"Go and rest, then," Lanqi said, shoving her a little. "Don't argue with Aunt Wang. I broke the palace rules this time to save our mistress's life, so don't you do anything to make Aunt Wang suspicious. Let her revel in her self-satisfaction! Go to sleep now. If she interrogates you, just tell her our mistress ordered me to go."
Panxia was very tired, indeed. She felt as though she was dead on her feet. After promising Lanqi to take over her shift when she woke up, Panxia tottered unsteadily back to her room.
Seeing the tears on Second-Class Female Attendant Bu's face, Lanqi rushed up to her with a handkerchief in her hand. Quietly, she said, "For the sake of the little princess, you must take good care of your health. Aunt Sumala is such an important figure in the palace—for the Grand Empress Dowager to send her to our palace, she must feel very kindly towards you."
"Lanqi..." Second-Class Female Attendant Bu sobbed as she grabbed hold of her hand. "The Grand Empress Dowager is kind and benevolent, and I'm very grateful for it. However, you're the person I'm most grateful for. If you hadn't been by my side since I entered the palace, I would've died a long time ago."
"Mistress, please don't say that. It's my blessing to be able to serve you, too. I've never been scolded or beaten since I stepped foot into your palace—this would be impossible if I were a maid elsewhere." Lanqi tugged the covers up to her chin. "If you feel bad for me, Mistress, please take good care of your health."
Second-Class Female Attendant Bu had a weak constitution, and she only fell asleep after another long coughing spell. Afterwards, she felt extremely dizzy—after waking up, she took some medicine, after which she promptly fell asleep again. Her sweat soaked through numerous sets of clothing. Just when Aunt Wang was complaining that there were no more fresh sheets to change into, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu's illness finally waned.
Lanqi attended to her day and night. When she got tired, she sat by the bed and shut her eyes to rest. Whenever Second-Class Female Attendant Bu started coughing again, she woke up to tend to her. Hence, as her mistress got better by the day, Lanqi fell ill instead.
Second-Class Female Attendant Bu's illness sent the entire palace into a flurry of activity—even the Palace of Earthly Honor kept a close watch on her condition. One day, Noble Lady Rong and the rest came to pay respects to Consort Zhao. As she sipped from her teacup, Consort Zhao said carelessly, "Head Eunuch Li told me the other day that Second-Class Female Attendant Bu had fallen ill, and that he had to sent the imperial doctor over without my permission because it was urgent. He came to beg my pardon afterwards. Of course, I won't blame Head Eunuch Li, but I'm curious about one thing—how did he find out about the happenings at the Palace of Accumulated Purity if he tends to the Emperor day and night?"
Noble Lady Hui touched a hairpin on her head and exchanged a look with Noble Lady Rong. However, Noble Lady An laughed coldly and said, "She seduced the Emperor and managed to have his child overnight. Unfortunately, she gave birth at the wrong time, and only managed to have a princess. Look how the Emperor neglected her afterwards! She had to find a way to get his attention again."
Consort Zhao's face clouded over immediately. Noble Lady An's words had touched a raw nerve in her—although she held a very prestigious position in the harem, the Emperor had never favored her much. The word 'neglect' made her feel very annoyed.
Suddenly feeling furious, she turned to Noble Lady An and castigated her fiercely. "The princess is a daughter of His Majesty, which makes her more precious than the sky itself! Besides, the Grand Empress Dowager adores her—how dare you mock her birth like this? Noble Lady An, don't blame me for being too harsh on you. If anyone else had heard you, you might have gotten into a great deal of trouble with the Grand Empress Dowager or the Empress Dowager! No one would be able to help you then."
Noble Lady An was frightened beyond words. She knelt on the ground immediately. "Madam, I apologize. I have spoken wrongly."
Since other concubines were around, Consort Zhao held herself back to preserve some of Noble Lady An's dignity. Afterwards, when everyone returned to their palaces, Noble Lady An stomped back without waiting for her usual companions.
Noble Lady Rong and Noble Lady Hui walked behind her, and the latter said morosely, "She never knows when to keep her mouth shut. No wonder she has managed to offend so many people."
Seeing that no one was around, Noble Lady Rong said softly, "The other night, the Emperor summoned me to his bedchambers. When I got back the next morning, I was informed by Jixin that an eunuch told her a maid from the Palace of Accumulated Purity came looking for me while I was gone. Apparently, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu had fallen ill. The eunuch sent her to the Imperial Academy of Medicine, and the rest was history. Since it was Head Eunuch Li who had told Consort Zhao about this, that maid must have bumped into one of the Emperor's guards."
"Told you Noble Lady An was wrong," Noble Lady Hui said glumly. "Second-Class Female Attendant Bu was so ill when we visited her that she was practically a walking corpse. How could she try to seduce the Emperor in that state? She would scare him off the minute he lay eyes on her."
Noble Lady Rong nodded. "Since Consort Zhao doesn't know about this, Head Eunuch Li probably hid the truth from her. Let's just keep this between us."
As the saying went, walls have ears, and doors have eyes. Eventually, the truth got out, and Aunt Wang figured out that it was Lanqi who had gone to the Imperial Academy of Medicine behind her back. Infuriated that she could've implicated everyone at the Palace of Accumulated Purity, but unable to take it out on Second-Class Female Attendant Bu, Aunt Wang resorted to torturing Lanqi.
A few days later, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu finally recovered and went to the Palace of Earthly Honor to thank Consort Zhao. Lanqi was too ill to accompany, so she stayed behind. To her dismay, Aunt Wang volunteered to stay behind, too. The moment Second-Class Female Attendant Bu left, she dashed into Lanqi's room, yanked the blankets off her and pulled her out of bed. Lanqi wondered if she had gone crazy and was going to beat her up, but Aunt Wang merely said, "Put on your clothes quickly. The Imperial Household Department is giving out our winter charcoal again. Hurry up and go fetch it now! Are you trying to freeze our mistress to death?"