As the snow continued to beat down heavily around her, Lanqi found herself completely blinded by the wind that raked against her face. Some of the sleet had found their way into her mouth and choked up her airways so much that Lanqi wasn't able to speak. She could just barely make out a crowd of people in front of her, as well as the shimmering gold of the Imperial Chariot.
She was being pressed against the wall by two muscly eunuchs, who had probably feared that she was an assassin. They had dashed over and shoved her off the path, but they had no time to drag her somewhere else. Instead, they flung her into the corner and stood in front of her to block her from sight.
The Imperial Chariot drew closer—Xuanye was seated inside the heated palanquin, under which a huge basin of charcoal was burning. The fabric curtains had been pulled tightly shut over the window to prevent a single fleck of snow from entering the compartment. The trip from the Palace of Heavenly Purity was taking some time, and Xuanye was getting more stuffy by the minute. He lifted the curtains to let some cold air in. At that moment, he spotted two eunuchs standing by the road. As their robes flapped wildly in the wind, Xuanye spotted a palace maid crouching behind them.
Immediately, he ordered, "Stop the chariot."
The chariot rolled to a halt immediately. Head Eunuch Li rushed over with an umbrella. He knew the Emperor must've spotted the curious scene by the roadside as well. Just as he was about to castigate the two eunuchs, Xuanye asked, "Why have the two of you thrown her into a corner?"
Head Eunuch Li replied hastily, "This palace maid was loitering around the alleyways in the middle of this snowy day. She didn't even step aside when she saw you coming, so I thought it was someone who wanted to cause trouble for Your Majesty..."
"Bring her to me. I'd like to see for myself what sort of person she is." Before Head Eunuch Li could speak, Xuanye continued with a smile, "You must be getting a little senile, Head Eunuch Li. What could a palace maid do to me?" Head Eunuch Li obeyed his orders and told the two eunuchs to bring forth the palace maid. When she got closer and he saw that it was Lanqi, Head Eunuch Li froze.
Lanqi was forced to kneel by the Imperial Chariot. As she huddled against the wall just now, she had realized what was happening. Without feeling fearful or scared, she sank into a deep bow respectfully and apologized for walking into the Imperial Chariot.
After the Sealing Ceremony, Xuanye had been enjoying a rare bit of free time. He took an interest in this palace maid and ordered her to lift up her head so he could take a look at her. When she did so, he observed that her face was red with cold—although her features were small and delicate, he couldn't tell if she was pretty or not in the middle of a snowstorm like this.
Not that he cared about that. Xuanye asked, "Which palace are you from? If you bumped into my entourage, they would have dragged you to the Office of Punishment." Lanqi turned around and glanced at Head Eunuch Li, but he merely shot her a pointed look and kept his mouth shut. Lanqi quickly reported where she came from. This was the first time she had spoken to the Emperor face-to-face, and the red glow of the charcoal basin made his face appear all the more gentle.
Hearing this, Xuanye gazed at her broken umbrella by the wall and told Head Eunuch Li, "Get her a new umbrella. There's still a long way to Noble Lady Rong's palace." With that, he drew the curtains shut and said in a low voice, "Let's go." The Imperial Chariot trudged on through the snow. An eunuch helped Lanqi get up and shoved an umbrella in her hand. Realizing that the eunuch was the same one who had helped her move her bag of charcoal, she was about to thank him, but he dashed off quickly.
"Your Majesty..." As the Imperial Chariot drew further and further away, Lanqi remained rooted to her spot, murmuring his breath again and again. She didn't know if it was the bitter wind or the sudden sadness in her head, but she felt a sudden stinging in her eyes and hot moisture on her face. When she lifted her hand to touch her face, she realized that it was her own tears.
If the Imperial Chariot hadn't stopped, and the Emperor hadn't involved himself in this matter, Lanqi would've been dragged to the Office of Punishment without a doubt. Since it was still nearly Lunar New Year, nobody would want to ruin the joyous mood by going down to the Office of Punishment to collect a palace maid. Even if First-Class Female Attendant Bu tried to go, Aunt Wang would have resisted their weak mistress immediately. Lanqi might have died in there without anyone knowing.
Finally, she found her way to Noble Lady Rong's palace before returning to the Palace of Accumulated Purity. The moment she stepped into the palace, Aunt Wang started yelling at her again, "Where the hell have you been, you stupid wench? Why did it take you so long to come back? Are you tired of serving our mistress?"