Chapter 24 - Peaceful and Tranquil Xuanwei Palace
"And then? There's no then. Isn't it just being exiled to another palace? It's such a simple thing, but he made it take longer than Xiao Mi covering her shit. I said I was leaving, but he wasn't happy about it. I'm not stupid. Seeing that he wasn't in a good mood, of course I ran away!"
The next morning, Xiao Jinlian and I roughly reconstructed what happened last night. Yawning, we rolled up our bedding into a ball and said, "Luckily, I just moved back from the Ye Ting, and all my luggage is ready. We can just carry it to the Xuanwei Palace."
Xiao Jinlian and Xiao Jinliu surrounded me, helping me tie the quilt into a bundle. Xiao Jinliu whispered, "If we go to Xuanwei Palace, will we sisters still be able to take care of our wife?"
I shook my head. "That's definitely not going to work. Grandpa Qingfu said this morning that if I go to Xuanwei Palace, I'll just be an ordinary palace maid. It's not like being in Zichen Palace, where I can get the status of a female official."
Xiao Jinlian and Xiao Jinliu exchanged a tacit glance and asked in unison, "Then why do we still need to go to Xuanwei Palace?"
I also wondered: "Is this even necessary? Because I hate Li Siyan."
After a while, I finished packing my things. Qingfu sent Hu Yue'er to help me carry my belongings to Xuanwei Hall. He then pulled me aside and repeatedly instructed me:
"You must be careful when you go to Concubine Wei's place. Xuanwei Palace is not Zichen Palace. Concubine Wei is new here and may appear soft-hearted but she is not able to control the palace maids under her. Each of them is a tough nut to crack. With your reckless nature, be careful not to be sold out and foolishly help them count money."
"Yes, I've made a note of it. It's better to be careful."
Knowing that Qingfu was doing this for my own good, I agreed with a smile.
Qingfu put his hands behind his back and paced a few steps. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he said to me seriously, "One more thing. When His Majesty visits Xuanwei Palace, you must absolutely stay away. You must never appear before His Majesty again."
I nodded and said, "Of course. I'll make sure I stay away from him. He won't even dare to see a hair on my head."
Qingfu glanced in the direction of Xuanzheng Hall and sighed, "That's fine."
I looked at the sun and figured Li Siyan would be leaving court soon. I just wanted to slip away before he came back, so I tentatively said goodbye to Qingfu, "Then I'll be leaving. Grandpa Qingfu, take care of yourself and eat more."
Qingfu waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. It's the day you chose, so go on well."
I sighed happily, and ran towards my new unit, Xuanwei Hall, with Chaoyang of the Inner Courtyard on my back.
Xuanwei Hall is located north of the Imperial Street, not far from the Zichen Hall. Further north is Wang Funiang's Qingsi Hall. Overall, the location is good and it is very convenient to ask about the emperor's well-being.
Wei Wan'er's personality coincides with the characteristics of this palace. She is low-key and makes a fortune quietly.
When I arrived at Xuanwei Palace, there was only a young palace maid guarding the door. When she saw me, she threatened me to wait for a moment while she went to call the steward of their palace.
I quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, be careful not to fall."
Earlier today, Qingfu had sent my transfer order to Xuanwei Palace. Everyone in Xuanwei Palace knew about it, but no one expected me to come so soon.
The little palace maid went away for a while and brought back a big palace maid with a big face and long eyebrows.
The head maid looked me over, grabbed my hand warmly, and said with a smile, "Madam Shen, you've arrived at an unfortunate time. The talented lady is still dressing, and the housekeeper is busy for the moment, so I'm the only one who can come to greet you. It's cold outside, so come in and talk."
Excellent attitude, I am flattered.
I also looked at my new colleague carefully, and let her pull me into the hall, calling her sister obediently.
My new colleague greeted me with a smile, and we hypocritically exchanged our names and backgrounds.
Why is it hypocritical? Because before we even met, we already knew each other's true colors.
The head maid is called Ruiyin, and it is said that this name was given by Wei Cairen herself. Chan'er learned this morning that I was going to be transferred to Xuanwei Palace, so she came to find me specially, saying that she wanted to tell me about the situation in Xuanwei Palace and give me a farewell party.
...What an affordable way to say goodbye.
According to the information provided by Chan'er, Ruiyin is the woman standing at the top of the palace fighting world in Xuanwei Palace.
"To be honest with you, it was my sister Xiaodie who should have been nominated for the chief palace maid, but as luck would have it, the insidious Ruiyin got there first. She falsely accused my sister of breaking the dishes that Concubine Wei brought from home, causing Xiaodie to be fined two months' salary and the position of chief palace maid to be snatched away from her. It's simply outrageous!" Chan'er complained to me resentfully.
I touched my chin and recalled. Xiaodie seemed to be one of the eight golden flowers who had dinner with me on New Year's Eve two years ago. She had a melon-shaped face and willow-shaped eyebrows, and was quite famous among the girls.
Ruiyin must be really capable to be able to kill such a promising palace maid.
"In short, my lady, you must be careful of Ruiyin. She can do anything for status! If you have any grievances, feel free to talk to my sister Xiaodie. She is simple-minded and a very honest person. Although she is not smart, she is much better than Ruiyin." She was indignant.
I roughly understood it. Hmm... what it meant was that Ruiyin was not a good person, so she asked me to find her sister to form a gang.
I said vaguely, "Don't worry about that. Grandpa Qingfu said that my expenses come directly from the Shanggong Bureau and don't take up Xuanwei Palace's share. She shouldn't do anything to me."
Chan'er disagreed: "How can it be because of the rules? My lady, you have a special status. You were born in the Purple Palace, and you are educated. You have served as a historian and a recorder. With such a background, wouldn't it be easy for you to become the most important person in Wei Cairen's eyes? If I were Ruiyin, I would never sit back and relax. I would definitely use some tricks."
She hadn't finished her sentence yet: What's more, you look so gullible.
Just as I thought of this, Ruiyin opened the curtain and called me, "Madam Shen?"
I collected my thoughts and smiled at her: "Sorry, I was just looking at the painting hanging on the wall. I was so engrossed in it that I forgot Sister Ruiyin was beside me."
Ruiyin followed my gaze and saw me looking at the painting of Palace Ladies Enjoying Spring on the wall. She said, "Oh, that one was painted by our talented woman. The emperor liked it so much that he ordered it to be framed and hung up. He also praised our talented woman for her excellent calligraphy and painting."
There was a hint of pride in his words, perhaps because he felt honored to serve a cultured and favored master.
I looked at the painting of palace maids enjoying spring outing and felt a little despair about Li Siyan's aesthetic level and Wei Wan'er's painting skills.
Masters of both calligraphy and painting? Li Siyan is quite bold in boasting.
Although I didn't agree in my heart, I couldn't tell the truth, so I just smiled dryly and said, "It's a blessing for a talented person to have the favor of the emperor."
Ruiyin also politely replied: "Of course."
After the greetings, Ruiyin told me about Wei Wan'er's daily living habits, likes and dislikes, as well as the personnel situation in Xuanwei Palace. The overall content was similar to the information shared by Chan'er, except that Xiaodie was omitted.
It seems that what Chan'er said is true, Ruiyin and Xiaodie do not have a good relationship.
I can't help but sigh: There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, this is the workplace.
After chatting with Ruiyin for a long time, she finally asked casually, "Madam Shen has been favored by the emperor before, so she must know a little about the emperor's likes and dislikes. If there is a chance, can you tell me a little bit?"
I subconsciously denied it, "How can I be considered shameless? Everyone in the palace knows that I angered His Majesty and was punished by being banished for four months. I just returned to the Imperial Court and was sent to Xuanwei Palace the next day. His Majesty only wishes he could never see me again. Naturally, he won't listen to me from now on."
Ruiyin's reading comprehension was top-notch, and her eyes widened. "From now on, I won't listen to you? Could it be that Your Majesty once..."
I made things worse: "Of course you never listened to me before!"
"Madam Shen must have misunderstood." She pondered, "Actually... well... none of us palace servants in Xuanwei Palace have served in Zichen Palace before, so we can't quite grasp His Majesty's temperament and preferences, nor are we very clear about His Majesty's movements. Talented people are easily deceived, so we can only rely on servants to inquire about these matters, so..."
She paused and pursed her lips, probably thinking about how to express her request tactfully but accurately.
When she said this, I finally understood. Oh, it turned out that she wanted to know more about the Zichen Palace.
My new colleague had a need, so I decided to sell Li Siyan's privacy without hesitation and agreed immediately: "Okay, if you have anything in the future, just ask me. I will tell you everything I know."
Ruiyin was overjoyed, holding my hand and saying gratefully, "Thank you, Madam Shen. Madam Shen, please don't blame us for our calculations. You must know that we are doing this for the talented person. If we sisters work together, we will definitely make it smooth sailing for the talented person and help him surpass the one in Qingsi Palace!"
Uh... this one is a little more difficult.
She was full of confidence, and I awkwardly agreed with her, silently complaining in my heart: You even revealed your short-term strategic goals to me, you really don’t treat me as an outsider!
After paying the tribute and being accepted into their camp, Ruiyin completely opened her heart to me, and her words became less polite and more intimate.
Listening to her story, I realized that there really was a group of extremely bored staff in the harem whose main job was to study the emperor's whereabouts and psychological activities. I exclaimed in awe and respect, and affectionately called them: Dog Emperor Researchers.
In fact, in a sense, the work of our historians overlaps with theirs.
"Your Majesty slept alone in the study yesterday, without anyone to serve him. This is unusual..." Ruiyin analyzed seriously, "Since this year, we, the concubines, have been in his chambers on the first, second, and third days of every month. Yesterday, Your Majesty broke his promise, and I was upset for half the night, falling asleep in tears at the second watch. That's why I woke up late today."
I touched my nose and said in a muffled voice, "Last night? I was the one serving you last night."
Ruiyin was stunned on the spot.
I quickly protested: "...Don't think wrongly, it's the kind of service that a waiter should provide!"
Ruiyin quickly shook her head: "I didn't think anything wrong, I just didn't expect His Majesty to be reviewing memorials so late at night. He truly is diligent in his work and cares for the people."
I scratched my head in confusion. "Isn't this how it's supposed to be? What else can I do at night if I don't work?"
As soon as I asked the question, Ruiyin's expression suddenly became very subtle and ambiguous, and I realized that I had asked a stupid question.
It's so stupid, so stupid that I want to find a piece of okra and hit myself to death.
The Dog Emperor is over twenty years old. As a mature adult, he now has more diverse office projects, such as... branching out and spreading the rain and dew.
Ruiyin confirmed in a low voice, "Since the harem was strengthened, Your Majesty hasn't handled state affairs at night for a long time."
for a long time?
Shit! Why did he remember to work in the middle of the night on the day I went back?
I was silent for a moment, then became angry and embarrassed.
It's really hard to change one's nature, even if it means losing one's power. Is this intentional? It must be intentional! To torture me, the dog emperor would rather sacrifice the entertainment activities for men and women that night and stay in the Purple Palace to slack off, and force me to work the night shift despite being sick.
Damn, so infuriating!
Ruiyin saw me clenching my fists so hard they made a creaking sound, and said with an awkward smile, "Or... perhaps because of yesterday's Shangsi Festival, I went out during the day, which delayed the day's court affairs, so Your Majesty can only handle some of them at night..."
I gave him a cold smile. What was so urgent that he had to work overnight? Were the Turks invading the south? Were the Tibetans rebelling? If there weren't any of those things, why would he ask me to work overtime with him?
They in Xuanwei Palace didn't know Li Siyan at all. He was impatient and disorganized. All the documents sent from all over the place were piled in front of his desk, but when I went in yesterday, the dog emperor's desk was cleaner than his face, which meant that he had no urgent matters to deal with at all.
──He stayed in the study room dawdling even though he had nothing urgent to do. It was obvious that he was waiting for me.
I recalled how he ignored me at first last night and couldn't help rolling my eyes. Humph, he's really good at pretending to be a dog emperor.
Ruiyin saw me gritting my teeth, then sneering, my expression changing unpredictably. She felt a little frightened and said with a wry smile, "Since Your Majesty is really busy with government affairs, I will report the truth to the talented person later..."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, sister."
The two women held hands and looked at each other with fake smiles, like two paper flowers swaying in the wind.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Ruiyin helped me tidy up my bedding, wiped the table, and said goodbye to me, saying that she was going to Qingsi Palace to give Concubine Wang the colorful ribbon that Wei Wan'er had made a few days ago.
Before leaving, he complained to me: "We are so kindhearted that we gave away such good crafts, but it was just a waste of money. We gave away so many things, but Qingsi Palace never gave us a good look."
"Is Consort Wang difficult to get along with?"
When she heard me ask this, Ruiyin's resentment suddenly burst out.
"Last time, Xifu, who was by Concubine Wang's side, mocked our Concubine for being ugly. Our palace maid Jianjia was so angry that she retorted to her. Xifu was unreasonable and rushed over to beat Jianjia... When someone around her committed a crime, Concubine Wang didn't do anything to discipline them. She just let Xifu apologize hastily and let it go. It's really..."
She was so angry that even her speech speed increased.
I was stunned when I heard this. My goodness, has the world of palace maids become so full of martial virtues now?
I touched my fat arms which were becoming soft and limp from eating without exercising, and decided to practice long boxing every morning starting from tomorrow.
After Ruiyin left, I walked around the room twice, took a horse stance, and quickly performed a few martial arts moves. I felt that my fighting skills were no less than before, so I felt relieved.
After making sure Ruiyin had gone far away, I stealthily took out the unfinished manuscript of The Den of Femme Fatales and hid it in an empty jar in the corner.
Although Qingfu never said that writing legends is prohibited in the palace, this is the palace, and nothing is allowed unless prohibited by law. If he finds out that I am writing this kind of immoral and obscene erotic literature, I will be in big trouble.
After hiding the manuscript paper, I felt a little relieved. Seeing the sun rising, I guessed that Wei Wan'er should have finished washing up, so I got up and went to the main hall of Xuanwei Palace.
The hall was quiet and there was no one guarding the door. I walked in with a swagger. As soon as I entered, I saw Wei Wan'er's ugly painting of palace maids enjoying spring outing. My eyes hurt for a moment, and when I looked away, I saw another painting that was spreading out the ink to dry.
Although the painting is still not very good, it is slightly better than the previous one.
I squinted my eyes and took a closer look, and found that the picture showed the back of a man wearing a dark blue everyday robe, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance.
Recognizing the familiar robe, I sighed. It turned out that she was painting Li Siyan.
The painting is not good, but you can see the effort put into it.
I suddenly recalled that when I was painting Meng Xu's portrait, I was also extremely careful with every stroke. After I finished the painting and showed it to him, he pointed out a lot of flaws. I was so angry that I clamored to repaint it, but he was reluctant to do so. He bought a bowl of Sushan to coax me, and I reluctantly agreed to give him the painting as a souvenir.
Thinking of the distant and vague past, my mind was overwhelmed for a moment. I stood there in a daze, not even noticing someone coming behind me.
"But Madam Shen?"
Suddenly, a gentle female voice came to my ears.
I turned my head and a pretty little face came into view. It was Wei Wan'er.
She is slightly taller than me. Today she had a simple hairstyle and wore a plain silver hairpin. Her outfit was quite casual and homely, like a little girl next door.
I bowed to her and said, "Chen Ying greets Wei Cairen."
"No need to be so polite," Wei Wan'er said gently.
She saw me looking at the painting of Li Siyan's back and lowered her head shyly: "...Mrs. Shen, please stop looking at it. I'm not a good painter."
I smiled and said, "A painting with emotion in it is a masterpiece."
Hearing what I said, Wei Wan'er's eyes sparkled with joy, and she stammered, "You have such sharp eyes, I can't even hide this from you."
Before I could reply, Ruiyin behind her immediately joined in: "Isn't it true? Madam Shen is someone who understands painting. Just now, when I brought Madam Shen in, she praised the painting of palace maids by Cairen for being beautiful."
My expression almost broke: Wait, I never praised you!
Xiaodie behind her on the other side was not willing to be outdone. She smiled with her neck stiffened, "Madam Shen is indeed talented and learned. Now that she has come to our Xuanwei Palace, she can also keep the company of talented people."
The two palace maids' eyes met in the air, filled with murderous intent.
I quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty felt sorry for me because I had no one to discuss literature with all day, so he sent me here to relieve my loneliness. It is a blessing for me to be here, and it is also a token of your Majesty's love for me."
I could see that Wei Wan'er liked Li Siyan very much, so I specifically chose nice things to say, emphasizing Li Siyan's preferential treatment of her.
Sure enough, Wei Wan'er enjoyed it very much. She tried her best to suppress the upturned corners of her mouth, and her happiness was beyond words.
"Why should I be accompanied by the imperial attendant? Your Majesty is really..." She was immersed in sweet love, and her eyes became softer when she looked at me, as if she was looking at the red thread boy under the command of Yue Lao.
I was silent for a moment and decided not to tell her that I was actually exiled to the palace because of Li Siyan's bad luck.
Wei Wan'er was happy for a while, and wanted to drag me to express her gratitude and give Li Siyan some new dishes. However, since I was unwilling to get close to the dog emperor again, she had to leave me behind and took a bowl of cherry bilo to the Zichen Palace.
Ruiyin accompanied her, and Xiaodie stayed in Xuanwei Palace. Xiaodie and I chatted for an hour and listened to a lot of fresh gossip from various palaces. Just as we were excitedly discussing the love-hate relationship between Suxing and Eunuch Qi, the little palace maid at the door sent a tip-off saying that the talented person had returned.
I cheered up and went out to greet him.
Unexpectedly, he met his enemy on a narrow road and saw Li Siyan beside Wei Wan'er.
I felt like I had seen a ghost. I spun around on my feet and gestured wildly to Xiaodie, "Damn it! His Majesty is coming. I need to find a place to hide."
Xiaodie hurriedly said, "Go back to your room, quickly!"
Seeing that the two of them were approaching hand in hand, I crouched down and ran towards my ear room as fast as a shadow.
Finally, I rushed into the house and closed the door before Li Siyan discovered me.
"...Your Majesty has come at the right time. Wan'er is painting. But I cannot show it to Your Majesty now. It must be kept secret." Wei Wan'er walked into the hall with a smile on her face, and her soft voice echoed in the main hall.
I leaned against the door and heard the dog emperor answer her with a smile: "Okay, then don't look at it. Wait until Wan'er is interested and show it to me one day."
They walked in chatting and whispered to each other not far from me.
It's nothing more than some corny flirting words.
"...I sent Chen Ying here. Is it convenient for you to use it?" asked the Dog Emperor.
I was startled when my name was suddenly called, and jumped up from the door as if it was a conditioned reflex.
Wei Wan'er said, "She's already here. She said that Your Majesty loves me and asked her to come and relieve my loneliness. Wan'er is grateful for Your Majesty's kindness, so she came to the Purple Palace to express her gratitude."
"Did she tell you that?"
Wei Wan'er said, "That's right."
The Dog Emperor did not respond. He was silent for a while and then quickly changed the subject.
The intermittent laughter of Li Siyan and Wei Wan'er could be heard outside the door.
The Xuanwei Hall was large and empty, and even the slightest sound echoed. I was extremely annoyed, but I couldn't go out and tell them to shut up, so I simply threw off the quilt and lay down to sleep, peacefully working as a pig with firewood.
I slept intermittently for several hours until dinner time. A faint aroma of food came in from the crack of the door. I sniffed in a half-awake state, and a suspicious liquid unconsciously flowed from the corner of my mouth.
Oh, it smells so good.
I sniffed greedily, and the aroma of fried dried fish immediately filled my entire nasal cavity.
Let’s go out and take a look?
No, Li Siyan will see it.
But I’m really hungry!
After walking around the house twice, I was so tempted that I couldn't bear it anymore. I carefully opened the door a crack and the dog peeked out.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a kind person had actually moved a huge screen to the doorway between the side rooms and the main hall. I quickly stepped aside and crouched behind the screen, calling out to Xiaodie, who was guarding a few feet away: "Xiaodie, Xiaodie?"
Xiaodie was concentrating on her work, holding a brass wine jug, standing straight, and didn't hear my affectionate call at all.
Instead, Ruiyin noticed the shadow swaying on the screen and sent a little maid to pass on a message, "His Majesty and the talented lady are still having dinner, madam, please stay away from them."
I looked at the table eagerly and asked, "If they eat, shouldn't we eat?"
The little girl blinked and said in confusion, "My lady, don't you know? We servants in the palace have always had to wait until we finish our mission before we can have some food and water."
Then I remembered that my status has changed from a female official to an ordinary palace servant. Since I am an ordinary palace servant, I must wait until the master finishes eating before I can eat.
I held my stomach and sighed, "Thank you, I understand."
Although I was hungry, I knew that things were different now. I turned around and tried to go back to my room, but suddenly I heard the cold voice of the Dog Emperor floating from a distance:
"What's going on with that screen? It looks like there's a ghostly shadow floating around."
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