By now, the sky had fully brightened. The morning breeze swept across the palace pathways, carrying a slight dampness and chill.
Su Muyao tightened her fur coat around herself and walked slowly back with Yun Mo.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to walk faster—she simply couldn’t. The snow-blue satin platform shoes embroidered with bamboo and butterfly patterns were beautiful, yes, but with their ten-centimeter heels, walking in them was far less convenient than in ordinary flat embroidered shoes.
Yun Mo supported her and sighed, “Miss, I was wrong before. Seeing it today, the Emperor truly handles matters with fairness.”
A flicker of contemplation passed through Su Muyao’s eyes as she asked softly, “Do you really think so?”
“Yes!” Yun Mo nodded emphatically, stating matter-of-factly, “When I heard the Emperor had arrived, I was terrified. After all… that Noble Lady Chang, who acts as if her eyes are on the heavens, is one of the Emperor’s proper consorts. If we clashed with her, who could guarantee the Emperor wouldn’t show favoritism… Even now, my fingertips are still cold.”
Su Muyao touched her hand—indeed, it was icy cold, proving she hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest.
Su Muyao comforted her gently, “It’s alright now, it’s all over.”
Yun Mo nodded and smiled, “Don’t worry, Miss, I’m fine now. With the Emperor punishing the wicked and rewarding the good, we’ve finally held our heads high. There’s nothing more weighing on my mind.”
Su Muyao nearly laughed at her phrase “punishing the wicked and rewarding the good.”
She didn’t believe the Emperor had acted out of a desire to uphold justice.
She and Chang had been trading barbs, creating quite a stir, but the Emperor hadn’t been present. How could he determine right from wrong based solely on Chang’s few words?
And that assessment—“frivolous and impulsive, foolish and rash”—carried deep implications. It didn’t seem like something said solely because of this incident.
Perhaps Yongzheng had long been dissatisfied with Chang’s sycophantic and bullying nature, and this was merely an excuse for a minor punishment as a warning.
In any case, regardless of the reason, she hadn’t suffered any losses.
Su Muyao had guessed correctly, but only half-correct.
Every day around the beginning of the si hour, after paying respects at Cining Palace, Yongzheng would spend some time reading in the eastern warm chamber of Yangxin Hall.
Today, however, holding the handwritten “Veritable Records” by the Sacred Ancestor, he found himself unable to focus.
Su Peisheng took a cup of tea from the tray carried by a palace maid and placed it on the table beside the couch, speaking softly, “Your Majesty, this is the newly produced jujube kernel oolong tea from Wuyi Mountain. It’s most effective for calming the mind and focusing the spirit. Perhaps… you should rest for a while.”
Having served Yongzheng for many years, Su Peisheng was skilled at reading his master’s moods. Seeing that Yongzheng hadn’t turned a page for a long while, he surmised something was weighing on his mind and thus timely offered a cup of tea.
Yongzheng set the book aside, picked up the teacup, and took a small sip, his tone light as he remarked, “This tea is quite good. Reward them.”
Although he said “quite good, reward them,” he didn’t take another sip, nor did his expression show the slightest hint of satisfaction. For an emperor, concealing emotions was a fundamental skill.
“As you command.”
Su Peisheng gestured to the palace maid holding the tray, signaling her to withdraw.
Yongzheng leaned back, closed his eyes, and rubbed the white jade thumb ring on his finger, asking as if casually, “How is Noble Lady Chang?”
Su Peisheng was taken aback, not expecting the topic to suddenly shift to the rear palace. In the past, the Emperor had never shown much concern for this noble lady.
Moreover, he had assumed whatever was troubling His Majesty must be related to affairs of the court.
But he still performed his duties conscientiously and answered honestly, "Your Majesty, you know Noble Lady Chang's temperament. Ever since she returned to Zhongcui Palace, she has smashed many things out of anger. It's said that even her personal maid was beaten and came out of the room crying with her face covered."
He spoke the truth and knew that the current emperor disliked such behavior. Sure enough, before he could finish, Yongzheng's brow furrowed slightly.
"Inform Noble Lady Chang that I will dine at her place tonight."
Yes—wait, what?
Su Peisheng almost thought he had misheard, then quickly nodded and respectfully said, "Yes, this servant will go deliver the decree immediately."
As he left the East Warm Pavilion, Su Peisheng was still puzzled. Had the sun risen from the west today?
He truly could not discern the direction of the situation at all.
If the Emperor had feelings for Chang, he would not have reprimanded her at the gate of Cining Palace earlier. Yet, after just reprimanding her and ordering her to reflect behind closed doors, he now intended to dine at her place in the evening. Could it be that he regretted punishing her too harshly?
That seemed to be the only explanation.
But why did he feel it wasn't quite like that?
Su Peisheng was filled with doubts, and Yongzheng, who had caused him so much confusion, was equally perplexed.
Ever since he left the gate of Cining Palace, a pair of cunning, fox-like, lively eyes kept flashing through his mind.
He truly could not understand what Guaerjia had said at the time that could frighten the usually arrogant and domineering Chang into turning pale and trembling with fear?
Curiosity is a human instinct, but for an emperor, this instinct differs slightly from others—it seems inherently stronger.
At times, an emperor's curiosity is also called a desire for control.
Some time ago, the incident involving the warrior was defined by Yongzheng as a case of a young consort from the previous reign unable to endure loneliness, attempting to seduce him with deep scheming and tactics.
After that, he paid no further attention to it.
Although he wasn't entirely certain, he had a rough idea in his mind.
But this time, he had no idea.
Chang was one of the earliest women to enter his household, and he knew her quite well. If someone said she and Guaerjia were putting on an act together to attract his attention, he truly found it hard to believe.
For one thing, Chang was a Han woman, with a background completely different from Guaerjia's. How could the two of them possibly be connected?
Since there was a problem he couldn't figure out, he would find a way to solve it.
During the brief moment earlier, Yongzheng had already decided to get to the bottom of it.
Su Muyao had no idea that she had triggered a mental storm in the young emperor. At the moment, she was staring in astonishment at the rice, flour, grains, oil, fruits, snacks, and vegetables piled high at the entrance of Qianxi Sisuo.
She asked a leading eunuch, "Greetings, sir. What is all this about?"
The supervising eunuch smiled and said, "Greetings, Taichangzai. I am from the Imperial Kitchen Bureau of the Imperial Household Department. Weren't you ill for the past two months? The Imperial Physician said that during illness, one should focus on light nourishment and fasting, so your allotted provisions were kept on record at Shoushanfang."
"Now that you've recovered, I have been ordered to deliver them to you. If it's inconvenient for you to receive them, I can have them converted into silver for you instead."
Yun Mo inwardly rolled her eyes and tugged at Su Muyao's sleeve, whispering, "Miss, don't believe their nonsense."
It was clearly a case of withholding their rightful provisions. For the sake of two daily meals, she had pleaded with Shoushanfang countless times before. Those stewards were all snobs, recognizing only silver and not people.
Some even gossiped behind their backs, saying things like, "Whether she dies sooner or later, it's all the same. What's the use of eating a few more days of plain rice?"
During that period, they were nearly starved to death.
Now that the young lady had recovered, suddenly a steward eunuch from the Imperial Kitchen Bureau appeared, playing the good guy on behalf of those Shoushanfang stewards.
Claiming they had merely stored the provisions and never intended to withhold them, they eagerly delivered the items back. Who knew what ill intentions they harbored?
Su Muyao signaled her to calm down and asked, "On whose orders are you acting?"
The eunuch forced a dry laugh. "This humble servant is acting on the orders of the higher-ups. As for who exactly, even if I told you, you wouldn't know them."
Su Muyao nodded, glanced at the items on the ground, and said, "The other things are fine, but there's a lot of meat here. We won't be able to finish it all at once, so please convert a portion into silver."
She then softly instructed Yun Mo, "Check and tally everything carefully. Don't miss anything."
"Yes."
Yun Mo felt disdainful, but these supplies on the ground rightfully belonged to them. She couldn't afford to suffer this loss just to vent momentary anger.
A Changzai's daily winter food provisions included: five catties of pork, fifteen plates of mutton (monthly), five chickens and ducks combined (monthly), 1.2 liters of aged japonica rice, two catties of white flour, two taels of white sugar, 3.5 taels of sesame oil, 1.8 catties of tofu, eight taels of noodle residue, six taels of sweet sauce, two taels of vinegar, six catties of seasonal fresh vegetables, six eggplants, and six cucumbers.
Over the past two months, their daily food consumption hadn't even reached one-twentieth of the normal standard. Now, with all these items accumulated together, the pile looked impressively large.
Yun Mo, already resentful, meticulously checked and accounted for each item, determined not to let anyone take advantage. She calculated everything clearly, not overlooking even the slightest discrepancy.
Once everything was verified, it was stored in the kitchen of Qianxi Sisuo.
No sooner had they finished than officials from the Guangchu Department of the Imperial Household Department arrived right on their heels.
They came to deliver last year's material provisions.
A Changzai's annual material provisions included:
One case of white wax, one case of tallow candles, three cases of beeswax;
One box of Lu'an tea, two boxes of Tianchi tea, five boxes of pre-rain tea;
One silver-plated iron table with cloud-patterned corners, one horn-handled lamp;
One bolt of cloud-patterned satin, one bolt of plain satin, one bolt of Peng satin, one bolt of palace silk, one bolt of Lu silk, one bolt of gauze, one bolt of damask, one bolt of spun silk, three catties of cotton;
One lacquered tea tray, two multicolored porcelain plates, eight assorted porcelain plates; four multicolored porcelain bowls, ten assorted porcelain bowls; two multicolored porcelain dishes, four assorted porcelain dishes; two multicolored porcelain cups, six assorted porcelain cups.
The items seemed plentiful, but in reality, they weren't much. Making them last a full year would still be somewhat tight.
Candles and tea were consumables, porcelain plates, bowls, and dishes were easily broken, and one bolt of silk could make two sets of clothes. All these silks and satins combined were only enough for one ceremonial robe, two sets of winter clothes, four sets of spring and autumn attire or six sets of summer wear, and seven or eight sets of sleepwear.
These provisions were manageable in Qianxi Sisuo since it was just the mistress and her maid. But in other palaces with many servants, once distributed, these provisions would be far from sufficient.
If the family provides no support, one is not favored, and there are no rewards, then one can only embroider some items and have someone take them out to sell.
Yun Mo was pleasantly surprised.
Su Muyao, however, was somewhat astonished and asked, "Did you not miscalculate the accounts?"
She knew that although Guaerjia had entered the palace last year, it was during the winter, so a portion should have been deducted accordingly. Yet now, the items delivered were given according to the full annual allotment for a Changzai.
It was unbelievably generous.
The eunuch in charge of Guangchusi smiled and said, "You jest. If we miscalculated, even if our entire family were to go bankrupt, we couldn't afford to compensate. This was all arranged by those above. We are merely following orders."
After saying this, he led the group of people to take their leave and departed.