Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 482 Consort Chun (1)

After Li Rui finished speaking, the flower hall was so quiet that only the crackling sound of the burning candles was particularly clear.

Before the Emperor could speak, Empress Dowager Zhou slammed her hand on the table, and the string of Buddhist prayer beads she always wore fell to the ground, scattering in all directions.

Seeing the Empress Dowager's anger, all the concubines were so frightened that they held their breath and knelt down in a huge mass.

"According to the secret regulations for the inner court's medical records, the original medical records of pregnant concubines are sealed, and copies are kept in the secret archives of the Imperial Medical Academy. The records are stamped with the seal of the head of the academy. Anyone who secretly peeks, interrogates, or steals records without an imperial edict or warrant will be punished according to the law."

Empress Dowager Zhou looked up at the Emperor. "Your Majesty, Consort Chun was perfectly fine when she was at the temporary palace. How come after she returned to the palace, even the most important medical records could be tampered with by 'people with ulterior motives'? I must ask, have these palace rules and ancestral regulations become mere decorations?"

The Emperor frowned even more deeply. He walked up to Empress Dowager Zhou and bowed to comfort her, saying, "Mother, please calm down. Your son will have Tong Bo investigate this matter thoroughly."

Suddenly, the faint cries of a baby drifted from outside the hall.

Aunt Mei, carrying the swaddled baby, walked into the hall with red eyes.

She forced back her tears and curtsied to the person at the head of the table: "This servant congratulates Your Majesty and Empress Dowager. Our Lady has given birth to the Second Prince after giving her last bit of strength."

Rongxiu hurriedly stepped forward, her fingertips trembling slightly as she took the swaddling clothes in her hands. The tiny body, wrapped in brocade, was as light as a cloud held in the palm of her hand.

Aunt Mei knelt down with a thud, her forehead hitting the blue bricks heavily. "This servant dares to beg Your Majesty and Empress Dowager to do justice for our Lady."

She took a deep breath and emphasized each word Meng Shu had instructed her to say, "Our Ladyship was originally in a stable pregnancy, but Gui Mama's words startled her and caused her to have a miscarriage... As a result, the Second Prince was born sickly and weak, and the Ladyship has exhausted all her efforts. She is still unconscious and cannot even be given a sip of ginseng soup!"

She lay on the ground and described in detail the "miserable state" of Consort Chun and her son, which made the previous pharmacist's case even more suspicious.

The medical records of pregnant concubines were directly related to the safety of the royal bloodline. They involved secrets such as the auspiciousness of the fetus, the prediction of its gender, and the date of delivery. There were strict regulations in history, and any disclosure of such information was a capital offense.

"Has Physician He examined Consort Chun's pulse?"

The Emperor's gaze fell on the swaddled baby Rongxiu was holding. The baby looked much weaker than when Yu Nu'er was first born, and a pang of heartache rose in his heart.

Meng Shu looked up at the Emperor, her eyes filled with pleading, and said, "Your Majesty, I have presumptuously ordered Lord Tong to go to the Imperial Hospital. There were only two or three imperial physicians on duty yesterday, and there was half a fingerprint on the pulse record. I think the truth will be revealed soon... I beg Your Majesty to do justice for Consort Chun and the Second Prince."

This series of unexpected events happened so quickly and suddenly that the Empress was clearly caught off guard.

She gritted her teeth inwardly—Consort Chun was truly resilient; despite all that turmoil, she had still managed to give birth to a prince safely. She had already sacrificed Granny Gui, but she hadn't expected there to be more trouble. Thinking of this, a pang of regret welled up in her heart; she had ultimately acted too hastily.

Physician He had just followed Aunt Mei in. Seeing that the matter involved the Imperial Hospital, he immediately knelt down and bowed his head to report, "Your Majesty, Consort Chun is weak after childbirth and will probably need to take good care of herself for a period of time to recover."

Then, he glanced quickly at Li Rui kneeling beside him and added in a deep voice, "...The Imperial Hospital duty roster records that yesterday's duty officers were Lu Zhen, Chen Maoyuan, and Cui Huan. The filing cabinet that Physician Li mentioned is in a specially arranged storeroom, and no one other than the imperial physicians is allowed to enter without permission."

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu's tense shoulders and back relaxed almost imperceptibly.

Of the three imperial physicians, Lu Zhen and Chen Maoyuan were both slender, while Cui Huan was obese, even his fingertips were wider than average. Only in this way could he match that slightly coarse fingerprint.

Her fingers, which had been hanging in her sleeves, slowly unfolded as she waited for the Emperor to speak.

The two empress dowagers were completely captivated by the infant in the swaddling clothes. Empress Dowager Zhou carefully reached out and took the baby, but seeing that the little prince's cries were listless, she became even more annoyed. "Your Majesty, come and see! The second prince is so sickly and weak right from birth. He is truly a pitiful child."

The Emperor reached out and touched the swaddling clothes, then solemnly instructed the imperial physician: "Consort Chun has given birth to the imperial heir, which is a great achievement. Physician He must do his best to take care of her health and there must be no mistakes."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall. "The matter of the pulse diagnosis will be thoroughly investigated by the Imperial Household Department. Consort Chun has rendered meritorious service in giving birth to the imperial heir, and shall be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort effective immediately. Jingming, tomorrow you will personally lead a group of people, with the regalia of a noblewoman of the imperial family, to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence to bring Lady Yun into the palace, and let her keep Consort Chun company."

After giving these instructions, the Emperor's gaze fell heavily on the Empress, his tone suddenly turning cold: "Empress... the palace is disrespectful, and you have failed in your duties. As the Empress, you cannot escape blame. Effective immediately—"

Sensing that the Emperor was about to pick it up again, Meng Shu's eyes flashed with anxiety, and she kept glancing towards the entrance of the flower hall.

Just as the emperor was about to utter the words "confinement," a series of slightly chaotic footsteps finally came from outside the palace.

Meng Shu felt a sense of relief and quickly raised her voice to stop him, "Your Majesty—"

As soon as he finished speaking, Green Willow and Winter Melon followed closely behind Tong Bo to the entrance of the flower hall. Green Willow appeared relatively calm, but Winter Melon was pale, as if he had been frightened.

Tong Bo was already drenched in cold sweat. He knelt outside the door with a solemn expression and reported, "Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, I was just ordered by Consort Jin to go to the Imperial Hospital to investigate. The two imperial physicians on duty last night, Lu and Chen, can corroborate each other. Only Imperial Physician Cui Huan... no one can corroborate his testimony, and only his fingertip can match the half fingerprint on the medical record."

"Bring him here!"

Tong Bo said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Cui... knew that spying on the pulse of a pregnant concubine was a capital offense. When he saw that his scheme had failed, he committed suicide by hitting his head against a pillar in his duty room at the Imperial Hospital!"

The last few words crashed into the flower hall like a boulder, startling everyone into a breathless daze. The candlelight flickered violently, illuminating the Empress's deathly pale face, making it appear even more unsightly.

Meng Shu crawled two steps on her knees, her forehead hitting the ground heavily.

"Your Majesty!" she said loudly, "Everyone in the palace knows that Physician Cui was recommended to enter the Imperial Hospital. Since he became a physician, he has been in charge of diagnosing the Empress's illness and has the closest relationship with the Empress!"

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask: Physician Cui spied on the pulse record first, and Granny Gui spoke recklessly afterward. Moreover, these two have close ties with the Empress! If you say that no one is behind them, I simply cannot believe it."

She practically banged her head on the bricks as she spoke her last words: "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

The Empress felt a slight sense of relief upon hearing that Cui Huan was dead.

Since the dead cannot testify, they can always exonerate themselves to some extent.

But Meng Shu actually pointed the finger at her in public, every word and sentence pointing to the word "instructing". She felt her vision go black and her body swayed violently. If Zhi Xue hadn't caught her quickly, she would have fallen to the ground.

"Your Majesty!" The Empress broke free from Zhixue's hand, staggered to kneel before the Emperor, and tearfully pleaded, "Your Majesty, Consort Jin's accusation is purely false! I admit that Granny Gui is someone from my palace, and I cannot shirk the blame for my oversight in this matter, but I had absolutely no intention of harming Consort Chun or disturbing the imperial heir!"

"As for Physician Cui, although he did examine my pulse, it's common for imperial physicians to take turns on duty in the palace. How can one conclude that he was connected to me based on this relationship alone? His prying into the pulse records was his own crime, and now that he has committed suicide out of fear of punishment, it has nothing to do with me..."

The Emperor did not utter a word, but walked straight to Meng Shu and gently helped her up from where she was still lying on the ground.

It seemed to convey a certain decision silently.

Upon seeing this, the Empress's face turned as white as paper. "Your Majesty, please understand! As the Empress, I only hope for the prosperity of the royal family. How could I do something that would destroy the foundation of the dynasty? Consort Jin must have taken her anger out on me because she was frightened by Consort Chun's childbirth. Please, Your Majesty, do not believe such slander!"

"Guards! Take the Empress away. From this day forward, until the truth is fully investigated, she shall be temporarily confined to the Renming Palace."

"Your Majesty—!" the Empress screamed shrilly, trying to rush forward, but was firmly held down by the eunuchs.

As she was being led away from the flower hall, she struggled to turn around and saw the Emperor supporting Meng Shu's waist from behind. She finally realized that it seemed she would have no chance of escaping unscathed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Note: To clarify, the "fingerprint verification" will be explained in the next chapter. There was no such way of investigating cases in ancient times.