Now let’s talk about how Palace Supervisor Fan was called awake just as she was about to sleep and had to trek “a thousand li,” though she handled the matter with a few quick moves, her heart was still troubled.

Who would have a good temper being woken up in the middle of the night to work overtime?

Especially after being disgusted by a ground full of dense toads and bamboo worms – closing her eyes brought back that terrible scene.

Palace Supervisor Fan couldn’t sleep, so she simply gave up trying and conducted a thorough investigation of tonight’s disturbance through the night.

A female official came to report: “The bamboo grove toads have been completely captured by the Palace Bedding Department’s Garden Division working through the night. The bamboo worms and worm-infested bamboo have also been piled together and burned. The bamboo grove has been cleaned up and won’t disturb the masters and mistresses touring the garden tomorrow.”

The Six Bureaus and One Department each performed their duties with clear responsibilities. When the Palace Supervisory Department informed the Palace Bedding Department about toads blocking the bamboo grove path, the Garden Division managed all garden plants and flowers in the harem. Each bureau had female officials on night duty – the palace couldn’t tolerate any errors and required immediate response.

The Garden Division acted quickly enough, but Palace Supervisor Fan’s focus wasn’t on this. “The bamboo looked fine from the outside – how did so many worms grow inside? Also, why so coincidentally did it fall right on our necessary route? Does the Garden Division have an explanation?”

Her subordinate said, “The Garden Division says bamboo worms naturally grow inside bamboo tubes and can’t be seen from the outside. However, the Garden Division also said bamboo is resilient – unless it’s been eaten hollow inside with only a layer of skin remaining, or encounters external forces like strong winds and storms, it’s difficult to break and fall. The Garden Division examined the bamboo’s break point and found traces of knife and axe cuts. This subordinate has preserved the evidence showing cut marks.”

Palace Supervisor Fan nodded. “Spread word that the Palace Supervisory Department has evidence of bamboo being cut with knives and axes. Let it circulate in the palace. I estimate by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, someone from Yanxi Palace will come to confess.”

Imperial Noble Consort Hu wanted to make trouble to express dissatisfaction with Empress Ma but didn’t want to bring fire upon herself. Since she could sacrifice a palace head eunuch, what difficulty would there be in adding one more palace servant?

After all, the dragon’s heir in her belly was a golden immunity token – no one could touch her.

So Palace Supervisor Fan deliberately used the “startle the snake by beating the grass” tactic. Without the Palace Supervisory Department expending effort investigating, Yanxi Palace would be forced to automatically come confess.

Palace Supervisor Fan’s methods were famous for being swift and ruthless. Many people secretly called her “King Yama Fan.”

But in the harem, a place with nearly zero tolerance for errors and mistakes, there had to be someone as strong as Palace Supervisor Fan to maintain control.

There would be another scapegoat in this palace, Palace Supervisor Fan sighed. When those above only cared about their own pleasure and kept stirring up trouble, the unfortunate ones were always those below.

Palace Supervisor Fan thus developed distaste for Imperial Noble Consort Hu. Actually, as Palace Supervisor managing harem discipline and serving the entire court, the open and covert struggles among the three palaces should have nothing to do with her. She should just observe coldly, remain impartial, and do her job well.

But people aren’t machines – people have emotions, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

The compilation of biographies of virtuous Song Dynasty consorts and family traditions was commanded by Empress Ma for Palace Supervisor Fan to oversee. Imperial Noble Consort Hu’s drama seriously interfered with the book compilation and slapped Palace Supervisor Fan’s face. She thought that by pushing forward a scapegoat, Palace Supervisor Fan would have no way to deal with her.

Palace Supervisor Fan closed the thick case file, adjusted the lamp wick to make it brighter, and muttered to herself, “Do you think I really have no way to deal with you?”

The next morning, Palace Supervisor Fan went to the Court Bureau of Rites to chat with Palace Supervisor Cui of the Court Bureau of Rites.

After exchanging pleasantries, Palace Supervisor Fan asked, “Last time when Marquis Linchuan Hu Mei submitted to your Court Bureau of Rites the family roster for visiting Imperial Noble Consort Hu in the harem, I heard he even wrote in his son-in-law’s name – is this true?”

Palace Supervisor Cui nodded, her eyes showing disdain. “The Hu family son-in-law is just an outside male – how can he enter the harem? The Hu family has no sense of propriety. My subordinate Palace Hostess rejected the roster and demanded the Hu family revise it. Imperial Noble Consort Hu actually accused them of soliciting bribes – truly troublesome.”

This was precisely why Empress Ma commanded Palace Supervisor Fan to compile books educating consorts to be virtuous, restrain their families, establish family laws, and correct family traditions.

Palace Supervisor Fan’s beautiful eyes turned. “Did the Hu family revise it?”

Palace Supervisor Cui said, “They revised it. Hu Mei deleted the outside male and several collateral clan members. Otherwise, if our Court Bureau of Rites allowed outside males into the palace, wouldn’t that be dereliction of duty? The Hu family resubmitted the roster, and Palace Hostess is reviewing it. Once the review is complete, they’ll arrange dates and palace entry routes.”

Palace Supervisor Fan smiled, giving a “you understand” look, and asked, “The second roster – surely it has no problems at all?”

Palace Supervisor Cui understood, returning an “I get it” smile and saying, “If one looks hard for problems, there are still flaws.”

Even eggs can have bones picked from them.

Imperial Noble Consort Hu’s casual accusation that eight female officials of the Court Bureau of Rites’ Palace Hostess collectively solicited bribes wouldn’t be easily overlooked.

Everyone has a temper – not just Imperial Noble Consort Hu. If Palace Supervisor Fan and Palace Supervisor Cui were soft persimmons, they absolutely couldn’t have reached their current positions.

Thus, the Court Bureau of Rites found several more problems and returned the roster to the Hu family for reconsideration. The Hu family’s palace entry was repeatedly delayed. Imperial Noble Consort Hu couldn’t see her family and became increasingly irritable, even crying to Emperor Hongwu when he visited her, complaining that the Court Bureau of Rites bullied her excessively and deliberately made things difficult for her maternal family, the Marquis Linchuan residence.

Emperor Hongwu summoned Palace Supervisor Cui of the Court Bureau of Rites for questioning. Palace Supervisor Cui, a great beauty no less than Imperial Noble Consort Hu, had long anticipated Imperial Noble Consort Hu would complain. She gently and softly explained, “When the imperial family summons consorts’ family members, without imperial command, only ladies with imperial patents can come. They must dress according to their respective rank specifications, wearing the court dress of titled ladies to enter the palace. Unmarried women and married women without imperial patents are not qualified to enter the palace for audience.”

Imperial Noble Consort Hu angrily said, “Nonsense! Last month when Western Six Palaces’ Noble Consort Sun summoned her family to the palace, there were unmarried women.”

Palace Supervisor Cui said, “That was because Noble Consort Sun requested permission from Empress Ma, and after Empress Ma nodded approval, our Court Bureau of Rites allowed her entry.”

Palace Supervisor Cui’s words were reasonable and well-founded, leaving Imperial Noble Consort Hu speechless and even more frustrated.

Of course, this was a later story.

Now let’s talk about how Hu Shanwei, disheveled and improperly dressed with injured hands, was told by Palace Supervisor Fan to return to her room to rest and await a female physician’s visit for treatment.

Just as she stepped into that familiar row of corridor rooms, four palace maids were already waiting at the door, carrying a bucket of hot water, soap box, and a brand new set of female official robes and flower-adorned black gauze hat.

The entire row of corridor rooms housed only Hu Shanwei alone – so desolate at night it could be haunted. Had these four palace maids gone to the wrong place?

The two palace maids carrying hot water and soap box said, “Historian Hu, your hands are injured. We were sent by Palace Supervisor Fan to serve you in bathing and changing clothes.”

The palace maid carrying clothes said, “I’m from the Palace Wardrobe Department. Hearing that Historian Hu’s official robes and hat were damaged, I’ve specially come to deliver a new set.”

Needless to say, this was again Palace Supervisor Fan sending people to notify the Palace Wardrobe Department. Female officials’ dress represented the imperial family’s dignity and majesty. At this time, Hu Shanwei was not only disheveled but had torn red skirt and purple robe, with gold threads pulled out from the purple robe – completely improper.

Hu Shanwei opened the door, and the four palace servants followed her in. With her hands inconvenient, all cleaning and bed-making was helped by the palace maids. She soaked in the bathtub with her swollen hands extended outside while palace maids helped wash her hair and body. Soft fingers gently massaged her scalp – so comfortable.

Another palace maid helped dry her body. Hu Shanwei felt somewhat awkward. Since losing her mother at age six and her family’s decline to near extinction, no one had served her in bathing. Now suddenly there were four people, and her entire body was seen by others.

The bathing palace maid felt her muscles were tense, knowing she was uncomfortable and unaccustomed to being served, suggesting her family circumstances before entering the palace were quite ordinary.

The palace maid had a bright idea, taking several red lotus flowers from a vase and tearing off petals one by one. Like small boats, they quickly covered the entire bathtub, concealing the infinite spring scenery within.

Indeed, after her privacy was protected, Hu Shanwei gradually relaxed. By the time the palace maids finished washing her hair and drying her body, she nearly fell asleep in the bathtub.

The palace maids dried her hair and dressed her in loose sleeping clothes. The female physician who came to treat her fingers was already waiting in the bedroom, drinking light lotus seed soup as a late-night snack.

Hu Shanwei was startled – it was actually Palace Pharmacist Ru from the Imperial Kitchen Bureau who had come personally.

“Palace” prefix officials were sixth-rank female officials. Palace Pharmacist Ru was twenty-three years old, the youngest sixth-rank female official.

She came from a scholarly family – a proper young lady of distinguished household. Scholars had the saying that if one couldn’t be a good minister, one should be a good physician. The Ru family had those who studied and became officials, and those who discovered while studying that they preferred medical research and eventually became physicians.

There were also those who served as officials but resigned midway to practice medicine and support their families, and those who practiced medicine but took imperial examinations and eventually became officials.

In short, the Ru family was relatively open-minded – whether becoming an official or a physician, the family approved. Growing up in such a family, Ru learned Confucian classics and could also master medical arts.

Like Palace Supervisor Fan, she was selected as a palace official in the third year of Hongwu, but she was only thirteen when she entered the palace, an unmarried young woman. The newly widowed Palace Supervisor Fan was twenty. Both started as eighth-rank female historians. Because of her medical knowledge, Ru went to the Imperial Kitchen Bureau’s Pharmacy Department as a female historian.

The harem prohibited imperial physicians from appearing – violators would be executed. When imperial family members or palace servants fell ill, only female physicians could treat them, or female physicians would relay pulse diagnoses, conditions, and symptoms to imperial physicians for joint consultation, writing prescriptions in cooperation.

Ru had some medical foundation. She was intelligent and studious, plus had guidance from famous physicians and master healers from the Imperial Medical Academy. Ten years passed, her medical skills gradually improved, and at twenty-three she was promoted to sixth-rank Palace Pharmacist, managing all matters related to medicine in the entire harem.

Therefore, Palace Pharmacist Ru was busy with official duties and rarely had time to treat lower-ranking palace servants or female officials anymore.

This time not only did Palace Pharmacist Ru come, but she also brought three sturdy palace servants carrying a medicine chest half a person’s height.

Hu Shanwei dared not be negligent and hurried forward to bow. Palace Pharmacist Ru ordered her to sit down, placed a pumpkin-shaped pillow on the table. “Let me look at your hands.”

Hu Shanwei spread both hands on the soft pillow. Palace Pharmacist Ru cleaned her hands, dried the water drops, and pressed each finger one by one. “Do you feel pain?”

Hu Shanwei broke out in cold sweat from the pain. “It hurts. Please be gentler, Palace Pharmacist Ru.”

Palace Pharmacist Ru carefully examined each finger before letting go. “Pain is good – the bones are fine. I was afraid you couldn’t feel pain. With so many people bending your fingers from all directions, they could easily break them – breaking would be better, as they could be reset and grow back. If the bones were crushed, amputation would be necessary, cutting off entire fingers.”

What?

Hu Shanwei was stunned. “Palace… Palace Pharmacist Ru? You mean I nearly had to have amputation?”

Palace Pharmacist Ru nodded. “If amputation wasn’t done promptly and the fingers rotted, you would die.”

Hu Shanwei was so frightened she forgot about the pain.

Palace Pharmacist Ru instructed her three assistants, “Those knives, axes, and saws you brought tonight won’t be needed. Just apply wound medicine directly.”

Only then did Hu Shanwei understand that when Palace Pharmacist Ru came personally for diagnosis today, bringing three sturdy assistants, she had originally planned to amputate her hands…

At this moment, Hu Shanwei truly felt afraid – she had come so close to being disabled.

The three assistants skillfully applied medicine to her fingers. Palace Pharmacist Ru finally instructed, “Don’t let them touch water, don’t exert force, and sweat will also corrode the wounds. Avoid certain foods these days – no alcohol, no spicy foods…”

Hu Shanwei was still immersed in the fear of amputation, continuously nodding agreement, not daring to move carelessly.