Yaohua Palace
Imperial Consort Liu sat before her mirror as Fuling helped her remove her makeup and comb her hair.
The face that should have been radiant and lovely now looked rather ridiculous, marred by five red, swollen welts.
Staring at her own miserable reflection, Consort Liu dug her nails into her palms, her eyes burning with rising malice.
Over the past two days, many of the other consorts had secretly snickered behind her back when she came to pay her respects.
Thinking back to the two times Yi Yi had thrown something at her and Fuling, she grew more certain than ever that it was the little girl who had brought this humiliation upon her.
Enraged, she slammed her hand down on the table. The comb caught in a tangle of her hair and pulled sharply.
“Tch!” Consort Liu winced in pain. She hurled the comb hard onto the floor and snapped at Fuling: “Can you not even do such a simple thing properly?!”
“This servant knows her mistake! I dare not do it again please punish me, Your Ladyship!” Fuling dropped to her knees at once, begging for mercy.
“Enough.” Consort Liu rubbed her sore scalp. “Tell me what has been happening at Everlasting Joy Palace today?”
“Consort Xi did not leave her quarters at all; she stayed indoors the whole day. Princess Yi Yi had breakfast in the Purple Star Palace, then Eunuch Li took her to fly a kite in the Imperial Garden.”
“Ah, and one more thing…” Fuling suddenly remembered what she had heard. “Consort Qi is dead…”
As she spoke, she caught a flash of a shadow darting past the window, making the candle flames flicker wildly.
“Who ”
Before she could finish, a hand clamped over her mouth from behind, and she slumped to the ground, unconscious.
The intruder wore a black robe and a veil covering his face. Once Fuling was down, he pushed the veil back and placed a finger to his lips, signaling Consort Liu to stay quiet.
“Your Ladyship, did something happen?” Hearing the noise, servants outside approached the bedchamber holding lanterns.
“Nothing at all. You may go.”
Once the footsteps faded, moonlight streamed in, revealing the man’s features clearly. Consort Liu gasped in shock. “It’s you!”
He had silver hair and strikingly handsome, almost exotic features he looked exactly like Bai Ningbing, the healer from the Divine Medicine Valley whom she had invited.
But breaking into the palace in the dead of night… even someone as slow-witted as Consort Liu realized he was far more than he appeared. “What exactly do you want?”
“I have come to propose a deal with you, Your Ladyship.”
Coiled loosely over his shoulder was a brightly colored small snake, flicking its tongue and hissing softly toward Consort Liu.
Her blood ran cold, and she stared in frozen terror. After a long pause, she managed to stammer: “And why should I help you?”
“Your Ladyship…” Bai Ningbing leaned in closer and pressed something into her hand. “Because we share the same goal. That princess…”
He lowered his voice and whispered into her ear, their faces almost touching. Yet instead of feeling intimacy, Consort Liu was filled only with dread.
This man had planned everything carefully and come fully prepared.
No wonder the Empress Dowager and Prince Jing had been unable to secure the services of anyone from the Divine Medicine Valley, while she had managed to do so so easily. This “Bai Ningbing” had never come for the reasons she thought.
When he finished speaking, he stepped back and vanished from the room in a flash.
Consort Liu pressed herself all the way back against the wall, her shoulders trembling. It took her a long time to calm her racing heart.
Everlasting Joy Palace
Dongfang Mo brought Yi Yi back to her quarters.
The little bundle of fluff held several clay jars tightly in her arms, beaming with utter delight.
Seeing her return, Qinghe hurried forward and carried her inside.
Once in the room, Jiang Wantang took her and settled her onto a small stool, immediately starting to feed her.
The table was covered with all kinds of biscuits and cakes, which Jiang Wantang had baked especially for Yi Yi during the day.
“Mummy, what kind of treat is this?”
Yi Yi picked up one biscuit, turning it over curiously.
It looked rather strange dark and round, not like anything she had seen before.
Jiang Wantang felt a little embarrassed. “It’s… the moon…”
In truth, it was just a plain round cake that had gotten slightly burnt…
Yi Yi found it odd, but happily ate every single pastry on the table anyway.
When you are a little glutton, nothing tastes bad!
She would have even licked the plates clean if she did not want to scare her mother.
Seeing the empty table, Jiang Wantang felt a great sense of achievement, and her heart swelled with warmth what a sweet, well-behaved little girl she had.
Completely unaware of how she was being misunderstood, Yi Yi smiled and tugged at her mother’s hand, pulling her over to see what she had “gained” that day.
“Mummy, Baby found lots of yummy food today!” She pointed proudly at the jars.
Jiang Wantang played along, eyes wide in exaggerated surprise. “Oh my! How clever is my baby!”
Sure enough, the praise made Yi Yi beam with joy, and she began to tell her everything that had happened.
“Blah, blah, blah…”
Jiang Wantang listened: Gu worms? Swallowed them? Someone died?
Though Yi Yi jumped from one thing to the next, Jiang Wantang understood her perfectly and quickly pieced together the whole story.
The little girl kept chattering away, completely oblivious to her mother’s expression turning colder and colder.
“DONG FANG QIAO YI!”
Hearing her full name called out sharply, Yi Yi trembled so hard the chubby flesh on her cheeks wobbled.
Oh no!
Why is Mummy angry?!
She had to fix this fast.
Yi Yi trotted over, grabbed the hem of Jiang Wantang’s sleeve, and shook it gently. “Baby is sorry! Mummy, I love you! Baby loves you most of all!”
Jiang Wantang remained stiff and silent.
Yi Yi quickly dragged over a small stool, climbed up, and leaned in to kiss her mother’s cheek.
Though her face stayed stern, Jiang Wantang still reached out one hand to steady the child so she would not fall.
In the end, Yi Yi still could not escape a sound spanking.
Rubbing her bottom with teary eyes, she listened as her mother lectured her about safety and sense though she did not quite understand half of what was said.
Once the scolding was over, Jiang Wantang bathed her.
Fresh and clean, smelling sweetly of soap, Yi Yi quickly perked up again and returned to her cheerful self.
Seeing her mother go to take her own bath, the little girl forgot all about her punishment. She grabbed her jars and snuggled back under the covers.
“Hello, Little Flower… you smell so nice.” She opened the first jar and took out the snake.
Colorful and glossy, it was promptly named Little Flower.
In the next moment, her true, gluttonous nature revealed itself. She squeezed gently with her chubby fingers, and after only a few weak struggles, the snake’s entire dark, foul energy was drained away.
Yi Yi smacked her lips, still feeling hungry. She opened the second jar.
…
Then the third, the fourth, and the fifth. Not a single venomous creature remained.
What she had planned to last five days was gone in just one night.
With the last bit of energy absorbed, Yi Yi’s eyelids grew heavy, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Above her, a faint golden light slowly gathered into the shape of a great beast magnificent and powerful, as if it could devour the very sun, moon, and stars.
When Jiang Wantang returned from her bath and lifted the covers, she let out a sharp cry of alarm.
The sound woke Qinghe, who blinked her eyes groggily.
Strange… I was supposed to be watching the princess sleep. How did I doze off?
She looked over at the bed, and her eyes went wide with terror. “Ahhh! There’s… there’s a snake!”
Scattered across the sheets lay the lifeless bodies of snakes, centipedes, and spiders.
Jiang Wantang’s temples throbbed with anger. She dragged the sleeping little girl out of bed and gave her another good spanking.