Ever since Consort Qi was released from the Cold Palace and granted the title of Consort Qi the Virtuous, the atmosphere in the palace had turned tense and unpredictable.
Every day, eunuchs and maids were beaten to death on bizarre and baseless charges.
Li Qing no longer visited the Pear Garden to watch the palace maids dance. He just stuck to his routine; emptying chamber pots, delivering meals, and collecting the night soil buckets.
The other eunuchs in the Cold Palace kept their mouths shut too. Gossip about palace affairs was rare.
Whenever one of them couldn't help but start whispering, Wang Li would always cut them off with the same eight-word warning: "Don not talk politics. Watch what you say."
Li Qing was quietly thankful he was stationed in the Cold Palace and hadn't followed Consort Qi when she had left. These days, the ones dying most often were the eunuchs and maids from the various consorts' quarters.
Even the eunuchs working in the imperial kitchens were getting executed.
Only the Cold Palace and the Martial Supervision Bureau seemed untouched.
Unable to visit the Pear Garden and let off steam, Li Qing had no outlet for his pent-up frustration; except cursing out the Grand Empress Dowager.
Every morning before sunrise, he added a personal ritual: cursing the old hag a hundred times.
"Drop dead, you old witch!"
Six months passed. Eventually, the chaos reached the Cold Palace too.
One night, three noble concubines sisters were all thrown into the Cold Palace at once.
Word was, the sisters had failed to please the emperor. In a fit of rage, he banished them that very night.
The day after they arrived, the Grand Empress Dowager accused Consorts Hua, Fei, and Yu of disrespecting the emperor. She had them all thrown into the Cold Palace too.
From then on...
Every few days, another concubine would be thrown into the Cold Palace.
Another six months went by. The Cold Palace was now overcrowded. It was the sixth year of the Taikang reign, and Li Qing had turned seventeen.
"Meal delivery time. Remember, no sneaking bites. If any of the concubines complain, just blame the kitchen. They made the food," Wang Li reminded everyone as they set out with the meals.
Things had gotten complicated. The concubines in the Cold Palace were now split into two factions: one loyal to the Emperor, the other to the Grand Empress Dowager. Offending either side could be dangerous. If one faction ended up winning, their women might be released from the Cold Palace. No one wanted to be on the losing side.
Since the day the three sisters had been sent in, Li Qing and the other eunuchs had followed one rule when delivering food: treat everyone the same.
No more special meals for any one concubine. No more cold leftovers, either.
"Ugh, these same three dishes again?" Consort Tong snapped, slamming her chopsticks on the table in frustration.
"Your Grace, I've asked the kitchen eunuchs more than once," replied Li Qing. "I told them you haven't been eating enough and asked for extra dishes. But those eunuchs are nothing but backstabbers. They don't show any respect. One of them even slapped me. Look." He tilted his head, showing the red imprint of a hand across his left cheek.
"Pathetic," Consort Tong muttered. But when she saw the mark was real, she gave in and started eating.
After finishing the meal deliveries, Li Qing returned to the duty room. He dipped a cloth in water and wiped the slap mark from his cheek.
…..
In the seventh year of the Taikang reign, the Grand Empress Dowager was still alive; reportedly in great health.
The Emperor was running out of patience. His power struggle with the Grand Empress Dowager had intensified.
Luckily, the Cold Palace was already at full capacity. There was no more room for exiled concubines, so the new battles for power hadn't reached them... yet.
But that day, Li Qing got beaten up.
The one who hit him was Consort Chu. She practiced martial arts and was considered a third-rate expert. She was aligned with the Grand Empress Dowager's faction.
The reason was simple. Consort Chu had claimed the chamber pot hadn't been cleaned properly. She had told Li Qing to lick it clean. But Li Qing wasn't some feces-licking freak like Zhang Yong. He had flat-out refused and said he'd wash it again himself.
And then...
Consort Chu kicked him hard in the butt, sending him flying across the courtyard.
"Damn it…birds of a feather flock together, huh? Ow, my ass…"
"Here's the butt, right here." In the sleeping quarters, Zhang Yong was firmly rubbing Li Qing's buttocks with ointment.
"How is she that strong? Just one kick and I feel like my ass isn't even mine anymore," Li Qing groaned.
It wasn't just his ass. His whole body hurt. His butt had long since gone numb.
But a eunuch never forgets a grudge. He wasn't about to let that kick go. Consort Chu would pay for it someday.
If only his body weren't so weak. If he'd properly practiced the Seven Forms of Flowing Water, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
So why hadn't he started training it yet?
Because that old witch was still alive.
Li Qing's resentment shifted once again to the Grand Empress Dowager. Drop dead already, you old hag!
"I'm going to be laid up for at least a month with this injury," Li Qing groaned. "You're covering all my duties this month."
"I got twelve lashes from Consort Lu two years ago and was only bedridden for a month. You…" Zhang Yong was clearly annoyed.
"I've got a delicate constitution," Li Qing muttered.
…..
Ninth year of the Taikang reign.
The Grand Empress Dowager was still in excellent health, meeting with court officials like clockwork every day. Emperor Taikang, on the other hand, frequently claimed to be ill and sometimes skipped morning court altogether.
Tension in the palace kept rising.
Eunuchs and maids would retreat to their quarters the moment their duties were done.
The night guards stood watch in constant fear, too nervous to even blink.
At the Martial Office, the eunuchs had split into two groups; one stationed at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the other at Cining Palace.
The Cold Palace remained packed, as always.
Then, one day...
A group of eunuchs arrived at the gates of the Cold Palace carrying an imperial decree.
"By order of His Majesty: Noble Consort Virtuous Consort Qi has been found lacking in virtue. Her title is stripped. She is demoted to the rank of Jieyu and will be sent to the Cold Palace immediately."
As the decree was read, it was as if the entire palace had suddenly come back to life.
Eunuchs whispered to each other in the halls. Palace maids flocked to the Pear Garden, dancing and rehearsing songs. The eunuchs who had been stationed at the Hall of Mental Cultivation and Cining Palace returned to the Martial Office. Even the night guards started dozing off again on duty.
"Three years. Three whole years!"
"And the girls still dance like they used to!"
Li Qing leaned against a tree in the Pear Garden, casually chewing on a candied plum.
Consort Qi returned to the Cold Palace with a noticeable baby bump. She brought her personal maid with her, so Li Qing didn't need to serve her directly.
Three months later, in the Cold Palace, Consort Qi gave birth to a prince. The firstborn son of Emperor Taikang.
On the day the crown prince was born, Noble Consort Lu was stationed outside the Cold Palace. She took the child away immediately.
Consort Qi never even got to see her own son.
"Little Li," she asked during her confinement, while Li Qing tended to her, "do you think I'll ever get to see my son?"
"You will, Your Grace. His Majesty is still young," Li Qing replied gently.
"You're right," she said, her eyes suddenly clear and determined. "Then I have to stay alive. I will."
That night.
In the Cold Palace duty room, Li Qing tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
Another sleepless night.
How is that old witch still going strong?
I've been cursing her since Year Five of Taikang, and now it's Year Nine. Hasn't worked at all; she's healthier than ever.
And that Emperor… completely useless. Been fighting for years, and all he's managed is sending his own wife to the Cold Palace.
He rolled over again, restless. The Grand Empress Dowager was eighty-four this year.
Old and still not dead; that's what makes a thief.
"Brave One, I can't sleep again. That curse you taught me doesn't work anymore."
"Snrrkkk…" Zhang Yong was already snoring.
From the other bed, Zhang Li mumbled sleepily, "Little Li, why are you always trying to curse people? Can't you wish them well for once? As the sages say… repay resentment with virtue.."
That one sentence woke him right up from his dream.
Li Qing suddenly understood and silently began reciting the blessings: "May the Grand Empress Dowager enjoy good health, a long life as enduring as the years themselves, fortune vast as the eastern sea, longevity rivaling the southern mountain, living as long as the sun and sky. May she transcend the cycle of life and death, break free from the bounds of the three realms and five elements, escape the wheel of rebirth, and attain eternal life..."
As the words of blessing left his lips, Li Qing fell into a deep, snoring sleep. That night, he fell into insomnia and out again as swiftly as he had entered.
Two weeks later.
News suddenly came from the Cining Palace. The Grand Empress Dowager had fallen from her bed in her sleep, suffering multiple fractures.