On the other side, Jianzhang Palace.
According to palace rules, only concubines who have recently received the Emperor's favor are qualified to offer tea to the Empress and become part of the harem.
The trouble lies with this tea.
Speaking of tea, Yun Jiao couldn't help but think of the countless novels where the Empress would distribute infertility teas, but since this was offering tea to others and not for her to drink, she relaxed her guard. The palace maid who handed over the tea smiled sweetly, without showing any signs of abnormality. Unexpectedly, the tea was scaldingly hot, and not wanting to make a mistake, Yun Jiao thought it was better to be cautious than elegant, so she carefully picked it up with both hands.
The result was that she was scalded and ended up dropping the cup on the ground, committing a grave mistake.
The Empress's smile faded: "Attendant Lady Xi, do you not wish to offer me tea?"
Concubine Wei and Consort Xu, seated below, chimed in:
"Truly from a humble background..."
"Losing decorum in front of the Empress, how utterly lacking in manners."
"In the past, it was enough for Attendant Lady Xi to stand outside the hall without making a major mistake in protocol; now that you've received the Emperor's favor and have a place inside the hall, you can't be as rash and reckless as before," the Empress elegantly picked up her teacup, as if kindly reminding, "If such a mistake were made during a palace banquet, it would disgrace the entire harem. Stand up, I won't be harsh with you."
Throughout the process, Yun Jiao was never given a chance to explain.
It was obvious, even if she claimed that the tea was scalding, those sent to verify would twist the truth, laughingly claim the temperature was appropriate.
Knowing that the other party deliberately caused trouble to set a precedent, she stopped analyzing and chose to reload the scenario, going back in time.
Upon reloading, when the palace maid joyfully handed over the teacup, Yun Jiao quickly held the less hot rim with her fingertips, deftly placing it into the Empress's outstretched hand: "Your Ladyship, please drink!"
The voice was loud and clear.
The Empress's face briefly twisted but quickly suppressed it.
She changed her grip on the cup, took a shallow sip, and quickly handed the teacup to the palace maid beside her.
"Being favored is your fortune, in the future, just stick to your duties."
Yun Jiao acknowledged.
"Hmm, you may go."
The position of Attendant Lady still doesn't allow sitting, only standing at the back.
But at least now she could stay inside the hall and listen to gossip.
"Oh dear, Your Ladyship, this is the first time I've seen tea being stuffed into someone's hand. I heard that Attendant Lady Xi learned etiquette very well, on par with Consort Ji, but now seeing it..." Concubine Wei covered her mouth and giggled.
"The Ji Family's strict upbringing naturally isn't something smaller households can compare to," Consort Xu concurred.
Yun Jiao paid no mind to the others' ridicule.
From the Empress's reaction earlier, it seemed the scalding tea was indeed her arrangement, so even if labeled as having "poor manners," she had to exact her revenge on the spot.
Thus, on the first day Yun Jiao caught the attention of the ladies of the harem, she left the impression of a foolish beauty.
...
After the greetings ended, Nanny Wu immediately approached with a burn ointment, carefully applying it to the Empress's hand.
The palm of the Empress's meticulously cared hands had turned red across a large area.
"Nanny, do you also think I'm being petty?"
She suddenly spoke.
Nanny Wu didn't stop her actions, quietly saying, "This old servant just feels sorry for you, Your Ladyship."
The Empress smiled briefly, her expression dimmed again: "The Emperor hasn't visited the harem in so long, yet he treats Attendant Lady Xi so well. I'm holding onto a bit of anger with nowhere to vent, so I acted impulsively... this won't happen again," she paused, "Attendant Lady Xi is a bit different from what I imagined... not very clever, yet very lucky."
When Yun Jiao received the teacup and immediately placed it back into the Empress's hand, the speed of her action did not seem like a revenge formed from deliberate thinking.
So the Empress judged it as simple luck.
-------------------------------------
After the morning court session ended, Xie Zhixing asked Ying Lu again:
"Did Attendant Lady Xi suffer any grievance when she went to Jianzhang Palace for greetings today?"
The palace attendants serving at the Imperial Court all blinked in unison.
Dreading that if their eyelids didn't catch it, their eyes might just fall to the ground.
"Return to the Emperor, Attendant Lady Xi has served tea to the Empress, and during the process, nothing went awry, except..." Ying Lu reported in detail how Yun Jiao recklessly served the tea and the matter of Concubine Wei and Consort Xu mocking her.
Xie Zhixing listened with half-closed eyes as Ying Lu recounted what happened during the morning court assembly.
The Yun Family can turn back time, and the final outcome is inevitably favorable to her. Yet she deliberately left these two flaws of "poor manners" and "poor etiquette" to prove that though others might criticize her, it would not make her want to do it all over again.
"She really has no temper,"
Xie Zhixing pondered, "Investigate further, see if anyone's secretly causing her trouble."
"I shall go immediately."
Ying Lu lowered his head and, upon stepping out the door, pressed against his chest—how much does the Emperor truly cherish Attendant Lady Xi! Afraid that after her night duties she'd be wronged during the morning greetings, he's unwilling to fully trust even the gist of it, insisting on a thorough investigation, what a great favor. Fortunately, he's always been sharp, having preemptively inquired about happenings in Jianzhang Palace, lest he be at a loss when questioned by the Emperor.
Boiling the tea water for the ceremony to scalding is a trivial matter that doesn't require many hands, only the Empress's confidante Dong Hua knows about it, even the Chief Eunuch couldn't find it out. Yet Jianzhang Palace is always heavily guarded, leaving no room for concubines to meddle. The Emperor closed his eyes, contemplating the temperament of high-ranking concubines, and had a general idea of who it might be.
After Ying Lu finished his report, he considered himself thoughtful, asking, "Does Your Majesty wish to favor Attendant Lady Xi more?"
Hehe, he's truly good at his job!
However, Xie Zhixing replied there's no need: "Keep a closer watch on her, but no need for special treatment."
Before understanding the reason for turning back time, it indeed irked him, but now knowing that a harem girl was responsible, he's not in a rush—being able to do it over again, in most cases holds more pros than cons for him. He wants to test what circumstances would make her want to relive, without arousing her suspicion, to seize the initiative and make her serve his purpose.
Just like today, Attendant Lady Xi helped him relive, restoring his reputation.
Thinking of his third brother's look of shock when supported up, Xie Zhixing couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
Xie Zhixing didn't intend to be overly kind to Yun Jiao.
Yet wherever the Emperor's gaze falls, it's bound to be bright and prosperous.
"Mistress, Mistress, look quickly."
Xue Ya, returning from the Kitchen with the meal, was stern-faced while passing the main hall, but once she entered the west room, she immediately showed a delighted smile. Yun Jiao watched her open the food box, revealing a bowl of shredded chicken and jade rice porridge, accompanied by pickled cucumber, vegetarian ham, and sesame oil mixed wood ear mushrooms as porridge side dishes.
The meat dishes included crab powder buns and fried plum blossom pork, while the vegetarian dish was sautéed cabbage.
In the past, snacks were made from trimming leftovers from other masters' desserts, used to make jujube cake, saving enough for a little profit. Today, however, there were exquisite lotus root flour sweet-scented osmanthus cakes and ginseng lintel cakes.
In the past, to eat this type of dish, one not only had to offer Warm Stove Silver but also spend extra money to purchase them.
"The Kitchen seems to be quite perceptive."
Gong Mei acknowledged it proudly.
Seeing these seemingly VIP-charged Kitchen exquisite dishes, Yun Jiao's eyes lit up instantly.
Without waiting for the palace maid to set up the meal, she sat down and started eating, finding each dish tastier than before: "Has the Kitchen switched chefs?"
"Before, when the master wasn't favored, sometimes the Kitchen would send a little eunuch to fool people."
The one in charge of cooking in the Kitchen was also a eunuch, but not all had the chance to cook, masters would also accept apprentices; when a less favored and lower-ranked concubine came to fetch a meal, there might be a lazy chef allowing an apprentice to fill in. And the apprentice's skills were naturally inferior to the master's.
Being favored reflects in every aspect of daily life.
This is the harem, as long as one receives the Emperor's favor, palace maids and eunuchs will revolve around you, making countless concubines sharpen their minds to vie for affection to maintain this privilege. After Yun Jiao finished her meal, Xue Ya asked: "Is the mistress going to prepare now?"
"Prepare for what?"
Yun Jiao wondered.
"Perhaps the Emperor will come to Xianfu Palace tonight, last night the mistress hastily welcomed his arrival, today you should dress up well, so as not to waste the mistress's beauty!"
The mistress's prosperity is the servant's glory, Xue Ya wished fervently for the mistress to soon become the most favored in the harem.
Yun Jiao: "Do you think I'm very beautiful?"
Xue Ya vigorously nodded: "Even among the harem, the mistress's appearance is one of the finest."
It sounded quite lovely
Yun Jiao touched her delicate, smooth face, yet recalling last night's exhaustion, she furrowed her brows, resembling a pondering kitten:
"Forget it, keep it buried. No need to unearth it, it's quite tiring."
Better an early grave than a morning or evening assembly.
After eating her fill and drinking her fill, she was planning to take a peaceful nap when Gong Mei came to announce: "Mistress, Attendant Lady Sun has come to visit you."