In the courtyard, Shi Lan stared wide-eyed at Zhang Erniang, who seemed like a little adult. (Latest and fastest updates)
Zhang Erniang calmly looked back at Shi Lan and gracefully bowed to her, saying, "Zhang Erniang, Zhang Chuning greets Miss Pan."
Shi Lan glanced at Yu Xia, threw away the snowball in her hand, returned the greeting, and introduced herself.
Zhang Erniang stepped forward with a smile, looked at the mess on the ground, and asked, "Are you having a snowball fight?"
Shi Lan nodded and asked her, "Do you want to play?"
Zhang Erniang came to visit her, so of course she agreed.
So the two of them took up positions on either side of the courtyard, hid themselves, and began a game of hide-and-seek.
Caixia reached out, wiping her fingers which were red from the cold, and stood aside.
Yuxia laughed as she brushed the snow off her clothes, saying, "I didn't expect you to have this childlike side."
Caixia gave her a reproachful look, a smile on her lips, and watched the two young ladies running around happily. She said, "Back then, I played like this with my sisters at home. More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye."
Yuxia smiled and said, "You make it sound like we're all old."
Caixia smiled without saying a word. Indeed, they had grown old. The two of them were still children with their hair in buns in this deep palace. Now, more than ten years had passed, and they were long past their prime.
After Yuxia finished speaking, she sighed, her face showing some loneliness. But she quickly put on a smile and said, "What does it matter if I'm old or not, you have me by your side."
Caixia smiled back at her, looked up at the sky, and called out to the courtyard, "Fourth Sister, Second Sister Zhang, it's getting late, we should go back."
Shi Lan poked her head out from behind the rock, first glancing at Zhang Erniang, who was about to launch a sneak attack a few steps away, then darted behind Caixia, peeking out and smirking at Zhang Erniang.
Seeing that her target had disappeared, Zhang Erniang had no choice but to throw away the snowball in her hand, brush off the crumbs, and walk over.
Shi Lan emerged from behind Cai Xia and affectionately took her hand, saying, "Come earlier next time it snows, so we can play a little longer."
Zhang Erniang turned to look at Shi Lan, who was about the same height as her, nodded, and the two walked hand in hand back to the main hall where the Imperial Concubine was speaking.
Zhang Wanyi's mood had improved considerably by this time. When she saw Shi Lan, she even smiled and gave Shi Lan a white jade bracelet with intricate patterns as a greeting gift.
Shi Lan politely greeted her, thanked her, and then stood respectfully beside the Imperial Concubine.
The imperial concubine held her small, red hand, her brow furrowing slightly.
Caixia quickly handed over a hand warmer, and Yuxia also brought two cups of hot ginger tea, placing them in front of the two young ladies respectively.
The Imperial Concubine noticed Shi Lan's face was red from the cold and quickly looked around.
The doors and windows of the main hall were decorated with peach blossom paper soaked in oil, but because of the high beams and large size of the hall, it was inevitably a bit desolate. The Consort looked around and did not see a single spark. She immediately felt that the temperature was too low and thought of getting up to take Shi Lan to the warm pavilion. However, although Zhang Wanyi had finished her business, she had not left yet, and she could not abandon this place and leave. She was in a dilemma for a moment.
Zhang Wanyi's ability to rise from the lowest-ranking palace maid to her current position as Wanyi, and to successfully curry favor with the favored concubine Pan Guifei, demonstrates her exceptional ability to read people and situations.
The moment the imperial concubine's expression changed, she understood what she meant and quickly stood up to take her leave.
Consort Pan exchanged a few polite words but did not try to keep them. After the two left, she quickly touched Shi Lan's cold little hand, and a look of worry appeared on her face. She wanted to scold her, but seeing her two bright eyes, she had no choice but to give up.
The two returned to the warm pavilion hand in hand. At this time, Pan Jinxuan had just finished practicing calligraphy and was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) drinking tea. When she saw the two, she quickly came over.
Upon entering, the Imperial Concubine immediately ordered Caixia to help Shilan change her wet clothes and then ordered Yuxia to have someone brew a strong ginger tea.
In an instant, everyone in the room was at her beck and call. Caixia led Shilan away, and most of the palace maids in the room followed Yuxia. Only then did the Consort have some free time to come to the table to look at the calligraphy copybook that Pan Jinxuan had copied.
In the side hall, Shi Lan, who was on good terms with Zhang Erniang, asked Cai Xia about her.
Caixia then gave a brief introduction to her family situation.
Zhang Wanyi came from a family that could barely be considered a scholarly family. Her father was a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level), but unfortunately, he died young. Her widowed mother supported the family by raising her and her brother. Years ago, she entered the palace through the imperial selection process. Her brother, Zhang Neng, stayed at home, helping their mother with farming while studying. Ten years ago, Zhang Neng unexpectedly made it into the fourth-ranked list, becoming a Tongjinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).
The Zhang family was poor, and if Zhang Neng wanted to make a name for himself in Bianjing, a place teeming with talented people, he could only rely on Zhang Wanyi, who lived in the palace. At that time, Zhang Wanyi was just a palace envoy. In order to get a good job for her brother, she sought help from the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine reciprocated by first getting Zhang Neng a position as a court attendant in the Ministry of Revenue, then promoting him to the position of Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices during the Southern Tour, and finally elevating him to the position of Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices the year before last.
Zhang Wanyi was grateful to the Consort for her help to her brother. She had followed the Consort's lead since the southward migration. Later, when the Consort's son died unexpectedly during the southward migration, the Consort fell ill due to grief. Zhang Wanyi stayed by the Consort's side and took care of her until the Consort recovered before returning to her own palace. Over the years, the Consort had always treated her with kindness and affection.
As she spoke, Caixia unconsciously recalled the scene of the Imperial Concubine's heartbreak, and a sigh slipped out of her mouth.
Shi Lan blinked her bright black eyes, stretched out her arms, and watched Cai Xia tie the ribbon for her.
"So, Zhang Wanyi is on our side?"
Hearing her childish words, Caixia smiled and said, "Now, I guess so."
Shi Lan nodded.
Indeed, things in the palace change in an instant. All power and status are tied to the man who holds the highest power. Whoever he likes can have the power to do whatever he wants, and whoever he dislikes has to beg for mercy even to drink a sip of water.
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