The Second World in Ancient Times

Since the appearance of the new concubine, Su Wanrou, the atmosphere in the palace has become increasingly tense. I know that in such a turbulent time, every word can be used as evidence, and every action can be exploited.

One day, I was walking in the imperial garden and met a female official who often interacted with Su Wanrou.

"Si Qing, where are you going?" she asked casually.

I smiled and replied, "I just came out for a walk to relax after the busy days. Sister, are you going to see Empress Su?"

She smiled and said, "Yes, Madam Su is in a good mood today and summoned us. Do you want to come?"

I quickly waved my hand: "No, sister. I still have some things to deal with, so I won't disturb the queen." I don't want to get involved in their circle. Even if it's just a simple gathering, it may cause unnecessary trouble.

When I returned to my residence, I called Wanqing to my side.

"Wanqing, have you noticed anything unusual about the palace maids and eunuchs around you recently?" I asked seriously.

Wanqing thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing particularly obvious, but I feel like Xiao Shunzi has been acting a bit sneaky lately, always hanging around outside our room."

I frowned. "Xiao Shunzi? Isn't he usually quite honest? Go and quietly find out what he's doing."

Wanqing nodded: "Okay, I'll go right away. Siqing, do you think someone could have bribed him?"

My eyes glared. "That's possible. The situation is so complicated right now. We have to be on guard."

Not long after, I encountered another thorny issue. At a meeting of the Imperial Household Department, several officials argued over the allocation of resources following the rise of a new concubine. One group supported allocating more resources to Su Wanrou, while the other believed the existing balance should be maintained.

An official saw me and asked, "Si Qing, what do you think? You have some experience in the palace. Tell me what you think."

I quickly shook my head: "Sir, I am just a small female official. These important matters still have to be decided by you gentlemen. I am only responsible for doing my job well." I don't want to be involved in this power struggle. No matter which side I support, I may offend the other side and bring disaster to myself.

I decided to visit the Queen and ask her how to protect myself in this situation.

"Your Majesty, the situation in the palace is complicated now. I don't know what to do. I hope Your Majesty can give me some advice." I knelt in front of the Queen.

The Empress looked at me and said slowly, "Si Qing, you are a smart child. At a time like this, remember not to take sides easily. No matter who is favored, whether I or the Empress, the palace rules cannot be violated. You just need to do your job well and stay out of trouble."

I nodded and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty. I will definitely keep them in mind."

The Queen continued, "Also, you must pay attention to the people around you. Don't be unaware of being betrayed by them."

Wanqing heard the news about Xiao Shunzi and came to me in a hurry.

"Si Qing, I found out. Xiao Shunzi has been very close to a eunuch around Su Wanrou recently, and seems to be passing on some information." Wanqing said breathlessly.

I was shocked. "There's something wrong. We can't act rashly. Let's see what they're up to first."

Wanqing and I quietly followed Xiao Shunzi and found him meeting the eunuch in a secluded corner of the Imperial Garden.

"What have you found out? Empress Su is waiting." asked the eunuch beside Su Wanrou.

Xiao Shunzi replied, "Si Qing hasn't done anything special recently, but she seems to be on guard against something and has also been in contact with the Empress."

I clenched my fists, my heart burning with anger. This little Shunzi actually betrayed me.

I decided to deal with Xiao Shunzi's matter, but I couldn't alert the enemy. I called Xiao Shunzi over to me.

"Xiao Shunzi, you have been here for some time. How do I treat you?" I asked, staring into his eyes.

Xiao Shunzi's eyes were a little evasive: "The lady-in-waiting treated me very well, Xiao Shunzi has always remembered it."

I sneered, "Really? Then why did you betray me?"

Xiao Shunzi's face changed drastically: "Madam, I... I didn't..."

I produced the evidence—a portrait of him meeting with the eunuchs beside Su Wanrou. “What is this? Are you still trying to quibble?”

Xiao Shunzi fell to his knees with a plop. "Madam, spare my life! They forced me to do this. They said that if I didn't help them, it would be bad for my family."

I pondered for a moment and said, "Hmph, I can forgive you this time, but you must not have anything to do with them again, otherwise, I will never forgive you."

After what happened to Xiao Shunzi, I became even more aware of the importance of safety, so I found a few reliable guards.

"You must strengthen patrols around my residence during this period and not let any suspicious people get close," I ordered.

The captain of the guards replied: "Don't worry, Madam, we will definitely protect your safety."

I then said to Wanqing, "Wanqing, we must carefully check our food and supplies. We can't be careless in the slightest."

Wanqing nodded: "I understand, Siqing. We can't let others take advantage of this opportunity."

Su Wanrou seemed to notice my wariness towards her and began to provoke me even more.

Once, at a palace tea party, she deliberately made trouble.

"Si Qing, why is this tea so unpalatable? How did you arrange it?" Su Wanrou asked with a frown.

I replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, this tea is prepared according to the palace's standards. If you don't like it, I can change it for you."

Su Wanrou snorted, "Humph, you only know how to make excuses. Don't think you can ignore me just because you have the Empress's support."

I lowered my head and said nothing, not wanting to conflict with her and fall into her trap.

Another time, I heard several palace maids discussing the conflict between Su Wanrou and another concubine, which seemed to be getting worse.

"I heard that Empress Su and Concubine Lin are fighting fiercely for the King's favor."

"Yes, Concubine Lin is not willing to be outdone. It looks like there will be a good show to watch."

When I heard this, I immediately turned and left. I didn't want to get involved in this meaningless fight, nor did I want to be affected by it.

I reached out to some old friends, hoping they could stay sober in this complicated situation.

"Everyone, the situation in the palace is complicated now. We cannot be involved in those meaningless fights. No matter who is favored, we must stick to our original intentions." I said to them.

An old friend said, "Si Qing, you're right. But many people are blinded by profit these days. We have to be careful."

I nodded: "We should remind each other not to go the wrong way."

Some rumors about me began to spread in the palace, saying that I was secretly supporting a certain side and trying to disrupt the balance of the court.

I was very angry when I heard these rumors.

"These rumors are completely groundless. We can't let them continue to spread," I said to Wanqing.

Wanqing said, "Siqing, what should we do? These rumors are getting more and more serious."

I thought about it and said, "We don't need to pay attention to it. The innocent will be innocent. We just need to do our own thing and time will prove everything."

One day, I noticed some strange problems with the banquet I was responsible for preparing. Some of the decoration materials we had prepared were inexplicably missing, and some suppliers suddenly said they couldn't deliver the ingredients on time.

I asked the eunuch in charge, "What's going on? Why are there so few materials? What's wrong with the supplier?"

The eunuch replied in panic: "Madam, we don't know either. These things happened too suddenly."

I had a bad feeling in my heart. Could this be a new conspiracy?

I decided to investigate these issues myself, starting with the suppliers. After some questioning, I discovered that someone was threatening them and preventing them from supplying me with goods.

I went to investigate the missing decorative materials and found that it was a few young eunuchs who were behind it, and there seemed to be a bigger force behind them.

I caught these young eunuchs and asked, "Tell me, who ordered you here?"

The young eunuchs were so frightened that they trembled all over. "Madam, spare us! It was the people around Empress Su who told us to do this. We dared not disobey."

I knew it would be difficult to deal with Su Wanrou's conspiracy on my own. I went to find the Queen again.

"Empress, Empress Su Wanrou is secretly sabotaging again. This time, she is targeting the banquet preparations that I am responsible for. If something goes wrong with the banquet, it will affect the reputation of the palace." I said anxiously.

The Empress's face darkened. "This Su Wanrou is really going too far. I won't let her succeed. I'll talk to the Emperor about this and ask him to rein in Su Wanrou."

In this complex situation, despite facing numerous challenges and conspiracies, I knew I couldn't retreat. I had to continue to act with caution, upholding my principles, protecting myself, and ensuring the stability of the court. I said to myself, "Si Qing, you must hold on. You can't let these people destroy everything you've worked so hard to protect."