Your Majesty is Poisonous – Chapter 98
by Little PandaThe Empress Dowager Refuses
After the palace maid locked Yao Xi’s ankles, she set out the dishes and said with a warm smile, “Eunuch Yao, please eat your dinner and rest early. If we set off early tomorrow, we will arrive by nightfall.”
Yao Xi glanced again at the keys hanging from the maid’s waist, asking with a touch of disappointment, “Are the two jiejie1 not staying in this room?” If they did not sleep here, she would have no chance to steal the keys and escape.
Yao Xi had spent the entire journey planning her escape. She had been kidnapped from the palace at noon, and by the time they settled into the inn at nightfall, they had been traveling for about half a day. The carriage had not been too bumpy, meaning they probably had not traveled very fast and were still relatively close to the capital. If she could unlock her ankles, steal a horse under the cover of night, and flee back toward the imperial palace, she could make it to the palace gates by tomorrow morning at the latest.
It was fortunate that her destination was the imperial palace; any commoner in the capital region knew which direction it lay.
Once she reached the palace walls, the rest would be simple. Every morning, the Bureau of Imperial Gardens sent people out to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Since she knew the hour the palace gates opened, she only had to wait outside for the Bureau’s staff and have them bring her back inside the palace.
After all, she had served in the Bureau of Imperial Gardens for over a year before gaining favor by the Empress Dowager’s side. Without exaggeration, she was a living legend within the Bureau—an exemplar for everyone, an irreplaceable success story, and a once-in-a-century miracle of the human world. She could not speak for other departments, but within the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, absolutely everyone recognized her.
“Does Eunuch Yao not know that propriety must be maintained between men and women?” The maid’s expression turned slightly displeased. She found Yao Xi’s question rather improper. How could two young women share a room with a eunuch? Especially since this eunuch was the Empress Dowager’s favored attendant. “We are staying in the adjacent room.”
Yao Xi quickly feigned terror. “I meant no offense to the two jiejie. I only thought that with travelers from all walks of life passing through this inn, what if some ruthless bandits break in tonight to rob and murder us? I’m locked up and unable to run. If bandits really come, wouldn’t I be left with no choice but to wait for death?”
Seeing the maid’s resolve soften slightly, Yao Xi tugged gently on her sleeve with a pitiful expression, pleading coaxingly, “Please, jiejie. You know what kind of person I am. I would never dream of doing anything improper to either of you…” She blinked pathetically, her face a picture of pure, harmless innocence.
The maid indeed did not have a bad impression of Yao Xi. Though other eunuchs also called her jiejie, Yao Xi’s address felt clean and refreshing, whereas other eunuchs always carried an air of greasy vulgarity. Besides, this youth was exceptionally respectful. Even though he had won the favor of both the Empress Dowager and Her Highness the Princess, he carried himself without a shred of arrogance, remaining unfailingly polite and gentle to everyone.
“If Eunuch Yao is truly so afraid, the two of us can lay out some bedding on the floor and make do here for the night,” the maid said, her heart softening.
Her Highness the Princess had instructed them not to let Yao Xi escape, but she also ordered them not to let him suffer, emphasizing that he must be delivered safely to her fiefdom. It was hard to say what kind of people they might encounter on the road. The Princess had chosen the two of them to escort Yao Xi precisely because they knew a bit of martial arts, making ordinary thugs or highway robbers nothing to fear.
The inn housed a chaotic mix of characters, and the fine fabric of Yao Xi’s everyday clothes made him look like a wealthy young master of noble descent. Perhaps there really were desperate scoundrels who valued money over their lives who might secretly target him. If Yao Xi were left locked in this room alone and something terrible happened, it would be a disaster.
“Thank you, jiejie. But really, you two should sleep on the bed, and I will sleep on the floor!” Yao Xi offered sweetly.
“It is only for one night; it is no trouble at all. Eat your meal quickly, Eunuch Yao, before it gets cold.” After saying this, the maid went to the adjacent room and said to her companion who had already settled in, “Yao Xi says he is afraid of staying alone. Let us bring our bedding over and make do in his room for the night.”
“He is far too cowardly!”
The two giggled for a moment before heading into Yao Xi’s room. Having hurried through her dinner, Yao Xi was already lying on the bed fully clothed, her eyes shut tightly. The two maids closed the door softly, laid out their bedding on the floor, and lay down to sleep in their clothes as well.
Puff—
Yao Xi, eyes closed, heard the sound of someone blowing out the lamp. Darkness instantly enveloped her. She was not actually asleep; she was waiting for a chance to steal the keys. The Empress Dowager had surely noticed her absence by now. She had to return to the palace as quickly as possible to explain everything before Her Imperial Majesty grew entirely despondent and gave up on her.
She wondered what the Empress Dowager was doing at this very moment. Was she frantically searching every corner of the imperial palace for her? Or did she assume Yao Xi had run away, and in her fury, ordered Concubine Kang to send the beautiful young man from the 《Zither-Playing Portrait》 to the imperial villa to await her pleasure?
Knowing the Empress Dowager’s temperament, the latter scenario seemed far more likely.
The more Yao Xi thought about it, the more anxious she grew. She had to return immediately; she could not afford to give the Empress Dowager any opportunity to transfer her affections elsewhere. She opened her eyes slightly, and once they adjusted to the dark, she turned her head to look at the floor. The two jiejie were sleeping soundly face-to-face, one of them even snoring softly.
Yao Xi did not move immediately. She forced herself to be patient, waiting for them to fall into a deeper, heavier sleep. There could be no mistakes in this escape attempt. If she failed, what awaited her would not be a slender iron chain, but being bound hand and foot.
After waiting a long while more, estimating that both were deeply asleep, Yao Xi lifted the iron chain with her hand and silently slipped off the bed.
Without a single spark of light, the room was pitch-black. Yao Xi could not see where the keys were at all. Fearing to light a candle, she could only hold the chain in one hand to prevent it from clinking while her other hand reached slowly toward the waist of the maid who carried the keys.
She gently felt along the maid’s lower abdomen toward either side. Suddenly, her fingertips brushed against cold metal. Yao Xi took an excited, silent breath—she had found the keys. However, the key ring seemed to be hooked onto the waistband. She would have to untie the waistband to slip the keys off…
No matter how she thought about it, this scene was incredibly sleazy.
A eunuch untying a palace maid’s waistband while she slept? If she were caught, she would surely be beaten to death as a pervert. Still, she moved with utmost care, crouching on the ground and using her nimble fingers to loosen the belt.
Suddenly! Yao Xi felt her hand grabbed in a tight grip.
“Eunuch Yao!” The maid in charge of the keys snapped her eyes open, swiftly pinning Yao Xi’s misbehaving hand. “I never expected you to be this sort of person! To think our Eldest Princess held you in such high regard—fearing that you would be harmed by the Empress Dowager, she even risked sending you out of the palace!”
Longyi had never mentioned Yao Xi’s true identity to her attendants. She had only claimed that serving by the Empress Dowager’s side would eventually get Yao Xi killed. To save the youth’s life—and to spite the Empress Dowager—she had secretly sent him out of the palace.
The grievances between the Eldest Princess and the Empress Dowager were known to all. Naturally, the maids had no suspicions, fully believing that Her Highness had kidnapped Yao Xi purely to spite the Empress Dowager in retribution for the humiliation the Late Empress had suffered years ago.
Yao Xi panicked. “Jiejie, please listen to my explanation…” She was not a pervert! She really was not!
The other maid woke up as well. Seeing the situation, she quickly lit the lamp.
The two of them stared at Yao Xi with matching expressions of deep contempt.
Yao Xi’s mind spun at lightning speed. Making a miserable face, she whined, “This slave did not mean to offend jiejie. It is just that I can no longer hold my bladder. Knowing you both were here, I felt it would be improper to use the chamber pot in the room. I only wanted to take the keys, unlock the chain, and head down to the latrine…” Since a lie required superb acting to be convincing, she clutched her stomach with an expression of agony.
The maid frowned. “If you only had to relieve yourself, why not just wake us? Why did you have to sneak around?”
“I was trying to be considerate of the two jiejie. You spent half the day driving the carriage and must be exhausted, and tomorrow will be another long, grueling day. I did not want to disturb your rest over such a trivial matter.” Yao Xi worked very hard to spin her lies with the utmost sincerity.
“Could it be that Eunuch Yao is harboring thoughts of escape?” the maid asked suspiciously.
Yao Xi waved her hands frantically. “I know Her Highness the Princess did this out of goodwill. How could I be so ungrateful? It is truly an emergency! Oh, heavens, I really can’t hold it anymore!” She squeezed her thighs together in an exaggerated display of distress.
The two maids panicked as well. “In that case, we will return to the adjacent room. Eunuch Yao, please use the chamber pot in here!”
“It’s number two! I must go to the latrine!” Holding her breath, Yao Xi forced her face to turn purplish-red, her expression contorted in pain. “Hurry and unlock me! Otherwise, a major disaster is going to happen right here!”
Fearing that she might actually lose control, the maid hurriedly unlocked the chain and warned, “It is dangerous at night. Go and come back quickly, Eunuch Yao.”
The moment the lock clicked open, Yao Xi shot out of the room like an arrow released from a bow, sprinting downstairs.
The maid who had lit the lamp said uneasily, “Should we not follow him and check? What if he runs away?”
The maid with the keys fastened her belt and replied, “Do not worry. He is a spineless coward. Where would he dare go in the dead of night?”
Yao Xi finally let out a breath when she saw the maids had not followed. She ran downstairs, crossed the inn lobby, and was about to push open the main door when a voice suddenly halted her.
“Where might our honored guest be headed?”
Yao Xi spun around to find the waiter behind the counter, yawning widely.
“I have an urgent matter and must travel through the night. I shall take my leave now,” Yao Xi explained, trying to sound calm and collected as she reached for the door bolt.
The night-watch waiter emerged from behind the counter, cradling an abacus as he strolled over to her with a smile. “It seems you truly have an emergency, honored guest. But no matter how urgent, the bill must still be settled, yes?”
The waiter began flicking the beads of his abacus, reciting as he calculated, “You are the young master staying with the two madams in the third and fourth rooms on the left of the second floor, correct? Both are Heaven-grade rooms, priced at eight mace2 per night. While meals are included in our lodging, the top-grade tea and pastries ordered by the two madams must be billed separately, as well as the fragrant bathwater they requested… Plus the feed for your horses. The total comes to three taels3 and six mace of silver.”
Smiling obsequiously, the waiter offered the abacus showing the final sum to Yao Xi with both hands.
“Ahem! The two madams have not left yet; they will settle the silver with you. This young master is pressed for time and cannot delay any longer.” Yao Xi stiffened her expression and made to walk out.
But the waiter stepped directly in front of the door, still wearing a placating smile. “Young Master may not be aware, but our humble establishment has a rule: guests are not permitted to leave until the bill is settled in full.”
The door was mere inches away. As long as she crossed this threshold, she could return to the Empress Dowager’s side. Yet who could have anticipated that at this critical juncture, her way would be barred by a mere three taels and six mace of silver? She had absolutely nothing on her person except the booklet given to her by Gugu Yuanqian. She used to have the excellent habit of sewing silver notes into her clothes, but since becoming entirely broke, she had abandoned that practice.
“Will you be settling the bill now, or…” the waiter inquired with a lingering smile. In his heart, he was already growing suspicious of this handsome, well-dressed gentleman: Could this fine-looking lad be a penniless fraud trying to skip out on his tab?
Yao Xi calculated her odds of fighting her way out by force. Realizing she stood no chance, she resignedly turned and headed back upstairs.
Wan Bi had not fallen asleep until very late, and after a brief, restless slumber, she woke again before dawn.
Yuanqian had kept watch outside the hall all night. Seeing that the Empress Dowager’s mood was worse than ever before, she had not dared to leave her side. After issuing the orders for the reconstruction of Ning’an Palace, she had moved her quarters here. Hearing movement inside the bedchamber, Yuanqian spoke softly through the door panels, “Your Highness, it is still dark outside. Would you like to rest a while longer? Or should this slave-girl call the servants to assist with your toilette now?”
“No more sleeping,” Wan Bi replied in a low voice. Having just emerged from the warm pavilion4, she seated herself before the dressing mirror.
She had a busy day ahead. For Yao Xi, she must see her alive, or see her corpse. If the girl were still alive and well, she would simply bring her back. But if something had happened to her… Wan Bi’s heart was stabbed ruthlessly once again.
Then she would avenge Yao Xi!
The face in the mirror was terribly haggard. Her eyes were so swollen she could barely open them, dried tear tracks stained her cheeks, and her hair was clumped together from her tears. She looked an absolute, disheveled mess. She could not face her in this ghastly state. Yao Xi could return at any moment; if that wench saw her like this, she might look down on her.
She had to look her best while waiting for Yao Xi to return.
Wan Bi pulled a handkerchief from her robes and wiped away the tear stains. Yuanqian had already entered, leading several palace maids, and took her position behind the Empress Dowager. “This slave-girl shall assist Your Highness with your toilette.”
“Prepare a bath. This bereaved one wishes to bathe and change clothes,” Wan Bi commanded, forcing herself to rally her spirits.
After bathing and dressing in fresh robes, Wan Bi proceeded to the Main Hall. Yuanqian, aching with concern, urged her, “Your Highness, please have the morning meal served. You only ate once yesterday.”
“How is the palace-wide search progressing?” Wan Bi asked, seating herself in her grand armchair, her cold gaze fixed on the pitch-black entrance of the Main Hall. She had absolutely no appetite. With Yao Xi’s whereabouts still unknown, she could not swallow a single bite.
“There is still no sign of Yao Xi,” Yuanqian reported.
“Then investigate who left the palace yesterday! Do the palace gates not keep records? Bring those registries to this bereaved one!” Wan Bi commanded in a fit of rage. She was beside herself with worry, terrified that harm had come to Yao Xi. Yet it seemed she was the only one in a panic, while everyone else in the palace moved only when prodded.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Yuanqian quickly complied.
“Now that you know, why aren’t you going?” Wan Bi snapped, glaring at her.
Not daring to delay, Yuanqian immediately took two maids carrying lanterns to the palace gates to request the registries of all incoming and outgoing personnel from the night guards.
Not long after Yuanqian left, Fu’er, whom Wan Bi had assigned to watch Jieyu Lan, arrived.
“Your Highness, Jieyu Lan went to Princess Longyi’s palace in the dead of night. This slave-girl followed her in secret, and seeing that the lights were still burning in your palace, I came directly to report.”
“Longyi?” Wan Bi’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the armrest of her chair. She had not suspected that this matter would have anything to do with Longyi.
“Go back to Qianqing Palace,” Wan Bi instructed Fu’er. Rising to her feet, she strode out of the hall and addressed the palace maids stationed at the entrance. “This bereaved one is heading to Princess Longyi’s. If there is any news of Yao Xi, report to me immediately.”
Footnotes
- Jiějie (姐姐), literally 'elder sister,' is a respectful or affectionate form of address for young women of similar age.
- Qián (钱), or mace, is a traditional Chinese unit of weight and currency. Ten mace equal one tael of silver.
- Liǎng (两), or tael, is a traditional Chinese unit of weight for silver currency, roughly equivalent to 37.5 grams.
- Nuǎngé (暖阁), or warm pavilion, is a heated side room or alcove common in traditional northern Chinese architecture.
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