2 Chapter 2: A Back View of Xuanye

Lanqi returned to the Palace of Accumulated Purity, soaked to the skin. When Aunt Wang found out that she hadn't managed to pass on the news to Head Eunuch Li, her face clouded over and she yelled at Lanqi for what seemed like forever. However, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu called them inside and said, "It's so busy around the palace! No one has the time to pay attention to me. But that's alright—the princess can stay here with me a little longer."

She turned to Lanqi and said, "Go and change into something else, it'll be bad if you catch a cold. The princess and I will recuperate here to save the palace some manpower."

"Yes, I'll go immediately." Ignoring the murderous expression on Aunt Wang's face, Lanqi turned and fled immediately.

Aunt Wang had been the wet nurse of Consort Hui (Intelligence), who had used to be the mistress of the Palace of Accumulated Purity. However, Consort Hui had died early on, and Aunt Wang had stayed on as a servant to the other concubines. Even Second-Class Female Attendant Bu was a little frightened of her. It was only when she got pregnant and the Empress Dowager ordered Aunt Wang to take care of her that Aunt Wang had started treating a little more nicely.

As for the other palace maids like Lanqi, Aunt Wang bullied them incessantly.

Lanqi ran back to her room and quickly changed out of her wet clothes. At that moment, another maid, Panxia (Awaiting Summer) entered the room and passed her a bowl of ginger soup. "Drink up and get rid of that cold of yours. The people from the Princes' Palace won't be coming for the princess for now. Second-Class Female Attendant Bu has to go through her confinement, and the princess needs to be taken care of. There are only so few of us here. You can't get sick now."

"Thank goodness they decided on the wet nurse early on," Lanqi sighed. She drank the ginger soup, which was so spicy that it made her sweat buckets. The kitchen was probably short of sugar again, which was why they hadn't put any in the ginger soup for her.

"Go and attend to our mistress. She's used to having you around," Panxia said. After that, she took the bowl and left the room.

Lanqi finished putting on her clothes and dried her hair quickly. As she stared at herself in the dilapidated bronze mirror, she didn't see herself, but the despairing figure of Xuanye as he stood in the rain. In that moment, the most important person in the world had been reduced to a normal man who was crying out for the loss of his wife.

It was also the first time she had ever saw him up close.

The emperor didn't visit the Palace of Accumulated Purity often. Whenever Second-Class Female Attendant Bu was summoned to his bedchambers, she was transported there and back again by someone from the Imperial Household Department. She had only seen him from far away once during the New Year celebrations, when she had accompanied Second-Class Female Attendant Bu to the feast. Xuanye had sat beside Empress Xiaochengren, who had looked in the pink of health. No one would have expected her to death within half a year.

The image of Xuanye in the rain remained in Lanqi's mind for a long time. For some strange reason, she suddenly had the urge to get close to him, pick up the umbrella that he had waved away, and hold it high above his head.

"Ha! As though that's any of your business," Lanqi said mockingly to herself. Just as she had finished combing her hair, Aunt Wang came walking into the room to tell her to hurry up. She yelled, "There you are, lazing around again! Go and attend to Second-Class Female Attendant Bu at once!"

Second-Class Female Attendant Bu had entered the palace the same year Lanqi did, but both of them had led vastly different lives due to the difference in their status. Because she was so close in age to most of the maids, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu was very kind to the servants.

However, because she had once served Consort Hui, Aunt Wang was impatient and arrogant, and hardly anyone dared to argue with her.

As Lanqi helped to feed Second-Class Female Attendant Bu her medicine, she tried to comfort Lanqi by saying, "Aunt Wang hoped that she would get some credit from the Empress Dowager for helping me give birth to the princess, but no one saw the empress's death coming. She's extremely furious right now, so she's taking it out on you. For my sake, try not to argue too much with her."

Lanqi's heart ached for her. "Mistress, you should take good care of yourself. We're used to the way she treats us. We only argue with her because she doesn't treat you with any respect."

"She once served Consort Hui. Of course it humiliates her to be serving someone like me now," Second-Class Female Attendant Bu replied. Suddenly, the princess wailed loudly, and Lanqi quickly went and fetched the wet nurse. As Second-Class Female Attendant Bu watched her daughter suckle, she started to cry. "When she goes and lives at the Princes' Palace, I'll only be able to see her once every few months. I'd rather some higher-ranking consort adopt her, so that I might see her whenever I want!"

Lanqi stood by the side quietly. Suddenly, she recalled her meeting with Noble Lady Rong, and remembered that it was her one-year-old daughter's birthday, too. Exactly one year ago, another princess had been born. Compared to the raucous celebrations back then, today seemed a little sad.

Aunt Wang entered the room suddenly. "Second-Class Female Attendant Bu, Noble Lady Rong has sent over some presents." The handmaid who had led the way for Lanqi just now was right behind her. Very courteously, she set down the presents with a smile and bowed deeply to Second-Class Female Attendant Bu. "Noble Lady Rong says that it's a very difficult period now, and the palace is prioritizing the empress's funeral. They're extremely short-staffed right now, so please take good care of yourself."

Second-Class Female Attendant Bu thanked her and told Lanqi to reward her with a string of copper coins. Lanqi walked her out personally. When she got back, she saw Aunt Wang staring greedily at the gifts as she mumbled, "Noble Lady Rong always thinks about everything. No wonder the emperor is so fond of her."

Lanqi didn't say anything, but she scoffed at Aunt Wang quietly. Before this, Aunt Wang had always felt contemptuous of Noble Lady Rong because she had been born of a booi aha family. However, Aunt Wang had been born into a booi aha family as well, which was why Lanqi could never understand why she mocked Noble Lady Rong for this.

Two days later, the people at the Princes' Palace seemed to remember that a princess had been born. Quickly, they sent someone to take her away. It was only then that the six palaces were informed of her birth. However, due to the empress's recent death, nobody dropped by the Palace of Accumulated Purity to congratulate Second-Class Female Attendant Bu. The only good thing that came out of this was that the Imperial Household Department made sure to give them enough food for the month, and the kitchen finally had enough ingredients to cook nourishing food for its mistress.

When the princess left, Second-Class Female Attendant Bu cried so hard that she nearly fainted. Grabbing hold of Lanqi's hand, she wailed, "When can I see her again..."

Lanqi teared up too. However, Aunt Wang only said coldly, "Recuperate properly and pray that the emperor will grow fond of you again. One day, when you become a high-ranking consort, the emperor might think of returning the princess to you."