Chapter 11

In the sixteenth year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, the rebellion of the Three Feudatories reached its most critical moment.

Reports from the front lines arrived incessantly. The imperial study was lit by candlelight throughout entire nights, as countless court ministers took turns waiting outside to be received. Some were summoned to the palace in the dead of night by imperial decree to discuss urgent matters.

Originally, the tea room operated in two shifts, but recently it had been changed to three.

Under such circumstances, the Emperor was so immersed in state affairs that he had no time to favor his consorts.

Therefore, during this period, the Emperor mostly rested alone in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Even the few palace maids in the rear chambers of the same palace had been somewhat forgotten by him.

It was said that the Empress Dowager of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility had visited several times.

It was said that the harem was frequently sending sweet soups and various nourishing supplements.

It was said that the eldest prince had recently returned to the palace, but the Emperor had not so much as glanced at him.

It was said that the Emperor had been quietly searching for a tutor to enlighten the Crown Prince in his limited spare time.

It was said that the maidservants in the rear chambers had been quarrelling frequently, having had three fights in five days.

Li Shuyao was in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the place where news circulated most freely. Even if she lived a life of idleness, countless tidings always reached her ears.

When she arrived, Li Shuyao worried about Qingyao’s condition. Would she become haggard from the Emperor’s neglect? Would she be bullied by the other maids?

And what about that maid surnamed Zhu? During her previous apology visit, she had hinted both overtly and covertly to be cautious about the food they ate, lest someone poison them. Li Shuyao wondered if Qingyao had taken the warning to heart.

All her worries and speculations peaked the moment she stepped into the East Warm Chamber.

But upon seeing Qingyao and Lingluo’s faces, her spirits plummeted to the depths with a resounding thud.

The contrast was as vast as the distance between Mount Everest and the East African Rift Valley.

Li Shuyao walked over, tilting her head as she studied the faces of the mistress and her servant for a long moment. “What are you two... doing? Why are there streaks of red on your faces?”

Could it be they were applying Peking opera makeup?

Interrupted in her task, Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s lips curled in a smile. Her bright eyes showed no trace of the gloom from neglect. In her hand was a wooden box containing several jars of colorful rouge and powder.

Her right hand’s fingertips were stained different colors as she enthusiastically painted something on Lingluo’s face.

Lingluo, the human canvas, smiled gently. Her look toward her young mistress held a hint of helplessness but was mostly indulgent. Upon seeing Li Shuyao arrive, she stood and bowed politely. Li Shuyao quickly returned the gesture.

Just as she was about to bow again to Qingyao, the latter interrupted bluntly, “There’s no need for formalities between us.”

“Come here and sit over there,” she said, nodding toward a chair on her left, while continuing to paint. Soon, she finished the final strokes on Lingluo’s face.

They were painting animals with rouge and powder!

Li Shuyao quickly covered her own face with her hands. Instead of stepping forward, she cautiously took a few steps back, refusing to become Qingyao’s model.

Seeing this, Qingyao picked up a jar from the box and waved it at her. “Don’t reject it just because the color looks strange. This is a tribute from Siam, a rare treasure. The entire palace has less than five boxes. Apply it to your face, leave it on for a bit, then rinse it off, and your skin will become incredibly fine and smooth, like the finest mutton-fat jade.”

Despite her earnest recommendation, Li Shuyao coldly declined.

After all, many ancient cosmetics contained questionable ingredients, especially those that worked so quickly—who knew what forbidden substances might be mixed in?

She only wanted a plain, ordinary face, not one made of jade.

So she covered her face once more and took a large step back.

Guo Luoluo Qingyao’s expression immediately darkened. “Lingluo, catch her!”

Li Shuyao turned and ran.

Qingyao put down the box and gave chase.

The three of them caused a commotion in the East Warm Chamber, their soft and clear pleas and feigned threats spilling outside the door. Lin Momo and the palace maids exchanged glances, their expressions growing increasingly helpless.

Lin Momo stood quietly for a moment, listening to the noise inside. Judging that it wouldn’t die down soon, she whispered to the palace maid, “I’ll stay here. You go to Yanxi Palace. Don’t let things get out of hand over there and disturb the peace of the two old ancestors.”

Both recalled the incident half an hour earlier, their hearts suddenly heavy.

After a while, the palace maid nodded grimly. “I’ll go at once.”

“Go ahead,” Lin Momo waved her off.

At that moment, a young eunuch hurried over, kneeling before them and whispering, “Mistresses, there’s bad news. The old ancestor somehow learned that the eldest prince has been poisoned. She has already set out to the palace!”

“What!”

*

Meanwhile, Li Shuyao and Guo Luoluo Qingyao remained oblivious to the tumultuous changes in the harem.

Like two carefree girls raised in an ivory tower, they were bickering over Qingyao’s “brush strokes and painting skills.”

Qingyao insisted she was painting mandarin ducks.

Li Shuyao, after looking in the mirror, argued it was obviously a big goose—black, no less!

Lingluo hovered nearby, glancing left and right before hesitantly saying, “Isn’t that a duck?”

Both Li Shuyao and Qingyao turned to look at her.

Lingluo pointed to the corner of Li Shuyao’s mouth. “That’s a duck’s webbed foot. That’s a duck’s short, flat beak…”

“It’s mandarin ducks!” Qingyao shouted.

“Nonsense! There’s no such duck!” Li Shuyao retorted unhappily.

Lingluo sighed helplessly. “But judging by the body shape alone, it can’t be a big goose. It’s not big at all.”

“It’s clearly mandarin ducks…”

Li Shuyao, heeding Lingluo’s words, picked up the mirror again and scrutinized her face carefully, pointing to a spot on her neck. “Look here. Isn’t this a ‘goose neck’?”

Lingluo leaned in to look. “It really seems so…”

“No, no, you’re both wrong! I’m definitely painting mandarin ducks!” Qingyao, seeing that neither of them paid her any mind, angrily slammed all the jars back into the box and closed the lid tightly.

Unexpectedly, Li Shuyao and Lingluo simultaneously declared a truce and turned their gazes toward her.

Qingyao looked puzzled. “...What is it?”

Li Shuyao glared at her and asked, “Why don’t you paint?”

Lingluo pouted. “Didn’t our young mistress promise to finish painting me before I paint you?”

Qingyao’s expression stiffened. Her tear-bright eyes blinked guiltily as she tried to explain, “Well, when the Emperor gave me these, he said these jars are especially precious…”

“Then you should use them too!” Li Shuyao said angrily.

Qingyao stubbornly replied, “I was born beautiful. I don’t need these artificial things…”

Before she finished, Li Shuyao firmly grasped her slender wrists through her sleeves. Sitting opposite Qingyao, she restrained her hands and pinned her calves with her feet, rendering her immobile.

Then, with lively eyes, she winked at Lingluo. “Quick, paint your young mistress with these. Start with the pink as a base, then use blue for the sky above, and green for the grass below…”

As Lingluo obediently followed instructions, she tentatively offered, “Should we add some flowers to decorate?”

Li Shuyao nodded solemnly, glancing at Qingyao’s face and tilting her chin toward her cheek. “I like jasmine. Let’s paint a few white flowers there.”

Qingyao was about to cry, “One layer is enough, don’t waste it…”

Li Shuyao shot her a reproachful glance. “You know it’s wasteful? Yet you’re the one who covered our faces in layer after layer!”

Qingyao: “QAQ”

Help!

*

They continued their playful chaos in the East Warm Chamber for over half an hour.

When it was time to wash off the mask, the three exchanged glances and fell into silence.

Attempting to reclaim her dignity as mistress, Guo Luoluo Qingyao leaned back in her chair. “Ah, I’m too tired. Lingluo, go get some basins of clean water.”

Lingluo: “...”

She looked at her mistress with great sorrow, then at Li Shuyao.

Li Shuyao immediately imitated Qingyao’s posture, closing her eyes and leaning back. Silently, she wished, I can’t be seen, I can’t be seen.

They lived in the rear chambers, but I still have to stay in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. If anyone outside saw the big duck or goose on my face, would I still have any pride?

Lingluo sighed helplessly, covering half her face with a handkerchief. She slowly walked to the door and cracked it open a sliver. Quietly, she requested, “Momo, could you please send in a few basins of clean water?”

Lin Momo squinted, clearly seeing the colorful makeup on her face through the crack. She guessed the others were in similar states. Had they used up all the tribute cosmetics the Emperor had just bestowed?

Judging by the makeup’s thickness on Lingluo’s face, Lin Momo reckoned that even if not all was used up, most of it had been.

These were tributes not even the Honored Consort Tong of the Palace of Eternal Spring possessed.

Yet these ignorant young girls were using them as paint.

She felt a mixture of helplessness and amusement. After a moment, she suppressed her laughter and gently asked, “How many basins?”

Lingluo counted, “Three... no, six! I’m afraid one won’t be enough.”

Lin Momo nodded knowingly and asked, “Shall I also send someone to fetch clean clothes for you and Mistress Guo Luoluo from the rear chambers?”

Lingluo was delighted. “Thank you so much, Momo! Oh, and if you have time, could you also bring some clothes for Shuyao?”

Lin Momo, treating them like her own juniors, readily agreed. She soon summoned a few attendants and gave quiet instructions.

Satisfied, Lingluo closed the door and returned inside to wait.

Before long, six palace maids each carried a basin of clean water in. Li Shuyao and the others quickly covered their faces with handkerchiefs.

A palace maid asked, “Mistress Guo Luoluo, where should we put these?”

Through her veil, Guo Luoluo Qingyao replied, “Just place them on the table.”

The maid looked around, troubled. “There’s no space there.”

Qingyao thought for a moment, straightened slightly, and as her veil slipped, she hurriedly covered her face again. Then, in a muffled voice, she instructed, “Put three basins on the table and the rest on the floor. After that, please close the door and leave—we won’t need you for now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the palace maids obeyed smoothly and arranged the basins as directed.

Only after the door closed did Li Shuyao and the others lift their veils eagerly and begin washing their faces.

Outside, Lin Momo listened to the sounds within, a faint smile flickering across her lips.

Well, after all, they were just a few playful children.

What was the harm in using tribute cosmetics as paint? The Emperor could certainly afford it.

Much better than poisoning, anyway.