In the palace, it was no secret that Noble Consort Lin and Consort Yi did not get along.
Now Lin Wanyi had effectively ruined Consort Yi's attack dog, Consort Chu. Naturally, no one in the palace dared look down on her any longer.
Although Consort Chu hadn't been personally punished too severely, her public humiliation was enough. Not just now — even in the future, people would gossip about her whenever she showed her face.
All the prestige she had built in the harem over the past few days was wiped away in an instant, dragging Consort Yi's reputation down with it.
Fortunately, the plans to visit Linzhi Palace to pay respects had been put on hold for now. Otherwise Consort Yi might have clashed with Lin Wanyi directly.
All of this, Lin Wanyi had already calculated before she acted.
But seeing how her servants had been humiliated, she had no choice but to strike back.
It was a completely different situation from what she'd faced in the Prime Minister's manor.
There, her grandfather never concerned himself with the inner household, so everything was dictated by Lady Rongkang, forcing their branch of the family to stay humble in order to survive.
But here in the palace, the ones who held true authority were the Emperor and the Noble Consort Lin.
If she let herself be trampled even with such powerful cards in her hand, that would mean she was weak and incompetent.
That was why she took action — yet still left herself a retreat, using Qin Gonggong to relay matters to Dong Yuzhong.
From what she knew of those eunuchs, she was certain the Emperor would "take the bait."
She just hadn't expected Dong Yuzhong to move so quickly, bringing the Emperor himself in just a few hours.
But that was fine — it suited her plan perfectly.
Leverage upon leverage, a warning strike.
This blow was aimed at Consort Chu, but also at all those in the harem who had criticized her behind her back.
The law of the jungle — the strong eat the weak — was something she had understood from a very young age.
Hearing Qinhe's remarks, Lin Wanyi did not deliberately play along, but simply smiled faintly.
Seeing Lin Wanyi remain silent, Qinhe did not seem annoyed.
She clapped her hands, and from outside came a shrewd-looking, square-faced matron.
"This servant, Cui Mengyun, greets Lady Lin and wishes you peace."
"And this is?"
Lin Wanyi felt her heart sink. So it had come to this.
Qinhe smiled even more broadly and quickly introduced her.
"This is a second-ranked matron from Linzhi Palace, who once served personally by the Noble Consort's side. Since the incident here was so shocking, the Noble Consort especially sent Granny Cui to assist you. With her around, the other ladies in the palace will give you more respect, and you can focus on recovering in peace."
As expected, once she had made such a show of strength, the follow-up traps arrived.
The Noble Consort appreciated how she had dealt with Consort Chu — but was also wary of how favored by the Emperor she was becoming.
So this Granny Cui, though sent in name to serve her, was actually there to monitor her, and gently keep her in check.
In case her momentum grew too strong and she turned against the Noble Consort someday — that would be raising a tiger that might later devour its owner.
Lin Wanyi looked at this Granny Cui. No matter how you sized her up, she was no easy opponent.
Then she lowered her gaze, just about to speak —
— when someone arrived outside.
"This servant Qiu Ming greets Lady Lin, and wishes you peace."
"Eunuch Qiu, please rise — how did you get here so quickly?"
"This servant delayed two days out of gratitude for Lady Lin's kindness, otherwise I should have come the night before last."
"You are too polite, Eunuch Qiu."
Qiu Ming was a close attendant of the Emperor, far higher in rank than Granny Cui or any second-tier servant.
Even Qinhe had to put on a smiling face when she saw him.
Standing to one side, she listened to Lin Wanyi and Qiu Ming speaking, finding herself a bit lost.
So she asked tentatively,
"Eunuch Qiu, did you also come with gifts on His Majesty's orders?"
Qiu Ming was a steady-natured man, and his words left no gaps for others to seize on.
After years serving at the Emperor's side, and being thoroughly trained by Dong Yuzhong, he had developed an excellent sense of measure. So when facing Qinhe, he was neither arrogant nor self-effacing, simply stating calmly:
"His Majesty took pity on Lady Lin, so he sent me here to serve as the chief eunuch of her Left Hall. I ought to have arrived two days ago, but personal matters delayed me. Today I have formally come to pay my respects, and happened to run into Miss Qinhe."
Qinhe's face froze at these words.
The Emperor had even granted Lady Lin one of his own personal eunuchs. From now on, who would dare disrespect her?
They had intended to plant Granny Cui by her side, yet now Qiu Gonggong had arrived instead — what a miscalculation!
She was about to say something when she saw Qiu Ming turn to Lin Wanyi, answering respectfully:
"My lady, now that this servant has arrived, I will manage the daily affairs of the Left Hall from today onward. If anything is done poorly, please feel free to punish me."
Lin Wanyi smiled. Qiu Ming had arrived so perfectly on time — she could not have been happier, so how could she punish him?
She immediately replied:
"Qiu Gonggong has served at His Majesty's side, and knows the palace rules better than I ever could. Please feel free to manage as you see fit. If there is anyone in the Left Hall who refuses to obey orders, you may deal with them according to palace rules, no need to report every matter to me."
Their new master and servant spoke in such perfect unison that Qinhe and Granny Cui were completely left out.
"At present, Xiaoluzi and Chunqi are both recovering from injuries, and cannot properly attend you," Qiu Ming continued. "But the palace rules and your status must be maintained. Therefore I temporarily borrowed two helpers from the Inner Court Office to serve for half a month. When the time is up, they will return to the Inner Court. This arrangement should suffice for now."
"Mm, Qiu Gonggong, you are indeed thorough, as one would expect of someone from His Majesty's side."
Seeing that the conversation had left her no opening, Qinhe hurried to interject:
"My lady, then about Granny Cui…"
Lin Wanyi put on a troubled expression and turned to Qiu Ming.
"Qiu Gonggong, what shall we do? The Noble Consort kindly sent Granny Cui to help me, but now with so many people in the courtyard, I wonder if it's too crowded."
Qiu Ming adopted an impartial, businesslike tone as he answered:
"My lady, the helpers I borrowed have already been registered with the Inner Court Office. Sending them back now would cause some trouble. As for Granny Cui, is her file still kept in the Noble Consort's Linzhi Palace?"
"Yes, yes," Granny Cui quickly answered, eager to make a good impression. "My personnel file has always been in the Noble Consort's palace."
"In that case," Qiu Ming said, "we'll observe for a few more days. As you know, Miss Qinhe, palace records cannot be casually changed."
His every word was tied to the rules of the palace, leaving Qinhe no room to argue.
She could only force a smile.
"Qiu Gonggong is correct. Then… Granny Cui will come again another day."
Qiu Ming acted as if he had not heard her, lowering his eyes with a look of perfect obedience.