The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 132

“Big sister, shall we begin?” Mu Xi Yao was full of smiles. Turning her head, she looked at He Lian Min Min’s stiff face, not minding her indifference to her at all. 

“If you can truly catch the spy, the sooner the better.” He Lian Min Min nodded in agreement. Although she found Mu Xi Yao’s seductive appearance abominable, that rebel who was like a fish bone stuck in her throat was even more detestable. 

“Fang gugu is an elder from the palace. She is very skillful in the uses of fragrances and medicine. Today, you all will listen to her order and be examined one by one.” 

“Gugu, we will have you troubled.” 

Fang gugu was of a slim and tall build. She had her hair neatly coiffed. The gaze on her grave face was particularly sharp. 

“There is a scent on the letter. It is very light. It is a trace left behind by the sweat of a person who was in a long time exposure to a type of powdered scent. Over the years, the scent has penetrated into the person’s skin. In a moment, each of you put your hand in the basin and let it stay in the water for a while. The result will be explained later by this servant.” 

Mu Xi Yao looked at the women in the room and sighed in her heart. It was not easy to find an excuse. Any carelessness would result in a flaw in the plan. Fortunately, the womenfolk of the Great Wei was used to incense, which saved her troubles. 

“The servant girls from lady Wu and lady Qi’s courtyards come first. Then, it will be the turn of people attending to lady Qi.” Mu Xi Yao ordered quickly and thus decided the sequence of each person. 

Lady Wu obeyed the order and stood up. She curtsied respectfully and told the servant girls in her courtyard to get one by one inspected by gugu. 

After a while, everyone had their hands soaked in water. Their hands were stretched forward so the present mistresses could see them clearly.

He Lian Min Min looked at the pairs of wet palms. Apart from dangling droplets, she couldn’t see any other differences. She raised her brows in puzzlement.  

“The hands of people from miss Wu’s courtyard are not stained with any kind of incense.” Fang gugu replied to He Lian principal consort and Mu cefei with a stern face. 

 Mu Xi Yao nodded and indicated her to continue. 

When it was the turn of the people from lady Kong, there were two people whose hands yellowed.

“It is a reaction to long-term exposure to a scent of lily. It doesn’t match the scent on the letter.” 

Lady Kong’s anxious heart finally found its peace. Fang gugu was indeed capable. She was able to determine the incense she used regularly. 

Afterward, lady Qi’s people were the same as lady Wu’s. No change happened. 

As everyone watched three groups of people and more than a dozen hands, for a moment, they all quieted down. It was clear that no spy was found according to Fang guru’s method! 

The whole inspection caused a huge commotion yet the result was such a disappointment. It was simply a waste of time. Everyone in the room instantly began to get unbecoming ideas. They stared strangely at Mu Xi Yao. Especially the high-ranking ones in the inner yard. They were pleasantly surprised inside and gloated over her failure. 

Mu’shi dragged many people into this inspection and even assured the principal consort that the spy would be caught today. With such an outcome, how is she going to wind up with this matter? This time, this woman has made herself a laughing stock. 

“Little sister, why is that the result doesn’t make sense to big sister? Or could it be you have found the wrong person?” Su Lin Rou took the silk handkerchief to hide the corner of her lips and sneered. 

“Mu’shi, is this assurance you gave benfei?” He Lian Min Min’s face carried deep displeasure. She thought that her confident talk was due to her having ample evidence. He Lian Min Min was surprised that Mu Xi Yao was also a big talker. If she knew she was so incompetent she might have as well locked up all the suspects and used torture to extort confessions from them. 

Mu Xi Yao looked at all the people’s expressions and her heart felt deeply “saddened”. 

Oh dear, apart from lady Zhang, nobody in the inner court likes her. Was her character that bad? Demoness Mu was very dissatisfied with her lack of popularity. Once the sixth Highness went away and she had no one to support her, these people no longer bothered with superficial courtesy. They honestly had no tact. 

“Big sister, wait a little, isn’t the result out already?” Mu Xi Yao chuckled. She waved the circular fan in her left hand and pointed at a person. A pair of painted eyebrows raised up high. 

“What, how long do you intend to play?” 

Everyone’s eyes followed her fan and they all looked at lady Wu. After they saw that it was the dense-head who had always been well-behaved and timid, their expressions were beyond words. 

After being rooted out by Mu Xi Yao, lady Wu felt dizzy for a moment. She took a few steps with weak legs and knelt in the middle with a trembling body. Her eyes were filled with panic and she couldn’t even explain herself. She resembled very much her usual chicken-hearted and eyesore-like self. 

Su Lin Rou cast a scornful glance at lady Wu who was shaking from the fright. Subsequently, she turned her head, snorted, and looked at Mu Xi Yao with great disdain. “Little sister, are you unable to catch the person thus you pointed at a random person to fool us? Does cefei think that people present here are simpletons?” 

The people in the room in general agreed with Su Lin Rou’s doubt. Lady Wu was such a good-for-nothing. If she were the spy, they would be oblivious fools, wouldn’t they? 

Mu Xi Yao listened to Su Lin Rou’s nitpicking and stared at her for a while. She looked at her until the woman in front of her was on pins and needles. She finally pouted and uttered words that made the other party get steamed up. 

“If Su cefei didn’t come to Chanruo Courtyard with her brain today, qie can wait for you to come again after reorganizing yourself.” 

This was clearly saying that Su Lin Rou was dumb. Nobody present expected that two cefeis would accidentally butt heads. Their moods were immediately stirred up. Since entering the prince’s residence, there has never been any apparent inner yard conflict. This situation…was it a signal to a head-on confrontation? 

“You!” Su Lin Rou was so angry she threw her handkerchief. She looked at Mu Xi Yao with blood-red eyes. “Don’t think that since his Highness favors you, you can act recklessly. There is still an official prince’s consort in this residence. You, Mu Xi Yao, are just a mere concubine! Both as prince’s cefei, what seniority do you have to humiliate me with malicious words?”

 He Lian Min Min sat upright and watched the conflict between the two intensify, without the slightest intention to dissuade the two. On the contrary, she watched drama in front of her with joy. 

Su Lin Rou was someone who lacked a brain. It was a good thing that Mu Xi Yao got entangled with her. She welcomed any opportunity to vex Mu’shi.

Seeing the principal consort remain silent, the two shufei also sat quietly, daring not to overstep boundaries. 

Mu Xi Yao watched Su Lin Rou lose the plot. She was obviously very angry. This was truly troublesome. Now that Zhong Zheng Lin was away, He Lian Min Min would definitely not be willing to help her to put this woman into confinement. Did they want to force her to do it herself? 

“There’s no need to hurry, Su cefei. You need only to sit down and listen to this interrogation. When the time comes, the issue regarding whether you have brains or not will not be up to qie’s words. Let alone those supposed words of humiliation.” When the time comes, take that pig brain of yours and quickly scram out. The sight of her upset her. 

“How dare you talk nonsense!” Su Lin Rou was furious. She rose her hand and it was about to greet Mu Xi Yao’s face. 

“Insolent! How presumptuous of you!” He Lian Min Min was startled. She quickly ordered people to pull Su Lin Rou back and hold her in the seat, afraid of letting her go. 

Zhao momo took along the female guard left by the sixth prince and already stood in front of Mu Xi Yao to protect her. Even if the principal consort didn’t step in, Su cefei won’t be able to get to their mistress. 

He Lian Min Min’s face was grim. Su Lin Rou this woman. Just as she thought she would be able to see her and Mu Xi Yao’s fine play, Su Lin Rou gets her into such big trouble?  

“Su’shi, if you dare to act wilfully again, benfei can only put you into confinement. Think carefully before you act.” He Lian Min Min glared at her gloomily. If it weren’t for the fact that they were still in front of people at the moment, He Lian Min Min would have slapped her in the face. Could Mu Xi Yao be bumped into right now? As long as that goddamn belly of hers didn’t give birth, it couldn’t be touched by anyone, especially not in front of her! 

“Mu’shi, continue with questioning. If you cannot catch the person today, that assurance of yours, benfei still remembers clearly.” The implication is that if she dared to talk big, she would shoulder all the punishment. 

“Yes. Qie will immediately get to the main point～” Mu Xi Yao’s voice dragged on at the end. She cast a sidelong glance at Su Lin Rou for a while then turned back and continued to interrogate lady Wu.

“Hands of Qi’s maidservant didn’t change color after being soaked in water. That’s because she is a little….averse to incense. Hence, she hasn’t used incense for a long time.” Mu Xi Yao paid particular attention to the words she used. Smart people immediately understood the meaning behind them. 

Since lady Qi used incense to seduce Zhong Zheng Lin and was fixed by him, she was terrified to this day. How could she dare to touch that thing even a little? She was afraid that if it was found out by his Highness, he would bring up and settle old scores with her. 

“As for you,” Mu Xi Yao looked at lady Wu and shook her head regretfully, “you are too clever.” 

“Show her the two pieces of paper.” Mu Xi Yao asked Mo Lan to hand over the copy of the secret report to lady Wu who was kneeling for a look. 

“After you went back yesterday, have you kept the door to your courtyard closed and been occupied for a while? Not only did you call for your trusted servant girl to ask questions, but you also walked around in the courtyard several times by yourself. In the end, you were still worried, you took something and added it to the water jar. Nobody in the courtyard was aware of it so they drank crude tea¹ boiled from that water.

It might not have occurred to you, but since qie received this news qie has added many stuffs to your remaining chief maidservant’s clothes and hair accessories on the whim. But, how come we couldn’t find anything today? Wu’shi, don’t you find it strange?” 

Mu Xi Yao rocked her circular fan and watched the woman’s complexion change drastically. For a moment, her mood became cheerful. Who let you pass information and help others. The retribution was indeed refreshing. 

“Why, do you still wish to argue? In that case, do you want Fang gugu to use other methods to examine the clothes of your chief maidservant? Oh, that’s right, there is also that water jar. You should not have time to tie up loose ends. What could be added there? Could it be that mystical secret drug from Shu Zhong? It could even conceal the smell. Quite practical…..” 

Every time Mu Xi Yao said a word, lady Wu’s face turned paler. 

She fell into a trap! This woman was so cunning. She made her loose her head and ruin herself with her own cleverness. She was genuinely helpless. She has got herself off the hook for so many years. After today, this life will no longer be her own. 

How funny. When was this life even hers? She has been manipulated by others her whole life and now she was merely paying her debts. 

The women in the inner yard saw the woman kneeling in the center, lady Wu, who was shivering with a deathly pale face suddenly stop trembling. She tidied up the hair on her temples and slowly got up. 

“Cefei’s shrewdness…this servant did not lose unjustly.” Lady Wu’s face was serene. Her eyes were filled with indifference. There was no sight of her initial dull and slow-witted appearance. She looked rather haughty. 

“The way you speak now is worthy of your eyes.” Mu Xi Yao’s mission was completed. She didn’t hesitate to say a few rubbish words. 

Only then did everyone notice those bright eyes of lady Wu. They surprisingly felt a sense of amazement. 

He Lian Min Min examined lady Wu for a long time before looking back at Mu Xi Yao. She shouldn’t but had to admire her methods. 

As for Su Lin Rou, her face turned purplish red. She wished she could immediately go to hide in her Fang Hua Courtyard and avoid everyone. 

“Come and put this woman into custody. On a fixed day, she shall be sent to authorities and be punished severely.” He Lian Min Min ordered sternly. It was a matter regarding a rebel. She had no right to handle criminals in private. 

“Wait!” Mu Xi Yao spoke and stopped Tian Fu Shan’s subordinates. 

“Mu’shi, what is the meaning of this?” He Lian Min Min was angry. She has already found out about the criminal. How long does she hope to give orders in Chan Ruo Courtyard? Did she want to use this opportunity to show off her contribution to the prince’s residence? 

Mu Xi Yao disregarded He Lian Min Min’s questioning. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and looked very coldly at the woman standing in the main hall who wasn’t afraid to meet her eyes. 

“Lady Wu, or should I call you ‘Zhi zi’?”

Translation notes:

[1] Crude tea refers to tea made from rough and old tea leaves 

Translator’s note:

( ノ ^o^)ノ Happy New Year everyone! May new year bring you guys lots of good health, beautiful memories with family/friends and hope everything you wish for this year come true

Relationship Diagram  (by Sith Kazar)

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