Chapter 48

When Xue Jin'an arrived at the destination, the sky was completely pitch black. Yet the Zhaoyang Palace, which had been abandoned for a long time, was brightly lit, and court ladies were waiting outside to welcome him.

Even though the Imperial Guard soldiers had guessed that, with the Grand Empress Dowager backing him up, the Seventh Prince's confinement probably wouldn't be too difficult, they never expected that it wouldn't just be "not difficult"—he didn't have to suffer at all!

They had all witnessed the Seventh Prince's living quarters in the Princes' Residence. Compared to that place, everything before them right now was practically living in luxury for the Seventh Prince!

However, since the Emperor turned a blind eye to the Grand Empress Dowager's blatant favoritism, what else could a group of mere guards say?

The guards paired up and surrounded the entire Zhaoyang Palace. They figured that as long as the Seventh Prince didn't come out, whatever fairy-like life he lived inside, they would simply pretend not to see it.

Soon, however, they would discover that pretending not to see was truly difficult.

The court ladies had all been sent by the Grand Empress Dowager to tidy up the palace. Every single one of them was remarkably swift and deft. In the short time it took Xue Jin'an to travel from the Qianyuan Palace, they had already cleared out the courtyard and the front hall, leaving the floor tiles shining brilliantly enough to mirror a person's reflection.

Even so, Nanny Su was still dissatisfied, feeling that they were being too lax. She said in a deep voice, "Why haven't you cleaned up the Seventh Highness's living quarters first?"

The leading court maid, named Lingzhi, hurriedly replied, "It was this maid's oversight. I originally thought of cleaning everything together so the Highness could stay wherever he pleased later."

Afterward, she promptly asked for Xue Jin'an's opinion. Xue Jin'an pointed to the East Water Pavilion, his original persona's residence in the Zhaoyang Palace, and the court ladies immediately trooped inside.

Nanny Su naturally took over command of the court ladies, organizing everything in an orderly fashion. Lacking manpower, she even commandeered two of the guarding soldiers, ordering them around to collect firewood from the Directorate of Works and quilts from the Directorate of Imperial Apparel, spinning them in circles.

While changing the bedding, a court maid discovered that the bedstead seemed to have been left unused for too long. The wood had grown damp and rotted, actually breaking into several pieces. Nanny Su immediately ordered everyone to dismantle and replace all the wooden furnishings in the room, sending the guards to the Directorate of Works to fetch an entirely new set.

Other items like tables, chairs, stools, and shelves were relatively easy to handle. These belonged to consumables, and especially with the Third Highness constantly reporting damages and requesting replacements year after year, the Directorate of Works usually had a surplus in stock. However, a bed—a large, time-consuming, and labor-intensive item—was something they truly couldn't conjure out of thin air.

Because of this, the eunuch in charge of the Directorate of Works personally brought the ledger of the warehouse inventory to visit. As a result, Nanny Su flipped through less than two pages before pointing a finger and asking, "Isn't there a bed right here?"

Upon seeing it, the head eunuch broke out in a cold sweat. "This, this... This is meant to be sent to the Summer Resort Palace. Eunuch Li Hechun personally placed the order."

The subtext was that this was the Emperor's dragon bed.

The head eunuch looked at the broken bed, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and offered a suggestion, "This humble servant sees that this bed is still quite good, missing only a few planks. We can fix it and use it first, while I work through the night at my workshop and definitely deliver a new bed within a month—no, half a month. What does Nanny think?"

Ancient beds were somewhat different from modern ones. A canopy bed meant for a child like Xue Jin'an was considered the simplest in terms of craftsmanship among all beds, yet it still required four-sided carvings. Naturally, anything used by an imperial prince could not be done carelessly, so half a month was already the absolute limit. The most complex ones, almost equivalent to a small room known as a *babu* bed, commonly took a year and a half to make.

Instead of agreeing, Nanny Su asked, "Has this bed already been completed?"

The head eunuch hurriedly answered, "Only the carvings are left."

"Then bring it over and use it first," Nanny Su said. With a wave of her hand, right amidst the head eunuch's dumbfounded expression, she had people smash the original bed to pieces.

"The Emperor doesn't go to the Summer Resort Palace until June or July every year. You have plenty of time to craft another bed. The Seventh Highness needs one urgently here, so there is no harm in using this one first. You surely can't expect an imperial prince to sleep on the floor, can you? It won't be considered overstepping bounds just because it lacks dragon-scale carvings." Not wanting to make things too difficult for the head eunuch, Nanny Su added, "If the Emperor asks, you can truthfully tell him it was the Grand Empress Dowager's intention."

Although the Grand Empress Dowager hadn't explicitly said so, Nanny Su knew this was bound to be her intention as well. The Grand Empress Dowager harbored some dissatisfaction toward the Emperor, and this served as a rap on the knuckles.

Things having reached this point, the head eunuch had no other choice. Besides, since the bed had already been smashed right in front of him, would he really dare to let the Seventh Highness sleep on the bare floor? Great Qi was governed by filial piety, and since Nanny Su had invoked the Grand Empress Dowager, even the Emperor wouldn't be able to say anything. As for the Seventh Highness himself, if the head eunuch dared to say no, he feared Nanny Su might make him suffer terribly on the spot!

At this thought, the head eunuch secretly glanced sideways at the Seventh Highness, who was quietly sitting to one side. In truth, leaving Nanny Su aside, they had all heard rumors of the Seventh Highness's fierce and ruthless reputation.

At first, when they heard that Wang Deming of the Imperial Kitchen had offended the Seventh Highness and been sentenced by Grand Eunuch Lu to forty court beatings, leaving him crippled and disabled, they merely assumed Wang Deming was blind and had offended Grand Eunuch Lu to meet such a fate, while the Seventh Highness's involvement was purely coincidental. In their hearts, they had even sneered, "Old man Wang Deming really grew accustomed to throwing his weight around in the Imperial Kitchen, completely unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth. He even went out of his way to offend Grand Eunuch Lu, so his death is not undeserved."

Yet later on, Wang Deming went completely mad. Day after day before his death, he would curse Grand Eunuch Lu bitterly in bed, but he would start trembling the moment the Seventh Highness was mentioned. Kind-hearted souls who inquired into the matter finally learned that Wang Deming had actually offended the Seventh Highness, and Grand Eunuch Lu was the accidental one!

It was said that the Seventh Highness had wanted to rip Wang Deming's heart out on the spot, with the blade already aimed, and it was only thanks to Grand Eunuch Lu's arrival that his life was saved. Even the court beatings were something Wang Deming had begged for himself, having initially even requested to be sent to the Ministry of Punishments of his own accord!

Who in the palace didn't know the terrifying reputation of the Ministry of Punishments? This was enough to show just how savage the Seventh Highness truly was.

Later on, there were vague rumors that the Fourth Highness, who was frequently at odds with the Seventh Highness, had also met with misfortune. It was said he had encountered assassins and almost had his heart carved out, plagued by nightmares every single night without a moment of peace. He had grown much thinner and had even stopped studying—yet in reality, there were no assassins; it was the Seventh Highness who had struck!

The Seventh Highness was utterly terrifying. If princes who offended him fared thus, how much more so humble servants like themselves?

Gritting his teeth in resignation, the head eunuch ultimately gave in. He even personally carved some floral patterns onto the bed to keep it from looking too plain, managing to rush it to completion just before the Zhaoyang Palace was finished being tidied up, and had the bed delivered inside.

Now, with the head eunuch hurriedly rushing back to carve flowers, Nanny Su called over two other guards to clear away the fragments of the smashed wooden bed in the courtyard.

Acting like human garbage trucks, four guards each scooped up a pile and walked out, leaving only a couple of wooden planks behind. Seeing this, Xue Jin'an instinctively stepped forward to help.

Accustomed to the makeshift setup of Qifeng Courtyard where it was initially just Fulu and himself, Xue Jin'an knew that even though Fulu had done as much work as possible, there were always times when Xue Jin'an had to pitch in. Later, when Shouquan arrived, Xue Jin'an's hands were basically liberated, and after Li Hechun subsequently sent Xuan Eleven and another spy, both Fulu and Shouquan were liberated in turn.

After all, Qifeng Courtyard was so poor it didn't even have many possessions, and Xue Jin'an, having a mobile phone in his past life, was completely clueless about how humans enjoyed luxury, so his chores were naturally limited.

However, since the later arrivals had come quite late, whenever Xue Jin'an saw everyone busy at work, he would still habitually pitch in and do whatever was within his power.

Yet, Nanny Su stopped him. "Your Highness, these are not things you should be doing."

Nanny Su picked up a damp cloth and wiped his hands, which hadn't even touched the wood, as she patiently instructed, "You are kind-hearted and do not mind doing these dirty, tiring chores, nor do you look down upon yourself or others. This is very good. When the Grand Empress Dowager was educating the late Emperor, she once said that those who serve as rulers or ministers shoulder the fate of a country. They may stand high, but they must never forget to walk back down; they can keep their feet planted firmly on the ground, but they must never forget their identity."

"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature. If the master is too lenient and weak, those beneath will grow lawless. The saying 'servants growing too arrogant to respect their masters' arises from this very logic. You are an imperial prince; you need to establish your own prestige and authority. You must let them know who you are so that you can sit securely and properly in your position, rather than being bullied and toyed with." As she spoke, Nanny Su observed Xue Jin'an's expression.

The more Xue Jin'an listened, the more familiar the description sounded. Tilting his head in thought, he experienced a sudden flash of insight and said, "Ah, you're taking a jab at the Emperor."

Nanny Su was startled. She originally wanted to say she wasn't beating around the bush to curse the Emperor, but Xue Jin'an's words seemed to spark something. The more she recalled her own words, the clearer the image of the Emperor in her mind became.

Nanny Su's mouth opened and closed, closed and opened again, plunging into a brief yet prolonged silence.

At this exact moment, Nanny Su finally remembered that the Seventh Highness was a master whose very words could choke someone to death, having nearly choked the Emperor to death himself.

In the end, Nanny Su chose to skip this topic. Summoning Lingzhi, she took a bamboo basket covered with white cloth from her hands and forcefully pushed it into Xue Jin'an's arms, her tone brook no argument as she nudged his shoulder. "Your Highness, go keep your mother company and speak with her for a while."

Xue Jin'an opened it and discovered inside were incense, ghost money, and a series of sacrificial items. The styles of some items looked quite familiar. Inspecting the incense sticks closely, he matched the result from a corner of his memory, "It's Consort Zhen's incense."

He had seen it before back in the Buddhist hall of Yihe Palace.

Nanny Su nodded and said in a soft voice, "These are all contraband items within the palace. The Grand Empress Dowager thought of how your mother passed away as a sinner, and her remains lay in state for only a single day before being hurriedly carried out of the palace for burial. She was not entered into the imperial concubine mausoleum, nor did she have a spirit tablet. It was already a supreme grievance. Now that her reputation has finally been restored and she receives a sacrifice, these things certainly cannot be missing, so they were temporarily supplemented."

"The items are all top-quality; they simply carry a bit of misfortune. If you don't like them, you don't have to use them. Her Ladyship knows you are a good, sentimental, and sensible child, and she won't blame you," Nanny Su explained, worried that he might think things coming from Consort Zhen's hands were inauspicious while also not wanting to hurt the Grand Empress Dowager's heartfelt devotion.

Xue Jin'an shook his head, not feeling that there was anything wrong with them. Bidding farewell to Nanny Su, he walked toward the main bedchamber of the palace.

Nanny Su assumed that Zhou Yuting did not have a spirit tablet, but in truth, she was mistaken.

Hearing court ladies and eunuchs discussing the matter years ago, the original persona had learned that dying without a tombstone, a spirit tablet, or anyone to make sacrifices was a deeply tragic fate, turning one into a lonely wandering ghost unable to return to the netherworld.

Thus, the original persona had secretly carved one himself, using the wooden planks from that exact bed that had been smashed. It took the original persona and Fulu nine bulls and two tigers' worth of effort to pry off that single piece of wood and barely trim it flat. Indeed, having no idea what a spirit tablet was supposed to say, he had sharpened a casually picked-up stone and crookedly carved the words "Tomb of Mother Zhou Yuting" upon it.

He had originally wanted to bring the spirit tablet back to Qifeng Courtyard, but after the incident where even his blood-red sandalwood prayer beads were almost stripped away, he grew afraid that the spirit tablet would be discovered and destroyed. Consequently, he had secretly hidden it inside the main bedchamber.

Fortunately, long ago when Consort Zhen was deposed, the Zhaoyang Palace had already been thoroughly ransacked. Now, lacking anything of value and being a place where someone had died, no one came here to "pan for gold," allowing the spirit tablet to escape disaster and avoid being searched out.