Chapter 8
Jinzhi and several maids had assembled to wait for me.
In the lamplight, their faces looked shadowy and hard.
Faces I’d eaten beside for days were now frighteningly unfamiliar.
Jinzhi sneered. “You’re not Yuan’er at all.”
Her certainty made my heart jump.
“Yuan’er was always timid and clumsy with words. Why would she crowd around Her Ladyship every day?”
The round-faced maid joined in. “Exactly! Yuan’er was only waiting to leave at twenty-five. Why would she cling to Her Ladyship all the time?”
Their jealous faces formed a line.
Shadows wavered over them in the light.
Suddenly, I smiled.
“That’s right. I’m not Yuan’er.”
The lamp flickered sharply. I leaned toward them with an eerie expression.
“I’m an evil ghost of the palace… I’ve possessed her body, and now I’m coming for your lives!”
They shrieked and scattered, pale with fright, all their earlier swagger gone.
I smiled in satisfaction.
“If you’re dissatisfied, compete for favor yourselves.”
“I hid my abilities before and had no wish to compete. Only after Liang Qiushi threatened me did I realize Her Ladyship matters most… Call me a lackey if you like. I’m going to serve her!”
White-faced with fear, Jinzhi still blustered.
“You think a few hairstyles make you important? You’ve just been lucky. You’ll see!”
With that threat, she stormed away.
Apparently she intended to stay with her mother, Matron Zhang, tonight.
I shook my head and dismissed it.
But their words left something lodged in my mind.
What sort of person had “Yuan’er” really been?
I felt around in my bedding and found the hard objects I remembered.
Bits of silver.
She’d secretly saved them for returning home at twenty-five.
I hadn’t meant to take over her life.
But according to the rules of that seven-body alignment, she should be in the modern world now.
I knew nothing about astronomy or when the next alignment would happen.
Perhaps I ought to leave and visit her home on her behalf.
After all, I’d taken her body. I should at least fulfill her duty to her parents.
Good news kept coming to Chengxi Palace.
Favored again, the Noble Consort glowed; her complexion grew healthier by the day.
The imperial kitchens stopped neglecting us. Fine dishes arrived in a steady stream, and people from every palace came to ask questions.
Naturally, they learned nothing.
My mistress summoned me. “Yuan’er, you’ve done a great service. From now on, you will attend me personally.”
That was a second-rank maid’s work.
And promotion meant a rise in monthly pay.
I happily agreed.
Second-rank maids could move between palaces, and I could accompany her to important occasions.
Lunch would no longer be spinach and tofu. I could even have “leftovers.”
Well, that sounded worse than it was.
She was impatient. Rather than wait for every dish to be brought in, she started with her favorites.
The “leftovers” were really dishes she hadn’t touched.
Life here had worn all the temper out of me. I could accept anything now.
So I was quite pleased to become a second-rank maid.
Especially when I went back to collect my bedding and saw the other maids’ ugly expressions.
Jinzhi wasn’t much above me now. At most, we were equals.
She could endure plenty herself and said nothing.
Hugging my bedding, I made a face at her. “Bye-bye!”
My new quarters were in the southwestern side rooms.
Still cramped, but compared with the communal bed, practically a luxury suite.
Four of us shared a room: me and three other second-rank maids.
They attended the Noble Consort and knew something of the world. Seeing I was favored, they didn’t make trouble.
One, Luo Xiu, was especially kind.
She explained many things about palace life.
“Her Ladyship normally takes two second-rank maids and a matron when she goes out. Matron Zhang has always been favored; she came with her from home, so she always goes. The maids depend on Her Ladyship’s wishes. If she doesn’t specify, we take turns.”
I understood. I’d taken Jinzhi’s place.
No wonder she was so angry. She’d looked like an evil spirit glaring at me.
But now that I lived here, there was no reason to yield my place.
I accepted our four-person room with a clear conscience.
Luo Xiu said there should originally have been two first-rank maids, but something had happened at Chengxi Palace. Now only Matron Zhang remained.
None of the other four had been able to rise any further.
The gossip gave me food for thought.
Smiling, Luo Xiu pinched me lightly. “Enough. That’s for later. Don’t dwell on it. Her Ladyship is going to see the flowers. Go get ready.”
I thanked her sincerely and pressed a piece of silver on her.
Unable to refuse, she accepted it.
Jinzhi was bound to cause more trouble. I needed someone well connected to keep watch.
Luo Xiu seemed capable of getting along with everyone.
Befriending her could do no harm.