Why was she here?
Wei Yan’s heart lurched with equal parts surprise and joy. His gaze swept briefly across the ebony hairpin at the side of her bun, and a tender, yielding sweetness bloomed within him.
The focused concentration in the lamplight of deep night. The gentleness poured into every stroke with all the feeling in his heart. The deep and wordless devotion that could not be spoken aloud. All of it lay bare and fully revealed within this single ebony hairpin.
He had offered up his heart in trembling courage.
And now, in the very next moment, he saw that she had put on the hairpin he had carved with his own hands — as though a seed cast into the earth had burst immediately into bloom. His entire being thrummed with stirred and trembling wonder.
Ling Jingshu raised her head, and met Wei Yan’s gaze.
The joy of reunion after long separation had not yet risen to her heart before it was swept away by the grievance pressing against it.
Like a child who had endured too much hurt and finally found the person they leaned upon with all their heart. A burning, desperate urge arose to pour out every last grievance and sorrow to him at once…
But how hateful — this time and place were entirely wrong for it, and there was the grating presence of Chief Eunuch Ding standing nearby.
“I had not expected to encounter Lady Ling here.” Wei Yan broke the silence with a smile, pulling himself slightly out of the joy of their reunion.
Ling Jingshu had been confined to the Imperial Prison — how had she suddenly been released? And how had she come to appear here in the Zichen Palace? And more than that — her face held no trace of happiness; her eyes even betrayed faint threads of buried grievance.
What had happened here?
Ling Jingshu pressed down the tangled, turbulent thoughts within her heart and said quietly, “By His Majesty’s boundless imperial grace, His Majesty has pardoned your servant of her imprisonment. From this day forward, your servant will remain here in the Zichen Palace in service.”
What?!
Wei Yan was sharp and perceptive in the extreme; he grasped almost immediately the wrongness hidden within Ling Jingshu’s words, and a fierce shudder ran through his heart.
Before he could think further into it, Chief Eunuch Ding’s thin, shrill, grating laugh rang out. “Indeed so. One must say, Lady Ling truly has remarkable luck and great fortune. His Majesty not only pardoned Lady Ling of all wrongdoing and released her from the Imperial Prison, but has even kept her here at the Zichen Palace as a female official. Imperial Physician Wei will be a frequent presence in the Zichen Palace from now on — it seems you will be running into Lady Ling quite often.”
The smile at the corners of Wei Yan’s lips vanished without a trace in an instant.
He looked urgently toward Ling Jingshu.
Their eyes met — and Ling Jingshu gave a tiny, barely perceptible nod, confirming the suspicion and doubt that had been forming in his mind.
Wei Yan’s heart sank, and then — sweeping over him like a flood that blotted out the sky — a tidal wave of fury rose up and blazed with searing, consuming fire.
That shameless old reprobate of an Emperor! At his age, with the earth already half-swallowed him up, he still dared to covet a young woman in the full bloom of youth like Ling Jingshu!
Utterly without shame!
Wei Yan exhausted every last measure of self-control he possessed just to keep his expression calm and undisturbed. “Is everything Chief Eunuch Ding has said truly accurate? Then I must offer Lady Ling my most sincere congratulations.”
A’Shu. Do not be afraid. While I am here, I will never let that lecherous old man lay a single finger on you.
Wei Yan’s gaze carried this message with unmistakable clarity.
Every thread of grievance within Ling Jingshu’s heart was soothed in an instant, and warmth and steadiness rose in wave after wave within her. “I shall have to ask Imperial Physician Wei to look after me from here on.”
Wei Yan nodded with a studied composure.
Every soul in this palace was a seasoned operator who missed nothing.
This Chief Eunuch Ding had served at the Emperor’s side for years — his mind sharp and his ways astute. With Chief Eunuch Ding present, both he and Ling Jingshu needed to exercise particular caution lest something in their manner betray what lay between them. With Chief Eunuch Ding’s nature, he would turn around and report everything straight to the Emperor.
Chief Eunuch Ding smiled. “This one must first see to settling Lady Ling in. Imperial Physician Wei, please proceed to the bedchamber on your own — there is no need to be announced.”
Wei Yan acknowledged this and walked past Ling Jingshu with a composed and unhurried bearing.
Ling Jingshu resisted the urge to look back and followed quietly behind Chief Eunuch Ding as they departed.
Bai Yu had waited in anxious uncertainty for a long while before she finally caught sight of Ling Jingshu’s figure, and rushed forward at once. “Miss, are you all right?”
His Majesty had not made things difficult for Miss, had he?
Ling Jingshu steadied herself and replied with a performance of delight. “Bai Yu, what good fortune must have been cultivated in my previous life. His Majesty not only did not blame me — he has even kept me here at the Zichen Palace as a female official! From this day forward, we will not need to return to the Imperial Prison!”
Bai Yu stared at her in wide-eyed astonishment.
How had things suddenly turned out this way?
Why would His Majesty suddenly want to keep Miss here in service at the Zichen Palace? With His Majesty’s intentions still unclear, whether this was a blessing or a calamity remained to be seen. And given Miss’s nature, she would certainly never be genuinely happy about something like this.
So — this display was put on deliberately for Chief Eunuch Ding’s benefit.
Bai Yu was perceptive and quick-witted; she caught on swiftly, and a bright and knowing gleam rose in her eyes as she said with a convincingly joyful expression, “This is truly wonderful news!”
Only when she saw that Bai Yu had grasped the situation so quickly did Ling Jingshu finally let down her guard, then turned to look at Chief Eunuch Ding with a smile. “Chief Eunuch Ding, I have a small favor to ask. When I first entered the palace, I brought with me a maidservant by the name of Qiao Yun. Qiao Yun is currently also confined in the Imperial Prison. I wonder whether I might be so bold as to request a concession from you — to have Qiao Yun released from the Prison and brought to my side.”
Chief Eunuch Ding agreed with effortless readiness. “A trivial matter — think nothing of it. I will send someone to the Imperial Prison at once and have Qiao Yun brought here.”
His Majesty showed Ling Jingshu exceptional favor in all things; releasing one more maidservant was nothing of any consequence.
Ling Jingshu smiled and offered her thanks.
Qiao Yun was skilled in the martial arts, and was moreover a person from the Crown Grandson’s inner circle. With Qiao Yun at her side, it was like gaining one more protective talisman.
Chief Eunuch Ding promptly called over an attendant and gave a few quiet instructions in a low voice. He then personally led Ling Jingshu to her assigned quarters in the female officials’ residence to get her settled.
The layout of the Zichen Palace differed somewhat from the Jiaofang Palace — somewhat more spacious. Near the Emperor’s bedchamber, a duty room had been set aside for imperial physicians, as well as a station where the imperial guards kept their watch.
Those who served the Emperor were predominantly male attendants; palace maids were relatively few, and female officials rarer still.
Chief Eunuch Ding led Ling Jingshu to meet the Zichen Palace’s Lady Official Qian: “This Lady Official Qian has served in the Zichen Palace for five or six years now. On ordinary days, she oversees the sweeping and needlework within the palace.”
He then addressed Lady Official Qian with a smile. “And this is the newly arrived Lady Official Ling. She was previously in service at the Jiaofang Palace and has a particular skill for tending to flowers and plants. His Majesty has kept her at the Zichen Palace, and from now on all the flowers and plants within the Zichen Palace will be entrusted to her care. Assign ten palace maids to Lady Official Ling when the time comes. The two of you will be serving here together going forward — it would be best to get better acquainted.”
Ling Jingshu stepped forward with a smile to offer her greetings.
Lady Official Qian appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, of middling looks — not especially remarkable — and carried herself with a somewhat proud and aloof air in her speech and manner. She gave Ling Jingshu a slight nod.
Ling Jingshu harbored not the slightest resentment toward this cool reception, and asked Chief Eunuch Ding with a gentle smile: “Chief Eunuch Ding, where will my quarters be?”
Chief Eunuch Ding considered briefly. “There is still an empty room next to Lady Official Qian’s — make use of that for now.” He then added an offhand instruction: “Lady Official Qian, it would not be convenient for me to enter the female officials’ quarters. Please show Lady Official Ling the way. Whatever Lady Official Ling is in need of — if it is within your authority to manage, help her retrieve it from the storeroom; if it is beyond your authority, report to me.”
Lady Official Qian had not anticipated that Chief Eunuch Ding would extend such warm and attentive courtesy to Ling Jingshu. Any lingering condescension she harbored vanished at once, and she agreed with a smile.