A thick blanket of sleet and snow had descended upon the Forbidden City, enveloping it in white.
Although spring had passed and summer was fast approaching, it was freezing cold, as though they were in the middle of winter.
In the fifth month of the thirteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Empress Xiaochengren passed away after a particularly difficult delivery.
*
Three days later, Aunt Wang dashed out of the Palace of Accumulated Purity, wiping the sweat off her brows. "The baby is born! The Second-Class Female Attendant has given birth!" An eunuch caught her outside the door and reminded her in a low voice, "Aunt Wang, you mustn't make such a fuss about it."
Hearing this, Aunt Wang clamped a hand over her mouth. She turned around and found a maid, Lanqi (Misty Jade), emerging from the quarters with a basin of blood-stained water. Lanqi was going to get more clean, warm water for the new mother. Aunt Wang called her over and ordered, "Go to The Palace of Heavenly Purity right away."
"Me?" Before Lanqi could say anything else, Aunt Wang had taken the basin of water from her. Pulling Lanqi closer to her, Aunt Wang scanned her clothes closely for any sign of blood before repeating, "Go to The Palace of Heavenly Purity, and tell Eunuch Li that Second-Class Female Attendant Bu has given birth to a princess! Both mother and daughter are doing well."
"But..."
"What are you still standing around for? Run along, now." Aunt Wang hurried Lanqi out of the gates. She whispered to her, "Be very careful with your words. Don't say anything that might implicate our mistress."
"Yes, Aunt Wang."
When she got out of the Palace of Accumulated Purity, Lanqi could smell the dampness in the air. She looked up and saw heavy, grey clouds gathering in the north, as she had expected.
The long alleys of the Forbidden Palace had turned white with snow. Worse still, Lanqi wasn't familiar with the way to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The entire nation was deep in mourning now. Although the birth of Second-Class Female Attendant Bu's daughter warranted some celebration, the sadness that had descended upon the palace due to Empress Xiaochengren's death was indelible. The emperor himself had not eaten or drunk anything for three days. Even if Lanqi was heading to his palace to inform him of the happy birth of his new daughter, Head Eunuch Li was probably going to give her an earful anyway.
She continued walking in some vague direction. The alleyways were long and winding, and the tall, brick-red walls of the palace obstructed her vision. After a while, Lanqi was forced to admit that she had lost her way. She didn't know where she was at all.
"What am I going to do?" Just as she was panicking, she heard an entourage of people approaching with a chariot. Quickly, Lanqi darted to the side to make way.
The entourage approached her steadily. Just as it was going to make its way past her, Lanqi heard someone say, "Stop!" She frowned a little and wondered who it was. The same person addressed her. "Why are you ambling around the alleyways by yourself? Which palace are you from?"
Lanqi looked up slightly and found a pale-faced woman perched on top of the chariot. It was Noble Lady Rong (Glory).
Lanqi quickly kowtowed to her and sought her forgiveness. She explained everything to Noble Lady Rong, who sighed quietly. Turning to her handmaid, Noble Lady Rong said, "Bring her to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Just take her till the palace is in sight. Don't bring her all the way there."
Here, Noble Lady Rong muttered to herself, "The people at the Princes' Palace are so busy now that I doubt they have made arrangements for the new baby. She must be very blessed! She'll have a few more days to spend with her child."
Lanqi was too afraid to look up again. She threw herself onto the floor into another kowtow. When the chariot was far away enough, Noble Lady Rong's handmaid said to her, "Come on, get up. I'll bring you there. How did you even manage to get here? You're in a completely different part of the palace."
"Yes, I made a foolish mistake." Lanqi got up and walked behind the handmaid. She couldn't help but shoot a few more looks at Noble Lady Rong's retreating figure. Lanqi felt rather sorry for her. At the start of the year, Noble Lady Rong had lost two sons, and another son she had given birth to just two months ago had met the same fate. Before this, she had been the envy of everyone else in the harem, but she had lost everything in the blink of an eye.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up, it's going to rain!" The handmaid was starting to get impatient. Lanqi was rather afraid of her, so she bowed her head and hurried along. Finally, they arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
"Go in there by yourself, I'm not going to accompany you." The handmaid turned and left.
Lanqi didn't dare to call after her, but she worried about how she was going to find her way back afterwards.
Now, however, the most important thing was to inform the emperor about the birth of his daughter. Lanqi took a deep breath and finally summoned up the courage to walk through the gates of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The eunuch at the door started yelling at her the moment he saw her. "Hey, which palace are you from? Hasn't anyone taught you the rules of this place?"
Lanqi quickly said, "I'm a servant from the Palace of Accumulated Purity. Second-Class Female Attendant Bu has just given birth to a princess, and both of them are doing well. Please pass on the news to Head Eunuch Li!"
Just as she finished speaking, there was a loud clap of thunder as lightning streaked across the sky, startling both of them. Before the eunuch could call for Head Eunuch Li, a whole lot of handmaids and eunuchs flooded out of the doors. Lanqi was shoved roughly off the steps. She overheard one of them say, "Hurry up! The emperor wants to take a look at the empress's coffin."
At that moment, the sky turned dark dramatically. A huge gust of wind swept through the courtyard as rain poured down from the heavens. As lightning continued to streak across the sky, earsplitting thunder accompanied it.
"Your Majesty, you can't afford to get wet in the rain! Your Majesty, let me hold up an umbrella for you..."
As Head Eunuch Li continued to plead desperately, Xuanye (Light in the Darkness)—the Kangxi Emperor—walked out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity without so much as a glance towards anyone. His eyes dark with despair, he ignored the rain that was splattering on his face. Head Eunuch Li ran over with an umbrella, but Xuanye simply waved him away crossly. "Get lost!"
"Your Majesty," Head Eunuch Li cried as he threw himself onto the ground in the rain. "Think about the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager! You must take good care of your health!"
Xuanye clenched his fists tightly as his tears mixed with the rainwater on his face. Slowly, he said, "I will never be able to hear the Empress speak another word...never again..."
He walked straight into the rain, heading for the empress's resting place.
Head Eunuch Li followed closely behind him, too afraid to shelter him with an umbrella again. The handmaids and the eunuchs followed from a distance away, braving the rain as they went. As everyone left the Palace of Heavenly Purity, nobody noticed Uya Lanqi as she crouched and shivered under the steps.