Having slept late into the day, Qin Susu did not return to the Warm Cloud Pavilion until the hour of mao (around 5:00 to 7:00 AM). After all, having passed out once, her complexion was exceptionally poor, with her little face as pale as frost—a sight to wring anyone’s heart with pity.
However, Mammy He was not one for tender sentiments. The wildfire rumors had spread rapidly and naturally reached her ears.
Catching sight of Qin Susu looking so frail and supported by Jinsui, Mammy He raised her chin, disdain flashing in her eyes. Even so, she still remembered the Crown Princess’s instructions.
“Why is the imperial concubine returning at this hour?” she complained, stepping forward as if to reach out and pull at Susu.
Having just been coached by her mistress, Jinsui reacted instantly. She stepped forward to block Susu, emboldening herself to snap, “What does Mammy think she’s doing!”
While Susu was away, the Imperial Household Department had assigned four maids and two young eunuchs to the Warm Cloud Pavilion. With Jinsui speaking up like this, not only was Mammy He startled, but the gazes of all the newly arrived maids and eunuchs in the courtyard instantly snapped toward her.
Feeling so many eyes locked on her, Jinsui felt a flicker of cowardice instinctively rise in her chest. But then she recalled the heartfelt, sincere words Susu had spoken while gripping her hands moments before.
She was her mistress’s only source of reliance in the East Palace! As the head maid of the Warm Cloud Pavilion, she represented her mistress’s dignity and must never let her mistress be bullied by insolent servants!
Taking a deep breath, before Mammy He could recover from her shock, Jinsui quickly helped Susu inside the house.
Crash! The door was slammed shut tight.
Mammy He had originally expected to indulge herself in the Warm Cloud Pavilion, riding on the coattails of the Crown Princess’s power to lord it over Qin Susu as her “master.” She had never imagined that Jinsui—previously just as timid and shy as Susu—would act today as if she were an entirely different person.
Losing face in front of the new servants, Mammy He’s expression turned a mottled shade of blue and purple. She glared at the candlelight burning inside the house and spat bitterly.
“Pah! Little cheap hoof, just because you lost face before His Highness, you take your anger out on me! Just wait until your mistress—hmph, ignorant wretch!”
Mammy He gritted her teeth, though she ultimately dared not blurt out the secret machinations of her master. Still, having her pride bruised for no reason, she was hardly a magnanimous person.
Her eyes rolled as she schemed a countermeasure. Since both Qin Susu and that maid Jinsui looked down on her, she would just have to make them suffer a bit. Remembering the message sent from the main courtyard earlier—stating that all the concubines of the East Palace were required to pay their morning respects at the Luanluan Pavilion today—if Qin Susu remained ignorant of this and slept right through it, then…
Suppressing her malice and wiping away a trace of fake tears from the corner of her eye, Mammy He retreated to the servants’ quarters.
Inside the house, Jinsui’s hands were shaking. Back at the Qin estate, she had survived by keeping soft and yielding; now that she had suddenly stood her ground, even she found it hard to believe.
“My lady, do you think Mammy He will hold a grudge against this maid?”
Susu looked up at her and stated bluntly, “As long as you remain my personal maid for a single day, she will hold a grudge for a single day.”
As for today’s incident, it was merely a matter of bruised pride and wouldn’t amount to anything too severe.
Before the bronze mirror, her sharpened little face was reflected back at her. Seeing Susu casually applying a thin layer of powder to her face, Jinsui was stunned.
“My lady, what are you doing?”
Before Susu could answer, a faint scratching sound came from the window.
The person knocking seemed terrified of something, keeping their movements so restrained that if Susu and Jinsui had been speaking any louder inside, the sound wouldn’t have been heard at all.
Susu and Jinsui exchanged glances, the maid momentarily suspecting it was Mammy He. But sensing something was amiss, Susu shook her head. “Go open the door.”
Jinsui’s lips parted, but she obeyed her mistress and stepped forward.
The moment she opened the door and saw who was outside, Jinsui paused.
The maid in green hurriedly curtsied. “Sister Jinsui, this maid is a palace maid assigned by the Imperial Household Department today. My name is Lvwu.”
Seemingly afraid of being accused of wasting time, Lvwu spoke at a noticeably quicker pace. “Before my mistress returned earlier, this maid saw people from the Luanluan Pavilion come by.”
Hearing this, Jinsui’s expression shifted slightly. Glancing sideways at Susu, she saw her nod, signaling for Jinsui to bring Lvwu inside.
Once Lvwu entered the inner room and caught her first glimpse of Qin Susu’s face, the young maid’s cheeks instantly flushed a bright, burning red, and she hurriedly offered her greetings.
“M-My lady.”
Susu stood up and helped her rise. “No need for formalities. Speak.”
This Lvwu was not one of the two maids assigned to her by the Imperial Household Department in her past life. After all, back then she had merely started out as a Fengyi (Third-Class Concubine), whereas now she had skipped two ranks straight to Chenghui (Second-Class Concubine).
Her gaze lingered on Lvwu, feeling that the maid looked somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen her before.
Hearing Susu’s cool, detached tone, Lvwu hastily lowered her head. “This maid heard from afar—the senior maid of the Luanluan Pavilion told Mammy He that all the mistresses of the various courtyards must go pay their respects at the Crown Princess’s residence today. But earlier, this maid saw Mammy He…”
Mammy He had deliberately kept this information from Qin Susu.
Jinsui caught on instantly. Her face turned sheet white, and when she turned back to look at Susu, her expression was one of troubled hesitation.
Susu’s soft eyelashes drooped. In her past life, it was also on this exact day that Qin Huan had pushed her out in front of the pack of women in the East Palace to subject her to endless humiliation.
Taking a deep breath, she cast her gaze back toward Lvwu.
She stared at the girl for a long time—so long that Lvwu began to tremble all over—before slowly withdrawing her gaze.
“I understand.”
Just as Susu’s words fell, Jinsui bent down and slipped a gold hairpin straight into Lvwu’s hand.
Lvwu’s lips parted. “This maid didn’t mean to—”
Susu cut her off. “The Warm Cloud Pavilion rewards and punishes clearly. This is my reward to you. Keep it.”
Hesitating for a moment, Lvwu accepted the hairpin, bowed, and curtsied in gratitude. “This maid thanks my lady for the reward.”
After she quietly slipped away, Jinsui’s fearful voice rang out. “Thank goodness, thank goodness there’s still time…”
However, the moment Jinsui looked up and noticed the sudden patch of tiny red bumps breaking out across Susu’s face, her pupils constricted.
“My lady, your face!”
As a faint, prickly stinging sensation spread across her skin, Susu finally let out an inward breath of relief.
“It’s fine.”
She stood up, had Jinsui help her change her clothes, and as the sky outside gradually grew bright, she smiled, her eyes curving, and picked up a veil to cover her face.
“The time is almost here. It’s time to go meet those ‘old friends’ of mine.”