A, CS Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Side Consort

Eating in silence is the most basic habit of a well-bred young lady.
Side Consort Chu waited until everyone had put down their chopsticks before she spoke again.
“Ever since you entered the room, I’ve smelled a faint fragrance that I quite like. Did one of you bring a sachet? If so, could you tell me what ingredients are in it?”

Side Consort Chu tilted her head, watching Tang Wu with a smile.
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, Side Consort. That fragrance isn’t from a sachet; it’s from Wu’er’s own body,” Lian Shiyin interrupted.
At this, Side Consort Chu’s eyes widened, and she feigned surprise, “This body fragrance of Sister Wu, could it be natural?”

Tang Wu furrowed her brow, deep in thought.
She did have a fragrance, but it was by no means so strong that others could smell it through her clothes.
There was no time to think, and lying was not an option, so she could only honestly reply, “To answer the Side Consort, this fragrance is indeed one I’ve had since I was a child.”
“Did your parents also have this fragrance?”
“No, they did not.”

Side Consort Chu thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!”
She continued, “My father is a physician at the Imperial Academy of Medicine. I’ve studied medicine with him since I was little and once read a medical book about body fragrances. The book said that most of a woman’s unique fragrance is developed later in life. Some are from a medicine called ‘ginger flower’ that the mother took during pregnancy, while others are from a secret fragrance being applied to the person.”

Side Consort Chu paused, then said with a troubled expression, “If it’s the latter, then it’s not good.”
Tang Wu felt uneasy but still asked in a low voice, “What exactly is not good?”
Side Consort Chu pondered for a while, “If a secret fragrance was applied to you, then for your entire life, you’ll be unable to bear children. Moreover, this secret fragrance is an extremely yin substance. Over time, it will not only make men addicted but also harm their yang energy.”

Tang Wu stumbled a step back and looked at Side Consort Chu helplessly.
As their eyes met, she fell into Side Consort Chu’s mocking gaze. The complexity and calculation within it gave her the answer she needed right away.

As a woman who came from the flower lane, with a low social status, it was completely plausible that she would be subjected to a substance that would condemn her to a lifetime of servitude.
Tang Wu’s body swayed, and her pupils instantly expanded and contracted.

It turned out that from the beginning, they had no intention of letting her leave.
Side Consort Chu had patiently waited for a full five days, and these five days were essentially to gauge Prince Ying’s attitude.
Since Prince Ying had not specifically summoned Tang Wu, she was no different from Concubine Su hidden away in Chunli Courtyard.

Furthermore, with this fragrance, the inability to have children alone was enough to send her back to where she came from, not to mention adding the charge of potentially harming His Highness’s body.
With these two points combined, even if she had been sent by the Emperor, Side Consort Chu had more than enough reason to deal with her.

Tang Wu knelt directly onto the ground, her voice trembling as she asked, “May I ask, Side Consort, what should this concubine do?”

Right now, whether she was the former or the latter, it didn’t matter anymore… What mattered was whether Side Consort Chu would let her off the hook.
Chu Yan walked over to Tang Wu, the hem of her luxurious skirt silently sweeping the floor. The face that had been expressionless now couldn’t help but show a hint of triumph.

She grabbed Tang Wu’s forehead, hooked her fingers into her hair, and casually yanked upward. Hearing Tang Wu cry out, she chuckled and said, “Of course, I will act as the master for my younger sister.”
Side Consort Chu turned her face away and said to Xu’er, “Call for Physician Xu.”
Tang Wu saw the silent understanding between Xu’er and Side Consort Chu’s eyes, and her heart immediately sank.

Her knees felt as if they were nailed to a sharp torture board, incredibly heavy, so heavy that they could drain all the strength from her body.
Lian Shiyin, witnessing this scene, felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
Lian Shiyin thought to herself, it was a good thing she had gone to Side Consort Chu’s residence the night before and “explained” in detail what had happened that night.

Otherwise, she didn’t know how long she would have to wait for this moment.
And it was through Side Consort Chu that she learned that His Highness Prince Ying, had never been intimate with any woman.

As the saying goes, ‘uneven distribution of resources leads to dissatisfaction.’ If His Highness were to bypass the princess consort and the concubine and go to the room of a vixen first, how would that be any different from them suffering a great humiliation?

The facts proved that she was right after all. No one would not be wary of a face like Tang Wu’s.
Even if Prince of Ying’s heart wasn’t here right now, who could guarantee it wouldn’t be in the future?
She recalled too many such incidents from her time as a dancer at Junmeng Garden.

Many officials who first came to Junmeng Garden came to drink and have fun with their colleagues, but after listening to too many songs and seeing too many girls, they would inevitably become distracted over time.
She had never seen a gentleman who could sit beside a woman without being tempted, but there were indeed men over fifty who were willing to abandon their wives and children for her.

She understood matters between men and women all too well.
Every word she said when she sought refuge with Side Consort Chu was meticulously chosen, and she was certain that Side Consort Chu would move to eliminate the threat Tang Wu posed.

After a long time, hearing footsteps approaching outside, Lian Shiyin took the initiative to go and lift the curtain.
She was about to smile but managed to hold it back.
How could the doctor who was supposed to be carrying a medicine box have been replaced by His Highness, Prince Ying, who was busy with countless affairs?
Side Consort Chu had said that His Highness Prince Ying, had his days off on the fifth and seventh, and today was the fourth of the sixth month, which shouldn’t be…

With this thought, Lian Shiyin’s breathing suddenly stopped.
She turned to look at Side Consort Chu, who was already bowing low, and felt as if someone had hit her over the head, shocking her so much that her legs went completely numb.
Side Consort Chu suppressed her triumph, wearing a stern expression.

She glanced at Lian Shiyin’s pursed lips, full of resentment, and felt even more that she was utterly foolish.
How many times does one get a chance to kill two birds with one stone?
Why would she care about the allegiance of a courtesan?
Besides, with Lian Shiyin’s articulate little mouth, how could she be any better than the vixen beside her?

With her thick and pouty lips, Chu Yan could tell with a single glance how promiscuous this kind of woman would be once night fell.
Just then, Prince Ying stepped into the inner chamber. Seeing the women in the room, each with a different expression, his brows furrowed deeply.
“What is going on?”

Side Consort Chu stepped forward and, as she had originally planned, explained the entire situation from beginning to end in detail.
This included how Lian Shiyin had stirred up trouble and formed a faction.
Lian Shiyin cried out in injustice, and just as she was about to explain, Xu’er covered her mouth.
Prince Ying’s cold gaze swept past Lian Shiyin and quickly landed on Tang Wu.

Then he said, “What about her?”
Side Consort Chu lifted her handkerchief and leaned in, whispering, “Your Highness, you don’t know, but this younger sister is truly a pitiful soul.”

“Sister Wu has a bitter fate. She was subjected to a secret fragrance by some cruel person. This medicine not only greatly harms a woman’s body, but I’m afraid it could also threaten Your Highness’s health.” She added this sentence after what she had just said.

Prince Ying gave her a faint glance and questioned in a low voice, “And how did you know?”
“Your Highness, a woman’s body involuntarily emitting a fragrance can only have two possibilities. Either she has used ginger flower, or she has been given a secret fragrance. This concubine… this concubine only knows that ginger flower is extremely precious, costing a hundred taels per gram… But Sister Wu comes from a poor background, so how could she have used it…” Side Consort Chu’s face showed a pained expression, and by the end, her voice was choked with sobs.
She sighed while probing Prince Ying’s reaction.

Seeing that Prince Ying remained silent for a long time, Side Consort Chu knew that today’s matter might only be a partial success, so she quickly changed her tune. “However, to be safe, this concubine still wants to find a physician to examine Sister Wu. What does Your Highness think?”

Although she wasn’t completely certain that Tang Wu had been given a secret fragrance, judging from Tang Wu’s background, a courtesan’s mother would never be able to afford precious medicinal ingredients like ginger flower to protect her pregnancy.

“Since it’s a medical examination, it’s better sooner than later. Let’s do it now.” Prince Ying’s gaze was different from usual, and the coldness in his eyes was a warning.
Side Consort Chu no longer dared to plot. She waved her hand to Xu’er, telling her to quickly invite Physician Xu in.

The secret fragrance medicine could indeed make the body emit a faint fragrance, but the price was something no one could afford.
Once used, one would be completely reduced to a tool for a man’s pleasure, with no dignity left.
After Physician Xu finished taking her pulse, everyone held their breath and waited for the result.

“Reporting to Your Highness, Madam Tang does not have the secret fragrance in her body,” Physician Xu said.
“Are you sure you checked carefully?” Side Consort Chu was unwilling to give up and asked again.

Physician Xu smiled and said, “Side Consort, please rest assured. I have studied various medicines for decades. I would certainly not misdiagnose a not-so-rare medicine like the secret fragrance.”
After Physician Xu packed up his medicine box and left, Prince Ying told Tang Wu to stand up.

But she was so nervous that she didn’t realize her legs had gone numb. The moment she tried to use force, she swayed and fell toward the corner of the table.

Just as she was about to collide, Prince Ying, with a quick and practiced hand, reached out and steadied her.
The table in the east antechamber was perfectly square, without a single curve. If she had truly hit it, a broken head would have been the least of her worries.

Prince Ying’s long, well-proportioned fingers tightly gripped her wrist.
Tang Wu looked down and could see the faint veins on the back of his hand. Just as he was about to let go, Tang Wu grabbed his hand in return.

Tang Wu’s legs still had no strength, so she could only pull on Prince Ying’s arm for support and bend her knees.
She said softly, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

These three simple words, coming from her lips, became a mesmerizing, lingering sound, clinging and irresistible.
Even Side Consort Chu, standing nearby, felt a tingling sensation all over.
This was the great thing about women from the red-light district, they were extremely good at reading the situation. As long as they were given a chance, they would seize it tightly.

She had been wronged, and he had seen it. Today, he was willing to stand up for her, which was the best possible timing.
Seeing that Prince Ying did not push her away, Tang Wu gripped his arm even more tightly. She stood on her tiptoes, brought her lips to his ear, and whispered a plea, “This concubine truly cannot stand… I wonder if Your Highness could send me back?”

Tang Wu didn’t know if the warm breath from her lips could reach his heart.
Whether she could turn this narrow escape into a blessing in disguise, she would only find out by taking this one gamble.

If she won, Side Consort Chu would no longer be able to manipulate her easily. If she lost and fell into Side Consort Chu’s hands, she would have to live a very humble life from now on.