Chapter 1
Chapter 1
A major incident occurred within Wanchun Palace today.
The Noble Consort sprained her ankle while practicing a dance.
Inside the bedchamber, the Noble Consort reclined on her couch. When her personal maid tried to apply medicine, she kicked the girl away. “What use is applying medicine?”
Wincing in pain, the maid didn’t dare say much and could only try to soothe her. “Your Ladyship, the Imperial Physician said that if you apply this for seven days, the injury will be healed.”
“Seven days?” the Noble Consort cursed. “What use is it if it’s healed in seven days? All the effort I’ve put into choreographing this dance lately will be completely wasted!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She grabbed a jade vase within reach and hurled it at the palace maid. A crisp shattering sound rang out, and the room fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone knew why the Noble Consort was so frustrated.
The day after tomorrow was the Emperor’s birthday banquet. The Noble Consort had been rehearsing this dance for three months just to dazzle everyone at the palace feast.
But now, her ankle was swollen high and it hurt so much she couldn’t even walk, let alone dance.
Three months of hard work were about to go down the drain.
The palace servants were all focused on how to appease the Noble Consort’s wrath. No one noticed that I had already approached the Noble Consort’s side, carrying a basin of foot-washing water.
I was a low-ranking palace maid who had been in the palace for less than half a month. Serving the Noble Consort by washing her feet was a thankless, grueling task; the veteran maids didn’t want to do it, so they dumped it on me.
At that moment, I knelt before the Noble Consort as usual. Before anyone could stop me, I clumsily grasped her ankle and lowered it into the wooden bucket filled with hot water.
The Senior Palace Maid standing nearby only just noticed what I was doing. She immediately barked a sharp reprimand, “You fool! Her Ladyship’s foot is already injured, what do you think you’re doing?!”
She was fully prepared for the Noble Consort to scream and order me to be beaten to death.
Instead, she found that the Noble Consort hadn’t made a sound. On the contrary, her expression had turned into one of comfort.
The Noble Consort lowered her eyes to the wooden bucket in surprise, noticing many fresh petals floating inside.
“Is this some kind of medicine?” she murmured. “The pain actually vanished the moment I soaked it.”
I hurried to report, “This servant’s father was once a traveling doctor. This is a secret family recipe passed down through generations.”
The Noble Consort was quite pleased. Her willow-leaf brows relaxed as she said indifferently, “For a new little maid, you actually have some skill.”
After I finished serving the Noble Consort’s foot soak, I offered to massage the injured area.
Originally, the injury would hurt at the slightest touch, but now there was no sensation when I pressed on it. I kneaded the area vigorously, and after a short while, most of the bruising had dissipated.
The Noble Consort was overjoyed. This meant she could dance again.
Sure enough, at the palace banquet the following day, the Noble Consort danced in the center of the Lotus Pond. Her water sleeves fluttered and her skirts rose and fell like a fairy descending to the mortal realm.
It could be said that she stole the show.
The Emperor was captivated. He immediately swept the Noble Consort up in his arms and headed for Wanchun Palace.
The warm spring waters bathed her supple skin; from then on, the Emperor would no longer attend the early morning court.
After a night of favor, the Noble Consort was clearly in a good mood when she woke up.
As her personal maids assisted with her morning toilette, she called me over.
“Newcomer, what is your name?”
“This servant is Liu Ying.”
The Noble Consort nodded, adjusting the golden buyao hairpin the Emperor had just bestowed upon her. “Liu Ying, I really owe it to you this time.”
“This servant wouldn’t dare take credit.”
I lowered my head respectfully. At the same time, my gaze fell upon the Noble Consort’s ankle.
That ankle looked completely fine now.
But…
The herbs I had steeped in that water weren’t actually for healing; they were for numbing the meridians.
That was why the sensation of pain vanished after the soak. The bruising on the surface could be cleared, and it indeed no longer looked swollen.
But the bone was actually misaligned.
Right now, the misalignment was so slight it was impossible to detect.
However, if this continued over time, the injury to this leg would become more and more severe.
A healer wouldn’t do such a thing.
Healers possess a benevolent heart, taking the patient’s recovery as their principle of conduct. They would never suggest a method that treats the symptoms but not the cause; instead, they would strongly urge the patient to rest and avoid any movement.
But what does that have to do with me? I’m not a healer.
I am a poison refiner.