Chapter 2
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a side hall of the Empress’s palace.
The Empress sat beside me, looking sympathetic.
I paled and hurried to rise and pay my respects.
This was bad. Last time I had failed to kneel before her; this time, I had actually fainted from hunger in her private chambers. I was definitely about to die.
“No need. I grant you leave from formalities.” The Empress stopped me from getting up.
“You have suffered, Ah Shuang.”
Her concerned expression only confused me more.
“Maiden Ah Shuang is brave and resourceful. You sacrificed yourself to protect Her Majesty, so she has promoted you to Chief Palace Administrator, in charge of the entire bureau!” the Empress’s personal maid congratulated me.
What? I was dumbfounded. I woke up to another promotion?
“Do not blame me, Ah Shuang. I knew the osmanthus cakes were tainted. Even if you had not volunteered to eat them, I would have used them to test you. Too many treacherous people in this harem seek to deceive me and win my trust. I have no choice but to be cautious.”
[Your appearance that day was also exceedingly suspicious, and I thought there must be a reason behind it. After this incident, I can finally trust you. Rest assured: though you can never bear children now, I will compensate you.]
That left me even more bewildered. Still, confused or not, flattery was mandatory. Besides, I hadn’t wanted children in my previous life. Why would I want them in this one?
“Your Majesty, this servant truly knew nothing. It was Your Majesty’s peerless wisdom and strategy. This servant could never compare.”
The Empress nodded in satisfaction. “The moment I saw you, I knew you were destined for greater things. But clever and perceptive though you are, I must warn you: speak of today’s events to no one.”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s guidance.”
After a few more instructions, the Empress left. I received special permission to spend the night in her palace.
When I departed the Phoenix Ceremonial Palace the next day, every maid I encountered dipped in a shallow curtsy and greeted me: “Peace to Chief Ah Shuang.”
After repeated attempts on the Empress’s life, security at her palace doubled.
Everyone in the harem was excused from presenting formal greetings at the central palace.
That turned me into the harem’s errand runner. Armed with the Empress’s decree, I took her personal maid and raced from palace to palace delivering messages.
The Noble Consort and Empress had always been bitter enemies. By the time I left the Noble Consort’s palace, I had smiled so much that sweat soaked my back.
And next I had to visit Consort Yu, who was close to the Noble Consort. Just thinking about it made me miserable.
I dragged my feet to Consort Yu’s gates, sighed deeply, and cast one last doomed look at the Empress’s maid, Xiao Pei, before leading everyone inside like a soldier marching to her death.
“By Her Majesty the Empress’s decree: as the central palace is expecting an imperial child and should avoid receiving visitors, all six palaces are excused from presenting their respects.”
“This consort thanks Her Majesty for her consideration and prays she safely delivers an imperial son.” Consort Yu bowed to receive the decree, every gesture perfectly proper.
So there were good people in the palace after all. Consort Yu, for example, was gentle, kind, and easy to get along with.
Looking at her soft, gracious face, I couldn’t help smiling faintly.
“Is there something on my face?” Consort Yu glared at me.
Only then did I remember that a maid committed a grave offense by staring at a consort. I hurriedly averted my gaze, glanced left and right, and bowed my head. “This servant merely thought Your Highness’s blue cloisonné vase was exquisitely translucent and beautiful.”
Consort Yu’s expression changed instantly. Claiming a headache, she threw me out.
By dawn the next day, news that Consort Yu had been banished to the Cold Palace had spread throughout the harem.
Xiao Pei was already waiting in my side hall. Smiling from ear to ear, she dragged me to the Phoenix Ceremonial Palace.
“Chief Ah Shuang is truly blessed! Her Majesty has awarded you one hundred taels of gold!”
I was utterly lost. What excuse had she invented this time?
“Her Majesty had long suspected Consort Yu, so she deliberately sent me with you. When you delivered the decree yesterday, I noticed something wrong with Consort Yu’s face and reported it to Her Majesty.
“Her Majesty is brilliant. She immediately sent me with guards to search Consort Yu’s palace.
“And wouldn’t you know it? The contraband was inside that vase. Consort Yu stubbornly denied being behind the safflower plot. We tortured the eunuchs in her palace all night before finally prying out the truth.”
Xiao Pei described the scene with great satisfaction.
[Chief Ah Shuang is certainly lucky. To expose a plot with one casual remark about a vase—what fortune! Others could never beg for such luck.]
My mouth twitched. I had no idea how to react.
Ridiculous. Utterly absurd! I had only thought the vase looked expensive and pretty!