First-Class Female Attendant Bu looked up at her with her eyes full of tears. Feeling rather uncomfortable, Aunt Wang sniffed and said, "The Grand Empress Dowager and Emperor have been very kind towards you of late. You can't continue on like this! Nobody likes being around a crybaby. Look at Noble Lady Rong and Noble Lady Hui—they have a smile on their faces all day long, which is why everyone likes them. You burst into tears at every small thing—as servants, our hearts break for you, but other people might not feel the same."
Lanqi knew that Aunt Wang was going slightly overboard, so she quickly changed the topic and said, "Aunt Wang, the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager's rewards are still waiting to be put away outside the hall. Panxia is clumsy and prone to accidents, so you should do the job." Hearing this, Aunt Wang realized that she could take a few items for herself. After taking her leave lamely, she dashed out to take a look at the gifts.
Lanqi comforted First-Class Female Attendant Bu for a while more before going out to help Aunt Wang.
Knowing that their mistress didn't care much for gifts, she closed one eye to Aunt Wang's stealing. She whiled the rest of the day away by sorting out the remaining items and putting them away.
Jingyan was on duty that night. After laying out the clothes their mistress was going to wear to pay respects at the Palace of Earthly Honor tomorrow, she went to rest with Panxia.
However, Panxia disappeared shortly after lights out. When she came back, she pulled Lanqi out of bed and shoved a handful of walnuts into her hands. "Here, have some of this. You're so skinny these days." Lanqi didn't particularly care for walnuts, but she asked Panxia where she got them from. Panxia grinned as she told her that they were from a friend of hers from the same village who was currently working in the Imperial Kitchen. The Imperial Kitchen was cooking porridge through the night, and there were so many walnuts lying around that nobody would notice if some disappeared.
"When our mistress was pregnant last year, she got some Eight Treasure congee from Yong'an Monastery and the Grand Dowager Empress. I wonder if there will be some again this year," Panxia said thoughtfully as she munched on the walnuts. "Those monks are really too much—they cooked so little this year that not every mistress had the same amount. Aren't they simply asking for trouble?"
Lanqi pulled the covers over herself and said blandly, "That's why it's a privilege, not an entitlement."
"Wouldn't it be nice if our private kitchen could make some porridge too?" Panxia mused. She went to wash her hands and gargle her mouth before laying down next to Lanqi. She started complaining about how many gifts Aunt Wang had pilfered, before asking Lanqi how she had put up with Aunt Wang nagging at their mistress.
Lanqi told her about their chance meeting with First-Class Female Attendant Dong. Panxia leaned closer to her and whispered, "I heard from the other maids that Noble Consort Rong is to blame for First-Class Female Attendant's current state. They used to be maids at the Palace of Heavenly Purity before being conferred the title of a concubine. Both of them gave birth to the Emperor's children, but one of them is a Noble Lady, and is already pregnant with her fifth child. On the other hand, First-Class Female Attendant Dong is ill year-round and never shows her face in the palace if she can help it. Noble Lady Rong seems so kind and nice, but I'm afraid she's not as simple as she seems."
Lanqi looked at her in shock before shoving her a little. "What sort of nonsense have you been listening to? Stop poking your nose into the mistresses' business."
Panxia got even more agitated, but continued speaking in a whisper. "I'm afraid someone might decide to do something to our mistress. Look how mild and timid she is—do you think she'll have the guts to retaliate? She would collapse almost immediately." Lanqi didn't reply, but she felt herself getting a little nervous. Within the Forbidden City, survival of the fittest had always been the primary guiding principle.
The next morning, on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the two of them got up early to assist their mistress in changing and bathing. When news reached them that Consort Zhao had finally returned from the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, they went to pay their respects at the Palace of Earthly Honor.
The other concubines were already there. Consort Zhao distributed the Eight Treasures congee from the Grand Empress Dowager to everyone. After chatting and laughing with each other for a while longer, everyone returned to their palaces.
As they left the Palace of Earthly Honor, Lanqi accompanied First-Class Female Attendant Bu as they walked behind Noble Lady Hui and Noble Lady An. She could just barely make out Noble Lady An's words as she trilled, "The astronomers have decided to conduct the sealing ceremony on the nineteenth day of the Lunar New Year. After that, I suppose the Emperor will be much freer than he usually is. Since Noble Lady Rong is pregnant now, you shouldn't miss such a good opportunity, Noble Lady Hui."