Hua Chun smiled foolishly and answered, “Eighteen.”
The corner of the Emperor’s mouth twitched slightly as he swept a glance over her.
Judging purely by her face, she really did look like a fresh, dewy eighteen-year-old girl. But in truth she had already passed the age of twenty — in an ordinary household, she would already be considered an old maid nobody wanted to marry. Yet by sheer good fortune, she had still managed to enter the palace.
For a moment the Emperor felt he was practically noble-hearted, willingly saving this over-the-hill maiden.
Hua Xunyue lowered her head, apparently doing the math on the age in question — eighteen? Hua Jinghua was already in his twenties. Could they really not be the same person?
Consort Huo Pin studied Hua Xunyue a few extra times, eagerly hoping she would say something useful. After a long silence, Hua Xunyue could only manage a strained smile and say, “How young.”
Young, my foot! The palace was full of girls of fourteen or fifteen — what an empty thing to say just to fill the silence! Huo Xianrou shot the Consort a look of frustrated disappointment, then sat down and sulked.
“This one still has memorials to attend to,” the Emperor said. “I should take my leave first.”
The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded, reaching out to take Hua Chun’s hand. “Go on and attend to your affairs, Your Majesty. This old one will chat a while longer with Consort Hua.”
The Emperor frowned. It was obvious he meant to take Hua Chun with him when he left — what did it mean, keeping her back like this?
“No need to worry.” Seeing the look in his eyes, the Empress Dowager smiled. “This old one only wishes to speak with Consort Hua alone. Everyone else may leave together with Your Majesty.”
The consorts and concubines exchanged glances and rose reluctantly to bow and take their leave. The Emperor pressed his lips together, was silent for a moment, and then obediently withdrew as well.
Hua Chun smiled stiffly, watching the great hall’s doors close, a knot of unease forming in her chest.
“Have you learned all the rules of the palace?” After a moment of quiet, the Empress Dowager’s voice rose again, carrying two shades more sternness than before.
Hua Chun quickly knelt back down and said softly, “I’ve learned some of them.”
“This old one has no other demands of the women in the harem.” The Empress Dowager’s gaze drifted over her, her tone flat. “Simply do not harm the state, and do not bewitch the sovereign.”
She understood this well enough — hadn’t the Empress Dowager’s dislike of Huo Xianrou begun precisely because Huo Xianrou was seen as bewitching the ruler with her charms? That was exactly why she had worn this dignified set of pale blue-and-white robes embroidered with plum blossoms today.
“This concubine understands what the Empress Dowager means.” Hua Chun put away her foolish smile, lowered her head, and answered with great earnestness. “Though this concubine has no father or mother, she was once one of His Majesty’s subjects all the same, and so more than anyone she wishes for His Majesty to govern diligently and love his country, that the people under heaven might live and work in peace and contentment.”
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, her expression rather doubtful.
Even without lifting her head, Hua Chun could guess what the old woman was thinking, and quickly made her position clear. “These past two days His Majesty has stayed in the Yangxin Hall the whole time. He hasn’t watched a single song or dance, nor neglected the court’s affairs — instead he has been dealing with all the unfinished matters left behind by Chancellor Hua. This concubine has merely been serving tea and pouring water for him. Though this concubine does not understand why His Majesty would take a liking to her, to receive His Majesty’s favor is this concubine’s good fortune — not a means to grow arrogant or presume upon that favor. These principles, this concubine understands well enough.”
Quite an elevated way of thinking, wasn’t it? Empress Dowager Ning was rather startled. She had assumed that a common woman, suddenly lifted so high, would surely lose herself in arrogance and pride — she had not expected this one to have such good sense after all.
Her earlier praise had, to some degree, simply been given for the Emperor’s sake — but now, seeing this, the Empress Dowager found she truly did want to accept her.
“What did you do before, in… the world outside?”
The Empress Dowager could not bring herself to say the words “pleasure house,” clearly finding the subject distasteful. Hua Chun understood at once and answered respectfully, “This concubine’s origins were bitter. She was forced to sell herself into a pleasure house and served as a maid there for a long time.”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s eyes softened further. Being a maid was fine — so long as she hadn’t been one of the registered courtesans, that was tolerable enough.
“Can you read?”
“This concubine can, and has read a fair number of books besides.” Hua Chun said, “Grinding ink for His Majesty is well within her ability.”
Nodding slightly, the Empress Dowager said, “You turn out to be better than some who come from proper families. Since that’s how it is, then serve the Emperor well at his side.”
Judging by her tone, had she passed? Hua Chun’s spirits lifted, and she quickly bowed her head to the floor in thanks.
In truth this had been something of a cheat on her part — having once served as Chancellor herself, and having also acted as the Empress Dowager’s eyes and ears, she understood the woman’s thinking completely. Knowing exactly what kind of daughter-in-law the old lady wanted, it had been simple enough to play the part.
Leaving the Huiming Hall, Hua Chun drew a deep breath at the doorway, then hitched up her skirts and ran the whole way back to the Yangxin Hall.
Along the way, more than a few people tried to stop her, but before any of them could react, Consort Hua had swept past them like a whirlwind.
Night had fallen, and the Emperor still had not come. Qing Niao approached and said quietly, “His Majesty says he must review documents tonight, and that you should rest first.”
Very well, Hua Chun nodded. She thought she understood well enough by now — in this palace, whoever was favored was the one who suffered for it. Before she had firmly established her footing, it was best to see less of the Emperor.
After washing up and getting into bed, she looked up at the finely embroidered bed-curtains overhead, her expression rather blank. But then she thought — whether it was the harem or the court outside, both existed to serve the Emperor — and with that thought she let it go, and drifted contentedly off to sleep.
The next day she was supposed to hand over her duties to the newly appointed Chancellor, but of course Hua Chun could not appear before him directly. She could only have Qing Niao write letters to certain contacts in the tone of Hua Jinghua settling his final affairs, and lay out the court’s business in a simple, clear chart to be passed along by the Emperor.
Yuwen Jie glanced at the chart and said, rather intrigued, “It can even be done this way?”
“This way it’s very clear, see.” Hua Chun gestured as she explained. “Ranked by urgency — if he can finish everything on this chart, the Chancellor’s seat should be his to keep.”
He looked at her with admiration, nodded, and pulled her close to kiss her forehead. “Clever.”
Her face flushed. Hua Chun very much wanted to look modest about it, but somehow, once he praised her, the corners of her mouth simply refused to behave, stretching wider and wider until they nearly reached her ears.
She used to watch people around her who were in love — the way they’d stare at their phones grinning like fools, or laugh out loud for no reason while walking down the street — and had always thought there was something wrong with them. And now, she too had finally caught the same illness, and it was the kind with no cure. Her heart felt so sweet that the very air around her seemed to drift with cotton candy whenever she looked at him.
Seeing the expression on her face, light stirred in Yuwen Jie’s eyes. Playfully, he pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the bridge of her nose, then her lips, and then her neck.
“Your Majesty.” Eunuch Qin, standing with his back turned to them, spoke up weakly. “Chancellor Tang is still waiting in the Zichen Hall.”
Whatever business the two of you have, couldn’t it wait until tonight?
His movements paused. Yuwen Jie let out a muffled grunt, found the mole at the back of Hua Jinghua’s neck, and kissed and sucked deeply until a bright red mark bloomed there before he finally stopped. “This one will go ahead.”
Hua Chun nodded, coughing in embarrassment, her eyes sliding sideways to Qing Niao, who stood facing the wall in quiet penance.
Public displays of affection were shameless — in the past, whenever she’d seen couples being lovey-dovey in public, she’d wanted nothing more than to grab a torch and a bucket of gasoline. But now, she rather wanted to pour the gasoline over herself instead, and keep right on grinning.