Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 249 Oh my god, the Emperor has been smashed!

......

For three consecutive days, Guo Xiurong did not eat or drink a drop of water.

She was dressed simply, and took a barefoot step forward with heavy force. The anger that filled her chest seemed to ignite a fire that burned her internal organs.

Finally, he collapsed onto the bed, closing his eyes as if he were in an abyss.

Shuyao carried a bowl of porridge into the room and gently advised, "My lady, please have some porridge. Your health is already weak; how can you continue like this?"

She was met with silence.

Fanxue slipped into the house, its eyes like clear glass. It first nimbly leaped onto a chair, tilted its head, and looked around, as if searching for something new and interesting to play with.

Before long, it fixed its gaze on the display cabinet on the right side of the desk. It arched its body, gathered its strength in its hind paws, and leaped onto the shelf inside the display cabinet.

First, it sniffed around an inkstone. Perhaps the ink smell was too strong, because it shook its head in dissatisfaction. Then it stretched out its paw and touched a brocade box placed to the side, once, twice.

Hua Jin looked in the direction of the sound and stepped forward to stop it.

Unfortunately, with a "crash," the brocade box rolled to the ground. The lid opened wide, revealing a multi-layered coral beaded necklace.

Guo Xiurong opened her eyes abruptly upon hearing the sound. She suppressed her dizziness and sat up with Shuyao's help. After seeing clearly what had just happened, she pointed to the ground and said, "Bring over that necklace."

(As mentioned in Chapter 186)

Guo Xiurong stared at the necklace for a long time, then said through the brocade, "My lady, I carefully examined it after receiving it that day, and there was no scent of musk or anything like that. So there shouldn't be any problem."

"This is a gift from the Empress. How could she be so foolish as to give someone a handle against her?"

From the day she received the necklace upon entering the manor, she felt suffocated whenever she saw those few bright red coral beads, and would unconsciously feel disgusted. Therefore, she sealed it in a brocade box and never opened it.

At this moment, Consort Guo suddenly recalled that on several occasions when she paid her respects, the Empress would always glance at her chest in a seemingly casual manner...

"Hua Jin, now that I think about it carefully, the Empress knew that the imperial heir in her womb was in danger, so she wanted to take advantage of the miscarriage to frame the favored concubines. Consort Chun and Consort Meng probably had something in mind, so they deliberately avoided her."

Could it be that the Empress chose to harm me because I had never worn it?

In other words, she never intended to be subservient to the Empress, which is why the Empress could not tolerate her.

Shuyao suddenly said, "When Physician Jian practiced medicine in Jinzhou, he had dealings with Master. Why don't we find an opportunity to ask him to examine us?"

......

Shou Kang Palace.

With Hua Yan joining in midway, the two spent another seven or eight days together, finally completing the copying of the seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra. During the copying process, Consort Chun also frequently visited the Baohua Palace, as the Buddhist ceremony was imminent and nothing could be neglected.

During this time, a eunuch from Dieqiong Pavilion came to deliver a message, saying that Consort Guo was unwell and that Consort Chun had come to request permission for the imperial physician to examine Consort Guo. The eunuch also made another request with a troubled expression: that Imperial Physician Jian should make the visit.

Consort Chun, having no intention of making things difficult, granted her request as well. Hua Yan secretly raised an eyebrow: It was truly the right decision to specifically ask Jian Zhi to take her pulse.

Another day passed, and Jian Zhi came to Huining Palace to take Hua Yan's pulse.

"A coral beaded necklace?"

Hua Yan repeated, smiling, "If it's a gift from the Empress, it shouldn't be detected as a problem."

“Your Majesty, I have indeed not found anything unusual. Her Majesty’s constitution is extraordinary, and she has exceptional sensitivity. She said that looking at those coral beads for a long time makes her feel a bit stuffy, which is probably true. However, I do not know the reason for this yet.” Jian Zhi hesitated slightly.

She had heard a little about Guo Xiuyi's delicate skin, sensitive touch, and beautiful face. She pondered for a while, then a thought came to mind:

"When I was in Lin'an accompanying the Second Miss on her inspection of the shops, I read a book in the study called 'Records of Strange Stones'. In one of the chapters, the author recounted an anecdote."

"There are jade stones of dubious authenticity, leading to numerous cases of swindlers passing off inferior goods as superior ones for profit."

"Are you saying that coral is not coral?"

"I haven't seen it, but I can't rule out that possibility. But regardless of whether there's something fishy about the coral beads, it can't be used to bring down the Empress. If Consort Guo examines this item closely, it probably won't be of much use."

Southwest China is rich in rare stone minerals, and the cases mentioned in "Records of Rare Stones" are mostly prevalent in the southwestern border regions.

Hua Yan tapped the table lightly with her slender fingers unconsciously. After pondering for a moment, she instructed Jian Zhi: "You only need to convey this message to Guo Xiurong, and that's all. Don't ask about anything else."

Jian Zhi nodded in agreement and took out a porcelain bottle the size of a thumb from his sleeve. "The pills that the lady gave me earlier have been replicated in the past few days, but the effects will only last for one day and one night."

This was an unexpected delight.

......

Before we knew it, it was the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Buddhist ceremony at Baohua Hall was held as scheduled.

Miss Qing had entered the West Warm Pavilion of Cining Palace to recuperate the day before the ceremony, and on this day she also participated in the ceremony with Empress Dowager Jiang.

Miss Qing brought two personal maids with her to the palace, along with Granny Yu to serve her. Granny Yu originally worked in the kitchen of Prince Jin's mansion, but before the Duke of Qing and his family returned to the capital, the mansion's steward returned her indenture and sent her back.

Consort Chun was busy until dusk, and after having dinner with Empress Dowager Zhou at Shou Kang Palace, she was finally able to return to Hui Ning Palace.

The Marquis of Lin'an's residence also sent festival gifts today. Tang Lin brought back a lot of local specialties from Lin'an and sent some of them to the palace as well.

"Mengzhu divided these things into several portions and sent them to the various palaces before New Year's Day. Don't forget to send them to Consort Guo as well."

Candles were lit in the bedroom. Consort Chun glanced at the gift list by the light and then took a brocade box from Mengzhu. It didn't feel very heavy. When she opened it, she found a stack of silver notes.

"There's no need for so much silver. Put it in the storeroom." Consort Chun placed the brocade box on the table.

Mengzhu glanced at the gift list. The gifts sent from the manor were all of a fixed amount, which had been prepared by Madam Yun before they arrived. However, one gift, though not particularly valuable, was 20% more expensive than the others, clearly intended for Consort Qu.

"Your Highness, should the amount sent to Consort Qu's palace be 20% more than usual?"

"No need."

Consort Chun's eyes turned slightly cold, and her good mood about returning to the palace was somewhat dampened. She then said, "From now on, there's no need to send off Consort Qu anymore."

After speaking, she walked to the dressing table, took out a pair of tourmaline earrings from the dressing box, which were the same style as the pair she had given to Consort Qu.

Consort Chun was sincere and kind. She had taken good care of Consort Qu when they were in the Prince's residence. There were only two pairs of tourmaline earrings. Consort Chun specially asked Yongbaolou to make a new pair for Consort Qu. Unexpectedly, Consort Qu casually gave them to Xingyu in the Empress's palace.

The second young lady, who had been pampered since childhood, had never been treated so unfairly.

Consort Chun held the earrings in her hand and turned to Hua Yan, saying, "Your pair will be lost soon too."

As she was speaking, she threw her earring out the door, revealing a charmingly naive side of herself that was rarely seen by outsiders.

Hua Yan was holding a coral tree that was five or six inches long and lost in thought when she suddenly heard Rui Zhu and Meng Zhu exclaim in surprise. She looked up and was stunned.

The pair of flying earrings landed squarely on the emperor's shoulder...

Outside the bedchamber, Jingming blinked, gripped his whisk, and muttered to himself, "Oh dear."

Xiao Yuanzi's face turned ashen, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud. He instinctively sang loudly, "His Majesty has arrived at Huining Palace."

The Emperor twirled his earring and glanced at Xiao Yuanzi upon hearing the sound.

Jingming immediately pulled Xiao Yuanzi aside and scolded in a low voice, "The Emperor is already in the bedchamber, what are you still singing for..."