Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Li Shuyao was still unaware of the bold idea her dear friend had conceived.

She cheerfully carried a food box back to the maid quarters. It was the time when the lights were being lit in the various palaces, and the palace staff were changing shifts. Many people hurriedly came and went through the maid quarters, and each person who passed by Li Shuyao wore an unmistakable look of shock on their face, as if they had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.

Li Shuyao touched her face, puzzled. What was going on with them?

Just then, a palace maid approached, saw her standing at the door, and quickly pulled her into a corner. Frowning with concern, she asked, “Where have you been all afternoon? I couldn’t find you in your room. Also, how’s the injury on your face?”

Li Shuyao replied, “I went to the imperial hospital to get some ointment. I heard it’s very effective for skin damage and doesn’t harm the face. Take some back and try it tonight.” She took a porcelain-white jar from her sleeve and, without waiting for a response, pressed it into the other maid’s hand.

Looking down at the porcelain jar and then back up at her, Li Shuyao, aided by the gentle moonlight, vaguely recognized her as Wan Liuha Yue Shu, the longest-living consort of the Kangxi era.

Though Yue Shu didn’t appear often in the novel, she maintained good relations with Guo Luoluo Qingyao and Wu Yalian Chu, taking a neutral stance, yet managed to live peacefully until the very end.

Li Shuyao couldn’t believe such a person would be a simple character.

However, Guo Luoluo Qingyao had said before, “Yue Chu is honest and compliant, methodical in everything she does, without any crooked intentions…”

After a moment’s thought, Li Shuyao decided to trust Qingyao’s judgment. Clutching the porcelain jar, she looked up at Yue Shu with a clear gaze and a gentle voice said, “I went to speak with Qingyao this afternoon.”

Yue Shu was startled. “You saw her?”

Tilting her head, Li Shuyao looked puzzled. “Of course. Did you try to see her before and she refused?”

Yue Shu shook her head. Her expression was hidden in the shadows of the bushes, making it hard to discern, but her hesitant and somewhat melancholic tone whispered, “No, not exactly.”

“It’s just that Lian Chu said Qingyao is different from us now. She’s a mistress, and we’re servants, so it’s best to avoid too much involvement…”

Li Shuyao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly widened her eyes like a startled fawn in the woods.

“Did Lian Chu say not to go, and you really didn’t go?”

Yue Shu nodded obediently, then nervously clutched her garment, falling silent.

Li Shuyao couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you think to verify with Qingyao yourself?”

Yue Shu nodded once, then shook her head, biting her lip with a hesitant expression, remaining silent for a long while, leaving Li Shuyao unsure of her meaning.

She parted her lips to speak, but Yue Shu took two steps back, the moonlight washing over her face. Li Shuyao clearly saw her reluctance.

Since she didn’t want to speak, Li Shuyao was glad not to press further.

The food box she carried felt heavy, pressing painfully against her knuckles. Feeling uncomfortable, she turned and placed it on a nearby stone table. The stone felt cold to the touch, and worried the snacks inside might get cold and lose their flavor, she hesitated briefly before picking the box up again.

Seeing her struggle, Yue Shu reached out to help support it.

Together, they silently carried the food box into the small kitchen of the maid quarters.

---

The small kitchen in the maid quarters was extremely simple. At the back were two rows of wooden cabinets leaning against the walls, with two stoves in the center. Between the stoves and cabinets lay piles of firewood. Near the entrance, three or four low wooden tables and about a dozen small stools were sparsely arranged.

—After all, this was not a room primarily intended for cooking.

Ordinarily, palace maids and eunuchs collected their meals from the main imperial kitchen, either eating there or taking them back to their rooms. The small kitchen in the maid quarters served mainly to reheat food and boil water, for drinking or bathing, so it didn’t need to be elaborate.

At this moment, the kitchen buzzed with voices. About ten maids sat around the small tables, chatting and eating. When Li Shuyao and Wan Liuha Yue Shu entered together, they were so surprised they forgot to speak.

“Li Shuyao? Wasn’t she punished by Auntie Ji Ya? She’s usually very proud. Being publicly slapped, she should be hiding in her room, crying, not boldly coming out!”

Also, what was she carrying in her hand?

The maids were immersed in their surprise and said nothing. The silence was almost eerie.

However, Li Shuyao, ever oblivious, didn’t notice the strange looks. Smiling brightly, she waved to the closest maid and greeted them, then set the food box on the only empty table in the kitchen.

Her voice was clear and lively as she said, “I went to the enclosures this afternoon and brought back some snacks. These are the ones Qingyao usually enjoys. She asked me to bring some for all of you to try.”

“Qingyao?” The maids blinked.

Realizing, they quickly stood and gathered around.

“Are you sure Qingyao really sent these?”

“Hmm, they smell quite fragrant.”

“They look pretty too. Look at this little bunny shape—so cute, it’s a shame to eat it.”

“Shuyao, what made you go to the enclosures?”

“Was the auntie there fierce? Did she give you a hard time? How did you manage to see Qingyao...”

“How is Qingyao doing now? Did she say anything about His Majesty? Did she say she’d come back to see us?”

The maids swarmed around Li Shuyao, chattering nonstop. One question barely ended before another sprang up, making Li Shuyao’s head spin with no clue which to answer first.

“What’s all this noise?”

Startled by the commotion, an aged figure appeared at the door. Her face was stern and lined with wrinkles. Her dark eyes were sharp as a hawk’s, her lips tightly pressed, clearly displeased.

She barked a command, and the maids instantly fell silent, parting to reveal Li Shuyao to Auntie Ji Ya’s gaze.

Ji Ya’s expression flickered briefly upon seeing Li Shuyao, then resumed its sternness. Scanning the room, she demanded, “Li Shuyao, why aren’t you staying in your room? What are you doing in the kitchen?”

Li Shuyao immediately lowered her hands and cautiously repeated what she had said earlier.

Despite not having done anything wrong, the shadow of reprimand made her feel like a high school student caught by a strict teacher—she shivered involuntarily upon hearing her full name and instinctively wondered if she’d made a mistake.

Hearing that Guo Luoluo Qingyao had specifically asked her to bring snacks to the maid quarters, Auntie Ji Ya’s tight expression did not soften.

She gave Li Shuyao a deep, piercing look with her dark eyes, then waved her hand coldly, ordering the maids, “Finish eating quickly and disperse. If you delay tomorrow’s duty, watch out for your heads!”

The maids all responded obediently, tiptoeing to the table, picking up a piece of snack, chewing hastily—probably not even tasting it—and nervously excusing themselves.

---

Li Shuyao felt a pang of regret.

Her gaze lingered on the food box with disappointment, then she bowed politely to Auntie Ji Ya and took Yue Shu’s hand, quickly leaving the kitchen.

---

After apologizing to Guo Luoluo Qingyao and unburdening her heart, Li Shuyao slept soundly that night.

She awoke at dawn the next day. Early spring sunlight poured into the courtyard, brightening the already cramped room.

Perhaps concerned about Li Shuyao’s facial injury, or wary of something else, Auntie Ji Ya did not rush to assign her a duty. Thus, Li Shuyao idly spent two days resting, feeling a bit guilty, until she finally approached Auntie Ji Ya to request work.

Yes, work.

During these idle days, Li Shuyao had already planned to stay in the Qianqing Palace, work hard, and save her monthly “salary.” When the grand palace reshuffle came at the end of August, she intended to bribe the palace’s HR—Auntie Wu, responsible for personnel transfers—to move her to a more relaxed post where she could continue to live idly... or rather, wait to be transported back to the modern world!

Hearing her request, Auntie Ji Ya lazily lifted her eyelids, glanced at her, then pondered for a moment. She took out a ledger, made a few marks, and finally said to Li Shuyao, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll work here.”

Li Shuyao boldly leaned over to peek. On the page, two large characters were scrawled sinuously: “Storage Room.”

She was shocked, her moist, bright eyes full of disbelief. She looked at Auntie Ji Ya, hoping for a clear explanation.

Unexpectedly, Auntie Ji Ya coldly closed the book and said in a deep voice, “What are you standing there for? Get out!”

“Yes!” Li Shuyao responded reflexively, then awkwardly left Auntie Ji Ya’s room.

Even after returning to her own room, Li Shuyao was mired in shock and confusion.

Auntie Ji Ya assigned her to the storage room again—was she trying the same trick?

She hoped not.

Li Shuyao was torn and puzzled.

Yet she had to comply; Auntie Ji Ya was her direct superior.

Though still a naive college student without internship experience or the harshness of society, Li Shuyao knew the adage: under the roof, one must bow.

So, the next day, she braved her nerves and reported to the storage room.

The supervisor in the storage room was a lady surnamed Rong. Though kind and often smiling, Li Shuyao couldn’t warm to her because of that name.

Still, not being afraid was something.

She stayed in the storage room, trembling with apprehension, for two days.

Just as she felt utterly exhausted, Auntie Ji Ya, wearing a troubled expression, delivered news that shocked her for the entire year—

She was being transferred to serve as a tea maid in the Qianqing Palace tea room!