tallest building

Chapter 293 Informing

It was the day before Consort Hui and her entourage left the palace.

Granny Hua came to find Granny Xia again. She begged several people, and finally a little palace maid had a soft heart and was willing to pass on a message to her.

Thinking that she was concerned about what had happened before, Granny Xia came out and said to her, "I'm very busy right now. Let's talk about it when we get back from Bowang Mountain!"

To everyone's surprise, Granny Hua shook her head and said, "I didn't come for that matter; there's something more important."

Granny Xia couldn't help but ask her, "What's the matter?"

Granny Hua looked around and lowered her voice, saying, "Sister, there are too many people here, it's not convenient to talk. How about we find a quiet place? It's really a very important matter."

Seeing that she spoke so solemnly, Granny Xia led her to the side room of the side hall.

"What's so important? Why are you being so suspicious?" I'll ask you, Granny Xia.

“Elder sister, I know you are a trusted confidante of Consort Hui, which is why I’m telling you this. This matter is related to Consort Hui, and I’m actually risking offending someone. If I were to say this, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to stay where I am…” Granny Hua didn’t get to the point; instead, she first mentioned the conditions.

People die for wealth, birds die for food; she wants to find a good match to live comfortably in her old age, so she needs to pass on the message.

"What exactly is it? Tell me, and if it's truly important, I certainly won't abandon you," Granny Xia promised her empty words.

“It’s like this,” Granny Hua blinked her small eyes and said, “Do you know who Prince Consort Dong has taken a fancy to?”

"You mean our eldest princess's husband?" Granny Xia couldn't help but frown. They knew Dong Gang's temperament and personality, and they also knew that he was a womanizer.

"That's right, didn't I meet you a few days ago? Right after that, I accidentally bumped into Xiao Shunzi, the eunuch from the Imperial Carriage Bureau, talking to Prince Consort Dong." Granny Hua spoke with great enthusiasm. "Prince Consort Dong asked Xiao Shunzi if he had delivered the gift he had given to that person. Xiao Shunzi said he had. The Prince Consort was very happy and rewarded him with a bag of gold leaves. Oh my! A whole bag of gold leaves!"

When Granny Hua mentioned that bag of gold leaves, she truly wished it were for herself.

"And then?" Granny Xia urged her to continue.

"Then the prince consort had Xiao Shunzi fetch some tokens for himself from that man, anything would do, like handkerchiefs or towels." When Granny Hua spoke, the air between her sparse teeth hissed like a snake.

"Ask Xiao Shunzi to deliver something... Is the person the prince consort has taken a liking to from the palace?" Granny Xia didn't doubt that Granny Hua was lying; she didn't have the guts to spread rumors about Dong Gang.

But this is no small matter. You have to understand, this is the palace. If something really goes wrong...

Granny Xia couldn't help but think of the incident two years ago, which had taken a lot of effort to cover up back then.

That palace maid was really unlucky; why did she have to run off to such a secluded place? She was asking for it!
"What a coincidence! I even know who that person is. Old sister, you don't need to bother searching anymore." Granny Hua couldn't help but feel proud. This could be considered a stroke of good fortune sent to her by heaven.

Just when he was worried about not being able to curry favor with Consort Hui, this was a perfect opportunity to show his loyalty.

This is something that can't be done in public, and if it can't be done in public, then we have to take bribes to keep it quiet.

"Who is it? Tell me quickly," Granny Xia urged her.

"It's that Wen Mingqian! I saw Xiao Shunzi catch up with her and hand her a purse. She initially refused! Xiao Shunzi begged her to accept it, saying it was a gift from a kind person."

"Wen Mingqian? You mean the Lady Wen who serves the Empress? It's actually her!" Granny Xia was initially incredulous, but then she felt it was quite possible.

Dong Gang had a penchant for married women, and although Wen Mingqian was divorced, she was still a stunningly beautiful woman. Since she often served the Empress, it was natural for Dong Gang to run into her when he came to the palace to pay his respects…

“Sister, I would never lie to you. How could I have the guts? So this is absolutely true. What I mean is that I’m telling you this so you can tell Consort Hui and find a way to keep this matter out of reach. Wouldn’t that be better?” said Granny Hua.

Granny Xia thought for a moment and said, "Okay, thank you for telling me. Don't worry, I won't treat you badly."

She took a hairpin from her hair and gave it to her: "Take this first, we'll talk about the rest later, but don't tell anyone else about this. Do you understand?"

Granny Hua accepted the gifts, her heart overflowing with joy. She hurriedly said, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. Old sister, you must keep this matter in mind."

Just then, someone called out to Granny Xia, "Granny Xia, where are you? Consort Hui is looking for you."

Granny Xia quickly replied, "I'm here!"

Then he said to Granny Hua, "You can go now! I have to go and serve my master."

Consort Hui's fingernail broke, and a palace maid is using scissors to trim it for her.

When Xia Mama came in, Consort Hui said to her, "Go and open those boxes in the back room, and take out some materials that are not usually needed. They should be in plain colors, so that you can give them to the people at Yuzhen Temple as a reward."

Granny Xia was the head nanny, and many keys were on her.

After watching as the person took all the materials and locked the box, they continued forward.

"Your Highness has some free time now, and this old servant has something to say to you," Xia Mama whispered as she approached Consort Hui.

"You few can go down first!" Consort Hui said to the rest of the people.

Granny Xia is her confidante, so there must be something going on if she says that.

"Your Highness, this old servant also heard about it from someone else..." Granny Xia briefly recounted what Granny Hua had told her.

Consort Hui, who had been feeling a bit sleepy, immediately perked up after hearing this: "Is this true?"

“This old servant thinks it’s mostly true,” said Granny Xia. “Who would dare to make up such a story for us?”

"Why is it Wen Mingqian?" Consort Hui frowned. "If it were anyone else, we would have just told the Empress and dealt with them. But she... you know, the Empress can't do without her these days!"

In Consort Hui's mind, no matter who Dong Gang took a fancy to, no one could do anything to him; the person he took a fancy to would be punished.

If it were a palace maid, needless to say, we'd find a way to kill her and be done with it. Then we'd just say she died of illness; who would bother to investigate?

But Wen Mingqian was in a difficult position. She was an incense maker appointed by the Empress herself, and she was not a slave.

Moreover, she was a favorite of the Empress, so she couldn't be easily offended, much less speak to the Empress rashly.

Seeing Consort Hui's predicament, Granny Xia said, "We're leaving the palace tomorrow, and it'll be a journey of several dozen days. If we don't come up with a proper solution, what if..."

“I’ve thought of what you said,” Consort Hui sighed with worry. “I was already worried about Pei’er’s matter, and this has added another layer of trouble.”