Chapter 21 – Noble Lady Wei

Qing Tao spent the whole night in Changchun Palace, anxiously waiting, but her mistress never returned. Naturally, the Kangxi Emperor wasn’t so considerate as to remember to send word back to Changchun Palace, and Yu Ying herself had long since drifted into sleep, simply and blissfully forgetting all about it. Qing Tao, on her part, absolutely did not dare to disturb Consort An’s rest.

When she finally saw Yu Ying return safe and sound—and not only that but promoted to Noble Lady, followed by a long procession of little eunuchs carrying gifts—Qing Tao felt her heart, suspended all night in midair, finally settle back in her chest.

She didn’t even bother counting how many rewards had been delivered. All she wanted was to take a good look at her mistress. Seeing that Yu Ying looked perfectly well, her cheeks even a little rosier than usual, she finally allowed herself to turn her attention to the treasures filling the room. Every single piece was something her mistress had never possessed before.

Qing Tao carefully stroked the precious objects, her hands brushing over bolts of soft fabric, and suddenly tears fell from her eyes.

They were tears of joy.

In Qing Tao’s eyes, her mistress was a truly good person—gentle in manner, utterly sincere, and genuinely kind to her.

Yet someone as good as her mistress had never been favored by His Majesty. In the past three years, she had only been summoned to the Emperor’s bed once, and there had never been any follow-up. While the Emperor seemed unconcerned, even the eunuchs had been anxious for her. Qing Tao too had hoped her mistress would have more opportunities to appear before His Majesty, but Yu Ying always had her own opinions, and Qing Tao never dared say too much.

But fortunately, all that hardship had finally come to an end.

Qing Tao thought back to every cold meal her mistress had eaten, to the faded garments she wore, washed until they’d turned white. Yu Ying herself had never once complained, but Qing Tao’s heart had ached terribly.

Seeing Qing Tao crying, Yu Ying was startled.

Clumsily trying to comfort her, she quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

Luckily, Qing Tao had only been briefly overcome with emotion, and soon managed to compose herself.

“I’m sorry, Qing Tao, I forgot to tell you where I was. I made you wait up all night. Please, don’t cry anymore, all right? I promise it will never happen again!”

“It doesn’t matter, my lady. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. I’m crying because I’m happy!”

“Fine, fine—just don’t cry anymore. Look at me, Qing Tao! Look at my new clothes—look at my face! Is the makeup pretty? The attendants from Qianqing Palace did it for me. Isn’t it much better than your handiwork?” Yu Ying spun around in a circle.

“Yes, yes—it’s because this servant’s skills are lacking. I beg your pardon, my lady.”

“Hehe, you can keep practicing, Qing Tao. No matter how skilled others are at hairstyling or makeup, in my heart you’ll always be the best!”

Inside the palace, mistress and maid were laughing together happily.

But outside Changchun Palace, the news that the concubine who had spent the night in the Emperor’s bed had not only stayed over at Qianqing Palace but been promoted in one leap from Attendant to Noble Lady spread through the harem in the blink of an eye.

The entire palace was in an uproar.

The high-ranking concubines were able to maintain their composure. After all, it was nothing more than the Emperor acquiring a new beauty—just a passing whim, perhaps.

Everyone knew that with the precedent set by Taizong and Shizu, the Inner Palace had always been governed by the principle of bestowing favor evenly. His Majesty had never shown obvious partiality.

Otherwise, the first to lose composure would have been Her Highness in Cining Palace.

After all, back then, they’d only heard rumors of what had happened, but Her Highness in Cining Palace had experienced it personally.

But the lower-ranked concubines didn’t think this way. In their own chambers, they must have shredded countless handkerchiefs and smashed who knew how many teacups. How was it that this Wei Noble Lady was so fortunate, having only been summoned a few times and already promoted?

When they had been selected and brought into the palace, wasn’t it all for the chance to win the Emperor’s favor, so that their maternal families might secure some protection?

Yet day after day, year after year, His Majesty never even looked their way. Even so, many of them had endured all these years without rank or children.

Just when they thought everyone was in the same situation, this sudden exception occurred. How could they possibly be reconciled to it?

…

In Yanxi Palace.

Consort Hui was sitting on the couch, teasing the two-year-old Eighth Prince. When she heard the maid’s report, she grew interested.

“Oh? Noble Lady Wei? From which palace?”

“Replying to Your Highness—Changchun Palace.”

“She’s certainly blessed with good fortune.” It was hard to tell whether she was referring to Consort An or to Yu Ying. “I recall that in my own palace, there’s also someone of the Wei clan?”

“Your Highness has an excellent memory. Concubine Wei is living in the rear hall annex.”

“It feels as though I haven’t seen her in quite some time. Summon her to pay respects. Doesn’t our little Eighth Prince also wish to see his mother?” Consort Hui lowered her head to continue teasing the plump little boy on the couch. “Since the Eighth Prince wants to see her, then let her come.”

“Your Highness is so compassionate. This servant will go fetch Concubine Wei right away. I’m sure she will be deeply grateful for Your Highness’s kindness!”

Meanwhile, the newly minted Noble Lady Wei was in the midst of her own dilemma.

Now that she had been promoted, she was entitled to more attendants. Previously, as an Attendant, she had only had Qing Tao to help her.

Sure enough, the Household Department had come to fill the vacancies. They brought two entire teams of palace maids and eunuchs for her to choose from.

According to protocol, a Noble Lady should have eight personal attendants—four palace maids and four eunuchs.

By that count, Yu Ying still needed to choose seven people—quite a lot.

This left her completely flustered. Expecting someone with choice paralysis to make so many selections—it was simply torture.

But the people were all waiting on her.

Yu Ying forced herself to look at the group of young servants gathered in the courtyard. They were all so young that she felt a pang of conscience. In the end, she just picked a few who seemed to have clear, honest expressions.

She had Qing Tao give the Household Department steward a gratuity, and the rest of the people were dismissed.

Once the Household Department staff had left, Yu Ying looked at the small group standing before her and felt a headache coming on.

“All right—you should all introduce yourselves.”

The group looked from one to another. For a while, no one spoke.

Yu Ying felt so awkward she wanted to scratch a hole into the floor. Finally, someone spoke up.

“This servant Xiao Zhuozi pays respects to Noble Lady…”

Once there was a first, the others followed:

“This servant Xiao Fuzi…”

“This maidservant Pei’er…”

“This maidservant Wan’er…”

…

Once everyone had finished, Yu Ying couldn’t wait to say:

“The palace maids will follow Qing Tao’s instructions. The eunuchs…for now, you’ll all listen to Xiao Zhuozi. That’s all for now. If anyone doesn’t wish to stay here, you’d better speak up now while there’s still time—I’ll send you back to the Household Department.”

“This servant (maidservant) is willing to serve my lady!”

“That’s good. Although I chose you all myself, I also wanted to give you the chance to choose. But since you’re all willing, that’s even better. From now on, as long as you don’t cause trouble or betray me, I will protect you.”

“Of course, I am always fair with rewards and punishments. Good service will be rewarded; poor service will be punished. I encourage you all to supervise and report on each other.”

“This servant (maidservant) understands.”

“All right, go pack your things. I won’t need your help here just yet. Qing Tao, come in with me.”

Once they entered the room, leaving only Yu Ying and Qing Tao, Yu Ying finally relaxed.

“So, Qing Tao—how did I do just now?”

“My lady, this servant has never seen you so imposing. You actually frightened me!”

“Hehe, really? But now that there are so many of them, Qing Tao, you’ll need to keep an eye out and see if any of them have ill intentions.”

“Yes, my lady—I understand.”

“Qing Tao, you’re now the senior maid! From now on, all the dirty and tiring errands can go to them!”

“Thank you, my lady. But this servant feels that just one person serving you inside the chambers isn’t enough. I will observe the new ones for a few days and see if I can pick one to help inside.”

“Yes, you’re right!”

“Oh—by the way, my lady—tomorrow is the fifteenth. Now that you are a Noble Lady, you’ll be required to go pay respects to the Imperial Noble Consort.”

Yu Ying’s expression stiffened. How had she forgotten about that?

Having become a Noble Lady, she was finally considered a true mistress of the Forbidden City. She would not only need to pay respects to the Imperial Noble Consort but also have the right to attend banquets on festival days.

From now on, if she wanted to hide in her little corner of peace, she feared she wouldn’t be able to anymore.