Noble Concubine Jin didn’t keep her waiting long. Shortly after she finished breakfast, Li Shanggong came personally to fetch her.
Upon hearing that someone from the palace had arrived, Lady Du was a bit anxious, fearing they would marry her daughter off somewhere else again for a marriage alliance.
Cai Wei gently consoled her for a long while, not until her worries subsided did she get into the carriage with Li Shanggong. They left the villa and headed straight for the palace...
Noble Concubine Jin resided in the Silk Garden, known also as the Silk Palace, which was the closest to the Emperor’s study. Of all the palaces, it had the best scenery, and was the most luxurious and grand.
Upon entering the Silk Palace, before Cai Wei had a chance to admire the palace’s pavilions, rare flowers, and exotic plants, she was drawn to a kneeling woman on the brick floor in front of the palace.
The woman was dressed like a palace concubine, her head slightly bowed. Though her face wasn’t visible, her extremely slim figure was apparent. Just from her willowy figure, it was clear she must be a ravishing beauty, even without seeing her face!
Behind the beauty, a row of palace maids and eunuchs kneeled in the sooty smoke. It seemed like these were the beauty’s attendants, kneeling with her to bow to Noble Concubine Jin.
Cai Wei cringed a bit, it seemed she had walked into an ongoing palace power struggle.
Taking short steps like a woman in the palace, she followed Li Shanggong. As they were passing by the beauty, the beauty suddenly raised her head, stopping Li Shanggong with a humble tone.
"Li Shanggong, could you please check for me if Noble Concubine has time to see me?"
The beauty, being a master herself, was lowering herself significantly by referring to herself as ’I’ rather than ’this palace’ in front of Li Shanggong. However, Li Shanggong showed no appreciation and responded expressionlessly: "Virtuous Consort, this servant advises you to go back. They say the innocent will prove their innocence whilst the guilty will eventually reveal themselves. If your brother is not responsible for what happened, Noble Concubine would naturally not wrongly accuse him. But if he did do it, even if you see her, it would be of no avail. It’d be better to leave as soon as possible to avoid making the Empress angry."
From Li Shanggong’s words, it was clear that the beauty kneeling on the ground was Big Brother Huo’s sister, Consort Huo. More importantly, it seemed Big Brother Huo was now suspected for the assault on Jin Dapeng. This piece of information made Cai Wei’s face darken.
This predicament was primarily caused by her yesterday. Du Wanru unwisely told Jin Dapeng about the Mu family being protected by Big Brother Huo. This led to Jin Dapeng publicly berating Big Brother Huo and consequently, Big Brother Huo became a suspect!
Fundamentally, it was her fault for bringing this trouble to Big Brother Huo!
Cai Wei’s eyes narrowed, a flash of murderous intent crossing her gaze. It seemed that Noble Concubine Jin had to be dealt with. Otherwise, who knew how many others she would harm!
"An Le pays her respects to Noble Concubine Jin!"
As Cai Wei bowed, she mimicked the tone of ancient women and spoke in a soft and gentle voice.
Noble Concubine Jin, looking at Cai Wei’s young and beautiful face, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes. She sighed with a hint of bitterness, "What a delicate beauty. It’s no wonder the King of Qin and the Prince of Liaodan would risk their lives for you. Indeed, you are quite the rare beauty. But I wonder, which of these two men do you love more?"
Noble Concubine Jin’s question to Cai Wei is considered taboo in ancient times. Even a married woman would blush and be embarrassed if asked about her love for a man, let alone an unmarried girl.
However, Cai Wei was an exception. She neither behaved shyly nor appeared ashamed in response, but rather calmly raised her head and looked at Noble Concubine Jin with clear eyes, asking, "Madam, what do you mean by asking this?"