FID – Chapter 906

Chapter 906 – What If It’s the Grandmother of the Princess Consort?

Grandma Liu was a woman of action. Once she decided on something, she did it immediately.

Early the next morning, before Liu Yusheng even got out of bed, she handed the two little beans over to her two daughters-in-law to look after and then stormed off into the palace to ‘catch’ the Empress Dowager herself.

Having gone in and out of the palace a few times already, the guards at the gate had long since remembered this elderly woman.

So when she stepped down from the carriage and approached the palace gate, the guards waved her through without even needing a report or announcement.

With a grandson-in-law who was the King of Nanling and a grandnephew-in-law who was the Emperor, she practically treated the imperial palace like her own backyard. 

Grandma Liu sighed with feeling. No wonder so many people chased after power so desperately.

The perks of power were endless.

If it had been in the past, she wouldn’t even have dreamed of one day being able to come and go freely in a place like this.

As she entered the palace gates, she noticed several officials in full regalia still waiting outside. They had to stand there until someone inside passed word back before they might be allowed to enter.

And if the emperor wasn’t in a good mood and refused their audience, they’d be waiting all morning for nothing.

But if the emperor ever got upset and refused her at the gates… Well, then he’d have to deal with getting beaten up by her grandson-in-law afterward…

Following the white marble path, Grandma Liu headed straight for the Yangxin Hall like she knew the place by heart.

As she passed through the Imperial Garden, she suddenly heard the faint sound of retching coming from behind an artificial rock formation.

Frowning in confusion, she turned and walked toward the sound. She called out, “Who’s there? Are you feeling unwell?” 

Rounding the rock, she finally saw the person who was bent over, dry heaving.

The woman was dressed in a refined yet simple outfit, with a maidservant beside her. She was clearly a concubine from the inner palace.

“Young lady, what’s the matter with you? If you’re not feeling well, you should call an imperial physician right away. Don’t try to endure it. Look at you. Your face has gone completely pale,” Grandma Liu advised kindly.

However, the maid beside the woman glared at her with a stern expression. “You old woman, how dare you! You’re standing before the Plum Concubine and don’t bow or pay your respects? Which palace are you from?”

Grandma Liu also frowned. “You’re quite the rude little maid. I was kindly offering advice, and you scold me for not bowing? Have you no sense of reason? How old are you, sixteen, seventeen at most? And yet you’re already so arrogant and disrespectful, bullying others on the strength of your position. Absolutely detestable.”

“You…!”

“Ling Xiang, don’t be rude,” Shan Lai slowly straightened up and scolded her maid before turning to her. “Nursemaid, my maid spoke out of turn. It was my failure to discipline her. Please don’t take it to heart, and thank you for your concern just now. I’m fine.”

Nursemaid? So this Plum Concubine had taken her for one of the palace’s old servants. 

Grandma Liu smiled, not bothering to correct her and simply waved her hand. “I was just being nosy. Since Your Ladyship is fine, I’ll be on my way.”

Shan Lai nodded. “Are you heading back to the inner palace to serve your mistress? Coincidentally, I’m also returning to my quarters. Since we’re going the same way, why don’t we walk together?”

“Alright,” Grandma Liu agreed readily.

All the residential halls in the imperial harem were beyond the opposite exit of the Imperial Garden, so Shan Lai’s route did indeed match hers.

As they walked together, the maid still managed to sneak a glare at Grandma Liu, which made her shake her head.

This Plum Concubine seemed like a sensible woman. How had she ended up with such an insolent maid? If that girl’s attitude wasn’t corrected, she’d cause trouble for her mistress sooner or later.

“Which palace are you serving in, nursemaid? I don’t recall seeing you before,” Consort Mei asked softly as they walked.

“I don’t serve in any palace. I just came to deliver a message,” Grandma Liu replied. Noticing the woman occasionally pressing her chest as they walked, she added with concern, “Your Ladyship, are you sure you’re alright? You don’t look well at all. When you get back, you really ought to summon a physician to take a look. It doesn’t cost you anything anyway.”

“Pfft!” Shan Lai seemed amused by her bluntness and covered her mouth as she laughed.

The maid, Ling Xiang, lifted her chin slightly and huffed, “My Mistress isn’t unwell because she’s pregnant, carrying the imperial heir. You’re a palace servant too. How could you not have heard such big news?”

“I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it. I just hadn’t seen Plum Concubine before, so I didn’t recognize her,” Grandma Liu replied calmly.

Ling Xiang’s face flushed with irritation, but she couldn’t lash out. The old woman was right. Though the news of Shan Lai’s pregnancy had spread throughout the palace, it wasn’t surprising someone might not recognize her face.

After all, she was newly promoted and hadn’t had the kind of opportunities to make a name for herself like those who’d been in the harem for years.

But in time—once she gave birth to a royal son, there wouldn’t be anyone in the palace who didn’t know her name.

“So Mistress was feeling sick because of the pregnancy,” Grandma Liu said, glancing at the woman’s still-flat belly. “Then I really was meddling. I spoke without knowing the full story. Please don’t take offense.”

Her belly looked like it wasn’t more than three months yet.

“Why would I be offended? Nursemaid, you speak honestly and kindly. This concubine admires that greatly.”

They soon reached the forked path outside the Imperial Garden.

Before parting ways, Shan Lai took a hairpin from her hair and offered it to Grandma Liu. “This hairpin is a token of thanks for your reminder just now.”

Before the hairpin could even touch her hand, Grandma Liu quickly pulled both hands behind her back and took several steps to the side.

Seeing the lady looking at her in confusion, Grandma Liu gave a helpless smile and said, “I don’t accept rewards for nothing. That’s a principle I live by. Besides, I just said a few words, nothing worth thanking me for. I’ve got something to take care of, so Mistress should go back and get some rest.”

With that, she turned and hurried down the path toward the Yangxin Hall, disappearing from sight before Shan Lai and her maid.

“How ungrateful!” Ling Xiang said angrily. “Mistress wanted to reward her, and she refused. Does she think it’s beneath her?!”

Shan Lai calmly placed the hairpin back into her hair and turned to walk slowly back to her own Changle Palace. Her gaze drifted off into the distance, her eyes slightly misted, as if veiled in rain, hard to read.

“Ling Xiang, what did you think of that old woman’s clothes?”

Startled by her mistress’s sudden question, Ling Xiang furrowed her brows. “Her outfit was fairly plain,  last year’s style at best. However, the fabric was good quality, made of fine cotton…”

As she spoke, Ling Xiang’s eyes widened. “She wasn’t wearing a palace uniform!”

“She wasn’t wearing palace garb and still dared to call herself ‘I’ in front of this imperial concubine. How many people in the palace could get away with that, you think?”

“Besides His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, there’s no one else. Even the titled noble ladies from the most powerful and influential families must address themselves as ‘this subject’ in Mistress’ presence.”

“Then what if she were the grandmother of the King’s Princess Consort?”