The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 128 : The Shadows within the Fu

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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The stars shone serenely in the night sky just as they always had, but the world below had undergone earth-shattering change. On the surface, all was as usual within the palace, but staggering differences had already begun to take place behind closed doors.

Grand Preceptor Hui Jue continued with his duties as per normal, and his position had become more secure after the incident. Fifth Prince, Xuan Hua, and Imperial Consort De had not shown much happiness, and were even more prudent and cautious than before. The Emperor was now despondent, and no one wanted to do anything to bring misfortune upon themselves.

Moreover, Xuan Li, who had always been recognised as both virtuous and talented, as expected continued to show himself as a filial son. After prostrating himself in front of Jing Yang Palace for three days and three nights, he had finally reached the limit of his physical strength and fainted. The Emperor was fuming, and had Xuan Li sent back to his fu while forbidding him to enter the palace.

Amidst all this upheaval in the palace, Jiang Ruan was calmly preparing to return to the Jiang fu; Jiang Li had died.

If Imperial Consort Chen had not lost power, Jiang Li's death would undoubtedly have set off an even greater storm, but Imperial Consort Chen had been banished to the Cold Palace, and Jiang Li's death was merely a pebble thrown into a vast lake, scarcely setting off any ripples as it quietly sank to the bottom. Furthermore, any gossip stirred up among the common people due to Jiang Li's death had been overtaken by the rumours pertaining to Imperial Consort Chen being the demon star of national calamity.

However, no matter what was said by outsiders, Jiang Li was still a daughter of the Jiang family. In her position as the eldest di daughter, Jiang Ruan could not give any plausible reason for staying in the palace rather than hastening home to attend the funeral. The Jiang family did not say anything, but Second Yiniang seemed to have a nervous breakdown. Therefore, she had taken her own family members with her to raise a fuss at Langzhong fu, only to be treated harshly. The people of Langzhong fu simply said that daughters who had married out of the family were like spilt water, and that Jiang Li had been deflowered before the marital consummation; Second Yiniang was absolutely unable to speak her piece or seek further explanation. When Jiang Quan heard of this, he rushed to Langzhong fu to take Second Yiniang away, and her status within Jiang fu plummeted.

Initially, Jiang Quan had thought that, with Jiang Li becoming Langzhong Furen and Xia Yan sent to the small Buddha hall, Second Yiniang would become the dominant figure in the Jiang fu. Who could have known that such a scandal would occur on the occasion of Jiang Li's marriage. Now, with Jiang Li's death, Langzhong fu had shed all pretence of cordiality. Jiang Quan had already been enraged at Jiang Li's conduct and deeds, but when he witnessed Second Yiniang's lack of shame in visiting Langzhong fu to demand an explanation, he was aggrieved and full of resentment, and placed her under house arrest without any qualms.

Due to the vicissitudes of fate, discounting First Yiniang, who had never cared about matters in the fu, the authority of the main wife, in the end, finally fell into the hands of Fifth Yiniang, Hong Ying.

When Jiang Li died, Langzhong fu did not inform Jiang fu immediately. Thus, Jiang Li's funeral was held only one day after Jiang Ruan had returned to the fu. Since Jiang Li was viewed as belonging to Langzhong fu, they had handled all the funeral arrangements. With Jiang Li's death, it was inevitable that people would talk about Langzhong fu. A deflowered wife dying not long after entering the fu - if it had not been for Zuo Jiang's meritorious service, no matter how slight, no one would have found this believable. The Zuo family also seemed to have misgivings about this very issue, for no trace of negligence could be seen in Jiang Li's funeral arrangement. It was just that everyone who came to offer their condolences could clearly see Zuo Jiang's unhappiness.