Truthfully, the Emperor deserved no small share of the credit. He had given power to both of them, yet doted exclusively on one, provoking the other’s resentment. Step by step the rift deepened, and with someone stirring the pot on top of that, it was no surprise the situation had come to this.
The women of the inner palace rarely had political minds. In their scramble for favor they spared no effort, but seldom considered the bigger picture — so much so that the two families who had secretly thrown in their lot with Prince Xi were both dragged down with them. The Emperor did not even need to lift a finger; it was the Empress Dowager’s decree that did it.
If Yuwen Xi found out, he would probably be furious to death.
Two consorts of high rank in the palace had fallen once more. Consort De now held sole power, and with her pregnancy, anyone with eyes could see she was the most likely candidate to become Empress.
So one by one, those who had once snubbed her in the palace came crawling back with apologies. Some sent lavish gifts, some spoke sweet words to curry favor, some feigned pity. To sum it up, the gist of it all was — “Consort De, you’re a generous and magnanimous person. Life in the palace hasn’t been easy. Whatever wrongs we did while following those two mistresses before, please don’t take it to heart.”
Hua Chun did not push anyone away. Whatever gifts people sent, she accepted. As for whether she listened to their words, that was another matter entirely.
With Noble Consort Wu gone, the Empress Dowager’s attitude toward Hua Chun had grown rather awkward. Though she knew Hua Chun held a grudge against her, Hua Chun was carrying the sole imperial heir, so there was little the Empress Dowager could do. The only thing she could manage was to avoid her — better for everyone that way.
And so Hua Chun settled into a fairly comfortable stretch of days. She dealt with all the aftermath of the Noble Consort Shu and Noble Consort Wu affair, sealed off news within the palace, and forbade anyone from discussing it. After that, she began spending her days tending to the Emperor as he recovered.
The assassin had not been caught, and the Emperor was somewhat furious over it. But with Huo Zichong still away and the newly appointed Captain of the Guard proving of little use, he could only stay silent.
When He Chang’an entered the palace to pay his respects, palace attendants led him halfway there into a secluded corner of the imperial garden.
“Marquis.” Madam Tang’s eyes glistened with tears, the corners of her mouth lifting as she looked at him. “I have done everything within my power. Are you not the slightest bit pleased?”
What? He Chang’an frowned, watching her with wariness.
He remembered clearly Madam Tang’s earlier attitude and the words she had said — she had clearly held a grudge against him. How had things flipped so suddenly, turning into her trying to please him?
“If Consort Zhaoyi has something to say, please say it plainly,” he said. “This official cannot linger long.”
Madam Tang’s eyes were full of tenderness as she pressed her lips together and looked at him. “Do you still not understand, even now? Ning’er attached herself to Noble Consort Shu, let Xu and Wu’s families fight each other, and the Emperor profited from it — all so that you would be pleased!”
His body gave a start. He Chang’an’s gaze shifted, and he leaned against the palace wall beside him with a light, mocking laugh. “This Marquis never asked the Consort to do such a thing.”
“I know, it was my own foolish infatuation.” Her eyes dimmed, and Tang Guning pressed her lips together. “Things have come to this — Ning’er can no longer serve at the Marquis’s side. But if the Marquis could remember Ning’er, Ning’er would have no regrets.”
With that, she bowed to He Chang’an, then turned and ran off as though weeping.
He Chang’an frowned, watching her retreating figure for a long moment before continuing on toward Zichen Hall.
“Second Brother, you’ve arrived?” Hua Chun was hanging something up, taking down the curtain at the partition and replacing it with strings of colorful paper cranes, her mood clearly excellent.
He Chang’an’s face went pale with fright. “You — get down quickly, why are you standing on a stool?”
Qing Niao, steadying the stool, sighed. “Your Highness said the paper cranes only work if she folds and hangs them with her own hands. The servants simply cannot stop her.”
“Get down.” He Chang’an frowned and reached out a hand. Hua Chun startled, then used his sleeve for support and hopped down to the ground, grinning. “Second Brother, there’s no need to be so nervous. I’m only a little over four months along — it’s not heavy yet, nowhere near the point of needing bed rest. A bit of climbing and moving around now and then is actually good for the body.”
“It’s too dangerous.” He Chang’an pressed his lips together. “With what happened to Noble Consort Wu as a warning, you should be all the more careful.”
Hua Chun pouted. She had recently been so busy she’d almost forgotten she was pregnant at all. Hadn’t she even fetched water to cool the Emperor’s fever last time? And personally brewed his medicine, too. Back in modern times, plenty of heavily pregnant women walked the streets as if it were nothing — ancient royalty was far too delicate about it.
“By the way, Second Brother, have you come to pay respects to His Majesty?” Hua Chun asked.
He Chang’an came back to himself and nodded. “Yes.”
If she hadn’t mentioned it, he would have nearly forgotten.
Hua Chun hurriedly lifted the hanging paper cranes aside, revealing the Emperor inside, half-reclined against the headboard, his gaze deep as he watched the two of them.
There was no telling how long he had been watching.
Clearing his throat twice, He Chang’an smiled and entered to pay his respects. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Rise.” Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together. “If you hadn’t spoken, We would have thought you’d come to pay respects to Consort De.”
Quite the whiff of jealousy there. He Chang’an raised an eyebrow and laughed softly. “This official has naturally come to report to you. The people from the Xu and Wu families struggled a bit, but by now those who should be demoted have been demoted, and those who should be dismissed have been dismissed — everyone is back in their proper place. This official’s suggestion is to promote those below them; there’s no need to spend more effort selecting new people.”
“Mm.” The Emperor nodded. “Just promote whoever you trust.”
He Chang’an agreed, then, thinking of Madam Tang, couldn’t help but ask, “What does Your Majesty intend to do about Consort Zhaoyi Tang?”
“She hasn’t done anything wrong — why would We punish her?” said the Emperor. “If anything, she should be rewarded.”
Hua Chun did not object. The Emperor was right — Madam Tang had indeed contributed enormously to egging on Noble Consort Shu’s downfall. Noble Consort Shu’s current fate owed much to her efforts.
And Madam Tang truly was formidable. As Noble Consort Shu came crashing down, she had emerged completely unscathed, without so much as a speck of dust on her — and had even gained Noble Consort Shu’s gratitude by putting on a show of desperately trying to save her.
Yet in truth she had done nothing at all. Behind the scenes, she had even leaked to Hua Chun some of the things Noble Consort Shu had done before, seemingly trying to curry favor with her.
As for this kind of person whose bottom she couldn’t fathom, Hua Chun wanted nothing to do with her. Though Madam Tang was of common birth, she seemed to possess an extraordinary talent for palace scheming — Hua Chun had no interest in provoking her.
He Chang’an frowned. He had originally sent Madam Tang in to serve as a blade for the Emperor’s use. Now that the goal had been achieved, was the Emperor still planning to keep in the palace someone who wouldn’t even spare Hua Chun?
He couldn’t make sense of it. Could it really be that he had wronged Madam Tang, and she truly had been acting according to the Emperor’s wishes all along, for their sake?
Recalling what Madam Tang had just said, He Chang’an fell silent.
In truth the Emperor was not a soft-hearted man. He had originally intended to find a pretext to deal with Madam Tang right away, to spare himself future trouble. But ever since Noble Consort Shu had been sent to the cold palace, Madam Tang had seemed like a changed person, repeatedly coming to Hua Chun to express her sincerity, insisting that everything she’d done before had been in service of this very outcome, that she’d had no choice, that in her heart she still cared for the Marquis, and it was for his sake that she now helped Hua Chun.
Given that the result she’d achieved genuinely satisfied the Emperor, Yuwen Jie was in no hurry to punish her — better to keep her around a while longer and watch. If anything went wrong, it wouldn’t be too late to deal with her then. Otherwise, it really would smack of killing the donkey once the millstone was done.
He Chang’an sighed, glanced at Hua Chun, and said, “As long as Your Highness takes care of yourself, this official will take his leave.”
“Farewell, Second Brother.” Hua Chun smiled and nodded, watching him bow once more to the Emperor before respectfully withdrawing.
Yuwen Jie’s mood was not particularly good. He looked at Hua Chun and said, “Rest early tonight. You haven’t slept well for several nights running.”
“Have I not?” Hua Chun blinked. “I feel like I fall asleep quite quickly.”
Falling asleep quickly, yes — but not a single night’s dreams had been good ones, her brow furrowed into near-permanent creases. The Emperor sighed inwardly; he had no idea how to comfort her, because during the day Hua Chun always smiled, seeming as though nothing were wrong at all. If not for how distressed she was at night, he might have been fooled by her too.
As for the matter of Madam Wan, no one dared bring it up again. He didn’t know how long it would take her to truly get past it.
“Tonight this concubine will sleep back at Yangxin Hall,” Hua Chun said. “The bed at Zichen Hall is too soft — I’m not used to it.”
“Not afraid to sleep alone?” The Emperor raised an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes. “You make it sound like you always sleep beside me. Haven’t I slept alone most of these many days already? What is there to be afraid of?”
The Emperor pressed his lips together. “Very well, then.”
Hua Chun curtsied, turned to fiddle with the paper cranes hanging at the doorway for a moment, then left with Qing Niao’s hand supporting her.
Having the Emperor’s protection was certainly a good thing, but she couldn’t always hide in his embrace forever — that would be far too spineless.
She’d caught wind that someone wanted to give her a taste of trouble. Well then, she would come out alone and see just how good a show it made. Being pregnant might dull a person’s wits somewhat, but when it came to dealing with this group of women, she still had plenty to spare.
The moment she returned to Yangxin Hall, Madam Tang arrived, brow tightly furrowed. “Your Highness, why did you have to come back? Wasn’t it fine staying at Zichen Hall?”
Hua Chun smiled faintly. “His Majesty must be growing tired of looking at this big-bellied woman all the time. Better to come back.”
“But—” Madam Tang pressed her lips together, hesitated a moment, then leaned close and said in a low voice, “There are still people in this palace who can’t stand the sight of you. Who knows what mischief they might stir up.”
“Thank you for the warning,” Hua Chun said. “No need to worry. It’s getting late — you should head back and rest early too.”
Madam Tang sighed, her face full of reluctance, but in the end she could only rise and leave.
“My lady, that woman really does seem like she’s trying to attach herself to you,” Rui’er said after watching her go for a while.
Hua Chun tilted her head, smiling without answering. Beside her, Qing Niao said, “His Majesty said he dislikes people forming factions. Naturally our lady wouldn’t form a clique with anyone.”
“That’s true enough, but having someone’s help in this palace still isn’t a bad thing,” Rui’er muttered under her breath. “What she just said sounded like she was warning my lady about something.”
“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded. “Warning me about tonight — this palace already knows. The two of you don’t need to keep watch tonight. Go get a good rest, and whatever sounds you hear, don’t come out. I have hidden guards nearby — that will be enough.”
Qing Niao frowned. “Even this servant should go rest?”
“Especially you, understood?” Lowering her voice, Hua Chun said, “Your courage is smaller than anyone’s — don’t go pushing yourself.”
Qing Niao fell silent, then could only nod. “Yes.”