Su Muyao halted her steps and turned to see the young consort who had just locked eyes with her. The woman now held her chin high with arrogance, her sidelong glance carrying a hint of disdain.
Her demeanor somewhat resembled Xia Dongchun from the television drama "Empresses in the Palace," who swaggered about with an air of superiority.
It seemed to say: How dare someone dressed so shabbily parade around the palace?
Su Muyao found it amusing.
She was one of the late emperor's concubines, with both feet already in the "retirement circle." If she didn't wear plain attire but instead dressed in gaudy colors like the consorts in the "palace intrigue circle," flaunting herself like a peacock spreading its tail, what kind of spectacle would that be?
Moreover, she wasn't competing for imperial favor—why would this woman pick on her?
"This…"
Su Muyao paused, sizing up the consort before her. She noticed the woman wore a pair of silver earrings and a rippling green qipao with simple patterns. The white collar at the neckline bore no embroidery…
She quickly deduced that the consort's rank was that of a Noble Lady.
But that didn't make sense.
It was the first year of Yongzheng's reign, and no imperial consort selection had been held in the palace. All of Yongzheng's consorts had followed him from his princely mansion, with the lowest rank being that of a concubine.
How could there be a Noble Lady?
Yet the evidence was right before her eyes, leaving no room for doubt.
Su Muyao furrowed her brows slightly, and in a flash of insight, she realized she had overlooked something.
The Qing palace had an unusual trial marriage system. Whether for princesses or princes, before their formal weddings, a palace maid would be sent to "test the marriage."
This maid was referred to as a "trial marriage gege."
For princesses, the "trial marriage gege" could check for any hidden ailments in the prospective husband, ensuring a safe marriage.
For princes, the "trial marriage gege" would instruct them in matters between men and women, ensuring they wouldn't embarrass themselves on their wedding night.
Yongzheng was no exception.
In the fifty-sixth year of Kangxi's reign, when Prince Yong was to marry, the late Empress Dowager assigned a palace maid to him as a "trial marriage gege."
Historical records made no mention of what happened to this "trial marriage gege" afterward.
But if she had survived until Yongzheng ascended the throne, according to Qing ancestral customs, to avoid causing discontent among the principal wives, those who served as "trial marriage geges" for princes could not be granted high ranks. The rank of Noble Lady would be just appropriate.
The woman before her was likely that very "trial marriage gege."
Though Su Muyao had guessed the woman's identity, she pretended ignorance, her eyes filled with confusion.
"This… Noble Lady is?"
A maid standing beside the consort, following her mistress's lead, could no longer contain herself and spoke up indignantly: "Our mistress is Noble Lady Chang, who serves by the Emperor's side. How could a mere Changzai like you not know?"
"Now I know," Su Muyao replied with a smile. "Noble Lady Chang, may I ask why you called out to your concubine just now? Do you have any instructions?"
Seeing Su Muyao's calm and indifferent demeanor, Noble Lady Chang felt even more resentful, wishing she could rush forward and tear her face apart.
In the rear palace, she held the lowest rank and was of Han Chinese origin, having started as a palace maid.
The only thing that set her apart was that she had entered Prince Yong's Mansion earliest and was an old-timer by the Emperor's side. Even the current Empress sometimes showed her extra respect because of this.
Now that she had risen to become a mistress in the palace, she could not tolerate anyone of lower rank showing her the slightest disregard.
Noble Lady Chang's face turned cold as she gritted her teeth and said, "I ask you, since you have seen this noble lady, why have you not performed the proper greeting?"
Su Muyao: "…"
Now she finally understood why this Noble Lady Chang had stopped her.
Probably seeing that she was dressed in the attire of a Changzai, she wanted to take the opportunity to flaunt her authority and show off her superiority.
If she were truly weak and easy to bully, she would indeed be at her mercy today.
But what a pity.
She was "Xia Dongchun," but she was not "An Lingrong"—so capable of enduring and yielding.
Su Muyao raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, "Ah, the greeting. Your concubine nearly forgot. Fortunately, you reminded me. Then let's proceed."
With that, she took a step back.
Chang thought she had submitted, feeling smug inside. She lifted her chin, waiting haughtily for Guaerjia to curtsy and bow to her.
After waiting a while, she realized something was off.
Why was Guaerjia standing still in place?
Wasn't she supposed to be greeting her?
Why did it seem like she was waiting for her to make a move instead?
Chang frowned, pointing a finger adorned with a nail guard at Su Muyao, glaring angrily as she said, "What do you mean by this?"
"Of course, I'm waiting for you to greet your concubine!"
Su Muyao said with amusement, "Your concubine is a consort of the late emperor, while Noble Lady Chang is a consort of the current emperor. By seniority, your concubine is of the maternal generation to you. Indeed, you should greet your concubine—the etiquette cannot be omitted. If not for your reminder, your concubine would have nearly forgotten!"
Her words were infuriating, yet they were reasonable and well-founded. Palace rules indeed dictated this.
The Great Qing governed the realm with filial piety. Not to mention a mere noble lady—even the Empress had no grounds to unreasonably trouble the former emperor's concubines.
Chang was so enraged she nearly toppled backward. Fortunately, her maid beside her supported her, barely preventing her from falling. Her chest heaved as she glared with eyes wide open, saying, "You are merely a lowly Changzai, while I am a noble lady! How dare you demand that I greet you? You have such audacity!"
Such a nasty habit she had grown accustomed to.
Su Muyao sneered and said, "You are mistaken, noble lady. Your concubine is a Taichangzai."
She emphasized the word "Tai."
Holding onto Yun Mo's hand, she took two steps forward, curling one corner of her lips in a provocative manner as she said, "Your concubine has been standing here for a while, and my feet are starting to ache. So, will you perform the greeting or not? If not, your concubine will take her leave. However, in a few days, if rumors spread in the palace about a noble lady disregarding etiquette, then Noble Lady Chang, don't blame your concubine."
Chang clenched her handkerchief tightly, straightened her posture, and glared at her hatefully, saying, "Want me to greet you? Keep dreaming!"
To hell with rumors and gossip. If she lowered her head today, tomorrow everyone in the palace would laugh behind her back, saying she tried to gain an advantage but ended up worse off.
As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She leaned closer to Su Muyao, lowered her voice, and said word by word, "Aren't you missing the late emperor? When I have the chance to see His Majesty someday, why don't I request an imperial decree on behalf of you, this Taichangzai, to send you to guard the imperial mausoleum? How about that?"
What do etiquette and palace rules matter compared to the emperor's will? They're nothing!
A concubine of the late emperor, without any backing, relying on these empty formalities to suppress her—how laughable.
The one sitting on the Dragon Throne now is not the late emperor!
If only she could see the emperor and say a word in front of him, she would make sure Guaerjia met a miserable end.
Su Muyao frowned. She hadn't expected Chang to be so venomous, resorting to underhanded tricks behind her back at the slightest disagreement.
Seeing Su Muyao frown, Chang thought she was afraid and sneered, "If you kneel and kowtow to me now, admit that you were ignorant of etiquette and offended me with your words, and promise to properly perform the grand salute whenever you see me in the future, I'll let you off this time. How about that?"
The group of maids and eunuchs following behind Chang also looked at Su Muyao with arrogant disdain, each taking turns to mock and ridicule her, displaying the smugness of petty people gaining power.
"Oh my, kneeling and kowtowing—how could that be? After all, she is a Taichangzai!"
"But she really doesn't know the rules, speaking and acting improperly. If not for our noble lady's kindness, she should be dragged to the Shenxingsi for a beating!"
"Taichangzai, be sensible and admit your mistake. Otherwise, if our noble lady truly loses her temper, it won't be as simple as kneeling and kowtowing!"
…
With everyone chiming in, they perfectly demonstrated what it meant for servants to follow their master's lead and for dogs to rely on their owner's power.
Chang also looked at Su Muyao with smug satisfaction.
Yun Mo had been furious earlier, but after hearing Chang's threats to her mistress, she couldn't help but feel a little afraid.
To put it bluntly, Chang was, after all, one of the emperor's consorts. If she whispered a few words in the emperor's ear at night, wouldn't her mistress be in trouble?
Ah, it was all her fault!
Ever since her mistress recovered from her illness last time, she had changed so much—strategizing effortlessly, handling everything with ease, and solving many of their urgent survival problems one after another. So, when Noble Lady Chang had picked a fight earlier, Yun Mo had instinctively thought that all she needed to do was trust her mistress!
But upon careful reflection, her mistress had grown up in the inner chambers. Even if she understood the dangers of human nature, she was still young and spirited, unaware that surviving in the palace sometimes required bowing one's head and enduring when faced with those in power.
Sometimes, enduring temporary humiliation was necessary for long-term survival.
If she had known this earlier, she would have advised her mistress to endure it and just offer a salute to Chang.
Now that Noble Lady Chang had been thoroughly offended, what should they do?
Yun Mo looked at Su Muyao with worry and whispered, "Mistress, perhaps this servant…"
Her mistress was noble and precious—how could she kowtow and apologize to someone else?
She wanted to beg Chang to let her take Su Muyao's place.
Su Muyao slightly raised a hand, stopping her.
Yun Mo wanted to say more but noticed that her mistress's aura had become overwhelmingly imposing.
Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and the smile that had been on her face earlier had completely vanished.
Her eyes were like thousand-year-old frost and snow, icy and devoid of any warmth, chilling to the bone.
Yun Mo had never seen such an expression on her mistress's face before. For a moment, even she felt afraid, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Everyone fell silent.
The earlier mockery and ridicule vanished without a trace in an instant, and the palace path outside the Cining Palace fell into complete silence.
Chang was frightened by Su Muyao. She felt that Su Muyao looked as if she wanted to kill her. Her palms, clenched tightly, were sweating nervously, but she forced herself to maintain her composure and said, "She's just a Changzai. What are you all afraid of?"
Su Muyao stepped closer to Chang, one step at a time. Chang couldn't help but take a step back but then steadied herself and said weakly, "Guaerjia, let me tell you, acting recklessly in the palace violates palace rules!"
So she knew about palace rules too!
A cold smile curled at the corner of Su Muyao's lips. Just as Chang had done moments earlier, she leaned close to her ear and whispered like a demon, "Noble Lady Chang, don't be afraid. I just want to ask you—what is the punishment for spying on the Emperor's movements?"
Chang was taken aback for a moment and instinctively followed her line of thought:
Spying on the Emperor's movements carried suspicion of rebellion, which was naturally a capital offense. A single misstep could even implicate one's family.
No, the real question was—why was Guaerjia asking this?
Chang's pupils suddenly contracted, and she trembled as she said, "You… you're talking nonsense!"
She had intended to deny it, but as soon as the words left her mouth, it was no different from an admission.
The color drained from Chang's face, leaving it as pale as paper.
The arrogance, contempt, resentment, and hatred that had filled her gaze moments earlier vanished completely in an instant. When she looked at Su Muyao again, it was as if she were staring at a monster that filled her with utter terror.
How could she possibly know?