The early-summer sun shone bright and clear.
The hollyhocks, morning glories, and hydrangeas in the flowerbeds were all in bloom, their dewdrops glittering in the sunlight.
The scene was peaceful and pleasant, yet the silence all around was unnerving.
“Song Zhaoxun, why haven’t you come forward to receive the decree?”
Hai Shun pretended not to notice the Crown Princess’s stiff expression or the shock on the faces of Liangyuan Cao and the other two. He addressed Kan’er, who stood some distance away.
Kan’er herself was rather stunned.
Though she had been given another chance at life, she hadn’t meant to let her rise through the ranks this time be as difficult as it had been in her previous life.
But in the palace, rank wasn’t something one could simply be promoted to at will.
Take Zhaoxun Qin, whose father was a Hanlin Academy Academician: even after entering the Eastern Palace, she had only been granted the rank of Zhaoxun.
So Kan’er had expected to begin this life as a Fengyi. She was confident she could make her way up from there.
She hadn’t expected this.
Not only had the promotion come so quickly, she had been made a Zhaoxun.
Kan’er felt a curious mix of emotions as she rose and stepped forward.
“This concubine thanks Your Highness for his gracious favor.”
Beneath her sleeves, Zheng Mingzhi’s hands clenched tight.
Hai Shun smiled amiably. “Crown Princess, Song Zhaoxun’s residence has been made ready. I’ll take her there now.”
Zheng Mingzhi maintained a gracious smile.
“Thank you for making the trip, Eunuch Hai.”
Then she turned and instructed Kan’er:
“From today onward, you are one of the women of the Eastern Palace. I trust you will watch your words and conduct yourself with care. Never forget proper decorum.”
Kan’er ignored the chill in Zheng Mingzhi’s eyes and obediently assented.
A quarter of an hour later,
Kan’er left Jiarong Hall with a small bundle, accompanied by Hai Shun.
The Eastern Palace’s residential quarters were made up mainly of Jiarong Hall, with six small courtyards to its rear on the east side and six on the west.
Apart from Liangyuan Cao, daughter of Cao Huaizhong, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who had been selected in the palace selection three years earlier and granted the rank of Liangyuan by the Empress Dowager, no one lived in the Eastern Six Courts. She occupied the main rooms of Qinfang Residence.
Chenghui Jin and Zhaoxun Qin occupied the main room and eastern wing of Xiangye Pavilion in the Eastern Six Courts, respectively. All the other courtyards stood empty.
The Western Six Courts, in particular, had never been entered by anyone.
Yongxu Court was the first small courtyard in the Western Six Courts.
The path wound this way and that.
Before long, Kan’er and Hai Shun entered the Western Six Courts.
They turned east past the flowerbeds by the gate and reached Yongxu Court. Once they had entered and gone around the screen wall, the courtyard opened into view.
The main building stood directly ahead, three bays wide, with covered galleries at the front and back.
Beneath the eaves were colorful dougong brackets, and side rooms flanked the building. Both the east and west wings were three bays wide, with side rooms and rear buildings.
The courtyard was neither especially large nor especially small.
Near the gate stood several rockeries, with water spilling down into a pool where several bowl lotuses rose gracefully above the surface.
Two jujube trees stood before the main building. Hibiscus and crabapple trees grew before the wings, all flourishing beautifully.
Hai Shun led Kan’er into the eastern wing, where she would be staying from now on.
The first room was the central reception hall. On the wall opposite the entrance hung a painting of an immortal paradise. Beneath it stood a matching set of huanghuali[1]A prized, richly grained Chinese hardwood traditionally used in high-end furniture. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3735913_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3735913_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); tables and a throne chair, with flower stands, incense tables, and display shelves on either side.
The western room was a study.
The eastern room was for relaxing in her spare time.
A large heated kang by the window was covered with a reddish-brown quilt embroidered with scrolling vines. There were also a red-and-pink backrest depicting magpies and deer, a bolster, a kang table in the middle, and a small carved-red-lacquer cabinet beside it.
A pearl curtain screened off the bedroom beyond.
Hai Shun did not go in, so Kan’er went to look around by herself.
“Song Zhaoxun, do you like it?”
When Kan’er came back out, Hai Shun asked with a smile.
He was in his early thirties, with a round face, narrow eyes, and an unmistakably prosperous air. He wore an indigo eunuch’s robe and a black gauze hat with three peaks.
Kan’er had dealt with Hai Shun many times in her previous life.
Seeing him now made her feel close to him.
She nodded. “I like it. Thank you for taking the trouble, Chief Steward Hai. And please thank His Highness for me as well…”
At the mention of “His Highness,” her voice trailed off.
She lowered her head as if shy, revealing only one cheek, faintly flushed pink. She looked as winsome as could be.
Hai Shun glanced at her, then thought better of looking again.
The image of the young woman sitting in His Highness’s arms last night came unbidden to mind.
And His Highness’s words: “Get out.”
Oh, dear!
He couldn’t bear to think about it!
No wonder Song Zhaoxun was so fortunate.
In all the years Hai Shun had served His Highness, he had never seen him be so intimate with any woman!
“Rest assured, Song Zhaoxun. I’ll be sure to pass along your words.”
Hai Shun struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.
“The rooms inside and out were all cleaned first thing this morning, and the larger furnishings have been provided. The Imperial Household Department will send over the smaller ornaments and the things you’ll need day to day shortly.”
“All right.”
As they spoke, they returned to the reception hall.
Kan’er took a seat on the north side.
Hai Shun called out toward the entrance. Several palace maids and eunuchs, along with a woman who looked like a household steward, came in.
They lined up according to rank and duties, then knelt to pay their respects. They all seemed exceptionally well trained.
Kan’er’s gaze paused almost imperceptibly as it passed over the steward and the two senior maids.
Hai Shun smiled as he introduced them.
“They were all carefully selected by the Imperial Household Department. From now on, they’ll serve in your courtyard, Zhaoxun. You may give them your orders freely.”
Then he looked at the palace attendants.
“Raise your heads and give your names, so Song Zhaoxun can put faces to them.”
They all answered in unison.
The steward introduced herself first.
Her name was Shu Ying, though everyone called her Auntie Ying. She was in her early thirties and seemed brisk and capable.
The two senior maids were both eighteen.
One was Hanshu, who seemed steady and composed. The other was Tiaozhu, whose bright eyes suggested a lively intelligence.
The two second-tier maids were Wangqing and Xiyu. They were relatively young, but both were older than Kan’er, and had pleasant, proper features.
The two errand-running eunuchs were Xiaofuzi and Xiaoxizi, while Xiaoguizi and Xiaomanzi were the two servants assigned to miscellaneous tasks.
Once they had all given their names, Hai Shun offered a perfunctory warning.
“I don’t need to tell you the rules. You’ve been assigned here to do your jobs properly and serve Song Zhaoxun well. Think carefully about which ideas you can entertain and which you can’t! If you don’t, heh…”
His two chuckles were enough to make everyone’s scalp prickle.
Auntie Ying and the others hurriedly lowered their heads and assented.
Even without Hai Shun’s warning, they wouldn’t have dared neglect their newly appointed Zhaoxun.
It was the first time in three years that anyone had entered the Eastern Palace’s rear quarters.
And, by all accounts, the Crown Prince himself had raised her up.
Never mind why it was the Crown Prince, rather than the Crown Princess, who had spoken up to grant someone from Jiarong Hall her rank.
The fact alone that Hai Shun had accompanied her to her new quarters was enough to show how much the Crown Prince valued her.
They would have to be out of their minds to neglect someone the Crown Prince favored.
“Song Zhaoxun, if you have no further instructions, I’ll return and report back,” Hai Shun said, turning to Kan’er.
Kan’er rose to her feet.
“You have matters to attend to, Chief Steward Hai. I won’t keep you.”
Hai Shun gave an “All right,” and hurried back to Yuanchun Palace.
He was told by the attendants that the Crown Prince had just finished discussing matters with someone and was getting ready to go to the training ground. He was changing clothes now.
Hai Shun went to the rear bedchamber.
Inside, his godson Yuan Bao was helping several young eunuchs attend to the Crown Prince as he changed.
Hai Shun stepped forward and, taking a gold-and-jade belt from a nearby tray, fastened it around the Crown Prince’s waist.
“Where have you been?” Luo Xun asked casually.
Hai Shun smiled. “I just took Song Zhaoxun to Yongxu Court.”
Song Zhaoxun?
Luo Xun had been occupied with serious business from last night until now and had long since forgotten the delicate little palace maid.
At the mention of her, it took him a moment to remember.
“Oh. The little palace maid.”
Hai Shun couldn’t help laughing at His Highness’s words. “Starting today, she’s no longer a little palace maid. She’s your Song Zhaoxun.”
What was that supposed to mean?
What did he mean, “your Song Zhaoxun”?
Well.
A Crown Prince’s Zhaoxun was indeed his Zhaoxun.
For some reason, Luo Xun pictured the little palace maid from last night—or rather, the young Zhaoxun.
He remembered the look in her eyes when she had told him, right in front of him, that she did not want to raise the child in Jiarong Hall.
Luo Xun wondered:
If he had refused her then, would the light in those eyes have gone out?
The thought left him with an inexplicable discomfort.
After a moment of silence,
Luo Xun said coolly, “Song Zhaoxun will attend me tonight.”
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