Chapter 8: Ding! Poison Detected!

Bitao stood in the courtyard, her face shining with delight. Qingluo was more composed, though the list in her hand already filled a page and she was still adding to it.

Boxes, brocade cases, and bundles of every size were stacked neatly from the gate to the foot of the steps, leaving scarcely any room to walk. Two young eunuchs were still carrying things in, sweating profusely but moving briskly.

“What is all this?” Shen Zhiyi stopped in the doorway, unsure where to put her feet.

Bitao’s eyes lit up. “My lady! The empress, the Noble Consort, Consort Shu, Honored Consort Jia, and the other ladies in charge of palaces have all sent gifts! They’ve come one after another. I can hardly keep track!”

Zhiyi looked at the sea of presents in silence. Honored Consort Rou must have known they were coming; that was why she had said Zhiyi would soon want for nothing.

Putting the thought aside, Zhiyi dealt with the task before her. She asked Qingluo to make an itemized inventory of every gift. Bitao and the young eunuchs sorted and carried some of the things into storage, while leaving certain pieces of jewelry and the emperor’s gifts in the hall.

Zhiyi stood watching as brocade cases were opened one after another, a stream of jewels, ornaments, silks, satins, tonics, and medicinal herbs passing before her eyes. In the palace, gifts were a matter of appearances. What mattered wasn’t whether they were good, but that they had been sent. How many of these were sincere congratulations, and how many were merely for show? She knew the question well enough.

Once the inventory was finished, she knew it was time to say something. She stepped onto the stairs and looked over the people below. Bitao and Qingluo stood at the front, with two young eunuchs she barely recognized and some maids assigned to rough work behind them. Farther back, several servants from the outer hall craned their necks to look.

“If you serve under me,” Zhiyi said quietly, the courtyard growing still around her voice, “it’s good to be quick-witted, but what I value most is loyalty. Remember that.”

She had learned the speech from novels and television dramas. She might never have done it herself, but she had seen enough. If she didn’t make the rules clear now, there would be plenty of trouble later.

The servants answered together. “Yes, my lady. We will remember your instruction and serve you faithfully.”

Zhiyi nodded, her tone lightening. “Rise. There will be a reward for everyone.”

She looked at Qingluo, who understood at once. Stepping forward, Qingluo took the small pieces of silver she had prepared from a pouch and handed out two taels to each person.

Two taels wasn’t much, but for a maid or eunuch doing rough work, it was two full months’ wages. The young eunuchs’ eyes lit up as they received the silver, and their polite smiles became genuine. One maid even teared up, thanking Zhiyi repeatedly in a trembling voice.

Zhiyi was moved by their reactions. It saddened her that two taels could earn such gratitude here, but it also reminded her that money was a useful thing, especially in the harem.

After she dismissed the people in the courtyard, leaving only Bitao and Qingluo, Zhiyi picked out two pairs of silver earrings and two pearl hairpins from the jewelry she had received. They were pieces the maids could wear without overstepping the rules and, if money was tight, could exchange for silver. They were practical gifts.

Qingluo stared. “My lady, I couldn’t possibly—”

“You two have been with me since I entered the palace. Of course you aren’t the same as everyone else.” Zhiyi pressed the pins and earrings into her hands. “Take them.” Her tone admitted no refusal.

Bitao had no such hesitation. She put hers on at once, tilting and shaking her head until the silver drops jingled beneath her ears. Beaming, she tugged at Qingluo. “Qingluo, Qingluo, do I look pretty?”

Qingluo laughed, her solemn expression breaking. “You little tease. Can’t you behave yourself in front of our lady?”

“Our lady said loyalty matters most, and I’m loyal!” Bitao declared.

Amused, Zhiyi smiled, then turned to Qingluo. “Have all the gifts been recorded?”

Qingluo put away her smile and offered her a thick stack of lists. “Everything is recorded, my lady. Please look them over.”

Zhiyi leafed through them. The gifts from the empress, the Noble Consort, Consort Shu, Honored Consort Jia, and several other women she didn’t remember were listed clearly, with nothing left out. Qingluo worked efficiently, and her neat handwriting was prettier than Zhiyi’s own.

On the empress’s page she found a pair of pure-gold dangling hair ornaments set with pearls, two white jade magnolia pins, two red agate bracelets, and two bolts of gold-woven brocade. Her eyes settled on the bracelets. She was about to ask Qingluo to bring them out when the familiar mechanical voice burst into her mind.

【Ding! A large quantity of musk detected in the bracelets!】

Her fingers stiffened, and the list nearly slipped from her hands. She took a deep breath and steadied her expression. Without showing anything, she turned the page and looked at the jewelry from the Noble Consort.

【Ding! The jade bangle has been soaked in a large quantity of saffron!】

Her gaze moved to the next line: pastries from the Noble Consort.

【Ding! The pastries contain a contraceptive drug!】

Her fingers tightened, her knuckles whitening. She turned another page. Consort Shu had sent a set of exquisite Suzhou-embroidered bedding, four embroidered handkerchiefs, a pair of pillow covers, and a bed curtain. Every item was fine; from the descriptions alone, Zhiyi could imagine their splendor.

【Ding! Lingling incense detected in the embroidered bedding! Long-term use may prevent conception and cause infertility!】

Zhiyi lowered her eyes, her lashes concealing the emotions churning beneath them. She read on. Honored Consort Jia’s gifts filled two lines: two boxes of red bird’s nest, four premium ginseng roots, two lingzhi mushrooms, and a pair of deer antlers.

【Ding! Ma Xianzi detected in the tonics! Ingestion may cause convulsions throughout the body, followed by death from respiratory paralysis!】

Zhiyi continued through the remaining pages. Fortunately, nothing else seemed amiss. She closed the list naturally, as if she had only been browsing, and even kept a faint smile on her face. Bitao was chattering beside her, but Zhiyi didn’t hear a word.

One thought kept circling in her mind: she had spent only one night with the emperor, and they were already using all of this on her? Musk, saffron, contraceptive drugs, Lingling incense, Ma Xianzi—each more ruthless and deadly than the last.

The empress looked dignified and generous; the Noble Consort held herself above everyone; Consort Shu had not said a word that morning; and Honored Consort Jia seemed foolish. Yet some of them wanted to stop her having children, and others wanted her dead.

Was that really necessary? She was only a newly arrived little Attendant—no, a little First Attendant. Was she worth so many people striking at once? Or perhaps they had done this more than once before. The emperor’s sperm motility was already very low; with all this going on, it would be a wonder if he had any children at all.

Thank goodness she had the system. Otherwise she might have fallen victim without knowing when it happened. How could anyone guard against everything?

She handed the list to Qingluo. “Here. Put it away.”

Qingluo took it and hesitated. “My lady, would you like to choose a few things to display or use first?”

“No.” Zhiyi paused. “Store them for now. We’ll decide later.”

She turned and walked a few steps, then stopped. *System, check the two bolts of satin Honored Consort Rou gave me.*

【Ding! Inspection complete. No abnormalities detected. Safe to use.】

Zhiyi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

The emperor’s gifts were interesting. Besides several pieces of jewelry, he had sent five hundred taels of silver, including some small pieces. She had used those to reward the eunuchs and maids just now. The system had also found nothing wrong with Rou’s gift. At least for the moment, Rou didn’t intend to harm her. That was some good news.