Aunt Wang was timid by nature. Although she was regularly snuck over to Consort Zhao's palace to report on the happenings in the Palace of Accumulated Purity, she was coming here today with a different purpose, and she was rather afraid that she might lose her nerve in front of Consort Zhao. When she spotted Dongyun walking towards her, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
They made some small talk before Dongyun steered the conversation towards the point of Aunt Wang's visit. Dongyun had served Consort Zhao for a long time, and it took only a few sentences for her to know what Aunt Wang was here for. Immediately, an idea popped into her mind.
Aunt Wang eventually left, and Dongyun returned to the main hall. The servants from the Imperial Household Department had committed some error or the other, and was kneeling at Consort Zhao's feet, begging her pardon. Keeping up the appearance of her benevolent self, she only told them off a little before sending them back.
Dongyun helped her stand up and walk back to her bedchamber, ordering another palace maid to light some incense for the room. Turning to Consort Zhao, she whispered, "Aunt Wang seems to have done something wrong. When she came to me, she was shaking like a leaf, panicking about how her days in the Palace of Accumulated Purity were over. I told her to stay there first while we think of something, but she will have to report everything she sees and hears to me."
Consort Zhao thought for a while before nodding. "We'll do it that way."
Aunt Wang returned to the Palace of Accumulated Purity, congratulating herself for having acquired a new ally. Noble Lady Hui was still chatting with Lanqi, and First-Class Female Attendant Bu didn't dare to nap in her presence. She got up and joined them, and the three of them had a very merry time during dinner. Xuanye even sent them some dishes from his own dinner, and that certainly livened up the atmosphere a bit.
Noble Lady Hui only left when it was nearly time for the palaces to lock their gates. Lanqi sent her all the way back to her palace, and told her to rest well. When she finally got back to the Palace of Accumulated Purity, she spotted her unfinished calligraphy from that afternoon and immediately made her way towards them. However, Huanchun jumped in front of her to stop her. "If you insist on spoiling your eyes under the dim light at this hour, Mistress, I'm going to suffer all the blame. I don't want that to happen, so you can be sure that I'll let the Emperor know you disobeyed him and forgoed sleep to practice calligraphy in the middle of the night."
Lanqi sulked. Huanchun pushed her gently back to her bedchambers, saying comfortingly, "You're on your period too, Mistress. You might get sick if you really stay up all night."
Yukui and Xiangyue came into the room at that moment, carrying hot towels and a basin of water. Helping Lanqi changed, they said, "Take pity on us, Mistress. If you stay up late to practice calligraphy, we'll have to stay up along with you. The Emperor and Noble Lady Hui were both here today, and our backs are nearly ruined from standing up the entire day."
Lanqi felt a little guilty. Now that she was no longer a servant, she had forgotten how difficult it was to be one. Immediately, she sent them off to bed, but the three of them insisted on helping her to wash up first. After Yukui and Xiangyue left, Huanchun helped Lanqi to lie down on her bed. "It was nice to have Noble Lady Hui around for a change," she said. "She might be friendly with everyone in the harem, but Noble Lady Rong is perhaps the only person she's close to. I've never seen her visit the other mistresses in their palace."
Lanqi replied softly, "Noble Lady Hui came today because she had something to tell me. Her words today made me feel a lot better. I've come to realize that life in the palace is so much more different when you're a concubine instead of a servant! I'll be spending the rest of my life in this palace, and if I'm dumb and stupid, I'll only cause trouble for His Majesty."
Huanchun pulled the blankets up to her chin. "Not everyone takes to being a concubine like a fish to water. You have all the time in the world to learn, Mistress."
The night passed by quietly. The next morning, however, strong winds struck the Forbidden City, and everyone was forbidden from venturing out of their palaces. Yukui and Xiangyue rejoiced, thinking it would be a holiday for them. However, Xuanye arrived in the afternoon, swaying dangerously in the wind. Because Lanqi was on her period, she couldn't serve him in his bedchambers for the next few days. But Xuanye was so desperate to see her that he had shown up in her palace on foot anyway.
Lanqi patted the dust off his cloak, complaining slightly, "Why didn't you take the palanquin instead?"