The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 6: A Life in the Palm of Your Hand

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

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 6: A Life in the Palm of Your Hand

   ... What's happening?

   It came so suddenly that Wuya Qingdai raised her face, her previous joy still frozen on it and was greeted by two young eunuchs, who heaved her to the ground with four arms, before the eldest eunuch himself removed her embroidered shoe from her right foot, showed the sole and held it up to the imperial court.

   Hongli only took one look at it and sneered: “So, the soles of the shoes were carved in the shape of lotus flowers.”

   Noble Consort Hui beckoned and the eunuch held up the soles of her shoes to her and when she looked at them, she laughed and said: “The soles are also filled with fine powder, no wonder they leave a mark.”

   She was still laughing but Hongli's face was no longer smiling and he said in a stern voice: “Someone, fork out!

   Wuya Qingdai, now that she had come to her senses, fell to her knees and crawled to the ground, with tears on her face and said: “His Majesty, His Majesty, I was only trying to win a prize by imitating the step by step, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me, His Majesty forgive me. His Majesty forgiveness! Her Highness Noble Consort, help me! Empress! Empress Help me!”

   Hongli and Noble Consort Hui were both expressionless but the Fucha Empress sighed and said to Hongli: “His Majesty, there is nothing wrong with the Draft woman wanting to take the top spot. If you don't like it, just give her the flowers but if you expel her from the palace like this, how will she be able to face others in the future?

   “Yes, His Majesty!” Wuya Qingdai broke away from the hands of the two eunuchs and fell down in disarray before Hongli, saying, “If I am expelled from the palace pending the election, I will bring shame on my family and how will I live in the future! I beg you, please spare me!

   At these words, she fell to her knees, knocking her forehead loudly, in a gesture almost identical to that of Jixiang, only then she would not let Jixiang go and now Hongli would not let her go.

   “I have already forbidden the Han Army Banner Draft women to wrap (bind) their feet but there are more than one or two of them in this parade!” Hongli said in a cold voice, “Not only is the Han Army Banner doing this but even the Wuya Clan is following such an extravagant and decadent trend. If such a woman enters the palace, she will surely cause trouble. I will not only expel her from the palace but also have her father punished for violating the law as an example to others!”

   “No, no!” Wuya Qingdai tried to argue something else but two masculine arms were already reaching out from behind her, clamping down on her arms in an iron grip and dragging her towards the door.

   “No, His Majesty! No! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!” Wuya Qingdai struggled like a horse and cow about to be sent to the slaughter, crying out with a heartbreaking cry, “That's right, it was that bitch, it was that bitch who did this to me! It wasn't me, the idea of putting scented powder on the soles of my shoes wasn't me ... Woo!”

   Fearing that she would make a fuss and disturb the Holy Majesty, a eunuch beside her reached out a bushel like hand and covered her mouth, five fingers blocking her voice and her last chance.

   “Oooh, Oooh ...”

   The whimpering faded away, leaving two empty strings of lotus marks on the ground, proof that the woman named Wuya Qingdai had been here.

   “Someone, clean up the floor.” Hongli said coldly, “It's uncomfortable to look at.”

   “Yes!” Several palace maids hurriedly came with brooms.

   And so, the last traces of Wuya Qingdai disappeared from inside the palace.

   “Oops, that ... Does it look like Sister Wuya?”

   At the Royal Gardens, a group of the Draft women were waiting for their names to be sung; a few of them had just entered the door before and were given flowers to come out afterwards, while Wuya Qingdai had gone in but had not come out afterwards. Qingdai had already been taken in by His Majesty.

   Unexpectedly, the door opened and a cloaked woman was dragged out by two eunuchs.

   “How can such a crazy bitch be Sister Wuya ...” Someone retorted.

   “But she was clearly wearing Sister Wuya's clothes ...” Someone hit the nail on the head.

   If there was anything different from before, it was perhaps her feet, a pair of tiny feet wrapped in three inches trailing on the ground, their pretty lotus shoes nowhere to be seen. nowhere to be seen.

   “It hurts, it hurts so much ...” The cloaked woman cried, making what was clearly Wuya Qingdai's voice saying, “My foot, my foot ...”

   Without shoes, the flesh suffered and those little snow-white feet without shoes trailed on the ground, leaving no meandering lotus marks but instead two lines of blood worn by the stones, slithering with her like two blood red, twisted snakes.

   “Bitch, you did this to me!” Wuya Qingdai suddenly let out a wretched cry and said, “I will not spare you even as a ghost!”

   The crowd of the Draft women were so stunned by the sight that no one spoke for a long time.

   Especially the timid Lu Wanwan, whose whole body was already leaning on Naran Chuxue, her hands clutching the other's sleeves, her voice shaking, said: “How terrible, what has she done wrong that His Majesty has to punish her like this?”

   Naran Chuxue stared at the bloodstains on the floor, thought for a moment and then suddenly whispered, “Could it be because His Majesty didn't like her shoes?”

   “How come?” Lu Wanwan asked with her hand covering her cherry lips, a little surprised, “Step by step, how charming, how could His Majesty not like it?”

   “His Majesty's hobby, how would someone like you and I, who are new to the palace, know about it.” Naran Chuxue said in a deep voice, “But what about the little maid, does she know?”

   “You mean the pretty little palace maid from earlier?” Lu Wanwan seemed to be quite fond of the other party and couldn't help but speak up for her, saying, “She is also a young maid who has just entered the palace, so how could she know what we don't know?”

   “That's true.” Naran Chuxue also thought it was impossible, what they, the Draft women, didn't know, a new palace maid was even less likely to know, more likely Wuya Qingdai had the bad luck to be wearing a pair of shoes that would annoy His Majesty.

   But what if that little maid knew?

   “If she only knew ...” Naran Chuxue thought to herself, “Then instead of Wuya Qingdai putting her shoes in her hands, she would be putting her life in her hands, at her mercy!”

   The possibility sent chills down Naran Chuxue's spine and she couldn't help but murmur, “Speaking of which, what was the name of that little maid ...? What was her name again?”

   “Yingluo.”

   “What's wrong?” Wei Yingluo stopped the needle and thread in her hand and turned her head to look at Jixiang.

   At that moment, the door of the Embroidery Workshop creaked open and a green clad eunuch stepped in across the threshold and Jixiang looked down and continued her needlework.

   “Manager Wu.” Zhang Momo, who was responsible for instructing the new court ladies in needlework, greeted them.

   Wu Shulai waved his hand, excusing her salute and said: “I have come to see the new court maids this year.”

   Zhang Momo obediently retreated behind him and the two walked, one behind the other, behind one of the court maids.

   “Ahem!” Wu Shulai suddenly coughed lightly.

   Although the voice was soft, a number of palace maids crooked the needles in their hands and although they immediately continued the work in their hands afterwards, they all moved a beat faster than before, just to give Wu Shulai a good impression of flying needles and thread.

   Always unhurried, there seems to be only one Wei Yingluo.

   “There's an old man after all.” Wu Shulai stood behind Wei Yingluo with his hands folded, nodded in satisfaction and then lifted his feet to walk behind Jixiang.

   “... And then there are some that are in need of a good tune up.”

   Jixiang's face was red, the weather wasn't too hot but sweat was pouring out of her temples, so she gritted her teeth and accelerated the speed of her hand, resulting in a needle sticking in her finger and she let out a cry of pain and took the finger in her mouth.

   Behind her Wu Shulai shook his head and left from behind her.

   After he left, Jixiang stopped embroidering and just kept her head down and stared.

   “... What's wrong?” Wei Yingluo stopped the movement in her hand and tilted her head to look over, then frowned and said ‘Oh no.

   Jixiang's embroidery bandage is half finished and the work is not entirely to blame. Her right hand had just been stepped on by Wuya Qingdai and although it had been treated afterwards, it was still black and swollen and she couldn't get time off work, so she had to grit her teeth and work with the injury.

   Only now, the snow-white embroidered cloth was stained with a cloud of crimson blood and I don't know whether Jixiang had just accidentally stabbed her finger and dripped blood onto it, or whether the old injury had flared up and blood was seeping out of the gauze.

   But in any case, the embroidery is considered ruined.

   “How, what to do ...” Jixiang with a sobbing voice, reached out to wipe.

   “Jixiang, don't ...” Wei Yingluo is too late to stop it.

   Originally there was only an insignificant drop of blood but it turned out that when she wiped it like this, it was rubbed into a conspicuous little mass, which was difficult to even hide from view.

   Jinxiu caught a glimpse of this scene and, by nature, her thin lips immediately spat out a sarcastic remark: “Even a maid must be clever and smart. Don't waste your energy!

   Linglong, however, spoke of fellow countrymen and said sympathetically, “What a pity.”

   “Linglong!” Jixiang said with red eyes and a childish choking sob, “We grew up together, think of something for me, okay?”

   A fellow countryman is a fellow countryman but in the face of such trouble Linglong would rather not have one and immediately refused saying: “What can I do, I haven't finished my own embroidery yet!

   Jixiang couldn't help but look back at the Embroidery Workshop, where a sandalwood table stood with a bronze incense burner with a bestial pattern, in which an incense stick was now half burnt and when the remaining half was burnt to ashes, it was time to hand in the embroidery.

   “What am I going to do ...” Jixiang murmured, unable to hold back her tears any longer but as they fell, she felt a lightness in her hands and she turned back to see Wei Yingluo taking her embroidery bandage over to her and then handing over her own.

   Jixiang said with a shocked look on her face, “You ...”

   “Wipe your tears away.” Wei Yingluo finished exchanging their embroidery bandages and said without looking up, “Don't let Momo see.”

   Jixiang, Jinxiu and Linglong looked at each other for a moment before Linglong spoke up first, lowering her voice and saying: “Are you crazy? This embroidered handkerchief was meant to be a golden carp and with this blood stain, it can't be saved in any way! There's still half an incense stick left, so there's not enough time to re stitch it!”

   Wei Yingluo squinted her eyes, examined the embroidery in her hands for a moment, then resumed twisting the needle and holding the thread, smiled slightly at the apprehensive Jixiang and said: “There are still two stitches to go on the peony, so finish it for me.”

   “Yingluo, have you thought this through?” Linglong couldn't resist asking.

   Without waiting for Wei Yingluo to open her mouth, Jinxiu snorted, “What do you care about her, she's a show off!”

   Jixiang looked blankly at the embroidery bandage in her hand and suddenly shoved it back into Yingluo's hand, shaking her head repeatedly and saying: “Take it away, I can't get you into trouble, just give me back my embroidery bandage!”

   Wei Yingluo gently raises her right hand to block the embroidery bandage, then with a tilt of her eyes, she looks to one side.

   Jixiang followed her gaze and saw Momo walking in this direction, so she dared not speak again and hurriedly picked up her needle and thread and embroidery bandage.

   Then she faltered slightly.

   The embroidery bandage in your hand is embroidered with a peony, a national color and vividness, only the last few stitches are missing.

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS