Chapter Twelve: Secret Struggles Within the Palace

Upon hearing this, the smile that had just bloomed on Brook’s face froze. She wriggled out from Blood Snow’s embrace and, with a winsome gesture, offered up the freshly picked flowers. But what was once a delicate blossom had been thoroughly ravaged in her hands, now crumpled and shapeless.

She grinned sheepishly and began to argue, “Mother, it’s really not my fault.”

“Oh, so if it isn’t your fault, then it must be mine, for failing to raise you properly. Brook, you even mischievously skipped today’s lessons—now I’ll have to go and confess to the King,” Blood Snow spoke with poignant words, her tone tinged with genuine sorrow.

Brook was at a loss, “Mother, please don’t be angry. A young maid told me you were here, so I came. But when I arrived, you weren’t here. That maid’s mistress, Aunt Jin, said you’d come soon, so I obediently waited.”

Her explanation wasn’t very detailed, but Blood Snow grasped the gist of it.

Using a maid to lure Brook here, then with sweet words coaxing her into becoming a hostage, making her hesitant and unable to leave, and then plotting some dark scheme...

“Brook, this is still my fault. I’ve taught you to be so naïve—truly, I’ve failed you.” Blood Snow covered her face, as if weeping, her sorrow almost overwhelming.

“No, Mother, it’s not like that. I knew from the start you wouldn’t be here, but I came anyway because I knew they’d find a way to bring you here. It was my own childishness—I just wanted to play and skip the lessons today.”

Brook hurried to explain, though she wondered why her mother was so uncharacteristically fragile this day, yet she confessed honestly.

“Don’t try to comfort me, Brook. There is no maid or Aunt Jin—it’s my fault.” Blood Snow continued to cry, as if unwavering in her conviction.

“Mother, you mean her? It’s all that Aunt Jin’s fault—she’s always saying bad things about you in my ear, and I can’t stand her. So I stabbed the wasp nest from the tree and gave it to her. But she didn’t like it; she screamed and ran off with her maids, leaving me bored and all alone here waiting for you.” Brook pouted in grievance, whining with childish affection.

Blood Snow listened patiently, and couldn’t help but smile.

“In that case, let’s go back. We’ll let it go for today—I’ve already sent someone to request leave from the academy, but copying ‘The Treatise of Women’ three times is not to be taken lightly,” Blood Snow composed herself, her expression now calm, all traces of tears gone.

Jin Hua Palace.

The splendid palace was unnaturally quiet, but inside the chambers, the atmosphere was quite different. Several palace maids stood outside the sleeping quarters, heads bowed, bodies trembling, their faces blotched with small red boils, and their hands, exposed beyond their sleeves, were a pitiful sight. Tears glimmered in their eyes, but they bit their lips and dared not show it.

“Ah! My face!” Inside, Consort Jin sat before a mirror, clutching her cheeks and wailing. Her once beautiful face was now marred by several conspicuous red welts, swollen and painful, making her eyes brim with tears. After staring for a long time, she suddenly glared venomously at her personal maid, who knelt at her feet.

“This is all your fault! Ru Hu, if I hadn’t listened to you and provoked that little demon, how could my face be like this? You wretched servant, what do you have to say for yourself? If you can’t give me a proper explanation, I’ll have your life!”

Her expression was twisted, her jeweled headdress clattering, her extravagant robes now disheveled, and with the red boils on her face, she looked all the more hideous.

Since ancient times, a woman’s appearance has always been of utmost importance. Consort Jin was especially anxious.

The maid was terrified, her head bowed so low it nearly touched the carpeted floor.

“Your Grace, I don’t know how things turned out like this. Our plan should have been flawless—the Queen would come because of the little princess, and then we could teach her a lesson... But who could have guessed the princess would be so unruly, effortlessly ruining our scheme. It’s my fault, I didn’t think it through,” Ru Hu trembled, her voice faltering, knowing full well her mistress’s ferocity.

“So that’s your excuse—thinking you can shift all the blame to that little demon and escape unscathed. If I don’t punish you, how will I ease my anger?”

Clearly, Consort Jin was not appeased by Ru Hu’s explanation. Seeing her once beautiful face now disfigured, her expression grew increasingly vicious.

“Your Grace, please have mercy! I’ll make up for my mistakes... please, Your Grace...” Hearing her mistress speak thus, Ru Hu broke down in tears, knocking her head against the soft carpet so hard that it made a sound.

Consort Jin was about to say more, but the door was nervously interrupted by a timid palace maid.

“Your Grace...” The maid, trembling with fear, knelt hurriedly at a distance, hesitant to speak.

“Speak!” Consort Jin snapped, startling the maid into falling to her knees.

“Sister, don’t take your anger out on the maid. I’m just here to check on you,” a clear voice sounded from outside, not too near, not too far, startling both Consort Jin and Ru Hu.

Ru Hu, ever quick-witted, scrambled to pull down the inner curtain, hurriedly concealing Consort Jin’s figure.

Consort Jin glanced at her, then at the kneeling maid outside, her anger rising. “Eyesore! Why are you still kneeling here? Get out!” Her voice was low but filled with rage.

The maid quickly bowed and retreated. On her way out, she encountered a graceful young lady, who smiled kindly at her, like a celestial maiden radiating pure light. The maid hastily greeted her and hurried away.

The young lady was dressed all in white, her robes pristine and pure, without a single blemish. The fabric was of the finest feathered silk, soft and light, beyond the reach of even the wealthiest families. Her long hair flowed down, as immaculate as her attire, simply tied with a white ribbon, exuding an air of fresh elegance.

Her features were clear and innocent, her smile pure and untainted, her eyes seemingly untouched by worldly dust, so endearing that one could not help but feel affection.

“Consort Yan, I fear you’ve come at the wrong time today. Did the gate maid not inform you that I am not receiving visitors?” Consort Jin’s tone was harsh, glaring fiercely through the curtain at Consort Yan’s flawless face.

“Sister, are you blaming me? I was worried about your face, stung by wasps. I heard you hadn’t summoned the imperial physician, so I brought some medicine for you,” Consort Yan’s expression brimmed with concern, quickly signaling Lang Hua to present a small green porcelain bottle containing ointment.

Consort Jin stood up in shock, staring incredulously at the figure beyond the curtain. “You... how did you...”