The next day, shortly after the hour of Chen, Li Yuyu was still asleep.
Hua Yin tiptoed in and said, “Sister Feng Yin.”
“Shh.” Feng Yin opened half of the door, stepped out, and whispered, “The Concubine is still asleep, is there something urgent?”
“The little eunuch from the Imperial Kitchen has asked twice already, what our master would like to eat today.”
“I just checked, and our master is sleeping soundly.
Tell him that we’ll personally request the meal once she wakes, and they shouldn’t worry about it for now.”
“Alright.” Hua Yin nodded, signaling to the little palace maid outside the courtyard to relay the message.
After arranging everything, she smiled at Feng Yin and said, “Sister Feng Yin, please go rest.
I’ll keep watch.”
“Hmm, I did sleep quite a bit last night; I’m full of energy.
I’ll go freshen up and change clothes first.”
Hua Yin nodded cheerfully.
Once Feng Yin left, she quietly opened the bedroom door and, noticing Li Yuyu still sleeping soundly, stood watch by her side.
Just as Feng Yin was changing her clothes, she heard a little palace maid call out, “Miss Feng Yin, Beauty Zhou, Noble Lady Ying, and Talented Lady Han have come to visit our Concubine.”
“Who’s here?” Li Yuyu mumbled sleepily.
Hua Yin repeated the names and, along with Feng Yin, helped the lethargic Lady Li sit up to wash and dress.
After washing her face, Li Yuyu became more alert, “Yan Xiu’s wife, oh no, concubine, has come to see me?”
“Concubine, be careful with your words, you mustn’t call the Emperor by name!” Hua Yin was so shocked her face turned pale, almost kneeled to the ground.
Li Yuyu: ….
A slip of the tongue.
“What hairstyle does the master want?” Feng Yin took the jade comb from Hua Yin’s hand and helped comb Li Yuyu’s hair.
Hua Yin breathed a sigh of relief and went out to entertain the concubines.
After Li Yuyu finished dressing up, she examined herself in the bronze mirror, looking this way and that.
“Is the master satisfied?”
“Satisfied.
Under your skilled hands, I look even more beautiful.” Li Yuyu happily caressed her delicate skin.
So soft and smooth, like egg whites.
How delightful to wake up and admire one’s own stunning beauty?
Feng Yin reminded, “Concubine, once you meet with the harem’s concubines, you should no longer use ‘I’, you must refer to yourself as ‘Ben Gong’.”
“I…
um, Ben Gong understands.”
Li Yuyu put down the bronze mirror, stood up, and placed her hand on Feng Yin’s, her demeanor shifting as she took a step.
Feng Yin instinctively lowered her gaze.
Yesterday, she felt that the Concubine had changed somewhat, seemed both like the Concubine and unlike the Concubine, but at this moment she was certain, the Concubine was indeed the Concubine.
Recalling the demeanor a concubine should have, Li Yuyu thought it would be difficult, yet when she actually tried, whether walking or speaking, she found herself doing it effortlessly, as if she had known it all along.
The side hall.
Beauty Zhou sat on the main seat’s right-hand side, facing Noble Lady Ying.
Talented Lady Han sat beside Beauty Zhou.
As they grew somewhat impatient, they saw a woman in a peach-pink ruqun dress walking gracefully toward them.
Lady Li’s face was like a peach blossom, her lips like vermillion, her hair styled simply in a single bun fixed with a peach blossom hairpin, adorned with a hairpin-stepshaker embellished with peach flower petals.
The ruqun was in shades of pink and white, with blooming peach blossoms embroidered on the hem.
Even her embroidered shoes had a blooming peach blossom, with stamens set with pearls.
As she walked, the hairpin stepshaker playfully swayed, and as her skirt glided, it looked as though scattering peach blossoms fell, making Lady Li appear like a Peach Blossom Fairy who mistakenly entered the mortal world, charming and delightful.