Chapter 18: Shen Zaijie’s Turn


“Yes.” Zhanlu replied, following his master as they headed out together.

This backyard had always been calm and steady. Previously, Shen Zaive didn’t have extra energy to deal with women, so he set up a set of rules. Everything followed these rules, and no matter how many schemes anyone harbored, they couldn’t stir up any waves.

However, the current situation was different. Most of the court officials were now loyal to him, and the important matters were already firmly in his grasp. It was time to stir up this calm pond to seize even better opportunities.

Originally, Jiang Taohua should have died at the hands of Prince Jing. That way, he could have gradually stirred up conflicts between the emperor and Prince Jing, making the prince rely on and trust him, and eventually become his pawn.

But unfortunately, he had misjudged her. Jiang Taohua surprised him, not only surviving but even managing to use the Southern Prince for her own protection! His plans had been disrupted by her, and she would have to pay the corresponding price.

If she’s alive, she should still serve a purpose.

With deep, inscrutable eyes, Shen Zaiye saw the wide-open courtyard gate of Spring Contention Pavilion and stepped through it.

The courtyard was a scene of peace. Taohua lay in deep slumber in the main room, with the maids beside her looking as calm as if nothing had happened at all.

Shen Zaijie felt a bit strange. Since Lady Gu had come to cause trouble, according to common sense, shouldn’t Jiang Taohua’s maidservant come to lodge a complaint when she saw him? What did it mean to just stand there without saying a word?

“Why aren’t you sleeping in bed?” Glancing at the person on the couch, he lifted his robe and sat down by the bed, reaching out to pinch Taohua’s wrist. “With such heavy injuries, why do you still insist on moving around?”

Qingtai lowered her head and replied, “My lady feels that sleeping in bed is uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Shen Zaijie raised his head, his gaze deep and dark as he looked at Qingtai. “Do you think that reason holds water?”

The mossy stone remained silent, lowering its eyes and acting as a pillar.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew a bit strange.

Zhan Lu stood to the side, quite puzzled. Lady Jiang was odd, and even her maidservant was odd. Why weren’t they seizing the opportunity to accuse Lady Gu in front of the Chancellor? What were they waiting for? If she remained silent, how would his master find a reason to condemn Lady Gu?

This was the perfect moment for Lady Jiang to shine. Whatever she did, the Chancellor would surely protect her and bestow her with boundless favor. If it were any other woman, she would be overjoyed, perhaps even flaunting her favor slightly and stepping on others for trivial matters. Yet now, even with Lady Gu causing a scene at the door, Lady Jiang showed no response. Could it be that a noble princess was nothing but a soft, spineless bun?

“Someone must have come by just now,” Shen Zaiye suddenly spoke, his tone calm.

Qingtai looked up at him, raising an eyebrow slightly. “How did you know, sir?”

“Her clothes have been changed.” He reached out and lightly pinched the tip of Taohua’s hair. “Her hair is still a bit damp. Most likely some clueless person splashed water on their mistress. The bed is probably still wet, so they had her move elsewhere.”

A slight shock ran through Qingtai’s heart, and she glanced uneasily at her mistress.

This person is quite formidable. She thought she would be fine if she didn’t speak, but she never expected he could actually figure it out. Now that her mistress is unconscious, there’s no one to tell her what to do next.

“You, as a servant, have quite the nerve, don’t you?” Zhan Lu frowned. “Splashing water on your master—by the rules, you should receive ten strokes of the cane!”

Qing Tai was taken aback, instinctively shaking her head. “It wasn’t me who splashed it.”

“If not you, then who?” Shen Zaiye said. “If you point out the person, they will be the one punished. But if you can’t name anyone, then you’ll have to go to the backyard and receive the ten strokes.”

“This…”

Qingtai felt a bit flustered. Simple-minded by nature, she knew only how to follow her mistress’s orders and was no match for Shen Zaijiao’s crafty schemes. After all, her mistress had only told her not to say anything extra, but she hadn’t said she couldn’t tell the truth… So perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to speak up?

Faced with the choice between protecting her own bottom and someone else’s, Qingtai decisively chose her own.

“Lady Gu came by earlier,” she took a deep breath and spoke honestly. “She wanted to help care for the mistress, but she lost her grip and accidentally spilled water on her. When the mistress woke up, she didn’t make a fuss about it, so I didn’t report it to you, Lord Prime Minister.”

Hiding in the closet of the inner room, the maidservant gave a slight nod upon hearing these words, thinking to herself that Lady Jiang and her servants were quite decent after all—they truly hadn’t ratted out Lady Gu and had even helped to downplay the whole incident.

But who could have known that, as Qing Tai’s voice faded, Shen Zai Ye suddenly slammed a hand onto the bed, the force causing even Tao Hua to frown in her dreams.

“Preposterous! With Jiang suffering from severe injuries, how could she go and stir up trouble at their door?”

Qingtai was thoroughly shaken. Despite her mistress’s earlier words preparing her, she was still taken aback by Shen Zaǐyě’s exaggerated reaction.

She had always believed the prime minister to be a gentle and refined scholar, tall and graceful, elegant in demeanor. She never imagined he could be so frightening when angered. His sharp brows were furrowed coldly, his eyes seeming to freeze over with frost; his entire face instantly turned as if swept by the iciest winter wind, causing anyone who saw it to shiver uncontrollably.

However, looking at him now, his face truly was striking, its contours like an ice sculpture—each line carved with divine skill, breathtakingly intricate…

She pinched herself, and Qingtai gave a start, quickly snapping back to attention as she knelt down and said, “Lord, please calm your anger. My mistress said she wouldn’t hold it against her, and Lady Gu meant well too.”

“What is Madam Gu’s temperament—could you possibly know it better than I?” Shen Zaoye sneered, “I don’t know when she will ever grow up. If it were anyone else, fine, but even to Peach Blossom she acts this way. It seems it’s time to set some rules for her.”

Qingtai pressed her lips together, kneeling in silence. She thought her mistress’s predictions were truly accurate. This time, Lady Gu was bound to be made an example of—the rooster killed to warn the monkeys—to show everyone in the courtyard.

Shen Zaiye gently tucked in the peach blossom quilt, then stood up and said to Qing Tai in a low voice, “Take good care of your mistress. If anyone else comes to disturb her rest, tell them it is my order—they may leave their gifts outside, but they are not allowed to enter the main room.”

“Yes.”

“Zhanlu, let’s go.”

Bowing and nodding, Zhanlu followed her master out of the Spring-Contending Pavilion without even needing to ask, heading straight toward the Tranquil Waters Pavilion.

Gu Huairou sat on the soft couch in a daze, her mind repeatedly pondering Jiang Taohua’s words.

Her visit to the Spring-Contending Pavilion wasn’t just about settling old scores from the previous incident at the Linwu Courtyard; there was also a reason concerning Lady Liu.

Lady Liu had said, “Lady Jiang is skilled in the art of seduction, similar to you, yet surpassing you. With a pearl, who would still value a fish eye? Sister, you should plan for yourself sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until all the favor is snatched away before you remember to struggle.”

Recalling the incident where the Prime Minister did not favor her that night, Madam Gu couldn’t help but feel a sense of discomfort. Seeing that His Lordship had sent someone to the palace at dusk to request a royal physician for Lady Jiang, her anger flared up. In a fit of impulsiveness, she went to stir up trouble in the other’s courtyard.

Upon calming down and reflecting on it, Jiang Taohua’s words made some sense. In this courtyard, there were many who hid their true intentions and harbored envy. Why was it that only she had rushed out?

Although she didn’t believe the Prime Minister would severely punish her over such a trivial matter, still… could it be that she was being used?

It couldn’t be, could it? Lady Liu was her confidante, a friend of many years—how could she possibly harm her?

Just as she was in a state of indecision, a sudden loud noise erupted at the courtyard gate, as if someone had kicked the door open.

Startled, Lady Gu stood up and frowned as she called out, “Yue Tao, what are you doing?”

Yue Tao hurried in with quick steps, but before she could exchange any meaningful glances, Shen Zaiju from behind her strode past and stood directly in front of her.

“…Master?” Alarmed by the look on his face, Lady Gu stumbled and fell back onto the soft couch, staring at him in confusion. “What’s wrong? Why are you so furious?”

“What happened to me, aren’t you well aware?” Shen Zaichui lowered his gaze, glancing at her disdainfully: “What good deed have you done?”

Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively blurted out: “Did Lady Jiang really go and tattle on me?”

Shen Zaichui did not answer, his face filled with unconcealed anger. He reached out and hurled the teacup, shards and tea splattering everywhere, startling all the maids into kneeling, and Gu Huairou nearly lost her balance.

“Lady Jiang came from the distant state of Zhao to marry here, and you act so recklessly—you truly have no sense of propriety!” he scolded in a low voice. Shen Zaichui glared coldly: “If her injury worsens because of you, then you will be held accountable! If everyone in the courtyard learns to be as malicious as you, there will be no peace! If you are not punished today, there will be no order left in this household!”

“My lord!” Gu Huairou was both angry and aggrieved: “This concubine hasn’t done anything excessive!”

“Splashing cold water all over Jiang Shi, is that not excessive?” Shen Zaijie sneered: “Does it only count as excessive if someone is killed? She sustained severe injuries and nearly lost her life, and only just managed to recover her breath. If that basin of water were to cause her to catch a chill and worsen her condition, what then?”

“This concubine…”

“In the past, you’ve done many small tricks in this courtyard, but thinking you weren’t inherently bad, I never took them to heart. Now it seems you are truly selfish, willful, and malicious in heart!” Waving his hand to cut her off, Shen Zaoye said, “There’s no need for you to say more. Without rules, this household falls into chaos. Though you hold the same status as Madame Jiang, you have bullied the weak, violating the virtues of tolerance and dignity expected of a woman. Your monthly allowance is to be withheld for three months, and your name will be removed from the rotation for attending to the master for half a year.”

Taking a sharp breath of cold air, Gu Huairou’s eyes widened to the extreme, filled with disbelief, thinking she had misheard.

She entered the prime minister’s residence at a very young age and held the position of a consort. She had always been favored by the prime minister, so how could she… how could she be barred from serving him in bed for half a year over such a minor matter?

“Does this seem a bit heavy?” Zhanlu asked softly.

Shen Zaiye shook his head, his gaze darkening as he said, “If it weren’t for Taohua saying she didn’t want to make a fuss, there would have been consequences far heavier than this.”

A tightness gripped her throat, and it took Gu Huairou a long moment to find her voice again. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, “My lord, I have served by your side for so long. In your heart, am I truly that much inferior to Lady Jiang?”

Shen Zaiye lifted his chin slightly, his expression inscrutable and shadowed. He looked at her for a moment, but offered no reply, turning instead to walk straight out.

His demeanor hurt Gu Huairou even more than if he had answered outright, making it plain that not only was she considered inferior, but he couldn’t even be bothered to offer an explanation.

Slipping down from the soft couch, Gu Huairou watched Shen Zaiye’s retreating back disappear outside the door and finally couldn’t hold back from bursting into loud sobs.