Chapter 79 The Empress Secret (1/2)
Qiwu Palace became more tranquil after the Empress' pregnancy as the morning ritual of a courtesy call to the Empress was suspended and the affairs of the imperial household were taken over by Lady Shu. As it was getting colder, the Empress seldom left Qiwu Palace.
”Has it been half a month since the Empress left Qiwu Palace?” asked Yun Shang casually. She had been lying on the couch reading a book.
”It has been 17 days, ” answered Qian Yin. ”I am thinking that we will not see the Empress for another five days. Then it will be time for the celebration of the winter solstice.”
Yun Shang smiled slightly and turned a page. Then she said, ”She has more patience than I thought. Lady Shu took power from her. Many people in the imperial household expected to see her fight back. It is very unexpected for her to simply hand over the Empress seal to Lady Shu and hide herself in Qiwu Palace. The Empress is not known to hide in her Palace.”
Qin Yi was folding clothes. Hearing this, she replied with a smile, ”I'm afraid the Empress knows what's going on in the imperial household even though she stays indoors. She has too many spies.”
Yun Shang frowned as she felt something very important was being missed. She thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. She sighed, ”Let's just wait. I am no less patient than her.”
When footsteps could be heard nearing, the two women stopped talking. ”Your Highness, an eunuch from Huanyi Bureau has brought washed clothes.”
Qin Yi turned around to draw aside the curtain. Then she walked out the door. ”Come in with the clothes!” came the voice of Qin Yi from outside.
Come in? Yun Shang raised her eyebrows in surprise. Qi Yi never allowed any staff from Huanyi Bureau to come into the inner hall before.
Lifting her eyes to the door, Yun Shang saw a skinny eunuch come in through the bead curtain which had been drawn aside. ”Your Highness, these clothes have been washed and dried. Where should I put them?” asked the eunuch.
Qin Yin closed the bead curtain after entering the room.
”Lin?” Yun Shang straightened up and inquired gently, ”Why do you come here today?”
Lin glanced at the two maids-in-waiting and understood that Yun Shang was not going to ask them to leave. Seeing this, he understood that the two maids-in-waiting were her confidants. So he curtsied and said, ”Your Highness, I have something to tell you.”
Yun Shang straightened up and said, ”Say it. There is no outsider.”
Lin nodded his head and said, ”The other day, I heard about the Empress' pregnancy. However, I found an underwear stained with menstrual blood. It had been mixed with the dirty clothes of the maids-in-waiting from Qiwu Palace.”
”It must belong to a certain maid-in-waiting who is in her menstrual period.” said Qian Yin gently, looking at Lin.
Lin shook his head and said, ”But the underwear was made of high-quality silk. It is not like other clothes that belong to the maids-in-waiting. Few ladies in the Imperial household have such kind of silk fabric, let alone the maids-in-waiting.”
With a fluid glance, Yun Shang said, ”I know what Lin means. In the Imperial household, it's not hard to get rid of a living man. But it's hard to get rid of an underwear stained with blood. So the underwear was hidden in the clothes of the maids-in-waiting.”
”But how can you identify that the underwear is made of high-quality silk?” Yun Shang continued.
Lin said with complete confidence, ”I'm totally sure about that. And I dare say I am an expert in identifying silk fabrics. I had been in the business of selling silk fabrics before I was framed by others and reduced to a eunuch in the Palace. I have a good relationship with a maid-in-waiting in Huanyi Bureau who is in charge of doing the laundry. The other day when I was chatting with her, she told me the maids-in-waiting serving the Empress have the best food to eat and the best clothing to wear and even the underwear they wear feels softer. She knows this as she does their laundry. I pretended to disagree and asked her to show me the underwear. On touching it, I knew it was made of high-quality silk.”