The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 20: Confession

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》Yanxi Gonglue

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 20: Confession

   “Sister Zhilan.”

   Zhilan looked back to see a woman with a flirtatious demeanor coming towards her. Such a good-looking figure would easily be favored in a youth house or in the harem of a wealthy merchant but in the palace, on a slave girl, it would look less dignified and would be repulsive if she wasn't careful.

   “You are?” Zhilan scanned her lightly.

   “I am the court maid of the Embroidery Workshop, Jinxiu.” Jinxiu hastened to announce herself, holding up a tray with a neatly folded green garment in both hands and said, “Zhang Momo has sent me to deliver the freshly made spring dress.”

   “Oh.” Zhilan nodded and said, “Put it down.”

   Jinxiu was reluctant to leave, she put down her tray very slowly and said ingratiatingly: “It's the same palace dress but it looks different on your sister.

   Zhilan smiled. Although all of them wore the same dress, they were all different. The embroidery on her cuffs and collar was not done by her but by the court maids at the Embroidery Workshop.

   What's the name again, it seems to be called ... Yingluo?”

   “... She is more skillful than our best embroiderer, Yingluo.” But then Jinxiu smiled and said, “Speaking of Yingluo, not only is her embroidery skillful, she is also very clever. If it wasn't for her last time, we wouldn't have known that there were so many things to know about loquat paste!”

   Zhilan had gotten tired of her and was about to wave her off when she snapped her head around and said, “What did you say?? Loquat paste?”

   “Yeah.” Jinxiu said with an innocent face, “Yingluo mentioned last time at the Yonghe Palace that she had once mistakenly eaten the new leaves of the pipa when she was young and we realized that the new leaves were poisonous and could not be used as medicine, so what happened?”

   With a heavy slap of her right hand on the table, Zhilan gritted her teeth and said, “Yeah, so it's her!”

   “Sister Zhilan, I ... Did I say something wrong?” Jinxiu hung her head in a pretentious manner, her voice timid but she sneered in her heart.

   Wei Yingluo, that little bitch, acts like she's so noble and forbids her to seduce Fucha Fuheng but turns around and hooks up with Royal Guard herself.

   It's a pity that she informed Fang Gu too late to catch the adulterer but it doesn't matter, she has something else in her hands and by the hand of Noble Consort Hui, she can always take the eyesore away from her.

   “Lead the way.” Zhilan got up and said, “Take me to the one called Wei Yingluo.”

   “Yes, Sister Zhilan.” Jinxiu busied herself with returning.

   The two arrived at the Embroidery Workshop one after the other and when they arrived, a crowd was surrounding Wei Yingluo, either in awe or enthralled.

   “This colorful haze is so beautifully embroidered, I'll embroider one later.”

   “Heh, don't make a dog out of a tiger.”

   “I used to embroider colored haze but it came out like a puffy cloud, Yingluo, how did you do it?”

   “This is a full embroidery technique, the embroidery comes out with gradations of colors and layers, although it looks beautiful, it is ten years of work under the table, you can't embroider the same thing without ten years of work.”

   A pair of embroidered shoes paced up behind Wei Yingluo and a laugh sounded as she said, “Surely the embroidery is good.”

   Wei Yingluo stopped the needle in her hand and looked back at the visitor, then hurriedly got up and saluted her, saying, “Sister Zhilan.”

   Even Zhang Momo, the oldest person present, stood up, not daring to sit in front of Zhilan and asked in a very polite voice: “Zhilan, what brings you here? You are here! Did you not like the spring clothes that were sent to you? You don't need to come here yourself, just send a palace maid over and I'll go to the Chuxiu Palace immediately.

   “Originally, I was still satisfied but when I saw this picture of clouds and haze, I was no longer satisfied.” Zhilan smiled and, turning her gaze to Wei Yingluo, said, “This little maid is a very good embroiderer, let her come with me.”

   A number of court ladies cast envious glances at Wei Yingluo, except for Wei Yingluo and Zhang Momo, whose hearts stuttered.

   Zhuzi, if you really want to order something, just say the word, what is it that you have to go there to make clear? I am afraid that this trip will be a disaster rather than a blessing.

   Zhang Momo had the heart to protect Wei Yingluo and said with a smile: “Zhilan, this is not good, this girl is working with me, she is not yet a master, why don't you let me do the embroidery for you!”

   She is at least the Momo in charge of the Embroidery Workshop and to offer to embroider clothes for a palace maid is already a humble offer to please her. Zhilan just shouted: “Don't play games with me here, whoever I order is who I want to be, I don't want you to pick and choose and change! Wei Yingluo, come with me!”

   The moment she said that, everyone heard the malice in her words and everyone looked at Wei Yingluo with either pity or gloating.

   “... Yes.” The matter has come to a head, Wei Yingluo has no choice but to accept it.

   By the time she and Zhilan left, the Embroidery Workshop was in an uproar and even Zhang Momo's incessant scolding could not stop the secret whispering of the little court maids.

   “What's going on, did Wei Yingluo offend Zhilan's sister?”

   “I've never even met you a few times, so how can I be offended?”

   “May ... But Zhilan's sister looks like she's raising an eyebrow.”

   Of course, it's the hiring of a teacher.

   The Chuxiu Palace:

   Inside the side hall, Wei Yingluo kneels on the cold floor.

   She had been on her knees for a long time, the coolness burrowing through her knees and all the way to the marrow of her bones and the house was silent, with only the occasional sound of a few spoons stirring over the soup.

   Noble Consort Hui sits in a chair with a bowl of lotus root flour balls on the rosewood coffee table next to her.

   The soup is snow-white, the pills are each as black as mud pinches, black and white reflect each other, the blacker they look, the whiter they look, like a landscape painting, only it has been so long that it has cooled without a trace of heat.

   Feeling that enough had been done, Noble Consort Hui stopped the spoon in her hand and asked slowly and deliberately, “Are you Wei Yingluo?”

   “Yeeees!! Her Highness!” A yell that startled the spoon in her hand and nearly dropped it to the floor.

   In all her years as Noble Consort, Noble Consort Hui had never seen anyone who dared to shout in front of her like that and raised her hand to rub her chest ... In fact, she wanted to stroke her ears, which were still ringing and say: “What are you doing so loud?”

   Wei Yingluo looked up with a smile, she had knelt down as soon as she entered earlier and Noble Consort Hui hadn't been able to see her but now when she did, saliva was still hanging from the corner of her mouth, as if she had taken the opportunity to sleep while she was on her knees.

   “Sorry, Her Highness Noble Consort.” Raising a hand to wipe the saliva from the corner of her mouth, Wei Yingluo giggled, “'I've always had a loud voice, Momo and I've fought it so many times but I can't change it!”

   In the palace, standing or standing, there must be a rule, especially for those serving Noble Lady, that is, even the sleeping position must be a rule and a silly girl like her, who can fall asleep on her knees, must receive ten times more strokes than the others.

   Noble Consort Hui looked at her suspiciously and said, “Were you the one who said that the new loquat leaves were poisonous?”

   “Yes, it's poisonous, you can't eat it!” Wei Yingluo nodded her head and said, “'Her Highness, why do you ask? Ah, do you want to eat loquat paste too? Don't eat the kernels and don't touch the new leaves by mistake, they are poisonous! When I was a kid, I ate too much of it and I almost died from vomiting and diarrhea! Last time, Her Highness from the Yonghe Palace wanted to eat it too but I stopped her! That was close! Oh yeah, there's more...”

   She cracked up and looked like she was going to go on and on but she was so loud that she was like a couple of dozen ducks, making Noble Consort Hui's temples throb.

   “Stop, stop, stop!” Noble Consort Hui had to stop and say, “What's all this nonsense, upside down and unintelligible! After being in the palace for so long, don't you even know how to respond to Zhuzi's words?”

   Wei Yingluo nodded, then shook her head sharply, before her eyes wandered, finally settling where they shouldn't--on the bowl of lotus root flour balls beside Noble Consort Hui.

   “Her Highness.” Seeing the way, she kept swallowing, this time even Zhilan couldn't look at her anymore and came up to Noble Consort Hui's ear and whispered, “This girl, she seems a bit silly ...”

   You can see what you can see, can't I? Noble Consort Hui beckoned and said, “Come here.”

   Wei Yingluo let out a cry, not understanding that this meant she should get up and with her knees still on the ground, walked all the way to Noble Consort Hui, almost making Noble Consort Hui laugh with this doggy look.

   “Do you know what this is?” Noble Consort Hui, as if teasing a dog, held the celadon bowl and waved it from side to side twice in front of Wei Yingluo.

   Wei Yingluo's head moved from side to side along with the blue and white porcelain bowl and said stupidly, “Is it a Lantern? But why is it black, I've never seen a black Lantern before!”

   “Poor child, haven't you even eaten the root meal balls?” Noble Consort Hui laughed and said, “Here's your reward, take it and eat it.”

   She gave the bowl to Wei Yingluo but not the spoon.

   “Thanks to Her Highness for the reward!” Wei Yingluo took the bowl she handed her with a joyful look and drank it without a spoon, leaving a few balls stuck to the bottom of the bowl that she couldn't pour down, which she actually picked out with her hands and ate.

   “Is it good?” Noble Consort Hui asks amiably.

   But those who knew her knew how deep malice lurked beneath the amiability.

   “Delicious.” Wei Yingluo returns with a naive smile.

   Never having met the person in front of her and not being able to guess the other's nature, did not prevent Noble Consort Hui from fixing her in her own way, as well as testing her.

   “Eat more if it's good.” Noble Consort Hui said with a wave of her hand, “Zhilan----”

   Next, bowl after bowl was sent into the Chuxiu Palace.

   A blue and white porcelain bowl, a painted lacquer bowl, a fine white porcelain bowl ... Although the bowls are different, the contents are all the same, all large and full of lotus root flour dumplings.

   “Eat.” Noble Consort Hui leans back in her chair, smiles and says to Wei Yingluo, “Eat them all before you go.”

   The bowl on the floor was already half empty but more bowls were being brought in from outside and Wei Yingluo's stomach was already bulging out to the naked eye, yet she was still wolfing it down moment by moment.

   Like a goldfish that never knows what it means to be full and can eat itself alive whenever someone throws food at it.

   “Hiccup, Her Highness Noble Consort, you are so kind, you don't even mind your minion's gluttony!” Wei Yingluo picked up a celadon bowl again and said, “Hiccup, it's delicious, I, I ... I ...”

   Some of the food that had gone in had leaked down along the corners of her lips but she looked oblivious and began to swallow the bowl of soup with a huff and a puff again.

   Where could Noble Lady in the palace see such a disgusting scene, Noble Consort Hui frowned and snorted with some disgust and contempt saying, “And what a fool! I'm tired, tell her to get lost, it's an eyesore!”

   Zhilan also felt disgusted and didn't even bother to pull the Wei Yingluo on the floor with her hands, stretched out her foot and kicked her saying, “Well, stop eating, Her Highness let you go!”

   Wei Yingluo sucked in her soup furiously until Zhilan kicked her again and she turned back pathetically, slurring with something in her mouth, “But the slave hasn't finished eating yet!”

   Her eyes fell on the bowl in her hand and Zhilan, feeling that it was getting dirty with her, frowned and said, “Take the bowl away!”

   “Really?” Wei Yingluo's eyes lit up.

   “Get out!”

   Wei Yingluo hurriedly poured all the remaining lotus root noodle balls into the same bowl, then ran away with the bowl in her arms.

   “This ... What kind of person is this?!” Zhilan couldn't help but cry and laugh when she looked at her and looked like she was afraid that she would turn back and ask her to return the pills and turned around to tell Noble Consort Hui about it, who also couldn't help but show a tearful expression.

   “Next time ask the Internal Affairs Ministry what kind of people they've recruited!” Noble Consort Hui shook her head as if trying to get some disgusting image out of her head and said, “That's just stupid!”

   Zhilan was about to respond to her but suddenly she remembered the picture of the colorful haze she had seen when she stepped into the Embroidery Workshop.

   The colorful haze is all over the sky, not even one in 10,000 people can have such a high level of craftsmanship, is that really something that a fool can embroider?”

   Taking in her hesitation, Noble Consort Hui asked, “What's wrong?”

   After much hesitation, Zhilan finally spoke her mind and said: “Her Highness, do you think ... Could she be playing dumb?”

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS