Chapter 10

Wan Yi stood in front of the Cold Palace, supported by someone.

She was adorned in an exquisite outfit: a water-blue shirt embroidered with a golden dragon pattern, a bright red skirt featuring a lotus design woven with gold thread, and pearls and jade adorning her hair. A phoenix crown rested gracefully on her forehead. From a distance, she appeared both lively and regal.

Although Wan Yi usually preferred luxurious yet simple clothing, she had chosen this elaborate attire for her visit to the Cold Palace. It was a deliberate choice—to highlight the stark contrast between her own flourishing position and the decline of some of her former acquaintances in the Cold Palace.

During the reign of the late emperor, Wan Yi had never needed to compete for favor, as his heart was always with her. In fact, sometimes she wished that the late emperor would spend more time with the other concubines, so that he wouldn’t always be around her. Despite not caring for fame or power, she couldn’t stand those who sought to stir trouble. Some of these women met their end by death, others by suicide, and those who survived were all sent to the Cold Palace.

“Your Majesty, you don’t have to go in, right? It’s unlucky.” Yan Qian couldn’t help but feel a chill in the afternoon air. The Cold Palace was already filled with an unsettling atmosphere, and the place reeked of resentment. She felt that if there was something the Empress Dowager needed, it could easily be handled by the servants, and there was no need for her to go in person.

“Those women couldn’t harm me when they were in power, so how could they be any stronger after losing their influence? The same goes for ghosts and monsters, so why should I be afraid?” Wan Yi responded with a smile to her maid. “Open the door.”

Upon Wan Yi’s arrival, the women in the Cold Palace were summoned from their rooms into the courtyard to pay their respects. To prevent anyone from acting recklessly, a line of guards formed a barrier between the Cold Palace and the Empress Dowager, prepared to apprehend anyone attempting to harm her.

After all, most of the women in the Cold Palace had been brought there by Wan Yi herself. Some had been there during the reign of the late emperor, and others during Emperor Cheng of Ming’s rule.

As Wan Yi entered the courtyard, she saw a group of women huddled together by the palace wall. She walked over with a smile. Yan Xi, however, cautioned, “Your Majesty, don’t get too close. Those people are either mad or insane. I’m afraid they might hurt you.”

“What’s there to be afraid of with a human wall between us?” Wan Yi shot her a look of annoyance. Yan Xi had accompanied her through countless dangers in Ning’an Palace, yet her courage seemed to have dwindled, not grown. It was not a good trait for a servant to be overly timid. In times of danger, such servants might abandon their master and flee.

But Wan Yi’s attention was soon drawn to the women in the corner.

“They’re all familiar faces!” she exclaimed, scanning each of them. To her surprise, some of these women had been in the Cold Palace for at least ten years, yet they were still alive.

Taking a step back, not out of fear but because of the overwhelming stench, Wan Yi saw that Yan Xi had been right—these women, once beauties who had dressed in elegant finery for the emperor, had been reduced to dirty, disheveled figures. Their clothes were torn, and their bodies were unwashed, giving off a foul smell of sweat and filth. They had been abandoned, with no servants to care for them, their beauty long forgotten.

Despite the changes, Wan Yi’s keen eyes recognized her former rivals, though they were unrecognizable compared to the stunning women they once were.

However, one woman stood out. Dressed in a clean, stone-blue coarse cloth gown, with a broken wooden hairpin holding her hair in place, she was not adorned in jewelry, yet she was cleaner than the others. She wasn’t the only one to appear relatively neat, but she stood apart from the others like a fairy among monsters—isolated and dignified.

Wan Yi vaguely recalled this woman’s noble status during Emperor Mingcheng’s reign. She looked familiar, but her name escaped her. After a brief glance, Wan Yi didn’t dwell on it.

Yan Xi loudly conveyed the Empress Dowager’s orders: “The Queen Mother will remain in the Cold Palace for a few days. During this time, all of you will stay in the house in the left side courtyard. No one is allowed to leave without Her Majesty’s permission.” She then addressed the head of the guards: “Take them inside! We need to make arrangements quickly.”

This was all part of Wan Yi’s plan.

Wan Yi, playful by nature, had come up with a way to frighten Yao Xi. It wouldn’t be enough to simply let the little eunuch spend a lonely night in the Cold Palace. Wan Yi had come early to prepare a more elaborate spectacle for the night.

The women in the Cold Palace were quickly ordered about, and some were dragged away by the guards. Witnessing this, Wan Yi’s expression darkened. “Stop!” she ordered sharply. “These women are the former concubines of the late emperor and the current emperor who have committed grave crimes. How dare you, dogs, treat them so disrespectfully?”

The guards, startled, quickly apologized and turned to the women in the Cold Palace. “Please come in,” they said, gently ushering them forward. Only a few of the more deranged ones had to be removed by force. The head of the guards only dared to give such orders with the Empress Dowager’s tacit approval.

The woman in green followed the others to the left side courtyard. As she turned the corner, she cast one last glance at Wan Yi.

Two palace maids set up a chair for Wan Yi in the center of the courtyard and placed a canopy overhead. Yan Xi helped her settle under the shade. “Everything has been arranged, Your Majesty. Please give us your instructions.”

The Cold Palace, originally the Jingling Palace, was a three-sided courtyard with two entrances. It had five main rooms in the front yard, a bathroom in the east corner, and three east and west wing rooms. A short corridor connected the back courtyard, which also contained a small pond.

Wan Yi, surrounded by her attendants, took a walk around the Jingling Palace. She had already formed a plan for the trap she intended to set. Giving quick orders, she said, “Dig a one-foot-deep pit behind the threshold of the main palace, fill it with cotton, and cover it with a thin layer of soil. Replace all the candles with oil lamps, ensuring the oil level increases as it moves from the door to the backyard, but the time cannot exceed half an hour. And don’t forget to keep the lamp in front of the large bronze mirror in the west room—sprinkle some chicken blood on the mirror.”

Yan Qian listened carefully, noting the details. Some of the quicker palace maids had already started to arrange things according to Wan Yi’s instructions.

“Hang some bells here. Don’t trip people, just make some noise,” Wan Yi added, imagining Yao Xi’s terror. Her smile widened as she continued, “Hang a white dress here, and make a dummy by stuffing grapefruits and hair into the collar. Put a black cat in the cabinet over there. It must be a black one. On the old locust tree in the backyard, hang a dummy made of grapefruits and white clothes. Above us, place ice cubes on the beam and let the water drip down slowly…”

Yan Qian felt a shiver down her spine at the thought. She was certain that the servant Yao Xi wouldn’t survive the night in Jingling Palace.

“Wasn’t there a pavilion next to the Cold Palace?” Wan Yi suddenly asked.

“My Lady, yes, there is a pavilion for viewing lotus flowers,” replied one of her attendants.

“Perfect. We’ll wait there tonight,” Wan Yi said, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “Tell someone to let Yao Xi know that I’ve hidden a painting in Jingling Palace with a red tassel tied to it. If he can find the painting within one night, I won’t punish him, and he’ll return to the Siyuan Bureau after tonight. But if he doesn’t find it in time, his life will be forfeited.”

“I obey your command.”

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Yao Xi had spent the previous night outside Ning’an Palace, and by this time, she was wide awake. After tidying up her room, she decided to find some errands to run. She thought that because of her, everyone had lost sleep the night before, so she wanted to take on some of the work in the government office. Ning’an Palace was not a place where she could stay long-term. After all, she was still a member of the Siyuan Bureau, and even though she ate and lived there, it was clear that offending Liao Bing had already complicated matters. She couldn’t afford to make any more enemies.

She picked up the pumpkin, preparing to wipe it with a wet cloth, when a small steward spoke sarcastically to the people in the room, “Are you still standing there? Hurry up and take over Eunuch Yao’s work. If Eunuch Zheng gets upset, we’ll be the ones who suffer.”

The crowd burst into laughter, and someone with a sharp tone picked up a peach, saying, “Guess, brothers, which part of this peach is the most delicious?”

Everyone replied they didn’t know.

The man laughed and said, “Of course, it’s the peach’s butt. It’s not only delicious but also very valuable! Hahahahaha!”

Yao Xi, embarrassed, let the pumpkin be taken away and quickly fled. She deeply regretted making a fuss about the theft, especially knowing that Liao Bing was involved—he was the nephew of the eunuch in charge of the seal. But when she thought about it, even if she had accepted her fate and remained silent, the situation wouldn’t have improved. Others might have thought she was easy to bully, which would only make matters worse.

She was afraid her life in the Siyuan Bureau would be difficult from now on. Zheng Dayun was not being kind without expecting something in return, and it was clear she couldn’t offer him what he wanted. One day, he might grow tired of her, or find a new interest, and she would no longer have his support.

Yao Xi looked up at the sky and decided that she must enter the palace earlier today. She couldn’t afford to miss the time. The Queen Mother’s bad reputation was not unfounded. It was a miracle that she had saved her life from the Queen Mother’s wrath twice.

Yao Xi naively thought that the Empress Dowager had been somewhat lenient by only giving her three nights in the cold palace.

Meanwhile, the “kindhearted” Wan Yi was standing in Jingling Palace, looking at the numerous traps she had set up with her own hands and smiling with satisfaction. She was feeling a little soft-hearted and thought of removing some of the traps, not wanting to scare the little eunuch to death and ruin the fun of the game.

However, thinking of the Queen, Wan Yi quickly regained her resolve. Let the little eunuch be scared to death. The Queen’s matters would keep her busy for a while, and besides, if the eunuch was so easily frightened, he wasn’t worth her worry.