The Old Skirt

Su Yunyan was returning after changing her clothes when she came to a corner of a covered corridor and suddenly stopped.

At the end of her line of sight, two young palace maids were carefully carrying a dress on a clothes hanger through a moon gate.

The dress was a distinctive design, its skirt spreading downward like flowing clouds spilling onto the ground. A pair of butterflies in an ancient pattern had been embroidered on the fabric, the stitches so fine that the butterflies looked lifelike.

It was not palace attire, but that fabric...

Su Yunyan narrowed her eyes, a thought stirring in her heart.

It was Wu silk.

The finest tribute sent from Wu Commandery year after year, it was as light and thin as smoke and incomparably beautiful. It had always been reserved for imperial use, and commoners were strictly forbidden to weave it.

How had such a woman's dress come to be in the Palace of Supreme Ultimate?

Su Yunyan unconsciously rubbed her fingertips against her cuff, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

Could it be that His Majesty had specially ordered common attire prepared to surprise her?

The thought brought a trace of sweetness to her heart.

Yet before her smile could reach her eyes, it froze.

No, that was not right.

Given His Majesty's temperament, would he go to such lengths to play at "surprising her with a dress"?

Besides, why had the dress been delivered directly to the Palace of Supreme Ultimate?

In the past, whenever he bestowed something on her, even a hairpin, he would follow the rules and have the keeper of treasures from the Bureau of Palace Administration deliver it to her palace. There was no reason to send it directly to the place where the emperor governed.

Misgivings crowding her mind, Su Yunyan suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and discreetly followed the two palace maids.

At last, they turned toward the western hall of the Palace of Supreme Ultimate.

That was the emperor's bedchamber.

Su Yunyan stood rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.

Ever since His Majesty had ascended the throne and selected his consorts, he had never once summoned a consort to attend him in bed at the Palace of Supreme Ultimate. She herself had never been to the emperor's bedchamber.

Her hand instantly clenched around her handkerchief.

Could it be... that without her knowing, Zongzheng Heng had long been hiding a beauty away in a gilded house?

Was that dress meant for that woman?

But on second thought, it seemed absurd.

He was the sovereign, and all the land beneath heaven was his. If he had truly taken a fancy to some woman, he needed only an imperial edict to take her in. Why would he hide her away like this, even having to sneak a dress into his bedchamber?

Su Yunyan's thoughts were in turmoil. As she stood there in a daze, a somewhat shrill voice suddenly called out beside her.

"Oh! Consort Shu, how did you come to be here?"

A young eunuch hurried forward, his face wreathed in smiles, and bowed.

"His Majesty has finished reviewing the memorials and is looking everywhere for you. Please come back with this servant."

Su Yunyan composed herself. "I'll return at once. It's just that the Palace of Supreme Ultimate is so large, and the scenery here is so lovely that I became absorbed in looking around and lost my way."

How could the young eunuch dare reproach Consort Shu, who now enjoyed such abundant imperial favor? He hurriedly smiled apologetically and bowed as he led the way, secretly counting himself lucky.

If Consort Shu had really barged into the western hall today, every servant in the Palace of Supreme Ultimate would likely have had a layer of skin flayed off.

Su Yunyan was led to the eastern hall.

Zongzheng Heng was reclining against a couch, a scroll in his hand, his posture languid.

Several palace maids were silently presenting one exquisite imperial dish after another.

She stepped forward and bowed gracefully. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I went for a walk around the Palace of Supreme Ultimate and never expected to lose my way. I'm a little late returning."

Zongzheng Heng casually laid the scroll aside and rose, lifting his robe, his expression indifferent.

"It's all right. Sit down and eat."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zongzheng Heng had always observed the rule of "no talking at meals or in bed." For a time, the hall was silent save for the faint clink of cups and chopsticks.

Su Yunyan, however, felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles. The image of that Wu silk dress was like a tiny thorn lodged in her heart, causing her a dull ache.

After a few dishes, Su Yunyan could no longer contain herself and spoke as if in passing.

"Your Majesty, I don't feel entirely satisfied with the common attire the Bureau of Palace Attire prepared for me to wear outside the palace. Does Your Majesty have a favorite style? Might you give me your opinion?"

Zongzheng Heng gave no further thought to any deeper meaning in her words. He lifted his eyes to glance at her and said simply,

"My beloved consort is cool and unworldly, with beautiful features. A plain azure gauze dress should suit you best. Since you're leaving the palace, a dress like that would be simple yet refined, sheer and light, worthy of your graceful bearing."

Su Yunyan's heart tightened, but she forced a smile and pressed her handkerchief to the corners of her lips.

"Then I'll have the Bureau of Palace Attire hurry to make another outfit."

Zongzheng Heng nodded, paying no attention to such a minor matter.

Su Yunyan lowered her head and picked up some food, but the translucent shrimp in her bowl had lost its flavor.

The Wu silk dress that had been carried into the western hall appeared vividly in her mind-

The satin was white tinged with pink, and the skirt rippled like water. It plainly had the lively, delicate charm of a young maiden, but its pale color also made it understated and graceful. That dress would have suited her too.

But His Majesty had not mentioned it at all.

That meant the dress had never been for her.

She lowered her eyes, hiding the darkness in them.

Forget it. Zongzheng Heng disliked his consorts prying into his private affairs. If he really intended to give that dress to some newcomer in the palace, word would reach her ears sooner or later.

But however exquisite the imperial meal was, she could no longer taste a trace of sweetness.

His Majesty's southern tour was a matter of the utmost importance to the court.

Besides a number of consorts, several important court officials were accompanying him.

But His Majesty had already decided that none of the prefectures along the way would be notified, solely so he could see what these local officials were like when they had not received an imperial edict.

Ever since Cui Yingshuang had been demoted to Jieyu and Consort Shu had been diagnosed as unlikely to bear children, His Majesty had lavished all his favor on Consort Shu.

Every day he summoned her to the Hall of Supreme Ultimate to keep him company, even having her attend him while he reviewed memorials. Such a thing had never happened before.

It was even more so on this southern tour.

Whenever he had a spare moment, His Majesty sent for Consort Shu to join him in the imperial carriage. The two were inseparable.

Zhu Rongyu sat in her own carriage and, through the half-raised curtain, watched a eunuch from the Hall of Supreme Ultimate make his way respectfully toward Consort Shu's carriage again. Her teeth itched with hatred.

Consort Shu's face was not even particularly outstanding in the harem, and now she could not bear children. What on earth did her cousin like about her?

If her aunt had not told her-

That her cousin merely felt guilty toward Consort Shu, that it would not be too late to deal with her once the novelty had worn off, and that acting now would only incur his dislike-

She would have acted long ago.

So what if a daughter born of a concubine held a higher rank than she did?

Could she possibly be more important in her cousin's heart than his own cousin?

But now, even she could no longer sit still.

The favor shown to Consort Shu was simply unheard of.

Even when Cui Yingshuang's favor had surpassed everyone else's in the harem, His Majesty had never been this close to her.

As she was thinking, she heard a young eunuch's fawning voice outside.

Zhu Rongyu lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw Consort Shu passing by.

Their eyes met.

Zhu Rongyu was dressed in bright colors today, wearing a pomegranate-red jacket embroidered with crabapple blossoms in gold thread. The pearls and jade ornaments covering her head dazzled the eye as they swayed.

As expected of the empress dowager's niece, she dared to be so ostentatious even on the southern tour.

"Zhaoyi Zhu, I'm going to attend His Majesty, so there's no need for you to come down and pay your respects."

Zhaoyi Zhu forced a smile.

She had not intended to pay her respects in the first place!

"Heh, Consort Shu, you've certainly grown full of yourself. Have you forgotten when you knelt before me and picked up my handkerchief for me?"

Su Yunyan's gaze darkened slightly. "Yes, back then I was only a Meiren, and you were a Zhaoyi. Now I'm Consort Shu, and you're still a Zhaoyi. Never mind, His Majesty is waiting for me, so I won't say any more."

Zhu Rongyu's fingers tightened around her round fan.

"Consort Shu, you truly are fortunate. I was just thinking that His Majesty summons you to attend him every day, so you ought to advise him to take care of his imperial health. How can he exert himself like this every day? But-" She lifted her round fan to her lips, her smile deepening. "With His Majesty favoring you so, I imagine you can't bear to."

Her words hid a needle in silk.

Advising His Majesty to take care of his imperial health was something only the empress should concern herself with.

The smile on Su Yunyan's face did not change in the slightest. She merely said,

"His Majesty is wise and knows his own limits. It's hardly my place to speak out of turn. Since Zhaoyi Zhu is so concerned about His Majesty, why not advise him in person another day? I'm sure His Majesty will appreciate your concern. But His Majesty has been busy with affairs of state lately, and I'm afraid he has no leisure to see you. If you have something to say, I can pass it on for you."

Zhu Rongyu's expression changed.

What did she mean, "no leisure to see you"?

Was she flaunting the fact that she got to see His Majesty every day, while Zhu Rongyu, his own cousin, could not even see his face?

She clenched her back teeth and was about to say something, but Su Yunyan had already walked on.

That Consort Shu! She really had underestimated her before!

The smile at the corners of Su Yunyan's lips slowly faded.

Every time she saw Zhu Rongyu's face, it irritated her.

With the empress dowager backing her, she acted like a tyrant in the harem, paying no heed even to rank.

Her carriage should have traveled behind Consort Shu's, but she insisted on getting ahead.

Su Yunyan had a persona of someone who "neither fought nor competed," so naturally she would not complain to His Majesty. Nor could she be bothered to make an issue of it.

She was only a Zhaoyi. So what if she traveled in front?

The person who belonged in His Majesty's heart would never lose her place simply because someone else traveled ahead of her.