That day, Qin Saizhu invited Qi Daiyu to visit Nie Zhiyu together.
"She's still in her confinement month after the miscarriage, and she's probably lonely. Honestly, I'm also worried she won't be able to move on. I thought if we go keep her company and chat for a while, perhaps her mood might improve." The two did not take a sedan chair and walked towards "Pinghu Qiuyue."
"This matter is truly lamentable. Comforting words are of little use and might only make her sad. It's better if when we go, we just talk about amusing things to help her relax a bit. That should be enough," Qi Daiyu said.
Qin Saizhu: "That's the right approach. Putting myself in her shoes, if it were me... I probably wouldn't want people's comfort either."
What's done is done. What use is comfort now?
"By the way, why didn't you invite Consort Ye?" Qi Daiyu asked.
The four of them had played mahjong together before and got along quite well.
Qin Saizhu: "It rained a few days ago, and Consort Ye caught a slight chill, so I didn't invite her."
Speaking of rain, Qi Daiyu thought of the weather in Yuze. According to the "weather forecast," it was already raining heavily in Yuze. She didn't know if Qi Caishang had gone to Yuze to inspect the river embankments and bridges. She hoped nothing would go wrong.
"What's the rush? With noble ladies present, what sort of spectacle is this, running around in such a fluster?" Suddenly, there was commotion behind them. The two turned around to see Zhi Ma scolding two palace maids who had come from another path.
Both maids looked unfamiliar.
Zhi Ma asked suspiciously, "Which palace are you from? Where are you headed?"
The one in front replied nervously yet respectfully, "Greetings to Lady Zhuangpin, Lady Huizhaoyi. This servant is a maid serving Consort Ning. Consort Ning wishes to paint with withered lotus after the rain, so we two went to gather some. We didn't want to keep Her Ladyship waiting, which is why we were walking hastily. We did not mean to offend the two ladies!"
The maid behind her was indeed holding withered lotus stems.
Qin Saizhu chuckled lightly, "Consort Ning truly has refined interests. Very well, you may go."
"Yes." The two immediately left.
After they were gone, Qin Saizhu remarked, "The one who spoke just now is Ruo Yu from Consort Ning's palace. But the other one, I don't know who she is. She looks more like someone from outside the palace."
Qi Daiyu raised an eyebrow.
The way palace maids walked was specially trained, and one could tell after seeing it enough. What surprised her was that Qin Saizhu could actually remember who served around Consort Ning, even recalling the name of a minor maid.
"Surprised?" Qin Saizhu smiled, "I don't think I've told you before, but I used to be very close with Consort Ning. I knew most of the people around her, and she was also familiar with the people in my palace."
That level of friendship was truly not ordinary.
Qi Daiyu: "Then why don't you associate with each other now?"
Qin Saizhu loved bustle and often visited various palaces, but Qi Daiyu had never seen Qin Saizhu go to Consort Ning's palace.
"I said 'used to be.' Naturally, we're not close anymore," Qin Saizhu's face showed no hint of gloom. "Friendship, perhaps, comes in stages. Formerly close friends might become enemies over a minor disagreement, or they might gradually drift apart after realizing their temperaments are incompatible."
She smiled, "Didn't I say? Consort Ning is elegant and refined, fond of poetry and literature. But I'm rather uncultured; seeing those poems and verses gives me a headache. When conversation doesn't click and you can't find common ground, you slowly drift apart."
What she didn't say was that back when the late Emperor bestowed marriages upon the current Emperor, besides the current Empress who was named Crown Princess, Yang Minzhen was named Secondary Crown Princess, and she herself was named a Crown Prince's Shunü.
The Crown Princess, being the principal wife, required an auspicious date for the wedding. The Secondary Crown Princess entered the Eastern Palace half a year after the Crown Prince's grand wedding. As for her, a mere Shunü, three days after the decree arrived, she entered the Eastern Palace in a simple sedan chair.
Qin Saizhu was outgoing and cheerful by nature, fond of liveliness. At that time, there was only Consort Wu in the Eastern Palace, but Consort Wu was overly wary of her and did not associate with her. And when the Crown Princess entered the Eastern Palace, Qin Saizhu, mindful of the status difference, dared not get too close.
Until Yang Minzhen arrived.
Contrary to what she had just said, while she indeed disliked poetry and verses, she greatly admired talented women. So, when she first met Yang Minzhen, she approached her with admiration. And at that time, Yang Minzhen, newly arrived in the Eastern Palace and isolated, did not reject her overtures.
The two were indeed close for a time.
Unfortunately, later...
Qin Saizhu spoke lightly, as if it were merely a past event. But Qi Daiyu detected some complex emotions from the subtleties of her expression, perhaps lamenting the end of her friendship with Consort Ning.
Qin Saizhu: "So you see, the fate between people is destined by heaven. Like how I used to dislike you, but after you recovered from your illness, I found you very interesting, and I could talk with you all day without getting bored."
If it were her from two years ago, the thought of being friends with the Qi girl who cried at the drop of a hat would probably have made her faint on the spot. It wasn't that such a personality was bad, just that she couldn't get along with it.
Qi Daiyu teased, "Oh, please don't! My head is now filled with all the gossip about various families you've told me!"
The Hundred Flavors Restaurant had a constant flow of customers and was well-informed. Qin Saizhu would share all the news, big and small, from the capital as soon as she heard it, and the two of them would get together and chat about gossip.
"Speaking of which, that unfamiliar maid from earlier, if I'm not mistaken, should be the maid serving the Second Yang Young Lady."
Qin Saizhu was surprised, "You even remember that?"
"Maybe I just have a good memory?" There was no helping it; previously, to find the connection between Consort An and Consort Cao, she had watched the recording from the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet many times. Yang Luoniang had also attended that day and appeared in the recording, so she remembered the maid by Yang Luoniang's side.
Qin Saizhu: "If what you say is true, since she's the Second Yang Young Lady's maid, how did she come from the capital to the Summer Palace, and why is she dressed as a palace maid?" She suddenly became serious, "Never mind, this has nothing to do with us. We are only here to visit Nie Jieyu."
She signaled Qi Daiyu not to meddle in others' affairs.
Qi Daiyu: "Exactly."
Over there, Ruo Yu led the person to Consort Ning's residence, "Yueluo Garden."
"You may go in. Her Ladyship is inside."
Que'er kept her eyes lowered submissively, "Yes." She entered the room holding the withered lotus.
Inside, Consort Ning was painting. Proficient in poetry and literature, her painting skills were also exceptional. Hearing movement, she did not look up. "Place it by the window."
Que'er obeyed, placing the withered lotus in a vase by the window.
Just as she was about to speak, she was stopped by Yang Xue, who shook her head at her. "Her Ladyship is painting. Do not disturb."
Que'er opened her mouth, her eyes filled with anxiety, but she dared not make a sound.
After who knows how long, Consort Ning finally finished her painting, set down her brush, and instructed Yang Xue to let the painting dry. Only then did she look at Que'er.
Her voice remained as calm and unruffled as an ancient well. "What exactly has happened that Mother specially went to Chengzhou and had you disguise yourself as a maid to come here? If I recall correctly, you are the maid serving Luoniang. Why are you not attending to her?"
Que'er fell to her knees with a "thud." "Your Ladyship, Your Ladyship! Please save the Second Young Lady! I beg you, please save the Second Young Lady!"
Consort Ning was startled. "What on earth has happened!"
Sparrow's tears streamed down her face. "Second Miss... Second Miss has had a miscarriage..."
Consort Ning was stunned. "When did Luoniang become pregnant... How could she miscarry? Was it an accident, or..."
"It was no accident!" Sparrow's emotions were highly agitated. She seemed to want to say something, yet also appeared afraid. In the end, her steadfast loyalty to her mistress overcame her fear.
"It was the Master!" Sparrow trembled all over as if recalling something terrifying. "It was the Master who laid hands on her, that's why Second Miss..."
Consort Ning could not believe it. "What are you saying?"
Sparrow pleaded, "Your Ladyship, please save our Miss! If this continues, she will lose her life! Miss can't even get out of bed now. I used the excuse of visiting family back at the main house to tell Her Ladyship about this. Lady Yang was frantic with worry and wanted to visit Second Miss at the Zeng household, but was stopped by the Prime Minister. Lady Yang truly had no other recourse, so she thought of coming to the Lingyuan Temple in Chengzhou to pray and arranged for me to be sent into the palace."
"Your Ladyship, Lady Yang said, only you can save Second Miss now!"
Yang Luoniang was being tormented by that Zeng Qiming. As her natal family, they should have been able to intervene, but Prime Minister Yang would not allow it. Lady Yang couldn't even leave the house. She could only turn to Consort Ning. After all, she was an imperial consort. If she was willing to speak to the Emperor and plead for mercy, perhaps Luoniang could be saved.
After hearing Sparrow's account, Consort Ning rose and headed for the door, but her steps faltered as she reached the threshold.
Consort Ning's eyes were filled with struggle. She was naturally heartbroken over Luoniang's plight. However, Consort Nie had just miscarried not long ago, and the Emperor was currently vexed and unsettled. If she chose this moment to expose Zeng Qiming's brutality, would the Emperor think she was stirring up trouble?
Zeng Qiming was a trusted confidant of the Emperor. The Emperor might not necessarily believe her. What if he grew displeased with her because of this...
Even if the Emperor believed her and punished Zeng Qiming, the Yang and Zeng families were now related by marriage. If Zeng Qiming fell from grace, it would bring no benefit to the Yang family either.
This, she supposed, was also the reason her father had stopped her mother.
Consort Ning hesitated, uncertain. After a long while, she slowly retreated back into the room.
Sparrow's eyes widened. "Your Ladyship?"
"Sparrow," Consort Ning said, "It is not that this Consort does not wish to save Luoniang. It is just that the palace is currently in a tumultuous period. The Emperor is preoccupied with state affairs; even I find it difficult to gain an audience. Moreover, that Zeng Qiming is a high-ranking court official. The Emperor may not believe he is capable of such violence."
"How could he not believe it? Would Second Miss falsely accuse Master Zeng? Even if he doubts, Your Ladyship need only send a palace maid to the Zeng residence to see for herself. There is not a single patch of unblemished skin left on Second Miss's body!" Sparrow said passionately.
"Your Ladyship, Second Miss suffers a living death every day. That Zeng Qiming, he is simply not human! He forbids us from attending to Second Miss closely. We can only enter the courtyard after he has left for court. It's pitiful, Second Miss, tormented by him all night long..." As Sparrow spoke, her face showed a mix of heartache and terror.
She had never seen such a demon before. Second Miss, a beauty like a celestial being, yet the skin hidden beneath her clothes bore not a single unmarred spot—marks from ropes, burns from hot oil, bruises from hands, even lashes from a whip... Often, new wounds were added before the old ones had healed.
And this time, the worst offense of all, he had beaten Second Miss until she miscarried.
"Second Miss is the daughter of a Prime Minister! How can she endure such humiliation?" Sparrow did not understand. If they hadn't known Zeng Qiming's true nature before the marriage, that was one thing. But why, now that they knew what Zeng Qiming had done, would Prime Minister Yang and Consort Ning not protect Second Miss?
Hearing Sparrow recount all that Yang Luoniang had suffered, Consort Ning's eyes also reddened, her handkerchief clutched tightly in her hand.
That was her younger sister. Did her heart not ache for her?
It felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart.
However, the relationship between the Zeng and Yang families must not be ruptured.
The Emperor intended to establish a Grand Secretariat, which would surely be formed by the end of next year at the latest. Speculation was rife about who would be appointed. After presiding over the palace examination, her father's prestige among scholars had soared. If he could also gain the support of Zeng Qiming and his faction, her father would undoubtedly secure a place in the Grand Secretariat.
Zeng Qiming could not be cast aside yet.
Two clear trails of tears traced down Consort Ning's delicate face. She instructed Yang Xue to help Sparrow to her feet.
"Sparrow, this Consort will prepare some good medicinal ointments for you to take back. Tell Luoniang to endure a little longer. This Consort will definitely save her."
"Definitely."
