For Ling Jingshu, this was nothing short of an unwarranted calamity, and in her heart she began to harbor a measure of resentment and discontent toward the Crown Grandson.

She had long since made her position clear, never speaking ambiguously or leaving room for misunderstanding; she could honestly say there was nothing in her conduct that should have led him to misread her.

Having married Jiang Rongyue in such a grand wedding, he ought to respect and cherish his own wife, rather than cling to lingering feelings for her and humiliate Jiang Rongyue in front of everyone.

This act of his had also thrust her into a predicament where no amount of explanation could clear her name.

Her heart was full of frustration, yet she had nowhere to voice it.

Moreover, this kind of matter only grew murkier the more one tried to explain it, darker the more one tried to clarify it. The best course of action was to turn a deaf ear and feign ignorance, waiting for this wave of rumors to pass so it would naturally die down on its own.

Of course, this process would not be quick — it would take at least a month or two to endure…

The peony blooming season was nearly upon them, and the hundred-some pots of peonies in the Peony House all required careful tending. She had to busy herself there every day, which conveniently let her avoid the swirling rumors.

As she loosened the soil and trimmed the branches and leaves of the peonies, Ling Jingshu mused, making the best of a bitter situation.

Soon, her gaze fell upon one particular pot of peonies.

It was a two-colored peony, also known as Luoyang Brocade.

The palace certainly had no shortage of skilled peony cultivators — growing such multicolored peonies was an extremely complex process, requiring grafting and pruning the previous August. Once planted, they needed constant careful tending, or else they would hardly survive.

Back in Dingzhou, Ling Jingshu had once cultivated just such a Luoyang Brocade — a peony that bloomed in two colors on a single plant, with large blossoms of vivid, dazzling color, a rare treasure among peonies. She had never expected, after taking charge of the Peony House, to encounter this rare variety again, and could not help but feel a particular fondness for it.

In recent days, she had taken extra care of this particular pot of Luoyang Brocade — loosening the soil, catching pests, trimming branches, and moving it back and forth — all done with her own hands.

This pot of Luoyang Brocade was indeed thriving beautifully. Not only were its leaves lush and green, but it had also formed five or six buds, each one noticeably larger than usual.

“Official Ling, these few pots of peonies should be moved outside for some sun, shouldn’t they! Let this servant handle the heavy work — Official Ling really mustn’t trouble yourself.” Hongmei came over, her smile eager and obliging.

Flattering those above and trampling those below was only human nature. Ever since the rumors had spread through the palace, Hongmei’s attitude toward Ling Jingshu had grown increasingly warm.

Ling Jingshu felt a bit of distaste inside, though she did not let it show, and said with a faint smile: “No need. These few pots are rare treasures, and the blooming season is nearly here. Whether they can make a fine showing at the flower-viewing banquet this year depends on how well they bloom. I need to tend them myself, without leaving it to anyone else. Go on and loosen the soil for the peonies outside together with Bai Yu and Qiao Yun.”

Hongmei, somewhat abashed, acknowledged the order and left.

Once Hongmei had gone, Ling Jingshu quickly drew a porcelain vial from a hidden pocket in her sleeve, carefully parted several of the small buds, dripped medicine into each one in turn, then capped the vial and put it away in a far corner.

The whole series of motions was swift and precise, completed within just a few breaths.

These past few days, she had kept this porcelain vial hidden on her person the whole time. Even Bai Yu knew nothing of it.

Having finished all this, Ling Jingshu let out a small breath of relief, quietly calculating the days in her mind. In a little over twenty more days, these buds would grow large and bloom. This vial of medicine would last just about long enough to see them through to flowering.

No sooner had she put the vial away than Bai Yu hurried in, her expression carrying a strange sort of excitement: “Miss, just now a palace maid came by and told me about something quite extraordinary.”

Ling Jingshu composed herself and looked at Bai Yu with a smile: “Oh? What kind of extraordinary thing?”

Bai Yu said with a low laugh: “I heard that a palace maid in Lingbo Hall has secretly formed a ‘paired meal’ arrangement with a eunuch.”

Eunuchs were men who had been castrated, and any maid with a bit of self-respect would be unwilling to form such a “paired meal” bond with one. Still, some maids, finding palace life too lonely to bear, would privately form such bonds with eunuchs of higher standing.

Such matters were, in truth, nothing unusual within the palace. Even if discovered by their masters, they were rarely looked into.

Having spent several months in the palace, Ling Jingshu had picked up plenty of “worldly knowledge” herself. Hearing this, she laughed indifferently: “That’s nothing unusual either — why has it caused such an uproar?”

Bai Yu seemed to find it somewhat hard to say, her pretty face flushing slightly.

Ling Jingshu’s curiosity was instantly piqued: “What exactly happened? Why did you stop halfway through?”

Bai Yu, blushing, said in a low voice: “It’s really too embarrassing — this servant is too shy to say it.”

“I heard that maid is quite pretty, and she normally serves close by Her Highness the Consort. That eunuch is also someone of standing in Lingbo Hall. The two of them often interacted, and no one thought much of it. But who would have guessed — last night, that eunuch secretly slipped into the maid’s room and did… did some intimate things with her, pretending at something they could never truly be, and the noise gave them away. They were caught red-handed.”

Bai Yu’s face grew redder and redder as she spoke, her voice dropping lower and lower: “It’s said that when they were discovered, both of them had already shed most of their clothes, embracing each other in a most unseemly way, with no chance to deny it. When Her Highness the Consort found out, she was extremely angry and had both of them given a beating with the paddle. After a beating like that, they’ll surely need to lie in bed for at least five or six days before they can get up.”

“A thing like this can’t be hidden no matter how hard you try — and sure enough, in less than half a day, it had already spread everywhere.”

Good news never travels, but bad news spreads a thousand miles — all the more so for such a scandalous, romantic affair.

Even Bai Yu, who never cared for gossip, could not resist coming to tell Ling Jingshu about it after hearing the news.

Ling Jingshu let out a brief laugh of disbelief before cautioning her: “A thing like this spreading around certainly doesn’t sound good, and it does damage Her Highness the Consort’s reputation. We can’t control what others say, but you and Qiao Yun shouldn’t go around repeating it like everyone else.”

Wei Jieyu had always treated her generously; they certainly should not join in kicking someone while they were down.

Bai Yu quickly answered with a smile: “Even without Miss’s instruction, this servant knows what’s proper.”

After a pause, she added with evident relief: “This servant has been worrying these past few days — the rumors about Miss have been spreading so wildly, with no telling when they’d ever die down. Luckily, this new incident has come along to draw everyone’s attention away.”

Bai Yu’s careless remark, however, set something stirring in Ling Jingshu’s heart.

Just as the rumors about her were at their height, this juicy “scandal” had suddenly emerged from Lingbo Hall, spreading throughout the palace in less than half a day and drawing everyone’s attention away.

What in this world could be such a convenient coincidence?

Could it be that this had been secretly arranged by Wei Jieyu?

There was no better way to quell one rumor than to manufacture another, even more sensational one — and this was a scandalous affair caught red-handed by eyewitnesses, far more vivid and convincing than baseless speculation.