Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 129: The Thief

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

   Without the gardenias, hearts drifted away as well. The mood in Yanxi Palace grew increasingly demoralized; hardly anyone was willing to work properly anymore. Everyone was quietly looking for a new path forward.

A crescent moon hung like a hook above Yanxi Palace. Moonlight fell like snow, illuminating a furtive figure.

The shadow slipped out from the side hall, clutching a blue cloth bundle to his chest. Moving with practiced ease, he headed toward the palace exit—only to discover that tonight was not like the previous nights. Someone had been lying in wait, patient as a hunter by the stump, for quite some time.

“Stop right there!” Ming Yu stepped out from behind a pillar, flanked by two sturdy palace women. “What are you hiding in your arms?”

Thud!

Inside the bedchamber, the little eunuch was shoved to the floor in front of Wei Yingluo. His face was ashen; he kowtowed frantically like pounding garlic.

“Your Ladyship Concubine Ling! This slave knows he was wrong! Beat me, scold me, punish me however you wish—only please, Your Ladyship, do not send this slave to the Bureau of Careful Punishment! This slave will surely die there!”

Ming Yu spat in disgust.

“You ingrate who eats what’s inside and claws outside! Now that outsiders are bullying Yanxi Palace, you dare to do the same? Your Ladyship—send him to the Bureau of Careful Punishment!”

A blue cloth bundle was spread out on the table, containing the items he had stolen that night: an incense burner, a paperweight, a pair of bracelets, and a silk handkerchief. Wei Yingluo raised an eyebrow, bypassing the other valuable objects and picking up only the handkerchief to examine it. The soft, water-like silk bore an embroidered gardenia flower—vivid and lifelike, with six petals in a pale yellow hue.

“…Xiaoquanzi.” She turned her gaze back to the little eunuch and called his name calmly. “You stole my things. Exactly where were you planning to sell them?”

“This…”

“Speak! Otherwise, I’ll send you straight to the Bureau of Careful Punishment at once!”

“Yes, yes!” Xiaoquanzi was no tough bone to crack; the moment she threatened him, he immediately softened. “It’s common for eunuchs in the palace to steal and sell goods. Even in the Qianqing Palace and Yangxin Hall, few don’t smuggle something out! As long as the masters don’t find out, there are always channels to get things out of the palace. They find acquaintances at Liulichang to sell them off… and the money comes quickly!”

“You can sell them, but can you also buy them back?” Wei Yingluo asked him an odd question.

“Of course. Concubine Ling, what do you wish this humble one to buy back?” Xiaoquanzi said hurriedly.

Wei Yingluo gave a strange smile. “No need for now. Let me think first… about how exactly I should punish you…”

In the folk world, petty thieves are called rat-like scum, and there is reason for it—at least Xiaoquanzi’s courage was about the size of a mouse’s. The moment he heard Wei Yingluo was going to punish him, he immediately threw away all face and dignity, weeping and wailing, “Mistress! Mistress, please spare this lowly dog’s life! From now on, this slave is willing to climb mountains of blades and plunge into seas of fire for you—never a word of complaint!”

He swore and vowed for a long while until Wei Yingluo finally spoke slowly: “I can spare you, but you must remember every word you just said and never forget it.”

Seeing a chance to live, Xiaoquanzi no longer cared about anything else. Overjoyed, he cried, “Thank you, Mistress! Thank you, Mistress!”

Ming Yu, watching with disappointment and frustration, grumbled the moment he left: “Why did Niangniang let him go and handle it so lightly? How are we supposed to manage the servants below in the future?”

“I’m keeping him because he’s still useful.” Wei Yingluo toyed with the brocade handkerchief in her hand.

“What use can a little scoundrel like that be? Unless you think he can somehow make His Majesty change his mind?” Ming Yu said bitterly. Lately, this was all she could think about; worry had already turned several strands of her hair white.

“Who knows—he might actually help with this matter.” Wei Yingluo gave another eerie smile.

Xiaoquanzi had no idea Wei Yingluo was still thinking about him. He only felt he had reacted quickly and escaped disaster by luck.

For safety’s sake, he didn’t dare make any reckless moves that night. He obediently returned to his room to sleep, but he didn’t close his eyes once. After waiting several days and seeing no sign of trouble, he finally slipped into Chuxiu Palace and found Concubine Xiaojia’s maid, Lan’er.

“What took you so long?” Lan’er scolded him the moment she saw him. “Why are you only coming now?”

Xiaoquanzi didn’t dare admit he had already been caught. He dodged the question vaguely: “There have been a lot of thefts in the palace lately; everyone’s on high alert. But rest assured, sister—the item you wanted, I’ve already gotten it…”

As he spoke, he pulled a hairpin from his sleeve. It looked ordinary at first glance, yet it shared the same distinctive feature as the earlier handkerchief: at the head of the pin was a vivid, lifelike gardenia flower.

Lan’er’s eyes lit up. Just as she reached out to take it, he tucked the hairpin back into his bosom and looked at her with a cheeky grin.

“Hmph!” Understanding immediately, Lan’er scoffed with a sneer, opened the pouch at her waist, and took out a small gold ingot.

Like a dog seeing a meat bone, Xiaoquanzi’s gaze locked onto it and refused to move. When Lan’er reached out again, he swiftly handed over the hairpin in exchange for the gold ingot. Without minding the dirt, he popped it straight into his mouth to bite and test it, then hugged it tightly and giggled foolishly.

Lan’er couldn’t stand his pathetic dog-like behavior. She put the hairpin away and dismissively waved him off: “You can go now. Be careful when you leave—don’t let anyone see you…”

“Yes, yes.” Having gotten the money, Xiaoquanzi replied casually, “I’ll definitely be careful. I won’t let Concubine Ling see me.”

“It’s not just Concubine Ling you need to watch out for—there’s also the Empress, Noble Consort Chun…” Lan’er listed the mistresses of each palace one by one, her voice low and grave. “In this palace, enemies are everywhere…”

If one compared Hongli to a piece of strategic territory, then each consort in the rear palace was a valiant general fighting to seize that vital ground—using every trick, every scheme, and even the servants around them were secretly contending in the shadows.

“Ming Yu, you were looking for me?”

At the Imperial Guard Station, Hailancha hurried out.

Ming Yu stood prettily at the doorway, her face lightly powdered, her pair of willow-leaf brows drawn long and fine. The sight made Hailancha’s heart itch. If there hadn’t been other people still inside the guard station, he would have reached out to trace her brows with his fingertip.

Her face was like a lotus, her brows like willow leaves. Ming Yu gave him a sweet smile and handed over a redwood food box, speaking softly and gently: “Thank you for delivering the reward. I came to thank you properly.”

“I didn’t really help much…” Hailancha smiled as he accepted it. He lifted the lid and saw that on top lay a bowl of Dongpo pork—rich but not greasy, glossy red-brown—and beneath it a layer of preserved vegetables mixed with a few soybeans.

This was exactly the way he had once casually mentioned to her as his favorite preparation.

Hailancha had always been straightforward. He simply picked up a piece with his fingers, popped it into his mouth, then licked the sauce from his fingertips. “Delicious. Which chef made this?”

“I made it myself,” Ming Yu said, lowering her head. “Do you… like it?”

His licking paused. Hailancha laughed. “…I like it very much.”

The glossy red Dongpo pork was enticing, but her cheeks were even more so. For a moment Hailancha forgot everything else and simply stared at her, until her face grew redder than the pork. Embarrassed, she glanced left and right, then suddenly looked in one direction and asked: “What are they doing over there?”

Not far away, a group of guards were busily at work—some carrying flower vases, others transporting bolts of silk. One of them was even cradling a tall wine-shop banner in his arms.

Hailancha followed her gaze and answered casually: “Oh, it’s an order from Noble Consort Chun.”

Ming Yu blinked. “What does she want to do?”

The matter was supposed to be kept secret, but seeing the curiosity in her eyes, Hailancha couldn’t help but smile. “Fine, you’re not an outsider anyway. I’ll tell you…”

He leaned close to Ming Yu’s ear. It was less about answering her question and more about finding an excuse to get near her. His warm breath poured into her ear; her eyelashes trembled slightly, her cheeks grew even redder. Halfway through his explanation she pushed him away and said: “I—I still have things to do. I’m going back first.”

Behind her, Hailancha chuckled mischievously, and the sound made her steps quicken even more.

By the time she returned to Yanxi Palace, she patted her own cheeks to calm herself down, then knocked and entered. Facing Wei Yingluo, she said: “Your Ladyship, I just received some information…”

She relayed everything she had learned from Hailancha. Wei Yingluo listened quietly, then nodded. “I understand… Ming Yu.”

She turned fully toward her and looked at Ming Yu with utmost seriousness: “You don’t need to do things like this.”

Ming Yu was stunned.

“Affection is something that only diminishes the more you use it,” Wei Yingluo said. Though they were the same age, her many experiences gave her the tone of someone who had already lived through it all. “Hailancha is a good man. I don’t want you to exhaust the affection between the two of you because of me.”

“I don’t care!” Ming Yu said stubbornly.

“But I do care!” Wei Yingluo replied swiftly.

She rose from the dressing table and walked step by step toward Ming Yu. The difference in status, the distinction between mistress and servant, seemed to shrink with every step she took.

Just like back in Changchun Palace, they stood face to face once more, hands tightly clasped.

“In this palace, too many people end up miserable because what they seek they cannot obtain,” Wei Yingluo said, gazing at her with tenderness as she gently stroked her cheek. “At least one of us should find happiness, don’t you think?”

Ming Yu lowered her eyes for a moment, then suddenly looked up. “The one who finds happiness… why can’t it be you?”

Wei Yingluo’s eyes—

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