Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 511 Something's Wrong with This Girl

News from the palace always travels the fastest.

The imperial attendants went to the Renming Hall, and before long, the entire palace knew that the emperor's attitude towards the empress seemed to have softened.

The happiest person was none other than Consort Yang. Consort Pei had never intended to curry favor with the Empress, and upon hearing the news, she acted as usual, though she visited Consort Qi even more frequently. Unlike Consort Yang, her vision and knowledge were naturally far superior to those of the lesser-known Consort Yang. Knowing that she had once been connected to the Duke of Qing's family, and that Consort Chun and Consort Jin looked down on her, she was single-mindedly focused on befriending Consort Qi.

Consort Wu had just been promoted to the rank of Baolin two days ago. Knowing that further advancement would be difficult, she gave up her ambitions and spent her days peacefully in the Magnolia Pavilion. Upon hearing rumors, she secretly thought that she would likely have to pay her respects to the Empress at the Renming Palace in the future.

Speaking of which, since the Empress was imprisoned, apart from the funeral of Empress Dowager Zhou and the meeting at Huining Hall a couple of days ago, the concubines of the six palaces have indeed not gathered together for a long time.

Currently, Consort Jin assists in managing the six palaces, but the highest-ranking is Consort Chun. Consort Jin is quiet and reserved, and rarely summons others. Consort Chun, on the other hand, is a wealthy and leisurely person, usually only moving around in Lingcui Palace, occasionally visiting Consort Qi and Consort Yun, and even sending gifts to Funing Palace only a few times a month. Following the usual pattern of once every ten days or three times a month, she shows no signs of vying for the Emperor's favor. Especially since the birth of the Second Prince, her feelings for the Emperor have become even less intense.

Chenghui Hall.

Suqin carried a bowl of warm, nourishing bird's nest soup and entered lightly. "Your Majesty, I had someone prepare some golden bird's nest soup. Please have some."

"Leave it for now."

Consort Shun didn't even raise her head, focusing only on fiddling with the long whip in her hand. She had recently begged Consort Mu for it, and it was a novelty to her, making her quite fond of it.

Suqin gently placed the soup bowl on the table, her tone slightly hesitant: "Your Majesty, the Emperor just sent rewards to Renming Palace, and the Marquis has also been ordered to go to Yuzhou. Once the disaster subsides, the Empress's confinement should be lifted. That's for the best, to prevent the Noble Consort and Consort Jin from wielding too much power in the palace..."

Consort Shun finally put down her whip, looked up, and said with a half-smile, "What exactly do you want to say, Granny? You know I'm always impatient with these roundabout ways. Who is favored and who is out of favor, what does it have to do with me?"

As she spoke, she casually pushed the bowl of bird's nest soup toward Xiaodie beside her, "You drink it."

Xiaodie was taken aback. "...Your Highness, this is not allowed. This is made by the nanny using the finest bird's nest, along with longan, lotus seeds, and red dates. It has been stewed for a full hour. It is a beauty-enhancing and nourishing delicacy that even ordinary concubines rarely see."

Suqin gently advised, "The Empress Dowager's mourning period has passed. These days, the Emperor has been busy with state affairs and has not come to the inner palace. I imagine he will soon summon the concubines to serve him. Your Majesty should make preparations as soon as possible."

Consort Shun didn't care at all. She got up and stretched her limbs a few times. "It's neither sweet nor salty, and I find it too cloying. The old nanny worries about me every day. Why don't you nourish yourself? It's my way of showing my appreciation."

Suqin was speechless for a long time after hearing that one sentence. She wanted to offer more advice on "striving for a better future," but Consort Shun spoke first, "No matter what the Empress does, I just need to be Consort Shun and live a peaceful life. My father's expectation that I would advance further is ultimately a misconception. In this harem, even if the Empress is not here, it is not my turn to stand out. It is better to stay in Chenghui Palace and be content."

Consort Shun's gaze sharpened slightly, and her voice deepened: "Granny, if we really harbor such thoughts, I'm afraid we won't even know how we died in the future."

Suqin sighed and still advised, "Now that you have entered the palace as a concubine, even if you have no other thoughts, you should have a prince or princess by your side in the future. After all, they will be someone to rely on, right? The old lady has also sent word. You can't keep going against her words."

Consort Shun grew annoyed by what she heard, gulped down the bird's nest soup in a few mouthfuls, then picked up her whip and turned to walk away.

Before long, a crisp and clear sound of something cutting through the air came from the rear hall.

......

Inside Lingcui Palace, Green Willow stepped lightly into the bedchamber, her voice filled with joy: "Your Majesty, news has come from the Imperial Hospital that Imperial Physician Jian has returned from the Northern Frontier!"

Meng Shu was tidying up Yu Nu'er's little clothes when she heard this, and her hands paused slightly. "It's a few days earlier than expected."

Jian Zhi was someone that Madam Yun had carefully arranged to enter the Imperial Hospital years ago, with the purpose of taking care of Consort Chun. Who knew that he would be away in the northern frontier for more than a year? During this time, Meng Shu gave birth to Yu Nu'er and Consort Chun gave birth to Kang Ge'er, and he was unable to take care of them in the palace.

"I heard that the Emperor even summoned Physician Jian specially," Green Willow continued, "and rewarded him with a lot of gifts, and allowed him to rest for three days before returning to the Imperial Hospital to take up his post, saying it was to show his appreciation for his hard work in the northern frontier."

Meng Shu nodded slightly, a smile playing on her lips, and said, "His Majesty is clearly inclined to give him an important position. However, given Physician Jian's temperament, I'm afraid he won't be able to rest for even a day."

That's good, she needs Physician Jian to answer her questions.

These past few days she's been flipping through medical books, but ultimately, each profession has its own expertise, and the more she reads, the more confused she feels.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Jian Zhi, dressed in his imperial physician's robes, went to the Imperial Hospital to take his shift. He also specially asked someone to deliver messages to Lingcui Palace and Huining Palace, saying that after sorting out the epidemic records brought back from the Northern Frontier, he would come to pay his respects to the two empresses and take the pulses of the two young princes.

"Is Physician Jian is so thoughtful, always thinking of Her Majesty and the Imperial Concubine, and even the two young princes," Green Willow said with a smile. "I'll wait for him at the Imperial Hospital later and ask him to come over when he has time."

Meng Shu raised her hand to stop her: "No need. Wan'er mentioned before that she wanted to ask Physician Jian to take Yun Baolin's pulse when he returned, so it won't make a difference if we take a little longer."

As she spoke, she walked into the study and sat down at the desk.

Green Willow followed, glanced out the window first, and then whispered in Meng Shu's ear: "Your Majesty, there is something I think I should report to you, it's about winter melon."

Meng Shu roughly knew what Green Willow was going to say.

“This girl is acting strangely. Yesterday, when she heard that Imperial Physician Jian had returned to the capital, she seemed happier than anyone else. She tossed and turned all night and couldn’t sleep well. This morning, she combed her hair in front of the mirror for quite a while. I think... she might have taken a liking to Imperial Physician Jian.”

Green Willow's words were not unfounded; Meng Shu, being so insightful and worldly-wise, had already noticed the signs.

She was secretly thinking of Donggua's best interests. Jian Zhi was a steady and reliable person with superb medical skills, someone even Madam Yun trusted, and of upright character. If the two were truly destined for each other, he could be a pillar of support for Donggua. However, she didn't know if Jian Zhi had the same intentions, so it wasn't wise to ask rashly.

As for whether they were "worthy" or not, Meng Shu had never thought about it.

In her eyes, Donggua was simple and warm-hearted, without a trace of guile. As for skill, Donggua possessed an exceptional culinary skill that everyone praised. In terms of wealth, Donggua's monthly allowance, rewards, and profit sharing from Yongxing Restaurant over the years were more substantial than those of ordinary daughters of officials. If she were to marry in the future, she would add another generous dowry, ensuring Donggua would never be mistreated. Moreover, Donggua came from Lingcui Palace; with her around, no one dared to look down on her.

"I know about this. Don't tell anyone or point it out."

Green Willow nodded quickly in agreement, then said with concern, "This servant also hopes that Winter Melon can find a good home. Imperial Physician Jian is a man of noble character and trustworthy. But after all, he is an official imperial physician and is trusted by Physician He. This servant is just afraid that Winter Melon's feelings will be one-sided and that he will be heartbroken if he ends up disappointed."

Meng Shu, protective of her own, immediately said, "Times have changed. With Wan'er and me backing Donggua up, how can a mere fifth-rank official be considered to be climbing the social ladder?"