The crown prince's passing was known when the black bands were delivered during dinner.
Signifying mourning, it was to be worn for seven days.
The meals at those times, which hardly had meat even at the best of times, had none at all, so she frequently pursed her lips.
A lowly maidservant had meals two times a day, consisting of cereal and soup. Once in a while as a treat, there would be one vegetable dish. The portion sizes were enough for the overly skinny Maomao, but there were many times she thought it was lacking.
There were obvious things when the maids were all lumped together.
If there were those who were born as peasants, there were town girls too. Though their numbers were few, there were also the daughters of officials. Although with officials as their parent, they should be treated somewhat better, even so there was the issue of their reasons for working and the issue of how the person was raised. Those who could not read or write had no way of becoming consorts with rooms.
A consort is an occupation.
(So it was meaningless in the end?)
Maomao knew about the cause of the crown prince's illness.
Consort Rifa and her attendants used the white face powder lavishly. It was a high-class item that cannot be obtained by commoners.
It was also used by the brothel's high-class prostitutes. Prostitutes who earn a farmer's lifetime of silver in a single night also use it. If there were those who buy it themselves, there were also those who received as a present.
The prostitutes ruined their body by copiously applying this white powder to their face and neck, and several had died from it.
Even though dad had told them, "Stop it", they continued on with it.
Maomao had also seen many of these prostitutes die from weight loss and weakness by her dad's side.
By trying to have both life and beauty, in the end they lost both.
That was why she broke off a short branch, wrote a simple message and left it at the two consorts' place. Well, she didn't think that they would believe the warning from a lowly maidservant who had no paper or pen supplies.
When the mourning broke, the time when the black bands could no longer seen, she heard a rumour about Consort Gyokuyou. Apparently, with the crown prince lost, the grieving emperor was affectionate to the surviving princess.
She heard nothing about him going to Consort Rifa who lost their child.
(How convenient.)
Maomao gulped down the soup that had small bits of fish in it, and headed to her work station where she was to tidy up the tableware.
"A summoning, you say?"
Maomao who was carrying a laundry basket was called to a stop by a eunuch.
It was about coming to the Chief Palace Official's room in the middle area.
Palace officials are one of the three sections that divide the inner palace, a low ranked court lady so to speak. The other two were Inner Officials, the consorts with rooms, and the Eunuchs, who were equivalent to a department of attendants of the inner palace.
(What do they want?)
The eunuch also spoke to the maids around her. Looks like it wasn't just her.
It must be that they don't have enough people.
Maomao left the basket in front of the room and followed after the eunuch.
The Chief Palace Official's building is close to the main gate, which was one of the four gates that connect the inner palace to the outside. The emperor will surely go through this gate on the occasion he visits the inner palace.
She may be summoned, but it wasn't really a comfortable place. It was haughty.
While it somewhat paled in comparison to the building of the Inner Palace Chief next door, it was a structure more extravagant than the buildings of the middle-ranked consorts. Each handrail was carved, and on each of the red pillars, lifelike dragons entwined around it.
When she was urged inside, she saw that the room only had a single large desk. It was tasteless beyond expectations. There were about ten maids gathered within, not counting Maomao's group. Their expressions ranged from uneasiness and anticipation, to excitement.
"Yes, we are done. All of you can return now."
(Huh?)
It was cut off weirdly for some reason. Only Maomao entered the room, and the maids remaining in the room quizzically left.
Even though the room was still spacious enough to fit more people.
As Maomao tilted her head, she noticed the gaze of all the court ladies around her were fixed to a single point.
A woman sitting inconspicuously in the corner of the room, and the eunuch who worked for her. There was a senior woman who was standing a little far off. She remembered that the middle-aged woman was the Chief Palace Official, but that aside, who was the important looking woman?
(Mm?)
Shoulders were wide for a woman. Wearing simple clothes. Hair gathered in cloth, with the rest down.
(A man?)
He looked at the court ladies with the tender smile of a celestial maiden. The Chief Palace Official was getting red.
So that's why. She understood why everyone was blushing.
Maomao thought that this man must be the beautiful eunuch from the rumours.
He was just as beautiful as a painting of a celestial maiden with silky hair, flowing features, almond eyes, and brows like willow.
(Such a waste.)
She thought of such words without blushing. As he lost his most important thing, he cannot make children. If that man had children, they would be excellent specimens no matter what.
However, with just that otherworldly face, the emperor would also ensnare him. While she was thinking of such disrespectful things, the man stood up elegantly.
Facing the desk, he picked up a brush and elegantly wrote something with a flourish.
With a saccharine grin, the man showed his note.
Maomao froze.
'The girl with the freckles. You're staying overtime.'
That was a summary of what was written.
Perhaps he noticed that Maomao hadn't moved.
His entire face was smiling.
The man put away his writing, and clapped twice.
"We are done for today. You can return to your rooms."
The maids while puzzled, left the room with the backs of their hair shining. They didn't unable to understand the meaning of that note from before.
The maids who left the room were all short. Maomao noticed that they had faces that stood out with freckles. However, the ones who made no reaction to the writing probably couldn't read it.
That note didn't single out Maomao.
She was going to leave with the rest of the maids, when a firm hand landed on her shoulders.
She timidly looked back. There was the smile of celestial maiden that was so dazzling her eyes were blinded.
"You can't do that. You're working overtime."
Needless to say, she couldn't refuse.