Cheng Jia still feels lingering fear when she recalls that day.
It was shortly after Emperor Jingning ascended the throne. As evening approached, Lady Chengjia, feeling bored, came to the Imperial Garden alone, without any attendants by her side.
Her and Li Jia's status was rather awkward at the time. Although they came from Yuqing Palace, Emperor Jingning did not give them any official titles. She felt that Emperor Jingning must have forgotten about them, otherwise he would not have allowed them to stay in the side hall of Yuqing Palace.
She watched from afar as a group of palace servants carrying lanterns walked towards her. She didn't want to know who they were, so she obediently knelt down to the side, since everyone in the palace was of higher status than her anyway.
As those people approached and she heard the greetings from those around her, she knew that this was Emperor Jingning's imperial carriage.
She wondered if a chance encounter with Emperor Jingning at this moment could change the current situation, since which woman who entered the palace didn't want to compete for the emperor's favor? A woman who didn't want to compete for the emperor's favor wasn't a good cook.
Before she could make a decision, someone suddenly jumped out and started dancing.
She witnessed a hilarious scene: Emperor Jingning was clearly startled by the sudden appearance of this person, and actually placed a hairpin in front of his chest, exclaiming, "Where did this female ghost come from, daring to be so insolent in front of me!"
"Your Majesty, don't you remember me?" The "female ghost" looked at Emperor Jingning with a resentful expression.
She recognized the voice of the "female ghost"—it was Li Jia, who lived with her.
No wonder Li Jia asked her today if she was willing to continue like this.
She was also asking herself if she was willing to accept this.
Li Jia said she would try her best, otherwise no one would know if she died.
Li Jia's original plan was to dance in white at night where Emperor Jingning would pass by.
Just from the fact that Emperor Jingning mistook Li Jia for a female ghost, she could guess Li Jia's fate.
As expected, Emperor Jingning said that since Lady Li Jia liked to dance, she should dance until dawn.
It is said that He Zhu, the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Guard, was also punished for this, because it was He Zhu's negligence that allowed Li Jia to appear before Emperor Jingning so easily.
She also had to thank Lady Li Jia, because it was Lady Li Jia who might have reminded Emperor Jingning of her and allowed her to move out of Yuqing Palace.
When she came to pay her respects to the Empress, she saw that the Empress had a hairpin in her hair, the same hairpin that Emperor Jingning had held in front of his chest that night.
A thought suddenly occurred to her: "This hairpin in the Empress's hair might have been made by the Emperor himself! It's a peach wood hairpin, with a very simple design. Only the Emperor could have made it for the Empress to wear!"
The emperor probably wore this hairpin on his chest because he believed peach wood could ward off evil spirits!
She thought that Emperor Jingning must have really been frightened by Lady Li Jia at that time, otherwise why would he have placed a small peach wood hairpin in front of his chest?
Moreover, she also discovered that the way the Emperor and Empress interacted was different from what she had imagined.
When the Emperor returned to Kunning Palace, there was no need for announcements or formal greetings; sometimes, the Empress didn't even need to perform the proper courtesies.
This really shocked her. Even when her father, a minor official with no power in the capital, returned home, her mother would still come out to greet him respectfully.
No wonder everyone says that the emperor loves the empress to the core. The empress was raised by the emperor himself, and he waited for ten years for her to grow up!
She understood that she couldn't interfere in such a relationship, nor did she want to ruin it. So now she just wanted to be a happy cook, and when she reached a certain age, she would ask the Empress for a favor to let her leave the palace. It was better than staying in the palace for the rest of her life.
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