Chapter 133: Flaunting Favor
Chapter 133: Flaunting Favor
It seemed no one in the Imperial Palace had ever been this ‘bold’ with this Old Matron before!
So much so that she didn’t know what to do. She stiffly bowed to the Princess and said, “Your Highness should scold Fang Jifan for his rudeness.”
This meant: Although I am an old matron in the palace, I am still just a ‘servant and slave.’ Since I cannot control Fang Jifan, please, Your Highness, restrain him.
The Princess hesitated, carefully glanced at Fang Jifan, and then smiled faintly. “But This Palace… is not ill right now.”
“…” The Old Matron instantly looked as if she had swallowed a fly.
The Old Matron became angry. She stood up and said no more. “Then this old servant will take her leave.”
This was clearly a sign she was going to tattle.
The Princess was startled and looked a bit nervous!
The Empress Mother was strict with her. If this Old Matron went and exaggerated the story, things would turn bad.
Fang Jifan narrowed his eyes and stared at the Old Matron.
How could Fang Jifan not know this type of person? Old matrons in the palace, nine out of ten, were cunning old hands. Those who stayed in the palace without being dismissed were mostly confidantes of the nobility, giving them a superior status in the palace. They were inevitably arrogant and domineering!
On the other hand, a young girl like the Princess, despite her noble status, was restrained by the Old Matron’s duty to curb any behavior that breached etiquette. Moreover, these old matrons were seasoned and cunning, while the Princess was young and thin-skinned, with little understanding of how to manage subordinates. Naturally, she was easily controlled by these old matrons!
Such matters were very common in the Ming Dynasty. The situation of the Taikang Princess was actually still quite good, as she was the only princess of the current reign, doted on by His Majesty and Empress Zhang. If it were any other princess in a different time, being bullied was a regular occurrence.
Fang Jifan felt cold inside but merely watched with a detached eye.
The Princess anxiously called out to the Old Matron, “Nanny Liu, wait a moment. This Palace will scold Fang Jifan. Please don’t go report to the Empress Mother. Fang Jifan doesn’t understand the rules. If the Empress Mother finds out, wouldn’t he be punished unfairly? Nanny Liu, why take it to heart?”
Originally, Nanny Liu was just putting on an act.
After all, she knew she was just a servant. She didn’t want to sour relations with her young mistress; she knew Zhu Xiurong’s temperament all too well!
But when she heard the Princess say not to report to the Empress Mother, she seized the advantage and refused to back down. With a stiff face and a pitiful expression, she said, “Your Highness, heaven knows, this old servant usually serves Your Highness with great care. Even when reporting some matters to Her Highness, it was always for Your Highness’s own good. Yet in Your Highness’s eyes, it has become ‘reporting.’ The term ‘reporting’ is truly heart-piercing to this old servant. This old servant has always attended to Your Highness without the slightest neglect. How could Your Highness be so heartless, treating this old servant as someone who gossips before Her Highness? This old servant… this old servant might as well die clean.”
With her weeping and complaining like this, how could the Princess bear it? She immediately became flustered.
Fang Jifan, however, felt like laughing inside. This routine was truly slick. This Matron’s methods of controlling the Princess were varied and frequent. A young, unmarried girl was no match for her, not even a fraction.
The Princess sighed and, seeing Nanny Liu crying heavily, hurriedly said, “This Palace was wrong.”
Nanny Liu still refused to let it go. “Since Your Highness knows she was wrong, she should scold Fang Jifan and order him not to be rude.”
“This…” The Princess hesitated again, seeming reluctant.
Fang Jifan was her savior, and in her view, he hadn’t done anything wrong. At the very least, she enjoyed talking with him.
Seeing the Princess hesitate, Nanny Liu repeated her old trick. “Very well. Since Your Highness finds this old servant annoying, this old servant has no choice but to report to Her Highness and ask to be sent away.”
This was a tactical retreat. On the surface, she claimed to wish to be sent away, but wasn’t that still tattling?
The Princess panicked. She didn’t understand anything, only fearing that the situation would escalate and Fang Jifan would be punished by the Empress Mother.
When Nanny Liu saw the mist forming in the Princess’s eyes, she knew the Princess was about to yield. She knew the Princess inside out. But the Princess still refused to scold Fang Jifan harshly, so Nanny Liu pretended to rise and said, “This old servant takes her leave.”
She turned around.
The Princess was about to call out to stop her.
Unexpectedly, Fang Jifan said, “Wait!”
Nanny Liu stopped and coldly glanced at Fang Jifan.
She wasn’t the least bit afraid of Fang Jifan. Here, although she was an old servant with a lowly status, this was the Princess’s Bedchamber. Fang Jifan was a man, which was already a sensitive matter. If she went to Her Highness and said just a word or two about this matter of male-female propriety, it would be enough to cause an uproar.
Fang Jifan said coldly, “Nanny Liu, Her Highness assigned you to serve the Princess, not to play mind games before Her Highness. I’m sorry, but I am a straightforward person.”
When the words “mind games” came out, Nanny Liu’s face instantly turned pale.
Even the Princess, seeing the two of them arguing, was frightened, her red eyes filled with fear.
Although she was of noble status, she was, after all, the only daughter of Emperor Hongzhi and Empress Zhang. Usually well-protected by her parents, she had never faced major storms and thus knew nothing.
Fang Jifan glanced at her with a touch of pity, then sternly turned his face to look at Nanny Liu.
At this moment, Nanny Liu hissed, “What mind games? Watch your words, Young Master Fang!”
“Oh?” Fang Jifan stretched lazily and yawned. “I happen to be someone without restraint. But I must warn you: if you dare take even half a step out of here, don’t blame me for being impolite. Oh, and let me tell you again—my name is Fang Jifan!”
Nanny Liu was stunned, her expression suddenly changing.
This was a threat, a blatant threat.
She wasn’t exactly afraid of Fang Jifan. People in the palace only had eyes for their own masters; anyone outside the palace was beneath their notice. She sneered, “Outside the palace, what kind of important person Young Master Fang is, this old servant does not know. But inside the palace, Young Master Fang is nothing. This old servant will leave anyway.”
She couldn’t be bothered with Fang Jifan anymore, even casting him a slightly disdainful glance.
In her heart, she felt nothing but contempt for Fang Jifan. What an ungrateful fellow!
She had already decided to leave, making up her mind to exaggerate the story before Her Highness and make Fang Jifan suffer.
But just as she was about to turn, Fang Jifan stood up. Nanny Liu’s expression froze, her movements slowing. She sneered, “Young Master Fang, your rudeness to Her Highness is truly…”
She finally played her trump card. Who did Fang Jifan think he was? Today, as long as she firmly accused him of this, even ten heads wouldn’t be enough to atone.
But before she could finish her words, expecting Fang Jifan to yield or even fall to his knees begging for mercy—
At that moment, Fang Jifan’s gaze turned extremely fearsome.
He narrowed his eyes, a glint of menace flashing within them, and scanned the surroundings. The nearby Eunuchs seemed to be smiling but made no move to intervene, as if enjoying the scene.
The Princess shed tears, looking pitiful, biting her silver teeth. She wanted to gather courage to scold Nanny Liu, but thinking of Nanny Liu’s talk of rudeness, her heart turned cold.
Fang Jifan, however, became calm and composed. He and Nanny Liu were only a short distance apart. Fang Jifan said lightly, “You’ve been by Her Highness’s side for some time, right? Your surname is Liu? I suppose you are quite familiar with Zheng Qiu.”
Nanny Liu was taken aback. Clearly… Fang Jifan’s sudden mention of Zheng Qiu was beyond her expectations.
How did Fang Jifan, an outsider to the palace, also know Zheng Qiu?
Fang Jifan chuckled coldly and softly. “Zheng Qiu was bold enough to steal items from the palace and sell them outside. You should know about this, shouldn’t you? Not only did he steal, but he also gave you plenty of benefits. Do you still want to deny it?”
His voice was very soft, only audible to Nanny Liu.
Nanny Liu’s expression instantly became a spectacle. She looked at Fang Jifan as if she had seen a ghost.
Fang Jifan looked at Nanny Liu mockingly. “You can try to deny it, but you won’t succeed. Once Zheng Qiu is captured, a servant like him won’t need torture—he will confess. Can you escape? You received his goods. They’re either hidden in your bedroom or already sent to relatives outside the palace. A search will reveal the truth.”
Nanny Liu’s old face fell, looking particularly fierce. Her gaze was cold, and she gave a forced smile. “Aren’t you talking too much, Young Master?”
Although she appeared fearsome and fierce, her soft voice completely gave her away.
Fang Jifan was now certain that Nanny Liu had indeed received stolen goods from Zheng Qiu.
He was so sure because he had read about an incident in the Qi Ju Zhu of the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty.
During this period, the Kunning Palace repeatedly experienced thefts. The Brocade Guard investigated and eventually traced it to a Eunuch named Zheng Qiu. Besides him, many Palace Maid Officials and Eunuchs were implicated—more than ten people. Otherwise, Zheng Qiu alone couldn’t have been so rampant. He must have bribed people around Empress Zhang. Only then could he ensure everything went smoothly.
Actually, Fang Jifan couldn’t be completely sure whether Nanny Liu was one of Zheng Qiu’s accomplices. But since Nanny Liu was a confidante of Empress Zhang, there was no reason for Zheng Qiu not to bribe her!
So, Fang Jifan tested the waters with his words. If Nanny Liu had loudly argued with him, that would have been one thing. But instead, although she was stern and fierce, her voice was faint, afraid of being overheard by others at a distance. Fang Jifan already had his answer.
Fool, you fell for it!
Fang Jifan put his hands behind his back and said leisurely, “Deny it? On what grounds? So many treasures have been lost from the palace. With just a word from me, the Brocade Guard will enter the palace to investigate. I suppose Nanny Liu understands the Brocade Guard’s methods better than I do. You’re just an old Palace Maid. Do you really think that no matter how much Her Highness trusts you, once you’re involved in this, she will still protect you? Oh, and it seems you’ve forgotten: Her Highness is my aunt. Take a look—does this Beizi on me look familiar?”