The incident of Noble Lady Jiang's miscarriage quickly made Zheng Qingling realize—someone in the palace also regarded her as a thorn in the eye.
Yet, when she used her ability to sweep through the consorts and concubines, she found nothing abnormal. This surprised her.
However, she did accidentally discover the culprit behind Noble Lady Wu's madness—it was none other than Consort An, who had once secretly tried to harm Zheng Qingling herself.
The reason she succeeded was because she had been wearing a sachet that drove people into madness. The sachet only worked on those with fragile mental states.
And since Noble Lady Wu had already been suffering postpartum depression after her miscarriage, she fell prey easily.
But Zheng Qingling did not intend to expose Consort An. First, revealing the truth would expose her own methods, making others more guarded against her. Second, it had nothing to do with her. Why meddle in someone else's business?
After all, women entered the harem wave after wave. Taking down one or two meant nothing. Zheng Qingling wasn't about to waste effort.
Meanwhile, during Noble Lady Jiang's recovery, Xiao Qianming never once visited her—likely weary of her earlier clinging.
In truth, he partly blamed her for flaunting herself too much and failing to protect the imperial child. His displeasure was written plainly in his actions.
Retribution came swiftly. Seeing the emperor's indifference, the higher-ranking consorts signaled their people to start neglecting Noble Lady Jiang.
Her meals were always the last to be served and of poorer quality; fabrics and gowns sent from the embroidery bureau were merely leftovers others had discarded; even her smokeless charcoal braziers were swapped for low-quality coal that filled her quarters with acrid smoke…
These endless slights forced her to swallow her grievances. Worse, her confinement month left her body in worse shape, losing over ten jin instead of recovering.
Xiao Qianming had even withdrawn the matrons and hidden guards from her residence. Without anyone of authority in Qixiang Palace, the mistreatment never reached the emperor's ears.
The pain of losing her child sobered Noble Lady Jiang somewhat. She no longer dared vie openly with higher-ranked consorts. But once her confinement ended, she went straight to the Cold Palace to see Lady Wu.
Without the sachet's influence, Lady Wu regained her senses by the third day. But once she recalled her own outrageous crime, she had no outlet for her misery.
When Noble Lady Jiang arrived, she found Lady Wu staring blankly at the weeds in a corner. Rage flared instantly.
Just seeing her reminded Noble Lady Jiang of the imperial son she had lost.
She struck Lady Wu hard across the face, several times, and shouted:
"You venomous woman! You killed my child! His Majesty was merciful enough to spare your wretched life, but I will never forgive you. As long as I live, you will never know peace!"
When she tired of cursing, a servant offered her a chair. She sat and ordered coldly:
"Bring out the good things I prepared!"
Lady Wu, limp on the floor, lowered her head in silence. She knew she could not escape her fate today.
Soon, a young eunuch carried in a long bench. Lady Wu was tied down with coarse hemp rope, her mouth stuffed with a filthy rag, leaving only her hands free to move.
Noble Lady Jiang looked at the terror in her eyes and felt a surge of delight. Nothing pleased her more than the fear in an enemy's gaze. And this was only the beginning.
Humming a tune, she picked up a short embroidery needle and drove it into Lady Wu's fingers, one by one. Watching her bloodless face and sweat dripping like beans, Noble Lady Jiang's lips curved upward.
But it was not enough. How could this compare to her own agony of losing a child?
"Master, the salt water is ready."
Wiping off the stray blood from her handkerchief, Noble Lady Jiang barked:
"Put this wretch's hands in the bucket."
"Master, this…"
"If you don't do it, I'll summon the Discipline Bureau to drag you out of here."
The eunuch immediately turned pale. He dared not be sent to that dreaded place.
Noble Lady Jiang then sat back and listened in satisfaction to Lady Wu's muffled groans, her pleasure growing as she watched the woman suffer without release.
Soon, she changed to thicker embroidery needles, stabbing Lady Wu's body repeatedly, followed by salt water poured over the wounds. Lady Wu fainted several times under the torment.
News of the Cold Palace reached Xiao Qianming quickly. When he learned of Noble Lady Jiang's cruelty, a flicker of disgust passed through his eyes.
Such behavior was open defiance of him—daring to inflict private punishment in the Cold Palace.
"Xiao Yuanzi," he ordered, "Noble Lady Jiang is arrogant and unruly. For trespassing into the Cold Palace and abusing a commoner, demote her to Daying and confine her for three months."
When Noble Lady Jiang received Eunuch Yuan's decree, she could hardly believe it. But she had no choice and could only accept it calmly.
Such was the sorrow of concubines—their honor or disgrace all rested on the emperor alone.
Lady Wu, curled up trembling nearby, felt she had escaped death by luck. As long as one could live, who would choose to die?
But without a physician's care, she soon developed a raging fever. After struggling a few days, she died miserably on a rainy night.
The next morning, an old matron bringing food discovered her frozen corpse.
When Xiao Qianming was informed, he merely ordered a coffin to be prepared so she could be buried quickly.
No matter her past sins, she had once served him, and even carried his child. He would not let her end be utterly desolate.
When Zheng Qingling heard the news, she only sighed in her heart: among the new arrivals, two had conceived—one was already gone, the other demoted. Truly, being the emperor's woman was fraught with peril.
Soon enough, Lady Wu's fate was forgotten. The entire palace was now busy preparing for the summer retreat to the mountain villa.
Zheng Qingling was thrilled. At last, she would have the chance to leave this cage and enjoy a month of fresh air outside.