Once her bath finished, Sui carefully reapplied her make-up before returning to her room.
There was no light outside since the sun had not risen yet, but Sui could tell where she was painting and how much paste she needed to use based on experience.
Her roommate was back, and Sui debated whether she should head in or wait for her roommate to be gone.
But it was getting bright outside, and the working day was also about to start. She quickly packed up everything that was not supposed to be seen by others and lay down on the bed.
Sui pretended to wake up when her roommate woke up and got off the bed.
"Good morning, Asuka-!"
Sui called out, trying to gain Asuka's attention, but it had the opposite effect of what she wanted to do.
"Ahhh-Y-You! Who are you? What are you doing in my room? I will call the guards right now-"
Asuka was not used to having morning company, so when Sui called out to her, she freaked out and threw the clothes she had been carrying toward Sui.
The sudden action caused Sui to blink in shock as rough clothes fell on her body.
"Y-You! Oh! It's just you! Wait! You were not here last night. Sui, when did you return? Should I even ask you where you were?"
Asuka slowly calmed down once her brain registered that the person in front of her was Sui and not a killer.
Worried eyes looked Sui up and down before stopping at her feet and her pale face, deciding that it was best not to get tangled up in whatever happened.
The imperial palace had a track record of people disappearing and reappearing randomly.
It mostly happened when the concubines or other high-ranking nobles wanted to release their stress or enter themselves; they used low-ranking servants and slaves.
'Looks like Asuka is misunderstanding what happened to me. Or…wait! Is she misunderstanding anything? I did become Princess Yunjin's plaything.'
Sui stretched her body as she stood up.
She had already taken a bath and freshened up, so she did not need to waste time.
"Did we get any specific assignment for today?"
Sui usually gets her assignments daily, but since she did not show up yesterday, she needed to figure out what to do.
"The head maid did not say anything to me. I doubt she even remembered about you. She did say that they needed more hands in the central pavilion where the concubines are having the tea ceremony today. Maybe you should try your luck there?"
Like the other low-level maids, Sui wanted to avoid the tea ceremony.
The small ceremony was a battlefield for the concubines and maids to show off and gain a higher position.
That left the low-level maids and salves as the target they could pick on.
Going to serve in the tea ceremony was a nightmare for someone in Sui's condition.
But if she did not serve today, she would not be able to get any food. And having no food would leave Sui with no energy to function the next day.
*Sigh*
"Looks like I have no choice. I will go and assemble where the maids are."
Sui's feet protested when she put pressure on them. But for the sake of her empty stomach, Sui was forced to move and head to the gathering of maids.
Most of the maids present were the ones who served minor concubines.
They likely came here to stand out and be recruited by the higher-ranking concubines.
However, the number of maids present here was much higher than Sui expected. Maids usually dreaded tea ceremonies.
'Shit! Did I make a mistake? I never asked who was participating in today's tea ceremony. From the looks of it, it must be someone high. Please don't let it be Princess Yunjin.'
"I am so excited about today's tea ceremony. It's the first time the three highest-ranking concubines will be together outside of official functions."
"Third Rank Concubine Sheren, Fourth Rank Alex, and the Fifth Rank Concubine Homura will be present today. I need to catch one of their eyes and advance from my daily life of struggle."
"You fool! Do you think working for a ranked concubine is a better life? It's a battlefield out there, and it's easy to lose your life. I would rather just finish today's task and get back home."
Sui's breath eased as soon as she took notice of the gossip.
It was clear that the thing Sui was worried about would not happen.
"Attention everyone! I am happy to see that you all volunteered today. But we do not know these many hands for working. Pick a stray from the box, and those with the long stick will be selected to serve."
The head maid looked through the people, and her eyes landed on Sui.
Disgust flashed in the maid's eyes, but amusement soon replaced it.
That look made Sui shiver, and she knew what would happen next.
"You, little girl! You do not have a designated workplace assigned to you, right? You are selected to serve in the tea ceremony. Hurry up and get started."
Sui got angry and sympathetic looks from the other maids around her.
The noble maids who specifically volunteered for this ceremony looked ready to eat Sui alive. They felt robbed of their opportunity to interact with the concubines.
On the other hand, the low-ranked servants pitied Sui because they realized that the head maid's intentions of singling Sui were not nice.
Sui was well-aware that she would become the butt of jokes and the outcast during the ceremony.
But she had to bear with it if she wanted to eat.
'Well, things could be so much worse! I will take being made fun of rather than facing the Imperial Princess any day. This way, I am sure that I will survive the upcoming disaster.'
Sui rubbed her hands together and placed her in the middle of the line.
Happy faces filled her vision as selected maids quickly took their positions around her.
Everyone wanted to stand beside Sui since she looked short and weak. It would make anyone adjacent to her stand out much more.
And most nobles preferred strong and capable maids.
'It will be another hard day for me. Let's hang on and do my best.'