Chapter 3

    In the end, she had to swallow her own words.

    Sisi, who had promised her parents that there was no way she would make it through the selection, now found herself standing inside the 'Lianhua Palace' at the very edge of the palace next to the eastern wall—a residence temporarily 'assigned' to her by the Empress Dowager until her actual palace was repaired. This palace, situated a good distance from the Emperor’s quarters and other concubines, spanned four li[1]

    "My lady, this palace is both old and remote; it’s clear they intend to inconvenience you,"

    said 'Dong Minmin', a maid older than Sisi by a year, with a tone of dissatisfaction. Minmin had grown up with Sisi in the Dong family manor and was the only one shorter than her. Although Minmin did not accompany her on trade ventures, she was Sisi’s most understanding and dedicated personal maid that had insisted on coming to the palace with her.

    Xiaoping, standing next to them, nodded in agreement.

    "Being far has its benefits; no one will bother us or make things difficult," Sisi replied with a smile.

    From the first day, she had already faced challenges, but she preferred this. Although Lianhua Palace was remote, it was not so dilapidated that it was uninhabitable. A little cleaning and minor repairs would make it quite livable.

    "Master would be heartbroken if he saw this," Minmin continued to complain, causing Sisi to shake her head, signaling her to stop.

    As she had expected, the last three chosen concubines were from the Jin family, but unexpectedly, the Emperor had also selected her as a fourth, a special case. This was not normal, but it was not unheard of either; if the Emperor took a liking to more than three women, he could indeed take additional concubines.

    She had not known this until the day she was selected. Had she not been too proud, pretending to be stupid, things might not have come to this. She could have returned to the Dong manor to live comfortably as before.

    After the results were announced, her parents, who had heard the news, were waiting outside the manor to receive her. Her mother looked worried, and her father's eyes were red as if he had just been crying. She apologized to them and explained everything. She blamed her pride for causing their distress, which only made her father cry even harder. He told her that it was the others who did wrong, not her. She reassured them that even though she was entering the palace, it was alright; she would find a way out. But if she could not, she chose to live peacefully there and urged them not to worry.

    The night before she was sent to the palace, Siai visited Sisi's room. Her sister asked tearfully why she had broken her promise. Sisi did not answer but simply hugged her, letting her cry until they fell asleep.

    The next day, a carriage from the palace came to pick her up at the manor. She did not bring many belongings, and only two maids accompanied her, yet the procession was still grand. As the daughter of a third-ranked noble, the palace had to arrange something befitting her status.

    Besides her, the three beauties who passed were Jin Jiaomei, niece of Marquis Yi; Chao Xinrui, daughter of a district magistrate Chao; and Wu Mingyao, daughter of the governor of Jinzhou, all appointed as concubines.

    From that day until today, she had not seen the Emperor's face clearly. On the day of her appointment, she wore a swan crown that veiled her face, making it hard to see. She stayed in the reception palace for a few days before being moved to Lianhua Palace. She had not yet shared a bed with the Emperor and thought it unlikely in the future, mainly because her residence was too remote and the Empress Dowager would surely scheme to prevent it, which she found rather fortunate.

    They had not been standing long before a eunuch entered the palace with five maids. The eunuch introduced them, saying they would be taking care of Concubine Dong in Lianhua Palace from now on.

    "Eunuch, may I know what time I need to offer morning blessings tomorrow?"

    Offering morning blessings was a tradition that every concubine must follow. Given how far her palace was, she would need to leave at least one hour earlier.

    However, Eunuch replied, "The Empress Dowager has exempted Concubine Dong from the morning blessings. Her Highness understands that Lianhua Palace is quite distant, thus has granted an exemption until the repairs on your palace are completed."

    Sisi nodded in acknowledgment before discreetly handing eunuch some money. She then instructed the maids to rest and return later to clean the palace.

    Once the attendants had left, Sisi whispered to Xiaoping and Minmin,

    "Keep an eye on them. If you notice anything suspicious, let me know."

    A week later, enjoying her peaceful life in Lianhua Palace, Sisi was informed that her mother and sister would visit her the next day. Since she had entered the palace as a concubine, she could not return home after her marriage as per normal marriage tradition; thus, her family had to come to see her at the royal palace.

    More intriguingly, Xiaoping had become suspicious of a maid named 'Xiaoling'. After confirming her suspicions, Xiaoping reported to Sisi that Xiaoling was an informant sent by the Empress Dowager to monitor her. Sisi found this slightly troublesome, as it was easier to dismiss a maid from another concubine's quarters, but one from the Empress posed a challenge.

    That afternoon, the head of the tailoring department, Ma, visited her. Drops of sweat appeared on the hairline of her prudent face, 'Ma Yechao', a skilled seamstress at just twenty-four, had risen to head the department, though this caused jealousy among others in tailoring. It seemed her assignment to take Sisi's measurements might have been a form of harassment by her colleagues.

    After Head Seamstress Ma had taken the measurements and was about to leave, she turned back to admire the embroidery in Xiaoling's hand who was still bent in respect to Head Seamstress Ma.

    "Well embroidered. You are skilled," she commented briefly before leaving with the tailoring attendants following her.

    Sisi, watching from behind, smiled contentedly.

    "Xiaoling, come with me."

    Xiaoling, still bewildered, softly replied. Normally, only Xiaoping and Minmin would accompany the concubine to other parts of the palace, but this time the concubine had called her instead of Minmin, which was a surprising turn for her.

    Lianhua Palace had no sedan chairs; if one was needed, it had to be carried from another palace, wasting another two hours. Thus, Sisi chose to walk to the tailoring department herself. Thankfully, it was not as far as she thought and only took the time of one incense stick to reach.

    Sisi and Xiaoping, accustomed to long journeys, were not tired by the walk. In contrast, Xiaoling was slightly sweating.

    Sisi, in her azure attire, entered the tailoring department with graceful steps, drawing the gaze of every attendant there.

    "I offer respects to the concubine," the Head Seamstress Ma, who regained her composure first, said as she and the others quickly followed suit.

    "Why the concubine has come here..." Head Seamstress Ma trailed off mid-sentence, realizing it was improper to ask a royal why they were there or for what purpose, but curiosity almost got the better of her.

    "Oh! I’ve brought someone for you to be in your care."

    This time it was Xiaoling who widened her eyes in shock, while Ma Yechao glanced at the nervous young maid.

    "I remember you once praised Xiaoling for her skills, so I’ve decided to entrust her to you, to seriously learn the art of tailoring."

    "No, mistress! Please, don’t send me away," Xiaoling collapsed to her knees, pleading. Sisi signaled Xiaoping to help her up, then approached and said:

    "Xiaoling, why act as if I am punishing you? I am promoting you... Or do you think being a maid in the tailoring department is not good?"

    Her words drew disapproving looks from the other tailoring maids onto Xiaoling, who quickly shook her head and blurted out,

    "No, mistress! I never thought that. I just wanted to stay with you."

    Sisi gazed into Xiaoling's tear-filled eyes and reassured her,

    "Xiao Ling... trust me, staying here is for your own good."

    Today, Sisi was in high spirits.

    She had cleverly managed to remove Xiaoling from her palace, along with dismissing three other maids by claiming she could not afford their allowances.

    This was partially true since on payday, her palace received only one-third of the usual funds. After some investigation by Xiaoping, it turned out to be Jin Jiaomei’s doing, but Sisi was not too troubled. She still had some savings from her trading days and planned to ask her sister to bring more money next time.

    Sisi decided to keep one seemingly honest maid, Xiaoya, who was quiet and timid but hardworking. Keep an eye on her for the time being, because dismissing everyone would overburden Xiaoping and Minmin, not to mention herself with the extensive duties in the palace.

    As time passed, Sisi found that this remote palace was not so bad. Although she missed the azure seas, verdant fields, and vast golden deserts, she was comfortable here. She planned to take her time, carefully strategizing her way out of this grand palace.

[1] "Li" is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, equivalent to 500 meters.