Palace maid Shuoning

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The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lunar New Year's Eve.

Suihe inserted a gilded hairpin into Rongfei's hair bun, smoothed the stray hairs around the bun with her fingertips, and smiled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Your Majesty looks radiant today. This hairpin makes you even more dazzling. I doubt anyone will dare to stand beside Your Majesty at tonight's palace banquet."

Consort Rong raised her red lips slightly, touched the pearl hairpin in her hair, lingered in the mirror for a moment, and then glanced lightly at Jiang Shuoning, who was standing quietly with his head bowed, holding the new clothes in his hands.

"Change your clothes."

As Jiang Shuoning knelt forward, Suihe glanced at him sideways, took the clothes herself, and turned to help Consort Rong get up and change. While adjusting her collar, she spoke slowly and deliberately.

"His Majesty truly dotes on the Empress. I heard that there were only three bolts of the Floating Light Brocade this year, and His Majesty sent two to Yihua Palace, giving the remaining one to the Empress."

Consort Rong smiled slightly, her tone light and airy: "If I want all three bolts, will Your Majesty refuse?"

Suihe quickly smiled and said, "Of course, His Majesty never refuses when His Majesty speaks."

Consort Rong didn't reply, but glanced at her, her gaze lingering on her ear, and she paused slightly.

"What about the coral earrings I bestowed upon you on your birthday? You'll look quite presentable wearing them today, New Year's Eve. As my person, you certainly can't be looked down upon at the palace banquet."

Suihe paused slightly, then smiled and bowed slightly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. Those earrings were a gift from Your Highness, and I really can't bear to wear them. I'd like to save them for Your Highness's birthday so I can wear them for you."

Consort Rong glanced at her, then gently patted Suihe's hand: "I appreciate your thoughtfulness. You can wear it on my birthday then."

As soon as she finished speaking, Consort Rong glanced at Jiang Shuoning again.

Jiang Shuoning lowered his head even further, a fleeting, almost imperceptible look flashing across his eyes.

After they were dressed, Suihe helped Consort Rong slowly walk out of the palace gate. The shimmering brocade rippled in the warm sunlight, and each step felt like walking on shimmering water.

Jiang Shuoning followed silently behind.

Consort Rong took two steps, then suddenly stopped, glancing sideways at the person behind her.

"Shuoning, you stay in the palace. Suihe and Fengchun will come with me."

Jiang Shuo Ning curtsied: "Yes, Your Majesty."

She stood still, watching Consort Rong and her entourage gradually disappear into the distance, until that shimmering red figure vanished at the end of the palace road.

Qing'er peeked out from under the eaves at some point, still clutching a damp rag in her hand. She ran up to Jiang Shuoning and whispered:

"Sister Shuoning, why didn't Her Majesty invite you this year?"

Jiang Shuoning smiled slightly, reached out and gently brushed a stray hair from Qing'er's temple, and said softly, "Your Majesty is considerate of me and told me to rest for a while."

Qing'er said "Oh," nodded as if she understood, and then turned around to leave, but then remembered something and turned back.

"Sister Shuoning, have you seen Sister Suihe's earrings? She searched the house for a long time right after dawn, and I even helped her look for them, but we still couldn't find them."

Jiang Shuoning's expression remained unchanged: "Perhaps I forgot where I put it. Let's look for it again."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards her room, her steps unhurried.

Behind her, Qing'er tilted her head and glanced at her, feeling that something was not quite right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she lowered her head and continued wiping the pillars under the corridor.

As evening fell, the sounds of string and wind instruments from a distant palace banquet mingled with the muffled booms of fireworks exploding in the night sky, drifting intermittently, while flashes of light flickered on the horizon.

Jiang Shuoning pulled her purple cloak tighter and walked alone on the deserted palace path leading to Changmen Palace. The light from the fireworks occasionally illuminated her profile before quickly fading away.

Tonight, Yihua Palace is empty. Those who were supposed to attend the palace banquet have all gone, and those who weren't supposed to have gone have also gone. A few lanterns under the eaves sway gently in the wind, casting shadows that are sometimes long and sometimes short.

Changmen Palace is even more deserted tonight than usual.

When Jiang Shuoning arrived, Eunuch Xin was squatting at the kitchen door, eating a cold steamed bun with a bowl of hot water. Seeing her, he paused slightly, then put down his bowl, stood up, and took two steps to greet her, his voice extremely low: "Miss has arrived."

Jiang Shuoning's gaze passed over him and landed on the room at the west end, where a flickering candle was burning: "How is it?"

"The fever has subsided." Eunuch Xin hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice. "He woke up once this afternoon, but then fell asleep again."

Jiang Shuoning remained silent for a moment, then walked towards the room. Eunuch Xin opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed it back and stood still.

The door was ajar.

Jiang Shuoning pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by a strong smell of medicine mixed with the musty smell of old cotton. The candle on the table was almost extinguished, its light so dim and yellowish that it seemed to melt away.

Zhou Zhengyin lay face down on the bed. The whip marks on his back were crisscrossed and shocking. The blanket only covered his waist, and his exposed shoulder blades stood out high, like two thin blades about to pierce his skin.

He was so thin that only his bones were supporting him. His face was sallow, his cheekbones were high and prominent, and his eyes were sunken. His lips were dry, cracked, and peeling, with dark red scabs on them.

Jiang Shuoning walked to the bedside, stretched out his hand, and hovered his fingertips under Jiang Shuoning's nose.

still alive.

(under)

The room was quiet, with only Zhou Zhengyin's faint breathing, like a string about to snap, trembling and hanging precariously.

After an unknown amount of time, the drooping hand suddenly twitched.

A chaotic consciousness was pulled up from the depths of chaos by a wisp of scent.

Du Ruoxiang.

He could recognize it even with his eyes closed, after smelling it all December.

Zhou Zhengyin's eyelids trembled, as if he had used all his strength to open them a crack. His vision was so blurry that he couldn't see clearly, but he could see a dark shadow standing on the edge of the bed, with a thin profile and a very straight back.

is her.

He wanted to reach out.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Moonlight streamed in through the crack in the door, falling on her profile. Her face was pale and clean, without a speck of dust. A purple cloak wrapped around her slender figure, its collar trimmed with velvet, spotless and immaculate.

He recoiled as if burned.

Dirty.

He was filthy from head to toe. The smell of urine, medicine, blood scabs, and pustules filled his body; there wasn't a single clean spot.

She shouldn't have touched him.

He shouldn't have even considered touching her.

Jiang Shuoning noticed the movement and glanced at him sideways. Meeting a pair of wet, dark eyes, her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

He was calling her name.

Shuoning.

Jiang Shuoning remained indifferent, her eyes as cold as ice: "Don't cry in front of me, it's bad luck!" She looked away and added, "Take those six doses of medicine on time."

After saying that, she turned and left.

He watched her resolute back as she walked away, the scent of the fragrant herbs still lingering in his nose.

He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent deeply into his lungs.

Like a drowning person grabbing onto the last piece of driftwood.

Outside the window, the fireworks of the palace banquet were still going off. One after another, they seemed as distant as something from another world.

As she stepped out of Changmen Palace, the night wind rushed towards her, making her shiver slightly.

In the distance, fireworks continued to explode intermittently on the horizon, their flashes of light illuminating the outline of the palace walls before quickly disappearing into darkness. The sounds of string and wind instruments from the palace banquet drifted in, intermittent and veiled, as if seen through a thin layer of gauze.

Jiang Shuoning adjusted his cloak and walked towards Yihua Palace.

She suddenly stopped when she reached the moon gate.

Under the moonlight, a person stood at the end of the passageway.

The man was clearly surprised to meet someone here at this hour. He paused for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"Miss Shuoning," Feng Xi's voice was neither loud nor soft, as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary, "Why aren't you at Yihua Palace on New Year's Eve? What brings you here?"

Jiang Shuoning's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive. He curtsied and said, "Greetings, Eunuch Feng. This servant... came out for some fresh air."

"Breathable?" Feng Xi smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "What's so good about the wind blowing through Changmen Palace?"

Jiang Shuoning did not respond.

Feng Xi didn't ask any more questions. He just stood there, looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her purple cloak for a moment before moving to her simple hair.

Then he laughed.

"Miss Shuoning," he approached slowly, his voice extremely low, "I've lived in this palace for fifty years, what kind of people haven't I seen? Some people walk for their own sake. Some people walk..."

He paused, brushed past her, and said, "...It's for show, for the King of Hell to see."