The cubs are more popular than the mother.
“Little babies, you are too cute, oh, so adorable!” Consort Mei patted the four cubs’ faces one by one, doting on them.
The four cubs were all sharp little sprites. Seeing Consort Mei, their eyes sparkled, and they giggled, their smiles so bright.
Seeing their smiling faces, all worldly worries could vanish in an instant.
Zi Qiu also loved them dearly, but she still had a trace of reason. She looked around and quietly reminded Consort Mei, “Your Highness, walls have ears. Let’s go inside first.”
Consort Mei then nodded, asking Eunuch Zhu to escort the four cubs into Yong’an Palace. She took Bai Sheng’s hand, and they entered Yong’an Palace, chatting and laughing.
Seeing that Bai Sheng had brought her another large basket of durians, Consort Mei laughed heartily, wishing she could plant two kisses on Bai Sheng’s face.
Eunuch Zhu and Zi Qiu immediately took out a pile of various toys they had prepared, placing them on the soft-cushioned floor.
Upon seeing them, the four cubs instantly abandoned their mother and scampered over.
After Bai Sheng and Consort Mei were seated, she told Consort Mei about the situation with Prince Yu.
Upon hearing that her son had turned as dark as charcoal from treating sandy land and planting trees, Consort Mei found it hard to believe. She knew her son; he was very vain and couldn’t tolerate anything ugly, except for her, his mother, of course.
She never imagined that her son would change so much after more than two years in the border state of Fengdi.
It seemed that harsh environments truly tempered people. Her son had finally grown up.
After Bai Sheng finished talking about Prince Yu, Consort Mei, with a smile plastered on her face throughout, told Bai Sheng about the Empress and the Crown Prince.
“Xiao Sheng, you probably don’t know yet? The Empress’s Xiangyun Palace and the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace were robbed,” Consort Mei’s schadenfreude was almost palpable.
“Oh? The Xiangyun Palace and the Eastern Palace were robbed? Impossible! This is the Imperial Palace!” Bai Sheng’s dramatic flair quickly returned.
Consort Mei chuckled, “It’s absolutely true. It happened about seven or eight days after you left the capital last time. It’s said that everything was stolen from both palaces, not even a needle and thread were left. At that time, the Empress and the Crown Prince were so poor they didn’t even have underpants left, ahahaha…”
“Tsk tsk, heavens! Those bandits are too audacious! How dare they steal from the Empress and the Crown Prince? Was the Emperor very angry? Did they find out who did it?” Bai Sheng feigned surprise.
Consort Mei snorted, “Investigate what? The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice investigated the case together for several months, but there was no clue.
I think it’s highly likely to become another cold case. However, I heard that a similar incident happened in a military camp on the eastern front in the occupied area of Great Xia in Qinghuang Kingdom. The entire camp was stripped bare overnight, it’s simply unbelievable.
There was also a family surnamed Wen in Tasha County that experienced a similar theft. But no clues were found in any of these cases.
Many people speculate that these people did bad things, offended the God of Wealth, and were therefore retaliated against by the God of Wealth. Hmph, I think so too, doing too many unrighteous deeds leads to one’s own destruction!”
Bai Sheng, looking stunned, nodded blankly, “I also think so. Otherwise, ordinary people could not commit such thefts.”
Consort Mei smiled, “Xiao Sheng, you don’t know, ever since those thefts happened, all the noble ladies and young ladies in the capital have not dared to compare with each other. When they go out, they dress as plainly as possible.
Ministers in court also try to appear poor whenever they can, for fear of attracting the attention of the bandits and having them visit their homes in the middle of the night. This is a good deed done unintentionally by the bandits.”
“Indeed it is a good deed, hehe… hehe…”, Bai Sheng felt guilty as if she were the thief.
“Consort Mei! Something’s wrong! Consort Yu has been beaten again!” A palace maid rushed into the hall, crying out in alarm.
“Tinglan? What happened?” Consort Mei asked sternly after recognizing the maid.
Tinglan cried out urgently, “Consort Mei, please… please go to Haitang Garden quickly. Consort Yu is about to be beaten to death by Consort Zhen!”
Upon hearing this, Consort Mei leaped to her feet and said to Bai Sheng, “Xiao Sheng, stay here and don’t go out. I’ll be back shortly. It’s Consort Yu again; these things… happen often and are easy to resolve.”
“Alright, Your Highness, hurry,” Bai Sheng replied. She remembered Consort Yu as a pitiable person.
“Zhu Hou, take care of my godson,” Consort Mei instructed Eunuch Zhu before quickly walking out. Zi Qiu and the palace maid named Tinglan also hurried after her.
Eunuch Zhu looked at Bai Sheng, stood up, and smiled, “Miss Bai, this old servant… has a question I’d like to ask you presumptuously.”
“Please, Eunuch Zhu.”
Eunuch Zhu looked somewhat embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Miss Bai, the last time you came to Yong’an Palace, you said you would ask your master if our mistress’s face could be healed. I wonder—” how did the inquiry go?
“Oh, this matter,” Bai Sheng said with a hearty laugh, “Eunuch Zhu, rest assured, I have already asked my master. My master said it can be treated. The treatment method is called ‘Yi Shi,’ which means transferring the backlash from Consort Mei’s face to another person. This person must either be completely willing or have done something very bad to the person who suffers the backlash, in which case the latter can seek retribution from them.”
Eunuch Zhu’s eyes lit up, “Is this method really feasible?”
Bai Sheng nodded, “My master has already taught me the specific methods. My main purpose for coming to the palace this time is to inform Consort Mei about this. If Her Highness is willing, I can treat her.”
Eunuch Zhu nodded with a look of relief, “Very good, very good, Miss Bai, thank you so much.”
Bai Sheng waved her hand, “You’re welcome, Eunuch Zhu. Consort Mei has helped me immensely, and I personally like Consort Mei very much. I am very happy to be able to do something for her.”
Under the begonia trees in Haitang Garden.
Consort Zhen was ordering a嬷嬷 (a senior female servant) to whip Consort Yu, who was curled up on the ground.
Consort Mei strode forward angrily, grabbed the嬷嬷’s hand, and with a forceful tug, caused her to stumble. Then, she kicked her to the ground, exclaiming, “How dare you! You despicable slave! How dare you strike the Emperor’s consort!”
“Presumptuous! Consort Mei, what are you doing?!” Consort Zhen stood up and sharply rebuked her.
“You are presumptuous!” Consort Mei’s gaze suddenly became as sharp as a knife, fixing on Consort Zhen. “Consort Yu is an officially conferred consort by the Emperor. Even if she made a mistake, it is not for you to punish! You are merely relying on the fact that you have slept with the Emperor a few nights recently, and you think you can run roughshod in this harem?”
“You—” Consort Zhen’s pretty face turned pale with anger. “She was lurking in my Haitang Garden, eavesdropping on me. How could I not teach her a lesson?”
Consort Mei sneered, “She eavesdropped on you? Are you blind? Don’t you see she’s a lunatic? Does she know what eavesdropping is?
You’re just a dog relying on its master’s power. Seeing that she is easy to bully, you want to bully her to show off that you are currently a favored consort!”