Nanny Shui tiptoed into the Empress Dowager's bedchamber, not daring even to breathe too loudly, for fear of disturbing that seemingly fragile figure on the bed.
"They've gone?" Empress Dowager Mo turned her head and rose from the couch.
Nanny Shui hurried to support her, propped up the large welcoming pillow, and said softly, "My Lady, the Princess Consort is still young; she doesn't think things through thoroughly enough. Please don't take issue with her. She has only just returned home—teach her slowly. Don't work yourself up into anger."
"You're good at speaking up for her." Empress Dowager Mo coughed twice and said, "It's not that she doesn't think things through, but that she thinks too thoroughly, and is far too clever."
How long has Wufu been in Beiyan? Yet in this succession of events, she was able, together with Ah Jiu, to guess nineteen parts out of twenty—they both had minds sharp enough.
But this very cleverness chilled her to the core.
