"Hurry up and take this to the table."
"No, not those flowers. Rank 4 Concubine Alex is allergic to Moon Roses. Hurry up and replace them with something else."
"Huh! But these are Rank 3 Concubine Sheren's favorite, and she always has them at her tea ceremonies. We cannot leave them out."
"We need more tea leaves. These are expired and don't taste good."
Sui went around, working herself to her bones before the tea ceremony began.
Her task was never finished when she was saddled with another one. And since she was one of the low-ranking maids, she was given all the tasks that no one wanted to take care of.
Sui's tasks had no common ground, from carrying heavy stuff to ensuring the venue was clear of wild animals.
All this running around on an empty stomach was making Sui's head spin, and her feet protested as Sui pressed on her wounds while running around.
But she pushed through it all for the sake of finishing her work.
*Ringgg*
The loud noise echoed through the garden, indicating that one of the Concubines had arrived. There was no longer any time left to correct any mistakes.
All the maids quickly formed a line, standing in the same order.
Sui was somewhere in the middle and did her best to appear as invisible as possible.
'Don't stand out. Nothing good would come out of standing out.'
The first one to arrive was Concubine Alex. Her curly blond hair was cascading behind her back, and her clothes were heavy and elaborate.
Concubine Alex was a foreign princess given to the Imperial Palace as a tribute. She was not the emperor's favorite, but he needed to maintain a stable relationship with her.
So, she had been Ranked 4the, but she usually spent her mind getting dressed up.
Concubine Alex gracefully entered toward the other end and sat down.
The maids trained for the tea ceremony took over as soon as she did.
As a slave, Sui never had an opportunity to learn how to pour tea, so she quickly took her leave.
Her workspace was designed as the back kitchen where the other low-impact maids were clustered to work.
But even among that small selection, Sui was the youngest and least memorable.
*Ring*
The bell rang again, indicating that other Concubines had arrived as well. It was time to bring out the snacks.
"Hey, you! Hurry up and take out the snacks. We cannot keep the Concubines waiting."
One of the maids ordered Sui from the other side of the room.
Sui quickly opened the lid and froze. She did not know what to do next.
Usually, she had no problem dealing with the food, but these were special circumstances for her.
As a slave, Sui was not supposed to touch the food to be served to the Imperial Concubines. There was a superstition that a slave's touch would taint the food.
Thankfully, someone noticed Sui's hesitation and quickly put two on two together.
"Hey! Get away from the food! Who allowed you to be in the back kitchen anyway? Hurry up and go somewhere else. You are tainting this place."
Sui quickly made her way out. She did not mind being booted out of the kitchen since she had served her purpose to be there.
As soon as the servant snacks had been brought out, Sui had snagged quite a few for herself to eat.
She hid them under her clothes and walked outside the kitchen tent.
Most of the maids noticed Sui getting kicked out, and they pointed toward her while laughing.
Sui did not mind getting made fun of since she had gotten used to it, but she knew she would get into trouble if she were found loitering around with nothing to do.
So, despite her initial reluctance, Sui approached the maid in charge and asked her for some work.
The maid in charge was standing near the ceremony table, and Sui debated whether she should approach her. In the end, she decided to rip the bandage off and head toward the maid.
"Head maid, do you have anything else for me to do?"
Sui asked in a low voice so that only the head maid could hear.
No one else seemed to pay attention to her or the head maid, and the head maid did not look too offended by Sui's question.
As someone who knew Sui's condition, she knew why Sui had come to her to ask this question.
"Some work for you? Wait here! There is some work I want you to do."
The head maid spoke with a smirk and quickly walked toward the concubines.
Sui could not hear what was being discussed from her position, but how the Concubine's expressions lit up in worry and excitement worried Sui.
'Ah, I made a mistake. I should have quietly kept to myself and not worried about being found loitering around. Is it too late to run now?'
Sui knew the answer to this question as the maid returned quickly.
Her smirk looked even bigger, and she held a small ball of light in her hand.
"Sui, you have a very important task to do today. Can you go into the forest and bring back a piece of red cloth hidden there? We will watch you through this transmitting spear and keep an eye on you. Now go! Hurry up."
Sui looked at the spear that floated in the head maid's hand.
It looked like high-class magic used for noble entertainment.
Magic was something that only nobles enjoyed. It was a dream for common folks like him to even imagine getting tangled with it.
'Ah, I see. So, I am the entertainment today. I can no longer deny this request.'
Sui gave a low bow to indicate that she understood.
"I understand, head maid. I will head out and retrieve the red cloth from the forest."
The small ball floated around Sui, and she noticed the water screen that showed her image.
"Good! Don't pay too much attention to it, and get going. You must return by the time this tea ceremony ends, or we will become too busy to help you, alright?"
The head maid warned Sui before sending her into the forest.