Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 41: Traitor

   “A traitor? How could that be?” Noble Lady Yu was shocked. “Fangcao has always taken care of me. Even in the hardest days, she never left my side…”

“That’s right!” Fangcao tugged at her hand again. “This servant is utterly loyal to Noble Lady—how could I possibly be a traitor?”

“Is that so?” Wei Yingluo tightened her grip and forcibly dragged her in front of Noble Lady Yu, forcing her to open her hand. “Noble Lady, look. Genuine pearl powder is pure white. The powder under Fangcao’s fingernails is clearly yellowish—this is not the color of pearl powder at all!”

“Pearl powder is exactly this color!” Fangcao said through gritted teeth.

Without a word, Wei Yingluo took out the pearl powder she had brought today. No further explanation was needed—the contrast was immediate and unmistakable. One was snow-white and flawless, like the first fine snow of winter; the other was dull and yellowish, like muddy footprints on that same snow.

Noble Lady Yu was not blind. The moment she saw it, her face turned ashen.

“Noble Lady, where are the pearl pills Fangcao made for you earlier? Do you still have any?” Wei Yingluo asked again.

“Yes.” Noble Lady Yu rummaged beside her pillow and finally pulled out a small porcelain bottle, handing it to Wei Yingluo. “Here. I’ve eaten more than half—only a few are left.”

Wei Yingluo uncorked the bottle and poured the remaining three pills into her palm. What met her eyes was a field of snowy brilliance—the three pills were uniformly snow-white and perfectly round.

“You’ve misunderstood me…” Fangcao seized the chance to protest from the side.

Wei Yingluo glanced at her, poured two of the pills back into the bottle, and held the last one between her fingers. With a firm pinch, the pill shattered. Powder scattered like falling snowflakes, piling up in a small heap on the table.

That snow sparkled faintly, like scattered stars.

“This is definitely not pearl powder.” Wei Yingluo dipped her finger into the powder and held it out in front of Noble Lady Yu. “I can’t tell exactly what it is, but the imperial physicians certainly would be able to.”

There were no truly mediocre people in the palace—even Noble Lady Yu, who had suffered so much humiliation, possessed some discernment. She took a small amount of the powder in her hand, sniffed it, examined it closely, and immediately understood.

“…Of course this isn’t pearl powder—it’s shell powder!” Noble Lady Yu’s bloodshot eyes fixed on Fangcao. “Fangcao, why did you pass off inferior goods and secretly replace the pearl powder sent by the Empress?”

Realizing she could no longer hide it, Fangcao immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed repeatedly, her voice trembling with tears. “This servant is guilty! My mother is gravely ill and we have no money for treatment—I truly had no other choice. Knowing that shell powder is cheap while pearl powder is valuable, I swapped the Empress’s pearl powder, hoping to sell it for money! I beg Noble Lady, in consideration of how carefully I have always served you, please spare this servant!”

Seeing her pitiful state and remembering their past bond, Noble Lady Yu felt both heartache and disappointment. “You… you fool. If your mother was ill, why didn’t you just tell me? Would I really have ignored it? How could you do such a thing? You’ve truly let me down!”

Hearing that Noble Lady Yu seemed inclined to forgive her, Fangcao’s face lit up with joy. “This servant was momentarily confused…”

“Momentarily confused?” Wei Yingluo suddenly laughed. “No—you were extremely clever.”

Both Noble Lady Yu and Fangcao froze.

“Noble Lady, look.” Wei Yingluo poured the two remaining pills from the bottle onto the table. “On the surface, swapping expensive pearl powder for cheap shell powder looks like simple theft. But examine it closely: shell powder is naturally yellowish, and pills made from it would show mottled discoloration. Yet the shell pills Fangcao gave you are snow-white on the outside, with only a faint shimmer of powder inside. Unless you break them open, it’s impossible to tell the difference…”

She slowly raised her head and stared at the woman whose face had gone pale. “Her real purpose was never money—it was to make you swallow these fake pills without the slightest suspicion.”

Noble Lady Yu involuntarily raised a hand to her throat.

It was as though the Zhenzhu pills she had swallowed in recent days had returned to her throat—now stripped of their snowy outer coating, oozing green, venomous liquid.

She wanted to vomit.

“Speak!” Wei Yingluo snapped coldly at Fangcao. “You’ve already botched the job. The master behind you will never come forward to protect you. Your only chance of survival is to confess everything and see whether Noble Lady is willing to forgive you—and perhaps plead for you before Her Majesty the Empress!”

If this matter really reached the Empress, would she still have any chance of living?

Fangcao was now truly terrified. She no longer dared to conceal anything and blurted out, “It was Concubine Jia! Concubine Jia instructed this servant to do it!”

Everyone had expected the name Noble Consort Hui to come out of her mouth. No one anticipated this revelation. Noble Lady Yu was stunned. “Concubine Jia?”

“Yes.” Desperate to save her own life, Fangcao spilled everything like beans pouring from an overturned bamboo tube. “A few days ago, Concubine Jia sought me out and said that Concubine Yi was already gone. In Yonghe Palace, you were now the only mistress left. But you remained shut away in fear every day. Even if you gave birth to an imperial son, you would never win favor. Yonghe Palace was doomed to remain an ice cellar forever!”

Noble Lady Yu trembled with rage. “So you betrayed me?”

“No wonder… no wonder.” Wei Yingluo suddenly understood something. “Last time in the Imperial Garden, when Noble Lady Yu was attacked by the dog, not only did you fail to protect her and help her escape—you actually pushed her from behind, bringing her even closer to the beast. You were already Concubine Jia’s henchwoman back then, weren’t you?”

Fangcao sobbed and dared not answer, only hoping her tears might soften Noble Lady Yu’s heart even a little.

“Fangcao, let me ask you this,” Noble Lady Yu said in an icy voice. “Exactly what did you mix into the shell powder?”

Fangcao hesitated for a long moment before finally whispering, “To change the color of the shell powder… it had to be washed with dye…”

“You wretch!” Noble Lady Yu could no longer hold back. She let out a furious cry. “How utterly vicious you are!”

She was pregnant—how could a child born after long-term exposure to poisonous dye possibly be healthy?

No amount of past affection could withstand the erosion of Fangcao’s various vicious schemes. Noble Lady Yu sharply turned her head away, finding even a single glance at her revolting: “Yingluo, take her to see the Empress!”

“No—no!” Fangcao threw herself forward, sobbing. “This servant has already confessed everything—please don’t take this servant to see the Empress!”

Noble Lady Yu closed her eyes, steeling herself not to look at her. After a moment of consideration, Wei Yingluo spoke up: “Fangcao, when Concubine Jia handed the things to you, was there anyone else who saw it?”

Fangcao shook her head.

As expected. Wei Yingluo turned to Noble Lady Yu and said, “The other side has played their hand very cleverly. There are no witnesses, and the physical evidence is insufficient. If we rashly report it now, we might end up being counter-attacked—they could accuse Yonghe Palace of deliberately framing them.”

Noble Lady Yu was stunned. “Then…”

“Rather than disposing of this traitor right now and letting the enemy simply replace her with someone we don’t know to continue harming you, it’s better to keep her for the time being.” Wei Yingluo gave Fangcao a cold glance. “This way, she’ll believe you’re still consuming the poisoned shell powder…”

Noble Lady Yu thought it over and realized this was indeed the best course—at least it would turn their positions from being in the dark while the enemy acted openly, forcing her to constantly guard against hidden knives from behind.

“Do as you suggest,” Noble Lady Yu said with a heavy nod. “Fangcao, if anyone from Concubine Jia’s side sends someone to ask, you are to say that you’ve finished all the shell powder she sent…”

“We should set a deadline,” Wei Yingluo added after a moment’s thought. “Let’s say half a month from now. You yourself will go and inform Concubine Jia that the shell powder is used up and ask her to send more! Do you understand?”

Fangcao had no other choice but to become this double agent. She knelt and bowed low: “Yes!”

That would do.

Wei Yingluo looked down at her with icy detachment.

This operation was not only to save Noble Lady Yu, but also to protect the Empress who had shown her unwavering sincerity and trust.

If anything happened to Noble Lady Yu, an investigation would quickly trace the source of the pearl powder back to Changchun Palace. Whether it was pearl powder, ginseng, or any other tonic that had been sent, as long as this traitor Fangcao remained, the enemy could always find a way to tamper with it from above.

Wei Yingluo had anticipated this long ago.

“The mastermind behind this loves to frame others. We sent pearl powder from our palace—she’ll almost certainly try to tamper with it.” Wei Yingluo thought to herself. “Using their own trick against them has indeed caught you. I just wonder when Noble Consort Hui will realize that she has a seemingly loyal and devoted traitor right by her side…”

A grand procession marched solemnly down the corridor.

Every two eunuchs carried a wooden barrel between them. Each barrel was draped in red silk and covered tightly, so that at first glance they resembled brides veiled in red, being carried without their feet touching the ground.

“What is that? So secretive,” Noble Consort Hui said from inside the pavilion, pointing lazily at the procession ahead.

“The lychee trees offered as annual tribute by the Fujian governor,” Concubine Jia answered promptly, always well-informed. “One hundred barrels in total. After rewarding the princes and high ministers, the rest are all being sent to Changchun Palace.”

A flash of jealousy passed through Noble Consort Hui’s eyes. “Not a single one has reached me, yet entire trees are being delivered to her.”

Transported across thousands of mountains and rivers from Fujian, many of the trees had already suffered from the change in climate, shedding most of their fruit. What little remained was distributed among the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the consorts and concubines, as well as favored imperial relatives and ministers. Receiving even one lychee to taste was considered an immense blessing—enough to show just how highly the Emperor regarded the Empress.

“It’s only a few trees,” Concubine Jia said soothingly.

“Yes, only a few trees,” Noble Consort Hui echoed, gently stroking the snowball-like white dog in her arms. “The Emperor truly treats the Empress well. And I… treat you quite well too, don’t I?”

Concubine Jia was momentarily taken aback, sensing an underlying meaning. She quickly replied with caution: “Of course. This concubine owes everything I have today to Your Ladyship’s care and favor.”

Noble Consort Hui smiled slightly. Her beautiful yet venomous eyes fixed on her: “Then why did you betray me?”

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