Free Web NovelChapter 125: Chapter 60: Taking Revenge on the Spot
But for Han Jinyi to come and give her a heads-up—unlike the others who were just waiting to see her make a fool of herself—was a gesture she appreciated.
"Oh, don’t say that. I couldn’t really help with anything; I just said a few words is all." Han Jinyi refused to take any credit, genuinely feeling she hadn’t done much. freёwebnoѵel.com
"Those few words are worth their weight in gold. Why else wouldn’t anyone else come and tell me? It’s because they’re all waiting to see me make a fool of myself."
Han Jinyi laughed. "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I do feel like my words are worth their weight in gold."
The two of them laughed together, and this incident brought them a little closer than before.
"I’ve heard that the imperial edicts for the promotions will be delivered on the same day, but there will be an order to them," Han Jinyi said slowly to Song Yunzhao. "They should be announced from the highest rank to the lowest. Right now, everyone is watching you and Qin Xiyue, waiting to see whose palace the edict arrives at first."
Song Yunzhao: ...
’She could already feel the Emperor’s palpable malice. The stage isn’t even set, and he’s already forcing me to put on a show.’
"I think they’ll be announced at the same time," Song Yunzhao said.
"Why?" Han Jinyi thought that was unlikely.
"Want to make a bet?"
"You’re on."
With the bet made, Song Yunzhao wasn’t the least bit flustered. ’The Emperor wants to use me to stir the pot, so he can’t let me seem weaker from the outset. If I’m overshadowed by Qin Xiyue right from the start, how is any real conflict supposed to brew?’
’But Qin Xiyue is the original novel’s heroine and is certainly someone the Emperor has his eye on. Therefore, the most likely scenario is a simultaneous announcement. It’s just a matter of dispatching one extra eunuch to deliver the edict.’
’Knowing how petty the Emperor is, he would definitely pull a stunt like this.’
’By placing them on the same high pedestal, perfectly matched, he could finally stir up a real storm.’
The day before the promotion ceremony, the Clothing Bureau finally began delivering the ceremonial robes. When they arrived at Wangyou Palace, they expected to see Song Yunzhao, but she didn’t even show her face. She had Nanny Yu meet them and send them away.
The people from the Clothing Bureau looked furious as they left. Song Yunzhao watched them through the window and sneered inwardly. ’You slap me in the face, and you expect me to greet you with a smile?’
She’d be damned if she didn’t return that slap!
The Emperor was forcing her down the heroine’s path, making her his personal clean-up crew. She could agree to that, but she couldn’t just grit her teeth and endure everything like the original heroine.
She was the type of person who never held a grudge—she always got her revenge on the spot. freewebnoveℓ.com
Xiangxue and a few other maids helped Yun Zhao try on the ceremonial robe. It was indeed gorgeous, and the embroidery was so exquisite and lifelike that you could tell at a glance it was a work of great effort.
The entire ensemble consisted of more than a dozen layers, both inside and out. Wearing it was so stifling she could barely breathe. If the ceremony were held in the middle of summer, it would have been absolute murder.
After taking off the robe, she said to Nanny Yu, "Nanny, please examine the stitching and the patterns carefully. We don’t want any ’accidents’ to happen at the ceremony."
Nanny Yu agreed with a grave expression. Carrying the robe, she went to a side hall to inspect it carefully. A wave of emotion washed over her. She had assumed that because the Noble Consort came from a humble background, she wouldn’t know about these kinds of underhanded tricks. Nanny Yu had thought she could earn some merit by pointing it out, but it turned out her mistress didn’t need her to say a word.
Although Nanny Yu felt a little disappointed, she was also relieved that the mistress she served was so formidable.
’It’s not scary to serve a clever master; what’s scary is serving a blockhead. That’s the real misery for us servants.’
Nanny Yu, along with Qingfeng and Yulu, inspected the robe for a full hour, and they actually found a severed thread right on the waistband of the skirt. It had been stitched with only a single thread, which would easily snap with the slightest force. Receiving the imperial edict required performing a grand ceremony, and with all the required movements, it was hard to say what might happen.
Nanny Yu brought the skirt to her mistress. Song Yunzhao took it, examined it closely, and then said with a dissatisfied expression, "The people at the Clothing Bureau are truly petty. It’s just a tiny spot on the skirt. It’s not worth reporting, but letting it go is just disgusting."
"Exactly, Mistress. What do you plan to do?" Nanny Yu also felt that the situation was awkward, like having a fishbone stuck in her throat.
For such a small flaw, the Clothing Bureau could easily come up with an excuse to deflect the blame. Even if they couldn’t, they would just push forward some embroideress to be the scapegoat.
"Of course, we’re sending it back," Song Yunzhao said with a smile. "And Nanny, I want you to send it back with great fanfare. Make the Clothing Bureau re-sew this entire waistband for me."
’It’s true that it isn’t worth formally reporting, but if they can play dirty with me, I can play dirty right back. We’ll see who ends up losing face.’
Although Nanny Yu felt this was a bit nitpicky, her mistress wasn’t wrong. It was just that her temperament was too uncompromising. ’I’ll have to watch over things more carefully in the future,’ she thought.
And so, Nanny Yu did indeed return the robe to the Clothing Bureau with great fanfare. She set out from Wangyou Palace, her path taking her past Princess Consort Wan’s Roufu Palace, Princess Consort Zhuang’s Zhaoyang Palace, and Qin Xiyue’s Huayang Palace. Whenever she encountered anyone along the way, Nanny Yu made sure to mention the Clothing Bureau’s shoddy needlework.
She maintained a very friendly attitude, sticking to the facts and showing no intention of blaming the Clothing Bureau. She would only say that the robe’s color was unique and that they didn’t have a matching thread at Wangyou Palace. Otherwise, why would they trouble the Clothing Bureau by sending it back? They would have just mended it themselves.
By the time she reached the Clothing Bureau, never mind the burning shame on the Housekeeper’s face—just seeing it was immensely satisfying for Nanny Yu.
’So you thought you could pick on an easy target? Even if our mistress is a soft persimmon, she’s one covered in thorns.’
"Really?" Qin Xiyue asked, looking at Lu Zhixue in surprise.
Seeing that Qin Xiyue’s surprise didn’t seem feigned, Lu Zhixue asked suspiciously, "She walked right past the gates of your Huayang Palace. You didn’t know?"
Qin Xiyue shook her head. "To avoid trouble, I’ve ordered my palace staff not to go out without reason."
Lu Zhixue was speechless.
"Well, you really missed a good show," Lu Zhixue said mockingly. "Song Yunzhao must be desperate for the limelight. What good does it do her to openly offend the Clothing Bureau? In case you haven’t heard, everyone is laughing at what a fool she is. Who would do something like that? The woman doesn’t have a single brain cell."
Hearing this, Qin Xiyue shook her head slightly. "Consort Song doesn’t necessarily do things without reason. You should know that from our time at Zhichun Palace."
The mention of Zhichun Palace filled Lu Zhixue with rage. "How can someone like her be so lucky? She just happened to snatch the rank of Noble Consort. If I had known, I would have been the first one to go."
’It was too late for regrets now.’
Qin Xiyue smiled. "You don’t need to worry. This is only the initial round of promotions. There will be plenty of opportunities to rise in rank later on."
Lu Zhixue snorted. "Of course. One day, I will make Song Yunzhao bow her head and kneel before me."
’My family background is far more powerful than Song Yunzhao’s, so my promotions will naturally be faster than hers. What’s a mere Noble Consort? I have my sights set on the position of Empress!’
