The Palace of Accumulated Purity was enjoying one of its rare quiet afternoons. First-Class Female Attendant Bu had tired herself out by walking around the entire day, and had retired to her room to rest. Meanwhile, Lanqi was seated under the window in the Northern Hall, concentrating fiercely on her calligraphy.
When Noble Lady Hui arrived, there was no one to greet her. She entered the palace by herself and found Lanqi's thin figure hunched over the desk. Stealthily, Noble Lady Hui crept towards her, tapping the paper when she finally got near enough. Without raising her head, Lanqi mumbled, "It's the last piece. I'll be done after this one."
Noble Lady Hui laughed. "Are you planning to take part in the Imperial Examinations?"
Hearing her voice, Lanqi's head jerked up sharply. When she saw that it was indeed Noble Lady Hui, she scrambled off her seat, preparing to dip into a deep bow. However, Noble Lady Hui pushed her back down onto her seat firmly and sat down herself. In a pleasant voice, she said, "Please continue writing. I'm just here to see if you've recovered yet, since First-Class Female Attendant Bu said you weren't feeling well. Here are some donkey-hide gelatin candied dates sent over by the Imperial Household Department yesterday. They're good for blood circulation."
"Thank you for your kindness, Noble Lady Hui." Lanqi was too polite to continue writing in the presence of a guest. She told Huanchun to bring some tea and poured a cup for Noble Lady Hui, asking if she wanted First-Class Female Attendant Bu to join them too. However, Noble Lady Hui laughed and said, "I've been talking to her the entire morning! I'm just here to visit you."
Lanqi thanked her in reply again and sat down rather awkwardly opposite Noble Lady Hui. Seeing that Noble Lady Hui's maids had left the room, Huanchun followed them out very tactfully. Lanqi finally realized that Noble Lady Hui was here to talk to her about something, and it sounded serious too.
As expected, Noble Lady Hui gazed down at her calligraphy, pretending to admire it while saying carelessly, "On our way back yesterday, the roads were so rough that Consort Zhao nearly threw up. She's so good at horse-riding, but can hardly stand riding in a horse-drawn carriage! How ironic, don't you think?"
Lanqi smiled in response. Yesterday's incident was still imprinted clearly in her mind. With the Grand Empress Dowager's words ringing in her ears, Lanqi finally understood that one could not stand alone by herself in the harem. She needed someone stronger and more powerful to rely on.
Noble Lady Hui looked up at her. Seeing the peculiar expression on Lanqi's face, she knew at once what the girl was thinking about. Blithely, she added, "Forgive me for babbling on like this. I must have driven you half to death with boredom! It's just that I've been in this palace for a long time, and I know the dynamics of this harem better than most people."
"Thank you for your insights, Noble Lady Hui. I'm very grateful for them." Lanqi knew what she was trying to say. Abandoning all pretense, she stood up and curtseyed. "I'm young and foolish, and there are still many things I don't understand. Noble Lady Hui, please take me under your wing."
"Oh, sit down..."
Outside, Huanchun passed handwarmers to Noble Lady Hui's palace maids to prevent their hands from freezing up in the cold weather. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Aunt Wang sneaking out of the palace gates with a most suspicious look on her face. "Where's that old hag going?" she mumbled angrily to herself.
Meanwhile, something had gone wrong with the coal burners in the Palace of Earthly Honor. Every single room was filled with clouds of thick, grey smoke. As the eunuchs ran around frantically, trying to resolve the matter, Consort Zhao stood stiffly in the corridor, glaring at them contemptuously. Dongyun fanned the air around her vigorously and said, "Why don't we go somewhere else, Mistress? It stinks to high heaven here."
However, Consort Zhao barked with laughter. "I already smell like smoke from head to toe. What's the point of escaping to another palace? Besides, the Emperor never visits me anymore. If I bring my bad luck along with me to another palace, they'll only be displeased to see me!"
Dongyun didn't dare to say anything else. Instead, she fanned the air in silence, doing her best not to ruffle Consort Zhao's hair or clothes. A while later, a palace maid came up to them and started whispering something to Dongyun. Seeing this, Consort Zhao asked impatiently, "What's going on?"
Dongyun looked very confused, too. "This is a little out of the blue, but Aunt Wang from the Palace of Accumulated Purity has arrived to pay respects to you. What a foolish old woman. Doesn't she know that we aren't doing very well here too?"
Consort Zhao opened her mouth to order Aunt Wang away, but stopped herself just in time. A muscle jumped in her brow as she thought fervently about something. Finally, she lifted a hand to cover her mouth, scrunching her face up at the smell of the smoke. Turning to Dongyun, she whispered, "Pay good attention to that Aunt in the future. She may come in useful for me one day."
Dongyun nodded and told the palace maid to take good care of Aunt Wang. She then followed her out of the palace gates to meet Aunt Wang for herself.