Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Chapter 76: Chapter 61: Hot-blooded Blooms a Second Time

"To answer you, Lady,"

Jiang Xian rose to answer, a respectful smile on her face. "I did not spend the night in Jianzhang Palace. You have misunderstood, Lady."

"Oh?"

Noble Princess Consort Rong raised an eyebrow and sneered at her. "Noble Lady Gu, you are audacious indeed, daring to lie to me. Empress, if this act goes unpunished, won’t the rules be completely disregarded!"

’It seems this Mrs.Jiang has truly been spoiled beyond measure!’

’The Emperor dotes on her, and even Chu Siyun keeps her around as if she’s been bewitched.’

’Could it be that she sees her own favor waning and plans to promote Mrs.Jiang to secure her position, perhaps even using her to bear a child!’

’Well, no matter. Today, I’ve finally caught Mrs.Jiang slipping up. Lying to a Noble Consort... she deserves a vicious slap across the face. That’s the only fair punishment!’

Noble Princess Consort Rong thought with immense malice.

"I am not lying."

Jiang Xian added, "I merely remained in Jianzhang Palace overnight. But since I did not sleep, it cannot be considered lodging in Jianzhang Palace."

"..."

Everyone was stunned by her words.

After all, it was very rare for a concubine to pull an all-nighter.

The Empress was also surprised—she hadn’t known Mrs.Jiang didn’t sleep.

"Last night, after seeing the Empress to sleep, I was in the side hall studying, exercising, and then reading books from the Empress’s collection in the study. I dared not rest in Jianzhang Palace," Jiang Xian explained. "The palace maid on night watch outside the side hall can testify. Ask her if I wasn’t making noise in the room the whole time."

The Noble Consort shot a sharp glare toward the palace maids beside the Empress.

The Empress nodded slightly. "Bring Yi Zhi forward."

Yi Zhi was the palace maid who had kept watch at the side hall of Jianzhang Palace last night. After being called forward, she used every ounce of her strength to keep from trembling like a leaf. Shaking with fear, she replied, "This servant greets Your Ladyships."

Yi Zhi knelt on the ground as the Noble Consort questioned her in a chilling tone, "You were on watch at the side hall last night. Did you hear any movement from within?"

"Replying to you, Lady, while this servant was on watch, I did indeed hear Noble Lady Gu running and jumping around inside. Even through the doors and windows, I could sense the vibrations from her jumping on the floor..."

Soundproofing in ancient buildings was practically nonexistent.

The main hall was far enough from the side hall that the commotion wouldn’t have disturbed the Empress, so Jiang Xian did as she pleased, exercising and jumping as she saw fit.

Yi Zhi continued, "And from time to time, she was muttering some... some words..."

The Noble Consort: "What words?"

"Something like... ’Acksilly spring forth,’ ’frick-shun,’ ’dottin’ oil,’ ’cheer-run,’ and ’ball... burr... rings’..." Because she had no idea what these sets of words meant, Yi Zhi’s pronunciation wasn’t standard. The more she spoke, the more terrified she became, until she started knocking her head on the floor. "This servant couldn’t hear clearly, and I don’t remember it all."

After that performance, everyone was completely baffled.

At this point, Noble Princess Consort Rong was actually starting to believe that Mrs.Jiang hadn’t slept.

’After all, if this were just a cover for Mrs.Jiang’s lie, Yi Zhi could have made up a far more believable story. The girl was in Jianzhang Palace either way, and I don’t actually have any spies in there. I have no witness; this whole thing relies on intimidation.’

So she changed her line of attack. "Noble Lady Gu, you were in Jianzhang Palace muttering strange, incomprehensible words. Were you practicing witchcraft?"

The Empress’s expression shifted slightly.

Matters of witchcraft and dark arts were a major taboo in the harem.

Regardless of any actual evidence, a concubine acting erratically could easily be branded a demoness.

Facing Noble Princess Consort Rong’s accusation, Jiang Xian responded calmly, "You misunderstand again, Lady. I was not practicing witchcraft. I was studying the self-sounding clock from the Luanqi Library! The correct terms are ’auxiliary spring force,’ ’friction,’ ’oiling,’ ’gears,’ and ’ball bearings.’"

When the Westerners presented the self-sounding clock, they had also included instructions, which were recorded by a literate translator and stored in the Luanqi Library along with the item.

Jiang Xian had taken those records and, combining them with the educational courses from her system, taught herself how to disassemble and repair it.

She was reciting the terms aloud simply to help her memorize them.

After all, the less expensive courses in her system required Jiang Xian to invest her own time and effort to learn; the knowledge didn’t just magically appear in her head upon purchase. Naturally, she was racing against the clock to absorb it all. With the vast collection of books in the Jianzhang Palace study, she couldn’t bear to let the learning opportunity slip through her fingers, so she simply decided not to sleep.

Besides, she was in excellent health.

Hearing this, Noble Princess Consort Rong was already partially convinced.

’Her older brother often dealt with foreigners, and his letters sometimes mentioned strange new contraptions. She vaguely recalled him bringing up the things Jiang Xian mentioned, but she hadn’t been interested. Now that she knew the girl was telling the truth, there was no point in questioning her further.’

But Noble Princess Consort Rong still found it incredible. "Noble Lady Gu, do you really not sleep at all?"

’Explaining it to her would be a waste of breath,’ Jiang Xian thought.

So she resorted to the ridiculous excuse she had used last time in Zhaoyang Palace. "Have you forgotten, Lady? I am filled with a burning passion!"

The Noble Consort’s face instantly soured.