Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 10: Suppression

   “Go on then.” Wei Yingluo raised her hand and pointed at the door. “I’ll wait right here for you. Hurry up and go.”

The door stood wide open; the night wind whistled in from outside. The group of palace maids who had just been shouting about reporting her now had feet glued to the floor as if coated with fish glue—they couldn’t move an inch.

“You really think we don’t dare?” Jinxiu said to the maids on either side of her. “Let’s go!”

But this time, no one echoed her.

Though everyone was jealous of Wei Yingluo, what they felt even more strongly was fear and wariness.

After all, just a few hours earlier, one palace maid had been expelled because of her. Before the sun had even set, the girl had left the palace clutching a blue cloth bundle, sobbing bitterly, never to set foot inside the palace gates again for the rest of her life.

Who would willingly follow in her footsteps?

Wei Yingluo’s gaze slowly swept across each of their faces. In her heart she sneered: Just a bunch of fence-sitters—whichever way the wind blows strongest, that’s the side they lean toward. When Jinxiu seemed powerful, they leaned toward her; now that they thought she was hard to deal with, they leaned toward Wei Yingluo instead.

Her eyes returned to Jinxiu’s face. Calmly she said:

“You think I’m just showing off? I was only helping Jixiang. You could have helped her too—any one of you could have helped her. But none of you chose to do so. In the end, the one who got praised was me. You only remember that Chief Steward Wu praised me—why don’t you reflect on why you yourselves did absolutely nothing?”

“Helping someone cheat and you still think you’re in the right?” Jinxiu retorted sharply. “Lucky for you I was kind-hearted and didn’t expose you on the spot. What you two were embroidering wasn’t any brocade pheasant and peony picture at all—Jixiang had clearly been stitching a goldfish earlier…”

“Enough!” Wei Yingluo cut her off coldly. “I have no interest in discussing this with you any further. Just remember this, I; Wei Yingluo: respect me one foot, and I’ll return ten feet. Whatever you do to me today, I will repay you a hundredfold later! Fine—go on then. All of you, go! Go to Auntie!”

“You!” Jinxiu was already starting to feel afraid inside, but she still refused to back down verbally. Her voice rose, fierce and shrill: “You really think I don’t dare?”

Yet Wei Yingluo suddenly began to laugh. Still laughing, she walked straight toward Jinxiu.

“You—what are you doing?” Jinxiu was so startled she retreated several steps. When Wei Yingluo hooked her arm, she struggled instinctively. “What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”

“To see Auntie, of course.” Wei Yingluo smiled sweetly, radiant as a flower, and began pulling her toward the door. “If we wait any longer, Auntie might already be asleep.”

Jinxiu stared in shock. She had thought Wei Yingluo was only bluffing—never imagined she would actually dare do it. Unable to stop herself, she asked: “You—you’re really not afraid Auntie will punish you?”

“Afraid? Shouldn’t you be the one who’s afraid?” Wei Yingluo said with a cheerful smile. “Do you still remember how that other palace maid was driven out earlier? ‘The master hates nothing more than foolish people who stir up trouble and gossip’—Chief Steward Wu had only just finished saying that, and you’ve already forgotten?”

Jinxiu shuddered at the words. Once again the desolate image appeared in her mind: that palace maid clutching her blue cloth bundle, tears streaming down her face as she walked away under the slanting rays of the setting sun.

“I—I didn’t stir up any trouble tonight. This whole mess was caused by you—everyone saw it…” Jinxiu said hurriedly.

“And then what?” Wei Yingluo looked at her with pity. “Do you think the managing auntie has so much free time that she’ll slowly sort out right from wrong for you? The few of us live in the same room. If even the slightest incident happens, we’ll all be punished together. We might even all get expelled at once—do you believe that?”

“I… I don’t believe it…” Jinxiu’s voice grew even weaker.

“Don’t believe it? Then let’s go try it right now.” Wei Yingluo, however, only smiled more calmly and composedly. She tugged on Jinxiu’s arm and started walking out the door.

Jinxiu was terrified. Instinctively, she grabbed the bedpost with her other hand and refused to let go. The other palace maids exchanged glances for a moment, then one by one rushed over—some clutching her arms, others wrapping their arms around her waist. One of them hurriedly closed the door. They all began speaking at once, trying to persuade her:

“Yingluo, don’t do this. It’s already so late—disturbing Auntie’s rest? Do you really not want to live anymore?”

“Exactly! It’s just a quilt. Why make such a big fuss and drag it up to the higher-ups?”

“Hey, come to think of it, this whole thing started because of Jinxiu. Jinxiu, just apologize to Yingluo and this will all be over, right?”

Like weeds bending with the wind, they were terrified that if things really escalated as Wei Yingluo had threatened, everyone would suffer together. One after another, the palace maids turned their criticism toward Jinxiu. Under the weight of so many accusing fingers and voices, Jinxiu’s face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, swallowing her resentment, she bowed her head to Wei Yingluo and apologized:

“I know I was wrong, Yingluo. Let go—I won’t mention this matter again.”

“Just an apology and it’s as if nothing happened?” Wei Yingluo smiled. “Do you really think I’m that easy to dismiss?”

Jinxiu felt utterly wronged. Tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes as she shrieked:

“Then what else do you want? You want to slap me a few times? Fine—go ahead…!”

Bang bang bang!

Several heavy knocks on the door interrupted her.

“What’s all this noise in the middle of the night?” Aunt Fang’s voice came through the door. “Open up!”

The palace maids immediately froze in terror. Their eyes all turned toward Wei Yingluo, unconsciously treating her as their leader, hoping she would tell them what to do.

“Coming right away!” Wei Yingluo called out. Then she lowered her voice and said to the others, “What are you waiting for? Hide the water bucket and clean up the water on the floor. I’ll handle the rest.”

At her command, everyone sprang into action. The maids hurriedly shoved the bucket under the bed. Unable to find a mop or cloth in time, two of them simply knelt on the ground and used their handkerchiefs to wipe up the water stains. Once they finished, Wei Yingluo loosened her hair bun a little, adopting the sleepy, disheveled look of someone who had just crawled out of bed. She opened the door and said:

“Auntie, it’s so late—why are you here?”

“With all this racket, I could hear it from ten miles away. How am I supposed to sleep?” Aunt Fang stepped inside and swept her gaze across the faces of the palace maids. “Come on, what’s going on? Why aren’t any of you sleeping at this hour? What were you arguing about?”

“Nothing,” Wei Yingluo said calmly. “I accidentally knocked over the teapot just now and soaked the bedding. Everyone was just helping me figure out what to do.”

“How can you be so careless?” Aunt Fang’s face grimed as she scolded her. “Tomorrow, take it out and dry it in the sun yourself. For tonight, just flip the bedding over and cover yourself with the dry side. And remember—no more noise, or everyone will be punished together. Understood?”

All the palace maids hurriedly replied: “Yes!”

With a loud slam, the door closed again.

Inside the room, the palace maids collectively let out a long sigh of relief. Once the tension drained away, exhaustion set in. Many of them simply climbed straight into their beds.

Jinxiu did the same. Her attempt to make trouble for Wei Yingluo had backfired spectacularly—she had nearly gotten her own face slapped. Instead of reflecting on her own actions, she now harbored a deep grudge against Wei Yingluo because of tonight’s events…

“Someday I’ll make you pay,” she thought bitterly.

Just then, a hand reached over from the side and dragged her quilt off the bed. Startled, she turned and stared at the other person.

“Wei Yingluo, what are you doing with my quilt?”

Wei Yingluo casually tossed the soaking-wet bedding onto her.

Then she repeated exactly what Aunt Fang had said earlier: “Tomorrow, take it out and dry it in the sun yourself. For tonight, just flip the bedding over and cover yourself with the dry side.”

“You wish!” Jinxiu reached out to snatch her quilt back. “Give me my quilt! Wait… where are you going?”

Wei Yingluo didn’t resist at all. The moment Jinxiu grabbed for it, she let go and handed the quilt back. Then she headed straight for the door.

“I’m going to find Auntie.”

The other palace maids immediately objected. They turned furious glares on Jinxiu:

“Have you had enough yet?”

“Do you want to drag us all down with you?”

“Give her the fucking blanket! Give it to her fuck now!”

Jinxiu had no choice. She bit her lip so hard it nearly drew blood, and with extreme reluctance, she handed over the bedding in her hands. “Here, take it!”

“Put it on the bed and spread it out properly,” Wei Yingluo said, standing with her hands behind her back, speaking in a lazy drawl.

You think I’m your servant? Jinxiu was so furious she felt dizzy, her chest heaving for a long moment before she grudgingly climbed down from the kang, tossed the bedding onto Wei Yingluo’s bed, then hurried back to her own spot. She pulled the damp quilt over her head and curled up. The quilt trembled slightly—whether she was secretly crying underneath, no one could tell.

Wei Yingluo slowly returned to the kang as well. A quick sweep of her peripheral vision showed several people hastily averting their eyes.

With Jinxiu as such a vivid example, these people would likely behave themselves for a while. They wouldn’t dare cause her trouble again anytime soon.

“Yingluo,” came a soft whisper after the candles were extinguished. Jixiang pressed close to her side, murmuring into her ear. “You’re so amazing.”

“When you’re too kind, people bully you. When a horse is too gentle, people ride it. Sometimes, if you don’t want to be bullied, you have to be a little ruthless,” Wei Yingluo replied lazily.

Jixiang nodded half-understandingly, unclear whether she had truly taken the words to heart.

Not long after, gentle snores reached her ears. Wei Yingluo glanced over and saw the young girl already fast asleep. With a helpless smile, she gently tugged the quilt back up over her shoulders. Such a child—even in sleep she couldn’t stay still; the blanket had slipped down to her waist. She’d catch a cold in the night chill if she wasn’t careful.

“I’m really envious of you,” she murmured, lightly touching the other girl’s slightly chubby, baby-fat cheek—as if touching the carefree version of herself from long ago.

The night was deep, yet she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Eventually, giving up, she simply lay there staring at the pitch-black ceiling, thinking to herself:

I’ve finally entered the Embroidery Workshop… but regarding my sister’s matter, where should I even begin?

   The Embroidery Workshop was too far from the Emperor. She couldn’t see him. Only the embroidered pieces she worked on might possibly reach his eyes—but what use was that? She hadn’t come here to offer up her craftsmanship. She had come to seek justice for her sister.

“Don’t rush. Take it slow,” she told herself. “First, I need to gather information… There are two kinds of people who know the most: those who have been in the palace a long time, and those with high status. I need to find ways to get close to both types…”

The ones who had been here longest: Aunt Fang.

And the ones with high status…

An image floated into Wei Yingluo’s mind—a wrist wrapped in emerald prayer beads.

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