After her bath, Qi Yue changed into a thin, single-layered gauze robe that barely covered her down to her thighs. Forgoing shoes, she stepped barefoot onto the freezing floor.
Aunt Yun fetched a pair of shoes and knelt down. “Your Majesty, the ground is too cold. You really should put your shoes on.”
Qi Yue ignored her. Briskly swinging her pair of fair, slender legs, she pushed open the window. Outside, the roses were in perfect bloom, their fragrance rich and intoxicating, the petals a vivid crimson, and the dark green stems completely covered in dense little thorns. She perched herself on the windowsill, letting her two little feet dangle naturally, just close enough to brush against the pretty rose petals.
Qi Yue kicked her feet lightly; the petals brushed against her soles, tickling her slightly. She lifted her head, the right side of her slender neck facing directly west. The glow of the setting sun reflected over half her neck and her right cheek, brushing her skin with a perfect coat of golden yellow.
In Zhengyang Palace, the palace maids coming and going absolutely did not dare to raise their heads, and even if they accidentally caught a glimpse, they didn’t dare to look closely.
Everyone knew that although Her Majesty the Empress was young in age, her temper was certainly not small. The Empress did not like people staring at her.
Kicking the rose petals down piece by piece, Qi Yue leaned back, her supple waist bending slightly. Her slender wrists looked as though they were sculpted from frost and snow. She picked up a little booklet and lowered her eyes, reading it with utmost seriousness.
The sun sank down inch by inch. Evening time was exactly when the muggy heat set in, yet Qi Yue’s body grew colder and colder by the second. Her long, ink-black hair had already dried. Qi Yue ran her icy fingers through her long tresses; her dark hair had absorbed the warmth of the sun and still retained a lingering heat.
Qi Yue closed her eyes and pressed both hands against her cloud-like, misty ink hair.
Aunt Yun reminded her, “Your Majesty, it is time for you to come down.”
Qi Yue reached out her hand, a hand that was slightly freezing to the touch.
Aunt Yun clasped it in her palm and sighed. “Your Majesty really should put your clothes on.”
Aunt Yun added, “Back in the day, Lady Qi was our State of Yan’s number one beauty. Once Your Majesty grows up, you will certainly be just like the Lady. You are so delicate and precious, please do not catch a chill and ruin your health.”
Qi Yue blinked in confusion and hopped down from the windowsill.
Night fell very early. After dark, Qi Yue wasn’t sleepy, nor did she have anything to do. In this palace, aside from being bored, there was only more boredom. It was June weather, yet as Qi Yue lay in bed, she felt a chill seeping right into her bones.
The next day, she woke up bright and early. After washing and dressing, she went to the Empress Dowager’s quarters to pay her respects.
The Empress Dowager was Qi Yue’s paternal aunt, the previous Emperor’s overwhelmingly favored Empress. Li Yi was not Empress Dowager Qi’s biological son. Empress Dowager Qi was childless, and Li Yi’s mother had been of lowly status—nothing more than a palace maid in the Imperial Wardrobe. After giving birth to Li Yi, she was elevated to the rank of Concubine, only to be framed and killed later in the vicious harem struggles.
The late Emperor had a total of thirteen princes, with Li Yi being the seventh. The first six princes had mothers of noble birth with deeply rooted, intertwined power backing them, and the latter six princes were much the same. To give birth to a son in this inner palace and raise him safely to adulthood took a grueling amount of effort. Compared to his brothers, Li Yi appeared utterly isolated and helpless, so naturally, when he was young, no one ever thought to target him.
Later on, Li Yi joined hands with the childless Empress Dowager Qi. Along with the Qi clan, they secretly framed six of the princes, won the late Emperor’s favor, and consecutively stepped over the blood of nine brothers to ascend the throne, honoring Empress Qi as Empress Dowager Xiaohui.
Qi Yue was the legitimate daughter of the Qi family’s main branch. With her parents both deceased, Empress Qi’s heart ached for her. Worried that their clan members would bully the young Qi Yue, she brought her into the palace to raise from a tender age. Later, seeing Qi Yue’s extraordinary beauty, she privately decided that the only one worthy of matching Qi Yue must be the most noble and supreme man in the world.
The reason Empress Qi was willing to help Li Yi wasn’t just because he had more ambition and audacity than the other twelve princes, but also because Li Yi promised to crown Qi Yue as his Empress—and to never, ever depose her.
And so, the very moment Li Yi ascended the throne, he made Qi Yue his Empress.
Qi Yue arrived at Shoukang Palace, where Empress Dowager Qi resided.
The palace maids lifted the beaded curtains, and a graceful, elegant woman in purple stepped out. Empress Dowager Qi was over forty, yet looked barely in her early thirties. Her skin was fair and her features beautiful; a gentle smile frequently rested upon her lips, and her voice was so soft and warm it made one feel incredibly welcomed.
Qi Yue threw herself into Empress Dowager Qi’s arms. “Auntie.”
Empress Dowager Qi caressed Qi Yue’s little face with tender affection. “Ah Mian, We heard you went to His Majesty’s quarters yesterday and ruined His Majesty’s good time.”
Qi Yue’s milk name was Ah Mian, and only Empress Dowager Qi was allowed to call her that.
She nodded her head. “Ah Mian thought it looked so glittering and splendid inside, like it would be very fun, so I barged in. Auntie, did Ah Mian cause a terrible disaster?”
Empress Dowager Qi hugged Qi Yue and carried her to the throne. “His Majesty’s good times cannot be so easily interrupted. Ah Mian must be obedient in the future, you must be virtuous and demure, and be a good Empress who commands the genuine respect of all the imperial concubines.”
Qi Yue nodded and broke into a bright smile. “Ah Mian knows. Ah Mian will learn from Auntie and become a properly qualified, good Empress.”
Empress Dowager Qi patted Qi Yue’s hand.
After having breakfast in Shoukang Palace and accompanying Empress Dowager Qi for two rounds of chess, Qi Yue took her leave.
Following the palace selection last month, the inner palace had suddenly become bustling and full. Every single day in the Imperial Gardens, young imperial concubines would compete to outshine each other in beauty and charm.
Qi Yue was curious about absolutely everything. She stepped off her phoenix palanquin, a double-file line of palace maids trailing right behind her. She felt like these people were a literal tail she just couldn’t shake off no matter how hard she tried.
She abruptly stopped and whirled around. “This Empress wishes to be alone. I don’t want you following me.”
Aunt Yun spoke up softly, “Your Majesty, the Imperial Garden is crowded and full of prying eyes; there are always blind, foolish things wandering about. If no one follows you, neither this servant nor the Empress Dowager will be at ease. If they annoy you, just walk ahead by yourself, and your servants will follow quietly behind.”
Qi Yue couldn’t be bothered to argue. Suddenly, her sharp eyes caught sight of a colorful butterfly. Snatching a round fan from a maid’s waist, she immediately trotted off to catch it.
The blue butterfly reflected iridescent colors in the sunlight. Qi Yue stripped off her trailing outer robe, tossed it aside into the grass, conveniently pulled off her heavy phoenix coronet, and went trotting after her prize.
Skipping over a small bridge and winding through a few pavilions, the butterfly finally landed on a peony flower.
Qi Yue crouched low like a cat and crept over. She carefully raised the fan a little higher, her footsteps growing ever lighter.
“Caught it!”
A joyous laugh rang out, clear as a silver bell. Then, a tall woman pinched the butterfly’s blue wings, her red lips pulling into a wide smile as she laughed, “This Concubine just knew this butterfly was the prettiest of all.”
“That is mine.”
Qi Yue lifted her head, her cold, terribly still eyes locking onto the woman pinching the butterfly.
This woman was the newly appointed Lady of Pure Deportment, Tian Shuyi. She looked the young girl up and down—wearing only a thin cyan under-shirt with her long hair falling loose—and assumed she was just some little palace maid who had run out from nowhere.
“Yours?” Tian Shuyi rolled her eyes. She was significantly taller than Qi Yue, and relying on the fact that she had been granted the title of Shuyi right after entering the palace, she was inevitably a bit puffed up with her own importance. “What an ignorant little brat, doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth and has absolutely no manners! Someone, chase this wretched little girl away!”
Two palace maids stepped forward, just about to grab Qi Yue, when Aunt Yun came sprinting over with her entourage, panting heavily. “How audacious!”
The palace maids naturally recognized Aunt Yun of Zhengyang Palace and Aunt Su of Shoukang Palace. These two put on greater airs than even the actual masters of the palaces.
The moment they saw Aunt Yun marching over, the two little maids immediately stopped their hands. They looked at their master. “Tian Shuyi, this is Aunt Yun from Zhengyang Palace.”
Tian Shuyi had only just been selected and hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the Emperor’s face yet. Hearing that Aunt Yun was someone by the Empress’s side, she hurriedly laughed, “Aunt Yun, could it be this is a little girl serving under you? This Concubine simply did not know. I only wanted to teach her a lesson because she offended me. But if she really is Auntie’s person…”
“Your Majesty, how do you wish to deal with Tian Shuyi?” Aunt Yun bowed deeply, speaking to Qi Yue.
“Your Majesty?!”
Tian Shuyi wasn’t stupid. The moment she heard Aunt Yun’s form of address, recalled the age of the Empress in the palace, and finally took a good look at the fabric of Qi Yue’s white inner garment—the absolute finest plain brocade that not even average concubines could wear—her knees gave out, and all the arrogance instantly vanished from her voice. “Empress… Your Majesty…”
Qi Yue’s long eyelashes fluttered twice. Ultimately, her gaze landed on Tian Shuyi’s hand as she muttered a single word, “Butterfly.”
Tian Shuyi snapped to her senses and hurriedly offered the struggling butterfly to Qi Yue. Qi Yue didn’t take it. In that split second, the butterfly flapped its injured wings and flew away.
Under Qi Yue’s freezing glare, Tian Shuyi’s legs went completely weak and she dropped to her knees. “Your Majesty the Empress, this concubine had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai…”
In the inner palace, being just one rank higher was enough to crush someone to death. She was nothing but a lowly Shuyi; facing the supremely exalted Empress, she naturally didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
Qi Yue pointed a finger at Tian Shuyi. “Beat her.”
Several palace maids immediately pinned Tian Shuyi down.
Tian Shuyi didn’t dare make a peep. Her watery, bright eyes welled with tears, making her look incredibly pathetic.
Qi Yue ground her teeth together.
Just then, a soft, charmingly dramatic voice drawled out, “My, my, what is going on here?”
Qi Yue turned her head.
A young woman dressed in crimson palace attire was strolling over, surrounded by a throng of attendants. She was extraordinarily bewitching, with a distinct haughtiness in her brow and eyes.
The surrounding palace servants bowed in greeting. “Noble Consort Yan.”
Noble Consort Yan looked Qi Yue up and down. “Your Majesty the Empress, your clothes are in disarray and your hair is uncombed. Parading like this in front of a bunch of slaves, what kind of proper image is this?”
Qi Yue watched Noble Consort Yan with a guarded expression, not saying a single word.
Noble Consort Yan then noticed Tian Shuyi on the ground. Giving another dramatic “My,” she asked, “What is this about?”
Tian Shuyi choked back a sob. “This concubine… this concubine offended Her Majesty the Empress.”
Noble Consort Yan shot a look to the little eunuch at her side. “Well? Hurry up and fetch His Majesty. His Majesty is drinking tea in the pavilion nearby. Her Majesty the Empress is young and cannot handle matters properly; we will need His Majesty to come and uphold justice.”
The little eunuch gave a shout of acknowledgment and dashed off at top speed.
Aunt Yun also shot a look to a palace maid, signaling her to hurry over to Shoukang Palace.
Noble Consort Yan was sharp-eyed and naturally caught this. Pointing at the departing maid, she demanded sternly, “And where do you think you’re going?”
Translator’s Anecdote (T/N): The classic “you insulted the undercover boss” trope never fails to entertain! Watching arrogant newbies realize they just cursed out the actual Empress is absolute premium comedy. And now we have a full-blown playground turf war on our hands—Noble Consort Yan is sending someone to tattle to the Emperor, and Aunt Yun is sending someone to tattle to the Empress Dowager! Grab your melon seeds and popcorn, because Emperor Li Yi is about to get dragged right into the middle of this glorious, chaotic mess!