northernbook Chapter 508 The Turtle Hiding in its Shell
Chapter 508 The Turtle Hiding in its Shell
Half an hour ago, as soon as the meeting in Huining Palace ended, the concubines rose one after another to take their leave.
Consort Shen followed at the back of the crowd, her eyes darting around, never daring to look at Consort Mu beside her. When she reached the palace gate, she clenched her handkerchief, thinking only of taking advantage of Consort Mu's inattention to quickly return to Shujing Palace and hide.
But she had only taken two steps when she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure passing by.
Consort Mu walked silently to the front, heading towards her Shujing Palace.
Consort Shen's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly followed, "Sister Song...are you going to my palace?"
Consort Mu did not turn around, but simply hummed in agreement. "I haven't seen Lingning for two days, so I'll go and see her."
Hearing this, Consort Shen felt a little relieved, but then felt even more guilty. Although Consort Mu said she was going to see the princess, she knew in her heart that the other party was probably still worried about her and wanted to give her some more advice in private.
She quickly took a few steps to follow beside Consort Mu, and whispered, "Thank you for speaking up for me in the palace just now... It wasn't that I was confused—"
Consort Mu turned her head and glanced at her. "Think before you speak in the future. If Zhixue can pass the message to you, she can naturally enter the gate of Funing Palace... As for Consort Yang, no matter what, Qing Shi helped her in the past. Now she is publicly distancing herself from the relationship, which is really shameful. You must not associate with her again in the future, lest you get entangled with her and cause yourself a lot of trouble."
Consort Shen nodded quickly, but still whispered in her defense, "I know. This time it was Mother's order. When I was imprisoned, Her Majesty the Empress pleaded with the Emperor for my life. Besides, we are both from military families, so we should be of one mind and not let Consort Chun steal the limelight."
Upon hearing this, Consort Mu quickened her pace with a cold expression. Shujing Palace was not far from Huining Palace; it was just a couple of turns along the palace road. At that moment, she found Consort Shen's words absurd and didn't bother to say anything more.
Upon entering the palace, she dismissed those around her and spoke in a tone so solemn it was almost stern:
"Stealing the limelight? If Consort Chun wants to steal the limelight, what is a mere 100,000 taels of silver compared to the wealth and manpower of the Tang family?"
"Don't forget, although Consort Chun entered the palace as a concubine, the land and shops that the Tang family brought as dowry amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. If she wanted to show off, why bother leading this prayer and donation drive? Wouldn't it have been better to just report to the Emperor and send the money away directly?"
"Besides, this is about helping the disaster-stricken people, which is a righteous thing to do and accumulate good deeds. How can you think of this so superficially? And what's with this talk of 'being of the same blood'? If you really want to think about our military family, you should do your part in disaster relief instead of making sarcastic remarks here!"
These words were undeniably harsh. After saying them, without caring how much Consort Shen took in, Consort Mu turned and left Shujing Palace.
At this moment, in the Renming Hall.
The Empress listened from behind a palace door as Zhixue quietly reported the details of the meeting in Huining Palace.
"Twenty thousand dan of grain? In this year of famine, how could the Tang family possibly raise so much grain all at once?"
The hall was silent for a moment. The Empress took a deep breath, and the panic in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a calmness. "It's alright, Father will also take action."
This drought was a devastating disaster for ordinary people, but for her, it was a turning point in her predicament.
She had previously intended to use the celestial phenomena to achieve her goal, but the departure of Consort Qu from the palace disrupted the situation. This time, even without Yang Baolin's advice through Zhixue, she had already made a decision: to mobilize the entire Marquis's mansion to gain the upper hand in disaster relief.
As long as she can gain enough prestige among the people through this incident, making them grateful for her kindness, and then secretly encourage court officials to submit memorials of advice, the emperor will have no reason to imprison her any longer.
As for the Marquis's family having to squander the wealth accumulated over decades, what does it matter? Money can be collected again, but power, once lost, is truly hard to regain. As long as the Emperor can see that she, as Empress, can enable her family to share the burdens of the court and alleviate the suffering of the people, then all the sacrifices will be worthwhile.
"Zhixue," the Empress silently calculated for a moment, then instructed, "Send another secret letter to Father, telling him to act quickly and that the amount of grain he donates must surpass that of the Tang family..."
......
After a busy day, Meng Shu finally had some free time and was sitting on the soft couch by the window, holding Yu Nu'er and playing with her.
The little guy's tiny hand gripped her fingertips, babbling and blowing bubbles. Meng Shu smiled and pinched his cheek, just as she was thinking of teaching him to speak, when Green Willow came to report that after Consort Mu returned, she took an extra five thousand taels of silver and had it sent to Consort Chun.
"Consort Mu also had Fengchi deliver a message saying that the five thousand taels should not be recorded in the donation, as it was on behalf of the Second Princess to thank the Noble Consort for her kindness in bestowing the Buddhist beads."
Meng Shu carefully handed Yu Nu'er to the wet nurse, and then gave her a few more instructions, "Be extra careful at night," before turning and leaving the warm pavilion.
"Consort Mu is indeed a loyal and devoted person. All this trouble is for Consort Shen. But Consort Shen is not worthy of her friendship. She is impulsive and always led by others, as evidenced by her defending Consort Yang in Huining Palace today."
Green Willow wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. Consort Mu has shielded her from so much trouble, yet she shows no remorse whatsoever. Who knows what trouble she'll cause in the future? I've been watching closely, and Consort Mu's face was terribly cold today. She must have been truly angry. She probably won't be so concerned about this in the future."
Meng Shu smiled and said, "Everyone has their own destiny. Even if Consort Mu is angry, she may not really ignore this sisterly bond when it really comes down to it."
"Let's not talk about them. Don't you think the winds of change are about to blow in the palace? If the Emperor rescinds his decree to imprison the Empress, things will get lively again."
Green Willow's heart tightened, and she quickly asked, "In Your Majesty's opinion, would the Emperor really do such a thing?"
"Let's wait and see." Meng Shu's gaze drifted towards the direction of Renming Palace in the distance.
"However... for us, it may not be a bad thing. The Empress is currently confined to the palace and cannot leave her quarters, making it difficult to find any fatal evidence against her. This also makes it difficult to cooperate with Madam Yun's plans outside the palace. But if she is released from confinement, she will definitely be unable to resist making some moves, and then we will have an opportunity."
......
"Shu'er means that the Empress is like a turtle hiding in its shell, and we have no way to get to her. But once she peeks out, it gives us the opportunity to seize her fatal weakness?" Consort Chun said, her previous doubts gradually fading from her eyes, revealing a hint of understanding.
Yesterday evening, she presented the list of donors to the Funing Palace. The Emperor was delighted and also praised her suggestion that Jingming and the Director of the Imperial Household Department jointly handle the donations for the inner palace.
But after returning, she felt uneasy because the Emperor's expression was slightly subtle when he saw the Empress's donation in the donation register.
Meng Shu pondered for a moment and said, "Let's wait and see. The Marquis of Zhenbei's residence will definitely take some action, otherwise, although 100,000 taels of silver is not a small amount, it wouldn't be worth the Emperor's fuss..."