Unlike the pearl-drop hair sticks he had gifted First-Class Female Attendant Bu, Xuanye only gave Lanqi some paper and ink, as he had promised. However, he also took First-Class Female Attendant Bu's feelings into account and gave her a pair of gold bracelets that had been painstakingly carved with flower motifs.
Head Eunuch Li knew the Emperor the best, and he understood that Lanqi was going to be a favorite concubine of his from today on. That meant all sorts of tributes and goodies presented to the palace were going to find their way into her hands.
He spoke to Lanqi in the same polite way he always did. Pointing at the three palace maids who were lined up at her door, he said, "These three girls have been trained specially by Aunt Sumala, and the Grand Empress Dowager has granted them to you as palace maids. If you find them unsatisfactory, just let me know."
Lanqi, who had been serving as a palace maid herself not too long ago, knew that this was only the start of her life as a concubine. She smiled and thanked the Grand Empress Dowager profusely. Remembering something, she turned to Head Eunuch Li and said, "Since First-Class Female Attendant Bu has a shortage of maids now, please have the Imperial Household Department pick out a nice girl for her. Although there are now many people in the Palace of Accumulated Purity, and we can both take care of each other, I'm afraid others might think lowly of us if we have a lack of palace maids."
Head Eunuch Li agreed immediately, and told his disciple to run along and inform the Imperial Household Department. Seeing Lanqi's red eyes, he knew that she must have cried a lot this morning. In a quiet voice, he said, "The Emperor went straight to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility right after the imperial court dispersed this morning. I think Aunt Sumala means for you to go and pay your respects there later, too. You can't go there with red eyes! The Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager like seeing happy faces around them."
Lanqi patted her eyes with a handkerchief immediately. Awkwardly, she nodded to Head Eunuch Li in thanks. "Thanks for your advice, Head Eunuch Li." She then asked, "Should I go and greet the other concubines in their palaces today, too?"
However, Head Eunuch Li merely smiled. "You'll have to do that sooner or later. Right now, you have to go to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility."
Consort Zhao had gone to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility early on that morning under the guise of greeting the Grand Empress Dowager. However, her palace maid had informed Consort Zhao that the Grand Empress Dowager was down with a migraine and refused to see anyone.
Evidently, the Grand Empress Dowager had no wish to see her. Consort Zhao had no choice but to bow deeply at the entrance and return sulkily to her palace.
She took a detour to the Palace of Peace and Longevity. Thankfully, the Empress Dowager granted her an audience. The moment Consort Zhao stepped into the main hall, she burst into tears.
While the Empress Dowager felt rather sorry for Consort Zhao's misfortune, she had no wish to interfere in the relationship between the Emperor and Consort Zhao anymore. After all, she was the Grand Empress Dowager's daughter-in-law. Worse still, she wasn't the Emperor's biological mother. If she wanted to retain her privileged position in this palace, she had to go along with the Grand Empress Dowager's wishes.
As Consort Zhao continued to cry about yesterday's incident, the Empress Dowager tried in vain to comfort her. "You were born into a prestigious family. What sort of danger could a booi aha woman like her pose to you? The Emperor is only taken by her because she's new. You've been with him for many years—once the Emperor calms down, he'll regret his decision immediately."
However, Consort Zhao knew that while her words were kind, they meant practically nothing. Everyone knew how much the Emperor disliked her—he had despised her since a long time ago, and that wasn't going to change. Ever.
As the gifts continued to flow into the Palace of Accumulated Purity, First-Class Female Attendant Wu soon became the talk of town. A few of the lower-ranking concubines gathered at Noble Lady Rong's palace to gossip, snickering softly as they recalled yesterday's incident.
Noble Lady An had always been jealous of how First-Class Female Attendant Bu managed to get pregnant after just one night with the Emperor. Now that her maid had become a concubine as well, her comments about First-Class Female Attendant Bu grew even more vicious. "The Palace of Accumulated Purity must be housing all sorts of vixens! Look how shameless that pair of mistress and maid are."
Everyone hushed her at once and told her to be more careful with her words. "Apparently, the Grand Empress Dowager has taken quite a liking to First-Class Female Attendant Wu. Our opinions mean nothing."
Seeing that Noble Lady Rong was rubbing her head with annoyance, Noble Lady Hui told everyone to leave and let her rest. As everyone filed out of the palace, Noble Lady Hui stayed behind to have a private chat with her.
Yesterday night, Noble Lady Rong had been feeling unwell. Thus, she didn't attend the Grand Empress Dowager's feast. She listened with fascination as Noble Lady Hui said, "I heard about something else, actually. It wasn't that Uya girl who tried to seduce the Emperor, and the Grand Empress Dowager didn't take a particular liking to her either. In fact, we can only blame Consort Zhao for this. She got into some sort of trouble and the Grand Empress Dowager and Emperor had to settle the mess for her."
"I'm quite familiar with that girl—she's a nice, quiet child. First-Class Female Attendant Bu used to rely on her a lot. She used to drop by my place every so often, and she was also the one who came to ask you for medicine in the middle of the night."
Noble Lady Rong sighed. "What a life! I knew she was different from the other palace maids the moment I laid eyes on her."
Noble Lady Hui grinned back. "Your life isn't so bad either. The Grand Empress Dowager likes you, and the Emperor obviously favors you. Ranks and titles aside, I daresay the Emperor favors you the most out of all his concubines."
However, Noble Lady Rong shook her head. "Didn't you hear what the others said just now? He didn't touch her at all yesterday night, but conferred the title of First-Class Female Attendant on her this morning anyway. Apparently, they talked through the night, filling the entire palace with their laughter. It's common enough to share His Majesty's bed, but since when has he ever spoken to his concubines like that in his bedchamber?"
Noble Lady Hui paused, feeling rather stunned. Noble Lady Rong smiled. "New girls are always going to arrive. Let's be careful not to take after Consort Zhao's behavior—it'll only cause the Emperor to dislike us."