Chapter 7

After a single night, the rumors of the Imperial Consort falling out of favor vanished without a trace. Countless rewards were carried in, chest after chest. The Son of Heaven never visited the Empress again; as soon as his official duties were finished, he stayed only in the Noble Consort’s Palace.

However, the Imperial Consort took great pleasure in summoning me whenever Pei Qi visited.

While Pei Qi composed poetry with her, I stood by the window to block the cold wind and carefully ground the ink, simply because the Imperial Consort disliked stuffiness but was also sensitive to the cold.

When Pei Qi drank with her, I would wash my hands in cold water and sit by her side, picking out fish bones one by one. The bones were sharp, and with my hands trembling from the cold, it was inevitable that they would prick my fingertips. The crimson beads of blood looked strikingly vivid in the winter air.

I acted as if I felt nothing. By the time I was finished, my hands were covered in blood.

The Imperial Consort looked on with boredom. “Forget it. I’ll let you eat it as a reward.”

She never intended to eat it in the first place.

I expressed my gratitude with profound humility, but after bandaging my fingers, I brought in a basin of hot water.

Yes, even though I had become the Head Palace Maid, I still served the Imperial Consort by washing her feet. Kneeling on the ground with my head bowed-this had never changed.

And Pei Qi watched it all, from beginning to end.