Chapter 4

The Noble Consort eyed the little stone on her wrist suspiciously.

“So this is tourmaline? It looks like a bead from a minister’s court necklace.”

I smiled apologetically. “Yes, Your Ladyship. It’s rare. I came by it quite by chance.”

“Very well.” At last she accepted it with a satisfied nod.

“It does look better than rubies with gold.”

In a good mood, she granted me another opportunity.

“You will dress my hair today.”

Beside us, Jinzhi, who had been assigned the task, snapped the wooden comb in her hand.

Her eyes seemed to shoot poisonous flames at me.

I shrank guiltily.

Workplace conditions were dreadful, but when the boss gave an order, could I simply refuse?

Jinzhi reluctantly withdrew. Only a few maids remained in the hall.

Today, I would do the main work.

Standing carefully beside the Noble Consort, I looked at the beauty reflected in the bronze mirror. A bold plan took shape.

…

She touched her hair, unused to the result.

“I’ve never worn so little jewelry.”

Only a few dangling hairpins and one peony adorned her dark hair.

For someone accustomed to a head covered in jewels, this was unsettling.

“Your Ladyship’s beauty rivals a peony that could captivate a nation. Gold and silver suit you, but too many ornaments detract from your looks. A high coiffure with a Weizi peony will make you the finest flower of all.”

“The finest flower of all. Very good.” She laughed.

Today she was attending the “monthly gathering,” held every ten days.

To pay respects to the Empress.

The present Empress was the Emperor’s second wife and had no children of her own. Easygoing by nature, she didn’t insist the other consorts pay daily visits.

But the monthly visit was an ancestral rule that could not be ignored.

Wearing her new hairstyle, the Noble Consort marched off in high spirits.

I waited eagerly behind her.

Please, let the other consorts react spectacularly. My life would be easier for it!

Once she was gone, I returned to my ordinary cleaning-maid existence.

Lunch was bland, with only an extra dish of spinach and tofu.

Even that came from the Noble Consort’s own purse.

A third-rank maid like me could eat the same food as the second-rank maids who attended her personally.

In another palace, an unfavored mistress’s servants might get nothing but leaves boiled in dishwater.

But after the delicacies of modern life, spinach and tofu still made me miserable.

Quite a contrast to the maids beside me, heartily eating.

Jinzhi sneered. “Some people think climbing onto a high branch means they’ve made it. They have a long way to go yet!”

As a first-rank maid, she naturally ate well.

Silvery buns and fresh bamboo-shoot porridge in the morning; white rice and four hot dishes at noon.

Even a bowl of shredded-chicken noodles.

Compared with junior maids like us, she lived in splendor.

I glanced at her enviously.

I couldn’t be bothered to argue. I was too hungry!

Ordinary maids received only two meals. New here, I hadn’t known to save a bun. I would go hungry tonight.

The Noble Consort did not return until early afternoon.

She entered smiling, glowing with satisfaction.

The sight told me I was safe.

Sure enough, she declared, “Everyone in the palace shall have a dish of cherry pork today.”

The maids and eunuchs were delighted.

In an age of meager production, an extra dish meant an extra blessing. So many counted on putting on a little weight to survive winter.

Her personal eunuch, Zhou Dafu, bowed and scraped. “What good fortune has Your Ladyship enjoyed today, to show your servants such kindness?”

Pleased, she deigned to explain. “The Grand Princess came today. Of all the people there, she praised only me. Hmph! Noble Consort Xian’s face went green.”

Apart from the Empress, the four consort positions of east, west, south, and north were all occupied.

There was another noble consort besides our mistress: Noble Consort Xian.

The extra title, meaning “virtuous,” placed her a step above our Noble Consort for no other reason.

Today our mistress had finally held her head high.

No wonder she would pay for cherry pork for everyone.

She was especially pleasant to me. “You will dress my hair again tomorrow.”

I nodded meekly. “Yes.”

The other maids looked at me with envy.

They knew they had benefited because of me. If I kept doing well, future promotion was assured.

I let out a long breath too.

My head was safe, and my career path was open.

All I had to do was survive cautiously.

Among all those people, only one looked displeased.

Jinzhi.