Chapter 15

At this moment, Li Shuyao felt an unprecedented wave of dejection. Upon reflection, sometimes life seemed rather meaningless. After all, if one were dead, one would no longer have to endure the merciless ridicule of others. With such thoughts swirling in her mind, she felt increasingly wronged; tears welled up in her apricot blossom eyes, and a sourness gripped her throat. She wanted to cry...

Meanwhile, the emperor strode in, not glancing at the upright and respectful Song Fuwen, but instead fixating his curious gaze upon Li Shuyao. Seeing that she remained on the ground for a long time, he asked in a low voice, "What’s this? Could it be that you forgot how to bow?"

Li Shuyao stiffened instantly. Regaining her composure, she slowly straightened her back from the floor, lowering her eyelids and avoiding any careless glance. Silently shaking her head, she croaked hoarsely, "Your Majesty, your humble servant pays respects."

"You’ve already said that," the emperor replied.

"Oh," Li Shuyao’s head bowed even lower. She gripped her garment tightly, forcing back the tears.

"Stand up," the emperor commanded again.

Timidly, Li Shuyao lifted her gaze toward him. Seeing his clear and upright eyes fixed on her, she knew this order was directed at her. Carefully, she rose from the floor, clutching the hem of her clothes and remaining rooted in place.

The emperor seated himself in a chair, casually pointing toward the tea table. "Brew some tea."

"Hmm?" Li Shuyao was surprised. "Oh."

So he had come to inspect the work.

She exhaled a subtle breath of relief and quickly approached the tea table. As she picked up the teapot, she paused and asked, "Your Majesty, what tea would you like today?"

She recalled that historically, Emperor Kangxi was fond of Bi Luo Chun tea, but that variety had yet to be named at this early stage of his reign. Bi Luo Chun was only designated as such when Kangxi was in his thirties; West Lake Longjing was later honored by Emperor Qianlong as imperial tea, and Junshan Maojian was also selected as tribute during Qianlong’s era.

Currently, it was still the early Kangxi reign, a period riddled with turmoil. The tea stored in the Granary Office was limited to about a dozen varieties. Among the better-known were Jiangsu’s Tianchi tea, Anhui’s Liu’an tea, and Zhejiang’s yellow tea—all of which she had encountered in novels and films, hence the impression.

Other types listed in the tea catalog were utterly unfamiliar to her. During her month-and-some time in the tea room, she had studied them diligently.

To be cautious, she even secretly recorded the varieties the emperor drank daily. She was surprised to find his tastes quite variable: different teas in the morning and afternoon, sometimes drinking Silver Needle tea for six consecutive days, other times avoiding it for over half a month.

Song Fuwen, when brewing tea each day, always first checked with the young eunuchs in the next room. If given clear instructions, she would prepare tea with only one set of utensils. But if she returned with three or four sets laid out, it meant the emperor was uncertain about which tea he wanted. In such cases, she would brew several cups and send them all, leaving eunuch Liang to decide which cup to deliver.

This was a boss whose tastes were capricious and difficult to please, but who paid salaries on time and refrained from arbitrary scolding or beating.

Such was the general impression Li Shuyao had formed of the emperor in the past month.

"Anything you like," the emperor said lazily, shifting his posture in the chair, propping his chin with one hand while resting the other on the armrest.

His gaze, filled with a hint of amused curiosity, still lingered on Li Shuyao, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong quietly stepped back two paces and then gave a meaningful look to Song Fuwen, who still stood rooted to the spot.

Biting her lip, Song Fuwen hesitated, torn between obedience and reluctance.

The emperor was here...

Liang Jiugong’s face immediately darkened; he glared at her and then turned sharply, exiting the tea room.

Song Fuwen remained standing, seemingly wanting to seize a chance in her favor.

Meanwhile, Li Shuyao, having received the emperor’s reply, was immediately beset by doubt. She was still unfamiliar with her duties; was it really appropriate for a probationary employee like herself to serve such a high-ranking figure?

Unable to resist, she sought help from Song Fuwen. "Sister Song."

Song Fuwen quickly forced a smile. "Your Majesty, let me serve instead."

Li Shuyao nodded quickly. "Then—"

"No, you will serve," the emperor’s finger pointed at Li Shuyao, hovering ominously with a hint of threat.

His deep eyes then glanced coldly at Song Fuwen, who was fidgeting nearby. A frosty chill crept into his gaze as he snorted, "Get out!"

"Go find Liang Jiugong and accept your punishment."

Li Shuyao and Song Fuwen were startled by these words, nearly dropping the teapot.

When they realized the emperor was speaking to Song Fuwen, Li Shuyao clenched the teapot tightly, her hands trembling as she stiffly stepped forward to refill the water. Slowly, she sat by the tea table and gave the already washed tea set another thorough rinse.

Approaching the tea rack, her delicate fingers hovered over the tea canisters as she quickly calculated in her mind which teas the emperor had favored recently. She noted that Liu’an tea was by far the most consumed and decisively selected the canister labeled Liu’an.

When she returned to the tea table, Song Fuwen had already fled in fright, the tea room door shut behind her.

Only the emperor and Li Shuyao remained.

Li Shuyao immediately froze like a mute quail, her heart nervously stammering countless cries for help.

***

Before transmigrating, Li Shuyao had been a carefree university student. Thanks to a comfortable family background and being an only child, she had been endlessly pampered.

Her most trying experience in those nineteen years was dealing with a "peculiar" roommate—someone who constantly complained of cold and refused to turn on the air conditioning, yet stayed up late chatting on the phone until one or two in the morning. When others tried to sleep, she argued; when they slept, she wished everyone in the dormitory would become ethereal and stop breathing.

Every strange trait online seemed to be embodied in this roommate.

She alone bullied Li Shuyao and two other roommates.

During her entire freshman year, Li Shuyao felt mercilessly battered by society. So, during summer break, she and her other two roommates devoured countless palace intrigue novels and dramas to learn some survival skills.

At least she hoped not to be bullied by the same person for four consecutive years.

Yet, nowadays, palace intrigue stories habitually veered off-topic, focusing not on palace scheming but on true love. Characters were inconsistent and contradictory, plots dull and contrived—mere "ancient CEO" tales dressed in palace intrigue garb.

Only the ensemble palace intrigues in "The Virtuous Consort’s Tale" held some merit, compelling her to rewatch them repeatedly.

Among these were vivid descriptions of palace maids rising through the ranks, which left a deep impression.

In the original story, Guo Luoluo Qingyao caught the emperor’s eye by confidently managing the treasury while on duty, deftly introducing the stored artifacts.

Meanwhile, Wu Yalianchu was noticed while suffering abuse from Consort Tong, her kneeling posture both pitiful and delicate, her gentle beauty stirring the emperor’s heart. Upon seeing her face clearly, he lingered in silence before taking her into the harem.

Another palace maid was noticed dancing in a thin gown in the imperial garden during the coldest winter months; another was admired under the moonlight among flowers; one played butterfly-catching games; yet another sang on a boat in the Old Summer Palace.

The methods were countless and varied.

Yet the emperor accepted them all without disdain.

This made Li Shuyao’s heart beat like a drum; she wondered if she too would have to—

Lost in such thoughts, her hand betrayed her, accidentally pouring a full cup of tea leaves.

Li Shuyao stared, a bit embarrassed...

"Pfft—hahahahaha!" The emperor was already slapping the armrest, laughing heartily.

After laughing, he rubbed his temple and said to Li Shuyao, "Try again."

What was his problem? Did he just enjoy watching people act clumsy?

***

Li Shuyao was annoyed.

She picked up the teacup and, in one swift movement, poured all the tea leaves into a small basket. The teapot on the stove began steaming. Wrapping her hand in a cloth, she lifted the teapot and thoroughly rinsed the inside and outside of the teacup again.

After washing, she scooped tea twice, judging it sufficient.

The emperor then said, "Add one more scoop," his voice cool with a clear, distinct smile, standing quite close.

Close?

Li Shuyao suddenly looked up and found the emperor had silently approached, standing over her and watching her every move.

Suppressing her anger, nervousness crept back. She lowered her eyes and added a bit more tea. Then she added water, poured out the first brewed water to discard impurities, and when lifting the cup, her hand trembled from the heat; her delicate fingertips quickly flushed red.

The emperor watched curiously. "Why did you pour it out?"

Li Shuyao answered softly, "Although the tea is stored in jars, over time, dust may settle on it; so we rinse it with water first."

"Oh, I thought you were ‘waking’ the tea," he said, pulling over a stool to sit.

Her hand paused. That was indeed a step in the process.

Would she have seemed more professional if she had said that earlier?

Her mind flickered again to the countless bizarre methods of palace ascent... She shook her head vigorously. Whatever—better to be clumsy than to scheme in the harem.

Her mood relaxed quickly. Ignoring the man at the table, she continued adding water and pouring it out.

Her fingertips were now numb to the heat; she would probably need some burn ointment later. She wondered if Qingyao had such medicine...

"Why pour it out again?"

Li Shuyao: "…Are you the ‘Hundred Whys’?"

Her inner thoughts were rebellious, but her expression remained timid. She replied softly, "Sister Song always did it this way before."

The emperor’s curiosity piqued. "You don’t like her, so why call her sister?"

Li Shuyao puffed out her cheeks. "Because the nursemaid taught me to be polite."

"Oh?" The emperor raised an eyebrow, finding this little palace maid’s words oddly amusing.

In his palace, when had such a pure, naïve soul appeared?

He instinctively thought she was pretending for his sake, but then recalled the nursery rhymes she sang in Guo Luoluo’s quarters. For a moment, he doubted himself.

His long fingers tapped on the table as he resolved to probe further. "How did you come to know Guo Luoluo?"

Li Shuyao was taken aback.

The emperor continued, "I heard that day you were supposed to be on duty at the treasury but felt reluctant?"

"And today, when you went to find Guo Luoluo, what exactly did you say and do? What do ‘pat one, pat two’ and ‘282, 256’ mean? Are those secret codes, or riddles?"

Li Shuyao’s heart pounded wildly.

She feared she might not be ‘rising in rank’ but rather wrongly accused and about to be ‘removed.’

***