The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem - Chapter 200

Clothing Steward Xie was an unattractive middle-aged woman who appeared very timid: “In response to Your Highness, Female Official Jian… she mentioned wanting to take leave to go home a couple days ago, but since the Clothing Department has been busy preparing summer attire for the palace ladies and new clothes for the servants, I did not approve her request.”

“You’re lying!”

Female Official Jian tried to stand up in agitation, but was pushed back down. She shouted, “You agreed to it! You even said you would report it to Chief Clothing Officer Fang. You were the one who told me to go home.”

Clothing Steward Xie looked terrified and tried to hide behind Clothing Steward Mo: “I… I didn’t. The Clothing Department has been so busy lately, how could I possibly agree to let you go home?”

Jiang Xinyue rested her head on one hand, looking completely unrushed, while petting a small white dog on her lap with the other: “When I sent someone earlier to summon Chief Clothing Officer Fang, I made it very clear that everyone who had contact with the wet nurse’s clothes should come. Why didn’t you show up?”

Not only did she not come, but she even went to pack her things, hurriedly trying to leave the palace.

If that’s not guilty behavior, what is?

According to one embroiderer’s recollection, one evening she had left something behind in the embroidery room. At that time, all the other embroiderers had already finished and gone to bathe, leaving her alone to return to the room.

There, she discovered Female Official Jian standing in front of the clothes they had been sewing, doing who knows what, but lingering for quite some time.

Since the candles in the embroidery room had already been extinguished, the embroiderer couldn’t clearly see her actions, but she was certain it was Female Official Jian.

“You’re talking nonsense!” Female Official Jian pointed at the embroiderer. “I’ve never been to the embroidery room at night.”

She glanced at Fang Rumeng, then at Clothing Steward Xie, and suddenly sneered, “I get it now. Fang Rumeng, you and Clothing Steward Xie have always been extremely close. Everyone in the Bureau of Palace Affairs knows you two are best friends. You can’t stand that I keep getting in your way, so you’ve teamed up with her to use Senior Concubine Xian to get rid of me, isn’t that right?”

“You think too highly of yourself,” Fang Rumeng laughed coldly. “To get rid of you, why would we need Senior Concubine Xian to act? If I reported the things you’ve done to the Bureau of Palace Affairs, you’d face death anyway. I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with your childish schemes.”

From their argument, Jiang Xinyue mentally reconstructed the entire sequence of events, replaying in her mind the scene the embroiderer had witnessed that night when she returned to the embroidery room.

If she couldn’t spot anything amiss on the first try, she would go over it two, three, four times… repeatedly simulating that scene.

Any action taken always leaves a trace; there’s no such thing as a perfect crime in this world.

Fang Rumeng and Clothing Steward Xie are close friends!

Jiang Xinyue’s eyes snapped open. She had never heard Fang Rumeng mention making any close friends in the Clothing Department.

Why did Female Official Jian say everyone in the Bureau of Palace Affairs knew about it?

Given Fang Rumeng’s cautious nature, even if she had befriended someone, she wouldn’t let it become common knowledge.

And looking at Clothing Steward Xie’s timid demeanor, she didn’t seem like someone who would appeal to Fang Rumeng’s taste.

Jiang Xinyue’s lips curled into a smirk: “I’ve heard an interesting tale as well. During Emperor Shengfeng’s reign, there was a female official in the Mansion of Treasures who was jealous of her superior’s exceptional skill in crafting hairpins. To frame her superior, she wore her clothes one night and deliberately let another passing female official see her break a jade hairpin belonging to Senior Concubine. This led to the superior having the tendons in her hands severed by Senior Concubine. Three years later, when the superior’s daughter learned of this, she also entered the palace to work in the Mansion of Treasures. Using the skills she learned from her mother, she defeated the female official who had framed her mother. Moreover, she exposed the official’s scheme from three years ago to Senior Concubine, who was furious at being deceived and had the female official executed. Clothing Steward Xie, what do you think of this story?”

In an instant, all eyes turned to Clothing Steward Xie. They didn’t understand why Senior Concubine Xian had singled her out for an opinion.

Only Fang Rumeng immediately grasped the situation and looked at Clothing Steward Xie: “I remember you used to be bullied often in the Clothing Department, and I saved you a few times. But I really don’t recall us being very close friends. Do you?”

Clothing Steward Xie’s eyes reddened, on the verge of tears.

Manager Lin and Manager Wang watched in confusion, and even Female Official Jian looked bewildered.

Wasn’t the plan to get rid of her?

Why had Fang Rumeng suddenly turned on Clothing Steward Xie? Were they playing some kind of game?

But to their shock, under Senior Concubine Xian’s scrutinizing gaze, Clothing Steward Xie broke out in a cold sweat, her body trembling, and finally collapsed to the ground in fear.

She desperately kowtowed: “Please spare me, Senior Concubine Xian… please spare me. I… I will never dare to do it again… never again… I was just blinded by jealousy, resenting… resenting Fang Rumeng for stealing the Chief Clothing Officer position that should have been mine, that’s why I… that’s why I…”

Manager Lin and Manager Wang exchanged glances, looking at her in incomprehension: “Even if Chief Clothing Officer Fang hadn’t come, Clothing Steward Mo was next in line for promotion to Chief Clothing Officer, not you, Clothing Steward Xie. How could Fang Rumeng have stolen your position?”

Clothing Steward Xie’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at them: “Impossible! Senior Concubine Rong…”

Realizing she had let something slip, Clothing Steward Xie quickly covered her mouth, looking at Jiang Xinyue in terror.

“Hah!” Jiang Xinyue laughed coldly. “So Senior Concubine Rong told you that the two Clothing Managers had chosen you, but Chief Clothing Officer Fang stole what should have been yours, is that it?”

Clothing Steward Xie shook her head, refusing to speak further, but almost everyone had heard the words “Senior Concubine Rong.”

What was there left to misunderstand?

Senior Concubine Rong had told Clothing Steward Xie that she was originally meant to be promoted to Chief Clothing Officer, but because Fang Rumeng was Jiang Xinyue’s person, she had easily snatched away what should have belonged to her.

Knowing that Fang Rumeng and Female Official Jian didn’t get along, she had stolen Female Official Jian’s clothes and imitated her appearance.

The two women were similar in build, so in the dim light, their silhouettes would look almost identical, which is why the embroiderer had mistaken one for the other.

The item the embroiderer had left behind was probably hidden deliberately by Clothing Steward Xie, just to create this eyewitness.

Clothing Steward Xie had a solitary nature and no friends in the Bureau of Palace Affairs. Others found her gloomy demeanor off-putting and unlucky, often bullying her.

Fang Rumeng, unable to stand by, had saved her several times. Who would have thought she would repay kindness with enmity and harbor such resentment towards Fang Rumeng?

This is why Jiang Xinyue always said never to sympathize with those who appear pitiful, for their minds have already become twisted and deranged.

Being kind to them is like planting a threat to one’s own safety.

“What did you put in the clothes? Cotton wadding or white phosphorus powder?”

At the very least, they needed to identify one enemy clearly. As for the other, they would start with the Empress.