The Job of an Imperial Concubine

Chapter 15: Tonic (药)

Zhuang Laoyan dropped the dark-green jade hairpin into her jewelry box, a clear, crisp noise ringing. The tail end of hairpin stuck out of the box, giving off a chill.

“Master,” Tingzhu said, glancing at the jade hairpin, before looking back at Zhuang Laoyan. She saw that her lips carried a smile. “Master, that you wore this hairpin today is…”

“I remember I was bestowed this hairpin after my promotion to Imperial Concubine Zhao.” Zhuang Laoyan let her hair sit loosely on her shoulders. She retrieved the hairpin from the jewelry box, softly caressing the engraving of auspicious clouds running along the lower part of its length. “The hairpin that Imperial Concubine Lin shattered was similar to this one. However, mine only has three clouds. Hers has six.”

Upon closer inspection, Tingzhu found that the two hairpins truly were different. If one weren’t carefully looking, one would have just missed it. That said, at this time Tingzhu did not understand why Zhuang Laoyan had said such words. Her gaze fell upon her master. As if she were pondering what Zhuang Laoyan had meant.

“I wanted to let her know that having fewer clouds did not make it less noble. That day, when she had caused trouble for me, I wanted her to wonder if she would be the one laughing at the end. I am a petty person.” She picked up an agate¹ jade comb. Slowly brushed the smooth, dark locks on her shoulders. Zhuang Laoyan’s tone was indifferent as she said, “Being fierce at times is better than always staying calm in the face of emergency. “

If she stayed calm in every situation, one would fear that the empress would be the first in line to knock her down. Occasionally revealing a weakness at the very least would show others her shortcomings.

In the hearts of the imperial concubines, a woman that was a little fierce wasn’t frightening. Instead, the most frightening people were those who always stayed gentle, smooth, and sophisticated. She didn’t mind being thought of as a person intoxicated by success. Not to mention… the feeling of being a person intoxicated by success was extremely satisfying.

“But if master acts like so, wouldn’t it upset the other masters?” said Yunxi as she carried a meal box that resembled a lotus leaf, just having caught Zhuang Laoyan’s words. “If that’s the case, it’ll be a disaster.” 

“In the past, the amount of people Consort Yuan had offended wasn’t few. Not to mention people like me, who are easily drunk by success. Who knows how many people are bursting with joy from her downfall?” Zhuang Laoyan smiled lazily. Who wouldn’t want their adversaries to be stupid?

All of a sudden, Yunxi understood. She opened the lid of the meal box. Within sat exquisite dim sum. “Master, these are the new dim sum sent by the head official of Shangshi Bureau². In their words, these dim sum is for master to enjoy. If master likes them, they will send more in the future.” 

Zhuang Laoyan swept her gaze through the items in the meal box. She nodded. “Reward them.” However, she did not express any other opinion.

Yunxi understood what to do. She closed the lid and retrieved a pouch of money. Then she left through the doors.

Tingzhu glanced at the meal box that had been set aside in a corner. She lowered her head and arranged the jewelry box in front of the mirror.

A few days later, news spread in the imperial harem. Two palace maids had argued in front of the lotus pond and accidentally fell inside. Because no one had been around to see or rescue them, they drowned. The empress was benevolent and compensated the families of the two palace maids.

Then one month later, a proper fifth-rank ronghua died all of a sudden. She was buried in the manner of a proper sixth-rank liangyi. No one cared about her death, and no one cared about her burial rites. In the eyes of the imperial harem, a ronghua was insignificant. Who was gone was gone. The fewer the people there were, the fewer the competitors for the emperor’s favor.

Zhuang Laoyan would never let anyone know this, but she felt the death of the ronghua and the “accident” of the two palace maids were connected. However, the other imperial concubines seemed used to such occurrences. As such, she acted as if she were ignorant of everything. Zhuang Laoyan could only secretly ask about the circumstances regarding the ronghua’s death. And once she had heard what little was said, she understood the implications. The two palace maids belonged to Ronghua Bai. In fact, this ronghua’s residence was near the place where Shurong Ye had had her miscarriage. Who knew what shenanigans went on there?

Shurong Ye did not come out and say anything about the death of that ronghua. The empress also did not continue investigating. For this reason, the case closed.

Near the start of summer, ice was sent to the residences of the favored imperial concubines. The amount of ice sent depended on the amount of favor the imperial concubine received. 

Although the master of Taoyu Pavilion wasn’t the most favored of the imperial concubines, none of the servants working for the six sub-departments of the Department of the Palace dared to skimp out on the things they supplied. Things like ice were delivered in a punctual manner. Those servants did not dare to be slow.

Yunxi’s skill in making icy treats was superb. She first had the strong eunuchs crush the ice into small grains, then added fruits that were in season. One bite, and it cooled down the individual.

Zhuang Laoyan held the icy treat called “ice bowl” in her hand. She couldn’t help but think that she had been looking down on ancient folk in the past. She now felt ashamed. Back in her days as a student, when she discussed transmigration with her friends, they talked about using shaved ice to impress the ancient folk. But now that she had actually transmigrated, when she compared shaved ice to “ice bowls,” the former could not compare.

Laying on the couch with no regard for how she looked, Zhuang Laoyan ate the ice bowl. Two palace maids fanned her, one massaged her feet, and one massaged her shoulders. Wasn’t such a lifestyle considered corrupt? She handed the empty bowl to Yunxi, who was standing by the side. A yawn escaped her lips. “I will take a nap. Tell me if any of the other masters pay a visit.”

“Understood,” said Yunxi, reaching out to support Zhuang Laoyan to her feet. The moment they took a step forward to leave, they heard an eunuch announce, “From His Majesty’s lips, tonight have Taoyu Pavilion prepare.”

Once everyone in Taoyu Pavilion heard this announcement, their hearts burst with joy. Ever since the temperature had started to rise, the emperor rarely visited an imperial concubine’s residence. Yet today, he had flipped their master’s name tag. It was a joyous event.

After rewarding all the eunuchs who had come to announce the emperor’s intention, Zhuang Laoyan only thought that during such a sweltering night, she still had to sweat and roll in the streets³. It would definitely prove a struggle to fall asleep. She then waved a hand and went to take a much-needed nap.

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Summer was a season that the imperial harem both loved and hated. The reason they loved it was because the clothes were much thinner and flowed in the wind. The reason they hated it was because they would sweat profusely. When they attended to the emperor at night, they would carry the scent of sweat and ruin their appearance. Some women would use incense to make their clothes smell better. And the Department of the Palace would purposefully deliver strong incense to the masters for this purpose. That way, the emperor would not be offended by body odor. 

Feng Jin was a man. In reality, he disliked smelling strong incense while visiting his imperial concubines in the sweltering heat. However, such a practice had been passed down for generations. He also did not express his opinion on this. But every year in the summer, he would not visit his imperial harem as often as in the other seasons. The imperial concubines with higher seniority all understood this. For this reason, they got used to his rare visits during that season.

An afternoon nap stretched on until the evening. Zhuang Laoyan sat in a chair by the window, watching as the sky bled orange. She couldn’t help but think that if she were a farmer, perhaps she would still be working the field at this time, much less use ice to cool down in the comfort of her home.

Even the farmers in the modern age had to work very hard, not to mention those in the ancient times. Farming wasn’t easy. Compared to those who toiled at work everyday, a place like the inner courtyard where one could eat, live, and book men for a romp in the sheets was more suitable for a person like her.

“Master, everything has been prepared. It is time to bathe,” Yunxi quietly said. 

Zhuang Laoyan nodded. She rose to her feet and made for the side room. In such hot weather, no imperial concubine could forgo bathing before seeing the emperor.

She chose a light green tight-waisted dress, the train of which stretched long and dragged upon the ground. The dress had been smoked with mint. Although the scent was mild, it caused others to feel cool. Refreshed. Here, mint was as common as weeds. Zhuang Laoyan was fond of this scent. As such, she had Yunxi and Tingzhu pluck some when no one was looking. The result was decent and pleasing. 

She noticed that the palace maids arranging her hair had applied some oil to the dark locks, Zhuang Laoyan immediately dismissed them. While applying oil to one’s hair would make it shine, doing so in the summer gave off an oppressive scent. To smell refreshing was a better alternative.

Her hair was arranged into a simple Leaving Cloud bun. She chose two hairpins meant for the summer. Inserted them into her hair. She did not apply any makeup, only using a dash of fruit-scented lip dye. Zhuang Laoyan waved her hand. “Let’s just go with this.”

Tingzhu took in the image of her master. Although she was not in her most beautiful appearance, she made others feel comfortable upon a glance. Especially during the summer. One look and one would feel cool and refreshed.

Zhuang Laoyan’s hard work was not in vain. Once the emperor arrived at her residence, his expression relaxed. It was apparent that her appearance and Taoyu Pavilion’s furnishing caused his heart to feel at ease.

To summarize, this emperor was difficult to deal with. However, compared to her previous boss, he was a decent person and easy to attend to.

That night, Feng Jin slept comfortably. He did not smell the scent of oppressive incense or feel the touch of greasy hair. In fact, Imperial Concubine Zhao carried a refreshing and cool fragrance, which made him feel at ease. He slept until the morning and woke to the sight of Gao Dezhong kneeling before him.

After a good night’s rest, Feng Jin was in high spirits. Inhaling the refreshing and cool scent of Imperial Concubine Zhao’s residence, he opened his mouth and rewarded her immensely. He immediately decided to promote her again. After all, she was a woman that fit his preferences and truly loved him. He could not keep her as a lesser fourth-rank Imperial Concubine forever. 

“His Majesty is leaving!”

Zhuang Laoyan watched as Feng Jin left. She reached out and touched her neck that was free of sweat. And she yawned. Did that emperor not visit the imperial harem in a long time? He was so energetic last night.  

“Master, this is tonic bestowed by the emperor.” Yunxi approached the bedside carrying a bowl of medicine that was halfway full. Following her was an interior supervision eunuch. 

Zhuang Laoyan received the bowl, her head tilting back in one fluid motion as she gulped it down. What tonic? It was just birth control. The emperor did not desire for her to have a child at the moment. She also did not want one. First of all, her current rank was too low to protect a child. Even if she had a higher rank and more favor, she did not want to use an eighteen-years-old body to give birth. Although favor was important, without a life there was no chance to enjoy wealth and power. She did not want to risk giving birth. 

The interior supervision eunuch received the empty bowl. After wishing Zhuang Laoyan luck, he left.

“If there was a child…”

“If I had a child, it would only be given to a higher-ranked imperial concubine to raise,” said Zhuang Laoyan, an indifferent smile dancing on her lips. “Have you seen any of the low-ranked imperial concubines raising their own children?”

Yunxi’s face held a helpless expression. She was aware of the imperial harem’s protocol. “This slave was just indulging in wishful thinking.”

“Eventually, I’ll have a child,” said Zhuang Laoyan. She did not want Yunxi to continue on with this topic. After carelessly saying a word, she dismissed Yunxi. She yawned. “Have someone help me change clothes.” Zhuang Laoyan needed to pay respects to the empress again. It reminded her of clocking in during the start of a shift in her previous life. Before, she had to use her brain for work afterward. Now, she only needed to clock in, no work required.

The moment after she changed clothes, the rewards from Qianzheng Palace arrived. Zhuang Laoyan saw among the gifts jade bangles and jadeite hairpins. She couldn’t help but smile. She was an ordinary person. Naturally, she would like such fine and exquisite jewelry.

Because of this, Zhuang Laoyan wasted a bit of time, and arrived at Jingyang Palace slightly later than usual. However, the empress’ expression did not hold the slightest hint of upset. In fact, she quickly told her to sit. She even gave Zhuang Laoyan a few words of praise.

The other imperial concubine also did not cause trouble for her. First, it was because Zhuang Laoyan had been receiving the emperor’s rewards. Second, despite not being the most favored at the moment, Zhuang Laoyan was still very favored. Offending her would bring forth no benefit.

The weather was sweltering. The empress also did not say much. She dismissed the imperial concubines quickly. As they were all leaving, Noble Consort Shu led the pack. The other women did not dare to walk before her until Noble Consort Shu boarded her sedan and left. Only then did the other imperial concubines scatter for their own residences.  

Because it was still early, the sun was not yet bright and high in the sky. Zhuang Laoyan wanted to stroll among the shade. That way, she could do some exercise. 

Who would have known that just as she arrived at a secluded location, she would see someone she shouldn’t have seen.

Updated Power Ranks

Hey guys! I’ve been thinking of switching to Patreon for advanced chapters instead of the sponsor chapter system I’m currently using. Please let me know what you guys think in this poll:

The poll is now closed.

You can also comment what you feel about this down below, but definitely fill out the poll first. This poll won’t decide 100% for me, but it will influence my choice. Oh, and don’t worry about the progress for the current and almost-filled sponsor chapters of FPYQ and TJOAIC. If I decide to shift to an advanced chapter system on Patreon, I’ll be sure to release those first. This poll will be closed one week from now.

I love how calm and collected ZL is. And her thoughts about not wanting to have a child so young truly resonates with me. Also, that ronghua’s death and the “accident” of the two palace maids seem like something from the hands of the emperor… Most importantly, promotion is confirmed!

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