Yun Yi slept soundly through the night, dozing on that comfortable bed until the sun was high in the sky.
There was no greater joy in the world than this.
House arrest, cold palaces—they weren’t so scary. If only she had a phone and internet, being confined for life as a carefree glutton wouldn’t be so bad.
The room had been warm and cozy before she went to sleep, and to her surprise, the temperature hadn’t dropped at all when she woke up.
With her hair unkempt, she walked to the table. Her throat felt a little dry, so she picked up the white porcelain teapot and chugged straight from the spout.
The fine tea inside was smooth and refreshing—clearly the kind Xiao Zhi usually drank.
Yun Yi let out a dry laugh. This was his former residence, after all. Everything inside was arranged according to the Emperor’s usual preferences.
Not surprising at all.
Stretching lazily, her gaze suddenly fell upon the solid wooden pillar, which bore grooves of varying depths.
Beside each mark, a few dots were carved—like numbers.
Yun Yi understood at once: these were height markings for a growing child.
The doorframe of her childhood bedroom had the same. From the time she started walking, her family had marked a new line every birthday.
Age 2: 86 cm.
Age 3: 95 cm.
Age 4: 101 cm.
…
Age 14: 157 cm.
Age 15 was not recorded—not because she hadn’t grown (emphasis added), but because her parents had bought Yunzhu Villa.
She ran her fingers over the marks representing Xiao Zhi’s height.
The markings on the pillar started at age 7.
Seven… he had been placed under house arrest at seven? Even a fierce tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs! What kind of father was that?!
Age 8… Haha, he only came up to her waist at eight.
Age 10… a late bloomer—shorty.
Age 12… he was as tall as she was now?!
Age 13…
Yun Yi’s smile froze. “Heh—guess this kid started his growth spurt at thirteen.”
Going higher—age 17… Yun Yi pulled over a stool and stood on “the giant’s shoulders,” just barely level with the seventeen-year-old Xiao Zhi.
There was no mark for age 18 on the pillar.
Because the late emperor had a change of heart, remembered his second son still under house arrest, and finally did one good thing on his deathbed—elevating Xiao Zhi to the throne.
After a second’s thought, at her current height, Yun Yi carved a new mark on the pillar—one she “deliberately” raised by five centimeters.
Beside it, she added something extra.
And so, next to the height marking for twelve-year-old Xiao Zhi, a little cloud now appeared.
.
Inside the Golden Throne Hall, the Emperor’s expression was somber.
“Your Majesty, the Northern Di envoy has reached Luozhou.”
In winter, the rivers had frozen over, so the Northern Di envoy had traveled by land. After being poisoned, the envoy had recuperated for months, finally enduring the harshest winter. Now that the ice had thawed, he and his party had boarded a boat to travel north along the canal, hurrying back to the Northern Di to report.
“Then what is the meaning of this memorial on marriage alliance?”
The Northern Di already knew the envoy was out of danger and had lost any excuse to stir up trouble at the border. Yet now, a diplomatic letter seeking marriage had been presented to the Emperor—the eldest son of the Northern Di Khan had reached marriageable age and wished to marry a princess of the Yan Dynasty.
“Imperial Sister is still young. How could she be married off to that barbarian wasteland?”
Xiao Li: “Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Eighth Imperial Sister just held her coming-of-age ceremony last month.”
Xiao Zhi rebuked him: “Eighth Sister is your own blood sister too, Prince Zhao. Do you not feel for her suffering if she is married off?”
“…Your brother dares not.”
As court was about to adjourn, Xiao Li noticed someone missing from the Emperor’s side.
As if forgetting the unpleasantness from earlier, Xiao Li chimed in: “Where has Eunuch Wang, who is always by Imperial Brother’s side, gone?”
From the dragon throne, Xiao Zhi said flatly: “Wang Delan made a mistake, and I punished him. Is there a problem?”
Murmurs rippled through the court below.
Xiao Li: “Eunuch Wang is Your Majesty’s favored attendant. Are you truly willing to punish him?”
Xiao Zhi’s phoenix eyes swept over him: “What? Prince Zhao feels sorry for my man and wants to share his burden? Fine. He’s at the Laundry Bureau, washing the eunuchs’ and maids’ clothes.”
Xiao Li: “…” He would never run his mouth again!
At that moment, Wang Delan was bitterly scrubbing dirty clothes. The young eunuch attending him nearby was frantic: “Eunuch Wang, let this servant do the washing for you…”
The head eunuch by the Emperor’s side was meticulously washing a young eunuch’s garments.
A young maid looked at him with admiration: “Eunuch Wang, you wash clothes so fast. Yesterday, there was a maid sister who washed just as well as you.”
With a single glance from Wang Delan, the others tactfully withdrew.
“What else did she say to you?”
Seeing Wang Delan’s kind demeanor, the young maid grew more talkative: “That maid sister also gave this servant some preserved fruit to eat.”
“…” No wonder His Majesty had stared at that fruit plate for so long yesterday, frightening the attendants on duty into a cold sweat—so the apricot preserves had been stolen by Miss Yun.
After court, the Emperor asked Yu Lian’er: “Have the floor-heating charcoal been replenished?”
Yu Lian’er reported: “They have been, and calming incense has been added as well. The young lady slept very well. This servant has prepared the pastries Your Majesty enjoys, and also added the Sanqing imperial tea that Your Majesty favors…”
Sanqing tea was brewed from plum blossoms, pine nuts, and tribute finger citron. Yu Lian’er had once seen Yun Yi grab the Emperor’s most beloved purple-clay teapot and chug the tea straight from the spout.
She couldn’t exactly report to the Emperor that Miss Yun had been drinking from his teapot behind his back… Yu Lian’er’s voice trailed off.
Xiao Zhi thought to himself: this maid was being too cautious. It wasn’t as if Yun Yi’s drinking his tea was something shameful.
“Make sure to prepare plenty of apricot preserves, and be quick about it.” Don’t let her notice.
Thinking that his old residence had nothing entertaining, Xiao Zhi asked the guard commander: “What has she been doing since she woke up?”
The guard hurriedly reported that Yun Yi had broken half a chopstick and was scratching and drawing all over the pillar.
How could he have known that Yun Yi was marking her own height?
To the Emperor, however, vandalizing his old residence was a public provocation—defacing the sovereign—punishable by poison!
The old residence was the last place Xiao Zhi wanted to go.
Dull, hopeless—that house was filled with his resentment and unwillingness.
He stood before the residence, staring at the messy footprints beneath the pine tree.
The footprints were small, leading all the way to the tree trunk. Every so often, the rough bark bore smudges of mud.
The higher toward the treetop, the fainter the mud marks became, until they gathered in a chaotic cluster at the top.
What was she doing climbing trees—she almost fell.
Hadn’t he arranged for Wang Delan to “accidentally” drop the key? That eunuch couldn’t even act properly?
Sure enough, Xiao Zhi found the key Wang Delan had “carelessly” dropped under the tree.
Just as he was about to open the door, a noise came from inside. Xiao Zhi vaulted up into the tree, and his accompanying secret guards also melted into the shadows.
The door opened, then closed again.
Yun Yi sneaked out, heading toward the Laundry Bureau.
Hadn’t she had enough laundry yesterday? She was going again today? Xiao Zhi truly couldn’t understand her thinking.
With her maid’s uniform as cover, Yun Yi greeted the few palace attendants she passed along the way without a care.
When they heard she was headed to the Laundry Bureau, their eyes filled with sympathy.
Yun Yi muttered to herself: “There’s nothing shameful about going to work at a dry cleaner’s. Labor is the most glorious.”
No sooner had she stepped through the door than she was met with the lively sound of scrubbing.
The head maid recognized her—she was the one who had washed the Emperor’s clothes yesterday.
When Auntie Lian, the Emperor’s personal maid, had come to collect the clothes, her expression had soured significantly for a moment at pickup, though she quickly recovered.
This maid must have washed the Emperor’s clothes poorly and ruined them.
“What time do you call this—you’re only coming now?!” The head maid scolded Yun Yi and raised her hand to strike.
“Stop!” Wang Delan grabbed a beating stick and knocked the head maid’s hand away.
The situation took a sudden turn.
Yun Yi’s eyes widened: “Eunuch Wang? What are you doing here?”
The head maid’s palm stung: “Eunuch Wang, you—”
Wang Delan had no time for pleasantries. The next moment, the beating stick smacked the head maid’s other hand.
“Though I have been punished by His Majesty, I am still the highest-ranked eunuch in this palace. And you, a mere head of the Laundry Bureau, dare to strike someone in front of me? Who do you think you’re hitting? Hmm?”
Oh no.
The head maid’s heart dropped. As she knelt, she stole a glance at the new maid.
Porcelain-white skin, a pretty face, and curved, lively brows—far more spirited than the other maids in the palace.
Even in the face of the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Court, she showed not a trace of fear.
Eunuch Wang turned to Yun Yi, concerned: “Did she strike you, miss?”
“No, not at all.” Yun Yi answered truthfully.
Yun Yi made her way to the drying yard and found her hoodie and sweatpants still hidden there. She gathered them in her arms and was about to step out to speak with Wang Delan.
But the atmosphere in the yard suddenly shifted. A group of unfamiliar eunuchs and maids had surrounded her.
“Were you the one who washed the clothes yesterday?” A maid sized Yun Yi up without ceremony. Her garments were clearly different—she was clearly an attendant to someone of high rank.
Yesterday, Yun Yi had washed the Emperor’s clothes, as well as those of the little mistress of Chenhua Hall.
Oh—one of Xiao Zhi’s minor consorts.
It was true that the Emperor’s clothes had been washed to pieces. But as for the Emperor’s wife, Yun Yi bore no grudge against her and hadn’t touched her garments.
“Yes,” Yun Yi nodded calmly.
Relying on her mistress’s status, the maid glared at her with displeasure: “Come with me.”
Chenhua Hall was entirely different from the Emperor’s bedchamber—everywhere carried the pleasant scent of incense. The furniture, curtains, and screens all exuded a woman’s taste.
Yun Yi looked through the beaded curtain at the figure seated within.
She was a very young woman, clad in heavy ancient attire, her hair weighed down by ornate hairpins that looked heavy just to look at.
In the modern era, this girl would still be a high school student with a backpack, worrying every day about how to raise her test scores.
The Emperor was indeed a pervert.
“Come in and speak.” The little mistress spoke.
Yun Yi stepped into the hall, clothes in her arms.
“There’s a big hole in my garment. You washed it to pieces, didn’t you?”
“…”
Yun Yi had hung that garment out to dry herself. There was no hole in it at all.
This little mistress was here to pick a fight.
“It wasn’t this servant who ruined it,” Yun Yi said.
The mistress looked up at her, frowning: “Are you saying I did it myself?”
Yun Yi said nothing.
Their gazes clashed in a silent back-and-forth.
“Are you cursing me in your heart?” The mistress’s voice sounded quite young. “If you tell the truth, I won’t punish you.”
Yun Yi: “This servant dare not. I wasn’t cursing.”
“You—” The mistress was unsatisfied with her answer, as if she would only be pleased if Yun Yi admitted to cursing.
“I tell the truth and you still aren’t happy.” Yun Yi muttered.
“…”
The princess was annoyed.
In this palace, she was closest to her eldest imperial brother, Xiao Qian.
When Xiao Zhi had been missing for three months, she was the only one who had seen through Xiao Qian impersonating the Emperor.
The “Emperor” had been stubborn and refused to admit it.
The princess sneaked into the Grand Prince’s palace and poked the guard who was pretending to be the ailing Grand Prince until he was a sieve.
Xiao Qian had no choice but to confess everything.
During that time, the siblings had worked together to cover for Xiao Zhi on many occasions.
The princess also knew that Xiao Zhi had a hidden girl.
Last night, that girl had slept in Xiao Zhi’s old residence. The princess and Xiao Qian had climbed the Buddhist pine to spy on the movements inside.
The princess was indignant on her behalf: “Is Second Imperial Brother even human? Why would he imprison a girl he fancies?”
Xiao Qian flicked her forehead: “Fool—that’s called romance.” He had even seen Xiao Zhi lock a girl in a secret dungeon.
.
“Outrageous.” As soon as she said that, the princess’s hand, holding her tea cup, paused. Had she been too harsh?
She quietly studied Yun Yi. What the devil—why wasn’t she afraid at all?
“Bold!” The princess slammed her tea cup shut.
Yun Yi looked at this “wife” of the Emperor. The girl had the air of a student playing dress-up as an adult. Your Ladyship, how exactly were you planning to survive to the end of a palace drama?
“Why aren’t you kneeling?” The princess pretended to be fierce.
Yun Yi scratched her head—she had forgotten palace rules. Plop—she knelt easily enough.
She weighed her words: “This servant pays her respects to—”
Was she a Noble Consort, a Virtuous Consort, or a Virtue Consort? She had no idea!
So Yun Yi just went all in: “This servant pays her respects to the Empress.”
“Pfft—!” The princess sprayed a mouthful of tea.
Yun Yi, hearing the commotion, looked up and added the honorific in confusion: “…Your Majesty?”
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