At three quarters past five in the morning, sunlight had just crept over the Forbidden City's corner tower, and the frost on the glazed tiles was still tinged with white when Chuntao flung aside the nine-curve interlocking brocade curtains of the warm room, her voice trembling with anxiety: "Miss! Madam Zhou, sent by Concubine Liu, has stamped her feet three times outside the hanging flower gate. She says if you don't get up, she'll use a feather duster to pull back the quilt!"

Chen Weiwan buried herself in the mandarin duck quilt and made a muffled sound: "Liu Guiren? Which Liu Guiren?" She rubbed her eyes and sat up. The pearl hairnet in her hair shone with tiny silver lights as she moved, and it hit the dressing table with a tinkling sound.

"She's the niece of Consort Shu!" Chuntao pulled away her hand clutching the quilt, her fingertips brushing against the lotus embroidered on the quilt. "Lady Liu, who was just conferred the title yesterday, announced early this morning that she would personally teach you the rules of the palace!"

Chen Weiwan raised an eyebrow, her fingertips rubbing against the pig relief on the mutton-fat jade token beside her pillow. "Teaching palace rules? I'm afraid it's like a weasel paying a New Year's greeting to a chicken." She suddenly sat up straight, the brocade quilt sliding off to reveal her moon-white undergarment. "Go to the warehouse and bring me a basket of eggs. I want the biggest, roundest eggs from Old Man Wang's house in West Market."

Chun Tao was stunned, twisting her handkerchief and saying, "Miss, why are you moving eggs? Are you going to hit someone?"

"It's such a waste to smash people," Shen Weiwan said with a sly smile, her fingertips twirling the tasseled hairband, the silver bells chiming softly with her movements, "After smashing them, you can even ask the imperial kitchen to stir-fry a plate of Mushu pork, how economical."

Half an hour later, Shen Weiwan appeared in the Shufei Palace, carrying a bamboo basket half her height. The basket's neatly stacked eggs shone bluish-white in the morning light, with a few smudged eggs resting on top. Concubine Liu was already seated in a pearwood chair in the main hall, her scarlet-gold and kingfisher-emerald hairpin shimmering with her movements. Noticing Shen Weiwan's tardiness, she immediately assumed a dignified demeanor, her pearl necklaces clinking on her sleeves. "Seventh Imperial Concubine, do you know the palace rules? The prince's wife must pay her respects to the higher-ranking concubines daily. Latecomers... deserve a slap in the face."

Chen Weiwan covered her face in feigned surprise, the eggs trembling as the bamboo basket shook. "A slap? That would be so disastrous! If my face got disfigured, His Highness would be so heartbroken he wouldn't be able to eat." She kicked the edge of the basket with her toes, and the eggs clattered against each other with a soft sound. "I prepared eggs especially for you, sister. I heard that hitting someone with eggs doesn't hurt the skin, and you can even have the imperial kitchen cook two dishes after you're done. No waste at all."

The smile on Lady Liu's face was as stiff as a plaster statue. Her nails, coated with balsam juice, dug deep into the brocade handkerchief, almost puncturing the lotus pattern on it. "You... are so shameless!"

"Why is it so unbecoming?" Chen Weiwan tilted her head, the sound of silver bells in her hair ringing softly. "If you think the eggs are too small, I'll have the palace send a basket of goose eggs tomorrow. When I smash them, they'll make a loud, snapping sound."

The maids and eunuchs serving nearby were so stifled that their shoulders shook. One young eunuch couldn't help but burst out in laughter, and was immediately glared at by Concubine Liu. He immediately shrugged behind a pillar, nearly banging his head on the carved column base. Concubine Liu was furious, her face turning blue, but because Concubine Shu was in the inner chamber, she could only force out the words through gritted teeth: "I'll forgive you today, but if you dare to be late next time, I will punish you severely!"

Back at the Seventh Prince's residence, Chuntao ran in holding a piece of oil-paper, the velvet flower on her temples tilted behind her ears: "Miss! The storyteller in the West Market has come up with a new story!"

A jingle was written in charcoal on the oil paper, and at the end was a crooked little man holding an egg:

"The green tea concubines in the harem are making things difficult for me,

The imperial concubine came to fight with an egg.

After smashing the eggs, you can cook.

The noble man was so angry that his legs were shaking!

Shen Weiwan laughed so hard that she fell backwards. She reached out to steady the basket of eggs that was about to fall over. The eggs in the basket rolled around. "Is this storyteller really a clairvoyant? He even knew that the eggs I brought were country eggs!"

Just as he was laughing, Xiao Yu came in, his dark formal clothes still stained with the morning dew from the Imperial Garden. Seeing the basket of eggs on the table, he raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems my princess has caused trouble in the harem." He took the oil-paper and glanced at it. The double fish pendant on the jade belt buckle gleamed faintly. "Is Concubine Liu safe from any harm?"

"That's not causing trouble," Shen Weiwan put the basket of eggs on the table, and the eggs hit the basket wall with a loud bang, "I'm cleaning up the green tea for His Highness." She suddenly remembered something, her eyes shining, "Oh, Your Highness, tomorrow I'm going to bring two baskets of eggs and let her smash them all at once!"

Xiao Yu sighed helplessly and reached out to brush away her hair: "I'll go talk to Concubine Shu, don't always..."

"No, no!" Shen Weiwan waved her hand, picked up an egg from the basket and tossed it around for fun. "To deal with this kind of green tea, you have to use tricks they don't understand."

The next morning, Shen Weiwan had a servant carry two baskets of eggs into the Shufei Palace. Concubine Liu was having breakfast when she saw the two baskets of eggs blocking the doorway. Her exquisite blue and white teacup clattered onto the table, spilling tea and soaking the tablecloth. "Shen Weiwan! What are you bringing eggs for?" she asked.

"Smash them for me!" Chen Weiwan smiled, her eyes curved, pointing at the eggs in the basket. "Yesterday's basket was too small, so today I changed it to the free-range eggs from Old Man Wang's house in West Market. They're all fresh and soft when you smash them on your face!"

Concubine Liu was trembling with rage, her nails practically digging into the edge of the pearwood table. Xianfei, sitting next to her, couldn't help but burst out in laughter, quickly covering her mouth with a gold-rimmed handkerchief, her shoulders still shaking. The clatter of bells and pendants came from the inner chamber. Concubine Shu, aided by a palace maid, emerged. Her eyes swept over the two baskets of plump eggs, and the corners of her mouth twitched. "What's going on? Such a bustle so early in the morning!"

Shen Weiwan immediately put on a face of grievance, her eyes slightly red, and her voice was filled with tears: "My Lady Shufei, my sister is dull and afraid of being slapped in the face for not being able to learn the palace rules, so I had to bring some eggs and let Concubine Liu smash them to vent her anger, without delaying the cooking in the imperial kitchen..."

Concubine Shu looked at Concubine Liu's sullen face, then at the eggs still dangling in the basket. She finally couldn't help laughing, her jewelry shaking. "Alright, alright, we're sisters. How could I really hit you? Just be more punctual when you pay your respects next time." She waved her hand, "Come on, take the eggs to the imperial kitchen and say they were a gift from the Seventh Imperial Concubine."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!