Nanny Dong collapsed to the ground, a lifetime of misdeeds flashing before her eyes.
There were quite a few.
But not a single one involved offending Yizhu Pavilion.
'My crimes don't warrant this!'
In the blink of an eye, the men the Emperor had brought with him had her pinned to the side. The eunuch holding her down looked at her as if she were already a corpse, using deadly force. A bone felt like it was cracking under the pressure—a fitting penance, perhaps, for all the times she had tormented the junior palace maids.
"To punish a concubine without authorization—do you have any idea how grave a crime that is?!"
the eunuch shouted.
When the Emperor arrived, he saw Shu Changzai stretched so far she looked as if she had been folded in half. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears, but she stubbornly held them back, a pitiful sight to behold. The Venerable Emperor was far removed from the lives of common mortals, yet the woman he had held and cherished in his arms just last night was now being tormented into an inhuman shape. He simply could not bear it.
He helped Shu Changzai up and comforted her in a gentle voice, "I am here. You have nothing to fear. Liang Yuyin, go fetch an Imperial Physician at once!"
Then he turned to the vicious old woman. "Who ordered you to punish Shu Changzai? Was it the Noble Consort?"
Nanny Dong trembled and repeatedly denied it.
The Emperor figured as much. As tyrannical as the Noble Consort was, she always maintained a veneer of righteousness. For something like physically punishing a Changzai, she would surely have one of her subordinate concubines do the dirty work. He just wondered which concubine Nanny Dong would try to pin it on.
At that moment, the name that came to the Emperor's mind was Ma Wan Yi.
He mentally ran through the list of concubines in the Noble Consort's faction.
But Nanny Dong said otherwise. "It… It was Shu Changzai who ordered this servant to do it…"
Everyone present looked shocked.
Only the palace maids of Yizhu Pavilion, who knew the truth and were kneeling on the floor, cringed so hard their toes could have dug out a new palace.
Just then, Jiang Xian caught her breath.
She looked up and met the Emperor's scrutinizing gaze. "Your subject is practicing the fundamentals of dance. My body must be properly stretched before I can learn to dance well. My own palace maids couldn't bring themselves to be firm with me, so your subject sought out a nanny to help."
Jiang Xian had never truly experienced such physical torment before.
In that moment, she couldn't help the physiological reaction of her eyes turning red, which made her look extremely aggrieved.
The Emperor frowned, his gaze falling on Liang Yuyin, who bowed and discreetly withdrew. "There's no need to torture yourself like this. It's too frightening to watch. It reminds me of the suffering I endured learning horsemanship and archery when I was still a Prince."
He helped Shu Changzai into the side hall.
Not far away, Chen Daying was leaning against a wall, peeking her head out for a glance before quickly pulling it back.
He Xiang started to speak, then hesitated. "Your Ladyship…"
"It really is the Emperor," Chen Daying said, still shaken. "He was wearing bright yellow."
When the Emperor graced Yizhu Pavilion with his presence, the entire staff was supposed to come out to greet him. Then, as he escorted the beauty inside, Chen Daying could have retreated with the other Palace Attendants, unnoticed, following the unspoken rules of palace greetings.
But the Emperor just had to do things unconventionally.
He hadn't allowed anyone to announce his arrival. By the time Chen Daying knew the Emperor was there, he was already inside.
So what could she do?
Play dead? That would be neglecting her duty to the Emperor, a crime punishable by being given a white silk sash to hang herself.
Going to pay her respects now would be proper, but it would also risk being seen as trying to steal the Emperor's favor.
Chen Daying was caught in a dilemma.
He Xiang had an idea. "The woman next door is just a newly promoted Changzai. It's perfectly proper for Your Ladyship to go and pay respects now. You must think this through, Your Ladyship. If you don't fight for this chance to be seen, it's hard to say if you'll ever get to see the Emperor again."
The last two times Shu Changzai had received the Emperor's favor, she had been summoned to Weiyang Palace and Qiankun Palace.
This time, the Emperor had come to Yizhu Pavilion in person, giving his neighbor a rare chance to see his holy face.
He Xiang saw Chen Daying unconsciously clenching the handkerchief in her hand and figured she was tempted. She pushed more aggressively, "Think about it, Your Ladyship. If you don't seize this chance to show your face before the Emperor, then later… after our neighbor secures the Holy Favor, becomes the mistress of this palace, and moves into the main hall, do you think the Emperor will ever give our side hall a second glance?"
"It makes sense, doesn't it, Your Ladyship?"
He Xiang's voice trailed off.
Chen Daying said, "Be quiet. I'm thinking."
He Xiang froze.
She remembered how the neighbor always said that whenever her ladyship started thinking, things went wrong. The neighbor had advised her to think less and do less in the future.
'How could she be so mean!'
'My ladyship is very smart! She may not be as stunningly beautiful as Shu Changzai, but she still has eyes, a nose, and a mouth.'
After a moment, Chen Daying came to a conclusion. "You're saying that once Mrs. Jiang secures the Holy Favor, she'll soon become the mistress of the palace?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship."
'If you don't fight now, it'll be much harder to fight once she becomes your direct superior.'
Chen Daying's eyes lit up. She clapped her hands and smiled. "Then I must hurry and get on Mrs. Jiang's good side!"
"It's great that Your Ladyship thinks so…" He Xiang was stunned, suspecting she had misheard. "Why not try to please the Emperor? Both you and Shu Changzai are concubines. You both entered the palace as a Daying. You're only one rank below her now. If she can win his favor, so can you!"
He Xiang was so agitated she forgot her station and started using "you" and "I" when speaking to her mistress.
But Chen Daying was on a completely different wavelength.
The more Chen Daying thought about it, the more sense it made. "I didn't even get a clear look at the Emperor's face. I know nothing about his likes and dislikes. But Mrs. Jiang is different. We knew each other back in Chuxiu Palace; we're practically childhood friends! When she becomes the mistress of the palace, she'll surely look out for me. Didn't she pull me away last time because she was afraid the Noble Consort would lash out at me? It shows she's a loyal and righteous person."
Compared to the intangible Emperor, Chen Daying felt that latching onto Jiang Xian's thigh was a much more practical choice.
"It's settled. I'll go kneel outside the side hall. As long as I don't say I want to greet the Emperor in person, he won't let me in… Take off my hairpins and pearls. I need to look plainer."
He Xiang looked absolutely exasperated.
※
Meanwhile, back in the side hall of Yizhu Pavilion.
Liang Yuyin, who was standing guard outside, saw Chen Daying arrive to pay her respects. Her face was full of apprehension, and she was dressed so plainly that at first glance, she was indistinguishable from the kneeling palace maids beside her. He understood that she was truly there only to follow the rules, so he went inside, mentioned it briefly, received a grunt from the Emperor—"Mm, send her back"—and came out to dismiss Chen Daying.
Liang Yuyin reported to the Emperor that it was indeed true that women had to suffer many injuries and strains to practice dancing.
There were concubines who could sing and dance for the Emperor, but they were noble mistresses—pampered daughters of prestigious families who, had they not entered the palace, would have become the matriarchs of their own households. It wasn't necessary for them to endure the hardships of dance practice. Even if they learned, they would learn simpler, more graceful styles that didn't require such self-torture.
Only the Dancing Girls of the Inner Music Bureau, for whom dancing was a livelihood, had to practice these difficult skills. It was said that many of them developed chronic ailments as a result.
The bad news was that they would suffer in their old age.
The good news was that they wouldn't live long enough to have that chance.
"My dear concubine, why must you suffer so? You didn't sleep well yesterday, I heard about you copying the books. From now on…"
The Emperor had wanted to say, 'From now on, you have my backing.'
But an emperor's word is his bond. If he made that promise, he couldn't just play dead the next time Jiang Xian and the Noble Consort clashed. It sounded like a lot of trouble. So, the words on the tip of his tongue took a detour.
"...you should still act within your capabilities."
When it came to avoiding trouble, the Emperor and Empress were cut from the same cloth.
Jiang Xian could read between the lines and knew what the big boss had held back.
She wasn't upset, though. Back when she was just another worker, she'd seen plenty of supervisors who *thought* about giving their employees a raise, only to think again and decide against it.
'I need to try harder.'