chapter 20

“Older Sister Zhilan.”

Zhilan turned around and saw a girl unrestrained in both spirit and behavior approach. Such a face and body would be doted upon in brothels or in the inner courtyards of rich men. But in the imperial palace, if they belonged to a servant girl, it would only seem inappropriate and showcase a lack of seriousness. If one were not careful, it would inspire others’ hate.

“You are?” Zhilan slowly swept her gaze through the girl.

“I am Jinxiu, a palace maid of the embroidery workshop.” Jinxiu had quickly revealed her name. She carried a tray. On top lay a set of folded green robes. “Granny Zhang sent me to deliver the newly-made spring clothes.”

Zhilan grunted in acknowledgement and nodded. “Put it here.”

However, Jinxiu was unwilling to leave like this. She set the tray down as slowly as she could. From her mouth came the most pleasant of words. “Even though everyone wears the same uniform, it looks different on older sister. The flowers embroidered on the sleeves are beautiful. Just a glance, and people know that older sister is a dexterous person.”

Zhilan smiled. Although it was true that all palace maids shared a uniform, upon closer inspection there were some differences. The first-rank palace girls who had some status and power would have flowers embroidered onto the ends of their sleeves and collars, with difference in ranks apparent. On Zhilan’s clothes were peach blossoms, the stamens and pistils in view. However, she had not been the one who embroidered them. Rather, she had instructed a low-rank palace maid from the embroidery workshop to do it.

What what her name again? If she remembered correctly, it should have been… Yingluo?

“…Compared to the work of our embroidery workshop’s most talented seamstress, Yingluo, it is even better.” Jinxiu laughed. “Speaking of Yingluo, not only is her embroidery extremely beautiful, she is also extremely intelligent. Last time, if it weren’t for her, we would not have known so much about loquat paste!”

Originally, Zhilan had started to grow annoyed of her, and was about to wave her hand to dismiss Jinxiu. But now, she quickly turned around. “What did you say? Loquat paste?”

“Yep.” Jinxiu’s face glowed with naivety. “Last time, Yingluo mentioned in Yonghe Palace that when she was young, she accidentally ate the young leaves of a loquat. Only now do we slaves know that the young leaves are poisonous and should not be used in medicine. What now?”

Zhilan slammed her right hand on the table. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Good! So it was her!”

“Older Sister Zhilan, I… Did I say something wrong?” Jinxiu acted as if she were scared and lowered her head. Although her voice sounded meek, she was laughing coldly in her heart.

Wei Yingluo, that cheap little slut. She appeared aloof from politics and material pursuits, and blocked her from seducing Fucha Fuheng. Yet once Jinxiu turned around, she went and seduced an imperial guard on her own.

What a pity that she had been too slow in informing Aunt Fang. As such, they were unable to catch them in the act¹. But that was fine. She still had some tricks up her sleeve. If she borrowed Noble Consort Hui’s hand, she could remove the eyesore.

“Lead the way,” said Zhilan, rising to her feet. “Take me to where this Wei Yingluo is.”

“Yes, Older Sister Zhilan,” Jinxiu quickly responded.

The two of them made for the embroidery workshop, one leading the way and one following. The moment they arrived, they saw a group of people surrounding Wei Yingluo. The palace maids’ gazes were filled with either surprise or revel.

“These colorful stratus clouds² are embroidered so beautifully. Later on, I’ll embroider some myself.”

“Heh, don’t make a fool out of yourself³ .”

“I’ve tried to embroider colorful stratus clouds in the past. But when I finished, what I had was just a bunch of clouds. Yingluo, how do you do it?”

“This is the Full Stitch technique. The result of using this technique is a gradual change in color that is displayed through many layers. It looks beautiful, but it takes ten years of experience to reach this level. If you want to have the same result with your embroidery, without at least ten years of practice you won’t be able to accomplish it.”

A pair of embroidered shoes reached the back of Wei Yingluo. A voice full of smiles rang. “It is in fact embroidered well.”

The needle in Wei Yingluo’s hands stopped. She turned her head to see the identity of the speaker, before quickly getting on her feet to pay respects. “Older Sister Zhilan.”

The group of palace maids wasted no time in paying respects to Noble Consort Hui’s personal maidservant. Even one of the oldest people in the room, Aunt Fang, rose to her feet, not daring to sit in front of Zhilan. She asked courteously, “Young Lady Zhilan, why did your honored self come here? Could it be that your honored self is unsatisfied with the spring clothes? If so, there’s no need for your honored self to personally come over. Just send a palace maid to deliver the message and I will personally make the trip to Chuxiu Palace.”

“Previously, I was very satisfied. However, after seeing those colorful stratus clouds, I am no longer so,” said Zhilan with a smile. She shifted her gaze to Wei Yingluo. “This little palace maid’s embroidery skills are great. Lend her to me.”

Many of the palace maids watched Wei Yingluo enviously. Only Wei Yingluo and Granny Zhang felt a tremor of fear in their hearts.

If the masters truly had an order for them, they just needed to say a word. What would require a servant to go to their residence for a discussion? One would fear at the end of this trip wasn’t fortune but disaster.

Granny Zhang wanted to protect Wei Yingluo, and smiled as she said, “Young Lady Zhilan, that wouldn’t be good. This girl is under my apprenticeship. She has not finished learning from me yet. If you really need someone, why don’t I come and help instead?”

No matter what, Granny Zhang was an older servant that was supervising the embroidery workshop. For her to purposely embroider for a palace maid was already considered to be lowering herself. Yet Zhilan refused. Her smile was cold enough to freeze. “Granny Zhang, don’t give me so many excuses. Whoever I choose is who’s coming with me. Don’t waste time with so many unnecessary things. Wei Yingluo, follow me!”

Once she spoke, everyone could discern the evil intent behind her words. The envy toward Wei Yingluo that had been in everyone’s gaze vanished. Instead, it was replaced with sympathy or schadenfreude.

“…Understood.” Now that they had reached this point, Wei Yingluo could only steel herself and agree.

After she and Zhilan had left, the embroidery workshop burst with chatter. Even after Granny Zhang yelled at them, the palace maids did not stop gossiping.

“Did Wei Yingluo offend Older Sister Zhilan?”

“They’ve rarely met, so how could she have offended her?”

“Could… Could it be that Older Sister Zhilan was using an excuse to bring her back for punishment?”

Of course that was the case.

In the side residence of Chuxiu Palace, Wei Yingluo kneeled on the floorboards that were cold as ice.

She had been kneeling for an extended period of time. The chill had already entered her knees, piercing into bone. The house was silent. Occasionally, the sound of someone stirring a bowl of soup could be heard.

Noble Consort Hui sat in a chair. To her side was a small table made of rosewood, a bowl of sweet lotus starch balls⁴ on top.

The soup was a shade of freshly fallen snow. The starch balls were pitch black, like deep soil. The white and the black contrasted against each other, the white seeming more white and the black seeming more black. After so much time had passed, the snack had gone cold.

Thinking that she had been warned enough, Noble Consort Hui stopped stirring the spoon. She slowly asked, “You are Wei Yingluo?”

“Yes!! Your Highness!!” yelled Wei Yingluo, suddenly so loud that the other woman almost dropped her spoon.

After being a noble consort for so many years, Noble Consort Hui had never seen a person that would scream in front of others like this. She lifted a hand. Patted her chest… To be honest, she wanted to rub her ears. “Why are you screaming?”

Wei Yingluo lifted her head, a smile on her face. Prior to this, she had knelt as soon as she entered the room, so Noble Consort Hui had not been able to see her appearance. Now that Wei Yingluo lifted her head, the other woman could even see drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. The reason for this was as followed: Wei Yingluo had used the opportunity to take a short nap while kneeling.

“Forgive me, Your Highness.” She raised a hand to wipe away her drool. Then she smiled like a fool. “This slave has been loud since young. Granny has hit this slave many times but this slave still cannot change!”

In the imperial palace, even standing and sitting must be done by protocol. Especially for those palace maids that attended to the masters. There were even rules for sleeping positions. Those foolish servants who could fall asleep while kneeling were punished more often.

Noble Consort Hui stared at her suspiciously. “Was it you who said the young leaves of loquats were poisonous?”

“Yes, they’re poisonous. They shouldn’t be eaten!” Wei Yingluo quickly nodded. “Why is Your Highness asking this? Oh! Could it be your honored self wants to eat loquat paste? Then your honored self must not eat the pit! And the young leaves too! Those are also poisonous! When I was young, I was too gluttonous and accidentally ate too much of them. It made me throw up and gave me diarrhea. I almost died! Last time, when the master at Yonghe Palace wanted to eat loquat paste, I warned her! So dangerous! And also, and also —”

Like water from a dam that had been released, her words rushed in. In fact, it appeared like she wanted to continue speaking. Her voice was purposely loud; just one person, yet it sounded as if a group of ducks were loudly quacking. It gave Noble Consort Hui a migraine.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Noble Consort Hui couldn’t endure any longer. “What are you even saying? You’ve worked in the palace for so long. Don’t you know how to respond to your masters?”

Wei Yingluo nodded, then quickly shook her head. After that, her eyes darted left and right in uncertainty, before finally steadying. However, they stopped at a place they should not have stopped: the bowl of sweet lotus starch balls by Noble Consort Hui’s side.

“Your Highness.” Seeing her gluttonous appearance, the constant swallowing of saliva, Zhilan couldn’t help but feel annoyed. She went closer to her master’s side and softly said, “This servant girl seems a bit…mentally incapacitated…”

If even you can see it, do you think this palace cannot? Noble Consort Hui waved. “Come here.”

Wei Yingluo grunted in acknowledgement. Naturally, she acted as if she did not know that gesture meant for her to stand, and continued to kneel. She managed to maneuver her way in front of Noble Consort Hui just by walking on her knees. This action of a lowly slave almost caused Consort Hui to burst into laughter.

“Do you know what this is?” Noble Consort Hui talked to her as if she were a dog, holding up the green bowl. She waved it a little in front of Wei Yingluo.

We Yingluo’s head moved along with the bowl. In a foolish manner, she said, “Are those starch balls? Why are they black? This slave has never seen black starch balls!”

“What a pitiful child. You’ve never eaten sweet lotus starch balls before?” Noble Consort Hui smiled. “Here. Go eat it.”

She handed the bowl to Wei Yingluo, but did not give her the spoon.

“Thanking Your Highness!” Wei Yingluo received the bowl in an extremely joyous manner. She didn’t use a spoon. She directly drank from the bowl. Then she picked up the starch balls sticking to the bottom and threw them into her mouth.

“Does it taste delicious?” Noble Consort Hui asked kindly.

However, those who knew her knew that underneath that kindness sat a deep maliciousness.

“Yes, it’s yummy.” Wei Yingluo smiled once more like a fool.

Never had she seen a person like the one in front of her before, and she could not guess the other party’s personality. Despite this, it did not stop Noble Consort Hui from using her own method of messing with her. Of probing her.

“If you like it, then have some more.” Noble Consort Hui waved. “Zhilan.”

After that, many bowls of the snack were delivered to Chuxiu Palace.

Green bowls, rainbow bowls, white bowls… All the bowls were different colors but the things they held were the same. They were packed full of sweet lotus starch balls.

“Eat,” said Noble Consort Hui, sprawled on the chair, smiling at Wei Yingluo. “Eat all of it.”

Half the bowls on the floor were already emptied. However, more bowls were sent from the outside. Wei Yingluo’s belly was protruding at this point, yet she did not waste any time in eating.

She was like a goldfish that did not know when to stop eating, all the way until it ate itself to death.

A hiccup escaped from Wei Yingluo’s lips. “Noble Consort Hui, your honored self is such a good person, and does not dislike this slave for being gluttonous!” Wei Yingluo lifted another green bowl. She hiccuped. “Really so delicious. This slave, this slave…” A sour stench hit the air.

Half-chewed food dripped down her mouth. Yet Wei Yingluo didn’t seem to realize this at all. Instead, she went back to work, slurping up the starch balls like no tomorrow.

The noble personages in the imperial palace had never seen people eat in such a horrifying manner. Noble Consort Hui furrowed her brow. She made a sound of disgust and contempt. “Truly a fool! This palace is tired. Tell her to leave quickly. Just a glance is enough to irritate!”

Zhilan also felt disgusted. She even felt disgusted by having to touch Wei Yingluo as she dragged her to her feet. She kicked her. “Alright, stop eating! Her Highness has told you to leave!”

But Wei Yingluo continued to gulp down large mouthfuls of soup, until Zhilan kicked her again. She pitifully turned around, mouth still full. Her words were muffled by the food. “But this slave has not finished eating yet!”

Gaze shifting to the bowl in Wei Yingluo’s hands, Zhilan felt that even the bowl had become dirtied. She arched a brow. “Take the bowl with you!”

“Really?” Wei Yingluo’s eyes flashed.

“Hurry up and leave!”

Wei Yingluo poured the leftover starch balls into that single bowl. Then she held the bowl close to her chest and ran off.

“What…What kind of person is she?!” Zhilan watched Wei Yingluo glance back constantly as she ran. As if she were afraid that Zhilan would stop her from leaving, and tell her to put down the bowl. Zhilan couldn’t help but smile. She returned and relayed the events to Noble Consort Hui. And her master couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Later on, ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs what kind of people do they bring in?” Noble Consort Hui shook her head. As though she wanted to empty her head of the image of Wei Yingluo, of her shoveling food in her mouth. “She is obviously a fool!”

Originally, Zhilan wanted to respond in agreement. But all of a sudden, she remembered when she was back in the embroidery workshop. When she had seen that embroidery of the colorful stratus clouds.

Vast colorful stratus clouds, covering the whole sky. In a group of ten thousand people, there would not even be one person who could embroider with such skill. Could that really be the work of a fool?

Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Noble Consort Hui asked, “What is it?”

Zhilan hesitated once more before finally revealing her thoughts. “Your Highness, does your honored self feel that… she was faking being a fool?”