Seventeen, The Slaying of the Machine (Part 1)

  Meizhuang, as we agreed, said that she accidentally fell into the water by herself, so naturally no one suspected anything. After comforting her, Xuan Ling increased his visits to Meizhuang's place. Meizhuang recovered quickly and had made up her mind to wait for an opportunity to take action, so she just waited quietly without making any moves. The Empress also remained calm and composed, not taking any actions.

  In the 13th year of Qianyuan, on April 18th, I was promoted to be a fourth-rank lady-in-waiting. Although it's only one rank higher, in any case, it's still good news, and my popularity since spring has been boosted even more. During the congratulations and celebrations, the harem maintained its usual surface calmness and harmony. For now, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

  It was nearly May, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. My body had long since recovered, but Xuan Ling was still worried and often asked Wen Shi Chu to prepare some nourishing tonics for me.

  One day, I was alone under the corridor admiring the two pots of goldfish newly sent by the Imperial Household Department. The Jingde blue pot had new lotus leaves that were only as big as a child's palm, fresh and green, delightful to see. Under the lotus leaves in the water, several scarlet goldfish were swimming, with clear waves like jade, emerald leaves like a canopy, red fish swimming leisurely, truly lovely.

  Pei'er saw me feeding the fish with a carefree expression, suddenly thought of something and said indignantly: "That Yu Gengyi is really too much! I heard that since he lost favor and moved out of Hongniu Pavilion, he has been scolding and insulting our young master every day with dirty language."

  She sprinkled fish food into the tank with her fingers and said lightly, "Let her go. I have a clear conscience in what I do and who I am, so curses won't work on me."

  "Only her words are really unpleasant, otherwise I'll have someone seal off her residence or report it to the Empress."

  I wiped off the fish food stuck on my hand and shook it: "No need to bother with this kind of person."

  "You're too kind and gentle for your own good."

  "When you can spare someone, do spare him; she was bound to lose favor and feel resentful, but it will pass in a while."

  Miss, the medicine is ready, you can drink it now.

  I picked up the medicine bowl and took a sip, furrowing my brow: "The medicine seems to be more sour than usual these past two days."

  "Perhaps it's because of Lord Wen's new medicinal ingredients, so it tastes a bit sour."

  I grunted, furrowed my brow and slowly finished drinking, then rinsed my mouth with clear water. After sitting for a while, I felt a bit dizzy under the scorching sun, so I had Bixi support me as I went in to take an afternoon nap.

  Miss smiled and said: "You've been sleeping a lot these past two days. You just got up not long ago, but now you want to take an afternoon nap again. You're sleepy."

  "It's true. I've only heard of 'spring sleep without dawn', but it turns out that as summer approaches, it's even easier to feel lethargic."

  Laughing on the surface, but feeling something was wrong in her heart, she stopped and asked: "Bai Qi, when did I become so sleepy? Was it from a few days ago?"

  "Yes, five or six days ago you were tired, and out of the twelve hours in a day, you slept for five or six hours. The day before yesterday when the Emperor came, it was already three poles high in the sun, but you were still sleeping, and the Emperor didn't let us wake you up..." She suddenly stopped talking, and her face gradually showed an expression of doubt and unease intertwined."

  My hand was gradually getting a bit cold, I asked: "Do you feel something is wrong too?"

  "Miss, don't sleep yet. I'll go and invite Lord Wen right away."

  I hastily instructed: "Don't alarm anyone, just say that Lord Wen is asked to take Ping'an pulse."

  I walked alone step by step into the warm pavilion and sat down, the embroidered tablecloth with thousands of branches and leaves on the table was shining with a cold light in the sunlight. I grasped the tablecloth tightly with my hands, and my back felt like it was covered with thorns that were pricking me, making me straighten my waist.

  Wen Shi Chu finally arrived, his expression still calm. He grasped my wrist and felt the pulse for a moment without saying a word. Then he took out a small silver needle and said, "Excuse me, please bear with some pain," before inserting it into an acupoint on my hand. His movements were light, and I only felt a slight numbness, but no pain. Wen Shi Chu gently rotated the silver needle while explaining, "This acupoint is called Hegu. If you are just normally sleepy, then there's nothing to worry about; if it's due to medication, the silver needle will change color when inserted into this point."

  However, he pulled out the silver needle and gazed at it in the sunlight for a while before saying: "This is my prescription, but someone has added other things to it." He placed the silver needle in front of me, "Please take a closer look at this needle, young master."

  I raised it to take a closer look, and indeed, the silver needle seemed to have a faint layer of cyan coating on it. My hand trembled as I dropped the silver needle into his palm, and I looked into his eyes: "What did you add? Poison?"

  "No. Someone has added a few medicines to my prescription, which were originally very light in dosage. The person who administered the medicine was very careful and cautious, adding only a small amount, so even if I take your pulse every day, it's not easy to detect. However, even with this dosage, the young master will first become mentally fatigued, drowsy, and within half a year, he will lose his mind and become like an idiot."

  My face must have distorted in fear, I could feel the clinging wetness of cold sweat on my close-fitting clothes. In my heart, I was both shocked and resentful, yet on my face, I forced a smile and said: "Indeed, you think highly of Zhen Huan, to use such tactics against me!"

  "Rest assured, young master. Fortunately, we discovered it early. Having only taken it for a few days, timely treatment won't harm your body." He slowly put the silver needle back in his bag, worriedly saying: "It's clear that someone wants to slowly send you to your death, their methods are too insidious!"

  I sighed and said, "The harem's struggle for favor has always been extreme, truly making it impossible to guard against everything." I turned to Wen Shi Chu and said, "If it weren't for you, Lord, Huan'er would probably remain in a daze until death, never understanding the reason why."

  Wen Shi's face turned red with shame: "It was also this minister's negligence that allowed the young master to suffer."

  "I said with a warm smile: 'Sir, you don't have to blame yourself too much.'"

  "He solemnly said: 'From now on, the young master's medicine will be taken with double care. From picking herbs to decocting and until the young master takes it, I will do it all personally and not let anyone else interfere.'"

  "I said seriously: 'The most urgent task now is to find out who wants to poison me, so as to prevent such things from happening again in the future.' I looked out of the window vigilantly and lowered my voice: 'Who can put medicine into my palace must be someone around me. I feel uncomfortable since a few days ago, and it happens that more than a dozen new palace maids and eunuchs have just arrived at my palace last month. Although I had instructed Xiaoyanzi and Qianshui to pay attention to them earlier, there are many people in the palace and things are complicated, so I'm afraid they can't handle it either. In my opinion, we should focus on those little palace maids and eunuchs."

  "What does the young master want to do?"

  "Then let's trouble Lord Wen and Xiang'er to put on an act together, pretending nothing's wrong so as not to arouse suspicion about today's events."

  "But as you command, young master."

  "Liuzhu, open the window, I'm feeling a bit stuffy." Liuzhu opened the window as she spoke, and I got up to walk over to it. In a loud voice, I said: "Since Mr. Wen says I'm fine, then I'll feel at ease too." After finishing speaking, I winked at him.

  Wen Shi immediately said in a loud voice: "The young master has been sleeping a lot lately due to spring fatigue, which is not a problem. Why not take this opportunity to rest and nourish your body?"

  I smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Wen, for your concern."

  "The Emperor himself has given the order, I dare not be remiss."

  "Then it's a lot of trouble for you to rush about every day. Liuzhu, see the master off properly. I'm going to rest now."

  As soon as Wen Shi left, I immediately ordered Xiao Yanzu to come in and gave him detailed instructions. He nodded repeatedly. After finishing speaking, I said in a low voice: "You have neglected this matter. Now do it according to what I said, be careful and don't alarm the snake by hitting the grass." Xiao Yanzu's face changed color, and he hastily went down.

  I pretended to be calm and composed. In the evening, Xiaoyanzi came to see me and whispered that she had discovered a small hole at the bottom of the palace wall, which seemed to have been newly opened. I remained silent and expressionless, knowing that there must be some secret order from Emperor Xianling. Except for Wen Shi Chu and himself, no one else had entered my palace, and even the eunuchs and palace maids who served me had not gone out, so it was certain that someone had secretly manipulated the gate to smuggle the poison in.

  "I said, 'You just pretend to be unaware and don't deliberately pay attention there. Just let Xiaolianzi and you, Qianshui, pay attention together when brewing medicine tomorrow, and we must catch him off guard.'"

  Xiao Yuanzi gritted her teeth and said: "Yes. Xiao Lianzi has some skills, he can't escape that despicable person!"

  At night, I lay in bed, looking through the embroidered bed curtains at the bright moonlight outside, and for the first time felt that my T'ang-li Palace was harboring a terrifying and sharp killing intent, pressing down on me.

  Although I was wide awake on purpose, I still fell asleep unknowingly until the sun rose high. The medicine is still effective, and as soon as I saw several people's disappointed expressions, I knew that nothing had been found out.

  "We've been guarding outside all along, and the medicine has been watched closely while it's being brewed. There hasn't been anyone approaching, let alone putting poison in it."

  I couldn't help but feel a surge of doubt, wondering if I had inadvertently revealed my true nature and been discovered by others. I looked up to scan the faces of Xiaolian, Yannian, and Qianshui. Qianshui hastily spoke up, "We were very careful. At that time, I was discussing dinner with Jingqing outside the kitchen; Xiaolian was directing the small eunuchs in sweeping the courtyard, while Gonggong Yan was making his usual rounds, without revealing anything suspicious."

  I picked up the medicine bowl and took a sip, still with a faint sour taste. I was furious, spitting it all out on the ground, saying: "How cunning! You've poisoned me after all!"

  Yan Zhen and others were shocked and quickly knelt down, saying: "It must be that we slaves were not careful enough and made a mistake, please forgive us, young master."

  I didn't call them out, I just said: "It's not entirely your fault either. To be able to put the medicine in under the eyes of several people without being discovered, and no one approached the medicine jar in between, there must be something strange about this."

  Xiao Yu's servant bowed his head and said: "I remembered something, Master Xiao, may I be excused for a moment?"

  I nodded in agreement, and ordered Qiangui and Xiaolian to get up. I said to Huanbi: "Pour it all into the slop bucket!" Huanbi hurriedly went off, and I asked: "No one saw you pouring out the medicine, did they?"

  "No, all of it was poured into the slop pail in the back hall, and no one saw."

  Xiao Yuanzi quickly returned, holding a purple sand medicine jar and a spoon: "I secretly thought that if no one personally administered the medicine, then I could only take action on these guys."

  I nodded and said, "It's still not too bad." I took the medicine spoon in my hand, examined it carefully and found nothing wrong with it. Then I picked up the medicine jar to take a look. It was a purple sand medicine jar from Yizhou, with a dark purple color and a watermelon shape. The surface of the jar had a poem by Wei Zhuang carved on it in cursive script, with dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, which was quite exquisite.

  I opened the lid and looked at it in the sunlight, and there was nothing wrong with the jar. I put the medicine pot on the table, thinking that Xiao Yuzi had made a mistake, just as I was about to speak, I suddenly smelled a faint sour smell on my fingers holding the lid of the medicine pot. I immediately picked up the lid and examined it carefully, the color of the lid is slightly lighter than the body of the jar, if you don't look closely, you won't notice.

  I handed the lid over to Gan Xi: "You've been in the palace for a long time, take a look at this and see what's going on."

  "Look closely, this medicine jar lid was placed in the water with the medicine and cooked, so it absorbed the medicinal liquid and changed color." He glanced at my face, seeing that I looked normal, he continued: "As long as the young master's medicine is boiling when it touches the lid, the medicine will mix into the young master's medicine."

  It wasn't until much later that I sneered and said, "What a delicate move! No wonder we couldn't find the person who poisoned us, it turns out they had already prepared everything in advance." I asked Qian Yu: "Who usually keeps these things?"

  "Originally it was Pei'er who took care of it, now it's the newly arrived palace maid Huasheng who is in charge."

  I nodded and asked Xiaoyanzi: "Did Huasheng see you just take out the medicine jar?"

  "Never seen before."

  "Put the medicine jar back in its original place, don't let anyone suspect. Go and ask about Hua Sui's background, which palace she used to work in, and who her master was." Xiao Yuanshu hastily responded and ran off quickly.

  After two hours, Xiaoyuanzi returned to report that Huashuang was originally a palace maid beside Yu Gengyi, who had been demoted. When Yu Niangzi was reduced to a Geng Yi, many of the palace maids by her side were also dismissed, and Huashuang was one of those dismissed at that time, and later she was assigned to me.

  Li Zhu said: "Miss, it seems that hoof is going to avenge her former master!"

  "What a loyal and nostalgic servant!" I ordered Qinger to go to the kitchen to fetch some hot coals, the kind that are burning bright red, and put them in the room.

  I turned my head and said to Xiaolian, "Go call Huasheng over and tell her I have something to ask her. If she hesitates for even half a moment, bring her back immediately." I coldly said, "Let me personally come and interrogate this loyal and devoted slave!"

  After a moment, Hua Sui followed behind Xiao Lianzi and walked in slowly. Liu Zhu shouted: "The young master wants to ask you something, why are you still dawdling? It's as if someone is going to eat you!"

  Hua Sui saw the situation and had to hurry a few steps to kneel in front of me, timidly not daring to raise her head. I forced myself to suppress my anger and smiled: "Don't be afraid, I just have a few questions to ask you."

  "Hua Sui lowered her head and said: 'Young Master, just ask, I will answer whatever I know.'"

  I said to Yan Yuese, "It's not a big deal. Sister Qiuxi said you're doing a great job with your duties and managing things very well. I'm delighted, thinking about what reward to give you, so others know that I reward and punish fairly, and they'll be more diligent in their work."

  Hua Sui's face lit up with joy as she raised her head and said: "Thank you, Master Xiao. This is also something that I, a slave, should do."

  "Your work is indeed not bad, among the new palace maids, you are considered one of the best." I saw her face unable to conceal her joy, so I deliberately paused and said: "Which palace were you serving in before? Your master was willing to let you out?"

  After listening to my words, her face changed slightly and she bowed her head: "I'm clumsy and stupid, I didn't follow a good master in the past. Now being able to work in the Wenyi Palace is the blessing of my several lifetimes."

  I walked up to her side, stretched out my small hand with a three-inch long golden shell inlaid with enamel armor and lightly stroked her face. The icy sharp tip of the armor scratched her cheek, causing her body to tremble involuntarily. I didn't use much force, only leaving a faint red mark on her cheek. I chuckled: "Yu Niangzi was demoted to a maid, which can't be considered a good master, but the favor she gave you is not small either? Otherwise, how dare you commit such a capital crime in my palace?"

  The flower-like girl fell to the ground, her voice trembling, "I used to serve Master Yu's dressing, but I really don't understand what Young Master is saying."

  "My voice suddenly turned cold and stern, I said loudly: 'Don't you really understand what I'm saying? Then how did the lid of my medicine pot get like that?'"

  Hua Sui saw me ask about the lid, already frightened pale as earth, didn't dare move. After a while, she cried and said: "The slave really doesn't know, the slave is loyal to Master! I hope Master will understand!"

  I glanced at her and said coldly: "Alright, I was wrong to suspect you. Since you say you're loyal to me, then I'll give you a chance to prove it."

  I called Liu Zhu: "Bring the charcoal up." Liu Zhu used tongs to pick up a few pieces of hot charcoal and put them in a basin on the ground. I said softly: "You were once a servant by Yu Geng's side, so I must be more careful. Since you are loyal to me, that's good. As long as you hold that charcoal in your hand, I will believe in your integrity and loyalty, and I will treat you well from now on."

  Hua Sui's face turned pale, and she stood there stiffly, like a wooden carving. She glared at her with disgust: "Still not leaving?"

  The whole house was silent, the charcoal in the basin burned bright red, emitting a thread of heat, suddenly "crack" burst into flames, splashing out a few sparks, scaring the flower bud to tremble violently. The warm sunlight of late spring afternoon shone on her through the window paper, making her look like a corpse without any vitality.

  I silently smiled as I watched her, Huasheng's whole body trembling as she crawled on the ground, inching towards the charcoal basin. No one spoke, everyone's eyes fixed on her.

  I knew it was Huasheng, but she was just a person who followed orders. I wanted her to say the mastermind behind the scenes with her own mouth. I smiled slowly and said, "Don't dare? It seems that your loyalty to me is false."

  Huā Suì glanced at me timidly, her gaze sweeping around the people standing there, but no one would save her. She sobbed softly, slowly stretching out her snow-white index finger and thumb, hesitantly reaching for a smaller piece of charcoal. A tear dropped onto the scorching charcoal, making a "sizzling" sound, stirring up a thick cloud of white smoke that made her immediately withdraw her fingers, shedding more tears. Finally, Huā Suì stretched out two fingers again, tightly closing her eyes to pinch a piece of charcoal. As soon as her fingers touched the scorching charcoal, she let out a loud, shrill cry, flinging the charcoal far away, scattering charcoal ash and sparks all over the ground.

  Huashuang's fingers were bloody and bruised, emitting a faint smell of charred flesh. She wailed loudly as she rushed over to hug my legs, crying out "Master, spare my life!" Liuzhu and Huanbi tried to pull her away from me, one on each side.

  I frowned and said: "I thought you had a big enough nerve, even daring to put medicine in my soup, how come you don't have the nerve to grab that piece of charcoal!"

  "Hua Sui cried out: 'Young Master, spare my life! I won't dare again!'"

  I said in a low voice: "Alright, let's have a good talk. If there is even half a sentence that is not true, you will be dragged out and beaten to death. Even if you are dead, no one will dare to ask about it!"

  "The slave came to the Tongli Palace before, originally served me to change clothes. Because I changed clothes and was guilty of not using so many people to serve, so I sent the slave out. The day before the slave came to the Tongli Palace, I called the slave to come and reward her with a lot of gold and silver, forcing the slave to agree to work for her. The slave... was also confused at that time. Begging Master to forgive! Begging Master to forgive!"

  "My tone was icy: 'Just say what you have to say. This is your chance to redeem yourself, if there's even a hint of deception, I won't forgive you!'"

  Yu Gengyi said that there was no need for the slave to worry about anything else, just put the medicine in the young master's soup and food. On the night the slave entered Tongli Palace, she found a small hole at the foot of the wall according to Yu Gengyi's instructions. Whatever Yu Gengyi instructed or whatever things needed to be passed in would have someone stuff a note into the hole at the foot of the wall, and the slave would do as told.

  "Is that how the medicine was passed on? Was it also Yu Gengyi who taught you to use a lid to put medicine in boiling water, this deceitful method?"

  The flower cluster cried and nodded in agreement.

  I raised my head and sneered, "You can hear it for yourselves, one after another, just waiting to put me to death! If I hadn't discovered it early, I'm afraid I wouldn't even know how I died! It's clear how muddled we've become!"

  Everyone knelt down in unison, their heads bowed and not daring to make a sound. I said: "Get up. Learn from your mistakes. Some of you have been old hands in the palace for years, yet you've been treated like this without even realizing it - aren't we being too naive?"

  I turned to ask Huasheng: "Is there anyone else in the palace who is in league with us?"

  "Nothing left, nothing left!"

  "When will Yu Ge give you a note and medicine?"

  Hua Suoyue hesitated for a moment, and then Flowing Crimson on the side immediately shouted: "Xiao Lianzi, pry open her mouth and pour all the charcoal in!"

  Xiao Lianzi responded with a sound, and made a gesture to pour charcoal into the mouth of Hua Sui. Hua Sui was so frightened that her face turned pale, but she didn't dare cry out loud, so she rolled around on the ground to escape, shouting "I said I said". It wasn't until then that I ordered Xiao Lianzi to let her go, and calmly said: "Then say it clearly, one word at a time."

  "I'll change clothes every three days and have someone put medicine in that small hole, the slave will go get it herself."

  "Every three days, isn't it tonight? When is the medicine being taken, and what's the password?"

  At a later hour, I heard two calls of the quail outside the palace wall. The slave girl learned to mimic the calls of the quail and responded with two calls of her own.

  "Have you ever seen the person who delivered the medicine?"

  "Because of the wall, the slave had never seen him, only knowing that it was a man's hand, with a scar on the right palm."

  I ordered the eunuch on duty to say to Xia Lianzi: "Tie her up and take her to the storehouse, and stuff her mouth with cloth. Just say that she was caught stealing my jade bangle. Also find two strong little eunuchs to watch her, don't let her seek death. If she runs away or dies, call the one watching her to come and see me!"

  Hua Sui looked at me with a terrified face, I glanced at her and said: "Don't worry, I don't want your life." Xiao Lianzi quickly cleaned up the things she had stuffed into the warehouse. I let Huanbi close the door, looking at Xieyue said: "Tonight you pretend to be Huasui to get the medicine." And to Xiaoyanzi in a low voice: "Call Xiao Lianzi and several reliable inner guards, tonight we will ambush them."

  So it was arranged properly, and seeing that everyone had retreated, Liu Zhu whispered to me by my side: "I already know that it's Yu Gengyi's handiwork, Miss, think carefully about how to deal with it."

  I gazed out the window at the sun setting slowly in the west, and in the courtyard there were newly opened hibiscus flowers. The flowers were originally a fiery red, but under the sunset that seemed to be bleeding, they appeared even more vividly and intensely red, as if they were about to drip with juice, almost piercing one's eyes. The wind blew through the leaves of the trees in the courtyard, rustling softly, carrying a light fragrance of flowers, and a hint of the approaching heat of summer. But on my body, there was a coolness that seeped into my bones, a thin layer of chilliness that I couldn't shake off. Unconsciously, I grasped the windowsill and let out a long sigh: "Even if I were to forgive others, they would still not forgive me!"

  Her pearly white teeth gently bit her rosy lips, and her almond-shaped eyes widened, "Miss, are you going to keep tolerating this?"

  I used my armor to gently brush away the intricate patterns of peony flowers and leaves on the pear-wood window lattice, making a soft "tap-tap" sound. The evening breeze rustled through the pine trees, loosening the tight pores on my face, as the sky gradually darkened and the stars began to twinkle. I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and thought: "Others have already placed their knives at my throat; either I'll be killed or I'll counterattack. Can I still endure?"

  Li Zhu supported my hand and said: "Miss's mind is already set, so it's good. I and Huan Bi will definitely protect Miss to the death."

  "If I don't want to be a fish on a chopping board, I can only fight with all my might."

  I understand in my heart that in the harem, if you don't gain favor, you must endure; if you gain favor, you must fight. Enduring and fighting are the only ways of life for women in the harem. Looking at the current situation, it seems I can no longer avoid fighting.

  I reached out to adjust the golden hairpin on my head that was about to fall off, and asked: "Your Majesty, did you turn over the sign today? Who served in the bed?"

  "Is it Empress Hua."

  "I said softly: 'Alright, let's have dinner first. We'll need the energy to deal with tonight's troubles.'"