Chapter 144: The Praying Mantis

Chapter 144: The Praying Mantis

Qiu Kui, speaking for her mistress, said, "What's your name, and what exactly happened? Start from the beginning."

The maid, kowtowing, replied, "Empress, my name is Xiao Ting. In the second year of Jianzhao, Consort Sun gifted a 'Child-Giving Guanyin' painting she had personally drawn to celebrate my mistress’s birthday. My mistress loved it and hung it by her bed, but just now..."

Wiping tears from her eyes, she choked out, "Just now, my mistress grabbed my hand and said there was something wrong with that painting, that picture!"

Before Consort Sun could speak, her maid Hua Mei scolded, "Audacious servant! What nonsense are you spouting! That painting was gifted to Concubine Wan long ago. Why would it only cause trouble now?"

Xiao Ting shrank back at the scolding, crying, "I don't know, but I beg the Empress to thoroughly investigate this matter. My mistress’s difficult labor was not natural! Also, I once saw Xiao Die secretly speaking with Consort Sun's maid Hua Mei; perhaps Consort Sun bribed Xiao Die to harm my mistress!"

Jiang Hui instructed the midwife to take the newborn fourth prince to the wet nurse and ordered the imperial physician to examine the painting in the main room. Then, she heard Sun Baolin say, "I never would have thought, despite Consort Sun and Concubine Wan being so close, calling each other sisters, that she could be so cruel!"

Consort Sun, maintaining her composure, didn't acknowledge Sun Baolin but knelt before Jiang Hui, pleading, "Empress, your wisdom sees through all. I never did such a thing! The 'Child-Giving Guanyin' painting was gifted to Sister Feng three years ago. If there was any poison in it, not only would it have caused harm before, but also any toxin would have lost its potency over such a long time. How could it possibly harm Sister Feng now!"

Consort De, sitting idly by, casually commented, "That's not necessarily true. We should wait for the imperial physician to examine it."

Consort Sun remembered how Consort De had mocked her as a mere concubine when she first entered the palace; she remembered it vividly. This opportunity to speak her mind was too good to miss!

"Indeed," Sun Baolin said with a lifted eyebrow, agreeing, "And that maid, Xiao Die, should also be interrogated."

Consort He, however, sat quietly aside, not speaking, but her gaze on Consort Sun was filled with regret.

Soon, Xiaodie was brought in; her temples were sweaty, her face panicked. She glanced at Consort Sun, knelt down, and trembled, "I greet the Empress and all the masters here."

Jiang Hui glanced at her and commanded, "Take Huamei away."

"Yes," Shan Zha responded, leading Huamei, who was behind Consort Sun, out of the room.

Qiu Kui then asked Xiaodie, "Xiaodie, Xiaoting said you secretly spoke with Huamei beside Consort Sun. What did you talk about?"

Before Xiaodie could answer, Qiu Kui added, "If you don't speak truthfully, it won't be me asking, but the officials from the Punishment Bureau."

Xiaodie hurriedly kowtowed, bit her lip, and said, "I didn't harm the young master! Huamei came to me because I had borrowed money from her in an emergency. I didn’t want others to know, so we spoke secretly."

"Borrowed money?" Qiu Kui asked calmly. "You are a senior maid beside the young mistress, with all your needs provided for in the palace. Why would you need to borrow money, especially from a maid in Xiuxia Pavilion?"

"Qiu Kui, you don't know, my younger brother at home is ill. The medicine prescribed by the doctor was too expensive... I had no choice," Xiaodie cried, "If you don't believe me, you can send someone to check my home. I borrowed money from Huamei because... because our young mistress rarely gives out extra money, and the sisters in Jiangxue Pavilion don’t have much spare cash, so I had to seek Huamei’s help..."

After she spoke, her mouth was covered and she was taken aside. Shan Zha brought in Huamei, and Qiu Kui repeated, "Huamei, what did you secretly say to Xiaodie?"

Huamei looked up at her master, then spoke, "I only spoke secretly with Xiaodie because she owed me money and hadn't repaid it. I was asking for it back."

Sun Baolin's face, which had been excited, now looked suspiciously back and forth between Huamei and Xiaodie.

Xiaoting, kneeling aside, objected, "Impossible! Empress, they must have exchanged something to harm the young master. Please have her quarters searched!"

Just then, the imperial physician came in with the 'Sending Sons to Heaven' painting, bowed respectfully, and reported, "Your Highness, the paint used in this picture contains lily pollen. While lilies are harmless, prolonged exposure can cause restlessness and troubled sleep."

"How is that possible?!"

Huamei, shocked for a moment, then exclaimed, "Empress, this must be a deliberate framing of my mistress!"

Sun Baolin scoffed, "When Wan Cairen miscarried, Consort Sun kept saying she had been having nightmares and couldn’t sleep. Isn’t this exactly what happened? How can you, a servant, contradict your own mistress?"

Jiang Hui glanced at Consort Sun and said indifferently, "Consort Sun, the painting was indeed a gift from you to Wan Cairen. Do you have anything to say?"

"Your Highness, please discern the truth. This is a set-up," Consort Sun knelt on the ground, her voice steady, "My palace doesn't grow lilies, nor have I obtained lily pollen from the medicine bureau. Besides, the painting was given in the second year of Jianzhao, when Fengjie didn’t show any discomfort. Why would the painting cause nightmares now?"

She spoke clearly and calmly, "I am willing to confine myself and ask Your Highness to investigate everything, to clear my name."

Jiang Hui smiled faintly, "Let's proceed with that then."

*

Chonghua Palace, Zhuxia Pavilion.

Deep into the night, the branches swayed in the wind, casting a dance of shadows against the closed lattice windows.

Consort Sun lay on her bed, toying with a slender-necked porcelain vase in the dark.

She reflected on the day's events, silently chuckling to herself, always having thought Feng to be a fool. Yet, unexpectedly, she had managed to outwit her in the end.

Ever since Feng became pregnant, she had been attentively caring for her, not only sharing her own portion of nourishing supplements with Feng at Jiangxue Pavilion but also spending extra silver to have the imperial kitchen create varied delicacies for Feng, ensuring she was well-fed and healthy.

She knew Feng did not trust her as completely as she appeared to and had her own schemes. Therefore, she almost religiously accompanied Feng at meals three times a day at Jiangxue Pavilion, watching intently as Feng consumed the nourishing food before returning to Zhuxia Pavilion to rest.

As long as Feng dared not confront her, she would eat the food, to some extent. Besides, being merely a scholar's daughter, Feng had not seen many delicacies and was now pregnant, how could she resist not eating?

Eating well naturally nourished the fetus, making the first childbirth understandably more difficult.

She was also aware of the little maid Bai Ling secretly passing messages to Feng and deliberately let Bai Ling overhear her conversation with Hua Mei.

She told Hua Mei that she had spoken with the midwife, advising her to tell Feng to move around more often. Bai Ling naturally relayed this to Feng, making her suspicious of the midwife being bribed and hesitant to trust her completely. With the Emperor busy with state affairs recently and seldom visiting the harem except for Fengyi Pavilion, Feng found no way to replace the midwife. Even if she had approached the Empress about it... scoff, Feng was too afraid the Empress might covet her unborn child!