The door creaked softly as it was gently pushed open, revealing the figure of Nanny Chang.
Behind her followed Chun Tao, dressed in palace maid attire, her face etched with anxiety.
Chun Tao’s eyes immediately fell upon Su Yao on the floor, and she hurried forward, carefully helping her up.
“Miss! What happened to you?”
Nanny Chang frowned, her gaze sweeping over Su Yao before she sighed and asked, “How did you end up in such a state?”
Su Yao forced a smile. “It’s nothing, Nanny. I just took a little fall.”
Leaning on Chun Tao’s arm to stand, she asked, “Chun Tao?”
Chun Tao’s eyes reddened. “Miss, it’s me.”
“I’m so glad you’re alright. How did you get into the palace?”
“The master arranged for me to enter the palace to accompany you… I missed you too, miss.”
“The palace isn’t like the outside world. You silly girl, you shouldn’t have come.”
Nanny Chang watched Su Yao’s flushed cheeks and remarked, “Hey, are you ill? Your face is terribly red.”
Only then did Chun Tao take a closer look at Su Yao. She reached out to touch Su Yao’s forehead and exclaimed, “Miss, your forehead is burning up!”
“I caught a chill today, but it’s fine. I’ll be better after a good sleep.”
Nanny Chang had been ordered by Lu Huaijin to look after Su Yao, but on the other hand, there was the Empress Dowager, whom she dared not offend. Yet, seeing the frail state of the girl before her, how could she stand idly by?
“It’s so late, and as a maid, it’s not convenient for you to summon an Imperial Physician. I have some common medicines on hand. Little girl, come with me to fetch them and brew some medicine for your miss.”
Upon hearing this, Chun Tao immediately kowtowed in gratitude. “Thank you, Nanny! Thank you, Nanny!”
The morning air in winter was exceptionally fresh, tinged with a hint of chill.
“Oh, you little ancestor, your fever has finally broken. Quick, the Empress Dowager has been asking for you to grind ink since early morning.”
Su Yao hurriedly got up, but Chun Tao looked troubled. “Miss, you’ve just recovered. Perhaps you could ask Her Majesty for leave…”
“We’ve only just arrived at the palace. We mustn’t make any mistakes. I’ll go now.”
Su Yao followed Nanny Chang to Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager reclined on a gilded heated couch, her fingertips brushing over the blood-red bird’s nest in a crystal bowl. “This morning, as I passed by the rear garden, I accidentally dropped my favorite jade bracelet into the Lotus Pond.”
She suddenly looked up at Su Yao, who was grinding ink. “I hear you are an excellent swimmer?”
The ink stick in Su Yao’s wrist paused.
At that moment, the surface of the Lotus Pond was covered with a thin layer of ice, shimmering with a cold, bluish-gray light under the morning sun.
“This servant will go and search for it.”
Nanny Chang caught a glimpse of the jade bracelets clearly adorning the Empress Dowager’s wrist.
The pond water in the twelfth lunar month felt like thousands of steel needles piercing into the marrow.
Su Yao broke through the icy surface and dove to the bottom, where she saw dozens of jade bracelets lying at the bottom of the pond, each one a counterfeit.
When she surfaced for the eighth time to catch her breath, the Empress Dowager was tossing the genuine jade bracelet into the pond. “Search carefully. The one I lost is carved with a phoenix pattern.”
As Lu Huaijin passed by the lotus pond on his way from court, he happened to witness Su Yao climbing ashore, pale as a ghost.
Her soaked palace attire had frozen into icy armor, shedding shards of ice with every step she took, and her knees were caked with frozen blood.
“The Chief Grand Secretary arrives just in time.”
“Your subject pays respects to the Empress Dowager.”
The Empress Dowager smiled and threw a hand warmer at Su Yao’s shoulder. “Huaijin, your little bird is quite loyal. Thanks to her, I have recovered this bracelet.”
Lu Huaijin glanced expressionlessly at the faint red plum blossoms imprinted on Su Yao’s skirt.
“Your Majesty, this humble official has specially entered the palace today to present you with some delicately crafted trinkets I carefully selected.”
As he spoke, he slowly drew an exquisitely carved small box from his robe.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s curiosity was piqued, and she leaned her head closer.
Nanny Chang, quick-eyed and swift-handed, cast an urgent look at Su Yao, who stood in attendance nearby, signaling her to withdraw as quickly as possible.
Understanding the hint, Su Yao suppressed her discomfort and limped away quietly.
Only after the two had moved farther away did Nanny Chang lower her voice to ask, “How did you injure your knee so badly?”
Su Yao drew a soft, pained breath, her brow slightly furrowed. “I slipped by the pond earlier and was cut by a sharp stone at the bottom.”
“This won’t do. You must go to the Imperial Medical Academy immediately to have medicine applied. If it gets infected, it’s no trivial matter.”
After receiving Lu Huaijin’s gift that day, the Empress Dowager’s mood had indeed improved considerably. Consequently, her attitude toward Su Yao had softened over the past two days, and she no longer found fault with her as arbitrarily as before.
Chun Tao was carefully changing the medicinal dressing on Su Yao’s wound.
The bandage clung tightly to her skin, and each time it was peeled away, it inevitably tore off bits of tender flesh, sending waves of sharp pain coursing through Su Yao’s body like electric shocks.
She clenched her teeth, enduring the pain, yet fine beads of sweat still inevitably formed on her forehead.
Seeing this, Chun Tao couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity and asked softly, “Miss, do you truly intend to stay in the palace from now on?”
Su Yao’s gaze dimmed slightly, her heart a tumult of mixed emotions.
Leaving Lu Huaijin might allow her to escape that unbearable past, yet life within the palace was far more difficult than she had initially imagined. She had to tread carefully, step by step, fearing that the slightest misstep might anger the Empress Dowager and bring about a fatal disaster.
Su Yao let out a long sigh. “It’s not up to me to decide anymore.”
In the hour of Zi, the sound of the water clock marking the night watch, Eunuch Hai arrived outside Su Yao’s room.
“Eunuch, what brings you here?”
“Tonight is your shift.”
Su Yao was taken aback; she hadn’t heard Nanny Chang mention any duty assignment.
“Come with me quickly, don’t dawdle,” Eunuch Hai said impatiently.
Not daring to ask more, Su Yao followed. The two arrived at the Forbidden Chamber of Cining Palace.
Ninety-nine Human Skin Lanterns lit up one after another, illuminating the walls adorned with Human Bone Wind Chimes. These were strung together from women’s finger bones, their clappers made from shriveled fetal remains.
“These are all treasures collected by the Former Emperor.”
The old eunuch’s fingertips brushed against a wind chime, the desiccated fetus striking the finger bones with a hollow sound.
“Tonight, you will guard these treasures. If even one piece goes missing…” He suddenly gripped Su Yao’s chin, “…your bones will make up for it.”
As a cold wind swept through the hall, Su Yao saw a jade pendant hanging from the central wind chime, identical to the one her elder sister had given her upon her coming-of-age ceremony. Staggering forward, she rushed toward it, only to discover the character “Jin” carved on the pendant, its inner side stained with old blood.
“Don’t touch anything recklessly!”
The old eunuch’s voice came from the shadows. “This is a treasure of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. It was a trophy seized by the Chief Grand Secretary from a rebel when he reached the age of capping.”
Su Yao kept her head lowered, not daring to lift it even slightly. The room was truly cold and gloomy, weighing heavily on one’s spirits.
Suddenly, Eunuch Hai’s hand shot out, his thumb and forefinger clamping down like iron pincers on Su Yao’s delicate, fragile chin, forcing her to lift her head and meet those murky, ruthless eyes.
Su Yao felt a sharp pain in her jaw, as if the bone might shatter under the crushing force.
She winced in agony but dared not make a sound, her mouth forced open to reveal a neat row of pearly teeth.
Eunuch Hai casually shoved a nearby human bone into Su Yao’s mouth. “Hold it. Listen carefully to what sweet nothings these bones are whispering.”
Su Yao shook her head desperately, fear and humiliation crawling over her entire body, trembling violently with intense resistance.
Summoning all her strength, she flung her hand out, sending the bone crashing to the ground with a sharp clatter.
The old eunuch’s face instantly darkened, but just then, faint footsteps sounded outside the door.
His hand, poised mid-air, hesitated. He lowered his voice to a warning growl, “You little wretch, not a sound! You’d better behave!”
Su Yao bit down hard on her lower lip, tears falling one by one onto the floor.
When the old eunuch fumbled with his keys to unlock the Forbidden Chamber, Su Yao was curled up amidst a scattering of bone chimes, trembling.
Her lips were already marked with bloody bites. In her daze, she heard Lu Huaijin’s voice piercing through the palace walls: “Your Majesty summons this humble official so late at night… May I ask what urgent matter requires my presence…”