Chapter 4
I couldn’t stand this life another day.
Every morning brought a stack of painfully dull reports. Today two maids had quarreled; tomorrow two others had fought; the day after, someone had discovered a maid and a guard in the shrubbery…
Was this work fit for a human being? They were using me as a neighborhood committee director!
Thankfully, this world was full of good people. Every few days, the Noble Consort sent her personal maid, Xiao Ying, to visit me.
Officially, she came to supervise my work.
In reality, she did it for me.
Xiao Ying would sit here all day and finish everything I needed to handle.
All I had to do was eat pastries and drink tea beside her, and the day passed with delightful ease.
Every time she arrived, I welcomed her with a radiant smile and saw her off with a mournful face.
I smiled because my worker had returned.
I grieved because once she left, she wouldn’t come back for two or three days.
For the longest time, my only hope in life was that Xiao Ying might visit that day. I suspected I had developed lovesickness.
That night, a second uninvited guest entered the Palace Administration Bureau.
“Her Highness the Noble Consort arrives!”
The eunuch’s call drew closer. I was already kneeling outside the hall to welcome her.
Xiao Ying helped the magnificently jeweled Noble Consort sit on my rather shabby bed.
The Noble Consort looked down at me with displeasure.
“I heard you were calculating, but I did not realize you were so patient. I have made life exceedingly difficult for you, yet you never complained to the Empress.”
I scratched my head. Um… what nonsense was she spouting? I felt as if my brain might actually start growing.
“With talent like yours, I would hate to see you buried. You know that the Empress and I stand as equals in this harem and hate each other bitterly. I now offer you a choice: submit to me, or die.”
I trembled, not daring to raise my head. Was I destined to die tonight? I had only been here a month and hadn’t earned my money yet. I’d been beaten, worked endlessly for other people, and enjoyed nothing!
“What is it, Chief Ah Shuang? Is serving me such a difficult decision?” The Noble Consort narrowed her eyes dangerously.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Was this what happened to a childless woman going through menopause?
A famous psychologist once said that being locked in a small room made people irritable, while a walk steadied their hormones. A walk—yes, we needed a walk!
“This servant… this servant only thought the moon was lovely tonight, and Your Highness’s beauty unrivaled. Such beauty beneath such a moon is rare. This servant’s lowly life is hardly worth mourning, but before dying, she wishes to stroll through the imperial garden with Your Highness and admire the moon and lotus blossoms.”
And so I supported the Noble Consort as we walked to the imperial garden. For some reason, she dismissed all attendants except Xiao Ying and me.
The three of us stood beside the Joyful Dragon Pond, watching lotus blossoms slowly unfurl. Cicadas chirped now and then. No one spoke, and the atmosphere grew increasingly strange.
“I have no patience for riddles. If Chief Ah Shuang has something to say, say it plainly,” the Noble Consort snapped, breaking the silence.
My body stiffened. I-I-I had nothing to say! Oh no. Even taking a walk wasn’t good enough…
Just as I prepared to kneel and accept my fate, a resonant voice called from behind us.
“Mei’er, is that you?”
Mei’er was the Noble Consort’s childhood name. Only the Son of Heaven dared call her that.
“This consort greets Your Majesty!”
“This servant kowtows before Your Majesty!”
Footsteps drew near. The Emperor walked to the Noble Consort and gently took her hand.
“A celebrated blossom, a kingdom-toppling beauty, a lovely woman beneath the moon—even without wine, the heart is drunk.”
Me: So greasy… Ugh. If you can’t flirt, please don’t. Thanks.