After making things difficult for Jiang Daying during their first morning greeting, Noble Princess Consort Rong completely forgot about her.
To the Noble Consort, low-ranking concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids were like NPCs in a game—if she happened to see and remember them, she'd tease and bully them for a bit of fun.
As for whether Jiang Daying's life would become difficult because of her momentary harassment, the Lady couldn't care less, and she certainly felt no guilt.
There was another, more important matter—
The Emperor had stopped turning over the name plaques!
Ever since the day General Yun Hui entered the palace and the Emperor had summoned the Noble Consort to accompany him, ten days had passed without him turning over a single plaque. The established concubines were worried sick, and the new ones were frantic. Chen Daying's days were so idle she was bored out of her mind, so she spent her time visiting her neighbor to see what new tricks she was up to.
She asked curiously, "Jiang Daying, what is this dance called? I've never seen anything like it. It's so vigorous."
Jiang Xian replied, "This dance is called 'No-Equipment High-Intensity Full-Body Fat-Burning Training.' It was created by a dancer named Pamela."
"What a mouthful of a name. And it's not very pretty to watch, either."
Chen Daying scoffed.
"But it really makes you sweat."
Chen Daying didn't understand. She was completely baffled.
Harem women considered fragrant, sweat-free skin the ideal of beauty. She truly couldn't understand why Jiang Xian would enjoy working up a sweat.
There were many other dances that made one sweat buckets, including a routine created by "Zheng Duoyan." Whether it looked good was another question, but it was truly exhausting to perform. Just watching it filled Chen Daying with dread.
Then, she saw Jiang Daying holding a heavy object and squatting for a long time, her arms extended forward in a strange posture.
Jiang Xian explained, "I'm preparing for future punishments."
Yizhu Pavilion was cold and remote, so no one bothered to supervise Jiang Daying's strange behavior.
The weather grew colder, and snow began to fall in the Imperial Palace. Aside from the morning greetings, the concubines rarely went out, preferring to hibernate in their own palaces. But Chen Daying noticed that Jiang Xian was going out frequently.
When asked where she was going, Jiang Xian didn't hide it. "I'm going to the Plum Garden to practice my dancing."
The Plum Garden was right next to Yizhu Pavilion.
The Plum Garden had been established because the late Emperor loved plum blossoms, but the current Emperor preferred peonies. Thus, it had become a deserted area. If one hoped for a "chance encounter" with the Emperor, this was not the place to have it.
Besides, it was snowing outside.
The pampered women of the harem were delicate and prone to illness. Concubines were better off than palace maids and eunuchs; even a Daying of the lowest rank could request an Imperial Physician if she fell ill. However, she wouldn't be able to summon a particularly skilled one. More importantly, once diagnosed with an illness, her name plaque would be removed, and she would be barred from attending the Emperor.
Chen Daying looked at her in disbelief. "I urge you to give up this idea! If either of us gets sick, we might not even be able to get an Imperial Physician to treat us. We're better off just staying in our rooms and waiting for our plaques to be turned. I get what you're trying to do, but this isn't something we, with our five-tael monthly allowance, should be worrying about!"
Five taels in this dynasty was equivalent to about 2,500 yuan.
In Chen Daying's opinion, dancing in the heavy snow for a monthly salary of 2,500 was not worth it.
At her words, Jiang Xian smiled.
When she was earning 3,000 a month in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, many people had also told her she'd be better off going back to her hometown for an easier, more relaxed job.
What she was working herself to the bone for was the future prospect of a million-a-year salary.
She patted Chen Daying. "Don't worry. I'm in good health, you know that."
Seeing that her persuasion was futile, Chen Daying turned her face away, pouting.
When Jiang Xian returned from the Plum Garden, she received a bowl of ginger soup from the chief palace maid next door. It had no sugar because the Imperial Household had withheld their ration of white sugar, leaving only the sharp spice of the ginger. Still, it was more than effective at warding off the cold.
Jiang Xian went to the Plum Garden every day, rain or shine. She didn't dance every time; sometimes, she just went to familiarize herself with the eunuchs and palace maids there. She wanted them to know that her visits to the Plum Garden were a genuine habit, not a deliberate attempt to "run into" someone.
Meanwhile, the [Peeping Emperor's Footprint] she had purchased for 40 points showed that the Emperor would appear in the Plum Garden in seven days.