“If Your Highness likes them, you could just keep them here permanently to serve you,” the young maid suggested softly.
“What is their prescription? Simply buy the formula from them,” Noble Consort Ya said.
“Reporting to Your Highness.” The maid bowed. “That one said their secret formula is not for sale.”
“She said the secret formula is their livelihood — no amount of silver would buy it.”
“And besides, that girl called Little Feng also said the formula alone is useless without their skill applied alongside it to achieve the effect.”
“After Your Highness fell asleep, they also used silver needles. This humble one is too dull-witted to have understood it.”
“If it were so easy for you to understand, other people wouldn’t have any business left to run, would they?” Noble Consort Ya’s brow creased.
“Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean the imperial physicians in the palace wouldn’t. Though…”
The maid looked up and glanced at Noble Consort Ya.
“Your Highness, though what?”
Noble Consort Ya pondered for a moment, swept her sleeves, and looked away.
“For now, let’s keep them here a while longer. It’s not as though this palace can’t afford it!”
“Where have these people been arranged to stay?”
“Right in the back garden, in the house by the stables. This humble one didn’t dare have them placed anywhere more visible, in case someone noticed,” the maid said.
“Rest assured, Your Highness, the house has been cleaned thoroughly, and meals are being sent to them on schedule.”
“Good!” Noble Consort Ya nodded. “It’s been made clear to them that this matter must not reach anyone outside this hall, yes?”
“It has.” The maid cupped her hands. “The guards outside don’t know either. I only told them Her Highness had brought in music teachers to instruct her in the zither.”
“And Your Highness, this humble one also asked Little Feng — she said she does know how to play the zither.”
“So there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Good!” Noble Consort Ya waved a hand. “Prepare the midday meal — this palace is hungry too.”
“Yes.” The maid cupped her hands, turned, and walked out.
In the house by the stables, behind the Ya Fragrance Hall, the four of them were having their meal. The food had been sent over by palace maids — Xiao Yingtao had tested it several times already; no poison.
“This is the map Xinyue gave me. She hasn’t been in the palace long, so she hasn’t been to many places yet.”
“We can cross-reference it with the palace map we already have and piece it together slowly.”
Qiao Mu pulled a cloth from her sleeve and set it on the table, carefully unfolding it.
Of the siblings who had entered the palace, Gong Xinyue was the only one so far — and all of them were women.
Men entering the palace, unless as eunuchs, was something Feng Jiu’er would never allow.
There were, in fact, still people of Feng Jiang’s inside the palace, but the newly placed women — around ten of them — had no one watching over them; they had to fend for themselves as best they could.
Mainly, they worried that if something went wrong with Feng Jiang’s people already inside the palace, it might endanger the newer ones.
“I wonder how Xinyue is doing.” Xiao Yingtao sighed lightly, chopsticks in hand.
“That witch of a woman is deranged — they say several people die around her every year.”
“The path was Xinyue’s own choice. All we can do is trust her.” Qiao Mu’s gaze stayed on the map, bowl and chopsticks in hand as she ate.
Feng Jiu’er said nothing and ate faster.
Xiao Yingtao glanced at the two of them, pressed her lips together, and picked up a piece of vegetable to put in her mouth.
After swallowing, she went on, “She’s so clever, she’ll definitely be fine.”
“Today things looked all right too — nothing’s wrong!”
Xiao Yingtao reassured herself, and everyone else, and picked up her pace eating as well.
Jian Yi finished eating, said nothing, set down his bowl and chopsticks, turned, and walked outside.
Indeed — the maid at Noble Consort Ya’s side, called Xiao You, was Gong Xinyue. She had been the first of them to enter the palace.
Gong Xinyue’s acquaintance with Noble Consort Ya had not been by chance.
That day, Noble Consort Ya had gone out of the palace to enjoy herself and had run into some thugs.
To begin with, Noble Consort Ya’s purpose in leaving the palace hadn’t been so simple — she’d only brought a driver and one maid.
The carriage was struck, the driver injured, and Noble Consort Ya and her maid were trapped in a narrow alley.
Fortunately, Gong Xinyue had appeared just in time and driven the thugs off.
Seeing that her martial skill was impressive, Noble Consort Ya asked about her background and brought her straight back into the palace.
In Noble Consort Ya’s mind, Gong Xinyue was simply a refugee who had fled from elsewhere.
On the first day in the palace, and in broad daylight besides, the three of them — Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, and Xiao Yingtao — stayed in the house the whole time without leaving.
Jian Yi sat outside, looking every bit the idle driver with nothing to do.
When the time came, the young maid came to fetch them.
In truth, Gong Xinyue hadn’t changed much — only grown a bit darker than before.
Before entering the palace, she had steeled herself and darkened her own complexion, choosing a powder that wouldn’t wash off for three months.
In the palace, being plain and unremarkable was how you survived — that was an unchanging law.
In the afternoon, the three of them went again to treat Noble Consort Ya.
Perhaps because her mood was good, this time the Noble Consort’s complexion looked considerably better upon their second meeting.
Lying on the couch, enjoying herself, the woman asked pleasantly, “Are you all local to the capital?”
“No.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “We fled here from a cold border region in the north.”
“Oh?” Noble Consort Ya’s brow furrowed. “So you’re from that Northern Di territory?”
“Yes.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “We use our family’s own methods — even the formula is passed down through generations.”
“That’s why, when the maid asked me for the formula today, I refused her.”
“My apologies, Your Highness. We Northern Di people may be poor, but the pride in our bones has endured for generations.”
“Our family motto is: while the formula lives, the person lives; when the formula dies, the person dies too.”
In truth, this wasn’t any ancestral formula at all — Feng Jiu’er had developed all of it herself.
She had long wanted to run a business in health and beauty care.
Now, at last, it had all found its use.
“Little Feng, this humble one was bold enough to ask about it today.” The maid dropped to her knees.
“It wasn’t Her Highness’s intention — please, Her Highness and Little Feng, forgive this transgression.”
“Go fan Her Highness,” Noble Consort Ya said flatly.
“Yes!” The maid bowed, shuffled forward on her knees, picked up the fan, and resumed fanning Noble Consort Ya.
“This palace has also heard that the Northern Di people carry a certain wolfish ferocity — I never expected you all came from that Northern Di territory,” Noble Consort Ya said, arching a brow, then closing her eyes.
“No matter — this palace is not an unreasonable person. As long as you heal this palace’s face, the reward will not be small.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Feng Jiu’er bowed and continued massaging Noble Consort Ya’s face.
After a while, she wiped off the salve from Noble Consort Ya’s face and began the acupuncture.
That morning, when the needles had gone in, Noble Consort Ya had been asleep. Now, seeing the long silver needles, she was a little afraid.
“What are you about to do?” Noble Consort Ya frowned.
“The same method as this morning. It doesn’t hurt — just bear with it a little,” Feng Jiu’er said, holding the silver needle, kneeling to the side.
“Your Highness, this humble one also watched Little Feng apply the needles to you today,” the maid said, leaning in carefully.
“After the needling, the redness on Your Highness’s face heals very quickly.”
Noble Consort Ya finally closed her eyes. “Go ahead, then.”
“What matters most is whether this palace’s face can become beautiful — a little pain means nothing at all!”