Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 588 Adoption

Is the Qu family member dead?

Meng Shu paused for a moment, recalling that she had seen her once before leaving the palace in August.

At that time, Qu had just asked his uncle, Lord Qu, to plead for him to be moved from Puji Temple back to the imperial palace to recuperate.

I remember her eyes were full of hope back then. She probably thought that reaching the palace would be the beginning of a turning point, and that she could slowly plot her way back to the palace walls.

The expenses for the mother and son this autumn and winter were presented to Consort Chun by the Imperial Household Department at the beginning of the month. Who could have imagined that she would be gone before the end of the year was even over?

Meng Shu's fingers tightened slightly, leaving a shallow crease on the edge of the gift list sent by the Marquis of Lin'an's residence. She lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment, the first image that came to mind being the calm and unfathomable figure of Madam Yun.

Did the lady make the move?

This speculation is not unfounded.

When Lady Qu requested to leave the palace, she and Lady Yun had reached a consensus that Lady Qu was cunning and should not be allowed to stay.

Meng Shu privately believed that it was precisely because of Qu's recent actions that Madam Yun took action in advance to eliminate this danger for Consort Chun.

Seeing that her master remained silent for a long time, Green Willow turned to Dong Ming and asked softly, "Has the urgent report informed us of the cause of Consort Qu's... how she died? Is His Highness the Third Prince alright?"

She hesitated when addressing him, because the Emperor had never explicitly decreed that Qu Shi's rank be stripped. According to custom, Qu Shi was still a Consort, one of the Nine Consorts.

However, such is the coldness of human relationships within the palace. Even urgent reports were addressed with the distant words "Qu Shi".

Dong Ming bowed his head and reported, "Reporting to Miss, the urgent report only said that... he was bitten by a poisonous snake, and the imperial physicians of the palace were unable to save him in time. He passed away at three quarters past 1:45 last night. His Highness the Third Prince is currently being cared for by his wet nurse and the head nanny sent by the Empress Dowager, and he is temporarily out of danger."

"A poisonous snake?"

Green Willow was astonished: "How could there be snakes roaming the palace in the dead of winter? Especially venomous snakes that can kill people..."

Meng Shu's eyes flickered slightly as she looked up and asked, "Has the Emperor issued any decree yet?"

"Your Majesty, His Majesty is aware of the matter. When I came here, I heard that His Majesty was silent for a long time. He has issued an edict ordering Director Tong of the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Medical Academy to immediately send people to the temporary palace to investigate. He has also ordered the Shanggong Bureau to assist the Ministry of Rites in properly handling the affairs after Consort Qu's death."

Dong Ming paused for a moment, then reported truthfully, "However... there has been no decree yet regarding the arrangements for His Highness the Third Prince."

The birthmark on the Third Prince's face, which he was born with, has been interpreted as an ominous sign by the Imperial Observatory since birth. Now that his birth mother has died suddenly, and he is burdened by such rumors, it is unlikely that any of the concubines in the harem would dare to adopt him. In truth, the Third Prince is a pitiful child.

After Dong Ming withdrew, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Sparks crackled and popped in the charcoal brazier, reflecting in Meng Shu's deep eyes.

Poisonous snake?

At this moment, the slight doubt in her heart began to waver.

"Your Highness?" Green Willow called softly when she saw that she hadn't spoken for a long time.

Meng Shu slowly came to her senses and waved her hand to indicate that she was alright. "On the night of the palace coup, poisonous snakes appeared in Wan'er's courtyard at the Prince of Jin's residence. Later, when Wan'er was recuperating at the imperial palace, they also appeared in the flower garden. Both of these incidents were orchestrated by the Empress."

Green Willow suddenly realized and couldn't help but exclaim, "That's right. Although I wasn't at the Prince's mansion, I did visit him personally at the imperial palace. It was Physician Zhen who first noticed something was wrong. Later, he caught a red-tailed viper. He said that the snake's venom was extremely potent, but also very rare, making it an extremely valuable medicinal material. Later, it was indeed processed into medicinal wine."

Meng Shu nodded, her gaze fixed on a certain spot in the void. If what the urgent report said was true, there might be more to this matter than met the eye; perhaps it really was an accident.

......

After all, Lady Qu was the birth mother of a prince, and with the emperor personally issuing an order for a thorough investigation, within two days, Lord Tong of the Imperial Household Department had already uncovered the truth.

The venomous snake that killed Consort Qu actually crawled out of the medicine furnace in the back hall of Fengyi Palace.

Further investigation revealed another old story.

This snake was likely a medicinal ingredient specially raised by the late Empress Jiang when she resided at the imperial palace. Its venom was used to prepare secret remedies. When the Jiang family's property was confiscated, nearly a hundred black pottery jars of various sizes were found in their estate near the capital. About 20% of those jars contained vipers, the same type of venomous snake that killed Consort Qu.

After Empress Jiang left the palace, the medicine stove was left idle. The palace servants who had been in charge of raising snakes had long been dismissed and transferred after Empress Jiang fell from power. Later, the Phoenix Palace remained vacant, and the newly assigned palace servants were completely unaware of it. As time went by, no one remembered that such a deadly creature was hiding in the dark corner of the rear hall.

Until a few months ago, when the Emperor went to the summer palace to escape the heat, in order to appease the Marquis of Lin'an, he intended to let Consort Chun live in the Phoenix Palace and ordered people to renovate it. The craftsmen moved around the medicine furnace area, disturbing the nest, which startled the poisonous creature to reappear and roam in the palace gardens.

It was Qu's bad luck that, apart from her and her son, there were no fewer than two hundred palace servants and eunuchs in the palace, yet the snake did not harm any of them. It only sneaked into her courtyard and bit her hard when she got up in the middle of the night. The venom took effect so quickly that there was no time to save her.

Huining Hall, the main hall in front.

The atmosphere was more lively than usual when we greeted each other in the morning.

As soon as Consort Qi sat down, she murmured, "The way this snake is moving... it's as if it was waiting specifically for her to come."

Consort Shun held her teacup, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces before finally settling on Consort Chun.

She continued leisurely, "Perhaps it's not a coincidence. When I was in the Northern Frontier, my father told me many strange stories. Some poisonous creatures are attracted to certain scents." She paused and gently blew away the tea foam. "For example, sandalwood. Consort Qu was ordered to pray for blessings and spent her days and nights with the incense in front of the Buddha. The scent that she picked up might have attracted that creature's attention."

Lin Cairen said softly, "This kind of thing... is truly terrifying."

Meng Shu listened quietly without saying a word, but she vaguely sensed that Consort Shun was different from usual today.

Consort Chun sat upright at the head of the table, her expression indifferent. After the others had finished speaking, she slowly said, "These speculations are just speculations after all. It is the Third Prince who is truly pitiful. He is only one and a half years old and has suddenly lost his birth mother." She glanced lightly at the people below her. "His Majesty is also very worried about this and is thinking about how to make the best arrangements."

A slight silence fell over the hall. According to the rules, only those of the rank of Consort or higher were qualified to raise princes. Among those present, only Meng Shu, Consort Shun, Consort Mu, and Consort Qi were qualified.

Meng Shu lowered her eyelashes slightly and made no comment; she knew it was impossible for her to raise Qu's child.

Consort Mu and Consort Qi each had children, but neither of them showed any intention of speaking up.

Consort Shun suddenly looked up, her voice clear and bright: "If Your Majesty and the Noble Consort do not mind, I am willing to take care of the Third Prince."

After she finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment. Xiaodie, who was standing behind her, tightened her expression upon hearing this, and almost secretly tugged at her mistress's sleeve, but dared not make a move.

"It's good that you have this intention. Let me report to the Emperor before we discuss it further."

Consort Chun was somewhat surprised to hear this. She had only brought up the matter as a routine inquiry. Even if there was no one to care for them, the Imperial Clan Court would arrange for their care according to regulations.

After the greetings were over, Consort Shun helped Xiaodie walk back.

Xiaodie couldn't help but whisper, "Why does Your Highness have to take on this? The Third Prince's birthmark has been disliked by the Emperor since birth; who in the palace doesn't avoid it..."

Consort Shun did not stop walking; she merely smiled slightly.

Back in her bedchamber, she dismissed everyone else and stood alone before her dressing table. The bronze mirror reflected a strikingly handsome face, but her eyes were empty, holding nothing within them.

“Look,” she smiled faintly at her reflection in the mirror.

“Someone like me, born with a shameful past…” she murmured to herself, her fingertips slowly tracing her reflection in the mirror. “Now, to take care of a child who has also been treated unfairly by fate… isn’t that just right? It’s like it was arranged by God.”