Falling Snow Hall.
The palace doors were tightly shut, and sobs rose from within, each louder than the last.
Only after the palace maid sent to report returned in a hurry did the woman's sobs subside. She asked softly,
"Well? Has His Majesty come?"
The maid shook her head, covering her swollen, reddened cheek, her expression troubled.
"I went to Dragon Splendor Palace to invite His Majesty, but the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling were both there, as were the Empress and the Ninth Prince. After I spoke, the Imperial Consort Dowager scolded me for having no manners and ordered someone to slap me..."
"I don't want to hear any of that. What about His Majesty? Did His Majesty come?" All the anguish that had made Noble Lady Snow weep as though she wished to die vanished.
She released her son and stood, her eyes full of urgency and calculation.
"His Majesty wanted to come, but the Empress Dowager stopped him," the palace maid continued with her head lowered.
Noble Lady Snow's expression abruptly stiffened.
It was precisely because the Empress Dowager never concerned herself with the affairs of the harem that she had dared to indulge her temper, relying on His Majesty's favor. How had she attracted the Empress Dowager's attention now?
Suddenly panicking, she slapped the maid across the face. "You fool! You knew the Empress Dowager was there, yet you still went in to report! If she makes trouble for me, I'll beat you to death!"
The maid's cheeks were already red and swollen. She had run back and forth and been slapped, only to receive another slap from Noble Lady Snow now. Tears welled in her eyes, and she hastily retreated several steps.
She said quietly, "But didn't you say... that no matter what, I had