Rustle, rustle, rustle~
Deep within the Palace Pavilions, the Empress Dowager sat upright on a cushioned couch by the window in a dark red palace dress. A sheet of rice paper lay before her, with a brass incense burner sending up curling smoke beside it, as she absentmindedly sketched the silken drizzle outside.
Hongyu sat beside her, grinding ink. Looking at the densely packed fine lines on the painting, she considered her words briefly before praising it:
"Your Majesty has never so much as dipped your fingers in dishwater since childhood. Who would have thought you could paint noodles being cooked so vividly..."
The Empress Dowager gathered her wandering thoughts and turned toward the foolish Hongyu:
"I'm painting noodles being cooked?"
Hongyu blinked and gestured:
"All these long strands, and the water is bubbling. Surely you aren't painting rain, haha... uh..."
Hongyu had barely laughed twice before she noticed the Empress Dowager's eyes narrowing. Realizing that she seemed to have guessed right, she inwardly sensed trouble and hurried to her feet:
"You must be tired from sitting, Your Majesty. I'll go brew some tea..."
With that, she hurried away.
The Empress Dowager felt that this silly girl had absolutely no sense of how to read a situation. Since Hongyu had been by her side since childhood, she let it pass. Setting down her brush, she picked up the paper and studied it, trying to see how it resembled noodles being cooked.
Before she could make anything of it, her vision suddenly went black as someone covered her eyes with their hands.
?
The Empress Dowager straightened slightly, a hint of displeasure coming over her full, lovely face:
"Hongyu, are you being naughty again?"
There was no reply from behind her, but she felt someone's breath draw closer, followed by a