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Chapter 55
In Rongcui Hall, Yu Cáirén hadn't spoken for a day and a night.
Finally, that evening, after Xia Qiao spent ages coaxing her, she managed to get her to eat something.
During childbirth she had been drenched in sweat, the blood and fluids leaving her body unbearably sticky. The hall's doors and windows were tightly shut, not letting in even a breath of air. The heat and stuffiness were suffocating. Palace maids brought hot water to wipe down their mistress.
Yu Cáirén frowned:
"It's hot."
The maid's body trembled as she quickly said: "Then this servant will mix in some cool water."
Yu Cáirén said nothing more, numbly closing her eyes. The maid glanced at her discreetly before running out to fetch a bucket of well water, then returned.
The palace servants didn't dare let her catch a chill or draft. Though ice basins were being used throughout the palace at this time, Rongcui Hall remained oppressively stuffy.
After Yu Cáirén had nearly knocked over her tea in irritation for who knows how many times, someone remarked:
"My lady cannot use ice, so only well water would be cooler."
There wasn't a single experienced person in the entire hall. Yu Cáirén was young herself. Unable to bear the heat or endure suffering, her heart troubled and bitter, she just wanted some relief and took these words to heart.
The little prince's third-day ceremony was held with great fanfare, forming a stark contrast to the deserted Rongcui Hall.
Yu Cáirén had been lucid since early that day. Her voice hoarse, she had Xia Qiao help her sit up halfway on the bed. Though Taihe Hall was clearly far from Rongcui Hall, it seemed to Yu Cáirén that she could hear the clamor from within it.
She'd been demoted to Talented Lady, and the servants attending her in the palace had decreased. After the incident during childbirth, her palace servants had been purged again. Shen Ling had been beaten to death. Looking around, Yu Cáirén could only call out one person's name, Xia Qiao.
Isolated and helpless.
It was the first time Yu Cáirén truly understood what these words meant.
Eyes closed, Yu Cáirén kept thinking, she had entered the palace with a title, holding fifth rank. Less than a month after entering, she'd conceived an imperial heir. She should have been the most successful among the new consorts. How had she fallen to this state?
When had things gone wrong? She couldn't figure it out.
Xia Qiao attended her. Yu Cáirén leaned in her arms, having lost every trace of her former aloofness and pride. Whenever she thought about how all her scheming had been in vain, how she had instead lost both herself and the little prince, how the child she had carried with such hardship would one day call someone else mother, her heart felt like it was being twisted in pain.
Yu Cáirén called out blankly:
"Xia Qiao, it hurts so much..."
She and the Emperor had known each other since childhood, her young heart had fluttered for him, so why, when she looked like this now, wouldn't the Emperor even come to see her once?
Xia Qiao held her tightly, wiping away tears. She had been with her mistress for years, and seeing her like this now, Xia Qiao's heart ached terribly. She said chokingly:
"My lady, this servant is here. This servant will always be with you."
Yu Cáirén curled up in her arms, her body trembling slightly, murmuring: "It hurts... it hurts so much..."
Xia Qiao's heart ached. After consoling her for a long time and seeing her mistress still crying out in pain, she looked down and suddenly realized something was wrong, she didn't know when, but her mistress's forehead was covered in cold sweat, her whole body trembling.
Xia Qiao's heart stopped for a moment. She suddenly shouted loudly:
"Someone! Fetch the imperial physician!"
In just moments, chaos erupted in Rongcui Hall.
Yu Cáirén knew nothing. She only felt delirious with pain. She seemed to hear Xia Qiao's shouting and wanted to stop her, today was the little prince's third-day ceremony, she didn't want anything to go wrong.
But she couldn't make a sound. The pain, her whole body hurt. She had thought it was just psychological, but her body hurt more and more. In the days since giving birth, she'd always felt her body wasn't clean. She occasionally bled, but only slightly, nothing compared to the day of delivery.
The pain made her want to shiver. Gradually, she seemed to feel something viscous flowing from below. Wave after wave of pain made her panic!
Just as chaos broke out in Rongcui Hall, Taihe Hall was at its liveliest. Gu Han sat with Concubine Zhou. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a servant running in frantically and saying something to Liu An.
Liu An's expression changed slightly. He quickly leaned close to the Emperor and whispered a few words. The Emperor frowned, seeming somewhat displeased.
Liu An cursed inwardly. Perhaps because of what Yu Cáirén had done before, people had formed a fixed impression of her. As soon as news came from Rongcui Hall, a thought arose in Liu An's mind, what was Yu Cáirén trying to pull now?!
Today was the little prince's third-day ceremony! She was the little prince's birth mother!
Even if she wanted to make a scene, she should pick her timing!
Not only him, even Lu Yu had this thought flash through his mind for a moment, but he quickly suppressed it. He glanced at the little prince being held by Nanny Duofu and coldly ordered:
"Send the imperial physician over."
Lu Yu's movement was small, but many people noticed. Their gazes flickered slightly. The ceremony continued, but how many people's minds were still on it was anyone's guess.
When the third-day ceremony ended, Lu Yu's face suddenly darkened. The Empress had also received news from Rongcui Hall and seemed rather helpless as she rubbed her forehead:
"Something's happened at Rongcui Hall. I and His Majesty will go see."
Since both the Empress and Emperor were going, the other concubines naturally wouldn't stay behind. In a moment, everyone rushed to Rongcui Hall. By the time they arrived, everything had already settled.
In Rongcui Hall, there were only the low, mournful sobs of servants. The imperial physician knelt to one side, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Yu Cáirén lay collapsed on the bed, staring vacantly at the canopy above. Even when the Emperor entered, she showed no reaction.
The thick scent of blood made everyone in the hall uneasy.
Lu Yu's steps halted as he sensed something wrong. He turned to look at the physician:
"What happened?!"
The physician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said bitterly: "Your Majesty, Yu Cáirén allowed cold to enter her body during her confinement, causing postpartum hemorrhaging. Her body is damaged, I'm afraid she'll have difficulty conceiving in the future."
As soon as the words fell, everyone's breathing stopped for a moment. The hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Some even glanced toward Consort Shu, but as soon as their gazes shifted over, they hurriedly withdrew them, not daring to stare openly.
Gu Han imperceptibly lowered her eyelids, making no sound.
Yu Cáirén had just given birth to a prince and already suffered such misfortune. Even though Lu Yu was tired of her, he didn't like others using such methods. His face darkened in fury:
"How did your mistress allow cold to enter her body?"
Xia Qiao glared hatefully at a palace maid in the hall. That maid trembled with fear, crying miserably, terrified:
"This servant didn't know! This servant didn't know! My lady said it was too hot and stuffy, that her body felt uncomfortably sticky. Only then did this servant fetch well water to wipe her down. This servant didn't know well water couldn't be used! I beg Your Majesty's discernment!"
Lu Yu only half understood. What was wrong with wiping down with well water?
The physician explained:
"Your Majesty may not know, women after childbirth must never use unboiled water. Even when wiping down, hot water cannot be mixed with cold. You can only let boiled water cool down. Well water is colder than other water. Yu Cáirén frequently used well water to wipe down and occasionally even drank it. Though she enjoyed temporary relief from the heat, what she damaged was her constitution for years to come."
Everyone was shocked. Just carelessness with water could cause such tragedy?
Some immediately committed this to memory, fearing they might fall into the same trap someday.
The Empress frowned imperceptibly. The methods for harming people in the harem truly were impossible to guard against. She didn't believe that Rongcui Hall would suddenly start using well water for no reason. She wondered who had done this so quietly and seamlessly.
The maid kowtowed until her head bled, crying pitifully:
"It was my lady's orders that this servant followed. Otherwise, even with a hundred times the courage, this servant wouldn't dare act on her own!"
Lu Yu didn't know what to say for a moment.
Was Yu Cáirén pitiful? Having fallen to this state, of course she was.
But these orders had been given by her own mouth. Even if someone had hinted at it, she should have known that during confinement, extreme caution was necessary. To fall into someone's trap so easily, had she ever truly cared about her own body?
Lu Yu looked up at Yu Cáirén. She lay there, numbly staring with empty eyes, not a trace of vitality visible in her whole body. When she first entered the palace, she had been elegant and aloof. In less than a year, she had already withered and grown desolate.
Lu Yu paused for a long time. In the end, he only withdrew his gaze and said to the physician:
"Take good care of Yu Cáirén's health."
With those words, he turned to leave.
Yu Cáirén, who had shown no movement all this time, suddenly and silently shed two lines of tears as he stepped out of Rongcui Hall. Her body trembled a few times. Everyone noticed something wrong and looked at her.
Lu Yu, who had almost walked out the hall doors, suddenly heard a mournful, desolate voice from inside:
"Your Majesty…"
Lu Yu's steps halted. He turned back, but that one cry seemed to have used up all of Yu Cáirén's strength. After a long while, Lu Yu heard nothing more from her, only the faint sound of suppressed crying from within the hall.
Liu An shrank his neck and stole a glance at the Emperor.
Lu Yu lowered his brows, a flash of darkness in his eyes. He didn't linger further and walked straight out of Rongcui Hall.
Liu An followed him out and couldn't help but look back at the plaque of Rongcui Hall. He knew that if Yu Cáirén couldn't recover from this, the Emperor probably wouldn't come to Rongcui Hall again.
And the Emperor had already made plans for where the little prince would go.
Inside the hall, Yu Cáirén's suppressed crying came through, making everyone exchange uncertain glances. Consort Shu paused, imperceptibly furrowing her delicate brows before looking away. She suddenly glanced at Gu Han.
Gu Han sensed it and looked up to meet her eyes, seeming puzzled as she lightly drew her brows together.
Consort Shu only looked at her for a moment without saying anything, then said softly: "The little prince is still at Yian Palace. This consort will return to the palace first."
She didn't want to stay in Rongcui Hall. Yu Cáirén's tragic state reminded her of her former self. Moreover, with the little prince still with her, she felt a guilty sense of having taken something that belonged to Yu Cáirén whenever she faced her.
Even though the little prince was only temporarily residing at Yian Palace.
The Empress glanced at her. To bring up the little prince at this moment, who knew whether Consort Shu was trying to strike at Yu Cáirén or stimulate her into pulling herself together.
Until the little prince's placement was settled, the Empress wouldn't feel at ease. She didn't want to waste time either and waved her hand:
"Everyone may disperse."
The crying of Yu Cáirén and the palace servants flooded into Gu Han's ears, but she didn't lift her gaze even once. Perhaps she was too petty, but she would never feel sympathy or pity for an enemy.
As she turned away, the Empress seemed to casually glance at her retreating figure before looking away as if nothing had happened.
Even without evidence, she had her suspicions about who had done this today.
Yu Cáirén had lost imperial favor and the little prince had been taken away, what benefit was there in harming her?
It had even caused the Emperor's fury over the little prince incident, making it a losing proposition. So whoever had struck at Yu Cáirén would be someone who had a grudge against her.
Who in this palace had conflict with Yu Cáirén?
There was just one thing the Empress couldn't figure out, Gu Han hadn't been in the palace long. Where had she acquired such methods?
---
Author's Note:
Kunning Palace: Empress
Yi'an Palace: Consort Shu
Xianleng Palace: Imperial Consort De
Zhaoyang Palace → Main Hall: Xiuyi He
Zhaoyang Palace → Side Hall: Rong Baolin
Yihe Palace → Changchun Pavilion: Female Lead
Rongcui Hall: Beauty Miao
Cuizhu Pavilion: Beauty Lin
Changning Courtyard: Zhou Meiren
Hanleng Palace → (Main Hall transferred to Side Hall): Talented Lady Yuan
Also appearing: Noble Lady Lin, Liu Baolin
Here are the ranks of imperial consorts:
- Empress (皇后 Huánghoù) — Head of the Imperial Harem
- Imperial Noble Consort (皇贵妃 Huáng Guìfēi) — Rank 1
- Noble Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort, Worthy Consort (贵妃、淑妃、德妃、贤妃 Guìfēi, Shūfēi, Défēi, Xiánfēi)** — Senior Rank 1 (The Four Consorts, with Noble Consort as the highest)
- Consort (妃 Fēi) — Junior Rank 2
- Bright Deportment, Bright Countenance (昭仪、昭容 Zhāoyí, Zhāoróng) — Senior Rank 3
- Cultivated Deportment, Cultivated Countenance (修仪、修容 Xiūyí, Xiūróng) — Junior Rank 3
- Noble Lady (贵嫔 Guìpín) — Senior Rank 4
- Imperial Concubine (嫔 Pín) — Junior Rank 4
- Beauty (美人 Měirén) — Senior Rank 5
- Talented Lady (才人 Cáirén) — Junior Rank 5
- Precious Grove (宝林 Bǎolín) — Senior Rank 6
- Imperial Woman (御女 Yùnǚ) — Junior Rank 6
- Palace Maid (宫女子 Gōngnǚzǐ) — Senior Rank 7
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