Chapter 655 - 433: The Heroine’s Luck

Chapter 655: Chapter 433: The Heroine’s Luck

Mrs. Pan’s footsteps gradually faded. Xu Mingying watched her back disappear from the small courtyard and stood for a long while before finally turning to go inside. Then she called for Caiqin. "Go see if Mrs. Pan left with the two Grand Dowagers. While you’re at it, ask the servants from both families about what’s happening at the Marquis Wuxin Mansion. My sister-in-law has never liked Yan Liu, so I don’t know if the news from home is true. It’s all so troubling."

Caiqin quickly agreed and hurried away.

Mrs. Pan did indeed go to see the two Grand Dowagers. However, they had not yet finished their prayers and were listening to a high-ranking monk recite scriptures. Feeling that she herself was full of negative energy today, Mrs. Pan quietly found a spot by the temple door and stood in a corner, listening silently.

Listening to the high-ranking monk’s sermon was deeply enlightening. Feeling as though she hadn’t heard enough, Mrs. Pan donated a considerable sum for incense oil before she left.

The two Grand Dowagers were very pleased to see Mrs. Pan listening quietly to the side without disturbing them.

After leaving the Buddhist Hall, Madam Jiang smiled at Mrs. Pan. "It’s rare for someone as young as you to listen so attentively. Listening to the scriptures requires a certain affinity with Buddhism. It seems you have such an affinity."

"It is the two of you who guided me. Seeing my two elders, I naturally found myself listening along."

Mrs. Pan’s words coaxed the two Grand Dowagers into beaming smiles, and they chatted and laughed all the way down the mountain.

Sitting in the carriage on the way back to her mansion, Mrs. Pan let out a long sigh of relief. ’Today’s ordeal is finally over. At least now I’ll have something to report. As for what happens next, that’s not something I can control.’

’I already warned Xu Mingying that a person must know their place. I just don’t know if she’ll listen. I hope she hasn’t done anything wrong. I pray it doesn’t implicate the Marquis Mansion and my husband.’

One by one, messages were relayed into the palace. To avoid attracting attention from Shouci Palace, the Song Family didn’t send them directly. Instead, they delivered them to Baozhuang Building. Since Zhang Maoquan was now in charge of the business, he could enter and leave the palace quite easily and retrieve the messages there. This method wouldn’t draw any unwanted attention.

Receiving the news put Song Yunzhao’s mind at ease. Meanwhile, in the palace, the abbot of the Imperial Awakening Temple began the Buddhist ceremony, which was to last for seven consecutive days. Yun Zhao and Consort Shu had cleared out Changyin Pavilion and the surrounding area, using cloth curtains to form a partial enclosure that separated the monks from the harem’s concubines and palace maids.

For once, the Empress Dowager didn’t object. After the ritual altar was set up, she even had someone send vegetarian meals to the high-ranking monks. This surprised Yun Zhao a little. ’It seems the Empress Dowager holds great reverence for Buddhism.’

Consort Shu was so busy she barely touched the ground, mentally cursing the mastermind behind all this countless times. Although Princess Consort Wan didn’t make an appearance, she also donated some money for incense oil to the Imperial Awakening Temple. Song Yunzhao thought to herself, ’This trip won’t be a waste for the monks. They’ll be able to collect a lot of alms by the time they go back.’

The necessary messages had been sent out, and all the preparations were complete. Now, all Song Yunzhao had to do was wait.

She kept Feng Ze with her in Yaohua Palace, restricting him from going out for the past few days. Whenever he grew too restless, she would send him over to Taixi Hall. Feng Yi had found a group of Imperial Guards to play with him, and the little guy was so excited that he was now even more eager to run off to the front palace every day. ℴ

She shut herself inside and began to examine the account books for Baozhuang Building from the last few months. Seeing the growth rate of the revenue, she felt that Ling Yunhe and Xie Jinshu were very dedicated.

Operating under the Royal Family’s name and monopolizing business with the imperial concubines, this golden signboard attracted many customers. This was especially true for the families of court officials; even if they just came to bask in the prestige of a favored concubine like her, they still contributed significantly to her sales.

’At a rough estimate,’ she thought, ’in a few more years, while I might not become the richest person in the Capital City, I won’t be far off.’

Sweet.

The balance in her accounts was already quite substantial, and Yun Zhao decided she wanted to do something more. But she wasn’t an expert in business. ’What should I do?’

’After all, the female lead in the book never expanded her business circle. She just conquered everyone in the harem.’

’I have no experience from the book to draw upon, and I don’t know the first thing about manufacturing cold weapons or firearms. Sigh. A transmigrator like me is a disgrace to all my predecessors. I’m really not of much use.’

She decided to think it over carefully. After all, any new business had to be within her skill set, or she’d be easily swindled.

Four or five days passed. With the end of the ceremony drawing near, Nanny Yu came with news.

"Qin Wan Yi has been visiting Changyin Pavilion quite frequently these past two days. I had someone watch her secretly. Nothing unusual was found for the first couple of days, but yesterday, as she was leaving Changyin Pavilion after listening to the scriptures, she nearly collided with a monk. Then, early this morning, that same monk complained of unbearable abdominal pain. An Imperial Physician was summoned, but his condition didn’t improve. The Imperial Awakening Temple sent a replacement, and he was sent back to the temple."

The moment Song Yunzhao heard it involved Qin Xiyue, she became vigilant. "Was anything else discovered?"

"Nothing else of note. It’s just that with Qin Wan Yi visiting Changyin Pavilion so often, the people from Qingyan Palace have also started to frequent it to listen to the scriptures. Changyin Pavilion has become quite lively now," Nanny Yu said.

Even though curtains had been set up to separate the monks from the concubines, allowing one only to hear their voices without seeing them, an incident like Qin Wan Yi’s still occurred. Song Yunzhao couldn’t help but sigh. ’The original female lead truly is something else.’

’This group of monks has been in the palace for so long, and not a single concubine in the harem has even caught a glimpse of them, yet she somehow manages to nearly run into one.’

’Isn’t that strange?’

’Is this the female lead’s luck?’

Song Yunzhao’s face darkened with anger. ’Thankfully, I was cautious and arranged everything properly without even showing my face. If I had been the one running to Changyin Pavilion all the time, who knows what kind of awful business I would have run into.’

"Keep a close watch on her, and don’t get caught," Song Yunzhao said in a low voice.

’If this was just an accident on Qin Wan Yi’s part, then fine. But if it was intentional, and I still can’t catch her red-handed, then I really am useless.’

"Rest assured, Your Highness. Zhang Maoquan has already assigned people to follow him."

Song Yunzhao sneered. "Keep a close eye on the replacement monk as well. Don’t miss a single thing."

"Yes," Nanny Yu replied.

Song Yunzhao waved her hand, and Nanny Yu turned and withdrew.

Once the nanny was gone, Song Yunzhao’s expression soured even more. ’I’ve been in the palace for so many years. Can I still not escape the fate of a supporting female character?’

’Whenever the slightest thing happens, this female lead, Qin Xiyue, always manages to get involved. This ’law of the female lead’ is driving me crazy.’

She made up her mind. ’As soon as I get some dirt on Qin Xiyue, I have to take her down, no matter what. It would be best to get her sent out of the palace. Out of sight, out of mind.’

’Having her loitering under my nose all day, with me unable to do anything about it, makes my life so unsettled. I’m always on edge.’

Song Yunzhao took a deep breath, forcing herself not to get agitated. ’It’s at times like these that I must remain calm.’

’I wonder what’s happening with Xu Mingying.’ A strange thought even occurred to her. ’What if Xu Mingying has teamed up with Qin Xiyue? What if Qin Xiyue’s recent closeness with An Shutong was just a front, all for me to see?’