In the tenth month of the thirty-second year of Kangxi, a minor event occurred in the Imperial Harem.
Zashuhu Li, the Lan Daying of Changchun Palace, was ordered by the Empress Dowager to move to the side hall of Shoukang Palace.
For a First-Class Female Attendant who had been out of favor for a long time and rarely left her quarters, it would not have been strange even if she were suddenly favored by the Emperor and promoted to a Second-Class Female Attendant or a Noble Lady.
At the very least, it would not have caught the attention of the Noble Consort or the four consorts.
To the high-ranking concubines of the Imperial Harem, there could be as many concubines below the Concubine rank as the Imperial Harem needed.
They were merely playthings to help His Lord pass the time.
It was never too late to give them some dignity once they had children.
However, Lan Daying had moved from Changchun Palace to the Empress Dowager’s palace.
This was far more baffling than simply gaining favor.
Consort Hui was the first to receive the news because it was Chang Mao, the manager of Shoukang Palace, who came in person to pack Fang He’s belongings.
She was so startled that the teacup in her hand fell to the ground, and she was instantly jolted awake by the sound of it shattering into pieces.
Consort Hui stood up abruptly and asked subconsciously, “Does the Empress Dowager not hate the clansmen of Zashuhu Li?”
Ban Xia’s face was also pale.
Who could say otherwise?
Others in the Imperial Harem might not know, but the Noble Consort and the four consorts were all aware of the past between the Empress Dowager and Zashuhu Li.
After all, they were the ones who most frequently served at the Empress Dowager’s side and had to know her taboos.
Besides, if the Empress Dowager wanted to protect Lan Daying for the sake of the Zashuhu Li elder noble ladies, where had she been in previous years?
But now was not the time to clear up this cloud of mystery.
The main issue was that the room Lan Daying lived in… it was truly wretched.
It could not even compare to Ban Xia’s room.
Previously, her stipends had been constantly embezzled.
What could there possibly be to pack?
If this reached the Empress Dowager’s ears through Chang Mao… would the Empress Dowager hold the Master accountable on behalf of Lan Daying?
This was what Ban Xia feared most.
Consort Hui forced herself to calm down, pondered for a moment, and gave an impatient click of her tongue.
“If the Empress Dowager Noble Consort wanted to take charge for that little wench, she would have sent Wulinzhu or Nanny Liu. She would not have dispatched Chang Mao.
“Go out and stuff some silver into Chang Mao’s hands. Give him a generous amount. He will not make things difficult for this Noble Consort.”
After all, Yinzhi was currently following Kangxi on the expedition against Jungar and had not yet returned to the capital.
Earlier, when the Emperor was seriously ill, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince Yin Xi had gone together to attend to him.
The Crown Prince had been sent back and had remained behind closed doors in Yuqing Palace, causing rumors to fly in both the Court Hall and the Imperial Harem.
It was exactly the time to curry favor with Changchun Palace.
The Empress Dowager was only the Emperor’s legal mother.
She stayed out of everything in the Imperial Palace and never interfered in the affairs of the Imperial Harem.
No matter why she took in Lan Daying, she would not make things difficult for the birth mother of the Eldest Prince for the sake of a mere First-Class Female Attendant.
Ban Xia’s mind was set at ease by her Master’s words.
She hurriedly went to get a pouch containing a hundred-tael banknote and rushed to the back hall to give it to Chang Mao.
Chang Mao indeed said nothing.
He only smiled and led his people, carrying out the only useful thing from the room Fang He had woken up in—a square wooden box.
Ban Xia felt it looked somewhat unseemly and asked tentatively, “Chang Zongguan, do more people need to come later to move the things from Lan Daying’s room?”
“Your servant can have someone deliver them to avoid troubling you with another trip.”
Chang Mao said with a smile, “No need to trouble yourself. Little Master Lan said those things have been used for many years and will be useless after moving them. They are to be thrown away directly.
“Since Little Master Lan’s previous stipends have been kept here with Master Hui, your servant will take them along with Lan Daying’s old belongings later.”
Ban Xia’s face twitched, ‘Who said this hundred taels of silver was for Lan Daying? That wrench did not deserve it!’
But given the dilapidated state of that room, Ban Xia could not claim that Lan Daying’s stipends had all been received.
Even if the Empress Dowager would not intentionally make things difficult for the Master, filial piety was ultimate.
The Master did not dare to openly disrespect the Empress Dowager.
She gritted her teeth, pulled out another bulging pouch, and stuffed it into Chang Mao’s hand, her smile exceptionally stiff.
“Chang Anda is right. Then I shall trouble you. Please take this silver for some hot tea, and do not look down on it.”
Chang Mao skillfully weighed it in his hand.
Knowing it was ten taels of silver, he tucked it into his sleeve nonchalantly, nodded to Ban Xia, and left with the wooden box.
Ban Xia stomped her feet and cursed in place for a few moments before sourly ordering people to take all of Lan Daying’s things out and burn them.
***
After returning to Shoukang Palace, Chang Mao did not rush to deliver the items to Fang He.
Instead, he took them to the main hall and presented them to the Empress Dowager.
“Master, just as Lan Daying said, her situation was indeed not good. Your servant sent someone to check. The Household Kitchen prepared spoiled food for her today.”
“In that room… there were hardly any decent items. It was similar to where the menial palace maids live, only better in that the master and servant stayed in one room and did not have to crowd with others.”
The Empress Dowager held back her anger and opened the wooden box.
Inside, there was indeed only one Magnolia Golden Hairpin bestowed by the Emperor and a few taels of broken silver, nothing else.
She frowned and asked, “Not even a set of palace attire?”
‘This Consort Hui was truly going too far!’
Wulinzhu explained patiently, “Master, a First-Class Female Attendant does not have official palace attire. She is not qualified to come out during the four seasons or the eight festivals. At most, she can only kowtow to the masters outside the hall. She only receives one set of bright clothes for New Year’s Eve…”
Last year’s set had already been bestowed; it was what Fang He was wearing now.
This year’s had not been issued yet.
Currently, the four consorts of the Imperial Harem hold the power.
Consort Yi and Consort De were relatively generous and did not embezzle much from the minor concubines, but things were not so good under Consort Hui and Consort Rong.
Those who were obedient and sensible could naturally lead good lives.
But those who did not know how to pay their respects… there was never a shortage of minor concubines being moved out to the Ji’an Office.
The Empress Dowager set down her teacup heavily.
She took a breath and eventually suppressed her temper.
She sighed and instructed Wulinzhu, “Go to my private treasury and take some useful things to Lan Daying. Give her another five hundred taels of silver so she does not suffer.”
Wulinzhu hesitated, first asking Chang Mao to leave before whispering, “Does Master truly believe what Lan Daying said? This Imperial Palace is after all a place protected by the True Dragon. Could it be that Lan Daying is playing tricks…”
Fang He had spent years in her past life pitting her wits against Master Kang.
Those stories and anecdotes came easily to her.
She had been tested with lukewarm questions by Nanny Liu in the Side Hall for over half an hour before she finally saw the Empress Dowager.
Upon entering the hall, she did not wait for the Empress Dowager to ask.
She knelt and gave three resounding kowtows, stating her purpose herself.
“San Niu greets the Imperial… Empress Dowager Noble Consort. I lied earlier just to see you. My family truly did not treat the elder noble ladies with much kindness back then. Their characters really had nothing to speak of. So after I entered the Imperial Palace, I did not dare to make a single mistake, fearing I would annoy you.”
The Empress Dowager’s face turned cold at that time.
Since there was no dying wish, no matter how many excuses Fang He had, she did not want to hear them.
She only wanted to throw out the loathsome bloodline of Zashuhu Li.
But before she could speak, she was stunned by Fang He’s next words.
“But in the moment between life and death, I saw the elder noble lady with my own eyes!”
Indeed, indeed.
It does not matter if a trick is old as long as it works.
If she could fool Master Kang, then fooling the Empress Dowager—who had always treated her like her own mother—was as easy as pie.
Fang He described the plump beauty from the painting she had seen in Jingren Palace as if it were half-real and half-fake.
The Empress Dowager could no longer sit still.
When Fang He went on to describe the stories that beauty had told her about things that happened with Qiqige… which were actually gossip the Empress Dowager had shared with Fang He during their idle time in their past life, the Empress Dowager was moved to tears.
Fang He pressed her forehead against the floor tiles again, giving an emotional conclusion.
“If San Niu truly could not survive any longer, I would never have dared to disturb the Empress Dowager Noble Consort. Though I do not know why, it was the elder noble lady who personally sent me back to the world of the living. San Niu does not want to die like this. I beg the Empress Dowager to take me in!
“I, Zha San Niu, am willing to live a life of prayer before the green lamp and the ancient Buddha, praying for the Empress Dowager, for the Emperor, and for the elder noble lady. I will never cause trouble. Otherwise, let Heaven strike me with thunder and let me die a horrible death!”
Well… whether or not trouble was caused was Zha San Niu’s promise.
What did it have to do with her, Fang He?
Her words shocked the Empress Dowager so much that she nearly lost her soul.
She immediately permitted Fang He to live in Shoukang Palace, regardless of how the Imperial Harem viewed it, and sent Chang Mao to pack her things.
Now, hearing Wulinzhu’s question, the Empress Dowager spoke with a firm tone, “Regardless of whether it is true or false, if I believe it, then it is real. If she can truly stay in Shoukang Palace honestly, what is wrong with me protecting her for a lifetime?”
Although there were many who knew Wulinzhu’s appearance, and perhaps there were portraits of Wulinzhu in Shengjing, no one knew about those Bihuo Books.
That could not be faked.
Without some kind of miraculous encounter, Fang He could never have known.
Moreover, although the Empress Dowager did not interfere in affairs, she had not been the Empress Dowager for all these years for nothing.
She naturally had her own way of reading people.
The moment she looked into Fang He’s eyes, she could not help but want to be close to her.
The pure trust and certain relaxation in those eyes made the Empress Dowager even more willing to believe that this was a gift sent to her side by Wulinzhu.
Therefore, after Kangxi returned to the capital from Gubeikou and learned of this matter from Consort Hui’s semi-fake apology, he came to Shoukang Palace to test the waters.
The Empress Dowager was unusually firm.
“I still detest the bloodline of Zashuhu Li, but I find this child likable. Keeping her by my side is a way to preserve a bit of old sentiment for a departed friend.”
Kangxi did not care about a minor First-Class Female Attendant with a slow mind.
He only tested the Empress Dowager to see if she intended to promote Zashuhu Li’s clan.
Facing the Empress Dowager’s sudden interest, and knowing it was unrelated to any secret movements of the Zashuhu Li clan, he did not care about such a woman at all.
“It is the fortune of the Zashuhu Li clan to be viewed favorably by the Imperial Mother. Why not promote her to a Second-Class Female Attendant and let her keep Imperial Mother company properly from now on?”
The Empress Dowager did not object.
And so, the Lan Daying whom everyone in the Imperial Harem had never managed to see in Shoukang Palace suddenly and vibrantly became Lan Changzai.
Even Consort De, who did not care much about the matter, could not help but be surprised.
She stayed to have lunch with the six-year-old Fourteenth Prince Yinti.
After sending him back to the A Ge Suo palace, she asked her personal maid, Hedong.
“Is this Lan Daying a natural beauty?”
Lan Daying had only appeared briefly in the palace before fading into obscurity before she could even reach the four consorts.
Consort De truly did not remember the appearance of Zashuhu Li.
Hedong recalled carefully and shook her head, “Your servant only remembers she could barely be considered elegant, but her personality was too arrogant. She did not like to socialize with others. If she hadn’t been so foolish, she wouldn’t have been pushed to the brink of death by Changchun Palace and such a foolish personality was exactly what My Lord disliked most.”
“There were far too many beauties in the palace who were both beautiful and clever. Even if she caught My Lord’s eye momentarily due to the Empress Dowager’s sudden whim, it would not last.”
Consort De smiled and shook her head, her face full of pity, “How pitiful. They are sisters after all. Later, have someone send a congratulatory gift to Shoukang Palace. When we meet during the seasons and festivals, remember to give her a few pointers.”
She no longer needed to compete for favor through bedchamber service and had two imperial princes by her side.
She preferred to form good ties with others.
This gift was less for Lan Changzai and more out of respect for Shoukang Palace.
More than one person understood this logic.
Even the seriously ill Noble Consort had someone send a gift.
Consort Hui also pinched her nose and had Ban Xia personally deliver a gift that was thirty percent heavier to Shoukang Palace in private.