Chapter 22: Punishment in Solitude

Chapter 22: Punishment in Solitude

Rong Bi was indeed startled awake by the piercing pain in her knees.

When she saw a pair of red, swollen knees, clearly belonging to a man, she was utterly shocked. However, her years of experience in the palace made her instinctively massage the bruised area vigorously with both hands. She had to disperse the blood clot; otherwise, it might lead to chronic pain, causing an achy, itchy sensation during windy or rainy days.

The long, slender fingers with distinct joints caught her off guard once again. But the pain left her with no time for contemplation. After massaging for a while, she opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. The luxurious bedding and drapes were eerily quiet. It was still early, and the sky was dim. She lifted the bed curtains and, with great effort, got out of bed. On the small table beside the bed, besides a teapot, there was a tray with two small bottles marked with yellow labels. Recognizing them as imperial medicine from the royal pharmacy, she immediately went over, picked up the bottles, and confirmed that they contained safflower oil, used for promoting blood circulation and dispersing bruises. There were also two plasters. Swiftly, she opened the bottles, rubbed the oil onto her knees until they felt warm, and the pain significantly subsided.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking the medicine was effective. She then examined the plasters, softened them over the candle flame, and promptly applied them to both knees.

After the fuss, her knees felt somewhat better, but her empty stomach began to protest.

She was famished, with a hunger that pierced through her.

Confused, she wondered if this was a dream. Could one be so hungry even in a dream? She had eaten a full dinner, after all, as she was to accompany the princess on her journey to Jingbei that day.

With these thoughts, she cast her gaze towards the sky and then to the lotus clepsydra by her side, a type of water clock commonly used in the palace. Being versed in its ways, she immediately discerned that it was nearing the first quarter of the Mao hour—she had awakened later than intended.

Yet, no one came to summon her. The room was eerily quiet, bearing an unusual air that was far from what one would expect from a chamber assigned to a mere palace maid.

She rose slowly and turned toward a full-length mirror on one side. Her knees weakened, almost buckling under her.

In the mirror, those pair of phoenix eyes and that indifferent countenance—could it be anyone other than His Highness, the Crown Prince?

She evaded his gaze with a touch of unease, when they heard a voice announce from outside the door, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Han Suyin has come to take her leave." It was Yan Xin, the chief eunuch attending to the Crown Prince.

She was startled. "Han Suyin?"

Yan Xin stood at the door with a cold expression. "Your Highness, please consider this. Many of your attendants have left in the past few days. Originally, His Majesty ordered to dismiss half of them, but now these people, taking advantage of Your Highness's kindness, ask to leave whenever they wish. Eighty percent have already gone. If this continues, there will be no one left to serve in the Precious Scroll Palace."

Enduring the pain in her knees, Rong Bi got up, lifted the curtain, and stepped into the outer chamber. As expected, she saw Han Suyin kneeling on the steps, her face pale and eyes swollen from crying.

Yan Xin stood by, unaffected. "This person was clearly assigned by the Imperial Bedchamber Bureau to serve Your Highness. Now, when things seem unfavorable, she wants to leave as well. Such disloyalty and lack of integrity should not be easily forgiven. She should be made to do hard labor, cooking, washing, and cleaning, to atone for her sins."

Looking down at Han Suyin, whose face was ashen and who kept bowing without daring to beg for mercy, Rong Bi felt a sense of empathy. In a soft voice, she said, "Let her go."

Yan Xin wore a stern expression as he waved Han Suyin away with a gesture, then stepped forward and said, "Your Highness! You are far too lenient! Most of the servants have already left, and even those who attend to you personally are nowhere to be found. Even if Your Highness is worried about spies among them, they could simply be assigned to do menial tasks."

Recalling the prince's demeanor, Rong Bi mimicked him, "The more insignificant the person, the more unpredictable their actions can be."

Yan Xin was taken aback, but Rong Bi continued, "When dealing with someone bearing grudges, how can you possibly protect yourself from a drop of water spat into your food, hidden objects in your clothes, or something sewn into your shoes? Or something buried beneath a tree in the courtyard? It would be better to dismiss them all for peace of mind."

She glanced at the breakfast that had been delivered: hard steamed buns, greasy sweet dumplings, blackened liver fried with oil and salt, mashed bamboo shoots with ham, and a cold, greasy duck soup with mushrooms. The prince's stomach had always been sensitive, and seeing such oily, cold dishes would likely make it worse.

Yan Xin remained silent, only bowing slightly and saying, "Your Highness, allow me to serve you your meal."

Rong Bi approached, her legs unsteady, moving slowly. Yan Xin sighed inwardly, knowing she must have injured herself from kneeling the day before. However, he knew that this prince was proud and stubborn, so he dared not mention it, instead carefully attending to the preparations.

Looking at the unappetizing breakfast, Rong Bi sighed again, yet she was ravenous. Yan Xin whispered, "His Majesty has ordered that Your Highness's expenses be reduced by half, hence the simpler breakfast. Please make do, Your Highness."

Rong Bi replied, "I recall that there should be a small kitchen in the Baohan Palace."

Yan Xin was startled, "It hasn't been used for a long time, usually just for boiling medicine, tea, and water..."

Rong Bi suggested, "Check how many people are still left in the Baohan Palace, compile an inventory, and redistribute their duties. Then, speak with the imperial kitchen and inform them to provide my monthly allowance in full, and let us prepare our meals here in the palace." Instead of relying on the imperial kitchen for hastily prepared meals, according to palace rules, the prince was entitled to one hundred taels per month, which would now be halved to fifty taels. But if the imperial kitchen prepared everything, it was likely that only twenty taels' worth of actual food would reach the prince's plate, and it would likely be tasteless and extravagant. A prince, with his high status, should fare better than some of the more prominent eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting in the palace. It would be better to take the full allowance of ingredients and prepare the meals themselves.

Yan Xin hesitated, "But that goes against the palace rules."

Rong Bi scoffed, "There's a private kitchen in the Luanying Palace, and another in the Tianyi Pavilion. The portions for the Second Prince, Fourth Prince, and Second Princess are all prepared together in the Luanying Palace. Even the Third Prince's meals are cooked in Concubine Guifei's Baoshi Palace. If the Imperial Kitchen objects, you can confront them with this. If they disagree, we'll just bring the issue before the Emperor, and everyone can go without eating."

Yan Xin was taken aback. Rong Bi had spent years in the Shangshang Bureau and knew all its intricacies. The princes ate with their consorts, yet still requested various dishes from the Imperial Kitchen and Shangshang Bureau. Without their prince or princess's rations, the Bureau could only do their best to provide. Who dared to criticize Empress or Concubine Guifei? As for the Tianyi Pavilion, the Taoist nuns simply said the Emperor had requested it – who would dare question them seriously? By these calculations, the honest Crown Prince was the one suffering.

Now that the Crown Prince had been demoted, the palace attendants would take advantage of the situation. If he maintained his high status, he'd likely suffer more setbacks. It would be better to expose the issue – he had nothing to lose. The Empress and Concubine Guifei wouldn't dare confront him directly. He was certain the Imperial Kitchen wouldn't dare refuse again.

Such a refined person suffering from stomach problems, Rong Bi mused, taking a hot cup of tea from the side. She soaked the sweet dumplings in it, washing away the grease, and borrowed the warmth of the scalding tea to slowly consume them. Only then did her stomach feel slightly better, and her anxiety began to subside. Orphans truly were like grass, she thought.

She then reminded Yan Xin, "Seek out Eunuch Tang Xi from the Imperial Kitchen. He served the previous Empress and will ensure everything is taken care of."

A eunuch from the Imperial Kitchen who had served the previous Empress? How would the Crown Prince know about him? For some reason, Yan Xin suddenly found the prince somewhat unfamiliar, yet at the same time, there was an inexplicable fear. It was as if the prince had matured overnight from this blow, exuding an authority reminiscent of Princess Yi Yang.

He acknowledged her instruction, and Rong Bi took it upon herself to rinse the dishes with scalding hot water before selecting easily digestible mushroom duck meat and some vegetarian dishes to eat. Her stomach felt marginally better. Knowing she couldn't overindulge, she put down her chopsticks and ordered, "By noon, bring me the lists of all the remaining personnel. Separate the eunuchs and palace maids, and include their respective backgrounds."

The Crown Prince was an upright person, but he was unaware of the intricacies within the palace. She, on the other hand, had inexplicably found herself in this body without knowing when she might return to her own. Where was her original body now? Would Crown Prince be there? Regardless of the uncertainties of the future, she needed to grasp the tangible reality first. She couldn't let the prince be deceived by those beneath him due to his lack of understanding.

By noon, Yan Xin indeed returned with a pleased expression, reporting, "As Your Highness wisely predicted, Eunuch Tang Xi wasn't at the Imperial Kitchen. Eunuch Gao tried to block me using palace rules. I confronted him with your words, and his face fell. He didn't say much. Later, when Eunuch Tang Xi returned, he intervened and agreed to our request."

Rong Bi nodded, and Yan Xin continued earnestly, "Eunuch Tang Xi also mentioned that, as His Highness the Crown Prince is of noble status, it would be inconvenient for Bao Han Palace to send people out daily for supplies, and it would be costly too. It would be better if the Inner Kitchen took charge of purchasing the ingredients and delivered them, along with firewood and charcoal, to Bao Han Palace every day. He promised to personally ensure that only the finest ingredients would be used, so the Crown Prince could rest assured. I thought it sounded reasonable, so I agreed. Eunuch Tang Xi even personally prepared the midday meal and instructed me to bring it over, apologizing for any inadequacies in the past from the Inner Kitchen."

Rong Bi noticed the large basket was accompanied by hot water, and the food inside still steamed. The offerings included tofu skin meat buns, eight treasure porridge, fragrant bird's nest soup, tender pea sprouts with baby-sized meatballs, and an array of delicate desserts like lily bulb cakes, tofu skin milk cakes, and rose cakes. It was evident that Eunuch Tang Xi had prepared these himself.

She selected two buns, the bird's nest soup, and the bowl of meatballs, leaving the rest for Yan Xin to distribute among the Bao Han Palace servants. Although Yan Xin was eager to taste the food, he knew this was a rare treat. Swallowing his saliva, he said, "Let's save the rest for His Highness's dinner..."

Rong Bi replied, "These desserts taste best when warm; they won't be as good cold. Everyone has been working hard lately. Let's share them, then tidy up the kitchen and bring me the roster. We'll reassign duties and sort out the kitchen staff. Once that's done, we'll have hot meals to look forward to."

Yan Xin indeed expressed gratitude before taking the basket downstairs.

In the palace, serving others might seem the same everywhere, but the master one served significantly affected one's life. Now that the Crown Prince was punished and weakened, many had left. Those who remained were likely observing the situation, as it didn't matter where they went—the struggle would be the same. The Crown Prince's kindness was a plus, and his pickiness was understandable given his current restricted status. Besides, the quiet would persist, and if their workload and food could be lessened, some of the more low-profile servants who sought peace until retirement might stay.

After all, in the palace, serving anyone carried the risk of falling from grace. The most tangible benefit was having enough to eat, decent clothing, and less work.

Rong Bi, having spent years at the bottom, understood these servants' mindset well. Her current task was to win over the remaining servants and ensure her own sustenance. As for whether the Crown Prince could become emperor, that was too distant a prospect. If she couldn't regain her original body, she certainly couldn't be an emperor. For now, she needed to address the imminent dinner crisis.

Moreover, based on the information she gleaned from the princess, the Crown Prince's fall from grace might take a long time.