Chapter 90: Muddied Waters

Chapter 90: Muddied Waters

Dujuan, carrying a food box, hastened to Chonghua Palace directly after leaving the imperial kitchen, followed by a young palace maid around fourteen or fifteen years old, carrying meals for the inhabitants of Xuexiaxuan.

As they walked along the palace path, in March, many courtyards were adorned with clusters of blossoming branches. The young maid, walking along, couldn't help but slow down.

She said to Dujuan, "Sister Dujuan, shall we pick some flowers for our young mistress on the way back?"

Dujuan glanced back at her, shaking her head gently, "Bailing, the young mistress is waiting for her dinner. We'd better hurry. If you want to pick flowers, you can get some apricot blossoms from behind the Chonghua Palace tomorrow morning."

The young maid Bailing nodded, replying softly, and the two continued in silence, their soft-soled palace shoes clicking lightly on the stone pavement.

Upon reaching Xuexia Xuan, Dujuan alone entered the main house with the food box, approaching the desk where Lady Sun, still immersed in painting, was seated. She bowed and asked, "Young mistress, shall we serve dinner now?"

Lady Sun, who had almost completed her "Sending the Heavenly King" painting, set down her brush and said softly, "Yes, serve it now."

Dujuan acknowledged and quickly began laying out the meal from the box. The portions were befitting a lady of her rank, sufficient but not lavish.

After Lady Sun had washed her hands, she sat at the table. Dujuan whispered, "Young mistress, Consort Xu has returned from the Liangyi Hall, and that junior eunuch from the Imperial Medical Bureau, Xiao Fangzi, was taken away by Eunuch Sheng'an."

"Good," Lady Sun nodded and inquired further, "Were the jewels from Yufu Palace discovered?"

"It's rumored that Eunuch Sheng'an found a jade hairpin at Xiao Fangzi's residence, so it seems they were discovered," Dujuan spoke even more softly, her voice tinged with hesitation and uncertainty.

Lady Sun observed this maid, who had been assigned to serve in Xuexia Xuan since her entry into the palace. Over the past year, Dujuan had been attentive and discreet, never overstepping her bounds and establishing connections within the palace, becoming Lady Sun's most trusted maid after Hua Mei.

Hence, she encouraged her, "Ask whatever you want."

Dujuan then asked, "Young mistress, why was it necessary to involve jewelry with Yufu Palace's emblem? After all, Consort He is a princess married off in a diplomatic union. If we involve her and the Emperor investigates thoroughly..."

Lady Sun picked up a bamboo chopstick and tasted a dish prepared by Hua Mei. After swallowing, she replied, "How can we stay hidden if we don't stir the waters a bit? Consort He's palace is as porous as a sieve. Even her maids hardly speak our language. Losing some jewelry with the palace emblem isn't a big deal."

After a pause, she asked, "Which palace's token did His Majesty turn over today?"

"Yaohua Palace," Dujuan replied, her eyes downcast. After a moment's thought, she added, "And there's been no significant news from there."

Hearing this, Lady Sun murmured, "Noble Consort Zhao... His Majesty's affection for her is indeed profound. Even when it concerns the Prince, he hasn't shown a moment of doubt... The Empress must have miscalculated."

The room was very quiet, allowing her murmurs to be clearly heard by both Dujuan and Hua Mei.

Dujuan remained silent, but Hua Mei spoke up, "Young mistress, although Xiao Fangzi agreed to do this out of urgent need for money and he didn't see Dujuan's face, if the Emperor traces this back to us..."

"How could that be?" Sun Guiren's eyes remained calm, "The news came from Lady Xu, who heard it from Xiaofangzi. All that Xiaofangzi had was the jade hairpin given to Peach Leaf by Lady Xu's maid, and a bunch of unmarked silver coins... Peach Leaf was his sweetheart, coaxed into secretly stealing Lady Xu's jade hairpin. What does this have to do with us?"

Huamei, upon hearing this, wanted to say something but eventually chose not to, continuing to arrange dishes for Sun Guiren.

Dujuan, however, knew that her mistress and maid had more to discuss, so she softly said, "My lady, I'll go hurry the hot water for your bath."

She found an excuse to leave.

It was then that Huamei spoke up, "My lady, what if Dujuan goes to report you? This kind of task should be done by us servants."

Sun Guiren chuckled lightly and explained, "When I sent her to find out who in the palace urgently needed money, she should have understood what I intended to do. What's the point in sending you instead? If His Majesty really orders Xiaofangzi to identify the maids one by one, if he recognizes her, it could be said she was bribed. But if he recognizes you, my dowry maid, we'd be beyond redemption. Besides, if she wanted to report us, she wouldn't have asked those questions earlier."

Huamei lowered her head, speaking after a pause, "I'm just wondering, given your situation, why she, with her connections in the palace, is still willing to stay at Xuexiaxuan."

"Huamei, she was once with the Imperial Judicial Commission," Sun Guiren spoke earnestly, "She knows better than anyone the consequences of betraying a master. Leaving Xuexiaxuan might be easy, but who would genuinely trust her again? Besides, although your young mistress has little hope of favor, she still holds the title of a noble consort. She's better off than many."

Dujuan emerged from the main hall, urging the young maid to boil some hot water. After wandering around Chonghua Palace for a while, guessing it was time, she hurried back to Xuexiaxuan with a look of urgency, informing Sun Guiren, who had just finished dinner, "My lady, something terrible! I just heard that the jewelry found at Xiaofangzi's place is Consort Zhao's green jade pearl hairpin!"

"What?!"

Sun Guiren immediately stood up and stepped closer to Dujuan, asking anxiously, "Is it the green jade pearl hairpin that Consort Zhao publicly gave to Consort He last year?"

Consort He was from the Xiongnu and had no Central Plains jewelry before coming to Da Zhou, so everything she wore was made by the Imperial Jewelry Bureau, all bearing the mark of Yufu Palace, except for that green jade pearl hairpin.

If Yufu Palace's jewelry had been used to bribe someone, it would have been plausible to lose one or two pieces among so many, but the discovery of this particular green jade pearl hairpin would not convince His Majesty of Consort He's innocence.

"Yes!" Dujuan's face showed panic, "I, I clearly told Xiaofangzi to bring jewelry with the Yufu Palace mark..."

Sun Guiren glanced at Dujuan impassively, then calmly reassured her, "It's done now. As long as Xiaofangzi doesn't recognize you, there's still a chance to turn this around."

Dujuan, calming down upon hearing this, pondered for a moment before saying, "My lady, could there be someone else behind Xiaofangzi or Peach Leaf?"

Lady Sun pondered and then slowly said, "At this point, speculating is futile. Even if His Majesty suspects others, he won't immediately suspect Xuexia Xuan... After all, I have no deep grudges or significant hatred with Noble Consort Zhao, Consort He, or Consort Xu."

"Yes," Dujuan replied quietly. Seeing no further instructions from Lady Sun, she discreetly withdrew.

Inside the main house, Hua Mei, frowning, said, "Young mistress, can we trust what Dujuan said?"

Lady Sun didn’t respond directly but instead distanced herself to reflect on the situation, murmuring, "If Consort He wouldn’t be foolish enough to use the jade hairpin to bribe someone, then the person framing her wouldn't use it to set her up either... This seems more like Consort He’s doing, staging it to distance herself from any involvement..."

Could it be... not her stirring the waters, but Consort He discovering Tao Ye’s actions and taking the opportunity to instruct Tao Ye to intervene? This way, she could potentially cause trouble for Noble Consort Zhao and, if unsuccessful, clear her own name...

But if she could think of this, wouldn't Sheng'an, or even His Majesty, be able to?

Did Consort He really need to stir up such trouble?

Rubbing her temples, she sat back down and said to Hua Mei, "If Dujuan had any ill intent, she would have betrayed me by now. If she hasn’t acted, she’s either loyal to me or her master behind the scenes has bigger plans. For now, I’m still of some use and safe. Don’t worry about the future..."

Outside the main house, Dujuan headed straight to the maids' quarters, spotting Bailing from a distance, heading to Jiaxue Xuan with a bundle of apricot flowers.

She paused briefly, then continued as if she had seen nothing – it was normal for palace staff seeking favor to align with more influential patrons, given Xuexia Xuan's fall from grace.