Chapter 113 - 94: Commendable Courage
Jiang Xian was "invited" to the Imperial Garden by Noble Princess Consort Rong’s palace maids.
To say they were impolite wasn’t quite right; after all, they used the word "invite." But to say they were polite was a stretch, seeing as they looked like they wanted to tuck her under their arms and run, and fast. Jiang Xian had observed that the speed of the palanquin was determined by the state of Noble Princess Consort Rong’s mood—it was quite intelligent in that way.
If her expression was peaceful, the palanquin would slow down.
If she looked displeased, the palanquin would speed up.
And right now, the eunuchs carrying the palanquin were moving as if their feet were greased, which meant the Lady’s face must be as black as the bottom of a pot.
Chen Daying followed behind with tiny, hurried steps. "Sister! Sister, what will I do without you?!"
"Keep screaming and I’ll throw you in the pond along with her."
Noble Princess Consort Rong looked back, shooting her a venomous glare.
Chen Daying sullenly shut her mouth.
Jiang Xian, who was being hustled along by Qiu Yun, reassured her, "You go back to Yizhu Pavilion first. I’ll see how things go and head back later."
"No, but sis, I can’t even get a hot meal without you."
"...Tell Mian Xia to go to the Imperial Kitchen and use my name to get food."
"Should I get your portion too? And should I add some pastries?"
Jiang Xian smiled faintly. "No need."
Only then did Chen Daying’s face break into a smile. She stopped in her tracks and headed back.
Whether or not to add pastries was a secret code between them, meaning ’should I go find the Emperor and get reinforcements?’ Jiang Xian thought it unnecessary. ’After all, the Imperial Garden isn’t the Noble Princess Consort’s private backyard. With so many eyes watching, she can’t go too far. At worst, she’ll make me kneel under the scorching sun for a couple of hours.’ Jiang Xian looked up at the woman on the palanquin and asked, "In that case, shall I accompany you, my Lady, to Changle Palace to pray later?"
Noble Princess Consort Rong retorted, "Who said anything about going with you?"
"Why, you, my Lady,"
Jiang Xian said with an innocent expression, "there are no other concubines in the harem who need to go pray."
Noble Princess Consort Rong visibly puffed up with even more anger.
And so, a strange spectacle unfolded in the harem—
The Lady’s palanquin moved at a flying pace, with the favored Noble Lady Gu sandwiched in the middle. Dozens of meters behind them was Princess Consort Zhang’s palanquin, surrounded by a swirling flock of concubines.
"What’s happening over at the Imperial Garden?"
"Seeing how furious the Lady looks, someone’s probably going to die," a eunuch who had seen the Noble Princess Consort punish a concubine before said with certainty.
"Is the Lady that scary?" a little palace maid asked, her face pale with alarm.
"Not exactly," the same eunuch comforted her. "The Noble Princess Consort is arrogant, but she won’t take her anger out on servants for no reason. Just don’t get in her way. If you do happen to provoke her, just kowtow for your life until your face is a bloody mess. Then she won’t bother with you anymore."
※
「Imperial Garden」
The pond’s surface was calm, narcissus flowers blooming quietly upon it.
Noble Princess Consort Rong couldn’t swim, and the sight of the pond already made her a little timid.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xian was looking right at her, asking in a soft, cutesy, high-pitched voice, "Is my dear sister scared?"
The Noble Princess Consort hated it when she used that sweet, girlish voice. It got under her skin every single time.
Qiu Yun, standing by the palanquin, suddenly twisted her arm, warning her not to provoke the Lady any further. Jiang Xian was unmoved. She even smiled at her. "I have thick skin. Pinching me won’t do any good. If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you go pick that flower for your mistress instead?"
The Noble Princess Consort spoke up. "Did you really jump in to pick the flower?"
"Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, my Lady, you can summon the palace maids and eunuchs who were on duty in the Imperial Garden last night and ask them yourself."
The Noble Princess Consort didn’t need to ask.
She already knew because her spies in the Imperial Garden had reported it to her. Besides, after Noble Lady Gu was pulled from the water, she was wrapped in a blanket like a spring roll and carried back to Yizhu Pavilion. Plenty of palace attendants on night duty saw it happen. It couldn’t be faked.
She just couldn’t believe someone would have that kind of courage.
What if the cold invaded her body and she couldn’t get pregnant in the future?
For a woman in the harem, that was the one thing you couldn’t gamble with.
"What... were you thinking?" She stared blankly at the water’s surface. "Tell me."
"The Emperor said he wanted the flower. I didn’t think about anything else, I just jumped in and picked it."
"Weren’t you afraid of harming your body?"
"I’m in good health. I could take on ten men."
Noble Princess Consort Rong glanced at her small frame, unconvinced. This was the same slip of a girl who could walk on silk ribbons during her performance at the Longevity Festival. How sturdy could she be? Noble Princess Consort Rong asked hesitantly, "So how did you dare to jump in?"
Jiang Xian said, "You just close your eyes and jump. The more you think, the more scared you get."
Seeing that her Lady was actually being swayed by this villain, Qiu Yun dropped to her knees. "My Lady, you mustn’t! If the Emperor finds out you fell into the water for a narcissus flower, his heart will surely ache! Besides, even though you know how to swim, it’s been years since you’ve been in the water. You mustn’t do it!"
Listening to this "plea," Jiang Xian almost laughed out loud.
’Is this palace maid trying to stop her or egging her on?’ The Noble Princess Consort was completely obsessed with competing for favor. Hearing that the Emperor’s "heart would ache" only strengthened her resolve to jump. And now the maid had just announced that her mistress could swim, removing any excuse to back out.
The concubines who had followed along to watch the drama were all extremely excited.
Guo Cairen asked curiously, "Can the Noble Princess Consort really swim?"
"Qiu Yun is the Noble Princess Consort’s dowry maid. If she says she can, she most likely can," said Lu Ronghua.
Among the followers were plenty of Changzai and Noble Ladies, ranks that didn’t stand out in the harem. They all clutched the hems of their skirts, putting themselves in her shoes—if jumping into a pond in the middle of winter could earn the Emperor’s pity, would they dare? Before entering the palace, they had all been delicately raised daughters of official families. They couldn’t compare to a wild child like Jiang Xian, who had grown up with streams and reservoirs in her village in a past life. With a "warmth halo" protecting her, she didn’t think twice about a well-maintained palace pond. "Zhang Daying, if it were you, would you dare to jump?"
"If it would please the Emperor, then of course I would dare."
"Then go on, jump."
Zhang Daying fell silent.
Noble Princess Consort Rong was still hesitating when the bad woman beside her added airily, "That, uh, palace maid of yours has a point. If you’re scared, my Lady, then just forget it! The Emperor’s heart already ached for me once yesterday. Having it ache for you a second time today... his heart would be so busy. It just wouldn’t do."
Not far away, Princess Consort Zhang’s brow twitched as she listened.
She knew the Noble Princess Consort was least able to withstand this kind of passive-aggressive taunting.
Sure enough, Jiang Xian’s words were the last straw. The moment she finished speaking, Noble Princess Consort Rong barked at a eunuch, "Get over here and be my footstool!"
The little eunuch prostrated himself in terror, allowing the Noble Princess Consort to step on his back to get down.
Then, the Noble Princess Consort stepped onto the edge of the pavilion, closed her eyes, and leaped.
The scene drew gasps of shock from the entire crowd.
Noble Princess Consort Rong had no experience with jumping into water. She hadn’t checked where it was safe to land or where there might be rocks below. Closing her eyes gave her courage, but it was incredibly unsafe. Anyone with experience knew that hitting the water face-first would be agonizing. She had thrown all caution to the wind simply because she didn’t want to lose to Jiang Xian. When it came to competing for favor, she was willing to risk her life just once!
But in the instant she leaped, Noble Princess Consort Rong already regretted it.
She was so delicate that even washing her hands for a bath required perfectly temperate water. In her entire life, she had never known the sting of cold winter water.
However, what met Noble Princess Consort Rong was not the icy pond water.
She fell into an embrace that carried a cool, sweet fragrance.
"Your courage is commendable, my Lady. I am filled with admiration,"
The Noble Lady Gu who had caught her looked down at her. "That palace maid of yours was right. As a person of your noble stature, the moment you jumped, you had already proven your courage. There was no need to actually go into the water."