From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 194: Friend or Foe?

Night had fallen.

The second ringing of the gong (1).

Chief of the Western Depot Liu, in his capacity as supervisor of the Fourteen Departments and acting under powers granted by an edict made under the Phoenix seal, issued the following order to all palaces and servants within the imperial city: anyone with any information on the unnatural events that have occurred over the last couple of days should present themselves immediately to Aiyun Palace and report to Imperial Noble Consort Yue. The information provided will be verified by the Western Depot. If deemed valuable, a handsome reward will be given. Conversely, any attempts at dishonesty will be met with harsh punishment.

The third ringing of the gong (2).

Chief of the Eastern Depot Cao, alerted by Officer of the Eastern Depot Fu, personally intervened in the suicide attempt made by Imperial Concubine Hui’s head maidservant. The fabric torn from her robes still hung from the rafters even as she was taken away by the brocade guard to commence interrogation. Fearful that the other maidservants would follow her example, they were stripped and kept under constant watch. Imperial Noble Consort Yue, mindful of their dignity, pleaded on their behalf to ensure that they were under the personal surveillance of Emperor Xuanjun’s nursemaid Xi Momo.

The fourth ringing of the gong (2).

Imperial Nursemaid Xi Momo reported that Third Attendant Zhang had denied mentioning her suspicions about Imperial Concubine Hui to anyone, up to and including the Zhang Family and her close friend Noble Consort Dou.

Captain of the Brocade Guard Yao, assisted on the ground by Deputy General Cui of the Yulin Army, arrested one hundred and forty-seven suspects within the Yulin Army and the Fourteen Departments. After careful consideration, Emperor Xuanjun ordered the execution of thirty-three of these suspects and the exile of the remaining hundred and seventeen to the borderlands.

The fifth ringing of the gong (4).

Old Eunuch Zhen Gonggong of the Department of Maintenance presented himself at Aiyun Palace to plead guilty for withholding knowledge of a secret passage connecting Imperial Concubine Hui’s Yuanyu Palace with the bamboo forest and an unknown destination outside the imperial city. Zhen Gonggong reported stumbling upon Late Emperor Wenchun’s frequenting of these passages to bring entertainers and whores into the inner palace.

Succumbing to the interrogation methods employed by the brocade guard, Imperial Concubine Hui’s Head Maidservant left a written confession that a man of noble etiquette often visited her mistress’ chambers but that none of the servants were ever in attendance during these clandestine meetings and to death, she denied knowing his identity.

The imperial officials, led by Right Prime Minister Ren, knelt before the steps of Weiyang Hall to beg Emperor Xuanjun to recommence morning court, to which Emperor Xuanjun commanded Head Eunuch Cao to deliver his reply:

"Until this darkness is eliminated, dawn will not break over Great Ye."

——————————

"Master, it’s the Hour of the Rabbit (5), you must care for your phoenix body and have some rest or His Majesty’s heart will ache for you."

Yan Zheyun couldn’t decide if Xiao De’s nagging was touching because it reminded him of his mother coming into his bedroom when he was burning the midnight oil in preparation for the rigorous university entrance examinations...or if it gave him goosepimples because Xiao De really sounded like those eunuchs in the harem dramas advising the fragile female leads to take care of themselves for the sake of their doting lovers.

"I’m fine," he said, trying his best to ignore Xiao De eyeing him askance. There was no feasible way to explain to Xiao De that in his previous lifetime, it wasn’t unusual for him to be up the whole night to catch a red-eye flight or to rework last minute details of a deal. The best he could do was to remind Xiao De subtly that Yan Yun had once suffered hardship too but Xiao De’s default response for that was to argue that it was no longer necessary.

Deciding to avoid conflict with the newest mother-hen figure in his life—for a young man, Xiao De had the propensity to outdo even the most mollycoddling of modern day mothers—Yan Zheyun quickly motioned for one of the momos to bring the next person into the main hall of Aiyun Palace. The braziers were blazing merrily within but outside, it was a lot harder to keep the fires going and the sooner Yan Zheyun was done talking to the people waiting—some of whom were very elderly—the sooner they could all stop standing around in the cold. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Announcing the arrival of Noble Consort Dou!"

Yan Zheyun blinked and sat up from his languid lounge on the noble consort divan that Xiao De had commanded the other servants to drag into the main hall. It stood where his normal seat did, up on the dais, with the curtains lowered to shroud him from prying eyes. This both allowed Yan Zheyun to relax his stance as well as served as an intimidation tactic to anyone who approached Aiyun Palace tonight with nefarious intentions. It was a lot harder to lie to someone when you only had their voice to rely on to try and read their mood. As for Yan Zheyun, he didn’t have to see them either. He had Xiao De at the helm, the momos present in the main hall, the Western Depot manning the lines outside and the shadow guard lurking in the darkness with their blades trained to strike.

If someone walked into Aiyun Palace with a ghost in their heart (6) today, they weren’t likely to leave without Yan Zheyun finding out.

Just like Noble Consort Dou.

Yan Zheyun wrapped the fur stole around his shoulders more snugly as Xiao De drew open the curtains. He knew without commanding that Yan Zheyun would wish to observe her himself.

"What brings Noble Consort Dou to Aiyun Palace at this time of the night?" he asked, after stopping her from performing a curtsey and signalling for the momos to usher her into her designated seat, already lined with soft, padded cushioning. It had been shifted from its usual location just beneath the dais and was now right next to Yan Zheyun’s divan.

Noble Consort Dou didn’t lack any of the elegance she always carried herself with as she walked up the stairs to take her place next to him but Yan Zheyun could tell that her usual openness with him was missing.

It was a shame. He’d enjoyed having her as his colleague, she’d been fantastic to work with. But now that he knew they might not be on the same side of the negotiations table, he wasn’t foolish enough to hedge any blind bets on her loyalty.

Before Noble Consort Dou could open her mouth to explain why she was here, a cup of hot tea was offered up to her to warm her hands around and Yan Zheyun firmly admonished her for waiting in the cold with the servants.

"This consort is here to report an important matter that may assist investigations," Noble Consort Dou said, her gaze gentle as always as she regarded him with concern. "It would only be proper to follow the rules in place."

Yan Zheyun sighed. "Follow the rules? Noble Consort Dou is one of His Majesty’s highest-ranked concubines, the rules dictate that you should have been accorded due respect and it was this consort’s oversight that resulted in you standing outside in the cold. If this consort didn’t know better, I might be tempted to think you were doing this to soften my heart and cloud my judgement."

Noble Consort Dou’s fingers tightened around her cup.

"Yue Langjun, this consort swears upon my life that I have no such intentions—"

Swiftly, he reached out to grab her wrist before the hot liquid could spill and slowly, pushed her back into her seat before removing the cup from her hands.

"Dou Niangniang, please be cautious," he said levelly. "This consort daren’t be accountable and wishes to have no one’s lives on my hands." She made to reply but a light pat on her arm silenced her again as Yan Zheyun continued, "Xiao De, please issue an edict on this consort’s behalf: all concubines coming to Aiyun Palace to report are to be brought in to see this consort immediately." His lips curved upwards. "Let it not be said that this fox demon has led His Majesty upon such a path of folly that I can now perpetuate outrages against my fellow members of the harem without any fear of retribution."

Noble Consort Dou paled. "Yue Langjun," she said, voice thick with a grief that he shared, knowing fully well that their relaxing afternoons spent in conversation about managing the inner palace in a way that would support Liu Yao best were over. "This consort has never once plotted against you."

Yan Zheyun nodded. "Nor I you," he said. "But living in the inner palace means neither of us can afford to believe each other anymore. You’re here to report of a matter in an ungodly hour, one which you chose not to speak up about until now. The question is why?"

"It’s about Imperial Concubine Hui," she said. "This consort cannot in good conscience remain silent on this when I’m aware it might help His Majesty—"

"Get to the point," he interrupted, displaying a hint of his temper towards her for the first time since making her acquaintance. He didn’t want to hear anyone use Liu Yao as an excuse anymore, whether it be fear of the emperor’s wrath holding them back from declaring the truth or a desperation to prove their loyalty to the throne now that bloodshed was imminent.

"I—" Now that he was finally letting her have free reign of the conversation, it was like she didn’t know where to start. "Back when this consort was assisting Noble Consort Li with the running of the inner palace, when His Majesty first ascended to the throne and we were making arrangements regarding which palaces to assign to the concubines..."

"It’s a fine art, matching each rank to a suitable palace," Yan Zheyun said neutrally.

"Indeed. Imperial Concubine Hui was then newly minted as Noble Lady Hui and we were faced with a conundrum as there were others of slightly lower rank from more influential families than she. Did we then place her in a better palace and displease said families or did we place her somewhere less befitting of her status to earn His Majesty the favour of those noble clans?"

Liu Yao had the habit of promoting concubines from humbler backgrounds over those of the wealthy and powerful. Yan Zheyun could see why it would force Noble Consorts Li and Dou to wrack their brains trying to balance out the political affiliations within the harem. So far, Noble Consort Dou hadn’t said anything too unusual.

"It was around the time that we were to move into the inner palace when the then Noble Lady Hui came to find us," Noble Consort Dou elaborated. She sat with her hands folded on her lap, back straight and chin tilted at a demure angle. All Yan Zheyun could read off her now was the same mild worry she’d always displayed whenever she found out he was faced with a new obstacle when it came to the inner palace’s governance. "She empathised with our difficulties and humbly chose Yuanyu Palace, which was far away from His Majesty’s Qianjing Palace, for herself. Noble Consort Li and I were so grateful for her understanding we didn’t pause to think about the reason why she made her choices. In fact, Noble Consort Li was so touched by her gesture that she displayed her gratitude by taking Noble Lady Hui into her confidence.

Yan Zheyun thought back to all the times when he saw them arm-in-arm by each other’s side whilst taking a turn around the imperial gardens. How genuine were the smiles on their faces? The Noble Consort Li of yesterday...did she truly know what lay in the heart of this confidante of hers?

Did it even matter? They were both unable to reveal any of their secrets anymore. Just like a weathered sepia photograph curled up at the edges, the vibrancy they’d lent to the inner palace, whether it be the garish colours of malice or the smoky hues of sultriness, were forever left behind in time.

"Noble Consort Dou chooses to come forth with this information now because...?"

Without missing a beat, Noble Consort Dou said, "That child, Zhang Qian, grew up together with me."

"A close friend in a lady’s chambers (7)?"

"The closest you could find." Noble Consort Dou’s eyes crinkled sadly. "This consort cannot bear the thought that she could be implicated in matters well beyond her depth. Imperial Noble Consort Yue, I beg you, please investigate the matter of Imperial Concubine Hui’s affair with an outsider of the inner palace and return Attendant Zhang her innocence."

Yan Zheyun drummed his fingers on the arm rest of his divan before catching himself and stopping. He’d picked the habit up from Liu Yao at some point.

"This consort will look into the matter but cannot make any promises," he said with a note of finality. "You will remain in your palace until further notice and communicate with no one, is that clear?"

"As Imperial Noble Consort Langjun commands."

Yan Zheyun waited patiently for her to be escorted back out and for the doors to be barred behind her.

"Ying Liu."

The figure that dropped down from the ceiling was lithe. Not all of the shadow guards enjoyed hiding on the rafters but Ying Liu, as far as Yan Zheyun could tell, favoured high places.

"Ying Liu, at Young Master Yan’s service." They had adopted this term of address after Liu Yao had made their presence known to him. As far as Yan Zheyun could tell, most of the shadow guards he’d seen so far, with the exception of Liu Yao’s body double, were of similar build and virtually indistinguishable from each other. Ying Liu only ever spoke to him with a jovial tone but Yan Zheyun had the suspicion that should he require, Ying Liu could change his voice and Yan Zheyun wouldn’t know that it was the same person beneath the mask.

"Inform Ying Yi that someone should follow Noble Consort Dou."

Ying Liu saluted. The best thing about the shadow guard was their inherent lack of curiosity. They took instructions, no questions asked.

"Was there anything in particular this subordinate should inform Ying Yi to look out for?"

Yan Zheyun raised an eyebrow. The last embers of compassion that he’d once felt for her due to the friendship he’d thought they’d developed between them had burnt out, leaving behind only the charred cinders of a trust too easily broken.

"Is there any part of her that isn’t suspicious?" he said in lieu of a proper answer.

Noble Consort Dou was here to save Attendant Zhang? Given how quickly put herself in the line of fire in the past to beg for clemency on Attendant Zhang’s behalf, Yan Zheyun did not doubt that she held some measure of regard for the girl. But that measure didn’t seem as all-encompassing as he’d once believed. Otherwise...Attendant Zhang had been taken away by Xi Momo at what was it...7 plus pm in the evening? Why dally until 5 am to speak up?

More so than rescuing Attendant Zhang, Yan Zheyun had the feeling that Noble Consort Dou was eager to pin the blame on Imperial Concubine Hui. He just wasn’t sure to what point and purpose. In her rather clumsy attempt to do so, she’d even accidentally revealed that she was aware of the secret passage between Yuanyu Palace and the outside of the imperial city. Otherwise, why would she tell Yan Zheyun so specifically that Imperial Concubine Hui had chosen Yuanyu Palace for herself, if not to plant the idea in his mind that this was for the sole purpose of arranging for her alleged lover to drop by undetected?

How did she find out about the hidden passages? Zhen Gonggong hardly seemed like a loose-lipped individual so she could very well be in contact with someone else whom the late emperor had shared the information with...or someone else who had conveniently come across the dragon entourage on the way to a licentious tryst. Whoever had informed Noble Consort Dou about the passages beforehand could very well be who she was truly trying to protect.

Whatever it was, Liu Yao was starting to seem like one of the last people to know there were holes all over his godforsaken house. And not the kind they could fix with a little bit of light renovation either.

"Make sure not to alert her," Yan Zheyun said to Ying Liu’s retreating figure. There were bigger fish out swimming in the waters tonight. With some luck, they might even catch one or two.