Here, First-Class Female Attendant Bu said in an uncharacteristically stern voice, "His Majesty is still inside. No matter how urgent the matter is, you are not to go over there right now. Otherwise, you'll be putting Lanqi in a very awkward situation."
"I just wanted to borrow a broom from Huanchun, Mistress," Panxia mumbled, shooting her a careful glance. She knew how weak-willed First-Class Female Attendant Bu was—it might be better, perhaps, to leave her out of the loop regarding Aunt Wang.
The wind finally ceased late in the evening. Xuanye, who had decided not to remain in the Palace of Accumulated Purity for dinner, wanted to leave before dusk set in. After Lanqi saw him to the gates, she spotted Panxia pacing about with a rather anxious expression on her face. Smiling, Lanqi asked, "Is something the matter?"
Panxia quickly plastered a grin on her face and said, "A layer of dust has settled in my mistress's rooms because of the strong winds. The broom I've been using is old and about to fall apart, so I was wondering if I could borrow one from Huanchun."
Here, she moved closer to Lanqi under the guise of taking her arm. In a whisper, Panxia said, "I saw Aunt Wang eavesdropping on your conversation with His Majesty outside the window just now. You should keep an eye on her."
Lanqi's heart skipped a beat as a wave of disgust overtook her. Panxia continued, "That old hag has been behaving suspiciously again. Jingyan and Eunuch Zhao have taken a leaf out of her book, too—now that we have more servants around, they're finding more excuses to be lazy."
Presently, they entered Lanqi's hall. Huanchun passed Panxia a new broom and asked her to invite First-Class Female Attendant Bu over for dinner. Knowing how impatient Panxia could be, Lanqi stopped her from continuing her rant and ordered her to fetch First-Class Female Attendant Bu.
Lanqi thought over Xuanye's words to her today. One of his statements had been most alarming—although Xuanye had promised never to bring it up again, people might take things out of context. If she got swept up in rumors, so be it! However, if the court politicians caught wind of this, they might make a mountain out of a molehill and cause a great deal of trouble for His Majesty.
Feeling rather exasperated, Lanqi let out an audible sigh. Huanchun heard this and pattered over to her. "What's wrong, Mistress?"
Lanqi looked at her. Huanchun had a good reputation among the servants in the palace, and was well-known for her good temper and generosity. In comparison to her, Lanqi came off as a little childish. After a slight pause, Lanqi spilled her guts about Aunt Wang's suspicious behavior to Huanchun.
Hearing this, Huanchun chuckled coldly. "That's certainly not the first time something like that has happened. Don't worry, Mistress. I know what to do. She's nothing to be afraid of."
A while later, First-Class Female Attendant Bu came over. They chatted merrily throughout dinner, and Lanqi didn't bring up the matter again. For the next few days, the palace remained in an ominous state of calm. Aunt Wang's suspicious behavior ceased, if only temporarily, and everyone forgot about the matter presently.
However, Lanqi didn't know that Aunt Wang had already reported everything she heard to Consort Zhao. When Consort Zhao heard that Xuanye wanted to make Lanqi his next Empress, she was so furious that she nearly threw up blood. In a fit of rage, she swept an entire table of porcelain cups and plates onto the floor, shattering them loudly. Her servants had knelt down in terror immediately.
Today, Consort Zhao was curled up in her seat under the window, reading a letter from her brother Alingga. When she finished reading it, she got Dongyun to bring her a charcoal burner, and promptly burnt the letter to embers within it. Consort Zhao had been in a tempestuous mood for the last few days, and Dongyun didn't dare to ask any questions. Here, Consort Zhao snapped frostily, "You heard what that old Aunt said, didn't you? Find a way to start rumors around the palace that the Emperor wants to instate a First-Class Female Attendant as his new Empress. Make sure to stir up as much scandal as you can! As powerful as His Majesty is, I'd like to see if things can go his way this time."
However, Dongyun felt a little worried. She already regretted joining hands with that slimy Aunt Wang. No matter how things turned out with First-Class Female Attendant Wu in the end, Consort Zhao would be damaging her relationship with the Emperor irrevocably. She wanted to advise Consort Zhao further, but her mistress was so crazy now that it would be useless anyway.
"Yes, Mistress," she said, agreeing reluctantly. She went out and gathered some of their most trustworthy servants, ordering them to spread the rumors around the palace.
As expected, the period of uninterrupted calm ended a few days later. Shockwaves ran through the palace as the rumors reached Aunt Sumala, who was shocked by how preposterous the rumors were despite her experience. When the Grand Empress Dowager heard about it, she roared, "What sort of servants are there at Palace of Accumulated Purity? They must have been the ones who started these rumors. Send all of them to the Office of Punishment at once and make sure they don't let their tongues wag again!"
However, the Grand Empress Dowager was too late. Word had already reached the ears of the court politicians, who seemed to have anticipated this. Memorials upon memorials flooded the young Emperor's desk, begging him to reconsider. This was a most unwelcome distraction as Xuanye was still trying to suppress the rebellion along the Yangtze River.
"Well, he started this mess by himself, so he can clean up after himself, too!" the Grand Empress Dowager snapped. Pointing an accusing finger at Aunt Sumala, she continued coldly, "I told you to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't step out of line, but you've let him do exactly as he pleases! Now what? Do you expect me to go and appease those old politicians who are bugging my grandson non-stop?"