Meanwhile, at Jianzhang Palace.
According to palace rules, only consorts who had recently received the emperor’s favor were qualified to serve tea to the Empress, thus becoming official members of the imperial harem.
The problem lay precisely with this tea ceremony.
At the mention of tea, Yun Jiao recalled the infertility-inducing tea commonly distributed by empresses in many novels. However, since she was serving the tea rather than drinking it, she let her guard down. The palace maid presenting the tea wore a smiling face that revealed no hint of abnormality. Unexpectedly, the tea was scalding hot. Not wanting to make mistakes, Yun Jiao decided to prioritize carefulness over elegance and used both hands to hold the cup.
The result was her dropping the teacup from the burn, committing a grave breach of etiquette.
The Empress’s smile faded: “Consort Xi, are you unwilling to serve tea to this palace?”
Sitting below, Consort Wei and Xu Guiren added fuel to the fire:
“Truly born of humble origins…”
“To lose composure before Her Majesty is utterly improper.”
“Previously when Consort Xi stood outside the hall, avoiding major etiquette breaches was sufficient. Now that you’ve received imperial favor and gained a place inside the hall, you can no longer be as careless and rash as before,” the Empress elegantly lifted her teacup as if offering well-intentioned advice: “If you make such mistakes during palace banquets, you’ll disgrace the entire imperial harem. Rise, this palace won’t punish you severely.”
She gave Yun Jiao no opportunity to explain throughout.
As one might expect, even if she claimed the tea was scalding hot, those sent to verify would deliberately misrepresent the truth, smilingly declaring the temperature appropriate.
Knowing they were deliberately causing trouble to put her in her place, she stopped analyzing and chose to reload, returning to the past.
After reloading, when the palace maid smilingly presented the teacup, Yun Jiao swiftly used her fingertips to grip the cooler rim of the cup and swiftly shoved it into the Empress’s hypocritically raised hand: “Your Majesty, please drink!”
Her voice rang loud and clear.
A flicker of distortion crossed the Empress’s face before she forcibly suppressed it.
She changed her grip on the cup, took a shallow sip, then quickly passed it to the palace maid beside her.
“Receiving imperial favor is your blessing. Henceforth, maintain your proper place.”
Yun Jiao acknowledged the instruction.
“Mm, you may withdraw.”
With her current rank of Changzai, she still couldn’t sit but had to stand in the back.
But at least she could now remain inside the hall to listen to gossip.
“Oh, Your Majesty, this is the first time I’ve seen anyone shove tea into someone’s hand during the ceremony. I previously heard Consort Xi’s etiquette training was excellent, comparable to Consort Ji’s, but now…” Consort Wei covered her mouth with a delicate laugh.
“The Ji family maintains strict household discipline. Their etiquette naturally isn’t something minor households can match,” Xu Guiren chimed in.
Yun Jiao turned a deaf ear to their sarcasm.
Judging by the Empress’s earlier reaction, the scalding tea had indeed been her arrangement. Even if it meant being labeled “deficient in composure,” she had to settle the score immediately.
Thus, on Yun Jiao’s first day entering the imperial consorts’ circle, she left the impression of a foolish beauty.
…
After the morning greetings concluded, Nanny Wu immediately approached with burn ointment, carefully applying it to the Empress’s hand.
The Empress’s meticulously maintained palm was now largely reddened.
“Nanny, do you also secretly think this palace is petty?”
She suddenly spoke.
Nanny Wu continued her ministrations without pause, murmuring: “This old servant only feels heartache for Your Majesty.”
The Empress smiled faintly, then her expression dimmed: “His Majesty hasn’t visited the inner palace for so long, yet he treats Consort Xi so well. I was suppressing a fit of irrational anger with nowhere to vent it, so I acted willfully for a moment… It won’t happen again,” she paused: “Consort Xi is somewhat different from what I imagined… surprisingly unintelligent, yet quite fortunate.”
When Yun Jiao took the teacup, she immediately shoved it back into the Empress’s hands with such speed that it didn’t seem like a calculated act of retaliation.
Thus, the Empress judged it as a case of “fools have fortune.”
After the morning court session concluded, Xie Zhihang asked Yinglu again:
“Did Consort Xi suffer any grievances when paying respects at Jianzhang Palace today?”
The palace attendants serving before the Emperor simultaneously blinked.
Afraid that if their eyelids failed to contain them, their astonished eyeballs would roll onto the ground.
“Your Majesty, Consort Xi served tea to Her Majesty the Empress. Nothing untoward occurred during the process, except…” Yinglu reported faithfully Yun Jiao’s rash tea-serving gesture, as well as the veiled sarcasm directed at her by Consort Wei and Xu Guiren.
Xie Zhihang listened to Yinglu’s recap of the morning greetings with half-closed eyes.
Yun Shi could Rewind time—the final outcome would inevitably be advantageous to her. Yet she deliberately left behind the flaws of “poor etiquette” and “bad posture,” proving that merely being gossiped about by others wouldn’t make her want to start over.
“Quite a tolerant one,”
Xie Zhihang pondered: “Investigate further to see if anyone is secretly causing her harm.”
“Your servant will go at once.”
Yinglu bowed his head. Just after stepping out the door, he pressed a hand to his chest—how deeply did the Emperor treasure Consort Xi! He actually feared she might suffer grievances after attending the morning greetings following her night of service. Hearing the general account wasn’t enough; he demanded a thorough investigation—such extraordinary favor. Fortunately, he had always been sharp-witted and had inquired about the news from Jianzhang Palace in advance, so he wouldn’t be caught unaware when the Emperor asked.
Matters like heating the tea water to scalding temperatures didn’t require many hands—only the Empress’s confidante Donghua knew about it. Even the chief eunuch hadn’t been able to uncover it. But Jianzhang Palace had always been tightly guarded like an iron bucket; the consorts’ influence couldn’t reach inside. The Emperor closed his eyes briefly, running through the temperaments of the high-ranking consorts in his mind, and soon had a rough idea of the likely culprit.
After finishing his report, Yinglu, considering himself as thoughtful as a warm undershirt, asked: “Does Your Majesty wish to show extra care for Consort Xi?”
Hehe, he really knew how to handle affairs!
However, Xie Zhihang said it wasn’t necessary: “Keep a closer watch on her, but there’s no need for special treatment.”
Before he knew the reason for the Rewind time ability, it had indeed displeased him. Now that he knew it originated from a woman in the inner palace, he was in no hurry—being able to start over was, in most cases, more beneficial than harmful to him. He needed to test what circumstances would make her want to rewind, all without arousing her suspicion, so he could seize the initiative and make her serve his purposes.
Like today, when Consort Xi had helped him rewind and salvage his reputation.
Thinking of the unconcealed astonishment in his third brother’s eyes when he was helped to his feet, Xie Zhihang couldn’t help but let out a rare, hearty laugh.
Xie Zhihang had no intention of treating Yun Jiao particularly well.
Yet wherever the Emperor’s gaze fell, it inevitably brought radiance and abundance.
“Miss, Miss, look quickly.”
Xue Ya, who had just returned from fetching meals from the kitchen, wore a stern expression as she passed the main hall. But the moment she stepped into the western chamber, her face immediately broke into a delighted smile. Yun Jiao watched as she opened the food box, revealing a bowl of chicken shreds with green rice porridge, accompanied by pickled cucumbers, vegetarian ham, and wood ear mushrooms dressed in sesame oil as side dishes.
The meat dishes were crab roe buns and pan-fried plum blossom pork, while the vegetarian dish was stir-fried cabbage.
In previous days, the pastries had been date cakes made from leftover scraps saved when preparing snacks for other mistresses, allowing them to skim some profits. But today, there were exquisite lotus root powder osmanthus sugar cakes and ginseng poria creation cakes.
In the past, to enjoy such dishes, one not only had to offer Kitchen Warming Money but also pay extra.
“The kitchen staff are quite perceptive.”
As she said this, Gong Mei shared in the pride.
Seeing these exquisite dishes as if she had topped up a kitchen VIP membership, Yun Jiao’s eyes instantly lit up.
Without waiting for the palace maid to finish setting the table, she sat down and picked up her chopsticks. Each dish was more delicious than ever: “Did the kitchen change chefs?”Before, when the mistress hadn’t attended to the Emperor, the kitchen would sometimes send junior eunuchs to deal with it perfunctorily.””
The head cooks in the kitchen were also eunuchs, but not all had the chance to cook. Masters would take apprentices, and when less favored, low-ranking consorts came to collect meals, some cooks would shirk their duties by having their apprentices handle it. Naturally, the apprentices’ skills were inferior to their masters’.
Favor was reflected in every aspect of daily life.
This was the rear palace—once you gained the Emperor’s favor, palace maids and eunuchs would revolve around you, making countless consorts scramble to win favor just to retain these privileges. After Yun Jiao finished her meal, Xue Ya asked: “Mistress, should we start preparing?”
“Prepare for what?”
Yun Jiao was puzzled.
“Perhaps the Emperor will come to Xianfu Palace again tonight. Last night, the young mistress received him in haste. Today, we must dress up properly to do justice to your beauty!”
The mistress and her maids shared glory and shame—Xue Ya wished for her mistress to immediately become the most favored in the rear palace.
Yun Jiao: “Do you think I’m very beautiful?”
Xue Ya nodded vigorously: “Mistress’s looks are among the very best, even in the rear palace.”
The words sounded pleasing.
Yun Jiao touched her own face—smooth and delicate—but recalling the exhaustion of the previous night, she frowned like a thoughtful kitten:
“Never mind, let it stay buried. Don’t dig it out—it’s too tiring.”
Rather than morning and evening greetings, she’d prefer to rest in peace.
Just as she finished eating and drinking and was about to take a peaceful nap, Gong Mei came to announce: “Young mistress, Sun Changzai has come to visit you.”