The Empress Dowager nodded. “The marquis speaks with reason. With my son away from the capital, the back palace mustn’t drag things down.”

She finished, then turned to look at those kneeling below. “This palace understands perfectly well what petty schemes you’ve been up to. The marquis witnessed it with his own eyes — there’s surely no mistake. Consort De has always kept a low profile and behaved properly in the palace, yet you actually bullied her to this extent. If this rule isn’t enforced, how will superior and inferior ever be kept in order in this palace going forward? Come — thirty strokes for Attendant Duan, twenty for the rest. Carry it out in the outer courtyard.”

“Yes!” The palace attendants acknowledged the order and began hauling the group away one by one.

“Empress Dowager!” Madam Tang frowned. “This concubine didn’t lay a hand on anyone — I was only passing by and watching. Must I be punished the same as them too?”

Nominally, she was still counted as Marquis Gongyu’s person. Now that he was the one bringing the charge, would she really be punished right along with the others?

The Empress Dowager hesitated, unsure, and looked to He Chang’an for his opinion.

He Chang’an lowered his eyes. He’d long known this woman would stir up trouble wherever she went — otherwise he wouldn’t have handed her over to the ruler in the first place. A blade could cut both ways, and this one might well wound Hua Chun too.

“This official ought not to interfere in back-palace matters.” He cupped his hands toward the Empress Dowager and said in a low voice. “But if some overstepped their place while others stood by and watched coldly, their positions were still the same, so they ought to be punished together as well. That is this official’s suggestion — as for what the Empress Dowager decides, this official would not presume to comment further.”

Well spoken — with words like that, of course the Empress Dowager would have to punish her! Madam Tang ground her teeth, glaring resentfully at He Chang’an. She hadn’t expected him to be this ruthless — willing to offend so many people for the sake of one woman from the Hua family. Setting aside herself, who had no backing to speak of, none of the other families involved were exactly low-standing either!

Noble Concubine Xu was resentful too, but she knew there was no fighting someone with far more power, and could only follow the attendants out in glum silence.

Hua Chun watched coldly, cradling her belly, as they were pressed down onto rows of benches. Because there were so many of them, it took quite some effort just to bring out enough benches and rods, and soon the sound of overlapping wails rose up like some kind of chorus.

Twenty strokes of the rod — the force used for punishments in the back palace wasn’t as heavy as in the outer court, but it was still more than these delicate women could easily bear. Hua Chun watched with quiet satisfaction, feeling considerably more at ease. Having strong backing really did make things simple — getting justice was as easy as this.

Noble Concubine Wu stood off to the side, hand on her belly, expression calm, as if the people being beaten below had nothing to do with her side at all. Watching the cries grow from loud and forceful to faint and weak, she smiled faintly. “This beating should keep the palace quiet for a good while.”

The Empress Dowager glanced at her and said, “You needn’t trouble yourself over this. Just focus on taking care of your health.”

“Yes.” Noble Concubine Wu bowed her head, then glanced at Hua Chun with a composed expression.

Hua Chun pressed her lips together, hesitating over whether she should take this chance, with He Chang’an also present, to tell the Empress Dowager about her own pregnancy.

But on second thought — if the Empress Dowager found out now, she certainly wouldn’t let her leave the palace, and might even keep her at Huiming Hall. Noble Concubine Wu was no simple character; that would surely bring no small amount of trouble.

Better to wait until the Emperor returned. By then her belly would be obvious enough that there’d be no hiding it anyway.

So she kept silent, watching the punishment continue outside.

Once the beating was finished, several of the women had passed out, whether genuinely or not was hard to say. The attendants carried them off one by one. The Empress Dowager looked kindly at Marquis Gongyu. “Shouldn’t the marquis be escorting Consort De out of the palace now?”

“Yes.” He Chang’an rose and bowed. “Many thanks, Empress Dowager.”

“No need for thanks.” The Empress Dowager smiled. “With His Majesty away from the capital these days, the court affairs will fall more heavily on your shoulders.”

Satisfied, she waved a hand, and Hua Chun withdrew together with Marquis Gongyu.

“Is your body alright?” Once outside Huiming Hall, He Chang’an frowned at her. “That was a hard fall.”

Hua Chun smiled and shook her head. “No problems that I can feel for now. Let’s get out of the palace first.”

Qing Niao brought over the wooden wheelchair, and Hua Chun rode comfortably all the way out of the back palace. Marquis Gongyu’s carriage was already waiting at the gate.

“Rui’er’s gone to pack up our things — we’ll go ahead, she’ll catch up.”

Hua Chun nodded and climbed into the carriage with him, finally letting out a breath of relief.

They should be safe now that they were out of the back palace, right?

“I’m sorry.” He Chang’an said, a little regretfully. “I should have gone over sooner — you wouldn’t have had to suffer as much.”

Startled for a moment, Hua Chun smiled and shook her head. “What’s there to apologize for? No one’s a fortune-teller. With His Majesty away, it’s already my good fortune that Second Brother is here to look after me.”

“I’ll take good care of you.” He Chang’an said earnestly.

Hua Chun smiled, then remembered something and asked him, “That Madam Tang — why did she seem a bit odd? Isn’t she your person?”

“No.” He Chang’an frowned. “I sent her into the palace because I saw she wasn’t the type to keep out of trouble — a blade to use against the Emperor. I just didn’t expect her to bear such hostility toward you too.”

A blade to use? Hua Chun was puzzled for a moment before a flash of understanding hit her.

Now that she thought about it, though Madam Tang came from a poor, unconnected family, she was good at working people. In all her time in the palace, she’d never openly made an enemy of anyone — she’d stayed hidden behind Consort Shu like a fox, egging her into all sorts of schemes and stirring up plenty of trouble. She was a proper blade indeed. Whatever the Emperor had said to her, Madam Tang had at least managed to get Consort Shu to clear out the troublesome idlers of the back palace — the ones who’d made enemies were Consort Shu and the Xu family, while the Emperor came away entirely unscathed.

“Well, I suppose she has her uses.” Hua Chun said. “Her hostility toward me… is just part of going along with the back-palace tide, I suppose. It won’t cause too much harm. I’ll be more careful of her from now on.”

“Mm.” He Chang’an nodded, and once back at the residence, had someone examine her first to confirm the baby was fine before sending for Madam Wan to come see her daughter.

Things were warm and lively on this side, but the palace was shrouded in gloom.

Noble Concubine Xu lay sprawled on her bed, crying for a long while, then said through gritted teeth, “One way or another, we’re settling this score with her!”

“Settling it how?” Noble Concubine Wu rolled her eyes irritably. “Aren’t you all a bunch of fools? With the marquis protecting her, you all still went and stuck your necks right into the line of fire. Couldn’t you have picked something a little more subtle?”

“What options do we even have left now?” Noble Concubine Xu said, sulking. “We thought that before she left the palace, we’d push Attendant Duan forward as a shield to test whether she’s pregnant — if she was, we’d get rid of it, and if not, Attendant Duan would just be blamed for overstepping her place and take the fall alone. Who knew Marquis Gongyu would suddenly appear and pull everyone in, not even sparing Madam Tang.”

“Hmph, what’s Madam Tang even worth? Just a pawn. How could she compare to his own little sister?” Noble Concubine Wu sneered. “Use your head a little. If the open approach doesn’t work, why not turn to the shadows?”

Noble Concubine Xu blinked, looking up at her blankly. “The shadows?”

“Just wait and see.” Noble Concubine Wu curled her lips. “All this petty scheming of yours won’t amount to a fraction of what this palace can do with a single move.”

A pregnancy — if Consort De really did have one, it would be her talisman of protection; no matter what wrongs she committed, it wouldn’t be enough to warrant death. The same was true for Noble Concubine Wu, except her pregnancy was confirmed, while Consort De’s was still only suspected.

And besides, pregnancies were also a matter of timing.

For no reason at all, a chill ran down her spine, and Hua Chun turned to glance back at the courtyard.

“What’s wrong?” Madam Wan held her arm, following her gaze back. “Do you want to keep walking?”

“No.” Lowering her eyes, Hua Chun said, “I just have the feeling that someone’s got their eye on me.”

Madam Wan paused, immediately putting on a worried expression. “You’re Consort De now, and pregnant besides — how could you not draw attention? I truly worry for you. Why don’t you just have the baby here and go back afterward?”

“That’s not possible.” Hua Chun laughed helplessly. “Once His Majesty returns, I’ll have to go back to the palace.”

“Ah, the back palace is no place for people.” Madam Wan patted her thigh, looking at her with distress. “Is there anything you want to eat? Tell me, I’ll go prepare it for you right now.”

She’d already had her fill of all the various medicinal dishes for expectant mothers in the palace. Hua Chun smacked her lips. “I want to eat fried potatoes.”

“Huh?” Madam Wan looked at her, at a loss. “What’s that?”

“Just potatoes cut into chunks, fried in oil, then tossed with seasoning!”

Madam Wan blinked, and her expression grew even more worried. “You want something spicy?”

Hua Chun nodded. “What’s wrong with that? Should be fine to eat, right?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Madam Wan frowned. “But they say sour cravings mean a boy, spicy cravings mean a girl…”

Startled for a moment, Hua Chun then laughed. “Don’t be so superstitious. What a child craves has no real connection to its gender. Besides, even if it’s a daughter, wouldn’t that be just as wonderful?”

“What’s wonderful about that.” Madam Wan deflated. “You suffered so much before precisely because you were born a girl. Now there are others in the palace who are pregnant too — if you have a daughter first and they have sons, the difference in treatment will be night and day. You won’t feel good about that either.”

Thinking it over, Hua Chun said, “The Empress Dowager does favor sons somewhat, it’s true. But this child is mine and His Majesty’s — as long as the two of us don’t mind, that’s what matters. Besides… Mother, I’m honestly grateful I was born a woman this time. Otherwise, dragging His Majesty into being with a man would have been quite the challenge.”

“Being with a… what?” Madam Wan looked blank.

“Never mind. Anyway, if it turns out to be a daughter, you don’t need to be too disappointed either. I’ll raise her well.” Hua Chun grinned and patted her hand.

Madam Wan, helpless, nodded in agreement and went off to prepare the legendary fried potatoes.

On the surface she went along with Hua Chun’s talk of not minding whether it was a boy or girl, but behind her back Madam Wan still secretly kept offerings to the Bodhisattva who grants sons, using every folk remedy she could find to pray for a boy this time.

It wasn’t that Hua Chun hadn’t noticed, but seeing how much thought and effort Madam Wan put into it, she didn’t have the heart to say anything. Still, this at least showed her it was a good thing she hadn’t rushed to tell the Empress Dowager about the pregnancy — otherwise, with daily pressure to produce a son, she might well have ended up with a difficult labor.

With so many people leaving the palace to visit family, and Yanjing being large but not large enough to avoid running into people while out shopping, Hua Chun mostly stayed indoors, letting Madam Wan do the running around outside.