NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 30
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Xi Que pushed open the door to the room assigned to her by the eunuch and was immediately caught in a fit of coughing from the dust.
The eunuch guarding the Palace of Exile came over with a bucket of water obsequiously, "Oh dear~ Lady Xi Que, please step back, you mustn't trouble yourself with such menial tasks. This humble servant Xiao Xuanzi will clean it up right away."
Jiang Xinyue took two steps back to avoid getting her clothes soiled by the dust, for if nothing went amiss, she would be wearing this outfit for a long time.
She took a few broken silver pieces from her sleeve and gave Xiao Xuanzi a sweet smile, "Xiao Xuanzi, you give me too much credit. We are both servants attending to our master. There is no high or low, noble or base. Thank you for your hard work. Let us quickly clean up so our master may move in!"
Xiao Xuanzi was stunned as he accepted the reward, and under Jiang Xinyue's gentle smile, he joined Xi Que in cleaning the room.
To be honest, he only tried to curry favor with Consort Zhen in front of the various imperial consorts to gain some benefits.
He had expected the ladies demoted to the Palace of Exile to arrive haughty and arrogant, looking down upon him at first.
They would either beat him, scold him, or verbally abuse him as a dog of a servant, which he was long accustomed to.
In the end, those ladies would either go mad or die, kneeling at his feet begging him to seek the Emperor's pardon.
He had seen all manner of human nature.
But never before had a lady treated him with such evenness, gentleness, and warmth as Consort Zhen.
Even her palace maids were courteous, showing no disdain for him as a eunuch of the Palace of Exile.
Now he understood why even the Empress and other consorts had come to bid farewell to Consort Zhen.
Who would not adore such a disposition?
There was little to clean, just some dusting and sweeping.
The rooms of the Palace of Exile were bare, containing only a bed, a table, and two stools.
The bed was nothing but bare boards with not even proper bedding.
Xiao Xuanzi laughed awkwardly, "My lady, the Internal Affairs Department rarely sends provisions to the Palace of Exile, maybe two or three times a year..."
In other words, the provisions meant for the Palace of Exile were likely being pocketed by corrupt officials.
Jiang Xinyue nodded, "Then please trouble Xiao Xuanzi to make another trip to the Internal Affairs Department. I will have Xi Que write you a list of what I need. Do you have any paper and ink?"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Xiao Xuanzi did not expect the Internal Affairs Department to provide, but he clung to a slim hope.
What if they did?
Then he would have done a service for Consort Zhen.
At Changxin Palace—
In the evening, Concubine Li indeed came down with a high fever. The Xuanwu Emperor personally wiped the sweat from her brow, attending to her until late into the night before her condition finally improved.
The Emperor had not eaten all day.
Although Xia He had been slapped, the Emperor had already demoted Consort Zhen to the Palace of Exile, so she bore no resentment toward him. Instead, she could not help but advise, "If the Consort knew how worried the Emperor is about her health, she would surely wake up soon. Please take care of your imperial body as well, Your Majesty, lest the Consort be saddened upon learning of your distress."
The Xuanwu Emperor stood up but was momentarily dizzy, fortunately Wang Dequan supported him. Xia He was startled and nearly reached out to help before retracting her hands.
The emperor looked haggard, "We shall return to Chengqian Palace to dine first, then come back later. Take good care of the Consort, the imperial physicians are waiting outside. Summon Us if anything arises."
Xia He nodded, "This servant will see Your Majesty off."
After leaving Changxin Palace, the weariness on the Emperor's face vanished, and his steps quickened, "Zhen Fang... Did Consort Zhen go to the Palace of Exile?"
Wang Dequan had to jog to keep up, "In response to Your Majesty, she went there this afternoon."
The Emperor's footsteps faltered for a moment, and the atmosphere grew quiet.
Wang Dequan carefully studied his expression, gauging the Emperor's thoughts, "Consort Zhen comes from a scholarly family and likely never experienced such hardship growing up. The Palace of Exile is dilapidated. Should this servant arrange for the Internal Affairs Department to prepare it properly?"
In truth, the Emperor had already investigated Consort Zhen's background. Although from a scholarly family, she was the daughter of a concubine, and her birth mother had been a famous dancer in the mansion of the Marquis of Ruyang: of rather lowly origins.
Consort Zhen was not valued by the Vice Minister of Rites as a child, and her official mother viewed her birth mother as a thorn in her side, constantly mistreating the two.
This abusive life continued until Consort Zhen was eleven and her extraordinary beauty blossomed, finally improving their circumstances.
The Vice Minister of Rites had sent her to the palace to pave the way for his official daughter Jiang Yutong to gain the Emperor's favor.
"As you see fit."
The Emperor's reply indicated to Wang Dequan that he still cared for Consort Zhen.
He wondered if the Vice Minister of Rites regretted using his lowborn daughter as a stepping stone, only for her to capture the Emperor's heart while his official daughter met an early grave, her prime years buried within the depths of the palace.
When Xiao Xuanzi returned to the Palace of Exile, he was dumbfounded.
Never had he imagined a day when he could command the officials of the Internal Affairs Department who typically looked down on everyone.
Yet they politely brought everything Consort Zhen requested.
A wooden bed frame, gauze canopy, dressing table, charcoal brazier, wardrobes, folding screens, bathtub, and all necessary living provisions were delivered in full.
The cold, bare room was instantly filled to the brim with furnishings, taking on the semblance of a lady's chambers.
Xiao Xuanzi was in awe of Jiang Xinyue.
At the first light of dawn, Concubine Li groggily awoke from her unconscious state to find the Xuanwu Emperor dozing at her bedside.
"Your... cough, cough..."
She managed to utter one word before her hoarse throat failed her, coughing heavily twice to clear the obstruction.
The Emperor instantly woke, "My love, you're awake?"
Concubine Li closed her eyes and sat up with the Emperor's assistance, "Your Majesty, what happened to this concubine?"
The Emperor instructed Qing He to bring warm nourishing porridge, "My love fell into the water and lost consciousness, giving Us quite a fright."
Concubine Li seemed to recall and embraced the Emperor's waist, tears streaming down, "This concubine... thought she would never see Your Majesty again."
"Silly girl, how could that be?"
The Xuanwu Emperor patted her back, "We would never let any harm come to you."
He took the porridge from Xia He, blew on a spoonful to cool it, and fed it to Concubine Li, "You were unconscious for over a day without a single grain of rice. Quickly drink this porridge."
Gazing across the entire imperial harem, the only consort who could make the Emperor stay with her for an entire night, and personally feed her porridge, was Consort Jiang.
That Xi Que... oh no... even if Consort Zhen was favored, she could not compare to the preciousness of Consort Jiang's little finger.
In the Xihuo Palace, Consort Jiang let out a hearty laugh: "Tomorrow, shall we go visit Consort Zhen in the Palace of Exile? After all, we are like sisters; we cannot let her be disheartened, can we?"
She did not yet know that Jiang Xinyue had not neglected herself even in the Palace of Exile.