Seeking help from the Virtuous Dowager
The next morning, I carefully divided most of the pastries that Consort Hui had sent, wrapped them in oil paper, and put them in the food box along with my breakfast. Ya Huan helped me carry the food box by the corner, her steps light as if she were walking on air: "Sister Zhao, do you think Consort Li will know that these pastries were sent by Consort Hui when she sees them?" I gently pressed the oil paper package with my fingertips, feeling the texture of the jujube paste pastry, and shook my head with a smile: "Let's not say anything yet, let's see how the Empress reacts first."
As I approached Consort Li's courtyard, the morning light had just spilled over the palace walls, turning the moss under the eaves a pale green. I gently knocked on the door, and Consort Li's gentle voice responded from inside: "Come in." When I pushed the door open, I saw her sitting by the window tidying up old things. On the wooden table lay a faded embroidered handkerchief, embroidered with two twin orchids—one with a pale purple stamen, the other a goose-yellow, the stitches holding the softness of bygone days.
“Your Majesty, the Imperial Kitchen has prepared some extra pastries today. Would you like to try some?” I handed over the oil-paper package from the food box, deliberately omitting Consort Hui’s name. Consort Li put down her embroidered handkerchief, her fingertips just touching the oil paper when she paused. Lifting it, she saw the familiar pattern on the jujube paste pastry, and her eyes suddenly softened, like cotton bathed in morning light. “The way this jujube paste pastry is made…” She picked up a piece, took a small bite, and crumbs of flaky pastry fell into her palm, “It’s the recipe from an old shop in the west of the city. My… and I used to buy it often.”
I squatted down beside her, tidying up the food boxes, and casually said, "So Your Highness also likes this kind of pastry? I happened to taste it yesterday and thought it was delicious, so I thought I'd bring some for you. I just heard that the shop that makes this pastry closed down many years ago. I didn't expect that you could still eat it in the palace." Consort Li ran her fingertips along the edge of the pastry, paused for a moment, and then said in a voice as soft as if it were floating in the wind, "It was Consort Hui who had it made according to the old recipe. She has loved eating this since she was a child. Every time she went to the shop, she would pick up so much jujube paste filling that her hands were covered in it, and then she would stubbornly say, 'I just think there's too much filling.'"
At this point, she suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling into fine lines, but the smile didn't last long before it faded away: "Later, when I entered the palace, the Empress said I had stolen her favor and deliberately leaked the news of her father's mistake to me, asking me to persuade her to tone down her arrogance. I was young then and didn't realize it was a trap. I actually went and said it, and she thought I also thought her father was wrong. She immediately turned hostile, threw the box of pastries I had given her in the Imperial Garden, and said, 'Consort Li (Consort Li's rank at the time) should mind her own business.'"
She picked up the double-flowered orchid handkerchief on the table, her fingertips tracing the yellowed silk threads: "We embroidered this handkerchief together before we entered the palace, promising to look after each other. Who would have thought… it would become a joke." Looking at the melancholy in her eyes, I said softly, "Your Majesty, perhaps Consort Hui doesn't truly blame you. I heard that someone sent you some ointment a few days ago, saying it was a gift from the palace?" Consort Li paused slightly, then softly hummed in agreement, folding the handkerchief neatly with her fingertips: "She's always like this, stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside."
As we left Consort Li's residence, Ya Huan leaned over and whispered, "Sister Zhao, does Consort Li know that it was Consort Hui who sent the pastries?" I nodded and handed her the food box. "Yes, they both remember each other. They just need a way to make it happen." As we spoke, we arrived at the courtyard of Consort Xian. From afar, I saw her sitting on a rattan chair under the eaves, holding an old book in her hand. Sunlight fell on the pages, turning her silver hair a warm gold.
"Your Highness, it's time for breakfast." I placed the food box on the stone table and was about to open it when the Empress Dowager closed her book, smiled, and beckoned me, "No rush, sit with me for a while. You just came from Consort Li's place? You both look troubled." Ya Huan blushed first, and I no longer hid anything, recounting the past of Consort Li and Consort Hui, and their current stalemate, in detail. Finally, I said, "Your Highness, you've been in the palace for a long time and are very knowledgeable. What do you think they should do to resolve their conflict?"
The Consort Xian picked up the teacup on the table, gently blew on it to cool it, and her gaze fell on the wild chrysanthemums in the corner of the courtyard: "Human hearts are like these flowers, seemingly delicate, but with deep roots. The two of them grew up together; how could their friendship be so easily severed? It's just that they've been blinded by the intrigues of the palace, and neither of them can bring themselves to do it." She took a sip of tea and continued, "To untie this knot, we need a 'reason.' For example, find something they did together in the past, forcing them to face it together. No matter how proud they are, they can't resist old feelings."
A thought struck me: "Does the Dowager mean, for example... to make the pastries we used to make together?" The Dowager smiled and nodded, tapping the back of my hand with her fingertip: "That's a good idea. But we have to do it subtly, not too deliberately. You can first mention to Consort Li that you want to eat the plum blossom cakes you used to eat, and then send a message to Consort Hui saying that Consort Li is weak and can't do heavy work. Maybe she will take the initiative to help."
Ya Huan's eyes lit up: "Your Highness is so clever! This way, they can meet naturally!" The Empress Dowager laughed, her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes radiating warmth: "You children are kind-hearted and clever; you're sure to succeed. After delivering breakfast, go and rest; there's still a lot of work to do." I bowed my head and replied, "Yes," placing the food box on the table, the steam carrying the aroma of the porridge.
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