bookpower Chapter 294
Chapter 294
"will it keep for a month until her highness returns to the palace?"
jiang chuan carefully picked a bunch of grapes: "our imperial noble consort has many methods! she said half will be preserved in ice boxes, and half will be dried into raisins."
"raisins? that's a way to eat them?"
"shows how little you know! they say in loulan they've been eating raisins for ages. our imperial noble consort learned about it from books."
it seemed this imperial noble consort was quite well-read.
the gardeners and fruit handlers nodded in agreement, hoping the imperial noble consort would return soon from her summer palace.
xiao xuanzi had told them that if they served the imperial noble consort well, they would no longer face discrimination from others when they returned - she would be their patron.
in truth, jiang xinyue's plan to control the six eastern and western palaces required building her own network of loyal followers.
the senior craftsmen who had long held high positions had already served multiple masters. jiang xinyue wanted new people who knew her from humble beginnings and would be grateful for her patronage.
because they understood better that only by staying loyal to the imperial noble consort could they maintain their hard-earned wealth and status.
completely unaware of what was happening in the palace, jiang xinyue could only send a daily bowl of blood-enriching soup to jiuzhou qingyan, unable to go there herself.
with the emperor poisoned, the summer palace could not host opera performances or entertainment, nor could anyone laugh heartily, lest they be accused of not caring about the emperor's life and death.
where there's a policy from above, there's always a countermeasure below.
noble lady jiang set up mahjong tables in her garden and invited jiang xinyue and noble consort ye daily for games. with just the three of them, they were always one player short, as no palace maid or eunuch, no matter how close, would dare to play at the same table as their mistresses.
after searching around, noble lady jiang couldn't find any other consorts she was close with, so she had to ask jiang xinyue if they could invite low level consort yu to join.
how could jiang xinyue, the "mahjong master," refuse?
it was the perfect opportunity to utterly defeat low level consort yu and teach her not to oppose her again.
low level consort yu, standing upstairs, saw jiang xinyue's stern face and felt her heart sink.
"oh no, i'm going to get scolded again."
everyone in changyuan pavilion, masters and servants alike, greeted the imperial noble consort, except for concubine cheng who was still on the ground moaning "ouch, ouch," not yet recovered.
low level consort yu rushed down the stairs: "imperial noble consort, you've arrived at the perfect time. concubine cheng has committed the crime of disrespecting her superiors. not only did she offend me, but she also pushed the eldest princess down the stairs, causing her to hit her head and lose consciousness from blood loss. you must seek justice for the eldest princess! she shows complete disregard for the law!"
while fake crying, she secretly observed jiang xinyue's expression.
if the eldest princess was truly so seriously injured, low level consort yu wouldn't have time to quarrel with concubine cheng here.
jiang xinyue's face showed shock and anger: "what? concubine cheng, you dare harm the eldest princess?"
aliali: 674da9bafd3b256fc3c7f574
she frowned and commanded fiercely: "guards, take concubine cheng away and give her thirty lashes. as for further punishment, i will report to the emperor for his decision."
"no... i didn't..."
concubine cheng had just managed to kneel up from the ground, but before she could defend herself, jiang xinyue's palace servants gagged her and dragged her away.
they had finally caught their chance to avenge their mistress.
recently, concubine cheng had been causing trouble for chuangchun pavilion, relying on her favored status. she would either steal the desserts they prepared for their mistress or mock them about serving too much tonic soup, and even took away the golden soup they had simmered all night, claiming the emperor was at her langyue pavilion and needed it served there.
yet their mistress had told them it wasn't the right time to confront her, asking them to endure for a few more days.
now they could finally release all their pent-up anger. concubine cheng would probably end up like noble lady liu, bedridden for two or three months.
hearing her clearly biased words in her favor, low level consort yu suddenly recalled what the eldest princess had said: "noble consort jiang is someone who values benefits above all. as long as we don't interfere with her interests and even create value for her, we'll live better than when the empress was here. why exhaust yourself fighting? see the situation clearly - you only have me as a daughter, and father emperor won't give you another child. after all your struggles, won't you still just be a consort? what father emperor can give you, noble consort jiang can give you even more in the future. listen to me, don't oppose noble consort jiang anymore - look, she already has three princes under her influence!"
it wasn't that low level consort yu looked down on consort de, but a timid and cautious third prince probably wouldn't be a match for the fourth, fifth, and sixth princes.
perhaps she should follow her daughter's advice and submit to the imperial noble consort?