Chapter 21

The thing inside her sleeve was soft yet slightly coarse, likely the leftover stitches from embroidery.

Li Shuyao touched it carefully again, utterly certain now that a strange pouch had somehow appeared in her sleeve. Inside the pouch was a small, round, hard object—it seemed to be a little ball.

Guo Luoluo Qingyao quickly grabbed her hand to stop her from taking it out and lowered her voice: "Don’t look now. Let’s go change first."

Li Shuyao swallowed her unease and nodded faintly twice.

The two of them slipped out hand in hand.

Arriving at the side chamber for changing, and confirming no one was inside, Li Shuyao almost impatiently threw the pouch onto the floor.

Qingyao bent down, picked up the pouch, and opened it. Inside gleamed a smooth, lustrous white Eastern pearl, delicate as fine cream.

Judging by its quality, it was at least second grade or higher.

Only a few consorts in the palace had ornaments made from second-grade Eastern pearls. Almost simultaneously, two names clearly appeared in both Li Shuyao and Qingyao’s minds: Consort Niuhulu and Consort Tong.

Qingyao frowned, wavering, but Li Shuyao, already caught up in the unfolding scenario, whispered decisively, “It must be Consort Tong’s pearl!”

“Are you sure?” Qingyao looked at her in surprise. After a moment of silence, she asked again, “How can you be sure?”

Li Shuyao opened her mouth but then closed it again, her pale face filled with nervous hesitation. She hesitated for a long while, unsure how to explain it to Qingyao.

Qingyao took the initiative to help her complete the reasoning: “You saw it just now, didn’t you?”

Li Shuyao thought for a moment and nodded without hesitation.

Qingyao held the pearl, her eyes dim, lost in thought.

After a while, she stuffed the pearl back into the pouch and said quickly, “This can’t stay with you.”

Li Shuyao was momentarily stunned, then reacted, holding Qingyao’s hand: “If it can’t stay with me, it can’t stay with you either.”

“But then what do we do? Should we just throw the pearl away?” Guo Luoluo Qingyao asked curiously.

Li Shuyao shook her head, her expression thoughtful, silent for a moment.

She recalled how this part was described in the original novel.

In the original story, the lost item of Consort Tong was not a pearl but a five-phoenix hairpin inlaid with gold and jade, a relic from the Empress Dowager Cihe. Shortly after Consort Tong entered the palace, the Empress Dowager rewarded it to her as compensation for not granting her the title of Empress.

Consort Tong treasured that hairpin greatly and rarely wore it except on special occasions like the Dragon Boat Festival feast.

Unexpectedly, it was lost during a change of clothes, which made her furious beyond words.

Therefore, to be honest, upon feeling that the pouch contained a small ball instead of the hairpin, Li Shuyao’s tension eased somewhat.

Her mind raced, recalling the sharpness she had during final exam preparations, and she slowly analyzed: “First, this pearl must have been secretly slipped into my sleeve by Song Fuwen when I wasn’t paying attention.”

She had not expected Song Fuwen to sneak into the Qin’an Palace as a maid and was caught off guard, so she couldn’t say exactly when she was tampered with.

“Second, it’s to frame me.”

When she said “frame,” Qingyao worriedly held her hand.

Snapping out of her complex thoughts, Li Shuyao smiled at her, signaling she was fine.

Then she took the pouch from Qingyao’s hand, rubbed it in her palm, as if recalling something, and turned to ask, “What crime is it to steal an Eastern pearl?”

Qingyao’s voice was heavy: “Capital offense.”

Li Shuyao then asked, “What if we secretly slip this pearl back onto Song Fuwen?”

---

She admitted she was quite cunning. After being framed like this, her mind could only think of one thing: fight fire with fire!

After saying this, she nervously pressed her lips together, afraid to see surprise or disdain on her friend’s face.

Unexpectedly, Guo Luoluo Qingyao praised her warmly, reaching out to touch her temple, “That’s a good idea!”

Li Shuyao’s eyes brightened instantly. “Right? You think so too, don’t you?”

Qingyao shook her head. “But it’s a bit difficult to carry out. First, the pearl has been missing for some time; Consort Tong might discover it anytime. Second, Qin’an Palace is hosting a feast today, with over a hundred palace staff summoned from all over, seventy or eighty of whom are maids. How quickly can you find her and slip the pouch onto her without anyone noticing?”

Li Shuyao fell silent.

Qingyao pinched a corner of the pouch and slowly pulled it from her hand.

She said, “I still think, as I said before, the best is to find a place to throw away or hide this pearl.”

As long as the pearl isn’t found on either of them when the incident is investigated.

Li Shuyao felt it wouldn’t be that simple. “What if she’s already secretly watching us? What if we find a hidden spot and just take the pouch out, then she leaps out with others to catch us?”

“In my opinion, we should return the pearl to Consort Tong and say we found it by accident.”

Qingyao suddenly widened her eyes at this. “Found it? How? Our tables were so far apart from Consort Tong’s!” Her tone was exaggerated as she stretched her hands wide to show the great distance.

Li Shuyao realized how ridiculous that sounded.

Damn it, after reading so many palace intrigue novels, why hadn’t she learned any anti-intrigue tactics?

She stomped her foot in frustration and puffed out her cheeks, angrily demanding, “Then what do you suggest we do?”

Qingyao was at a loss.

She had been in the palace less than half a year and had somehow become an official lady. Her mother hadn’t had time to teach her palace struggle skills, only sending a few simple words through others—things like biding time and winning the emperor’s favor…

None of which were useful in this moment.

They fell silent for a moment. Then Qingyao muttered absentmindedly, “If only this pearl had feet and could walk back on its own…”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t want that?” Li Shuyao sighed. Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, her eyes lit up. “Hey, I just thought of something…”

*

Qin’an Palace was still bustling.

After another round of drinks, even the emperor, who prided himself on having a stomach as deep as the sea, felt a little overwhelmed.

He left the consorts behind and stepped out alone, wanting to catch some cool breeze and shed the scent of wine.

Unexpectedly, shortly after coming out, he saw two furtive figures not far off, as if afraid no one would notice them. They were crouching, tiptoeing, each covering their mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief, darting out of the hall.

The emperor frowned in confusion.

He thought maybe he was seeing double from drinking too much.

He rubbed his forehead to clear his head and looked again.

Indeed, there were two people, and they were familiar—one was the newly appointed official lady Guo Luoluo, and the other was Li Shuyao, a tea-serving palace maid who was known for not doing anything well and not wanting to learn either.

What were they up to?

Using the bushes in the imperial garden as cover, the emperor quietly approached a short distance away and overheard—

“Qingyao, how was that roll just now?” It was Li Shuyao’s voice.

“Great, great! You were amazing!” Guo Luoluo’s voice replied.

They were talking about some kind of rolling, then suddenly started praising each other.

Li Shuyao’s reasons for praising Guo Luoluo were peculiar but well-spoken, calm and composed like a victorious general, reliable and mighty.

Guo Luoluo praised Li Shuyao for hiding during hide-and-seek so well that no one noticed her, and for her steady hands that managed to roll perfectly on the first try…

What nonsense was this? Were they speaking the Qing dynasty dialect?

The emperor frowned and continued eavesdropping.

Li Shuyao said, “Right, what should we do with this pouch?”

Guo Luoluo pondered briefly. “Hmm, keep it for now.”

Li Shuyao was curious, “Why?”

Guo Luoluo reasoned, “To confuse the enemy! Let her think you haven’t discovered it yet. Isn’t that good?”

Li Shuyao quickly admired her. “Makes sense! Qingyao, you’re so clever!”

Guo Luoluo seemed quite proud. “Of course.”

She added, “Also, later you can say Song Fuwen gave you this pouch. Just say that…”

She leaned close to Li Shuyao’s ear and whispered something unclear, but the emperor caught fragments like “dirty water,” “throw back,” and “make her furious.”

It was nearing dusk; the light in the imperial garden was already dim, and the emperor stood hidden in the bushes, perfectly concealed. Li Shuyao and Guo Luoluo chatted on, unaware of being overheard.

After confirming the plan quietly, Guo Luoluo took Li Shuyao’s hand and strutted back to Qin’an Palace as if marching to battle.

But the emperor found no humor in it.

Just from the few words he overheard, he could piece together the truth.

His tall figure remained silent in the bushes, his refined face darkening, sharp black eyes deepening with shadow and gloom. His jaw clenched, lips pressed tight, his aura suddenly turning cold and oppressive, like the eerie calm before a storm.

*

Meanwhile, back inside Qin’an Palace, Guo Luoluo Qingyao and Li Shuyao quietly returned. They first scanned the hall and saw no sign of Song Fuwen, guessing she was still lurking somewhere in secret.

The two stayed still, continuing to eat and drink.

Minutes passed—maybe a few, maybe ten—when suddenly a sharp scream erupted from the nearby crowd.

Li Shuyao and Qingyao paused mid-bite.

Qingyao silently mouthed to Li Shuyao: “She’s here.”

For some reason, Li Shuyao’s mind finished the sentence: “The conflict begins!”