Chapter 63: I Am Threatening You

“Your Grace! Our young lady is your own sister—how can you do this?” The maid who remained shielded Shen Moyu, hoping her words might halt Shen Fuyu’s actions. “Burning funeral paper brings the worst misfortune. How can you curse your own sister like this? Even if you can’t stand us, you should think of the child in your womb. Surely you wouldn’t want the imperial heir to be tainted by ill luck?”

“Precisely because she is my sister—since she insists on courting death, I must endure the misfortune to send her on her way.” Shen Fuyu had no intention of stopping. The little maid last night had acted swiftly, purchasing a good amount of funeral paper, and there was enough left in her cloth bundle to burn for another half hour. “Now, who doesn't find Sixth Sister unlucky? Everyone avoids her as if she were plague. But it matters not—I carry the imperial heir, shielded by the true dragon, so I fear neither filth nor misfortune. Since Sixth Sister is determined to end herself, all I can do is burn the paper.”

“Oh, my poor Sixth Sister…”

The maid who ran out was indeed unfortunate. Though White Lotus and Green Tea were careless with Shen Fuyu’s tasks, the three of them were truly cut from the same cloth. The two palace maids wouldn’t enter Shen Moyu’s courtyard, but stood outside to watch the spectacle. When Shen Moyu’s maid ran out seeking help, the two exchanged glances and stepped forward to block her path.

“Oh my, isn’t that Cold Jade?” Green Tea stepped in front, sneering, “Only a day gone and you already reek so badly?”

“Move aside!” Cold Jade tried to push past, but White Lotus blocked her from the other side.

“Sister, don’t say that. Poor Cold Jade has always had a hard life, and now her mistress is disgraced, she’s tainted too. Imagine how miserable she must feel!” White Lotus giggled, covering her nose with one hand and waving a handkerchief with the other, as though terrified the stench might cling to her.

“You two!” Cold Jade gritted her teeth in fury. “Are you done yet? Don’t think you’re all that just because you serve Her Grace in the palace now. If something happens to our young lady, even Her Grace won’t escape blame, no matter her status!”

“We are all that, indeed!” Green Tea’s eyes flashed. “We serve the favored consort. The maids beside a pampered concubine are more distinguished than the daughters of common households. How dare you act tough in front of us!” With that, she pushed Cold Jade hard.

Cold Jade fell to the ground, and White Lotus, not holding back, stomped on her hand while chatting leisurely with Green Tea. “Sister, why get upset? Maids like Cold Jade, doomed to spend their lives in the Shen manor, can only marry servants one day. Not like us—we have a chance to be close to royalty and nobility.”

The two laughed heartily. Cold Jade’s hand was mangled under White Lotus’s foot. After a long silence, White Lotus finally lifted her foot, and the pair left. Cold Jade cradled her bloodied hand, and having fallen, her leg seemed injured as well. Limping, she headed toward Lady Yue’s courtyard.

But this delay meant nearly another half hour had passed, and chaos had erupted in Shen Moyu’s courtyard.

With her frail health, how could Shen Moyu compete with Shen Fuyu? A few pearls tossed casually were enough to knock both Shen Moyu and her maid to the ground, unable to rise, forced to glare spitefully as Shen Fuyu wailed and burned funeral paper. Eventually, anger overwhelmed Shen Moyu, and she fainted.

Shen Fuyu’s last pile of paper was thrown into the brazier. Rising, she dusted her hands, satisfied with today’s work. After such a commotion, she felt her appetite improve, and before anyone arrived, she slipped away to her own courtyard. On the table, servants had set out breakfast—it wasn’t as fine as the palace chef’s fare, but it was decent.

Thanks to the fake pregnancy medicine, Shen Fuyu ate much more these days, and her belly was indeed rounding out. To outsiders, it looked as if she truly carried a child, but beneath that skin was nothing but layers of greasy fat.

Unable to resist, Shen Fuyu pinched the flesh of her stomach—it was soft and amusing, her own handiwork, and she felt quite accomplished!

“Your Grace, Lady Yue is coming with people!” White Lotus rushed in, anxious, and the commotion outside soon reached Shen Fuyu’s ears.

“Why panic? Where’s your former confidence?” Shen Fuyu shot her a glare. “I knew you’d be useless in a crisis—a worthless thing!”

Lady Yue barged in with a crowd, her maids and old women wielding sticks. Furious, she stormed into Shen Fuyu’s bedchamber, pointing at her nose. “Shen Fuyu! You wretched girl, how dare you treat my daughter like this!”

“How else should I treat her?” Shen Fuyu laughed aloud. “Is Third Aunt here to demand an explanation?”

“What sort of attitude is that? I am your aunt, after all! Moyu is your sister!” Lady Yue stared at her daughter, unconscious on the bed. Usually, being bullied by Lady Gu and Shen Tangyu was bad enough, but now must she also suffer from this illegitimate child?

“What’s wrong with my attitude?” Shen Fuyu grinned, playing with her hair. “Today you dare disrespect me—tomorrow I can have your head. I call you Third Aunt out of courtesy, but you seem to have forgotten who I am, and still think I’m the little illegitimate girl you could trample on.”

“Are you threatening me?” Lady Yue clenched her teeth. “Even if your status is high, does it matter? The laws of Great Xun treat everyone equally!”

“Yes, I am threatening you.”

Shen Fuyu calmly sipped tea before Lady Yue. “Third Aunt, perhaps you’re still in the dark? Yesterday’s egg custard—one portion was dosed with strong laxatives. Unfortunately, the person who drugged it mixed up the bowls, and the one with the medicine ended up back in my hands, untouched.”

“Not a soul knew, right?”

Her gaze narrowed as she stepped toward the now flustered Lady Yue. “As long as my father rules the Shen family, I remain the emperor’s favored consort. Do you truly think the emperor would bother with such trivial matters? Would he forsake me and the imperial heir in my womb over this?”

“Think carefully, Third Aunt.”

She affectionately patted Lady Yue’s shoulder, glanced at the servants accompanying her, then returned to her seat. “White Lotus, see our guests out.”

“…Is everything you said true?” Lady Yue was chilled to the bone. The person who drugged the food was her own daughter, and it was Moyu herself who had served her… How could Moyu poison her own sister?