Chapter 186 - 161: Inspecting the Results

When Chen Changzai boarded the carriage, Jiang Xian was coaxing her baby to sleep.

Zhaomao was a high-needs baby who couldn’t bear to be alone. He didn’t cry much, though. When he was awake, he would gurgle and coo, wanting someone to play with him. If someone responded, he would giggle happily, revealing the little dimples on his cheeks. If he was ignored, his smile would vanish, and he would just blink his grape-like eyes at them, his fair, tender face full of confusion.

This routine was very effective on the adults around him.

At the very least, his father the Emperor, his imperial grandmother, and the Noble Consort all fell for it.

Right now, he was thoroughly enjoying the bliss of being lulled to sleep by his mother’s soft whispers. Though his eyelids were heavy with sleep, he fought to keep them open, as if to tell his mother—’I’m not asleep yet! Keep coaxing me!’

But it was no use. He soon drifted off, his eyes closing as he fell into a deep, sound sleep.

"Take good care of the Eldest Prince."

Jiang Xian handed the swaddled baby to Zhenqiu and gestured for her to move to a corner of the carriage so her conversation with Chen Changzai wouldn’t disturb the Eldest Prince. The Eldest Prince actually had his own carriage, which was even better decorated than hers. But he had woken up just before they set off and wanted his mother, so Jiang Xian had picked him up to soothe him.

Her nanny had said that Her Ladyship was the most patient master she had ever seen with a child.

Jiang Xian replied, "It’s not really that I have patience. He’s not small, and my arms get sore after holding him for a while. Which of the ladies in the harem ever does heavy labor or lifts heavy things? Even if they had the patience to soothe a child, they wouldn’t have the strength."

’This is the little life I brought into this world. I have to be responsible for him.’

Jiang Xian looked at Chen Changzai. "You seem to be in even higher spirits."

Chen Changzai recounted what had happened before she boarded the carriage, looking smug. "Not only do I get to go to Xihua Garden, but I get to ride there in Lady Zhaoyi’s carriage. They can glare until their eyes fall out, but they can’t change that. Her Ladyship dotes on me."

The carriage of a Zhaoyi was very spacious. Chen Changzai removed the pearl hairpin from her hair, hugged a soft pillow that He Xiang had brought, and lay down on the couch. Soon, one big and one small person were sleeping soundly. Jiang Xian opened a book of poetry, pretending to read, but in her mind, she was reading a child-rearing guide she had purchased from the system.

She had unsparingly bought many similar educational books and stored them in her ’backend.’ During her postpartum confinement, she had been forced to stay indoors and passed the days by reading, absorbing knowledge she’d never paid attention to in her past life like a sponge, waiting for the right moment to use it.

...

Lu Ronghua spent a great deal of silver to inquire about the Emperor’s whereabouts. After all, traveling by carriage was tedious, and the Emperor would most likely summon one of his concubines to accompany him. When she learned that Gu Zhaoyi was not in the Emperor’s carriage, she was initially delighted, but her spirits immediately withered when she heard the Noble Consort was.

"The Emperor’s carriage is the most spacious. Perhaps Your Ladyship could try your luck," her palace maid, Little Yu, comforted her.

Lu Ronghua was tempted by the suggestion, but then the Noble Consort’s glamorous face appeared in her mind, and she deflated. "Forget it! If I catch her eye before we even arrive, how am I supposed to live in Xihua Garden? She has a hundred ways to make my life miserable."

Whether in Xihua Garden or the Imperial Palace, a comfortable life depended on having servants who served you well.

She hadn’t been in the Emperor’s favor recently, so winning over the lower-ranking staff was just a matter of throwing silver at them—and she definitely couldn’t out-spend the Noble Consort. She dared to provoke Gu Zhaoyi repeatedly, but she never dared to talk back to the Noble Consort, precisely because her ’hard power’ was far inferior.

Lu Ronghua said, "Forget it. I’ll take a short nap and get up when we arrive."

She rested on and off, asking "Are we there yet?" three times, but the journey to Xihua Garden seemed endless.

The concubines of the harem kept a regular schedule, so even if they tried to nap during the day, they couldn’t sleep for long. After lying down for a while, the jostling of the carriage gave her a headache. So, upon arriving at Xihua Garden, Lu Ronghua hurriedly went to find out which palace she had been assigned to and whether it was far from the Emperor’s residence.

"Your Ladyship, Yingchun Pavilion has been cleaned. This way, please."

After inspecting her new quarters, Lu Ronghua deliberately gave the attendant a generous reward before asking, "This place is nice, but it’s a bit deserted. I’d like to ask, which of my sisters is staying near Yingchun Pavilion?"

The eunuch weighed the reward in his hand, his face wreathed in smiles. "To answer Your Ladyship, Yingchun Pavilion is in a very well-connected location in Xihua Garden. As for who is nearby, Lady Ma Wan Yi’s Jingchang Pavilion is just over there. Head north along that walkway, pass through a bamboo grove, and you’ll be there."

"My relationship with Ma Wan Yi is distant. I’m actually closer with Gu Zhaoyi and my Sister-in-law, the Noble Consort."

Lu Ronghua was banking on the fact that the servants at Xihua Garden were ill-informed, so she just made it up on the spot.

"The Lady Noble Consort is the most honored mistress on this trip, second only to the Emperor. She is staying in Immortal Travel Hall on the west side. And speaking of which, Your Ladyship has asked the right person. Lady Zhaoyi’s Liuyun Palace is right next to Immortal Travel Hall, very close indeed."

As the eunuch replied, he was already making his own calculations.

Yingchun Pavilion was called a pavilion, but it was actually very spacious and even had a natural hot spring, which were considered excellent living conditions in the temporary palace. However, Immortal Travel Hall and Liuyun Palace had been assigned by the Emperor’s personal decree and were very close to his own West Warm Pavilion. Clearly, their occupants were the ones currently in favor.

’This Lu Ronghua,’ he thought, ’most likely has rank but no favor. I should be respectful, but there’s no need to go out of my way to please her.’

This wasn’t Lu Ronghua’s first year at Xihua Garden. After hearing the palace assignments, her expression turned cold. "Fine. You may leave."

The eunuch waited for a moment longer, and only after realizing there would be no further reward did he smile and withdraw.

Meanwhile, after a palace maid had shown her around, Jiang Xian casually singled one out and asked, "Where is the Flower House eunuch for Xihua Garden?"

The palace maid who was singled out was stunned for a moment.

’The Flower House eunuch is arguably the least significant of all the palace attendants. Could it be that Gu Zhaoyi is so pleased with the floral arrangements here that she has specially summoned him for a reward?’ she wondered. Full of doubt, she led the way. Before long, Hai Yi, the Flower House Steward Eunuch of Xihua Garden, came out to greet them, trembling with a terribly respectful attitude.

Jiang Xian had arrived in a hurry and hadn’t announced her identity.

But with the imperial retinue arriving at Xihua Garden today, the visitor had to be a noble mistress he could not afford to offend.

"This slave, Hai Yi, the Flower House Steward Eunuch, is at Your Ladyship’s command."

Hai Yi kept his head bowed low.

A cool, young female voice sounded from above. It was devoid of emotion, yet it made his heart tremble, as if he had been transported back to his years as an insignificant little eunuch, facing the head eunuch who could control his fate at any moment...

In short, it was the intimidating aura of a superior!

"I’m not here to give you orders. I’m here to inspect the results of a project,"

Jiang Xian smiled faintly. "You haven’t met me, but you should have seen my design drafts. How is the garden the Emperor asked me to design coming along? I actually prefer to give a clear deadline when I issue an order, but I have no say in when the Emperor decides to bring me to Xihua Garden. I hope you haven’t been slacking off."

A cold glint flashed from her hand.

Those oppressive words, combined with that cold gleam, frightened Hai Yi so much that his legs gave way and he fell to his knees. "Your Ladyship, spare my life!"

Lady Zhaoyi asked, "When did I say I wanted your life?"

"My lady..."

Hai Yi looked up, only to see that she was holding a pair of scissors.

Lady Zhaoyi said, "What I meant was, if you haven’t done it properly, then go and do it now. I want to see if you’ve followed my intentions. As for any minor trimming and pruning, I can handle that myself."

’Sigh, cleaning up after a subordinate is a superior’s responsibility,’ she mused. ’I’m such a team player.’