Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Panting Lake.

Jiang Shuo stood by the lake, staring blankly at the calm water.

A gentle evening breeze blew across the lake, ruffling the hair by her ears, and causing her narrow sleeves and skirt to sway softly in the wind.

There is no moon tonight, not even a single star can be seen. The sky is as heavy as an overturned pot, making people feel suffocated.

She stood there for a long time, until her toes were numb, before she heard footsteps slowly approaching behind her, their footsteps echoing on the gravel.

"Auntie!" Zhou Zhengyin smiled and moved closer to her, saying gently, "Auntie, you really are on the same wavelength as me. I was planning to find an opportunity to visit you, but I didn't expect you to send someone to deliver the message."

As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly. His moon-white robe accentuated his tall and slender figure, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, making him particularly conspicuous in the night.

Jiang Shuoning looked up at him. When he smiled, his eyes were always as clear as a bottomless stream, making people feel relaxed just by looking at them.

She withdrew her gaze and said in a calm tone, "A-Yin, I haven't inquired about Xin Damao, the assassin, or Consort Chong's affairs since the incident occurred until I started recovering. Now tell me about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyin's smile deepened, and he stepped forward to wipe the stone stool with his sleeve: "Aunt, sit down. I'll tell you slowly."

Jiang Shuoning glanced at him and then sat down. Zhou Zhengyin followed suit and sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning against her side.

So Zhou Zhengyin began by recounting what happened after she brought him the osmanthus cake that night and left.

Jiang Shuo listened quietly, his gaze fixed on the lake, without interrupting him.

The dark clouds pressed down even lower, and gusts of wind carrying moisture swept across the lake, causing the willow branches by the pavilion to sway wildly.

Zhou Zhengyin's voice drifted intermittently in the wind, and he spoke for almost half a cup of tea's time.

From how Bao Zhong orchestrated the scheme to lure out Xin Damao, to how he gradually revealed Consort Chong's true colors, and then to how he made her remain inactive, every single event revolves around Bao Zhong.

He spoke with such conviction, as if he were drawing a map of Baozhong's merits and demerits.

Bao Zhong walked out of the night, a slight smile playing on his lips, his tone carrying a rare hint of teasing:

"I had no idea that I was such a person in your eyes."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyin immediately turned to look at him and stood up:

"Baozhong, you're here too." He took two steps closer and asked suspiciously, "How did you know my aunt and I were here?"

Bao Zhong didn't answer him. His gaze passed over Bao Zhong's shoulder and landed on Jiang Shuoning's back. He paused for a moment before walking to her side and looking at the lake as well.

"Stop the nonsense. The three of us haven't seen each other in ages. Let's get down to business."

Jiang Shuoning ignored Bao Zhong and simply looked up at Zhou Zhengyin:

"Do you still remember the poem that Song Zhang left behind before his death, which you just mentioned?"

Zhou Zhengyin nodded: "Even the mimosa knows its time, and the mandarin ducks do not sleep alone. I didn't understand what it meant at first, but now I do."

He took two steps forward, then turned around to face the two of them, his tone carrying an unusual confidence and certainty:

"This poem is cursing a heartless man who is even worse than plants and animals. The mimosa flower knows to open and close on time, and the mandarin ducks know to be in pairs, but that fickle husband abandoned his old wife and married a new one."

The following line, "But all I see is the laughter of the new bride, and no sound of the weeping of the old," juxtaposes the joy and triumph of the new with the desolation of the old, encapsulating the heartache and bitterness of the abandoned woman.

Bao Zhong muttered these two lines to himself, then stopped halfway through. His lips twitched, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuoning smiled faintly, his tone tinged with satisfaction: "You've improved."

Zhou Zhengyin immediately strode forward, his expression becoming increasingly confident:

"Aunt, I've also figured it out. When Song Zhang wrote those two lines, it wasn't a love letter at all; it was about the woman's suffering. The heartless man in the poem naturally refers to the man on the dragon throne. 'Only the new bride is seen laughing, the old bride is not seen crying'—the meaning couldn't be clearer."

Today they favor this one, tomorrow they'll switch to that one; the favored one is constantly being replaced, while the one left behind feels a loneliness no one knows.

When Song Zhang died, Consort Chong secretly went to the palace gate to weep. She had been confined to Luqiong Pavilion for over a decade, rarely venturing out, yet she shed tears for the death of a mere eunuch; this made no sense.

Therefore, the relationship between Song Zhang and Consort Chong was far more than just that of mistress and servant. Song Zhang wrote this poem not for himself, but for her.

Therefore, the person who only sees the new concubines laughing while ignoring the old ones crying is none other than Consort Chong herself.

(under)

Jiang Shuoning pondered for a moment, muttering to himself:

"There are only two things that a woman fears most in her life: aging and loneliness."

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon the dark, murky surface of the lake in the distance:

"Consort Chong and Consort Mi entered the palace at the same time. She has been in the palace for so many years, even longer than Consort Rong, but she is still only a concubine."

The women in the palace were like a hundred flowers blooming in competition; she couldn't stop the Emperor from favoring one woman, nor could she hold onto his heart. When his heart felt empty, someone had to fill it. And that person happened to be Song Zhang.

She smiled and said, "A man was willing to risk his life for her, enduring such torture without ever giving up. The bond between them is probably deeper than we realize."

A night breeze, carrying moisture, swept across the lake, causing her clothes to sway gently.

The three remained silent, none of them speaking first.

Bao Zhong remained silent for a while before speaking, his voice lower than usual, as if he were suppressing something as he spoke:

"The least valuable thing in the palace is sentiment, but sometimes, even the toughest bones are supported by sentiment."

Song Zhang was willing to risk his life for her because of love!

When he uttered the word "love," his gaze lingered on Jiang Shuoning for a moment before quickly shifting away.

Zhou Zhengyin paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

Bao Zhong had already turned his face away, staring at the dark lake surface, his expression unreadable.

"You mean, Consort Chong and Song Zhang are having an affair?" When he said this, Zhou Zhengyin was startled even by himself, utterly incredulous. "A eunuch and a concubine? This, how is this possible? I still think it's absurd for palace maids and eunuchs to have a sexual relationship, let alone a concubine and a eunuch? This is simply..."

He stopped mid-sentence, his face contorted as if he'd swallowed an unripe fruit, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer out:

"...It's disgusting. Why would a perfectly good young woman insist on binding herself to someone who isn't perfect? ​​What's the point?"

The night breeze suddenly stopped for a moment as soon as he finished speaking.

Bao Zhong continued to gaze at the lake, his lips twitching slightly, as if he were smiling but not really, but ultimately he said nothing.

Jiang Shuoning then spoke, his voice carrying a hint of sternness:

"A-Yin, you can't say that. Life in the palace is long, long enough to wear a person down. Palace maids and eunuchs, they are said to serve people, but in reality, none of them are much better than the other."

Two people keeping each other company, talking at night, passing each other hand warmers on cold days—it has nothing to do with whether it's dirty or not. Don't rush to conclusions about things you don't understand.