. Before noon, Consort Rong had already been summoned to Kunning Palace.

There was no one else in Kunning Palace, and no sound; it was deathly silent.

Upon entering the hall, Consort Rong glanced up at the Empress, who sat on the high throne with an unreadable expression. Even though she did not believe she had committed any grave error, a sense of cowardice inexplicably rose within her.

Her steps slowed, but she dared not stop; she walked forward and performed the customary rites.

"Your servant pays her respects to Her Majesty the Empress. May your days be long and without end."

Empress Bo usually did not like to make concubines suffer through long salutations, but this time, she did not tell Consort Rong to rise. Her expression was cold. "Do you know why I have summoned you?"

Remaining in a crouched, bowing position was excruciating. Consort Rong’s body trembled slightly as she replied, "Your Majesty, my... the servants in my palace acted recklessly and served me poorly. I was overcome with anger, and so..."

*Bang!*

Seeing the Empress’s genuine rage, Consort Rong, who was already struggling to stand, collapsed to her knees.

"Your Majesty..."

Kneeling, Consort Rong looked up at Empress Bo. She held her posture straight, her face full of grievances. "Your Majesty, I have been in the palace for twelve years and have always been diligent in my service, never daring to show even the slightest disrespect."

"I ask for nothing else, only for a child of my own to dote upon. All these years, I have prayed to gods and Buddhas, sought medicine and guidance hundreds, thousands of times..."

As she spoke, her voice choked with self-pity. She truly believed the servants of Changchun Palace had been bribed to sabotage her.

"Now that there is finally hope, they harbor ill intent and seek to destroy my chances."

Empress Bo lowered her eyes to watch the kneeling woman. Even while holding back tears, Consort Rong’s eyes were red, devoid of the spirited vitality she once possessed.

*Rong* (Glory) implies honor and splendor; *Yu* (Abundance) implies brilliance. These were the titles bestowed upon her; one could imagine the radiant beauty Tu Xian was back when she was in the Prince’s manor.

But since entering the palace, she had consumed countless fertility medicines and tried numerous bizarre folk remedies, and her temperament had grown increasingly twisted.

At first, Empress Bo had tried to intervene, but Consort Rong had secretly seethed with resentment and even ran to Cining Palace to whisper in the ear of the "Living Ancestor" there. The sight of Consort Rong’s desperate yearning for a child was exactly what that old lady wanted to see.

Eventually, Empress Bo stopped interfering.

Like a few days ago, when she even brought in some shamaness to calculate the "auspicious hour" for drinking medicine—amidst her sighs of absurdity, the Empress could not help but feel a sense of weariness.

She shook her head and said to Consort Rong, "That is enough. Rise."

Watching Consort Rong secretly wipe her tears as she stood, Empress Bo gestured for Dongying to help her sit. She said earnestly, "You have been by His Majesty’s side since your days in the Prince’s residence."

"After entering the palace, His Majesty bestowed upon you Changchun Palace, and even your title was chosen by him personally... you can imagine the high hopes he holds for you."

"And yet, look at you—your actions have become increasingly lacking in discretion."

"You have been in the palace for years; do you know of any rule that allows a concubine to order the beating of a palace servant in the courtyard?"

"Even if a servant commits a crime, it is for the Department of Justice to handle."

"You are the mistress of a palace, and in a few days, the new maids will arrive."

At this, the Empress’s tone deepened, her gaze fixed firmly on Consort Rong. "The maids entering this time are those the Empress Dowager has personally taken an interest in since the selection began... you should know the weight of this."

The Empress’s words caused Consort Rong’s hand, which was wiping away tears, to freeze.

She stood up and performed a proper salute. "Yes, I acknowledge my error. I shall abide by your instructions, Your Majesty."

Seeing that Consort Rong understood her mistake, and with the new maids arriving in two days, Empress Bo did not punish her too severely, opting only to dock two months of her allowance.

Relieved, Consort Rong sat down, drank a few cups of tea, and lingered until the redness in her eyes faded before taking her leave.

...

That night, after a simple dinner, Empress Bo flipped through the roster listing the palace assignments for the new maids.

There were nine maids selected this time.

Everything else was fine, but the pair of "beauties" who had caught the Empress Dowager’s eye had caused a bit of trouble.

Having spent years with her, Empress Bo knew the Empress Dowager’s temperament well. The old lady had been pampered and served with reverence for so long that she naturally valued her face above all else.

The incident where the Pan girl publicly scolded the He girl to tears in the street—on the surface, the Empress Dowager had shown no reaction, but in reality, the old lady was clearly furious. She had not only suppressed their ranks but had now arranged their living quarters in...

"Your Majesty, a message from the eunuchs: His Majesty’s imperial sedan is heading toward Kunning Palace."

Hearing this, Empress Bo closed the ledger and went to the front hall.

The Mingchong Emperor, having spent the entire day in a grand morning assembly, arrived under the stars and moon.

After the attendants served tea and retreated, the Mingchong Emperor leaned back against the couch, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. He said calmly, "What was the commotion in Changchun Palace today?"

Although Empress Bo had tried to suppress the morning’s events, she knew she could not hide them from the Emperor.

She quickly explained the ins and outs in a few sentences.

At the end, she softened her tone. "Although Consort Rong was at fault, there were reasons for it."

"I have already punished her... I have sent a physician to check on the beaten servant, and once she has recovered, she will be transferred to the Flowers and Birds Bureau."

After hearing the Empress’s handling of the matter, the Mingchong Emperor said nothing more.

After a moment of silence, Empress Bo brought up the arrival of the new maids and had Dongying present the roster.

The Mingchong Emperor’s mind was clearly not on it.

He waved his hand, not even wanting to look, and said, "Very well, if it is decided, let it stand. Have them learn the rules properly before they are presented to me."

In the past, there was no talk of new maids continuing their etiquette training after being chosen. It was clear the Emperor also knew about the scolding incident in the street.

Empress Bo nodded in agreement without further comment.

Dongying glanced at the Empress, and seeing her nod, bowed and exited with the ledger.

The inner hall was left with only the Emperor and the Empress.

The gray shadows cast by the candlelight elongated, stretching across the window lattices carved with auspicious patterns.

In the quiet palace, the dim candlelight reflecting on the Mingchong Emperor’s face seemed to strip away his imperial solemnity. His face, indifferent and cold, revealed a faint trace of exhaustion.

Today’s grand assembly had been as boisterous as ever.

The struggle for the throne back then had been perilous, but because the late Emperor had many children, the Mingchong Emperor still had many living siblings after his ascension.

Ordinarily, these people should have been sent off to their fiefs long ago to prevent them from stirring up trouble at court, but the problem was that the Mingchong Emperor had no sons.

This made the throne truly something worth fighting for.

Even among his own flesh and blood, many had eyes bloodshot with greed for that position, let alone his nephews.

The most terrifying thing was that anyone could be a threat.

Greed is a bottomless pit.

Each of them spoke with flowery rhetoric on the surface, but it was hard to say how much of their private ambition was hidden behind the excuse of the Emperor’s childlessness.

The royal clansmen and feudal lords were fighting in the shadows, while the civil and military officials, the scholarly elite, and the powerful families were all tangled together...

Currently, the Mingchong Emperor kept a lid on it, maintaining a fragile, uncanny stability at court.

It was a state of balance that no one dared to break rashly.

Therefore, even if the Mingchong Emperor was dissatisfied with some of the useless officials in the court and knew of their questionable morals, his hands were tied.

One pull affects the whole body.

As the Mingchong Emperor sat with his head tilted back, eyes closed in silent meditation, Empress Bo gazed at his profile, sitting quietly by his side.

Until the Emperor opened his eyes—

The weariness on his face seemed to have vanished as if it had never been there. He picked up his teacup with a calm expression. "The consort of the Prince of Cheng sent peonies?"

Empress Bo regained her composure and smiled. "Yes, when she came to pay her respects the day before yesterday, she specifically brought the rare 'Dancing Blue Lion' variety."

...

Dongying waited at the palace gate, listening to the faint voices of the Emperor and Empress inside. She looked up at the sky; the moon was clear and bright, the night stars dense. It would be a fine day tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow...

The day after tomorrow, the new maids would enter the palace.

Thinking of that "extraordinarily valiant" Miss Pan, she thought, *I truly want to see what she is like in person.*