It was partially because Ling Rui’er’s face had been sunburnt and she would drag anyone who dared to look at her face out for a vicious beating. On the other hand, it was because she looked terrible now. Who would want to look at her face!
However, the imperial physicians were in trouble. The imperial physician who said that the injuries on Ling Rui’er’s face would be difficult to heal. He had been dragged out and beaten until he was half-dead. Another who said that they need to apply strong medicine on her face was beaten up as well. There were other incidents, but in any case, Ling Rui’er would beat up the physicians she did not like. A large number of imperial physicians in the palace were beaten up by her.
The Empress paused for a moment before saying slowly, “Invite the lead imperial physician over tomorrow to take a look at her face.”
The lead imperial physician was not an ordinary imperial physician. He had a position in court and was in charge of the Emperor’s health. The Emperor trusted him the most and not even ill consorts in the palace could get him to treat them. It all depended on his mood. It would be actively seeking out trouble getting him to treat Consort Chu.
Nanny Lin asked in confusion, “Your Majesty, even though Consort Chu’s face was sunburnt, it is not a life-threatening illness. Are you really going to get the Lord Imperial Physician here? Furthermore, he might not necessarily come. Consort Su fell ill once and I heard she did not manage to get the lead imperial physician to treat her.”
The lead imperial physician was known to be very stubborn. Forcing him to come would not work and it might even anger the Emperor and create trouble for the Empress. Nanny Lin felt that Consort Chu should go back to King Chu’s Manor. No matter what trouble she caused, it would have nothing to do with the Empress. However, she was now in the palace and staying in the Empress’s Tianfeng Palace. If anything happened, the Empress would be implicated.
Furthermore, both of them were from Ding General Manor. This relationship could not be hidden.
“I heard that the Lord Imperial Physician likes Wei Chess manuals. Bring my old chess manual here and give it to him. Say that I would like to invite him to come and take a look at Consort Chu’s face. I will thank him well if he can treat her.” A hint of viciousness flashed in the Empress’s eyes as she spoke coldly. She would not force the elderly lead imperial physician to come, of course.
Even though the man’s position in court was not high, Emperor Zongwen trusted him greatly. He had always done his best to keep the Emperor healthy and kept his mouth tightly shut.
“That chess manual is part of Your Majesty’s dowry. I heard that it is a great treasure. How can you give it to someone else just like that?” Nanny Lin persuaded the Empress, feeling disgruntled that the Empress was giving away her personal belongings to ask someone to treat Ling Rui’er. She was a trusted confidant of the Empress and there were some things that she could get away with saying. She reminded the Empress then. “Your Majesty, Consort Chu is in such a state now and will not listen to anyone. Look at how flagrant her behavior is in the palace right now. She really thinks she is a mistress in this palace. Why are you still taking care of her? Without her, you and Duke Ding might not become distant.”
She was saying that the Ding General Manor might seem to be standing on the same side as the Empress on the surface but was siding with Feng Yuxuan, King Chu, in private. They were just waiting for Ling Rui’er to give birth to Feng Yuxuan’s legitimate son before officially standing with him. The Empress and King Yan, who had the Empress’s support, no longer had the support of the Ding General Manor.
Nanny Lin saw how worried the Empress was lately and felt for her!
“It’s alright. Rui’er just wants to feel mighty in my palace. I will let her have her fun. King Chu can use her as a chess piece, so why can’t I? Eldest Brother and Second Brother are slowly leaning towards Rui’er and King Chu. It’s just because King Chu’s Manor will bring them greater benefits and the child that King Chu and Rui’er have will be closer in terms of a bloodline with them. But if Rui’er cannot have any children in her lifetime? King Chu will not dote on her as much as he does now. Or perhaps, Eldest Brother and Second Brother might not be as close to King Chu as they are now.”
The Empress laughed coldly. Her eyes were sinister and cold under the light and they looked as if they could see through one’s heart. There was a cold smirk on her lips and she did not look as gentle and elegant as she was rumored to be. Instead, her sinister smile made one’s heart feel as if it were being plunged into a bucket of ice.
No matter what, she was going to sow discord between Feng Yuxuan and the Ding General Manor. The lead imperial physician was a stubborn man and he would make the perfect weapon against Feng Yuxuan. Feng Yuxuan has always claimed that he doted on and loved Ling Rui’er. He only watched on as Ling Rui’er killed the unborn child in his Second Consort’s belly and did nothing. Furthermore, he even allowed Ling Rui’er to shame his Second Consort.
Then she wanted to see how long he could take that for…
It was blazingly hot outside. Yet, all was unusually quiet in King Xuan’s Manor. There were guards at the main entrance but the manor received fresh food every day that was sent to the door. The food would then be brought to the kitchen by servants and then made into food for the master and mistress of the manor. Medicinal herbs ordered by Mo Xuetong would occasionally be sent over from faraway places.
Feng Yuran woke up early in the morning for several consecutive mornings. He fiddled with something secretly in the manor. Mo Xuetong looked at Mo Ye and Mo Lan, but they all refused to say anything. They would smile and change the topic when Mo Xuetong asked them about it but would not tell her anything. Mo Xuetong gave up on the issue huffily.
She was very busy now as well.
The concubines in the back courtyard were all locked up in a few larger courtyards after Mo Xuetong married Feng Yuran. They were not allowed to leave the courtyards usually. This meant that there was plenty of trouble and mess in the various courtyards. There would be people fighting in this courtyard, or someone splashing another person with a bucket of water another day. It was chaotic and Nanny Chen and Xianglan who managed the back courtyard were extremely frazzled.
Before this, they all pretended to be gentle when they met in order to fight for affection from Feng Yuran. But now, they all showed their true colors and no one would give in. They could not get in contact with those who could help them from outside the manor since they were locked up. Yet, they could not even see King Xuan in the manor. There was no hope for them at all. As such, this bunch of women started to make a fuss.
What Mo Xuetong had to do now was to separate the women based on their circumstances and treat them differently. King Xuan’s Manor was different now and she was in charge of the back courtyard. She would slowly get rid of some of the women here. Even though they were all humble concubines, she still had to meet them officially.
After getting up, Mo Xuetong sent Xianglan to bring the women to the front parlor. She and Mo Lan had come up with a new procedure in the past few days that she had to tell these concubines. She also wanted to see what was the situation with these women so that she could deal with them better. The existence of these concubines was like a tumor growing on King Xuan’s Manor right now. She had to get rid of them before those working in the dark could make a move.
This was the best opportunity since the King’s Manor was being guarded right now.
People were only allowed to enter but not leave. She wanted to see who would dare to play dirty tricks at a time like this and attract the attention of the Emperor.
As such, she could relax and deal with these matters boldly.
It has been a few months since Mo Xuetong married Feng Yuran but this was the first time the concubines were meeting their matriarch. When they heard that the Lady had ordered them to see her, they all parted and went to their rooms to dress up. They each had their own ideas and plans. Most thought that they had to hurry up and butter up to the new matriarch.
There were a few who used to have Feng Yuran’s affections who were fuming mad right now. They blamed Mo Xuetong for stealing Feng Yuran’s affections. Now that a few months have passed and the Lady wished to see them, they immediately thought that it was on His Highness’s orders. They thought that their chance was here and dressed to the nines, afraid that others would not know that they had once been favored in King Xuan’s Manor.
However, no matter which one of them it was, they all knew that they should not stand out at this moment. That was why they all went to the front parlor very early and waited there.
Mo Xuetong combed her hair unhurriedly and had half a bowl of porridge. Mo Ye specially brought her the medicine that Feng Yuran ordered to have brewed. It was slightly yellowish and smelt foul. Mo Xuetong looked at it pitifully. She did not want to drink it. She turned to look hesitantly at Mo Ye, who appeared very determined, and then laughed dryly.
Mo Xuetong picked up the bowl and drained it in one go. Mo Lan was already waiting by her side and gave her some sweet pieces of dried fruit. Mo Xuetong ate two pieces before she felt the bitterness in her mouth fading. She put the bowl down and asked hesitantly, “This medicine… do I still have to take it in the afternoon?”
“You still have to take it once more in the afternoon. His Highness said that you have been drinking more recently and he will help you to get rid of all the medicine in your body.” Mo Ye answered seriously. This was what His Highness ordered her to do. As such, what she had to do every day was to watch Mo Xuetong drink her medicine. Mo Xuetong was not allowed to pour her medicine away slyly anymore. Earlier on Mo Xuetong had managed to get the servants to do other things and she would then pour the medicine into the flowerpots while no one was watching.
However, ever since Feng Yuran smelt the smell of Chinese medicine on the withering plant, Mo Ye started to supervise Mo Xuetong.
Upon hearing how decisive Mo Ye was, Mo Xuetong could only lower her head. She pouted slightly and did not say anything else.
When she was done with everything, she brought with her a large number of servants and headed for the front parlor.
The concubines waiting at the front parlor had gone early and waited for quite a while. A few of the proud ones were already feeling impatient.
This was especially true amongst those who were favored earlier on. One of them was called Concubine Yun. She seemed extremely riled up and frustrated. She smirked and said, “She called us here just to show us how powerful she is. She’s not afraid of other’s saying that she is not virtuous and wise. This is the King’s Manor, not her little third-grade official manor.”
Concubine Lian, who was standing beside her, was a gentle soul. She paled when she heard what Concubine Yun said. She tugged on Concubine Yun’s sleeve and said, “No matter what, it is right for her to manage us. She is our mistress once she enters this manor. It is her right to manage us. Why do you still not understand that!”
She made it sound as if Concubine Yun was very dumb and Concubine Yun grew unhappy. She pointed at the door and said angrily, “What mistress? She is just a child. How can His Highness like someone so innocent? They just got married and His Highness just likes her because she’s new. Look, he still has to come and see us now.”
She was just feeling pleased with herself when Mo Yu pushed the doors open forcefully. Behind the door, stood Mo Xuetong in full regalia of a consort. She stood there expressionlessly with a maid holding up her hand. She had heard everything Concubine Yun said. Xianglan, who stood beside Mo Xuetong had already told her Concubine Yun’s name.
They were truly a group of women who were determined to cause chaos in King Xuan’s Manor. Mo Xuetong smirked to herself. No wonder Nanny Chen and Xianglan were so busy and frazzled. These women were all troublesome. She was going to show them who was in charge today and make it clear to them who the mistress of the manor was.
Mo Xuetong slowly entered, holding Mo Lan’s hand.
After entering King Xuan’s Manor, Mo Xuetong ate even better and there was even a nanny who especially helped her to regulate her health. Feng Yuran was afraid that she might be unwell and even found a few experienced nannies who could cook to help Mo Xuetong with her diet. As such, Mo Xuetong’s body had matured a little over the past few months.
While she still looked young, there was a hint of a natural charm on her innocent face. Her every move, coupled with her beautiful face, made her appear to be gentle, elegant, and ethereal. She wore the bright red consort robe with gold trimmings well.
The concubines present were all very beautiful, but there were all stunned by Mo Xuetong. They did not know why, but when they saw Mo Xuetong, who seemed perfect, they all felt small and insignificant. Mo Xuetong was beautiful and gracious, completely unlike the rumors saying that she was innocent and immature.
Her every gaze and every smile reeked of charm. Even a woman would be dazzled by her!
Mo Xuetong sat down with the help of Mo Lan. A maid came up to serve tea which Mo Xuetong picked up and sipped at. Then, she looked around at the large group of women around her. It seemed that there was really a lot of them.
They came in all shapes and sizes. There were also a few who were exceptionally beautiful. Those must be the most favored concubines in the past, and also the ones who caused the most trouble.
Mo Xuetong could roughly tell what the situation was with a single glance. Her gaze settled on Concubine Yun and Concubine Lian. However, she only paid them a cursory glance before looking away.
