Ji Qingwu hid behind the screen, not even daring to breathe too heavily.
Shixi knew that Fifth Missy's current state of dress was unfit for company, let alone an audience with the Emperor.
She replied, "Your Highness, Fifth Missy is currently changing her clothes."
Shixi hadn't specified *where* she was changing, so it wasn't technically a lie to the throne.
Emperor Wu Su's gaze seemed to drift, almost imperceptibly, over the Eight Treasure Poem Screen, which was crafted from golden-threaded nanmu wood.
A flicker of disappointment crossed the Empress Dowager's eyes.
Still, she thought, 'Ji Qingwu is a young widow who has already borne a child. Even if she's beautiful and has a pleasant temperament, she's nothing more than a pretty widow. It's not like it would accomplish anything for her to be seen by the Emperor.'
"In that case, such a heroic deed must be handsomely rewarded." The Empress Dowager eagerly advocated for her niece. "Your Majesty, what would be a fitting reward?"
She was asking for a reward on behalf of Fifth Miss Ji of the Ji Family.
Emperor Wu Su's stern expression softened. He said languidly, "A screen, then. Let that be her reward."
Behind the screen, Ji Qingwu's head snapped up.
The nanmu screen was clearly opaque, yet she felt as if the Emperor's gaze could pierce right through it, laying her bare.
'The Emperor said he would reward her with a screen.'
'It couldn't be the one right in front of me, could it?'
'I'm going to have to appear before everyone in this wretched state,' she thought, on the verge of tears.
Emperor Wu Su glanced at the screens within the hall. "Yesterday, Xinluo presented a set of trinkets as tribute. It is a miniature screen carved onto walnuts, depicting the four seasons. We shall bestow this walnut screen set upon Fifth Miss Ji."
The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction. 'The reward itself isn't important,' she thought. 'What matters is that the entire court knows the Ji Family has received the Emperor's favor, and for what reason.'
Sweat beaded on Ji Qingwu's brow. 'Thank heavens it's not this one,' she thought in relief.
Her ears were ringing from the tension. In what felt like the span of a single breath, the voices outside fell silent. 'Have they all left?' she wondered.
Just as she was about to relax and shift her numb feet...
...she suddenly found a pair of black satin court boots right in front of her. The hem of the robe above them was embroidered with a golden dragon motif.
Ji Qingwu nearly choked. She dropped to her knees with a THUD.
"I—This servant—This commoner—This subject greets Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!" She fumbled through several forms of address before landing on the correct one.
Her voice came out in ragged gasps, thin and reedy with anxiety. To Emperor Wu Su, it sounded so delicate it seemed to tremble...
The woman's outer robe was merely draped over her shoulders. Her underclothes were soaked through, clinging to her body and revealing the faint outline of her innermost garment, which appeared to have a pattern of carp playing amongst lotuses.
Kneeling prostrate on the floor, her posture accentuated the curve of her slender waist and full hips. Her skin looked so supple it seemed dewy.
Ji Qingwu didn't dare look up.
It felt as if the man looming over her was boring holes into her back with his gaze. Just as she thought she would be pierced through...
A small, child-like voice piped up.
"Imperial Father, she's the one who saved me."
Yuan Heng trotted over to Ji Qingwu's side.
The Emperor's voice was heavy. "Why have you returned?"
A moment ago, Emperor Wu Su had ordered everyone to withdraw from the hall.
Yuan Heng was too embarrassed to admit he had been worried about Ji Qingwu, so he clumsily changed the subject. "Imperial Father, Your Son has a question for you. There was an essay from today's lessons at the Imperial College that I didn't quite understand."
The Emperor looked at the pair before him, one large and one small.
The larger one was like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, her slender waist trembling.
The smaller one was like a fledgling falcon, wings still unfledged, yet already trying to protect another.
Yuan Heng's dark eyes darted about. He suggested, "Imperial Father, let's go to Qianyuan Hall. This is Imperial Grandmother's palace, after all."
His words brought Emperor Wu Su to his senses.
This was Cining Palace.
The woman before him was the Fifth Missy of the Ji Family, and she was here in a state of undress.
A mocking light entered Emperor Wu Su's eyes. 'The Empress Dowager's schemes are growing bolder. She's managed to indirectly present her own niece, who just returned home, right before my eyes. And a new widow, still in mourning for her husband, at that.'
It wasn't that the Emperor was paranoid; the Empress Dowager simply had a long history of making such foolish blunders.
Seeing his Imperial Father's expression darken, Yuan Heng felt a pang of fear himself. On any other day, he would have been smart enough to keep quiet.
But when he saw Ji Qingwu at his side, looking even more terrified than he was, his small frame straightened instinctively. He steeled himself. 'I have to protect her.'
And so, Yuan Heng took a deep breath and spoke, his small, fair face set with determination.
"Imperial Father, Your Son has erred and is willing to accept punishment!"
Emperor Wu Su gazed down at him, not surprised in the least.
"And what error was that?"
Yuan Heng enunciated each word clearly. "Your Son knows he cannot deceive Imperial Father. I knew there was a trap. I stepped on the moss and fell into the water on purpose. Imperial Father taught me how to swim, so I was never worried about being in danger. I only did it to test how many people in the palace harbor ill intentions toward me."
Ji Qingwu stared at the blue-gray flagstones before her, utterly stunned.
'Is this what a child raised in the Imperial Palace is like?!'
'The little one had factored everyone into his scheme! The people who meant to harm him, Princess Consort Wei, the Empress Dowager... and me, the pitiful good Samaritan.'
'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Heavens above, I was just a little ant passing by.'
Ji Qingwu felt a chill crawl up the back of her neck. 'Is this really a conversation I should be privy to?'
Apparently, the Emperor agreed this was not a suitable topic for a side hall in Cining Palace. His expression cold and stern, he turned and left.
Yuan Heng let out a breath of relief. He cast a reluctant glance at Ji Qingwu, then scurried after the Emperor on his short, stout legs.
Once their footsteps had faded into the distance,
Ji Qingwu pushed herself upright. She realized her underclothes were now even wetter, her back soaked with sweat.
'I haven't even properly seen his face, yet I've already had my fill of the Emperor's overwhelming presence. The Imperial Palace is truly no place for a person to live. From now on, I'm staying as far away from here as I can.'
Seeing that no one was around, Ji Qingwu quickly changed and went to another side hall to find Mrs. Qiao. The ladies of the Ji Family had only just returned to the Ji Mansion when the reward from the palace arrived on their heels.
Li Yuzong had ordered one of his subordinate eunuchs, Little Dongzi, to deliver it.
It was a brocade box made of pearwood. Inside lay four walnuts, each the size of an egg. At first glance, they were simply lustrous walnuts, but turning them over revealed another world entirely. The other side of each was intricately carved with a scene from one of the four seasons, the miniature landscapes astonishingly realistic and detailed.
Ji Qingwu accepted it with a curtsy. "This subject thanks Your Majesty for his graciousness."
Chunhua, Mrs. Qiao's maid, discreetly shielded the exchange with her handkerchief as she passed the little eunuch a heavy coin purse.
But Little Dongzi held up a hand and took a step back, a broad smile on his face. "Fifth Miss Ji, His Majesty has another reward for you."
Another reward?
Ji Qingwu's slender eyebrows arched. She couldn't imagine what it could be, as the little eunuch wasn't holding anything else.
Little Dongzi said mysteriously, "Fifth Miss Ji, please step forward. His Majesty said that this verbal edict is for your ears only."
'It's probably a reprimand, isn't it? A warning for having overheard a Royal Family secret.'
Since he had put it that way, Ji Qingwu had no choice but to step closer. The other ladies of the Ji Mansion tactfully took a few steps back.
The little eunuch carefully shielded his mouth with his hand and whispered into her ear.
No one knew what he said, but they all saw a violent stir in Ji Qingwu's eyes, like a calm, shimmering lake suddenly roiled by great waves.
She asked in astonishment, needing to confirm, "Eunuch, did His Majesty truly say that?!"