Chapter 26 – Fuzzy Slippers

Crown Prince Baocheng lowered his gaze, carefully scrutinizing the embroidery in front of him. He looked left and right, but still couldn’t figure out how this looked like a duck, let alone a mandarin duck. In the end, Baocheng decisively declared, “This is clearly a pheasant.”

His tone was filled with firm conviction.

Hearing this, Wan Fu also leaned over curiously. But after a moment of inspection, he couldn’t tell the difference either. He looked up at Baocheng and asked, “Big Brother Crown Prince, how can you tell?”

“Although I’ve never gone hunting myself, I’ve seen the game brought back by Imperial Father,” Baocheng said confidently and began to explain in detail. “Male wild ducks have oily green heads and necks with a white ring around them. Their upper bodies are dark brown, and the tails are black. The females are mostly brownish yellow. Wan Changzai’s embroidery only has a bit of green, yet dares to pass off as a wild duck.”

Wan Anran fell into deep thought.

Wan Fu gave an exaggerated gasp, his eyes sparkling.

Seeing the admiration in his little brother’s eyes, Crown Prince Baocheng couldn’t have been more pleased. He didn’t stop there and continued describing the traits of a pheasant: “A pheasant, also called a ring-necked pheasant, has gorgeous plumage with vibrant colors. It features brown, blue, purple, and green feathers, and has a long tail. The feathers in officials’ hats are made from pheasant tail feathers!”

Wan Fu had never heard any of this before.

For the first time hearing such things, he looked up at the Crown Prince, eyes full of longing. “I want to study hard too, so I can be as smart as Big Brother Crown Prince!”

Baocheng became even more delighted.

He was like a proud little rooster, head held high, chest puffed out. All the hardship and frustration from studying when he was younger vanished in this moment—finally, his efforts had borne fruit. Just look how much his little brother admired him!

Experiencing such a feeling for the first time, Baocheng was overjoyed. He silently vowed to study even harder, determined to be a good role model for his younger brother.

Of course, the most pressing matter right now was still the “Mandarin Duck Debate.”

Crown Prince Baocheng cast a sharp glance at Wan Anran, folded his hands behind his back, and let out a cold snort. “Wan Changzai, do you admit defeat?”

Wan Anran tried to resist. “There—there are mandarin ducks too! They look really similar to pheasants—”

Baocheng cut her off, “…They are completely different.”

Seeing that Wan Changzai was still unconvinced, he struck with a final blow: “Male mandarin ducks have snow-white rings around their eyes and a colorful crest. On their wings, they have a pair of chestnut-colored fan-shaped feathers. You did get the colors somewhat right, but the problem is, although female mandarin ducks have white markings at the corners of their eyes, they definitely don’t have chestnut-colored fan feathers. If you say what you embroidered were mandarin ducks, that’s fine too, but unfortunately—they’re two male ducks flying side by side.”

Wan Anran guiltily lowered her head.

Honestly, maybe it was because she was dizzy from all the stitching. She hadn’t looked closely at the overlapping parts of the ducks, and ended up using the same pattern throughout. Sure enough, she had embroidered two male mandarin ducks flying together. If this ended up being presented to the Emperor, wouldn’t he laugh himself unconscious?

Oh no…

Wan Anran quickly reached out and stuffed the insoles deeper into the basket.

If they couldn’t be given away… then she’d just alter them for personal use?

Besides, Xu Changzai had already sent hers in. There was no need for her to be in a rush. While Wan Anran was still wallowing in frustration, Zisu suddenly spoke up: “Mistress, why would Xu Changzai give insoles? I clearly heard before that she prepared an entire embroidery set?”

Everyone exchanged looks.

She had finished her original embroidery project but suddenly switched to insoles? That did seem suspicious and raised even more doubts.

The Emperor’s words had been spoken in the East Wing Room.

At the time, only Wan Anran and three maids were present—everyone else was palace staff from the Emperor’s side. If Xu Changzai had managed to bribe someone from Qianqing Palace, how could she be stuck in the neglected and least-favored Xianfu Palace? If the information didn’t come from Qianqing Palace, then the only suspects left were Haitao, Zisu, and Jubai.

The three exchanged uneasy glances.

The once light-hearted atmosphere in the East Wing Room slowly became tense and awkward.

Crown Prince Baocheng pulled Wan Fu aside.

He watched Wan Changzai with great interest, clearly eager to see how she would handle the matter.

To his surprise, Wan Anran didn’t interrogate the three maids.

Instead, she sent Jubai to ask Nanny Xia: “Did you all forget? Nanny Xia was the one who pointed it out afterward—of course she knows something.” That said, Wan Anran still didn’t believe Nanny Xia was the gossiping type.

The three maids suddenly came to their senses.

Jubai quickly went to find Nanny Xia to get to the bottom of the matter. She was nervous and uneasy. Jubai liked the cheerful atmosphere of the East Wing Room and also liked her sisters Haitao and Zisu. Truth be told, even she suspected herself a little. Of the three, she was the most talkative—what if she’d let something slip when she got carried away?

Wan Anran didn’t dwell on the issue.

Upon hearing that Xu Changzai had already sent in her insoles, Wan Anran smiled slightly and cheerfully handed the basket back to Haitao. “Since His Majesty already received Xu Changzai’s insoles, he won’t need ours! Let’s skip this task!”

Her tone was practically gleeful.

Even Crown Prince Baocheng and Wan Fu could hear how excited she was.

Both of their mouths twitched.

They looked at Wan Changzai with disbelief and couldn’t help but ask, “Wan Changzai, what are you planning to give for the Emperor’s Longevity Festival?”

Wan Anran froze.

She silently took the basket back, sighed tearfully, and said, “I guess I’ll still make them. I can present them at the Longevity Festival.”

But surely not something this crude for the Longevity Festival, right?

Wan Anran examined the insoles left and right. She decided—why not… make slippers instead? She didn’t hesitate once the idea struck her. The cashmere insoles were already thick, and if she just added a piece of fur on top, they would become fuzzy slippers.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a simple pair of slippers had taken shape in Wan Anran’s hands. Baocheng and Wan Fu had never seen such a strange item before, and their eyes widened in wonder.

The only flaw was that the bottom was slippery. Fortunately, they still had the soles from past shoe-making projects in storage. Haitao brought two and attached them, and the slippers looked quite proper now.

Wan Anran intended to take off her shoes to test them out.

But before she could, Haitao cried out in alarm, and even Baocheng and Wan Fu took a big step back, covering their eyes: “Wan Changzai, how can you take off your shoes?!”

She’d forgotten.

In this era, a woman’s feet were considered more private than her chest in modern times—no! Even more so. At least modern women could wear bikinis on the beach, but back then, unless it was for her husband, a woman absolutely could not reveal her feet to others.

Not even to children.

So these slippers couldn’t be worn after all? Wan Anran felt a pang of regret, but then her gaze drifted to the feet of Baocheng and Wan Fu.

She couldn’t wear them—but these two little princes could!

She immediately took apart the slippers in her hands and instructed Baocheng and Wan Fu to take off their shoes. The two little ones were confused but complied, sitting on high-backed chairs and staring blankly, their small feet dangling. One of them even kicked lightly, nearly shaking off his silk socks.

Children’s shoe sizes were much smaller.

Wan Anran quickly sketched a pattern based on their sizes. Everyone got busy, so much so that no one even noticed when Jubai returned.

Jubai rushed into the room.

She looked serious, eager to report to her mistress. But what met her eyes left her utterly confused. In her imagination, everyone should’ve been anxiously awaiting her return. The room should have been filled with tension and awkward silence.

But what was this?

The mistress was hunched over the table drawing patterns. Haitao and Zisu were busy taking apart old insoles. The Crown Prince and Ninth Prince were happily kicking their little legs, looking here and there with bright curiosity.

A row of question marks popped up on Jubai’s forehead.

Everything added up to just one conclusion: Mistress really is odd.

Wan Anran worked busily.

She had Haitao bring out some cashmere fabric—black for the ears, cream for the face—and pinched two little balls with a tuft of black fuzz in the middle to serve as eyes. After half an hour, a pair of fuzzy little lamb slippers was complete.

With one successful prototype, the second pair went even faster. Once two identical lamb slippers were laid out, Baocheng and Wan Fu couldn’t help but shout in excitement.

Too cute!

Once the palace maids helped them put them on, the two boys gleefully ran around the room. Compared to stiff boots, these soft and fluffy slippers were way more popular—and the best part was, they matched!

Baocheng and Wan Fu were thrilled.

Wan Anran was happy too, though she regretted that time was short, so the finish was a bit rough. She motioned for them to take them off: “Let me fix them up and send them over to you properly later.”

Wan Fu obediently agreed.

But Baocheng was reluctant. He shook his head. “I really like them. I want to wear them now!”

Seeing the Crown Prince refuse, Wan Fu immediately followed suit. He plopped down and hugged his feet. “Then I won’t take mine off either!”

Wan Anran couldn’t help but laugh.

She sighed, holding her forehead. “Alright, alright, keep them on. I’ll make more pairs to send you later.”

Compared to painstakingly embroidering gifts for Emperor Kangxi—

Wan Anran found more joy in making things for the little princes. Besides, fuzzy slippers on the Crown Prince and Wan Fu were adorable. But imagining Kangxi wearing fuzzy lamb slippers? Just the thought made her shiver.

After sending off the cheerful Crown Prince and Ninth Prince, Wan Anran finally turned to Jubai. “What did Nanny Xia say?”

Jubai spoke quietly: “Mistress, Xu Changzai did it on purpose!”

Wan Anran frowned slightly. “What happened?”

Jubai explained the whole situation in detail.

After Wan Anran became a concubine, she fell seriously ill. Haitao was busy caring for her and also attending to the Imperial Noble Consort. Jubai was newly arrived in the palace. The four of them had little status and didn’t know the palace’s unspoken rules.

To prevent overlap in birthday gifts, consorts from the same palace usually inquired about each other’s plans ahead of time. For example, Consort Xuan was sending a folding screen, Noble Lady Nara was sending inner garments, and Xu Changzai had decided on a full embroidery piece.

But once Xu Changzai heard that the Emperor had mentioned Wan Changzai giving insoles, she immediately abandoned her nearly-finished embroidery project and switched to insoles at the last minute.

When Jubai went to Nanny Xia for clarification, even Nanny Xia couldn’t hide her anger. Gift lists for each palace were submitted early on. Xu Changzai changing hers last-minute wasn’t just targeting Wan Anran—it was also a slap in the face to Consort Xuan.

Jubai gloated, “Mistress didn’t see Nanny Xia’s expression. Xu Changzai is definitely in for a scolding!”

Sure enough—

That afternoon, a loud scolding echoed from the west wing. Consort Xuan didn’t care much about petty rivalries among the concubines, but that didn’t mean others could insult her. She erupted in fury and ordered Xu Changzai to copy scriptures—one hundred scrolls’ worth. Couldn’t finish? Then she wasn’t allowed to step foot out of Xianfu Palace again.