Time seemed to whoosh by for Lanqi after that. A few Aunts came by and whirled her away to another room, where they soaped her thoroughly and combed the tangles out of her hair. Lanqi was nearly mortified to death when they showed her a book full of little figures locked in embarrassing positions, and ordered her to replicate their actions later. She finally understood why the Emperor had left in such a huff, and why the Grand Empress Dowager had asked for her name.
Uya Lanqi, are you really going to be the Emperor's woman?
The same images appeared in her mind again—Xuanye's despair in the rain, his kindness when she had been sick, and the way he had offered her an umbrella in the middle of a snowstorm, thereby excusing her from severe punishment.
As she recalled how she had had wiped her tears away as she watched the imperial chariot leave, Lanqi realized that she been crying out of gratitude...and something else.
After the scene at the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, those who knew what truly happened kept their mouths shut. Those who weren't there when the incident happened had no choice but to believe Aunt Sumala when she announced to the Six Palaces that the Grand Empress Dowager had gifted Lanqi to the Emperor as his new woman.
Everyone knew that the Emperor had been in a constant state of gloom since Empress Xiaochengren passed away, and his attitude towards the harem had been equally lukewarm. It was perfectly reasonable for his grandmother to feel worried and send in a new woman to perk him up.
After Lanqi was taken away, the Grand Empress Dowager was so annoyed at Consort Zhao that she refused to speak another word to her. Consort Zhao had no choice but to return to the feast awkwardly. As she saw the Emperor converse happily with Prince Yu beside him, as though nothing had happened, she had to grit her teeth to maintain her composure.
The Grand Empress Dowager called Head Eunuch Li into her bedchamber and ordered him to tell her everything he knew about Lanqi. In a trembling voice, he gave her all the information he had on the girl, including the incident at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, when Lanqi had risked death to get medicine for her mistress.
Aunt Sumala said, "Your Highness, the Emperor may be young and reckless, but he knows a good and obedient woman when he sees one. Lanqi is so young, but she managed to come up with a version of events that even Consort Zhao couldn't! In fact, Consort Zhao was merely stewing in her misery the whole time."
"Yes, she seems to be a reliable kid," the Grand Empress Dowager concurred. She turned to Head Eunuch Li and said, "Since you've seen her around so often, why didn't you tell me about her? She's as good a woman as any other."
Seeing that the Grand Empress Dowager was cheering up again, Head Eunuch Li quickly blamed himself for this mistake. Trying to soothe her, he took her arm and helped her back to the feast.
He heard her say to Aunt Sumala, "Get someone to cheer up First-Class Female Attendant Bu, won't you? She might collapsed from grief now that the Emperor has taken away one of her palace maids. I hope she doesn't get the opportunity to do anything foolish."
Aunt Sumala promised her and exchanged a glance with Head Eunuch Li. Feeling a little more relaxed, they helped the Grand Empress Dowager back into her seat. When the melee of drinking and laughing was over, the concubines finally found out that the Emperor had decided to favor a maid from the Palace of Accumulated Purity.
First-Class Female Attendant Bu had been scared silly by Consort Zhao and retired to her palace a long time ago. Panxia didn't know what had happened—Lanqi wasn't back yet, and their mistress refused to say anything.
When news of Lanqi's new status finally reached them, Aunt Wang was so shocked that she jumped from leg to leg and exclaimed, "Mistress, how are you supposed to hold your head up in the palace from now on? One of your palace maids has surpassed you!"
However, First-Class Female Attendant Bu replied in a stiff, indifferent voice, "What's wrong with a nice girl like her attending to His Majesty? Aunt Wang, I must advise you to speak more carefully from now on. From tomorrow onwards, she'll be a First-Class Female Attendant like me, too."
Aunt Wang could hardly speak. Silently, she mocked a weakling like First-Class Female Attendant Bu for suffering this humiliation. However, she promptly remembered how she had tortured Lanqi in the past—if she gained more power in the harem, was she going to return and avenge herself?
Aunt Wang didn't feel like laughing anymore. Instead, she tossed and turned in her bed the entire night, unable to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, Lanqi had been delivered into the bedchamber of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, wrapped entirely in a blanket of exquisite silk and cotton. She was no longer wearing any clothing apart from her undergarments, which hid only what had to be hidden.
Everything had happened so quickly. Just a few hours ago, she had been a palace maid, but now she would be facing the Emperor as his newest concubine.
It would be a lie for her to say that she wasn't scared, but Lanqi managed to calm herself down. By the time she was placed carefully onto the Emperor's bed, she felt a little bud of anticipated sprout within her.
She finally understood what she had felt as she cried that day—aside from gratefulness, she had also felt terribly upset that she would never get where she was today.
She hadn't managed to erase the image of the Emperor from her mind because she had become infatuated with him at first sight. Had she hidden that desire so deeply within her because she knew that their love was practically impossible?
There was a loud clap from outside. "All hail His Majesty!" After a lot of stirring and murmuring, the palace returned to a state of unsettling quietness. Lanqi could hear footsteps walking steadily towards her.
The yellow curtains in front of her flew open suddenly, and Lanqi found herself staring at the Emperor's face.
Lanqi had been thoroughly made up by the Aunts before she arrived. She no longer looked like her red-cheeked self in the snow, or her pathetic self just now as she knelt in her torn clothes. Her white, jade-like shoulders peeked out from beneath the blankets, revealing her long neck and her clear, delicate face. Although she wasn't a beauty of the ages, the cute, gentle look on her face made her look all the more welcoming.
As he looked at her, Xuanye couldn't help but freeze.