Consort of a Thousand Faces

At 4.30am, Su Xi-er and Ruo Yuan had finished scrubbing all the chamber pots clean before moving them to the wooden cabin at the southwest corner.

Afterwards, the two of them returned to their rooms respectively. Ruo Yuan swung her plump bottoms as she vanished into the moonlight. As Su Xi-er looked her current appearance, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised. 

When she realised her own mood, Su Xi-er’s gaze became distant. How long has it been since I have been in such a good mood. Being together with Ruo Yuan is like having Lü Liu at my side.

~~~

The next morning, Su Xi-er was woken up by the sounds of palace maids gossiping outside of her room.

“The woodhouse at the northwest corner was burning with a raging inferno last night. I wonder when it began burning.”

“Exactly! Even the house’s main beams were charred. There was no lightning yesterday, and the weather hasn’t been particularly dry either. With all that said, I wonder why the woodhouse suddenly caught fire for no reason?”

“Liu Ye-er died there, leaving too many grievances accumulated. Thus, it began burning!”

With how loud the maids were being, Su Xi-er was unable to continue sleeping no matter how much she wanted to. In the end, she simply got up and closed her eyes as she leaned against the side of the bed.

The house at the northwest corner is gone due to the conflagration. That wooden table is also gone. The only thing left that can corroborate the connection between Liu Ye-er and County Prince Xie is this woven silk fabric that I had taken.

She didn’t carry the woven silk fabric with her, but instead hid it in the cupboard.

Imperial Bodyguard Wu must have placed Liu Ye-er’s body in the woodhouse last night, disposing of both with one toss of a torch. From now on, Liu Ye-er has truly vanished.

Liu Ye-er had an inseparably close relationship with County Prince Xie, but was reduced to such an end. In that case, what would He Xiangyu’s outcome be like? And what will become of me?

She felt a slight headache coming as her as these thoughts ran through her head. Raising her left hand to massage her forehead, she was also able to see her left wrist. The pain and swelling have already faded away. 

The effectiveness of the medicinal powder is even better than I imagined, almost completely healing my injury after just two applications.

At the moment, Su Xi-er didn’t know that although the medicinal powder Prince Hao gave her was similar to the Third Imperial Prince’s, there was an additional medicinal herb in it. This kind of herb was colourless and odourless. It could treat bruises rapidly, and out of the whole of Beimin Nation, Prince Hao was the only one who possessed it.

“Su Xi-er, are you already awake? Old Maidservant Liu asked you to go to her room.” Hong Li’s voice could be heard from outside the door.

“I happened to have just woken up. I’ll be coming now.” Su Xi-er immediately climbed up from her bed, donned an outer robe, straightened out her clothes, and combed her hair before walking out.

“Quickly go and freshen up; I have set aside breakfast,” Hong Li told her with a smile.

Su Xi-er nodded. She ran to the area where the palace maids freshened up and swiftly washed her face.

After eating her breakfast, she headed for Old Maidservant Liu’s room.

~~~

Upon opening the door, one would see Old Maidservant Liu drinking tea inside.

After she saw Su Xi-er, she smiled and waved her hand at her. “You slept very late last night, yet you were called here by me early this morning. Are you sleepy?”

Su Xi-er walked in and bowed respectfully as she paid her greetings, “This servant isn’t sleepy. Many thanks for being concerned, Old Maidservant.”

“Come over here and drink a cup of tea. This is spring tea offered by other nations this year. I only have one small jar, so I can’t bear to drink it.” Old Maidservant Liu’s face was wreathed in smiles, causing the wrinkles beside her eyes to become even more pronounced.

Su Xi-er knew that spring tea dripped with rain dew used the best tea leaves. Many tea harvesters plucked the spring tea, made them into tea leaves, and preserved them by sealing them up. However, even the county landlords weren’t able to drink this spring tea. An overwhelming majority had to be offered to the court, while the rest was purchased by the very affluent and noble households.

“Old Maidservant, you should keep this tea for yourself to enjoy slowly. This servant doesn’t understand tea; it’s a waste even if I drink it.”

The smile in Old Maidservant Liu’s eyes deepened, but her gaze landed on the fragrance sachet at Su Xi-er’s waist. “In the Palace Side Quarters, the palace maid who understands the rules the best is you. The fragrance sachet at your waist is very uniquely embroidered. Which master bestowed it to you?”