Chapter 113: Unpredictable

Chapter 113: Unpredictable

Jiang Hui placed the honey water on the table and asked Qiukui, "In your opinion, who would have the motive to harm Lady Luo?"

Qiukui frowned in thought, then slowly said, "The Empress, Consort De, Lady Sun, Lady Wan..."

She looked up at Jiang Hui and continued, "...and you."

"Correct," Jiang Hui nodded in agreement, "Those with children might not want her to bear a prince, the favored ones wouldn’t want her to rise through childbirth, and as for Lady Sun, she may lack children and favor, but she is the person behind Lady Wan."

"But setting Consort De aside, the Empress probably wouldn't do such a thing," Qiukui whispered.

It wasn't that Consort De was kind-hearted, but rather, her usual behavior didn’t align with orchestrating such a discreet plot.

As for the Empress, since the birth of Princess Huayang, she had devoted herself to being a virtuous mother of the nation. Lady Luo was officially under her command, and even if the Empress wanted to harm her, she would likely redirect the blame to Jiang Hui. However, even if successful, it wouldn't be fatal to Jiang Hui, who has a son and a daughter. It would, at most, result in Jiang Hui’s demotion. If exposed, the Empress herself might have to step down.

"Lady Wan..." Qiukui continued, "Since her confinement, she hasn't shown any progress, either genuinely naive or feigning it to use Lady Sun. Though Lady Luo is also favored, with new concubines entering the palace, harming her might not necessarily benefit Lady Wan..."

Jiang Hui nodded and softly asked, "What about Lady Sun?"

"Lady Sun, due to her appearance, has almost no chance of promotion and is likely to end up in the commoner's temple. If she wishes to avoid this, she needs to find an opportunity to rise in rank and adopt a child. Currently, she's wholly devoted to advising Lady Wan, probably already planning... If she acts against Lady Luo, ‘under the Empress’ command,’ it might be for Lady Wan’s sake..."

Qiukui paused, then added, "But this would also displease the Empress, making it harder for her to smoothly adopt a child."

"Indeed," Jiang Hui nodded, then suddenly asked, "Since others are less likely, from Lady Luo’s perspective, could I possibly harm her?"

"You..." Qiukui fell silent for a moment, then finally said, "Not only do you have children, but you've also covertly used Lady Luo for some tasks. She... she might suspect you’re trying to silence her."

Wan Song, who had been quietly listening, interjected softly, "But my lady hasn’t sent too many ginseng to Jinlan Garden, nor hinted at Lady Luo to consume more nourishing food, nor bribed the Imperial Physician. How could Lady Luo suspect my lady?"

"That’s why she’s hesitant, following the message I sent her in the second year of the Jianzhao reign, not making any moves for now," Jiang Hui concluded.

In the second year of Jiànzhào, Jiang Hui had instructed both Xue and Luo to act in a certain way and, if uncertain about anything afterward, to remain inactive and be prepared for others' probing.

She picked up a freshly inserted begonia flower from the white glazed plum vase with black patterns, took scissors from Wan Men's hand, and snipped off a branch before tossing it out of the window, saying indifferently, "This is the Emperor’s doing."

"The Emperor?!" Both Autumn Kui and Wan Men exclaimed in surprise.

"Mistress means…" Autumn Kui was the first to realize, "The agarwood incident from the second year of Jiànzhào?"

Jiang Hui didn’t answer Autumn Kui, her gaze was serene as she mused, "Once the agarwood was discovered, naturally, Lady Luo, who drew his attention to it, wouldn’t be overlooked."

Since the Emperor had focused on the agarwood and Lady Lin Ping's inquiries into Prince Xing's mansion, he would naturally suspect the Empress first. But he would also doubt Lady Luo, who had requested the agarwood from him. If Lady Luo did it unintentionally, it's fine, but if intentional… he would surely try to uncover the person behind her.

Given the current palace dynamics, Lady Luo's closeness to the Empress was no secret. If the Empress had harmed the Dowager Empress, she wouldn’t let Lady Luo mention the agarwood in front of the Emperor. Thus, there were two possibilities—

One, Lady Luo didn’t know about the Empress’s secret acts against the Dowager Empress, and her mention of agarwood was mere coincidence;

Two, someone else was manipulating Lady Luo to mention agarwood, drawing the Emperor's attention to the Empress. If so, the person who secretly harmed the Dowager Empress was likely not the Empress.

Therefore, the Emperor began his probing with Lady Luo’s pregnancy.

He ordered the Imperial Physician to prescribe ginseng soup for her nourishment. The physician naturally complied and wouldn’t speak out of turn.

He was waiting, waiting for Lady Luo to become paranoid and slip up, and also waiting to see if there was indeed another person behind her, whether to advise her or to take the opportunity to silence her.

If Jiang Hui hadn’t considered this, regardless of whether she was trying to save or harm Lady Luo, it would eventually be noticed by the Emperor.

"We need to do nothing, just pretend to be unaware of this matter," Jiang Hui said, trimming the begonia flower until only the main stem and a few lonely blossoms remained, placing it back in the vase with a slight smile.

"But…" Although Wan Men was unaware of the Dowager Empress's incident, she knew about Lady Luo and the agarwood, hesitatingly saying, "If so, why doesn’t the Emperor directly question Lady Luo?"

Jiang Hui didn’t answer, but Autumn Kui did, saying, "Because Lady Luo, for the slim chance of survival for herself and her unborn child, won’t admit she deliberately led the Emperor. And even if she did confess, how can it be certain she isn't falsely accusing someone? After all, she is publicly under the Empress's command."

Wan Men solemnly nodded and asked the last question, "Mistress, what if Lady Luo fails to see through this plot and suspects you of silencing her, or secretly seeks your help? How should we respond?"

"Since Lady Luo heeded my advice, it shows she's intelligent and knows the matter isn’t that simple," Jiang Hui replied, her eyes reflecting calm understanding. "When a situation becomes overly complex, smart people usually only consider the most apparent layer."

"Ordinarily, a pregnant consort suspecting someone of harming her unborn child would first seek help from the Emperor or the Empress."

"If she's not that clever, then it's just the Emperor discovering my involvement, and then…" Jiang Hui sat back in her chair, a hand supporting her cheek, musing, "…I can just return to being the peaceful Princess Anning and leave this troublesome palace!"

"Mistress!" Autumn Kui and Wan Men rushed to her side, one grabbing her hand, the other holding her arm, unable to voice their concerns.