The Grand Empress Dowager smiled at Aunt Sumala, feeling rather relieved. "This child is so much more obedient than Xuanye. If only I could have a grand-daughter like her around. How nice my life would be then!"
Xuanye sat beside her, feeling happier by the minute. He turned to his grandmother and joked, "Sadly, she can only be your grand-daughter-in-law! She won't be your grand-daughter in this life."
"Oh, just listen to him!" Hearing Xuanye's cheeky comment, the Grand Empress Dowager said to Aunt Sumala, chuckling, "You spent years teaching him about propriety, but he's forgotten all about it already."
Aunt Sumala merely smiled in reply. "His Majesty didn't forget about propriety. Rather, his attitude these days befits his current status as a king—why should he be bound by the same rules as the rest of us?"
They laughed and chatted the rest of lunch away. Since the weather was still as cold as ever, the Grand Empress Dowager decided to take a short nap after lunch. She sent the Emperor away, but not before reminding him to visit the Palace of Peace and Longevity. "Your mother has been in poor health these days. Go drop by her palace and introduce Lanqi to her. Don't you neglect her!"
"I'll do that," Xuanye promised rather carelessly. He helped the Grand Empress Dowager back to her bedchamber with Lanqi. The Grand Empress Dowager told them not to wait around on her anymore, so Lanqi and Xuanye bowed deeply and left for the Palace of Peace and Longevity.
The Empress Dowager was seated in front of the window, slumped over like a leaf in autumn. The pool of sunlight she was sitting in meant that her cheeks were ruddy red with heat—she didn't look like an invalid at all. However, Xuanye asked after her health anyway. He then formally introduced Lanqi to her, and Lanqi kowtowed deeply before her. Although Lanqi was merely a First-Class Female Attendant, the Grand Empress Dowager had evidently taken a liking to her. The Empress Dowager took her cue from the older woman and treated her nicely too.
She asked after Lanqi's health politely. Seeing how impatient the Emperor looked, the Empress Dowager excused herself to recite some sutras and saw the both of them out of her palace.
Xuanye let out a deep sigh of relief when they left. The moment they stepped out of the Palace of Peace and Longevity, he took Lanqi's hand and said, "Well, there's that. Now, it's time for me to test you—how many words do you still remember out of all the ones I taught you yesterday night?"
Lanqi's face turned red immediately. As they made their way back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, she scrunched her face up in concentration, trying to remember what she had learnt. Seeing her struggling, Xuanye felt his heart melt—she was simply too adorable.
They returned to the main hall hand-in-hand. Xuanye gave up trying to scare her. Instead, he took her hand and guided her in writing the same characters patiently. Trying to coax her, he said, "You'd better remember now! Otherwise, I'll really have to punish you."
Lanqi nodded and smiled sweetly. Xuanye liked it when she smiled like that. He ordered her to sit down with him in front of the windows—as he looked over the memorials from the court officials, Lanqi helped to grind the inkstick against the inkstone.
Xuanye enjoyed Lanqi's company immensely, but the moment he set his eyes on the memorials, he became enraptured by the affairs of the court again. They spent the rest of the afternoon together without saying a single word to each other. It was so quiet that even Head Eunuch Li yawned lazily outside the hall as he baked in the afternoon sun.
However, nobody else knew how boring that afternoon in the Palace of Heavenly Purity truly was. All they knew was that the Emperor had held hands with the new First-Class Female Attendant all the way back to his palace and into the main hall. Everyone thought the Emperor was just putting up an act, and news of this spread throughout the palace like wildfire.
This scandalous piece of news reached the Palace of Earthly Honor quickly, as did every other piece of news in the Forbidden City. Afraid that her mistress might be furious, Dongyun tried to keep this from Consort Zhao. However, when First-Class Female Attendant Wu remained in the Palace of Heavenly Purity for the rest of the afternoon, the rumors reached a boiling point. Knowing that she couldn't keep this from Consort Zhao anymore, Dongyun finally told her about it.
Consort Zhao had been going through the accounts sent over by the Imperial Household Department. As Dongyun narrated the afternoon's events to her, her fingers tightened around the pieces of paper, crumpling them into a heap. Unable to bear it any longer, she stuffed the wadded up balls of paper into her mouth to stop herself from wailing aloud. Sobbing, she cried, "He just wants to torture me, he just wants to torture me!"
Dongyun was so frightened that she nearly yelped. She wrenched the paper from Consort Zhao and pleaded, "Take care of your health, Mistress!"
Consort Zhao turned around and sobbed into her pillow. Dongyun could hear her cry faintly, "What did I do wrong? Why does he have to treat me this way?"