Chapter 74

Yun Shan saw that Song Zhao did not look very good, so she said:

"The young master must have been frightened by today's events and has not yet recovered. This servant is stewing a soothing soup in the small kitchen. Would the young master have a bowl?"

Song Zhao nodded lightly and further instructed her, "Also bring some to Consort Yao, she was also startled."

Yun Shan readily agreed and retreated. As soon as she went out the door, Xiao Fuzi said in a low voice to Song Zhao:

"Young master, it seems there is more to this matter."

"The Empress..." Song Zhao murmured, her gaze drifting out the window. Her slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a 'dudu' sound.

Xiao Fuzi said, "The Empress and Consort Chen have been at odds for a long time. Now that Consort Chen is favored again, she looks down on the Empress even more. It's not impossible that the Empress wanted to get rid of Consort Chen by taking advantage of what happened with Concubine Xiao. I didn't expect that the Empress, who usually seems harmonious and steady, would have such thoughts behind the scenes..."

As Xiao Fuzi spoke more enthusiastically, he gradually lost his sense of propriety.

Song Zhao glanced at him and cut him off, saying solemnly:

"The Empress, as the mistress of the inner palace, is not someone we can gossip about. Moreover, just based on the sulfur wine, what can you say to accuse her? She is susceptible to chills and has a heart condition. Sulfur wine dispels chills and promotes blood circulation. It is not uncommon for the Empress to have simmered it with water in her hot water bottle."

"This servant spoke out of turn, I hope the young master will not blame me," Xiao Fuzi made a gesture of covering his mouth, not daring to speculate further.

Song Zhao did not continue to reprimand him either. She changed the subject, "Go and help me prepare some sulfur wine. Now that there is a snake in the palace, it would be false to say I am not afraid."

She closed her eyes slightly and deeply inhaled the smell of sulfur wine that had been sprinkled and swept through the palace,

"I think Yun Shan's method is very good."

To say that Song Zhao was also quite strange,

She said that she liked Yun Shan’s method and told Xiao Fuzi to prepare sulfur wine,

But in the blink of an eye, she had Weihua and Xiyin open all the doors and windows of her bedroom, saying that she could not stand the smell and had people dispel it.

Later, after drinking the soothing soup, most of the smell in the hall had dissipated. Just as she was thinking of taking a short rest, the palace maid came to report that Xiao Jingheng had arrived.

Before Song Zhao could get up and go out to greet him, Xiao Jingheng had already entered the west wing.

Song Zhao met him at the door and quickly knelt down in greeting, "Greetings to Your Majesty."

As usual, Xiao Jingheng took her hand to help her up, "Didn't I say that when we are alone you don't need to adhere to so much etiquette."

Song Zhao naturally intertwined her ten fingers with Xiao Jingheng’s and looked at him joyfully, asking:

"Why has Your Majesty come at this time?"

"You must have been frightened by today's events," Xiao Jingheng tightened his grip on Song Zhao’s hand, his eyes filled with warmth and gentleness.

Song Zhao pursed her lips, still a little scared, and nodded, "Seeing the vicious snake with my own eyes, and poor Xia Shi dying so pitifully..."

Xiao Jingheng comforted her, "The most important thing is that you are alright."

In fact, Song Zhao had expected early on that Xiao Jingheng would definitely come to see her today, which was why she had the smell of sulfur wine in the inner palace completely dissipated ahead of time.

The smell emanating from the hot water bottle held by the Empress today was definitely smelled by more than just Song Zhao.

If another short-sighted consort also suspected the Empress and rashly told Xiao Jingheng about it, then Xiao Jingheng would naturally associate it with the smell Song Zhao also smelled in her palace earlier.

The thoughts of the emperor were unpredictable. Who knew if he would think that Song Zhao was implying that the Empress had issues?

Song Zhao did not want the innocent and pure image she had carefully cultivated in front of Xiao Jingheng to be completely ruined just like that.

However, Song Zhao was determined to spread the word that the Empress's hot water bottle contained sulfur wine.

But it would definitely not be spread to Xiao Jingheng.

At this time, the two sat side by side on the heated couch. Xiao Jingheng explained:

"When Jiang Deshun told me about this, he was confused. He only said that a snake had been discovered in Plum Garden and that it had bitten a palace maid to death. I originally thought it was the fault of the negligent Bureau of Flowers and Birds staff. At that time the ministers were also talking to me about things, so I sent him away to deal with the matter. But I didn't expect you and Consort Chen to be involved."

As Xiao Jingheng spoke, Song Zhao secretly pondered:

Who was Jiang Deshun?

He was the old eunuch who served Xiao Jingheng and was the most seasoned slave in the entire palace.

Given Song Zhao’s current imperial favor and Consort Chen’s long-standing status as the favorite of the six palaces,

How could he not report it if he knew the two women who Xiao Jingheng treasured were almost in danger?

So the only possibility for him not saying anything was that even he did not know the truth. Most likely it was Shuang Ruo, who was by the Empress's side, who downplayed the facts when reporting to the throne, only saying that a palace maid had died without mentioning anything else.

Of course, the Empress also had her reasons for doing so.

At the time, although Consort Chen only saw Jiang Deshun arrive and did not see Xiao Jingheng, her expression betrayed her undisguised disappointment.

This was the Empress's intention.

She wanted Consort Chen to feel that Xiao Jingheng no longer valued her as much as before,

She wanted her to become anxious and insecure again.

Although Song Zhao saw through it clearly, she still had to play the fool in front of Xiao Jingheng. She asked Xiao Jingheng, "Did Your Majesty go to see Consort Chen?"

Xiao Jingheng did not directly answer her question, but just perfunctorily nodded his head and quickly changed the subject,

"The Concubine Xiao’s actions this time were truly vicious. I have repeatedly comforted her for ruining her looks, but I didn't expect her to do something so foolish."

Song Zhao asked again, "How does Your Majesty plan to deal with her?"

Xiao Jingheng said, "I originally intended the same fate as Li. But considering that her father, Xiao Bin, was also a descendant of the imperial clan, and has always worked diligently without ever making a mistake, and the Empress also pleaded for her, I decided to let her off lightly in consideration of her disturbed state of mind which led her to make such a big mistake. So I decided to give her a way out and spare her life, only punishing her by sending her to the Cold Palace."

The implication was that Xiao Jingheng had not only seen Consort Chen, but also the Empress.

In terms of position in his heart, Song Zhao was at most ranked third at best.

But she was very satisfied.

After all, she had only been in the palace for three months, while the Empress and Consort Chen had both entered the palace nearly four years ago. She did not feel that she had lost anything to them.

However, more than debating over high and low rankings, what Song Zhao saw clearly about Xiao Jingheng this time was one thing:

In the palace, as long as you could gain Xiao Jingheng’s love and favor after making a mistake, it was tantamount to possessing a golden ticket to avoid death.

Xiao Jingheng thought it was Consort Chen who had cut the pipa strings, not only disfiguring Concubine Xiao but also destroying the Holy Mother Empress Dowager’s relic, which was a major crime.

But because it was Consort Chen, Xiao Jingheng only alienated her for a month without even symbolic punishment.

In contrast, this time Concubine Xiao made a mistake, yet Xiao Jingheng could dismissively throw her into the Cold Palace so lightly?

Recalling the past, didn’t Concubine Xiao also win the emperor’s heart with Kunqu opera at one go because she gained Xiao Jingheng’s special attention at the time?

Now that she had lost her singing voice and ruined her looks,

No matter how great a beauty she was, she could still be thrown to the ends of the earth in an instant, her life truly more worthless than grass...