"Commandery Princess," Fu Dong approached quietly, knowing that the Commandery Princess was difficult to attend to upon waking, especially in these past two days, and with the severe cold outside that she disliked.
Nian Ru slightly opened her half-closed eyelids. The dream from the middle of the night, with Ju Nanyi and Zheng Congyuan's figures passing through her dream again and again, made her regret getting out of bed the moment she did. She should have stayed burrowed in her bedding on such a day.
"Commandery Princess, something happened outside. A eunuch found something," whispered Fu Dong. Nanny Yun had said that the person was somewhat troublesome.
Finally opening her eyes, Nian Ru sat up, and Fu Dong immediately draped a silver rat fur blanket over her. Hurrying to fetch shoes, she still couldn't keep pace with her mistress. Nian Ru set her bare feet on the flat wooden porch.
The morning's snowfall had already been carefully cleared away. The corridor encircled the entire Qishun Building, warmed and dried from below by charcoal fire. The warm vapor intertwined with the outdoor cold in the air.
The corridor connected to the greenhouse. As she stepped into the greenhouse, the voices gradually became clear.
"You servants, confess honestly. It will be problematic once more people are summoned," Yu Lihuai snorted coldly, sizing up the few people in front of him. They didn't wear the Empress Dowager's court uniforms, their status not apparent, and he had nothing to fear.
"Sisterhood, I just wanted to break off some fresh branches of flowers. There's nothing else," Hong Chou tried to appease the situation and turned to plead with Yu Lihuai, "Eunuch Yu..."
"It's none of your business," Yu Lihuai interrupted Hong Chou's words. Gold and Silver Carbon was not a trivial matter. With the sudden drop in temperature, charcoal was in urgent demand. Even those of status couldn't get enough Gold and Silver Carbon, so how could he let the situation calm down? Perhaps he could even catch a thief and win favor in front of Eunuch Jin.
Yu Lihuai suddenly stopped speaking, as his eyes landed on a large group of people suddenly appearing before him. Although a great number of people were present, his gaze was fixated on the face in the center, unable to look away. Such beauty...
Even Yu Lihuai, who was accustomed to the beauty within the Harem—an area once gathering the world's gorgeous women—was now astounded by the person before him. Moreover, she was dressed in a stunning red felt cloak, adorned with splendid phoenix feathers neatly arranged. How many foxes had to be gathered to make something so exquisite? He immediately doubted his judgment, but the direction from Xingqing Hall wasn't where the concubines resided.
Princesses, but... in such a dilapidated place...
"Commandery Princess—" Nanny Yun stepped forward, recognizing that this matter could be troublesome and needed quick resolution.
Nanny Yun well knew that this place's standard surpassed any residence of the concubines. Normally, people seldom came here, and if they did by chance, they were dealt with efficiently.
Nian Ru remembered this eunuch; he was from Noble Consort Wen's clique, his nature...
Well, not entirely corrupt through and through.
Yu Lihuai was shocked by Nanny Yun's sudden address as "Commandery Princess," his mind racing. No matter how much he thought, he couldn't connect anyone to such a title here.
Nian Ru looked at Yu Lihuai in front of her. Now, she wasn't as paranoid as before, not assuming that everyone appearing at Qishun Building was an accident orchestrated by Empress Dowager Yan Ping.
"Give you a chance, get out—"
"Commandery Princess—" How could they let him go? What if he spoke out? How would they manage the aftermath?
Yu Lihuai was even more stunned. Since becoming the Chief Eunuch of Bushou Palace, not even the average concubines had dared to speak to him this way. Any prior doubts were now washed away by anger at the moment, and moreover, he had caught onto a colossal handle.
"Ha, such audacity. There's probably no one in the Imperial Palace who dares to tell me to scram. I want to see which holy deity you are. This caught Gold and Silver Carbon aside, there might be much more involved," Yu Lihuai wasn't concerned about these women in front of him. Even though he was alone, he was near Xingqing Hall, where a louder voice could easily call for aid.
Seeing this, Nian Ru sighed internally. She had intended to give him a way out, but he was insistent on taking the path to his doom.
Nian Ru glanced at Nanny Yun. Go ahead.
When she first started taking such actions, they unsettled her, leaving her anxious for days. But as she did them more often, she became numb.
Nanny Yun received the order and immediately gave Xue Liu and Xing Yu a look; Xue Liu stepped forward with a smile.
"Eunuch, please don't be angry, we can talk this out nicely, can't we?" Xue Liu had already gotten close to Yu Lihuai. Before Yu Lihuai could react to the sudden smile, Xing Yu, who was walking over at the same time, had somehow procured a hammer, and with a dull thud, Hong Chou's eyes widened with terror, and she was so frightened she couldn't make a sound.
By the time she came to her senses, she saw two coarse-working palace maids already dragging Yu Lihuai's body toward the outside of the courtyard.
"Ah—" Hong Chou's scream came to an abrupt halt when she saw the hammer Xing Yu was raising. Hong Chou collapsed to the ground and began to crawl desperately forward, scrambling toward the incredibly beautiful person who had just appeared.
"Commandery Princess, Commandery Princess, spare my life, I was forced to do this, I was forced, I swear I won't tell anyone." Hong Chou clung to the doorframe as the figure had already walked a distance away.
Fu Dong turned her head; why hadn't it been taken care of quickly? The master had been in a bad mood these past few days and was harder to serve.
Despair shone in Hong Chou's pupils, and the desire to live made her kowtow without care.
"Eunuch Yu deserved to die. Yu Lihuai had bullied several of us sisters; it was a just punishment, and we thank the Commandery Princess for taking our revenge."
Zheng Nianru stopped, Xing Yu standing behind Hong Chou hesitated for a moment. To kill or not to kill?
Zheng Nianru raised her hand and turned to walk toward Hong Chou, quietly looking at the palace maid who was still shivering before her.
"You also think he deserved to die, did I do the right thing?" In the past, they would only say that she killed without reason, that she treated lives as if they were worthless.
"Yes, Chun Er and Lv He, who came in with me, were killed by Eunuch Yu." Hong Chou pinched her own thigh, trying to calm down, her desire for life sharpening her senses as she grasped at something, "Even if I have to die, Hong Chou is still grateful to you, Commandery Princess."
Zheng Nianru almost wanted to laugh; the palace maid before her didn't seem to be lying, nor did she have any reason to lie, and she hadn't planned to spare her.
But why not spare her? Wasn't she supposed to make some changes? So instead of killing them all, she decided to start by leaving one alive.
"I will also give you a chance, get out of here—"
Hong Chou couldn't believe her ears, but her limbs reacted faster than her brain, clumsily scrambling out of the courtyard, not minding that her body was already soaked through with the snow.
...
Qi Ling and Qi Zhu sensed that something was different, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what had changed.
The Crown Prince was as busy as ever. Due to the Emperor's fluctuating illness, the Crown Prince had been vigilant for three days and nights until the illness somewhat stabilized. Then he immediately dealt with the towering pile of memorials. The unexpected cold snap bringing a decade's worst snowfall crushed the homes of thousands, and the disaster relief was not going smoothly. In the midst of this critical moment, the Empress concocted the idea of renovating Dharma Temple, resulting in countless memorials of remonstrance fluttering into the Crown Prince's Mansion like snowflakes. Furthermore, there were numerous affairs from the Nanzheng State all intertwined together.
The lights of the Crown Prince's Mansion shone all night long, and the Crown Prince was like a spinning top, his daily sleep not exceeding two Shichen Chinese Time.
Steward Hu was somewhat anxious; the blisters on his mouth were caused by worrying over the Crown Prince, who was indeed working too hard.
They, as servants, couldn't alleviate any of his worries.
Qi Jin and Qi Yu felt somewhat wronged; no matter how much they tried to advise, the Crown Prince wouldn't listen, and as servants, they didn't dare to press the matter.
It seemed that the Commandery Princess hadn't visited for quite some time; if she were to come, she would surely get the Crown Prince to put down his memorials and rest.
But why hasn't the Commandery Princess come?