Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 494 Mars Guards the Heart, A Bewitching Concubine Causes Chaos in the Palace

Qin Jianzheng knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he reported, "Your Majesty, I, Qin Xiuyu, humbly report to you, based on the celestial phenomena observed at the Lingtai Observatory over the past half-month—"

For the past half-month, I, along with my subordinates, have been keeping watch at the Lingtai (Spirit Observatory) day and night. We observed Mars encroaching upon the Taiwei Enclosure, its red light shimmering. It stopped at the boundary between the constellations Wing and Chariot, its light dissipating and not converging. Today, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), we observed Venus traversing the sky, visible in the east during the day. This is an omen of impending war, drought, and plague, a sign of the decline of the water element.

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Last winter, Beijing only saw two or three light snowfalls, which was initially thought to be an occasional occurrence due to the mild winter. However, it turned out that the same scene was observed in other parts of the north.

It is now mid-March, a time when spring rains should be nourishing the fields, but dozens of counties in the prefectures north of Yan and Yu provinces have not received a drop of rain for nearly a month.

Spring plowing has reached its most critical stage. Farmers are holding onto their seeds, hesitant to sow them. Urgent reports from local officials are being sent to the capital one after another. The Ministry of Revenue is calculating the grain reserves in the granaries, and their faces are growing increasingly grim each day.

The emperor remained silent for a moment, his already furrowed brows now forming a deep "川" (river) shape.

Qin Xiuyu's heart pounded, yet he still raised the star chart even higher, his forehead almost touching the cold gold brick: "Your Majesty, we have carefully verified according to the 'Book of Celestial Offices': 'When Mercury deviates from its course, drought will ravage; when Mars guards the heart of the sky, the five grains will fail.' Now, Mars encroaching on Taiwei and Venus traversing the sky are already double omens of misfortune. In the past year, we have also observed another strange phenomenon..."

"...With these three signs appearing simultaneously, I humbly request Your Majesty to cultivate virtue to avert disaster, set up an altar to pray for rain, quell the chaos in the inner palace, so as to comply with the will of Heaven and secure the mandate of Heaven, and prevent the calamity from spreading further!"

The sounds in the hall gradually subsided. Jingming's ears twitched, and he secretly clenched his whisk in his hand at his side. He didn't even dare to raise his head, only daring to steal glances at the figure sitting behind the imperial desk out of the corner of his eye.

As Qin Jianzheng finished speaking, the emperor seemed to emanate a chill, and the gloom in his eyes was like dark clouds gathering for rain, almost pressing down.

......

The next morning, a faint chill of spring still lingered.

Meng Shu sat by the window of the front hall of Lingcui Palace, handling palace affairs. On the table were expense lists submitted by various palaces. Her fingertips traced across the paper, but her gaze unconsciously drifted out the window.

Yesterday, her uncle Zhou Bai returned to the capital safely. She originally thought that the emperor would summon her immediately and take the opportunity to meet with Xiu Yun. However, there has been no movement from Funing Palace.

Green Willow stepped into the hall, a rare hint of panic on her face. After dismissing Hongyu and Xia'er outside the door, she leaned close to Meng Shu and whispered, "Your Majesty, Dong Ming went to Funing Palace just now, and Jing Neiguan let me know that the Emperor left several ministers from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel after the morning court session. I'm afraid he won't summon Lord Zhou today."

"What happened?"

Meng Shu paused, her hand holding the pen still. She looked up at Lü Liu, her expression suddenly hardening. Lü Liu, usually so composed, was now pale, clearly something serious had happened.

"Your Majesty, last night, Qin Jianzheng from the Imperial Observatory stormed into the Funing Palace, saying he had observed an ominous star phenomenon and even mentioned 'a bewitching concubine causing chaos in the palace'..." Green Willow said, glancing at Meng Shu's expression as she recounted the information she had gathered.

"—Fire Star guarding the heart...a bewitching concubine wreaking havoc in the palace?"

After a long pause, Meng Shu slowly uttered these eight words, her tone carrying a hint of solemnity.

She got up and walked to the outer corridor of the hall. She looked up into the distance. The spring sky should have been a gentle blue, but it was so blue that it was almost blinding, without a single cloud in sight.

"Your Majesty, what should we do!" Green Willow followed behind, her voice trembling with tears. "Eunuch Jing didn't dare to say much, but that saying, 'A comet invades the Ziwei Palace, causing a seductive concubine to wreak havoc and bringing celestial disasters,' is clearly aimed at... at our Lingcui Palace. The north is already experiencing drought, and with this added claim, I'm afraid it will cause a great uproar!"

Meng Shu took a deep breath, gently pressed her fingertips against her brow, and forced herself to calm down.

She turned to look at Green Willow, her tone calmer than before, yet still sharp and clear: "Don't rush."

"The key to this celestial phenomenon ultimately lies in the four words 'Mars guarding the heart.' Qin Jianzheng said, 'Mars invades the Taiwei Enclosure.' The Taiwei Enclosure symbolizes the imperial court, not the harem. This phenomenon foretells a failure in the government and a celestial sign of punishment."

As for the claim of "a bewitching concubine causing chaos in the palace," that's far too suspicious. If a comet were truly observed entering the Ziwei Palace, why wasn't it mentioned sooner or later...? Green Willow, go and give the order: everyone in the palace must be careful with their words and actions. Even if they hear rumors, they are forbidden from discussing them privately, and even more so from responding to any outsiders' suggestions. Keep quiet and don't give anyone any ammunition against you.”

Green Willow nodded quickly: "This servant understands."

Meng Shu straightened her clothes and stepped back into the hall.

She stared at the expense list on the table, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the paper.

It seems the Emperor has been troubled for half a month, and he must have received reports of the drought in the north by then. Already anxious about the drought, this celestial omen has added to his worries. The Emperor must be carrying an immense burden. No wonder he didn't summon Zhou Bai; he probably has no mind to attend to his ministers.

Thinking of Qin Xiuyu's words about "pacifying the chaos in the harem," Meng Shu's lips curled into a cold smile.

......

The report from the Imperial Observatory was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. At first, it only caused a ripple in the court, but the ripples that spread quickly spread to the inner palace within a few days.

Rumors began to circulate in the palace, and unsurprisingly, they were clearly aimed at Meng Shu.

Just after noon, Consort Chun overheard palace maids gossiping outside the palace, their words filled with nonsense such as "Consort Jin is the most favored concubine in the six palaces, her beauty is so alluring that it has attracted divine punishment." Her face darkened instantly, and she immediately summoned Granny Kong, ordering the palace maids to be dragged away and severely punished with twenty strokes of the cane.

After punishing the palace servants, Consort Chun hurriedly led Mengzhu and Ruizhu to Lingcui Palace to discuss countermeasures with Meng Shu.

However, in the short time it took her to reach Lingcui Palace, the wind direction in the palace suddenly changed.