"New girl, all the chamber pots and commodes here need to be washed before dark. Better be quick about it, or you won't get anything to eat tonight."
Mu Wan Yun pinched her nose, her heart filled with a profound sense of grievance.
Even though she had written a letter of divorce to leave Lu Jingxing, he had hidden his true identity from her the entire time. He had never once mentioned that he was the deposed Crown Prince.
And now, with no regard for their two years of marriage, he had sent her here to wash chamber pots.
As she bent over, she gagged violently. Closing her eyes, she picked up a chamber pot.
Just as she was about to start scrubbing, Zhang Qiuchi approached. "Mu Wan Yun," he said, "you were assigned to the wrong place. Come with me to see Zhong Shanggong."
Mu Wan Yun finally let out a sigh of relief. 'Thank goodness. I don't have to wash chamber pots.'
They made their way to the Palace Bureau.
Zhong Shanggong of the Palace Bureau came out to greet Zhang Qiuchi, bowing repeatedly. "Mr. Zhang, to what do I owe the pleasure? What are your orders?"
Zhang Qiuchi said, "This is the Second Miss of the Duke Wei Mansion who has committed an offense. I must trouble Zhong Shanggong to arrange a task for her within the Palace Bureau."
Zhong Shanggong was thirty years old, dressed in purple robes, and carried an air of great authority.
Zhong Shanggong glanced down at Mu Wan Yun. "The Second Miss of the Mu Family? Who doesn't know that the Second Miss Mu died in the countryside of Yangzhou years ago?"
"It's rather strange. The Second Miss was born to a concubine, so how could she resemble the Mu Family's eldest daughter so closely?"
Zhong Shanggong walked up to Mu Wan Yun. "What's your name?"
Mu Wan Yun looked up and replied, "Mu Wan Yun."
"Can you read?"
It was Mu Wan Yun's first time meeting such an imposing woman, so she didn't dare to lie. "I can recognize some words, but I can't write very well."
Zhong Shanggong asked, "Do you have any skills?"
Mu Wan Yun lowered her head. "I know some embroidery."
Zhong Shanggong ordered a young palace maid nearby to hand Mu Wan Yun a silk handkerchief and some thread. "Embroider something for me to see."
Mu Wan Yun's hands trembled as she threaded the needle. After just a few stitches, she saw Zhong Shanggong frowning deeply.
"You call this embroidery? You're seventeen and you can't do anything. Mr. Zhang, the Palace Bureau cannot accept this person."
Zhang Qiuchi said, "Zhong Shanggong, this is His Majesty's will. You can just assign her any task. As long as she remains in the Palace Bureau, it doesn't matter what she does."
Zhong Shanggong immediately understood. 'His Majesty must utterly despise the Mu Family. It doesn't matter what this Second Miss Mu does, as long as she's thoroughly tormented here in the Palace Bureau.'
Zhong Shanggong then said, "In that case, send her to the Clothing Bureau within the Craftsmanship Bureau."
Mu Wan Yun accepted. "Thank you, Zhong Shanggong."
Zhong Shanggong ordered a young palace maid to take Mu Wan Yun to the Clothing Bureau.
Mu Wan Yun had no idea what the departments in the palace did, so she asked the young palace maid, "Miss, may I ask what the Clothing Bureau does?"
The young palace maid replied, "The Clothing Bureau is responsible for making clothes for the ladies in the palace. Lin Siming is the strictest of all the heads in the Six Palaces and Twenty-four Departments. If you're working under her, you'd better pray for good luck."
Mu Wan Yun asked, "Are there over twenty departments like this? What do they all do?"
Seeing that Mu Wan Yun was completely clueless, the young palace maid explained:
"There are Six Bureaus in the palace. The first is the Palace Bureau. After Empress Wei passed away, Zhong Shanggong was put in charge of all Six Bureaus."
"Within the Palace Bureau, the Bureau of Proclamations is for announcing imperial decrees to the palace masters, the Records Department manages the roster of palace maids in the Six Palaces, and the Supervision Bureau is for punishing palace maids."
"So, the Palace Bureau oversees all Six Bureaus, and the palace maids within the Six Bureaus are all considered to be part of the Palace Bureau's staff."
"The other five Bureaus are the Bureau of Etiquette, the Fashion Bureau, the Food Bureau, the Sleeping Bureau, and the Craftsmanship Bureau."
"You're headed to the Clothing Bureau, which is part of the Craftsmanship Bureau. It's specifically for making clothes for the ladies and other nobles."
The young palace maid paused for a moment before continuing, "There are no imperial ladies in the palace right now, so it should be quiet."
"However, Old Madam Wei of the Duke Wei Mansion has a birthday celebration coming up, so His Majesty has ordered the Palace Bureau to help the Duke Wei Mansion prepare for her birthday banquet."
Mu Wan Yun asked curiously, "Wait, wasn't the Duke Wei Mansion purged and its assets seized?"
"This Wei is not that Wei," the young palace maid said. "For Old Madam Wei's birthday, His Majesty has ordered the Palace Bureau to handle the preparations. Everyone in the Palace Bureau, from top to bottom, doesn't dare to be negligent."
"This is especially true for the Clothing Bureau. Not only do they have to make clothes for the Old Madam, but also for all the other ladies and young misses of the Wei Family."
"Especially Miss Wei. It's widely rumored in the palace that she will be named Empress any day now."
"They absolutely cannot afford to be careless with Miss Wei's clothes, but Lin Siming has already made several outfits, and none have satisfied her."
"I heard that the palace maids under Lin Siming have been worked to the bone lately."
Mu Wan Yun exclaimed in surprise, "The choice for the Empress has already been decided?"
"Shh!" The young palace maid put a finger to her lips. "You must remember not to make a fuss in the palace. And don't be so shocked by things like this."
"Miss Wei and His Majesty are cousins. The Wei Family has been out of favor for a long time, so of course His Majesty will strengthen his ties with them by marriage and let the Wei Family produce another Empress!"
Hearing this, Mu Wan Yun felt a sharp pain in her heart. 'Lu Jingxing is going to marry another woman.'
'That's right. He always did despise my low birth…'
'How wonderful for him to marry his dear cousin, a perfect match in social standing. But why does my own heart ache so terribly?'
'Lu Jingxing is going to marry someone else so soon, while I can only be a servant girl in the palace. I no longer have a husband…'
'But I was the one who gave him the letter of divorce…'
'Lu Jingxing is about to happily marry his new wife, while I'm just a palace slave. In the future, will I have to serve his wife and watch them be all lovey-dovey?'
The more she thought about it, the more her chest ached, and a bitter, aggrieved feeling rose in her throat.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
The young palace maid asked hurriedly when she saw Mu Wan Yun's expression.
Mu Wan Yun snapped out of it. "It's nothing, I'm fine."
Mu Wan Yun arrived at the Clothing Bureau in a daze. Before she even stepped inside, she could hear someone shouting from within, "Can't you see this huge loose thread right here?"
"Are you that stupid? When your parents had you, did they mistake the afterbirth for your brain? The colors of this thread are all tangled. How long is it going to take to sort them out?"
The young palace maid trembled as she entered. "Lin Siming, this is Mu Wan Yun, the Second Miss of the purged Mu Family. Zhong Shanggong has sent her to the Clothing Bureau to serve as a palace maid."
Lin Siming glanced at Mu Wan Yun. If not for her timid demeanor, she might have mistaken her for Mu Wanruo.
"The Second Miss of the Mu Family? What makes her worthy of entering the Palace Bureau? After how the Mu Family persecuted loyal and upright officials, what right does one of their descendants have to come to my Clothing Bureau!"
Lin Siming looked at Mu Wan Yun with utter contempt. "Don't you even know the proper etiquette when you see me? How is someone like you fit to enter the Palace Bureau?"
Mu Wan Yun mimicked the young palace maid beside her, bowing and saying in a low voice, "Your servant, Mu Wan Yun, pays her respects to Lin Siming."
Lin Siming sized Mu Wan Yun up. "You've come at the right time. Today, you will sort these bundles of silk thread by color. You can eat when you're finished."
Mu Wan Yun looked at the tangled mess of silk threads. Although it wasn't as foul and filthy as the chamber pots, she feared it would take her until tomorrow morning to truly sort it all out.