That night, Lanqi wrote her name with brush and ink for the first time in her life. Girls like her born of booi aha families were doomed to a life of servitude in the palace, and were thus forbidden from learning how to read or write. Naturally, their families were too frightened to disobey that law. Lanqi had only managed to learn a few simple words like 'cow', 'sheep', 'rice' and 'noodles' from her mother, who took care of the account books at home. Although she recognized her own name, she had never written it down herself.
Xuanye returned immediately after he finished reading the two memorials. He handed his clothes to Lanqi for her to cover herself with, and pulled her over to the desk. Taking her hand, he helped her trace out a few simple characters onto paper. Although Lanqi's arm was rather thin, her grip on the pen was sufficiently strong. This made her teacher, Xuanye, extremely delighted. Cheerfully, he told her, "I'll gift you some ink and paper tomorrow morning. When you have some free time, learn to read and write."
Outside, a few eunuchs dropped by to deliver Xuanye's supper, but Head Eunuch Li stopped them from heading inside. A few moments later, Aunt Sumala arrived, and he quickly went forward to receive her.
When asked why she was still awake at this hour, Aunt Sumala laughed haplessly and replied, "The Grand Empress Dowager felt rather worried, and told me to come over and check out the situation."
Head Eunuch Li grinned broadly. "His Majesty is getting along very well with her indeed! He's teaching the new First-Class Female Attendant to write."
"To write?" Aunt Sumala felt astounded.
Head Eunuch Li continued, "He went inside and said something to her before rushing over to his study to read some memorials. Gosh, I nearly died of fright then. Barely half an hour later, he rushed out again and returned to his bedchamber. There—I hear the sound of laughter again. So many ladies have visited His Majesty's bedchamber at night, but this is the first time I've heard him being so happy."
"Oh, thank goodness." Aunt Sumala placed her palms together and muttered some sutras under her breath. As Head Eunuch Li sent her out, she continued, "The Grand Empress Dowager was afraid that His Majesty might have been acting on his impulse when he chose that maid as his new concubine. If he regrets his decision tomorrow morning, the poor girl would become the laughing stock of the palace. Since he has asked for her, he might as well love her properly."
"Besides..." Aunt Sumala looked around furtively to check that there was no one else around, "it'll give the Palace of Earthly Honor a good warning. I've heard rumors that Consort Zhao is after the position of the next Empress. And with Empress Xiaochengren dead for less than a year! Consort Zhao has no regard for the Emperor's wishes, and both the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager aren't very happy with her. In fact, the Grand Empress Dowager is only keeping her around because they're from the same clan and she can't afford to burn bridges with her own family."
Head Eunuch Li muttered, "Well, this must have come as a great shock to Consort Zhao, then."
As it turned out, nobody really cared what happened at the Palace of Earthly Honor. On the other hand, the Palace of Accumulated Purity was already bustling with people the next morning. A horde of palace maids and eunuchs rushed in and out of the side hall to prepare it for its new mistress. First-Class Female Attendant Bu and the rest were woken up by this commotion and stood around curiously to watch.
When the sun finally rose, a chariot pulled up at the gates of the Palace of Accumulated Purity. Lanqi, who looked completely different, walked cautiously through the gates. As she spotted First-Class Female Attendant Bu standing in the corridor, Lanqi felt a lump in her throat. Just as Lanqi was about to walk over to her, the Aunt next to her held her back.
Lanqi was led to the side hall, where her newly-assigned eunuchs and palace ladies greeted her warmly and pledged their loyalty. When she finally went to greet First-Class Female Attendant Bu, Panxia was helping her take her medicine. When she saw Lanqi walk into the room, Panxia froze momentarily before sinking to her knees in a deep bow.
Lanqi's eyes were red with tears. She quickly reached out a hand and pulled Panxia up from the ground. First-Class Female Attendant Bu walked over to them and swiveled Lanqi around to face her. As she gave Lanqi a onceover, First-Class Female Attendant Bu smiled and said, "You look wonderful! These embroidered flowers and vibrant colors look great on you. Lanqi, I'm so happy for you."
"Mis.." Lanqi couldn't get used to the new way she had to address First-Class Female Attendant Bu. After a pregnant pause, she finally swallowed the lump in her throat and greeted her. "My dear sister."
First-Class Female Attendant Bu smiled brightly. "Well, I guess I can finally call you that now."
Lanqi tried to hold her tears back. "Aren't you angry at me?"
Panxia helped her into her seat and finally spoke up. "Aunt Wang unleashed a wave of vitriol at you yesterday night, but Mistress gave her a horrible scolding. Have you seen Mistress scold anyone before? She's truly happy for you. In fact, she even said that only someone as kind as you is fit to serve the Emperor."
"Panxia..." Lanqi couldn't stand it when others were nice to her. Immediately, tears rolled down her cheeks. Panxia knelt down and lay her hands in Lanqi's lap. "Since the time we entered the palace, I've seen what a compassionate person you are. Your humble servant hopes your future in this palace is bright so that some of your luck may rub off my Mistress. That way, I'll be able to live a good life with the both of you too, right?"
Hearing this, Lanqi burst into tears again. This time, it was the crybaby First-Class Female Attendant Bu who comforted her. Lanqi finally stopped crying after a long while.
First-Class Female Attendant Bu pointed at Aunt Wang, who had been standing outside fearfully the whole time. Chuckling, she said, "I suppose she won't dare to bully anyone now."
At that moment, Head Eunuch Li turned up again with a bunch of people in tow. Smiling, he said, "The Emperor has new instructions, and he orders that First-Class Female Attendant Wu receives them."