"Understood, Nanny."
On the way back, Lu Yuan ntioned it to her.
After washing up, ng Qianqian imdiately went to rest. She slept soundly, and by the ti her eyes opened, daylight had arrived.
Ban Xia lifted the curtain and said softly, "Miss, the master said you can sleep a little longer."
ng Qianqian asked, "Did he co by?"
"The master has gone to court and left the ssage before he departed," Ban Xia replied. "The master leaves for court so early."
The court assembly officially begins at Mao hour. Officials living far away have to rise at Yin hour. Although the Zhuque Street is close to the Imperial Palace, it still takes two quarter-hours by carriage.
Counting this way, Lu Yuan must have barely slept before he had to get up last night.
"I’ve slept enough. Ti to change."
ng Qianqian was not yet an official titled lady of the court, so she didn’t have to wear the mandated official robes. She chose a pogranate-red waist-pinched gauze dress, layered with a golden-thread embroidered translucent outerwear.
Such a bright and unrestrained color was difficult to carry gracefully. With the slightest misstep, it could overshadow the wearer, drawing attention only to the luxurious garnt.
However, ng Qianqian’s nearly perfect face, her delicate features blooming like peaches and plums, and the sheer outerwear fluttering gently in the wind, emanated a flickering celestial aura.
The entire room stood spellbound.
Nanny Wan exclaid repeatedly, "No wonder the master is so fond of her!"
Today, Bao Shu was also entering the palace. She was dressed up beautifully as well, sporting a head full of glittering golden hairpins, and re-wearing the little tiger cub outfit that she hadn’t had the chance to show off earlier.
Only this ti, it wasn’t a little red tiger but a little golden tiger.
ng Qianqian pinched her small cheeks, smiling, "Bao Shu is so pretty."
Bao Shu shook her little head proudly and said to ng Qianqian, "So are you, pretty!"
The Old Madam was still asleep, so ng Qianqian didn’t disturb her. Holding Bao Shu, she set out for the palace in a carriage with Tan’er and Ban Xia.
Steward Cen also accompanied them, sitting outside the carriage.
"Madam, when we arrive at the palace, soone will guide you to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. There’s no need to visit the other palaces. After court, the Grand Commander generally reviews morials in the Taihe Palace. If you’re feeling tired, you and Miss Bao Shu can head to Taihe Palace to rest."
ng Qianqian nodded, "Very well, I’ll keep that in mind."
At the palace gates, ng Qianqian t a young little eunuch.
The little eunuch bowed to ng Qianqian and the little one in her arms. "This humble servant Xiao Quanzi greets Madam Lu and Miss Bao Shu. The Empress has been waiting in Kunning Palace for so ti."
Steward Cen smiled and said, "He’s one of our own."
ng Qianqian understood—Xiao Quanzi was one of the people Lu Yuan had planted in the palace. "I’ve t you before."
When ng Qianqian first entered the palace and faced troubles from Consort Li, it was Lady Wang who had tily requested the Empress to intervene. Back then, Xiao Quanzi had been one of the palace attendants accompanying them.
Xiao Quanzi smiled and replied, "Madam Lu has a good mory. It is indeed this humble servant."
"Ban Xia."
ng Qianqian signaled to Ban Xia with her eyes.
Ban Xia took out a money bag and handed it to Xiao Quanzi.
"I dare not accept!"
Xiao Quanzi hesitated to take it.
Steward Cen urged, "Why aren’t you thanking the madam for her reward?"
Only then did Xiao Quanzi accept the money bag respectfully. "Thank you, Madam, for your reward!"
Steward Cen said to ng Qianqian, "Madam, I’ll wait outside for you and Miss Bao Shu."
ng Qianqian nodded, then followed Xiao Quanzi into the palace.
She and Bao Shu first went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was the Supre Emperor’s lawful mother, a deeply devout elder who had spent her life eating vegetarian als and chanting scriptures. Years ago, after the Crown Prince passed away unexpectedly, the Supre Emperor fell into depression, eventually ceding the throne to Zong Zhengxi, and then retreated to a secondary palace to recuperate.
In truth, his so-called recuperation was rely Lu Yuan’s subtle form of house arrest.
At the ti, so had attempted to persuade the Empress Dowager to stand against Lu Yuan. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager relocated to a small Buddhist Hall within the palace and has since never stepped out.
In the Buddhist Hall, ng Qianqian t the Empress Dowager.
Her attire was plain; a string of Buddha Beads adorned her chest, and a half-copied Buddhist Scripture lay before her.
She was about the sa age as the Old Madam, a venerable elder who had lived into advanced years.
ng Qianqian presented Bao Shu and bowed in greeting to the Empress Dowager.
Deeply imrsed in her devotion to Buddhism and indifferent to worldly matters, the Empress Dowager gave the pair two scriptures she had transcribed herself before dismissing them.
Bao Shu held the scriptures in both hands, took a bite, discovered they couldn’t be eaten, and tossed them away.
She still preferred the Old Madam, who always gave her edible treats.
Ban Xia carefully put the scriptures away.
ng Qianqian asked, "Is the Empress Dowager the Supre Emperor’s birth mother?"
"No, she isn’t." Xiao Quanzi, having just received ng Qianqian’s reward, replied in detail, "The Supre Emperor’s birth mother was a female official in the palace. She passed away shortly after giving birth. The Empress Dowager adopted the Supre Emperor, raising him as her own son. But these are old stories—no one in the palace ntions them anymore. Madam, please be cautious not to speak of this in front of other consorts. The Empress Dowager dislikes others bringing up that the Supre Emperor is not her biological child."
ng Qianqian had rely asked a casual question but hadn’t expected the answer to affirm their non-blood relation.
"Why didn’t the Supre Emperor confer a posthumous title upon his birth mother?" she wondered aloud.
"That... this humble servant does not know."
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