Murmur, murmur...
It felt as if someone was lightly tickling the ear with a feather, causing an irritating itch in one's heart.
Yu Gege(The term "Gege" is the title used in the Qing Dynasty to address young princesses or female members of the imperial family.) sighed and turned over, closing her eyes. She raised her hand and waved it in the air twice, seemingly trying to shoo away the annoying mosquito, but in reality, she was warning the two palace maids on night duty. "I didn't sleep well last night, can you two quiet down for a while and let me catch a nap?"
Murmur, murmur...
The two palace maids showed no sign of awareness and leaned in, whispering to each other.
Yu Gege furrowed her brows. If this were the Duke Duan's Palace, she would have thrown a curtain hook at them, hitting one right in the centre of her forehead, and then she would raise her leg and kick the other one in the chest.
But this wasn't the Duke Duan's Palace, and Yu Gege wasn't their proper mistress.
"Forget it, pretend I didn't hear them. If I really can't sleep, I'll just count sheep," Yu Gege consoled herself in this manner.
As Yu Gege reached the count of thirty-five sheep, a sharp scream interrupted her, making it impossible for her to continue pretending to sleep. She propped herself up and looked at the two palace maids with a helpless expression.
The two palace maids, aware of their mistake, quickly threw themselves to the ground, pleading, "Gege, spare us, spare us..."
Yu Gege initially intended to drag the two palace maids to the courtyard for punishment, but when the words were about to leave her mouth, they came out in an unexpectedly gentle tone, "Oh, you two haven't harmed me in any way, my dear sisters."
The gracious mistress naturally forgives, leaving the servants feeling a bit embarrassed. The two palace maids quickly got up, and one of them continued, "Gege, last night, last night..."
"Another haunting, right?" Yu Gege calmly picked up where the maid left off.
With their mistress being so composed, the two palace maids forgot their fear.
"Go ahead, tell me, what kind of disturbance was this time? Did you see the face of Consorts Zhen? Or perhaps catch a glimpse of Empress Longyu taking a stroll? Or maybe you heard the Emperor himself singing Peking Opera?" Yu Gege asked in a relaxed tone.
"No, none of those. This time it was..." The palace maid named Fu trembled and struggled to articulate her words.
"Enough already. Over the past few years, the masters in the palace have been leaving one after another. Today he goes home and tomorrow she'll pay a nostalgic visit. It's a perfectly normal occurrence. There's no need to make a fuss. Stop thinking about it and attend to my morning preparations," Yu Gege said as she lifted the covers and got out of bed.
The other palace maid named Xi secretly glanced at Fu and happened to meet her gaze. At this moment they knew they shared the same thought—Yu Gege, who was already thirty and still unmarried, had a heart as cold as ashes, unafraid even of ghosts.
After completing her morning ablutions and finishing her breakfast, it was barely 8AM in the morning, Yu Gege knew she had a long and agonizing day ahead. When she first entered the palace, her days were not meant for enduring but for enjoying.
"Dang!" A loud noise startled Yu Gege, causing her heart to tremble. She glanced at the clock in the corner, realizing that it was time to go out and take a stroll.
The palace was quiet.
Emperor Puyi, known as the Xuantong Emperor, and his new Empress Wanrong were still resting in their chambers. It wasn't entirely Puyi's fault for lazy. The Qing Dynasty had fallen over a decade ago, and there were no longer morning court sessions.
As Yu Gege stepped out of the gate of the Third Northern Palaces, where Empress Dowager Cixi imprisoned Consorts Zhen.
Yu Gege was greeted by ruins, crumbling walls, withered grass, and dead poplar trees. She headed straight towards the west, without even looking back, knowing that Xi and Fu, the two palace maids, hadn't followed her. She understood what they were afraid of. Right ahead was the Well of Consorts Zhen, and they feared the vengeful spirits of those who had suffered unjustly inside.
The first time Yu Gege went to the Well of Consorts Zhen, she was also scared. At that time, she was guided by her cousin, Jun.
She complained that Jun didn't listen to her aunt's words. Empress Dowager Longyu repeatedly warned them that they could go anywhere in the palace except for the Well of Consorts Zhen. However, Jun had always been a fearless person since childhood, never showing any fear.
Yu Gege remembered that as soon as she saw the well, she let go of Jun's hand and turned around to run back the way she came. Jun called out to her, saying, "Don't you know that ghosts always chase after those who run, and they run faster than the wind? No one can outrun them."
Yu Gege had no choice but to abandon the idea of running away and turned around, using Jun as a shield against the ghost.
A strong, pungent smell forced Yu Gege to open her eyes.
She saw that a thick layer of lime had been sprinkled around the well platform, and an iron grate had been placed over the well opening, with a huge stone placed on top.
"She thinks this can lock her away? She is in his heart, locking her here is like a blind man lighting a candle in vain," were Jun's exact words.
Yu Gege asked Jun at that time, "Who is she and she and he?"
Jun didn't give a direct answer and instead added, "She is really foolish. Why enter the palace? Why participate in the selection? Perhaps if she had never seen him, she could have lived a peaceful life."
Those words pierced Yu Gege's heart.
Entering the palace through the selection process was an unavoidable fate for Manchu girls. Although she was of the imperial family and didn't need to "select," she couldn't control her own marriage and had to be "decided" by others.
Therefore, Yu Gege retorted, "It's easy for you to talk. It's a good thing that your father can't be recorded in the genealogy, and you don't have to dress up and be decided by others."
Jun's father was Yu Gege's sixth uncle, but this was a private ranking within the Duke Duan family. He was born on the day of Emperor Xianfeng's passing, which fell under the period of mourning when childbirth was prohibited. As a result, he couldn't be recorded in the genealogy, and it also affected Jun and her older brother Yin's status, titles, and stipends.
After Yu Gege sarcastically taunted Jun, she immediately regretted it. Although Jun was a few months younger, she always looked after Yu Gege like an older sister and treated her kindly. Seeing Jun's silence, Yu Gege quickly changed the subject and asked Jun what she intended to do by bringing her to this place.
Jun remained silent and calmly arranged a few daisies in her hand. She took out a snowy-white handkerchief and tied the flowers into a neat bouquet, placing them on the edge of the well.
Seeing Yu Gege's perplexed expression, Jun smiled and asked if she had forgotten what the British envoy's wife had said. In their country, when paying respects to departed souls, they would offer a bouquet of snow-white flowers as a sign of respect.
"You've gone mad!"
Yu Gege stepped over the well platform and quickly grabbed the bouquet of daisies from the well's edge, tearing it apart in an instant. Then she shook the handkerchief and returned it to Jun's underarm. Making sure there was no one around, she lowered her voice and scolded Jun.
"Don't you know that the woman drowned in this well was a enemy of Empress Dowager Cixi? And you're still showing your respect? For your family, it's ok, because you are normal, but my father was the Baron Duan, and my brother, he... our whole family has aspirations, do you understand?"
Yu Gege couldn't recall how Jun had responded to her scolding and shouting. All she remembered was that after that incident, they never went to the well of Consorts Zhen again.
It wasn't until Yu Gege was demoted to the Third Northern Palace that she saw the well again and unexpectedly discovered that the daisies she had torn apart and thrown on the ground had grown vigorously and full of life.
"You're all wretched lives!" Yu Gege muttered quietly, knowing full well that she was referring to the daisies while cursing her cousin Jun.
Despite venting her frustration, Yu Gege didn't find solace. She realized that she, too, was wretched. The person who had wanted to run away at the sight of Consorts Zhen's well was now dissatisfied if she didn't spend a full hour standing by the well each day.
Yu Gege faithfully began her daily routine of circling the well. She would rotate clockwise ten times, then counter-clockwise ten times, and finally alternate between clockwise and counter-clockwise for another ten rounds. By the time she completed this exercise, the morning would nearly be over.
Today, before completing a full circle around the well, Yu Gege stopped in her tracks. Her attention was captivated by the daisy growing in the crevice of the well's edge.
Among the wild flowers, this daisy stood out prominently with its robust flower head, delicate yellow stamens, and pure white petals, standing tall and straight. It immediately reminded Yu Gege of her cousin, who was known as the 'Flower of the Duke Duan Mansion.'
Now, Yu Gege felt a sense of dissatisfaction.
She was the legitimate grand-daughter of the Duke Duan , even though she had not been bestowed the title of a princess. In the genealogy records, she was recognized as Aisin Gioro Yungui, with a renowned lineage.
She possessed a captivating beauty that could rival the most alluring figures, and she had earned the name 'Yu Gege' because on the day she was born, her father lovingly touched her face and praised her as being a jade.
Jun, despite her family background compared to Yu Gege, had been given the title of "Flower" for no apparent reason. This only fuelled Yu Gege's growing discontent, and she couldn't bear it any longer. She raised her hand and slapped the daisy.
As the slap landed, something unexpected happened.
Yu Gege noticed that the flower stem, which had clearly been broken a few days ago, had been carefully protected. It was delicately tied with a thin fishing line, neither too tight nor too loose, to a smooth and polished piece of bamboo. With this support, the daisy, once drooping and dejected, instantly transformed into a proud and confident posture. It seemed to defy the harsh elements, even after receiving Yu Gege's slap.
"Xi! Fu!" Yu Gege shouted angrily, thinking how despicable those two maids were. They could never be relied upon to do even the simplest tasks, yet they were strangely proactive when it came to meddling in other matters.
No response came from them, and Yu Gege snapped back to reality.
Those two maids must be hiding as far away as possible now. How could they possibly have heard her angry shout? And as for considering this well platform as the ghosts' home, how could they be so full and bored as to come and tie flower stems?
But then, the thought emerged that it might be someone else. Apart from herself, Xi, and Fu, there was no one else in the Third Northern Palace. Occasionally, a eunuch or two would come to relay messages, but even that had ceased since the illness of Consorts Jing.
Yu Gege's mind suddenly recalled the whispered conversation between Xi and Fu in the morning, and her scalp tingled. Although she had cultivated a sense of humour to deal with bizarre and supernatural situations, if she were to face a real encounter with supernatural forces, she feared her soul would scatter. Moreover, it hadn't been long since those two left. They would come back to see her. Yu Gege doubted she could handle them either.
She couldn't stay at the well of Consorts Zhen any longer. She felt as if there were pairs of eyes watching her behind every flower and blade of grass. She hurriedly ran back to her chamber, gasping for breath as she sat on the kang bed.
The early autumn breeze carried a chill, and coupled with standing by the well platform for a long time, the eerie cold had already seeped into her bones. Yu Gege was trembling from the cold all over.
She habitually reached for the hand warmer on the kang table, but unsurprisingly, it was as cold as an ice lump. However, instead of calling for Xi and Fu to scold them, Yu Gege's attention was completely captured by a scorch mark on the table.
The scorch mark wasn't a fresh one from today; its origin could be traced back several years to a heart-wrenching story that Yu Gege never mentioned in front of others. However, the hatred in her heart hadn't faded with the passage of time.
Yu Gege cleared her throat and summoned Xi and Fu. The two of them stood there with hands hanging down, waiting for her to speak. After a while, they raised their heads and noticed that Yu Gege was gesturing with her eyes for them to come closer.
Xi and Fu glanced at the scorch mark on the kang table and their expressions immediately changed. Xi hurriedly said, "It wasn't me, Gege," and Fu quickly followed, "It wasn't me, Gege."
Yu Gege smiled faintly and said, "Then it must be me."
Xi and Fu remained silent, both of them acknowledging that Yu Gege was likely the one responsible for this accident. No one is perfect, and no one can guarantee that every time they put the hand warmer away, it would cover up the scorch mark and not catch Yu Gege's eye.
"Ridiculous!" Yu Gege became angry. "I set the rules, can I break them myself?"
Xi and Fu were frightened and fell to their knees.
"This kang table I brought from the Duke Duan Mansion, is made of golden silk wood, decorated with enamel and tortoiseshell patterns. How dare you destroy the precious item from my Duke Duan Mansion..."
Xi and Fu quickly nodded and agreed, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that these two maids were obedient outwardly but still harboured resentment in their hearts. After all, it wasn't them who caused the damage to the table.
Yu Gege quickly ran out of words. There wasn't much to boast about regarding a kang table.
Xi took the opportunity while Yu Gege was thinking for words, "Gege, please calm down. Just think about it, it's not even time to use the hand warmer yet. Why would Fu and I touch it?"
"Yes, that's right. The silver charcoal allocated by the Imperial Household Department has been decreasing year by year. Gege, you only ordered us to warm the hand warmer when your hands were already nearly frostbitten," Fu added, patching up the situation in a way that displeased Yu Gege.
"But I clearly tidied up the table before going to bed last night. I covered the burn mark with the hand warmer, perfectly aligned, without any flaws," Yu Gege thought to herself, but unfortunately her silence exposed her thoughts.
Xi and Fu exchanged a glance, both realizing something.
After two screams, they tightly embraced each other, trembling and constantly glancing into the corners, their expressions filled with the terror of encountering a ghost.
Upon seeing this, Yu Gege understood to some extent. First the daisy, then the kang table. Now she couldn't help but believe.
Yu Gege recalled the restless night, where she vaguely felt someone tugging at her blanket, trying to cover her dangling feet on the edge of the bed. With a start, she pulled her feet back, distinctly sensing that the person tucked the blanket a couple of times, afraid that she might kick it off again.
"You two, leave," Yu Gege commanded.
Not waiting for Xi and Fu to completely disappear from sight, Yu Gege quickly got up and headed straight for her bed.
She lifted the blanket, but there was nothing. Yu Gege was unwilling to accept this. She searched through the satin lining and the corners, but found nothing.
This shouldn't be happening. Her bed was always meticulously arranged by herself, never touched by Xi or Fu. Last night, before she got into the bed, she even chanted a spell, and only then did she satisfactorily tuck it into the sheets. How could it simply disappear like that?
After her frustration subsided, Yu Gege started to think about the aftermath. What if someone saw her? What would she do if they had really taken it?
While contemplating her next move, Yu Gege unintentionally glanced at the canopy, and amidst the pristine whiteness, she faintly noticed a hint of red. Yu Gege pounced forward, grabbing the red object and pulling it out.
It turned out to be a doll in the shape of a person. Yu Gege let out a sigh of relief, straightened her posture, and held the doll in her hands, examining it closely. The doll wore a red ceremonial dress with a white collar, and its black hair was neatly arranged in the style of an unmarried Manchu girl's braid.
Having recovered the doll, Yu Gege expressed her joy by completing her evening tasks ahead of schedule.
She swiftly removed the silver needle that was inserted between the doll's eyebrows and twisted it a few times. This way, all the negative energy and resentment from her body were transferred into the needle.
Holding the silver needle high, Yu Gege positioned it about a foot away from the doll, and with a swift and fierce motion, she thrust it down as if only by doing so could she release her satisfaction.
Yu Gege continued plucking and stabbing, moving from the eyebrows to the eyes, then the lips, neck, and shoulder blades. With each action, her excitement grew, and she became more and more exhilarated with each thrust. A complex and eerie smile even formed at the corners of her mouth, but before it fully emerged, it abruptly stopped.
Yes, Yu Gege sensed that something was amiss. She ceased her needlework and began to count the silver needles.
"Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three..."
She counted three times, and each time there were twenty-three needles.
Yu Gege pondered for a moment and abruptly flipped the doll over. Her suspended heart plummeted to the depths as she discovered that the silver needle she admired the most, the one that discretely wedged into the doll's back and directly pierced its heart, was gone.