chapter 2

After the beating, I lay unconscious for three full days. When I woke, the Empress happened to be visiting me.

I opened my eyes through a haze, took one look at her, and blurted, “Wow. You’re gorgeous.”

The Empress burst out laughing. “I remember you.

“My antique folding fan was torn and stained with tea. You were the one who restored it.”

My newly awakened brain turned with painful slowness. It took me a long while to remember.

The laundry bureau was always piled with old objects that could not be cleaned in the ordinary way. I had once stumbled upon a paper folding fan faced with finely carved ivory and mother-of-pearl inlay. In modern times, it would have qualified as a museum-grade treasure.

My occupational instincts flared. After asking the matron’s permission, I took the fan back to the servants’ quarters and spent a month restoring it.

I had left the finished fan in my room, only for it to vanish without explanation.

After hearing my story, the Empress nodded. “Someone stole it and claimed the credit for your work.

“The same person framed you this time.

“She has already been punished according to the law.”

I nodded vaguely, still unable to imagine who would hate me enough to do such a thing.

“That fan means a great deal to me,” the Empress continued. “You restored it for me. What reward would you like?”

A reward?

I truly could not think of one. What I wanted most was to return to modern times, sit in my air-conditioned dormitory, and eat watermelon. But asking the Empress for that seemed a little impolite.

Seeing me still dazed, she smiled and shook her head. “What is your name? Would you be willing to serve here in Kunning Palace?”

I came to my senses. “I would!”

The Empress hid another laugh behind her hand. “You still haven’t told me your name.”

I gestured in my excitement, forgetting even the proper form of address. “I’m Lin Fu.

“The *fu* from the poem, ‘The returning light enters the deep forest and shines again upon the green moss.’ That Lin Fu.”

…

I had been standing outside Kunning Palace for nearly half an hour when my legs began to go numb.

Footsteps suddenly sounded nearby. I dared not move, so I could only glance sideways from the corner of my eye.

The Emperor emerged through the vermilion threshold with Eunuch Li behind him. For a moment, I had no idea whether I should remain at attention or kneel to greet him.

He saw me too.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he strode over and studied me through narrowed eyes. Then he abruptly lifted the lotus-patterned cup from my head.

“Since you all treasure this thing so much, We shall take it,” he said, and swept away.

What a lunatic.

In my head, I cursed the bastard Emperor. Outwardly, I still bent my knees and said, “This servant respectfully sees Your Majesty off.”

Only when their footsteps faded did I straighten.

A head poked out from behind the palace gate. Lizhi, the Empress’s dowry maid, beckoned to me. “Stop standing there like a fool. Her Majesty wants you inside.”

An invaluable piece of agarwood perfumed Kunning Palace with the rich scent of aloes. It smelled wonderful.

The Empress was making tea. When she saw me, she said gently, “You had a fright just now, Ah Fu. You needn’t serve today. Go back and rest.”

I was delighted, but also a little guilty. After all, I had failed to save the celadon lotus-leaf cup from the bastard Emperor in the end.

Even so, she had given me a day off.

She was so kind.

After thanking her, I returned to the maids’ quarters. I took out an old painting and carefully unrolled it across the table.

The Emperor and Empress had been childhood sweethearts and married young. Their marriage had always been harmonious.

Then their eldest son died. The Empress fell gravely ill and shut herself away for half a year, refusing to manage palace affairs. After that, rumors spread that the Emperor favored Noble Consort Yan and had become estranged from his wife.

That was not how I saw it.

If the bastard Emperor truly disliked the Empress, why did he clock in at Kunning Palace every single day without fail?

He must love her desperately. That was why hearing her suggest filling his harem had made him bristle with rage.

Even an emperor had to sell himself for the good of the nation. What a difficult job.

With that thought, I turned back to the painting on my table.

The Empress had always loved calligraphy and painting. Several months ago, after learning that I could restore antiques, she had entrusted me with this authentic *Geese Among Reeds* and asked me to do what I could.

The famous painting was not badly torn, but damp and mildew had caused severe damage.

I gathered my concentration and began washing away the mold spots with a moist brush.