164 People Leave, Tea Goes Cold

As the imperial decree ordering Zhang Bitong to be directly cast into the Lingbo Palace was handed down, Bitong nearly fainted where she stood. She initially intended to beg bitterly for mercy, but the Emperor had already strode away.

With the tree fallen and the monkeys scattered, humiliation was now the only thing awaiting Zhang Bitong.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this concubine is wronged!" Bitong had already collapsed to the ground, left with nothing to do but watch the Emperor’s resolute back recede into the distance.

The Empress stepped up to Bitong, looking down at her from on high. "Do not say that this palace lacks compassion. You may take two servants to attend upon you. Return to Cuiwei Palace to pack for half an hour, and then depart for the Lingbo Palace immediately."

"It was all of you who framed me! It was all of you!" Bitong scrambled to her feet, screaming at the concubines. "You all framed me! It was all of you!"

She thrashed her arms wildly, lunging to grab Lin Tanwei, lunging to grab the Empress, before finally being shoved back by Minghe. The Empress commanded directly, "Yunqing, why are you not escorting your mistress back? What kind of system is this, carrying on like a lunatic here? The Emperor has already shown extraordinary grace, are you still not content?"

"This maid will escort Your Ladyship back. This maid will escort Your Ladyship back right now," Yunqing hurriedly said.

At this moment, little Prince Jiang Ci began to cry. The Empress immediately had the wet nurse cradle him, saying, "Let us return to the palace. Promptly feed the little imperial prince; he must certainly be hungry."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Empress!"

Minghe supported the Empress as she left. Because of the incident involving Jiang Ci, Jiang Ziqian had remained completely silent ever since. Seeing the Empress depart, she too turned to leave in a sullen mood, only to hear Lin Tanwei say, "Elder Sister Zi, are you leaving as well?"

Ziqian glared at Lin Tanwei. "Consort Tan, do not think I didn't see through you! You did this deliberately to mock me and make a fool of me! Very well, I won't forget this!"

Lin Tanwei feigned an innocent look and explained, "Elder Sister Zi, you have misunderstood Younger Sister. Younger Sister truly had no idea the Empress would make such a sudden decision!"

"Enough! Save that pitiful face of yours to put on for someone else!" With that, Ziqian flicked her handkerchief and walked straight away.

"Lin Tanwei, you will get your retribution! You will get your retribution!" Yunqing was entirely unable to hold Bitong back as Bitong lunged forward to tear at Lin Tanwei.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Tanwei struck Bitong across the face with a sharp slap.

Bitong was stunned by the blow. "You dare hit me? Lin Tanwei, you dare hit me?"

"Why would I not dare? Now you are nothing at all, while I am honored as a Consort. When you show such disrespect to me, am I not permitted to discipline you?"

"Lin Tanwei, you are the one who framed me! Everything was engineered by you! I am going to tell the Emperor! I am going to tell the Emperor!"

"Sending you to the cold palace was the Emperor's own idea. Elder Sister Tong, you brought this upon yourself. If you had not sought to harm others, how could you have fallen to this state today?"

"Clearly, you wronged me!"

"Is that so? Do you dare claim you never harmed anyone?"

"Now that Her Ladyship has been reduced to this state, this servant begs Her Ladyship to show mercy." Unable to bear watching any longer, I dashed forward and dropped to my knees before Lin Tanwei.

"Little Xiaozi? You certainly are fiercely loyal! It is just a pity that your mistress is no longer a mistress now. I think you ought to consider what your own days ahead will look like."

"To spare others where possible is a virtue. Consort Tan, why must you kick a person when they are down? Might you grant this older sister a favor and allow Consort Tong to pack properly before departing for the Lingbo Palace?" Liu Yunmeng stepped forward to intervene.

Seeing that it was Liu Yunmeng speaking, Lin Tanwei found it unwise to offend her. After all, it was largely due to Liu Yunmeng's words moments earlier that Bitong had narrowly escaped a harsher fate.

"Elder Sister Meng speaks in jest. Younger Sister was merely feeling a sense of injustice on behalf of Sister Yun, and thus spoke too harshly. As sisters who shared the same palace, what talk is there of granting favors or not? Upon reflection later, Younger Sister herself will feel it is an injustice for Elder Sister Tong. Younger Sister shall take her leave now."

"Mm."

In a short while, the crowd dispersed. Liu Yunmeng instructed, "Aunt Yunqing, Little Xiaozi, take good care of Consort Tong. Do not let her stir up any more trouble. Given how things stand, going to the Lingbo Palace first is the only course of action."

"Thank you, Your Ladyship, for your concern." After expressing her gratitude, Yunqing supported Bitong and said, "Your Ladyship, let us return to the palace first."

Lanying stepped forward, and the three of us exerted ourselves quite a bit just to drag Bitong back to Cuiwei Palace. No sooner had we returned than we saw Little Yunzi had already packed his soft goods and was about to walk out of Cuiwei Palace.

"Little Yunzi, where are you going?" Yunqing hurriedly asked.

Little Yunzi replied, "Auntie, do not blame me for being realistic. I know the imperial decree states that only two servants may follow Her Ladyship to attend upon her. Knowing that I have served Her Ladyship poorly, Her Ladyship will surely not bring me along. Therefore, I can only return to the Bureau of Palace Affairs first, so the Chief Eunuch can arrange other duties for me."

"You ungrateful dog of a thing!" Bitong cursed angrily.

Little Yunzi was no longer afraid at this point. He retorted, "Your Ladyship, your status is no longer what it was, so I will let you hurl a couple of insults at me. But if Her Ladyship intends to keep using that temper on others, then even if Her Ladyship goes to the cold palace, you will not find a moment of peace. This slave takes his leave!"

"You—"

Having finished, Little Yunzi walked straight out of Cuiwei Palace.

Yunqing supported Bitong into the room and pacified her, saying, "A wretch like that would only be a calamity if kept by our side. True feelings are tested in times of adversity; Your Ladyship need not anger yourself over such a petty person."

The moment Bitong sat down, Yunqing instructed Lanying, "Lanying, pour a cup of tea for Her Ladyship first."

"Yes!" Lanying glanced at Yunqing and then stepped out of the room.

"Your Ladyship, this maid will help you freshen up." Yunqing made to wipe Bitong's face, but her wrist was suddenly seized by Bitong's grip.

"Yunqing, this palace does not want to go to the cold palace! This palace truly does not want to go to the cold palace! You know it—this palace was wronged! You must help me. Once I go there, I am finished. I am finished, do you understand?"

"Your Ladyship, this maid..." Yunqing said in a troubled tone.

Bitong then looked over at me. "Little Xiaozi, you are so clever, won't you help this palace think of a way? This palace truly does not want to go to the cold palace!"

"Your Ladyship, this slave also..."

At this stage, even if Yunqing and I possessed supernatural powers, we could not reverse the inevitable. Although I had more or less figured out the ins and outs of how this plot was woven, what good would that do? Lin Tanwei's scheme was interlocking, leaving virtually no loopholes, let alone any evidence to unearth that could prove Bitong's innocence.

In truth, escaping with her life was already the greatest of misfortunes for Bitong.

"Your Ladyship, please have some tea!" Lanying walked back in, keeping her head lowered as she placed a cup of tea before Bitong.

"Lanying, go and boil some more hot water," Yunqing instructed once more.

Yet Lanying remained standing in place without moving.

Uncomprehending, Yunqing asked, "Lanying, what is wrong with you? Did you not hear what I said?"

Lanying abruptly dropped to her knees and kowtowed heavily to Bitong. "Your Ladyship, please forgive this maid. This maid does not wish to spend a lifetime in the cold palace. This maid only wants to live peacefully within the palace for a few years, save up some silver, and then leave the palace to marry a good man. This maid does not wish to go to the cold palace. The Empress's decree requires Her Ladyship to take only two servants. Aunt Yunqing, you have served Her Ladyship for so many years; Little Xiaozi, you are someone Her Ladyship deeply trusts. The two of you should go. Lanying truly cannot serve Her Ladyship any longer."

"Even you are abandoning me, Lanying? Get out, all of you, get out of my sight!" Bitong pointed angrily at Lanying.

"Please forgive this maid, Your Ladyship! Please forgive me, Auntie!" Lanying kowtowed once more, stood up, and though her expression held reluctance, she turned and walked away.

Lanying was, in truth, much better than Little Yunzi. At the very least, this could hardly be considered a grave betrayal; it was merely a touch of human selfishness.

I chased after Lanying to see her off. Lanying gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "I am merely a palace maid, a maid as humble as dust. If you came out here to lecture me, Little Xiaozi, go right ahead. I know you want to scold me."

I shook my head. "Elder Sister Lanying, I came out here to tell you that you need not blame yourself. When disaster strikes, birds scatter in opposite directions; I have already witnessed plenty of the shifting warmth and coldness of human relations within these palace walls. Elder Sister Lanying, I do not look down on you at all. Everyone is selfish. You have the life you yearn for ahead of you, and you never sought to harm anyone—that alone is enough. I chased after you simply to tell you to take good care of yourself from now on, strive to save more silver, and then leave to find a fine husband to marry."

"Little Xiaozi..." Lanying looked at me, touched, her eye rims instantly turning red. She hurriedly rubbed her eyes with her hand and forced a laugh. "Little Xiaozi, you are truly detestable. At a time like this, I almost wish you would scold me a couple of times so I could feel a bit better."

"We served together for a time, and I am selfish myself; what qualifications do I have to lecture you?"

"Mm. Then, Little Xiaozi, what are your plans? Will you accompany Her Ladyship to the Lingbo Palace?"

"For now, I can only take it one step at a time and think of other ways later."

"Is there still any hope for Her Ladyship over there?" Lanying asked cautiously.

I shook my head. "I cannot say for certain. You need not worry about Her Ladyship; instead, worry about yourself. Since you are leaving Cuiwei Palace, there is no guarantee you won't face snubs under a different master, so take care of yourself."

"Rest assured, I haven't been in this palace for just a day or two; I know how to look after myself. You do the same, and both you and Aunt Yunqing must take good care of yourselves."

"Don't worry, go pack your things."

"Then I shall go first."

As Lanying went off to pack her belongings, I turned back and saw Minghe approaching with two palace maids.

"What are you here for?" The moment Bitong saw Minghe arrive, she looked like a startled rabbit.

Minghe said, "Your Ladyship, this maid is here by the Empress's decree to keep watch over Your Ladyship. The time allotted by the Empress is nearly up, so you had best pack quickly. The Lingbo Palace has long fallen into disrepair; if you fail to take enough belongings with you, you will freeze and starve over there, and no one will care."

"You—this palace is going to see the Emperor! This palace is wronged!"

"Your Ladyship, out of respect for the fact that you were once a Consort, this maid addresses you respectfully as Your Ladyship. But you are nothing at all now, and you ought to mind your station. It was precisely because the Empress feared your reckless fussing that she specifically ordered this maid to keep watch. Aunt Yunqing, you are a veteran of the palace; you should know how to advise your mistress at a time like this. If everyone ends up on bad terms, the one who loses face is your own mistress. Since things have reached this pass, why make yourself even more humiliated?"

Hearing this, Yunqing hurried outside and said to Minghe, "Aunt Minghe, you and I entered the palace around the same time. Though we have served different masters, we have witnessed plenty of the strife within these inner quarters. Might Aunt Minghe grant Yunqing this favor, allowing my mistress to depart for the Lingbo Palace with her dignity intact? This kindness from Aunt Minghe, Yunqing will keep etched in her heart."

Upon hearing Yunqing's words, Minghe's tone softened somewhat. "When all is said and done, these are matters between masters, and you and I are merely following orders. If Consort Tong is able to heed your advice, naturally I will say nothing more. I shall wait outside; hurry and finish packing so you can take her to the Lingbo Palace. Yunqing, remember this: what should be brought and what should not, I trust you know well enough in your heart."

"Yunqing thanks Aunt Minghe."

Minghe and the two palace maids then stepped back out into the courtyard.

Yunqing walked back inside and said to Bitong, "Your Ladyship, this matter is already settled. Her Ladyship should first obey the Emperor's decree and relocate to the Lingbo Palace before making further plans. If Your Ladyship continues to make a scene now, it will only cause the Emperor and the Empress greater vexation, and Your Ladyship's days will become all the harder. Please, Your Ladyship, move to the Lingbo Palace first and plan for the future later."

I also urged, "Even if Your Ladyship will not consider yourself, please consider the Ninth Prince. If this disturbance continues, I fear it will implicate the Ninth Prince as well."

"The Ninth Prince. Xuan'er, yes, Xuan'er. Little Xiaozi, go have Xuan'er plead with the Emperor for me, won't you?"

I hesitated for a moment, only to hear Minghe urging from outside, "Your Ladyship, the hour is late, please hurry."

"Little Xiaozi, stay with Her Ladyship, I will go inside and pack."

"Yes!"