Judging from what Noble Consort Ruan did and said to Lin Ting, her intention to fight for power was actually rather obvious. Being able to force her son to kill animals with his own hands was not an exaggeration to describe her as cruel.
How could Noble Consort Ruan, who had such thoughts, be an impulsive and reckless woman?
The most painful truth in the world was not the phrase ‘I can’t do it’. Instead, the worst phrases were ‘I might be able to do it, I just need a little bit more…’
And that phrase directly correlated not only to Noble Consort Ruan and the Empress, but also Lin Ting and the Crown Prince.
Whether the discussion was about the authority of the Ruan family or Prime Minister Ruan’s reputation in the Great Lin Empire, neither were at a lower level when compared with the traits of the Empress— in fact, they might actually be better.
Therefore, Lin Feilu could understand Noble Consort Ruan’s unwillingness and unrelenting desire for her son to be put on the throne.
Despite that, Emperor Lin and the Empress never took precautions against Noble Consort Ruan. Of course, this was partly related to Lin Ting’s docile character that never wished for the right to succeed the throne, but it was also due to Noble Consort Ruan’s character that confused everyone over the years.
When everyone thought of her as a merely favoured, arrogant and impulsive person, it was difficult to notice some of her more discreet actions. Even if something shady happened in the harem, no one would suspect that it was her doing.
Everyone said that Noble Consort Ruan had a bad temper whereas her likes and dislikes were blatantly written on her face. With that in mind, they presumed that she would never cover up any hint of hatred or resentment towards anyone and would punish you on the spot.
It awed and impressed everyone, but it did not raise any defensive red flags.
If Lin Feilu hadn’t had those few substantial interactions with Lin Ting, she too would have been confused by this illusion and assume that she was another ‘Hua Fei'(2) figure.
(T/N: Hua Fei refers to a pretty concubine that is favoured by the Emperor and acts however she likes due to the Imperial favour. Usually, arrogant concubines like these were often targets of the harem)
Since Noble Consort Ruan had such a persona, then Imperial Concubine Su, who was close to her, was probably not a simpleton either.
Lin Feilu was not sure about Imperial Concubine Su’s attitude towards the Mingyue Palace since she hadn’t actually come in contact with her. Hence, she only explained to Xiao Lan on how she should be cautious and pay attention to her safety. The last thing she wanted was to come back from the Imperial School and relive a repeat of the near tragic incident in the garden with the bees.
…
The little baby who was frightened by the ‘monsters’ yesterday pulled herself together and managed to regain her unlimited energy. As soon as her eyes opened, she started clamouring about wanting to find her sister and play with the pets.
Imperial Concubine Su tried to calm her down for a long time. But then, she did want to see for herself what sort of interesting things were at the Mingyue Palace that managed to attract the undivided attention of her daughter. So after coaxing Lin Wei to have her breakfast, she took her to the Mingyue Palace.
Due to Lin Feilu’s explanation, Xiao Lan originally planned to stay inside the entire day and ordered Qingyan to dismiss anyone under the pretence that she was not feeling well. Unexpectedly, Imperial Concubine Su, whom she had never met before, was right at the door.