The candle flame crackled and popped. Lu Huaijin stared at Su Yao’s blood-soaked skirt.
“If Your Majesty wishes to borrow someone, this subject naturally has no reason to refuse.”
He suddenly raised his hand and crushed a pearl. “It’s just that this girl is rather clumsy. Just the day before yesterday, she broke my mutton-fat jade pillow.”
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager chuckled softly. She gripped Su Yao’s chin, forcing her face upward.
“The Chief Grand Secretary jests. Such a jade-like person—how could I bear to do anything but cherish her?”
Su Yao’s chin ached from the pinch, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Lu Huaijin watched coldly. The jade thumb ring on his finger, under his unconscious tightening grip, suddenly developed a fine crack.
The Empress Dowager gave a sudden push. Su Yao stumbled, crashing straight into Lu Huaijin and colliding headfirst with his chest.
In an instant, Su Yao’s nose caught the familiar scent of cedarwood from his robes.
“Little girl, tell me yourself. Are you willing to stay here in my Cining Palace?”
Su Yao steadied herself and looked up at Lu Huaijin.
For a moment, a complex mix of thoughts surged in her heart.
Perhaps this was a good opportunity to escape him, even if it meant staying in the palace as a servant or maid.
“This common girl is willing.”
Lu Huaijin suddenly grasped her blood-stained fingertip.
“Have you thought it through? The floor tiles of Cining Palace are three degrees colder than those of Lu Fu.”
Su Yao smiled, withdrew her finger, knelt, and kowtowed.
“It is this common girl’s fortune to serve Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. I beg Your Excellency’s permission.”
The Empress Dowager clapped her hands and laughed heartily. “Lord Lu, you see for yourself. It is her own choice.”
With that, she instructed Nanny Chang to take Su Yao away first.
Lu Huaijin stared intently at Su Yao’s limping, retreating figure. Suddenly, he grabbed the teacup from the table and drained it in one gulp.
“Is the Chief Grand Secretary so reluctant? Could it be you wish to go back on your word?”
“How could that be, Your Majesty? It is merely a lowly servant. Since Your Majesty has need, this subject naturally yields willingly. How could there be any question of going back on my word?”
The moment Su Yao was led out of the room, she heard the Empress Dowager’s voice.
“Huaijin, you returned rather quickly from your trip outside the city this time. I thought it would take three to five days.”
“It was merely to handle some minor matters. Once handled, I returned. It happens to be just in time to join Your Majesty and The Emperor for the evening meal.”
Su Yao thought that the way this ruler and subject interacted truly seemed like a family.
Nanny Chang pushed Su Yao into a side hall. “You will stay here for now.”
Su Yao secretly surveyed the palace with its green tiles and red pillars. She was merely a servant; why had she been given a single room?
The room contained a bed, a large cabinet, and a matching table and chairs.
This did not resemble the quarters of an ordinary servant girl.
Back in the Ministry of Personnel, maids shared rooms in pairs. Such a separate room was only for senior servants of higher status.
“Nanny, could there be a mistake?” Su Yao finally couldn’t help but ask.
Nanny Chang had received the gold reward from Lu Huaijin that day, so she naturally knew how much the Chief Grand Secretary cared for the one before her. She was unwilling to offend her lightly.
She didn’t know who had informed the Empress Dowager of this one’s existence. She was somewhat worried about what to do if the Chief Grand Secretary decided to settle that score with her.
“You won’t be staying long anyway. After all, you are borrowed from the Chief Grand Secretary. Please endure this humble accommodation for now.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yao nodded gently, but her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
“Her Majesty will summon you in the coming days. But remember this—if you know what’s good for you, you might soon return to where you were before. But if you…”
Her words cut off abruptly. She merely furrowed her brows and left with a final warning, “Take care.”
Su Yao listened attentively as Nanny Chang explained the palace rules, fearing she might miss any detail. She especially committed to memory the Empress Dowager’s preferences and taboos, not daring to overlook even the slightest point.
As night fell, Su Yao lay alone on the hard, narrow couch, finding it somewhat comfortable after all.
She never imagined that despite all her efforts to escape Lu Huaijin’s control, she had failed repeatedly. Yet now, misfortune had turned into a blessing.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, the Empress Dowager sent someone to summon Su Yao.
In Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager reclined on the Luanfeng couch, idly toying with a jade ruyi scepter in her hand.
“This humble one has heard that Lord Lu most enjoys watching you grind ink?”
Su Yao knelt on the cold floor tiles, watching as the old eunuch approached with a cinnabar inkstone.
“The ink in this humble one’s Cining Palace is not the same as that in Lu Fu.”
The Empress Dowager suddenly used the jade ruyi to lift Su Yao’s chin. “It must be dissolved with snow water, and you must kneel and grind it for three full hours to achieve the proper flavor.”
Eunuch Hai was an old servant by the Empress Dowager’s side. At this moment, he sneered as he slammed the inkstone down before her knees. The pain made Su Yao’s vision darken.
Icy water mixed with cinnabar quickly spread over her fingertips. The bone-chilling cold caused her to shiver involuntarily.
“Your Majesty! The Emperor has fallen ill!”
When the palace maid’s scream echoed through the hall, Su Yao’s silk skirt was already covered in frost.
“What? Wasn’t he perfectly fine this morning? Summon the Imperial Physician at once!” Before sweeping out of the room, the Empress Dowager overturned a scalding teacup onto the back of Su Yao’s hand.
The teacup shattered, splashing hot tea everywhere. The back of Su Yao’s hand instantly swelled and reddened.
“Keep a close watch on her. If even a single drop of water is missing, chop off one of her fingers.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The old eunuch responded, eyeing Su Yao up and down with ill intent.
He deliberately knocked over a nearby ice bucket, causing water to splash noisily.
“Oh dear, how could you be so careless?”
Su Yao frowned, knowing the old eunuch was deliberately making things difficult for her.
“Eunuch Hai, I—”
Su Yao was about to explain when the old eunuch cut her off mercilessly.
“Don’t explain yourself to me. If Her Majesty returns and sees you in this state, you’ll face the consequences.”
Su Yao also knew this was not the time to argue. She softened her tone and said, “Does Eunuch Hai have a way to help this servant?”
Eunuch Hai’s plump hand landed on Su Yao’s slender neck. “You could use your neck to warm and melt the frozen cinnabar.”
Su Yao trembled all over.
That plump hand slid down Su Yao’s neck, his fingers pinching her delicate collarbone with just enough force to cause a sharp pain.
“With a frail body like yours, I’m afraid you can’t withstand the cold, can you?”
Su Yao clenched her teeth, forcing herself to follow Eunuch Hai’s instructions.
The piercing cold instantly invaded her neck, spreading throughout her entire body.
She closed her eyes tightly, refusing to think or feel.
Yet the icy chill made her tremble uncontrollably. Her lips quivered lightly, and her teeth chattered audibly.
The old eunuch’s plump hand pressed against the back of her neck. “You’re freezing, aren’t you, girl? My room is quite warm…”
She shuddered violently, instinctively wanting to avoid the touch. Her face instantly turned pale, but she still forced herself to remain calm and whispered, “Eunuch Hai, please show some restraint.”
The face that had been wearing a faint smile instantly darkened, and two displeased glints shot from those narrow eyes, glaring at her fiercely before uttering contemptuously, “Hmph, truly an ungrateful wretch!”
That night, Su Yao dragged her utterly exhausted body back to her room, feeling as if she were in an ice cellar.
She curled up under the blanket, tightly hugging herself.
In her drowsy sleep, her throat became parched as if on fire. She rose, trembling, and weakly made her way toward the table.
Her hand shook as she reached for the cup, but just then, a sudden wave of dizziness threw her off balance. She fell to the floor along with the cup and teapot, producing a clattering sound.
Su Yao lay in a sorry heap on the ground, the dizziness making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
The door creaked softly as it was gently pushed open…