Chapter 234 - 197: Ransacking the Home (Part 3)

"Your Highness, this palace dress is made from Eight-layered Brocade. I thought it was exquisite, so I’ve brought it as a humble gift for you."

As the head of the most lucrative department in the harem, it was both reasonable and legal for Xue Rang to have some rare samples on hand. After all, no matter how fine the tributes sent to the Imperial Palace from various regions were, they could not be used immediately. They first had to be studied by experts to ensure they didn’t violate any regulations or taboos. Only after a thorough inspection and approval from the Empress would they finally be distributed to the various consorts as part of their allotted fabrics or as rare gifts for rewards.

The Imperial Palace was similar to a large corporation in that its procedures were incredibly complex.

The Imperial Household would never send back the samples it received from outside the palace. Officially, they were written off as consumables, leaving a great deal of room for how they were handled privately. For someone as powerful as Xue Rang, it was common practice to use these items as gifts for the consorts.

"Your Highness’s care for me surpasses that of my own parents. During the Longevity Festival, I was negligent for a moment and was deceived by a wicked subordinate. Thankfully, Your Highness came to my rescue. I have never forgotten your kindness. This humble gift is not even one ten-thousandth of the grace you have shown me. I only beg for Your Highness to do me the honor of accepting it. If you would not disdain my humble offering, I would be eternally grateful."

Xue Rang was incredibly deferential, practically begging Noble Princess Consort Rong to accept his gift.

Eight-layered Brocade was the most fashionable fabric of the year, available only in Jiangnan. The amount sent to the Capital was extremely limited. However, the Rong Family was not short on such fineries, and she had seen it long ago. Thus, Noble Princess Consort Rong smiled faintly. "I can save you once, perhaps twice, but I can’t save you a third time. Consort Ji went crying to Pure Consort, accusing your Imperial Household of shorting her on her allotment of charcoal and fabric. Do you admit to this or not?"

Xue Rang was aghast and immediately dropped to his knees. "I would never dare to deceive a master! Consort Ji’s charcoal and fabric were all distributed according to her allotment. There would never be any short-changing. There must be some misunderstanding."

The matter was not difficult to investigate. Xue Rang was a veteran manager in the palace and kept his records impeccable. As Consort Ji’s face grew increasingly pale, the truth came to light—the Imperial Household hadn’t shorted her on her allotment, but they had given her items of the absolute worst quality.

Consort Ji’s eyes filled with tears. The palace maid beside her cried out at the injustice, then dropped to her knees with a THUD and began to wail, "Mr. Xue, don’t go too far! My mistress is, after all, a Noble Lady personally appointed by the Emperor! If you had ever come to Yizhu Pavilion, you would know how smoky that charcoal is! But if she doesn’t burn it, it’s too cold to bear... My mistress only resorted to this because she couldn’t take it anymore! I beg Your Highness to be magnanimous and show some understanding!"

"Lu Qi!"

Only after her Chief Palace Maid had said everything she needed to say did Consort Ji shout for her to stop.

After Lu Qi finished, Noble Princess Consort Rong’s gaze fell upon her. "Are you telling me to go to Consort Ji’s residence?"

That one glance from her made Lu Qi’s knees tremble.

"A person of my noble standing does not tread on lowly ground."

The contemptuous remark made Consort Ji’s face turn shades of white and green.

Jiang Xian remarked, "Well, that *is* the place I used to live, you know."

"You should have moved long ago," Noble Princess Consort Rong said. "How could anyone live in such a tiny place? It would be crammed just with your attending servants. Bihua Palace is much better now, and it’s close to Zhaoyang Palace."

"You heard what she said, Xue Rang. What is your response?"

Xue Rang looked completely innocent. "The Imperial Household simply follows the rules. Whatever allotment a Noble Lady is due, that is what Consort Ji receives—not a bit more, not a bit less. Even within the same batch of fabric, there are differences in color. I can only guarantee that a complete bolt of fabric is delivered to the young mistress. As for the charcoal being smoky... what charcoal doesn’t produce smoke, besides silver silk charcoal? The young mistress is delicate, but there’s nothing I can do to help."

’Everyone knew how superior silver silk charcoal was. But you also had to be worthy of it.’

Consort Ji was already terrified by his words, but then Xue Rang abruptly changed the subject, bringing up another matter entirely. "I have often heard that Lu Qi, by Consort Ji’s side, frequently gives rewards to the eunuchs of the Imperial Household. I had assumed the young mistress was quite satisfied with our services. We even allowed idle little eunuchs to go to Yizhu Pavilion to help out, which is technically against the rules. Now that Consort Ji has made these accusations, I feel quite uneasy. I will return all the silver immediately. I only hope Your Highness will be lenient."

Ever since entering the palace, Consort Ji had spent a great deal of silver taels on the Imperial Household to make her life more comfortable.

She had spent at least a few hundred taels.

While that amount of silver could sway the lesser eunuchs of the Imperial Household, it was a mere drop in the bucket to Xue Rang. By saying this, he was ensuring that even if Consort Ji had money in the future, it would be of no use to her.

"It is good that you can reflect on this," said Noble Princess Consort Rong. "I will allow you to atone for your misdeeds. You will go back with Consort Ji and inspect Yizhu Pavilion. Any modifications made by spending silver, or any items that do not belong to her, are to be returned to the Imperial Household."

Furniture and roof sections that had been repaired with her money were all torn apart.

All the items she had bought with silver taels were confiscated.

Of course, Xue Rang did return the silver taels to her—but only after deducting a "depreciation fee." After all, many of the items had been used and couldn’t simply be given to other Noble Ladies. And to give them to a concubine or a Changzai would violate the hierarchy of ranks.

Consort Ji and Lu Qi were utterly dumbfounded.

In the outer court, this would have been tantamount to having one’s entire household’s assets confiscated. There was no precedent for such a humiliating event in the harem. But a word from Noble Princess Consort Rong was never taken back, and even Consort Ji’s desperate pleas could not make her waver in the slightest. Within a single afternoon, more than half the harem knew that Yizhu Pavilion had been ransacked, and that it was the handiwork of Noble Princess Consort Rong.

What an awe-inspiring display of the Noble Consort’s power.

’Most of the harem was thinking the same thing: Noble Princess Consort Rong was without a son. Sooner or later, her time of disgrace would come.’

But no one ever expected that day to arrive so soon.