Chapter 135: Provocation

Shen Shuangning was thinking of next year's great drought; she took a deep breath, gazed at Lady Liu's eyes, and said, "Mother, I dreamed the fields lacked water, many people died, I always feel uneasy—why not stockpile more grain?"

Lady Liu replied dismissively, "It's just a dream; wasn't it raining a few days ago? Grain prices are still stable. Stored grain easily gets bugs and mold, which would just waste money."

Shen Shuangning said seriously, "Jingcheng has had decent rain, but a few days ago when I went to the teahouse with Su Ran, I heard that several water stations in the south have much lower water levels than usual, so boats must reduce load to pass. If grain transport is affected, the north‑south grain route may become unsmooth."

Lady Liu, being a merchant, values timing above all in trade; she cannot afford to overlook even the slightest sign, for fear of missing a good opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Lady Liu's expression grew grave; she said, "I'll have someone inquire. If it's true, while the grain merchants elsewhere are still inactive, we ought to prepare."

Seeing Lady Liu take it to heart, Shen Shuangning breathed a sigh of relief.

Lady Liu set down her teacup and suddenly said, "You keep worrying about all these trivial things—do you realize that for your marriage, your grandmother is worried sick?"

Shen Shuangning said nothing.

Lady Liu dared not tell Shen Shuangning that, ever since the Xie family met misfortune, rumors have been spreading from somewhere claiming that Shen Shuangning "jinxes husbands"!

What's worse, the rumor reached the old lady's ears, making her so angry she nearly fainted.

This is utterly unreasonable!

Ning girl hasn't even married yet—she's a well‑bred young lady from a respectable family—how could there be any talk of her jinxing husbands? Yet those rumors are spread with convincing detail.

They even claim that the Xie family's disaster came about because Shen Shuangning was discussing marriage with Xie Lin—pure nonsense!

The trouble is, these rumors aren't circulating in the marketplaces; instead, they're quietly spreading among the noble ladies' circles in Jingcheng.

Lady Liu also had considerable dealings with those clan wives and knew well that gossip in the noble ladies' circles is especially vicious.

They gather to drink tea, admire flowers, attend banquets and listen to operas; a few words can ruin a person's reputation.

Which family has a marriage‑age son, which is looking into matches for their children—all such news circulates in their idle chatter.

Now that the rumor of Shen Shuangning jinxing husbands has spread, even those who know it's baseless cannot help but feel wary—who would risk their son's future and life on such a gamble?

Once the rumor spreads, those families who originally had intentions toward Shen Shuangning will likely quietly withdraw; even those with no prior contact will surely keep their distance upon hearing it.

At first, Lady Liu didn't pay much heed, but when she went out she clearly noticed that fewer and fewer people were inquiring about Shen Shuangning's marriage prospects.

Lady Liu was also angry, yet she couldn't confront those people; loudly defending Ningning would only make matters worse, so a quiet approach is best.

After thinking it over, Lady Liu decided to let Shen Shuangning leave Jingcheng to avoid the limelight, and she said:

"Ningning, you've always wanted to visit the estate at Jiang Ting, haven't you? Don't wait for your birthday—go whenever you wish. When your birthday approaches, I'll send someone to fetch you to Zhen Ding to reunite with your father."

Shen Shuangning's birthday falls on the first day of the seventh lunar month, which is the time of opening the earth gate; the seventh month is also Ghost Month, and in previous years Lady Liu never allowed her to go out casually, fearing she might offend something.

Yet now she proposes letting her leave Jingcheng, and Shen Shuangning faintly senses that her mother is hiding something.

But Shen Shuangning also has something she's keeping from Lady Liu; she had already planned to leave Jingcheng, yet her plans can't keep up with the changes, and right now she dare not move about recklessly.

So she found an excuse, saying, "Mother, the weather is hot; I feel lazy and don't want to go out."

Lady Liu could do nothing about it, thinking it was fine for her not to go out, so she dropped the matter.

Shen Shuangning changed the subject: "Mother, how are things going with Consort Li's side?"

Previously, Consort Li wanted to cooperate with Lady Liu's Ping'an Draft Bank, and Shen Shuangning had suspected the other party wanted to use the bank for money‑laundering, having already warned Lady Liu to be careful.

Lady Liu snorted coldly upon hearing this: "At first it seemed normal, but later they sent a eunuch who, while speaking of broadening cooperation, was actually probing for ways to handle secret accounts, and claimed they had several sums of illicit silver they wished to deposit in our bank, offering a forty percent cut."

"The draft bank's Manager Yang understood this was improper, so he excused himself by saying he needed to consult the proprietor and sent the person away."

Shen Shuangning's heart tightened, and she hurriedly asked, "What happened then?"

Lady Liu lowered her face and said, "No matter what, we cannot take this account; I first had the steward halt all dealings between the branches and the palace, and outwardly claimed we were recently settling accounts—since the other party is a favored consort of the palace, we cannot openly break with them, so we can only stall for now."

"Rest assured, I've made arrangements up and down; I will definitely not give her a chance to exploit a loophole."

The ways of business are deep, and Shen Shuangning knows nothing about the draft bank's affairs; seeing that Lady Liu already had precautions, she didn't press further.

She merely felt a lingering unease in her heart.

Lady Liu seemed to sigh and said, "We can no longer call her Consort Li; she has now been made Noble Consort."

Shen Shuangning raised her eyebrows, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.

Lady Liu explained, "She's pregnant, the emperor was pleased and granted her the title of Noble Consort; she just hasn't undergone the formal investiture yet, so it's normal you haven't heard of it."

Shen Shuangning felt another wave of astonishment.

During the last spring hunt, Emperor Xuwen's face was already filled with illness; if it weren't for needing to uphold the dynasty's dignity before the Jurchen people, he might not even have shown his face.

Even in such a state, how could Consort Li conceive an imperial heir?

She recalled that in her previous life, there had been no such thing.

Lady Liu's face grew solemn, yet she didn't elaborate on this; Shen Shuangning could see what her mother worried about—Lan Xiang had been promoted and was carrying an imperial heir, and from now on she would only become more arrogant.

The matter of the Ping'an Draft Bank would likely become even harder to settle.

Shen Shuangning stepped out of Lady Liu's room, looked up at the sky, and pictured Lan Xiang seated in a high position, wearing a smug, triumphant expression.

When heaven intends to destroy someone, it first drives them mad.

Two days later, as Shen Shuangning was about to go out, she was intercepted.

Several people dressed in palace attire waited there; the leading matron, dressed respectably, was clearly of high rank in the palace.

"Fourth Miss, the princess is ill and longs for you; please accompany this old servant to the palace."

Shen Shuangning had also resided in Chang Le Gong before, but she had never seen such an unfriendly matron attending Princess Jingyu, and immediately sensed something amiss.

She showed no sign of it on her face, merely asking, "How serious is the princess's illness?"

The matron replied, "It's not mild; the princess gets along well with the Fourth Miss and constantly mentions you—you simply cannot avoid visiting her."

Shen Shuangning said softly, "Since I must enter the palace, please wait a moment while I return home to change into proper attire—I certainly dare not neglect etiquette."

As she spoke and turned, her wrist was suddenly seized by a thin yet surprisingly strong hand, like being gripped by an eagle's claw.

Shen Shuangning's heart jolted.

The matron gave a false smile and said, "Fourth Miss, you needn't bother with formalities—the princess eagerly awaits your early arrival; hurry along, don't keep her waiting, for missing the appointed time would be unbearable."

That grip made Shen Shuangning's arm ache.

It seems today she has no choice but to go to the palace.

Shen Shuangning said gently, "May I say a few words to the maid?"

The old lady then slowly loosened her grip, as if recovering her smile, and politely said, "Of course, but Fourth Miss, please hurry."

In front of these palace people, Shen Shuangning said to Ah Heng, "I can't leave right now; go to the Treasure Pavilion and find Ya Niang to retrieve the deposit for that headpiece for me."

A few days ago at the Office of Pacification, Ah Heng clearly overheard the conversation between Shen Shuangning and Ya Niang; the deposit for that headpiece was clearly unwanted, yet now she says she wants to take it back......

Ah Heng's heart leapt, and she instantly sensed something was wrong.

She instinctively looked toward the old lady waiting nearby; although the woman wore a smile, her gaze was tigerish, sending a chill up her spine.

Shen Shuangning feared the little maid wouldn't understand, so she deliberately emphasized her tone and, at the end, secretly gripped her wrist tightly.

As the old lady helped her into the carriage, Shen Shuangning caught a glimpse, out of the corner of her eye, of the skin beneath the woman's sleeve—there were several intersecting scars, old and new layered together.

Shen Shuangning's heart rose to her throat.

Jingyu rarely punished servants, let alone an elderly old lady.

Therefore, the real reason she was summoned to the palace was not Jingyu, but that noble consort inside the palace!

Ah Heng watched as her young lady was taken away; first she had the gatekeeper hurry to inform the mistress, then she lifted her skirts and rushed to the Office of Pacification.

However, someone's footsteps were even faster than hers.

As early as a few days ago, Shen Shuangning had dark guards secretly protecting her, arranged by Xiao Jingyuan.

Neither master nor servant knew anything about it.

Upon hearing that Shen Shuangning had been summoned into the palace, Lady Liu immediately sensed something amiss; perhaps it was the mother‑daughter bond, she panicked, hurriedly had a carriage prepared, and left the manor.

The sun blazed fiercely, its scorching rays baking the earth, and the blue‑stone pavement grew hot to the touch.

Once luxurious, the Brocade Palace now, with its master elevated to noble consort and wielding power, gained an added measure of ostentatious splendor.

At the palace gate a chair for the noble consort was specially set up, cushioned with a soft pad; on either side stood two palace maids holding wide peacock‑feather fans, gently waving them in silence.

Lan Xiang leaned lazily against the noble consort's chair, her demeanor relaxed yet unable to hide her domineering aura; the hand painted with bright rouge rested lightly on her lower abdomen.

Today she wore a pomegranate‑red gold‑threaded palace robe, its skirt embroidered with gold‑threaded intertwining peonies; the seven‑tailed phoenix hairpin with its gold dangling ornament caught the light, shimmering with her slightest movements.

Beside her, a eunuch held aloft a golden birdcage; the parrot inside flapped its wings once and broke the silence with a cry.

"Stick on chicken feathers and you become a phoenix—all mortals just wear chicken feathers!"

Lan Xiang's brows knit in anger; she snapped, "Damn it! Who taught it that line?!"

The palace folk all knelt on the ground: "Your Ladyship, please calm your anger!"

The parrot cried again: "Stick on chicken feathers and you become a phoenix—all mortals just wear chicken feathers! Wear chicken feathers!"

Lan Xiang was so furious she wanted to chop the parrot into mincemeat, but thinking it was a gift from Xiao Jingyuan she restrained herself, merely waving her hand for the eunuch to take it away.

The eunuch then carried the birdcage into the rear sleeping chamber, pinched the parrot's beak, and finally it fell silent.

Only then did Lan Xiang slowly turn her gaze, her eyes falling upon the pallid figure in the shade below, its complexion fading under the blazing sun.

She curled the corner of her mouth into a cold smile: "It seems I've been too lenient, emboldening your Duke's residence to outwardly obey while secretly defying me!"

Shen Shuangning knelt upright on the ground, cold sweat already beading her forehead, yet she spoke without humility or arrogance: "Your Ladyship, I am foolish and do not understand what you mean."

She knew full well that Lan Xiang was making trouble over the draft bank, intending to use her to pressure Lady Liu.

This really is a simple and brutal method.

Shen Shuangning clenched the fingers at her side, bracing herself for an unpleasant ordeal.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand." Lan Xiang let out a derisive "heh," saw no need for further words, and snapped, "Someone, give Fourth Miss a proper reception!"