Quick Transmigration: Leisure

Chapter 646 The Mad Daily Life of a Deposed Concubine in the Cold Palace (Part 18)

As winter approaches, the capital city is draped in a new silver-white coat, but while these new "coats" are beautiful, they make people feel chilly.

This year has been a rare year of plenty for those inside the palace.

Aside from the empresses and noble ladies who were never short of food and clothing, during this year when the empress took over palace affairs, at least every palace servant, regardless of what peripheral tasks they were responsible for, received two sets of thick clothes to get through the year, as well as a meal allowance for more than twenty days.

The subsidy, consisting of silver and goods, is distributed proportionally, and you can choose to save it or indulge in a large meal.

Those who have no ties or worries tend to indulge themselves, while those with families outside the palace who are eagerly awaiting their departure, or those nearing the age of leaving the palace, choose to save their silver and storable grain.

From now on, who knows where else can we seek help from these immortals and bodhisattvas?

There were naturally a few rumors that the Empress was overconfident. In previous years, even her aunt, a concubine from the same clan, had only followed ancestral rules and had never been so extravagant. They said that if this encouraged human greed, it would be difficult to manage, and that such a losing business with only expenditures and no income could not last long.

In addition, relief grains were distributed widely outside the palace this year in the name of the Empress and her consorts, not only within the palace grounds.

Apart from the silver allocated by the inner court according to regulations, the rest came entirely from the Empress and the Gongsun family. They not only provided generous assistance but also bestowed their reputation upon the entire harem of Feng Chengyuan.

In reality, she didn't ask the concubines for a single coin before the empress took action, yet she still gained a good reputation for nothing.

As the eulogies praising the Empress Dowager began to circulate like snowflakes in the court, the maternal families of the empresses and concubines began to discern the deeper meaning behind them. They then sent letters to their daughters, each with its own subtle hints and suggestions.

Anyway,

Soon after, led by Consort Xuan, they took the initiative to donate to the people.

These intangible benefits that come for free are ultimately exchanged for much more tangible things before one can finally achieve peace of mind.

As for Consort Gongsun, she began to claim illness and stay away from home as soon as December began.

First, with the handover of palace affairs complete, she needed to give her niece ample room to maneuver and prevent former officials from coming to her door, complaining and causing trouble for the aunt and niece. Second, although she had secretly provided a considerable amount of money, she no longer had a good reputation for it.

This year, the private funds that the Gongsun family should have given to the aunt and niece were all diverted under the pretext of being used by the Empress to do good deeds. The Consort never even got a chance to receive them, and a large part of their comfortable life was gone.

In addition, although she didn't take the lead and let Consort Xuan be scolded, she still had to contribute the most money in this act of gratitude from the concubines to the Empress.

Because of their high rank, it's reasonable for them to be ranked lower than the Empress, but lower than Consort Xuan would be unacceptable and would be a loss of face.

With this shift in the money and subsequent replenishment, the silver intended to be given to the concubine's personal servants in the palace no longer increased.

If there are any more, we won't be able to support this old man.

Thankfully, she wasn't actually sick. If she had become a financial drain, she would have lost all face and dignity, wouldn't have lived long, and might have been ridiculed for pretending to be something she'd never intended to.

in this way,

Whenever relatives visited her in the palace to inquire about her illness, they would boast about how clever her niece was, how she could outwit the beautiful concubines, and how she could win the hearts of the people. But the concubine's sweet smile was tinged with bitterness, and she almost fell seriously ill.

In the end, it was Cai Shan, the personal maid, who was truly sincere and understood her mistress's suffering, but she would not encourage belligerence or deliberately come up with any bad ideas.

No one understood the importance of doing what was best for the Imperial Concubine better than her.

Therefore, Cai Shan always told jokes, mostly lowbrow jokes circulating in the palace. They were vulgar, but you couldn't see them behind closed doors, so you could laugh until your stomach hurt and let them be as absurd as they wanted.

Many of these stories involve eunuchs embarrassing themselves by encountering some strange cat that deliberately targets them. There are also tales of the madmen in the Cold Palace playing some unusual tricks, and of which one, ungrateful to the emperor, went to cause trouble for Lady Yuan.

Cai Shan was also very clever. She knew what her master actually wanted to know most, but she couldn't directly express her concern and unusual level of attention.

Even the master gets tired of hearing the same boring reports all the time.

Why not gather all the messages together, pick out the jokes that capture the mood without sounding forced, and tell them to your master?

The imperial concubine was quite pleased, and with the year-end approaching, it is said that there was quite a stir on the other side.

The Empress would naturally not avoid granting favors to the Cold Palace, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, the subsidies and allowances for these women, who were once imperial concubines or senior imperial consorts, might not even be as much as those for a single slop eunuch.

This further reinforces the label of "sinner" and "commoner" on the other party.

Those with less food will naturally cause trouble, especially when food is distributed by courtyard rather than by the individual. In a dog-eat-dog world, those who lack ambition may even have their savings taken away.

For a time, the Cold Palace was filled with chaos and filth, with constant clanging and banging.

In the dead of winter, many souls were carried away.

But since they had no one to rely on, even if the empress was unjust, they had nowhere to seek justice, and no one would say a word for them behind their backs.

After all, even according to the rules and regulations, there is no reason to give preferential treatment to those in the cold palace.

They were punished for their mistakes, and those who couldn't leave before the new year would almost certainly spend their lives in the cold palace, accompanied by madness and desolation.

The Imperial Concubine was delighted to see the Empress's cold-hearted side. She even thought the Empress's methods were naive. Since she couldn't hide her feelings and wanted to use this opportunity to torment the person she actually cared about, why not make things more straightforward and directly provoke internal imbalances to seize her ironclad courtyard?

Many senior people think this way.

They vaguely sensed that Lady Yuan was having a very good time inside; otherwise, everyone would avoid her, and she would still have the leisure to give alms to the eunuchs. This was not a sign of her impending decline at all; on the contrary, they feared that she would become more and more beautiful.

unfortunately,

Out of respect for his current esteemed position and the dignity of the Gongsun family, he could not personally witness the spectacle.

But it seems that no matter how eloquent Cai Shan is, the person who was directly tricked is not that person.

Just then, Caishan came in with his men, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong?" The Imperial Concubine seemed to be in a good mood.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress has sent someone to deliver the ingredients for tomorrow's Laba Festival to the small kitchen. She said she will consult the imperial physician first and then cook them for you separately."

"All right, has that person been sent away?"

"They've seen them off." Cai Shan curtsied. She never made mistakes in these rules and remembered them even better than the Empress.

"Then why do you have such a long face?" The imperial concubine tidied the pages of the book in her hands, looking completely indifferent.

“This servant…” Cai Shan stopped speaking, first dismissing the people who were carrying the recipe and some of the Laba porridge ingredients, and checking the arrangements inside and outside the door, before kneeling down again at the feet of the Imperial Concubine and saying, “Your Majesty, this servant has a hard time explaining.”

If it were an ordinary master, he would never take the risk of raiding the mountains; his own comfort was more important. He would never say anything that he knew would bring bad luck and anger his master.

But Consort Gui was different; her success or failure was related to her future, and she had no way out.

Even if,

Based on so many clues, he knew better than anyone else that there was bias and reliance on others, and Cai Shan had no ability to change masters, so he could only follow the same path to the end.

“Say it, and I will forgive you.”

Sometimes, intuition is just that accurate. The Imperial Concubine had already foreseen that the message would be the kind that would keep her awake at night.

"Your Majesty, I went to see Lady Yuan, and she hasn't left yet after two hours." After saying this, Caishan buried her head deeply.

The Imperial Concubine clenched her fists tightly. If she pretended to be impatient and pay special attention to Yuan Shi's situation in front of the Empress, she was probably even more so behind the scenes.

However, they are unwilling to admit everything, and if they privately hold too many grudges, they may take actions that are detrimental to the Gongsun family.

On the contrary, it would raise her status and make Yuan Shi seem superior to them.

Unable to get a response, Cai Shan dared not move.

But the Imperial Concubine was still close to her, so she helped her up and prepared to carefully consider and discuss the next steps.

However, they soon gave up.

Because nowadays, nothing is more enjoyable than simply listening to the news without taking any action, watching from the sidelines and reaping the benefits.

She shouldn't have stepped forward and put herself in a position where she would be exposed.

The concubine's bedchamber quickly returned to peace, and Cai Shan, as usual, told her jokes from various places.

As for,

No one cares anymore, since their minds aren't on those silly jokes.

......

In the "distant" Cold Palace, in Xia Youmi's courtyard, besides the plum blossom footprints from playing with snow every year, there were also some thick footprints that had never been seen before. The orderly footprints disrupted the artistic conception.

Several traps were set up in the yard, but since the main cats weren't released, they were hiding elsewhere, waiting for any eventuality.

So the effort wasn't particularly serious.

Even though he was a bit disheveled and slipped and fell several times, the most important thing was that His Majesty didn't fall. He remained elegant and composed, as if he were in an empty place, and even had the refined taste to appreciate the various landscapes.

In this way, even if you encounter a pitfall, you'll be satisfied.

She was quickly taken away by Eunuch Min De's men and even received a reward. However, she didn't have the good fortune to witness the confrontation between the emperor and the concubine in person.

Honestly, I don't know whether I should regret it or not.

Feng Cheng had expected Xia Youmi not to cause trouble, but he hadn't anticipated such calmness. It wasn't that she ignored him, treating him like air and having everything avoid him. Rather, it was that she was a complete stranger, treating him like an ordinary passerby, no different from the eunuch beside her.

They don't invite people to sit down for tea, nor do they invite visitors.

But her gaze would fall intently on you, with half a scrutiny, half a politeness, and nine parts aloofness.

When Xia Youmi took a liking to the food in her stove and wanted to take some, she did not stop her. However, after Eunuch Minde added extra silver, she nodded and opened the next layer.

Feng Chengyuan, who had just taken a bite, froze, looking at the piece in his hand that was clearly inferior in color. He picked it up, looked around, and his expression was full of doubt.

It couldn't possibly be that Consort Yuan knew he was coming and deliberately prepared two different kinds of food to amuse him.

But the other party's calm demeanor doesn't necessarily mean they'll cooperate.

Before he could think, Eunuch Min had already carefully wrapped it up and handed him another piece that had been tested for poison and had a much stronger aroma, asking him to taste it.

When the two pieces are compared, they appear to be identical in size and fineness.

However, the smell was completely different from before; the original one was not only not sweet but also had a bitter medicinal smell.

Feng Chengyuan was just about to use this as a starting point to strike up a conversation with the other party and turn the page on the past when he noticed an undeniable gaze.

A majestic black cat approached with elegant steps, and the palace servants were intently admiring the exquisite detail of its fur and features.

"Hey--"

In the blink of an eye, the cake in the hands of the emperor was snatched away!

For a moment, he didn't react. Even though Min De knew His Majesty wouldn't mind, he still had to prepare to send someone to punish the black cat. However, his shout was stuck in his throat.

Xia Youmi said lightly, "It's only right that its food should be taken back after we took it away."