"Forget it, I won’t argue with you anymore. You’re the one the Emperor detests, not me!"
"You!"
Honored Lady Jiang was fuming.
"What about ’you’? Am I not telling the truth?"
"I haven’t even properly served in his bedchamber!"
"And no one has supported me, so those people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs don’t dare to go too far. But you, it’s different, isn’t it, Honored Lady Jiang?"
Honored Lady Du laughed, thoroughly pleased with herself.
Honored Lady Jiang was so furious she was speechless for a long moment, unable to form a proper response.
Reaching a fork in the path, Honored Lady Du flung her sleeves and departed, leaving Honored Lady Jiang standing alone at the crossroads, her face etched with rage.
A blast of cold wind made her complexion turn even paler. The thin cape she wore offered little warmth and no protection from the wind, which seemed to pierce straight through her collar and into her very bones!
Honored Lady Jiang couldn’t help but shiver.
Hua Cha, standing behind her, was also chilled to the bone. If her master is in such dire straits, what good things could I possibly possess?
The cotton-padded clothes and quilts she wore were the dregs left by other palace maids, with the thinnest stuffing and the coarsest cotton. They were no match for the biting wind. Right then, she could barely fend for herself, let alone her master.
Honored Lady Jiang looked up at the sky, her heart filled with utter despair.
She sighed. "Why does this winter seem so endless? So long one can’t see its end!"
Hua Cha impatiently urged, "Master, instead of indulging in sorrow here, you should hurry back and get warm!"
Honored Lady Jiang sneered. "Go back and get warm?"
"You’re mistaken, Hua Cha. Going back means enduring the same cold, not to mention... being suffocated by smoke!"
She had lost the Emperor’s favor and had also angered the Empress. Those from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, adept at currying favor with superiors while trampling on subordinates, knew how to read the situation. The items they sent her couldn’t even compare to those of other Honored Ladies, let alone some Ladies.
Especially the charcoal. The finest silver-strand charcoal hadn’t been seen in her quarters for ages. They did send some of the lowest-quality black charcoal, but not much. Even that, she had to use sparingly.
Hua Cha gave a cold laugh. "Who is Master blaming this time?"
If she had known it would come to this, why did she act as she did back then? Hua Cha desperately wanted to say this, but her master was her master, and she didn’t dare be so bold.
Honored Lady Jiang stared at Hua Cha for a moment, her eyes turning cold. But in the end, she said nothing.
"Let’s go. Let’s go back."
A chill gripped Hua Cha’s heart. She quickly composed herself, answered "Yes," and followed her master.
Upon returning to Lijing Pavilion, Shih Jieyu’s main hall was still dark, indicating she hadn’t returned and had likely gone directly to Jiaofang Hall.
Within the vast Lijing Pavilion, Honored Lady Jiang was all alone. She felt a wave of dejection.
Hua Cha didn’t dare offer any consolation and simply stood to one side in silence.
After a long while, Honored Lady Jiang’s gaze shifted to her.
"Hua Cha, if I were to die one day, what would become of you?" Honored Lady Jiang asked suddenly, looking directly at her.
Her words sent a shiver down Hua Cha’s spine. Her legs trembled, and she sank to her knees.
"Master!"
Could Master be contemplating something desperate? It was well known that concubines who took their own lives were unceremoniously dumped in the Mass Burial Mound. Their personal Palace Attendants would be sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for reassignment. But... who would want such ill-fated servants? Most would end up in the Laundry Bureau, condemned to a lifetime of hard labor. For a palace maid in the Harem, such an end was the most tragic imaginable! No! That couldn’t happen!
Hua Cha panicked.
"Master, please don’t lose heart! You’re still so young, with a long life ahead of you!"
"As the saying goes, ’Fortune’s wheel is ever turning; thirty years east of the river, thirty years west.’ Who knows what the future holds!"
A slight smile touched Honored Lady Jiang’s lips; she seemed quite satisfied with Hua Cha’s reaction.
She nodded lightly. "Indeed. Who knows what the future holds?"
"It’s just... I fear I may not have much of a future. If you have a better prospect, while I am still an Honored Lady, I can help you secure a respectable position."
"But if you delay, I won’t be able to help you anymore!"
"Master!"
Hua Cha’s heart pounded with terror.
What on earth was wrong with Master? It seemed... almost as if she were arranging her final affairs!
Hua Cha hurriedly continued to plead.
"Master!"
"Don’t lose heart! You are beautiful and talented; opportunities will surely come your way!"
This time, her voice trembled uncontrollably.
Only then did she truly understand. In this palace, though termed master and servant, they were, in reality, like grasshoppers tethered to a single string. No matter how much they struggled, they could never escape the fate dictated by that string!
Seeing Hua Cha’s genuine fear, the curve of Honored Lady Jiang’s lips deepened.
She rose slowly, gazed at the snowy landscape outside, and smiled faintly. "Good. It’s good that you understand."
Hua Cha froze, utterly stunned. In that instant, she finally understood.