After a night of wandering, dawn was approaching.
While Man Chu went to find the cure for the poison, Miss Jiang found a quiet pavilion to copy Buddhist sutras.
The morning mist was dreamlike, and the shadows of the branches swayed like algae in water. Under the eaves, the young girl’s figure appeared slender and upright in the dim light of the lanterns hanging along the corridor. She transcribed the sutras, one after another, in silence.
Gao Xian had said that the surname Jiang was inauspicious.
Miss Jiang lowered her eyes, lost in thought. The gentle whispers of her mother still seemed to echo in her ears.
Her mother was a direct descendant of the Langling Xiao clan, a family known for their prestige and refined character. She had married her father, Jiang Bin'an, through a noble alliance, and over time, a deep love had blossomed, resulting in the four of them—the siblings.
Her eldest and second brothers were boisterous from childhood, often forced by their father to practice calligraphy to temper their temperaments. Her third sister, though famed for her beauty, was a troublemaker; she was the one who raided every bird's nest in the manor, and she received no shortage of scoldings for it.
Only she, at five years old, felt she had accomplished nothing.
"What is Yue'er thinking about?" When her mother brought over some cherry milk curd, she caught sight of the little jade-like girl on the soft couch, her face scrunched up in deep thought, which made her unable to hold back a smile.
"Mother, Big Brother and Second Brother read and practice martial arts, and Third Sister climbs trees and catches fish. I can't do anything." Jiang Cangyue’s short legs scrambled quickly into her mother’s arms, and as she spoke, she scooped a bit of the curd with a small spoon, sipping it bit by bit.
"They are all older than you," her mother said, stroking her head with a smile. "When Yue'er reaches their age, who knows? You might be even more impressive."
Jiang Cangyue pouted in dissatisfaction. "Fine, then."
She set down her bowl and asked quite earnestly, "Mother, during lessons the other day, the teacher said we all take Father’s surname, so it’s Jiang. Why do you have the surname Xiao?"
Her mother paused, torn between amusement and helplessness. After a moment, she said, "A surname represents a family’s bloodline and the heritage of ancestors. The Chang'an Marquis Manor needs an heir, and the Xiao family needs one too. Mother represents your maternal grandfather’s family, and you all represent the Chang'an Marquis Manor. All surnames are auspicious; whether it is Jiang or Xiao, we are all one family."
Jiang Cangyue nodded and gave her mother a happy smile. "Mother, I understand now."
Her mother met her daughter’s innocent smile, her lips curving with doting affection.
Outside the door, Jiang Bin'an watched the harmonious scene between his wife and daughter, laughing heartily. He entered the room, scooped up his daughter, and pinched her soft little arm. "Yue'er is so smart!"
"Father! We finished our dictation!" Her eldest and second brothers ran into the room excitedly. "Let us hold Sister..."
"Father! There are so many more bird eggs in the tree!" Outside, the young girl sat in the branches, her eyes bright and teeth like pearls, her smile vivid and clear.
"Oh, look who it is—"
Rong Zhi walked over from the other side of the pavilion, holding a broom.
Miss Jiang’s brush paused. The ink bled, blurring several characters into a single mess. Copying sutras required a sincere heart, after all.
Rong Zhi walked up to her, glanced at the illegible scrawl on the table, picked it up, looked at it, and tossed it back down.
"Jiang Yue," Rong Zhi sneered, "don't tell me you think you can climb to the top of the social ladder just by sitting here writing?"
Miss Jiang tidied up the sutras and raised her eyes. "Is there something you need?"
Rong Zhi said impatiently, "Her Ladyship said we are to go clean Anle Palace."
"You want me to go?" Miss Jiang said calmly. "Didn't you say Anle Palace is haunted?"
Rong Zhi, still holding the broom, couldn't even be bothered to look at her. "It’s us. Eunuch Gao is going to take a headcount later. I don’t want to go either."
Miss Jiang’s gaze flickered.
After tangling with Gao Xian and the others at Anle Palace last night, Gao Xian must have investigated her upon returning to Chengqing Palace. It was impossible to hide from these palace schemers whether she was truly a personal attendant to Consort Shu. Stirring up this trouble today was meant to corner her.
Gao Xian wanted a "palace spouse," and Consort Shu wanted to curry favor with Gao Xian to learn the Emperor’s preferences. No matter who she really was, she would be the first pawn to be sacrificed.
There were many ways to resolve this, though none were gentle.
Gao Xian pestered her because he liked her face. If her face were ruined, his interest would naturally wane, and he would cast her aside—but wasn't this face more useful kept as is?
Secondly, she could simply slit Gao Xian’s throat, but that would draw the attention of the palace guards—a losing proposition.
A better way would be to bring Gao Xian down.
Gao Xian was a vile, treacherous man who favored beautiful faces, regardless of gender. The place such a man lived in surely held some dirty, unspeakable secrets. Since she couldn't strike directly, she could stoke the flames between Gao Xian and Consort Shu, and then watch the tigers fight from the sidelines. That would be most amusing.
If she wanted to roil these palace waters, she would spare no one, from the greatest to the least.
Huayang Palace was just the beginning.
As for the events of that year, Consort Shu’s father, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Shu Binyu, certainly played his part.
"Hey, are you going or not? If we're late, you’re going to get me killed!" Rong Zhi complained, reaching out as if to drag her.
"That Gao fellow is no good, you know," she muttered as she looked at Miss Jiang.
Miss Jiang took a different type of paper, wrote a note, sealed it, and handed it to Rong Zhi. "Take this letter to Eunuch Gao. He won’t say anything."
Rong Zhi took the money with a look of skepticism and finally left.
...
Anle Palace was noisy, with people moving about everywhere.
Eunuch Gao rested his arm on his horsetail whisk, sitting on a wooden chair by the entrance.
A few young eunuchs hovered around him, fawning and sycophantic, calling out, "Hard work, Eunuch Gao," while turning to bark at the palace maids to move faster.
Gao Xian was over thirty, thin and gaunt with hair half-turned gray. As he sat at the entrance, a sly, treacherous glint shone in his eyes. A hypocritical smile hung on his face, and the surrounding maids didn't dare say a word, avoiding him whenever they could.
The round-faced eunuch from before knew why Gao Xian kept looking toward the door. He leaned in with a smile. "Eunuch, don't be anxious. She will definitely come."
"Do you think you can call the shots for me?" Gao Xian glanced at him sideways.
"How could this servant call the shots for Eunuch Gao? In this inner palace, who dares not show you respect?"
At this, Gao Xian remembered what that little wench had said last night. Even though her words were sharp, it was true that he had been trampled underfoot by Gou Dequan, leaving him unable to sleep, tossing and turning in the night. But when he thought of that girl's face, he felt an itch in his heart.
Just as he was feeling restless, a little palace maid’s voice sounded timidly, "Eunuch Gao, this is a letter from Jiang Yue for you."
Gao Xian looked at the maid. "A letter for me? How novel."
"Could it be that Miss Jiang dares to play tricks right in front of you?" the round-faced eunuch lowered his voice, relaying the news he had gathered that day: "Consort Shu has no idea there is such a small maid in the palace."
Gao Xian took the letter and said slowly, "There are few who have played tricks under my nose and had a good ending."
The round-faced eunuch’s eyes darted about. "Eunuch, you think she didn't come herself but sent this instead—what does it mean? Does she still think she can deceive you?"
Gao Xian simply put the letter down and looked at the eunuch suspiciously. "Why are you so nervous in front of me today?"
The round-faced eunuch quickly knelt at Gao Xian’s feet. "This servant is only afraid that there is a trap."
Gao Xian laughed coldly and slapped the table, pointing at him. "A little slut has you worried to this extent? You're pathetic!"