Yun Jiao pondered all the way, unable to understand why Lady would want to help her.
Unable to figure it out herself, she brought it up for discussion with the two palace maids. Gong Mei mused, "Concubine Jiang is the Empress Dowager's person. Lady doing this might offend the Empress Dowager. Why bother? If she wanted to befriend the lady, she could just intervene and smooth things over. This is openly offending Concubine Jiang!"
Xue Ya recalled the last time the lady caught Lady Shufei attacking Consort Ji:
"Could it be that Lady Shufei is repaying the favor for the little lady not exposing her last time?"
"Lady Shufei sent jewelry afterward; I thought the matter was settled."
The more Yun Jiao thought, the more frightened she became. Her initial joy in enjoying the chestnut pastry turned into eating it with trepidation. After eating three pieces in succession, her heart settled a bit, and she reached for the lotus leaf cake.
