The Empress sent people to search the palace.
The next morning, the wintersweet in the corner of the courtyard was covered with a thin layer of frost, and the air still carried the lingering sweet fragrance of the previous night. Ya Huan and I had just served the steamed osmanthus cakes to the Empress Dowager when we heard hurried footsteps outside the courtyard, accompanied by the eunuch's shrill shout: "Her Majesty the Empress has decreed a search of the Cold Palace for contraband! All unauthorized personnel, step back!"
The Empress Dowager paused, her hand holding the teacup, then put it down and calmly said to us, "Don't panic, I'm here." She stood up, leaning on her cane, and as she reached the courtyard gate, several eunuchs dressed in black rushed in. The one leading them was the same head eunuch who had previously assaulted Ya Huan, holding a bright yellow imperial edict. His sharp eyes swept over the crowd: "By order of Her Majesty the Empress, we have heard that someone in the Cold Palace is secretly hiding items from outside the palace and colluding with officials outside. We have come to search the palace!"
Ya Huan shrank back behind me in fright, and Consort Rong also instinctively clenched the embroidered handkerchief in her hand, her fingertips turning white. I quietly took Ya Huan's hand, signaling her not to be afraid, but my eyes were fixed on the eunuchs—their gazes fell on the pine nut cakes on Consort Xian's table, the porcelain bottle of incense pills sent by Consort Su, and the peach blossom handkerchief that Consort Rong had only half-embroidered. Clearly, they had planned this all along, wanting to find fault and convict her.
"Insolence!" The Empress Dowager slammed her cane heavily on the bluestone slab, her voice not loud but carrying an air of authority. "The Cold Palace is a royal residence, though quiet and secluded, it is still a forbidden area within the palace grounds. Why didn't you inform Her Majesty the Empress of this decree beforehand? How dare you, a few servants, act so arrogantly before me?" The head eunuch's face stiffened, but he still maintained his composure: "Your Highness, please calm your anger. This servant is only acting under orders. If there are no prohibited items in the Cold Palace, why fear a search?"
Just then, Consort Su returned from outside carrying a medicine basket. Seeing the commotion, she didn't stop but went straight to Consort Xian's side and said softly, "Your Highness, the herbs that the Imperial Pharmacy just delivered are still in my courtyard. Why don't we have them check my residence first, so they won't accuse us of hoarding?" Her expression was calm, and there was no trace of panic in her eyes. Instead, the head eunuch was taken aback—he had thought they would panic and stop him, but unexpectedly, they took the initiative to search.
My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly replied, "You may also search my residence. The locust flower cakes I brought from home yesterday, and the pastries I bought for the ladies, are all here. They are all ordinary foods, certainly not contraband." Consort Li also came out of the room, still holding the pipa in her hand, and said firmly, "Please feel free to search my residence as well, but this pipa was a gift from the late Emperor. If it is damaged, can you bear the responsibility?"
The head eunuch, stunned by the composure of the crowd, hesitated for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Consort Rong, her pale fingers gripping her skirt, suddenly staggered forward, barely managing to shield Ya Huan. The pearl tassels in her hair swayed violently, yet she still forced her back straight: "My father is the Marquis of Pingyuan, guarding the border. These are merely ordinary clothes and snacks; where would these contraband items come from? You… how dare you! To make things difficult for a palace servant before me!" Before she finished speaking, her gilded, filigree nail guard slammed heavily against the vermilion pillar, shattering gold threads and pearls falling in a shower. Ya Huan looked at the bloodied fingertip, a lump forming in her throat. She then grasped the still-cool hand, pressing the sharp nail plate deep into her palm: "Your Highness, I am not afraid."
Seeing the crowd's firm stance, and with Consort Xian and Consort Li present to oversee the operation, the head eunuch dared not actually search the valuables. He could only instruct his junior eunuchs to rummage through the boxes and cabinets in the corners. After searching for a long time, the junior eunuchs only found some clothes, snacks, and embroidery, without even a trace of "contraband." One junior eunuch, unwilling to give up, reached for the embroidery thread that Consort Rong had placed on the table. Consort Rong glanced at it and said, "You dare touch my things?!" Her nail-painted fingertips pressed firmly against the embroidery thread box, her gilded nail guards gleaming coldly in the candlelight, but her voice trembled slightly: "This is a secret-color embroidery thread that I personally prepared. How dare you touch it so casually?" Her slightly trembling hands now gripped the object like iron clamps.
I seized the opportunity to approach the head eunuch and handed him the cloth bag I had brought from home: "Please look, Your Excellency. Inside are locust flower cakes and clothes sent by my family, as well as pastries bought for the ladies. They were all brought from outside the palace openly and legitimately, with the palace exit tokens as proof. There was absolutely no clandestine dealings." The head eunuch opened the cloth bag and looked at it, then took the palace exit token I handed him. The words "Palace Pass" were clearly visible on it, and his face grew even more unpleasant—clearly, the Empress wanted to use the pretext of "concealing items from outside the palace" to frame the people in the Cold Palace, but she did not expect that we were already prepared.
Seeing that their search had yielded nothing, the Consort Xian slowly spoke, "Now we can prove that there are no contraband items in the Cold Palace, right? I will personally go to the Phoenix Palace to report to Her Majesty the Empress and explain what happened today. However, in the future, if there are any more unauthorized searches of the palace, I will definitely report to the Emperor and ask who exactly made these palace rules!" The head eunuch was so frightened by the Consort Xian's words that his face turned pale, and he quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, please calm your anger, this servant will take his leave now!" With that, he and his young eunuch slunk away.
After everyone left, Ya Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes reddening. "That was so scary! I thought they were going to take us away." Consort Rong gently patted her back and whispered, "Don't be afraid, we're here." Consort Su picked up the embroidery that had been scattered on the ground, carefully folded it, and handed it to Consort Rong. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" Consort Rong shook her head, took the embroidery, but her eyes were slightly reddening—her courage just now was nothing but a forced act; only now that she relaxed did she reveal her lingering fear.
Consort Li put the pipa back in the room, her expression still calm when she came out: "The Empress is afraid that if I overturn the case, it will be detrimental to her, so she wants to strike first. But she didn't expect that we people in the Cold Palace, though in dire straits, are not pushovers." Consort Xian nodded, sat on the stone bench, and took a sip of warm osmanthus tea: "From now on, we must be even more careful. The Empress will not let this go easily. A-Zhao, put away the things you brought back from the palace for now, and don't display them in the open; Consort Su, put away your herbs and incense pills properly as well; Consort Rong, if you used fabric from outside the palace for your embroidery, don't embroider anymore."
We all nodded and began tidying up the mess. Consort Rong put the embroidery thread into the wooden box and said softly, "I... I won't use embroidery thread from outside the palace anymore. I'll use the palace thread." Ya Huan helped her tidy up, smiling and saying, "Your Highness's embroidery is so beautiful, it looks good no matter what thread you use! Besides, if they dare to come again, we'll stand up to them together, just like today!" Consort Rong looked at Ya Huan, a faint smile appearing on her lips, and softly hummed in agreement.
In the afternoon, I went to deliver a message to Consort Hui, telling her about what happened that morning. Upon hearing this, Consort Hui's face instantly darkened: "The Empress is becoming increasingly audacious! How dare she be so disrespectful to the Dowager Consort!" She paused, then took a jade pendant from her sleeve and handed it to me: "This is my father's old token. Take it. If anyone dares to cause trouble in the Cold Palace again, send someone to my palace to report, and I will definitely bring reinforcements." Qin Lan also chimed in, "Sister A-Zhao, don't worry, I will help Consort Hui keep an eye on the movements in the Phoenix Palace. I'll let you know as soon as there's any news."
When I returned to the Cold Palace, the sun was already setting. The Dowager Consort Xian was discussing countermeasures with Consort Su and Consort Li, while Consort Rong was helping Ya Huan weave grass crickets. The courtyard had regained its former warmth. I handed Consort Hui's token to the Dowager Consort Xian. She took it, looked at it, and smiled, saying, "That Su girl is very thoughtful. With this token, the Empress will have to think twice before taking any action."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
