Chapter 88: The Hidden Trouble in Court Dress
After a night of lovemaking, Song Zhao got up early the next day.
Today is the day to go to the hot spring resort.
This was also the first time that Song Zhao would meet the Queen Mother since entering the palace.
Everyone in the palace said that the Queen Mother was the most rule-abiding, so when meeting her for the first time, everything had to be formal.
When concubines entered the palace, the Imperial Household Department would tailor-make court robes for them according to their respective positions.
Song Zhao only wore his court dress three times.
The first time was when the concubine first paid her respects to the queen, the second time was when she went to express her gratitude to the empress the next day after she had slept with her, and the third time was at Xiao Jingheng's birthday banquet.
In order to leave a good impression on the empress dowager, after learning that he would accompany the empress dowager to the hot spring villa, Song Zhao asked the palace maids to send his court clothes to the laundry bureau for cleaning in advance.
This morning, when Song Zhao was washing and putting on makeup, Zhihua came back from the laundry department holding a court gown.
When she entered the bedroom, her face looked a little bad, and Yunshan couldn't help but say a few words to her.
"Why did you take so long? You also said that Xiying would go look for you. If you were any later, it would be a waste of time."
She muttered to herself as she took the court dress from Zhihua.
But as soon as he started, Yunshan realized something was wrong, "Ah, why is it wet?"
She touched the dark brown satin outer layer of the court dress. There was obvious moisture coming out of the surface, as if it had not been completely dried after washing.
Zhihua explained hurriedly, "When I went to get the clothes, I found that they were not completely dry. I asked the palace maids in the laundry department. They said that it was cold these past two days and it was difficult to dry the clothes after washing, so this happened."
Song Zhao gave her this task, and now that something went wrong, she was naturally panicked.
Seeing that everyone was silent, she immediately tried to make amends, "But only the outer layer is wet. I touched it and the lining inside is completely dry."
She turned out the lining of the court dress, and Yunshan touched it with her hands. After making sure that the lining was completely dry, she said:
"The lining is dry, so at least it won't catch the cold. How about you put it on first? We have to rush to Ninghua Gate to meet up with the team at noon. The Queen Mother is here today, so you shouldn't go too late."
She moved forward and wanted to help Song Zhao change his clothes, but Song Zhao waved his hand to stop her action, "No hurry."
She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Zhihua, who looked frustrated and self-blaming, and asked softly, "Tell me carefully, what did the people from the laundry department tell you?"
Zhihua said timidly: "They said that it was cold these two days, and it snowed heavily, so clothes are not easy to dry, this..."
"They don't work hard and just make excuses!" Yunshan said angrily, "When I was in your house, I did all these jobs for you. Although it's cold in winter in Kyoto, it's also dry, especially after the snow. If these clothes are washed, even if they are not dried in the warm room, they should be dry in a day just by hanging them in a ventilated place."
She pursed her lips and muttered quietly, "The people from the laundry department must have forgotten the errand for our palace! The court dress was delivered two days ago, and they probably only remembered to do this job yesterday."
Although Yunshan's tone was not very good, what he said was correct.
The laundry department is responsible for washing clothes for the masters in the palace. They will know how to do this job.
Moreover, although Song Zhao's position was only that of a concubine, Xiao Jingheng's love for her was known to everyone.
The servants in the palace have always been currying favor with the concubines according to the emperor's preferences, so there should be no such thing as the laundry department not being serious about their work in Song Zhao Palace.
Song Zhao pondered silently. After eliminating all possibilities one by one, the matter became weird.
She said, "Even if they just remembered to wash the clothes yesterday, it wouldn't be difficult to dry them in a charcoal basin overnight."
He said, glancing at Xiao Fuzi.
Xiao Fuzi immediately understood and moved a charcoal basin over from the warming seat.
Song Zhao took the court robe from Yunshan's arms and pulled a corner of the sleeve to warm it on the charcoal brazier.
Yunshan saw her serious expression and didn't dare to say anything more. He just pulled Xiao Fuzi aside and whispered,
"It is definitely too late for you to dry your clothes now. The court dress is dark brown and does not show water stains, so it is not a big deal to wear it. Today is the day you will meet the Queen Mother for the first time, and it would be bad if you delay..."
Xiao Fuzi stared at the corner of her court dress that was being baked, and whispered to Yunshan:
"Have you forgotten what I taught you? There must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. It's always right for the master to be more cautious."
While the two were talking, Song Zhao suddenly sighed.
"really."
Everyone focused their attention on the corner of the clothes, and they were shocked to find that the originally dark brown satin material had gradually faded to light yellow in the dried area.
Everyone looked surprised, except Song Zhao, who seemed to have expected it and just stared coldly at the corner of the clothes.
After baking for a while, the corners of the clothes were completely dried, and the color changed from light yellow to bright yellow.
The entire court dress is dark brown in color, so this touch of bright yellow is particularly eye-catching.
Yunshan was stunned for a long time, "It turns out that someone tampered with the court dress!"
Zhihua was in charge of picking up and delivering court robes.
She was also shocked by the scene, and she stammered anxiously as she explained to Song Zhao:
"My lady... I, your servant, don't know why this happened. I followed your instructions and sent the court robes to the laundry bureau the day before yesterday, and I specifically told them to be careful with everything. At four o'clock today, when the laundry bureau was not open yet, I rushed to wait, hoping to get it back as soon as possible..."
The little girl was so anxious that she was about to cry, but Song Zhao didn't doubt her at all.
It was obvious that someone had instructed the laundry department to do this, so even if Yunshan had gone to pick up and deliver the court robes, I'm afraid the result would have been the same.
Song Zhao gently patted Zhihua's shoulder and comforted her, "I know this matter has nothing to do with you, you don't have to blame yourself. I don't want to make this matter public either, just pretend that you know nothing and go back to do your own thing."
Zhihua nodded vigorously and retreated with red eyes.
Xiao Fuzi took the court dress from Song Zhao and examined it. He touched the sticky texture of the satin and said in a deep voice:
“It should be that someone has smeared a layer of special pigment on the satin, which fades when it comes into contact with water, and the color becomes visible when the water dries.
Fortunately, the young lady did not wear this dress to see the Queen Mother, otherwise the surface of the dress would be damp at first and nothing would be visible. But there are charcoal basins in the carriages to the hot spring villa, and I am afraid that the clothes will be completely dried halfway. By then, the originally dark brown court dress will turn into a bright yellow color that only the emperor and the empress can wear, which is a big taboo!"
Yunshan also said with lingering fear: "Your luggage is all in the back of the car, so you won't be able to change clothes even if you want to. The Queen Mother is very strict about rules. If she sees you wearing bright yellow at the hot spring villa, she will definitely punish you severely!"
Song Zhao remained silent, staring at the court dress in Xiao Fuzi's hands with gloomy eyes, and a faint line appeared between his eyebrows.
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