Chapter 6

    "Leave us. I have something to discuss with Head Seamstress Ma,"

    Sisi instructed the seamstress attendants who had accompanied Ma Yechao to the Lianhua Palace after trying on clothes and handling the details.

    Once alone, Ma Yechao inquired, "Does the concubine have something to tell me, miss?"

    "I've heard that your time to leave the palace is approaching."

    "Yes, miss. In one more month, it will be time."

    "Have you decided whether to leave the palace or stay?"

    Ma Yechao looked puzzled. She could not fathom why the concubine would be interested in her affairs. She had served the concubine several times but still could not confidently figure her out. Underneath her unbothered demeanor, Concubine Dong was a highly intelligent woman.

    "I will... stay, miss."

    "Why?"

    "Maidservants who leave the palace without marrying become useless. I have no suitors, and I am past the usual age for marriage. Staying in the palace... seems like the best option."

    "How can someone as skilled as you become useless?" Sisi commented with a smile, causing Ma Yechao's heart to flutter.

    The concubine, though plain in appearance and slightly dark-skinned, had a way of shaking one’s soul with her words.

    "Concubine..."

    "I just feel sorry for you. In the royal palace... it will be many years before you can be promoted from head of the unit to head of the department."

    Ma Yechao was well aware of this. Many senior maids disliked her. Despite her concessions to them, they envied her sewing and designing skills. Part of her promotion was due to commendations from the Empress Dowager, but she had been stuck in the same position for many years despite her notable work.

    The many years the concubine spoke of could well turn into decades. And the position of Head of the Royal Wardrobe Department she once dreamed of seemed forever out of reach.

    "I own a boutique in the capital, and the business is doing well. If you're interested, I'd like to invite you to be a designer for my shop. Miss Ma... you're still young. Don’t waste the rest of your youth in this palace."

    Ma Yechao looked at Sisi with wide eyes, reminded that she was not just a maid but a woman with a life, dreams, and the desire to experience love like any other young woman. It had been so long since anyone had called her Miss Ma that she sometimes forgot she was more than just a servant.

    Suppressing the turmoil inside her, Ma Yechao managed to say,

    "Thank you, Your Highness. I will consider it."

    Having been at the palace for only two months, Sisi had already been harassed three times, which annoyed her.

    The Empress Dowager sent a second batch of ten servants to her pavilion, likely knowing she had sought help from Grand Empress Dowager and angry about it.

    Currently, she could not do much about these servants; even if she told them about insufficient allowances, they would not leave. In reality, Sisi did not have financial issues; she had not informed Grand Empress Dowager about the embezzlement of Lianhua Palace's allowances by Jin Jiaomei in collusion with the internal affairs' accounting department, not wanting to escalate the situation. The Jin family's power within the inner court was too strong to confront directly.

    At this point, Sisi had only ordered that the new servants not serve in her private chambers. Only Xiaoping, Minmin, and Xiaoya were allowed inside. She told them she was not comfortable with strangers, suspecting the new servants viewed her suspiciously and might soon complain to the Empress Dowager about her.

    Intending to live quietly in this remote palace, Sisi now had to take precautions. She sent Minmin and Xiaozu to gather information about the Empress Dowager and the other concubines. Days passed with little progress; they only found out daily activities, which were not particularly interesting, except that the Emperor had stayed overnight in their palaces. The Emperor seemed to have forgotten her, which Sisi felt was more good than bad. She could not think of what she would do to refuse the Emperor if he suddenly decided to stay overnight at her palace.

    Should she be tanner more to look less appealing?

    That might take too long, and now that her complexion was becoming fair again, unless she was under the harsh sun of the ocean or a desert, she would not darken much...

    Maybe she should cover herself in charcoal instead?

    By the fifth day, Xiaozu brought news that a servant close to Jin Jiaomei had been sent to the laundry department for punishment after accidentally breaking Jin Jiaomei's favorite jade bracelet. The servant was slapped three times before being reassigned.

    Sisi nodded upon hearing this, gave Xiaozu a small reward, and allowed the child to rest. The young servant left with a joyful expression.

    "Your Highness! I have erred... I have indeed erred,"

    cried Dong Minmin from the bedroom, drawing the other servants to stealthily peer through the slightly opened door.

    The petite figure of Minmin was prostrate on the floor, her face streaked with tears, surrounded by broken pieces of a blue-patterned vase. Concubine Dong stood with her arms crossed, looking down at her personal servant with displeasure.

    "Have I spoiled you too much that you've become this careless?"

    "Your Highness..."

    "I shall punish you. A few days in the laundry department should improve your behavior."

    The other servants whispered among themselves with glee before laughing at Dong Minmin's misfortune.

    Serves her right!

    Favored by the concubine, yet ending up in the laundry yard!

    Minmin, dressed as a low-ranking maid, looked out over the wet laundry yard. The bodies of many maids here were thin and gaunt, their skin darkened but their hands pale, wrinkled, and their faces and eyes expressed a deep despair. It was hard not to feel pity for them.

    Carrying a bucket of dirty laundry, Minmin glanced around and spotted a maid who had once served Concubine Jin washing clothes in a corner of the yard. She slowly approached and casually sat down to wash clothes next to her.

    "I notice you don't seem like most maids here. Were you just sent here too?" Minmin asked after a while, pretending to be curious even though she already knew the maid was recently transferred.

    The maid turned to Minmin and replied,

    "Yes, what about you? Were you just sent here too?"

    "Yes, today is my first day. I usually work at the Lianhua Palace, but I accidentally broke one of the concubine's vases... What did you do to displease your master?"

    "I couldn’t catch a jade bracelet the concubine threw at me; it fell and shattered, so I was sent here."

    Minmin's eyes widened, then she moved closer and whispered,

    "So, it wasn't really your fault then."

    "As servants, we're always in the wrong."

    "I understand you. Anything goes wrong, and the masters blame us first. Oh! My name is Minmin. What’s yours?"

    "My name is Xiaoying."

    "Xiaoying, both of us are ill-fated. While we're here, why don't we help each other? I don’t trust the looks those other long-time laundry maids give," Minmin said, nodding towards the other maids whose eyes were swollen and dark from long hours.

    Xiaoying nodded immediately, then quickly averted her gaze and went back to her washing, while Minmin's eyes stealthily watched over her.