Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 40: The Ferocious Dog

   The argument between the Emperor and the Empress came to a temporary end.

Wei Yingluo had originally thought the Empress would summon her for questioning, yet several days passed and no such summons came.

That phrase—” When employing people, do not doubt them; when doubting, do not employ them”—turned out not to be mere empty words.

A scholar dies for the one who truly understands him. Being regarded so highly by the Empress, Wei Yingluo afterward served her with even greater care and devotion.

The Empress appreciated her quick wit and clever mind, and often kept her close by her side. On this day, she invited Noble Lady Yu to stroll in the garden together. Instead of bringing Erqing or Ming Yu, she brought Wei Yingluo.

The garden scenery was beautiful, though a little chilly. Both ladies wore thick cloaks over their shoulders and carried incense hand-warmers in their sleeves. They slowly walked across the winding wooden bridge. Below, several colorful koi swam past, their trails like drifting silk ribbons.

“You shouldn’t always stay cooped up in Yonghe Palace. Come to Changchun Palace more often when you have time. You can also walk in the garden—just make sure your servants are more attentive and that someone is always by your side,” the Empress said gently.

Noble Lady Yu, pale and thin, forced a smile. “This concubine has received so much kindness from Your Ladyship; I could never repay it in a lifetime.”

The Empress smiled. “I am the Empress—it is only right that I look after the Six Palaces. There is nothing for you to repay.”

Noble Lady Yu chuckled, then sighed. “If everyone in the palace were as tolerant and magnanimous as Your Ladyship, there wouldn’t be so much trouble and conflict.”

The Empress understood whom her words referred to, yet she didn’t know how to comfort her. Worried that too much brooding would harm her pregnancy, she gave Wei Yingluo a meaningful glance, signaling her to find something cheerful to amuse Noble Lady Yu and keep her from sinking into melancholy.

For a moment, Wei Yingluo couldn’t think of any interesting topic. But then Noble Lady Yu herself looked around, suddenly stopped walking, and let out a soft exclamation: “What an adorable little dog.”

Not far ahead, a snowball-like shape came rolling toward them.

On closer look, it was a small dog with snow-white fur, not a single speck of another color. Several young eunuchs chased after it—one carrying a brightly painted food basin filled with delicate hot dishes, another running and shouting, “Aiyo, my little master, wait for this servant! Wait for this servant!”

Wei Yingluo found it amusing—even a dog was being addressed as “master.”

“What kind of master and servant nonsense is this? It’s outrageous,” the Empress, who was always strict about propriety, said with displeasure. “I wonder which consort is raising it…”

The little dog lifted its nose and sniffed the air, then ran straight and unerringly toward Wei Yingluo and the others.

Noble Lady Yu, charmed by its small size and cuteness, showed a faint smile and bent slightly at the waist, as if wanting to play with it. But as the dog drew closer and closer, the smile on her face gradually faded.

In the end, only terror remained.

“Woof woof!” The little dog bared its teeth and, like something possessed, charged madly at Noble Lady Yu. Amid the startled cries of the palace servants, it began tearing and biting at her ferociously.

“Ah—don’t come near!” Fangcao, the senior palace maid who should have been protecting Noble Lady Yu, seemed to have her soul frightened out of her. Not only did she fail to pull her mistress away, she actually pushed her from behind—driving her even closer to the frenzied dog.

Noble Lady Yu’s face had already turned as white as snow. Overcome with terror, she even forgot to call for help. Her entire body stood frozen in place like a wooden statue.

“Woof!”

A miserable yelp rang out.

A parabolic arc flew through the air, landed on the ground, and rolled several times. The puppy’s fur blended almost perfectly with the snow. It whimpered a few times but did not get up, only staring at Wei Yingluo from a distance with frightened eyes.

“How dare you!!”

A hand painted with bright red nail polish reached out from behind the dog and scooped it into her arms.

“What kind of thing are you, to dare injure my beloved dog!” Noble Consort Hui said coldly. “Seize her!”

Wei Yingluo was startled.

She hadn’t expected—no, she should have expected it. In the entire palace, who else was so arrogant and domineering as to promote even her own dog to the status of a master? Only the woman standing before her: Noble Consort Hui.

“Noble Consort Your Highness!” Seeing several eunuchs obeying her command and advancing toward her, Wei Yingluo struck first and shouted loudly, “Was it not Your Ladyship who let your dog run loose and injure someone, intending to harm the dragon fetus in Noble Lady Yu’s womb?”

Framing and accusation came smoothly from her lips. Even if Noble Consort Hui had such intentions, she absolutely could not admit it now—nor could she immediately deal with Wei Yingluo, or it would look like silencing a witness through murder.

“What an audacious slave—not only did you injure my beloved dog, but now you dare slander me.” Noble Consort Hui sneered coldly. “Empress, how do you think such a person should be punished?”

“Before punishing anyone, punish your dog first.” How could the Empress allow her to ride roughshod over her and openly bully her trusted confidante right in front of everyone? She responded calmly, “Dogs do not cause trouble for no reason. Look and see what’s in its food bowl!”

Everyone immediately rushed toward the little eunuch who was holding the food basin, only to discover that the food originally inside it had mysteriously vanished. When they questioned the little eunuch, he stammered and could only say that the dog, called Snowball, had already eaten it all.

Nonsense, yet for the moment there was nothing they could do to him.

One palace servant offered a suggestion to the Empress: “Your Highness, there is nothing left in the food basin. If we want to know what exactly this dog ate, the only way is to cut open its belly…”

“Insolent!” Before he could finish, Noble Consort Hui shrieked sharply, “Whoever dares touch a single hair on it, I will tear her apart!”

How could that palace servant dare offend Noble Consort Hui? He immediately fell silent as if struck by frost, even regretting that he had spoken up.

   Without evidence, the situation reached an impasse. The offender was merely a dog that could not speak human language—surely they couldn’t put a dog on trial?

   In the end, they could only let the matter drop.

   Both sides parted on bad terms. As they passed each other, the Empress suddenly turned back and said, “Noble Consort, Yingluo’s action just now actually helped you. If your dog had truly injured Noble Lady Yu earlier, it would have caused a tremendous uproar throughout the palace. In my opinion, you had better properly discipline the people around you! If they remain so useless that they cannot even keep watch over a single dog and allow it to cause trouble again, next time I will show no leniency!”

Noble Consort Hui’s hand, which had been stroking the little dog, suddenly tightened, causing the puppy to lift its head and let out pitiful whimpers.

Not only was she pondering the Empress’s words—on the way back, Wei Yingluo was also carefully turning them over in her mind.

“So?” The Empress asked with a smile. “Did you notice anything strange?”

“…Was Noble Consort Hui being used as someone else’s weapon?” Wei Yingluo asked cautiously.

The Empress slowly nodded, her expression somewhat grave. “If something had really gone wrong this time, in the end they couldn’t very well take it out on the dog—they would have to hold the dog’s owner accountable. Noble Consort Hui may be arrogant and domineering, but she would not do something so self-damaging and profitless for others. There must be someone else behind this…”

For the moment, it was impossible to determine who that person was.

But one thing was certain.

That means… someone is targeting Noble Lady Yu.

Wei Yingluo carefully recalled the events of the day, and a figure gradually emerged in her mind. With a cold smile, she turned to the Empress and said, “Your Majesty, this servant would like to request an assignment from you…”

She asked the Empress for the task of visiting Yonghe Palace to check on the patient.

Not only to visit, but also to deliver the pearl powder for Zhenzhu.

The reason was that ever since Noble Lady Yu had been frightened, she suffered nightmares every night and could only fall asleep by taking calming pills on schedule. However, those pills were not good for the dragon fetus and should not be taken excessively. If they had to be taken, they needed to be supplemented with top-quality pearl powder. Although pearl powder was not particularly rare, it was still not something a disfavored consort could enjoy every day. When the Empress heard about this, she specially allocated some from her own private storehouse and had it sent over.

The task was troublesome, and Noble Lady Yu was hardly an important figure, so no one wanted to take on such a job. When Wei Yingluo willingly accepted it, the others actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Today, as usual, she came carrying the pearl powder to pay a visit. Because she had been coming and going frequently, everyone in Yonghe Palace recognized her. She entered the bedchamber with ease and saw that Noble Lady Yu was still curled up on the bed. Despite being pregnant, she looked emaciated and skeletal, with not a trace of flesh on her body. Forcing a smile, she said, “Yingluo, you’re here.”

Wei Yingluo glanced around and asked with a smile, “Where is Fangcao?”

“She went to prepare the pearl pills for me,” Noble Lady Yu sighed. “We haven’t finished the last batch yet—you didn’t need to rush to bring more. cough cough Sit down. I’ll have her pour you some tea. Fangcao! Fangcao!”

“This servant is here, this servant is here.” The senior palace maid by Noble Lady Yu’s side pushed the door open and brought Wei Yingluo a cup of fine tea. But the moment the teacup was set down, Wei Yingluo seized the hand that had just served the tea.

“Fangcao.” Wei Yingluo smiled at her. “What happened to your hand?”

Apparently because she had come in a hurry, Fangcao had only hastily rinsed her hands. They weren’t fully clean—there were still traces of pearl powder left in the crevices under her fingernails, faintly shimmering with a slight yellowish tint.

“I… I was making the pearl pills earlier and didn’t wash my hands properly. I’ll go wash them now.” Fangcao tried to pull her hand back, but discovered that Wei Yingluo’s fingers were clamped around her like iron pincers, refusing to let go. Her expression changed at once.

Noble Lady Yu looked from one to the other in confusion. “Yingluo, what’s wrong?”

“Noble Lady.” Wei Yingluo slowly turned her head toward her. “There is a traitor by your side.”

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