"Are you stupid?" Chief Zhang slapped the little eunuch: "The Emperor has already risen, shouldn’t Lady Li rise to see him off? Hurry up, I still have things to attend to."
In Luaxin Pavilion, Feng Yin heard the commotion outside, called Hua Yin to stand guard, and went out to see for herself.
"Come, first lift it down from the cart." Eunuch Zhang instructed a few little eunuchs.
"Eunuch Zhang, what brings you here?" Feng Yin approached and asked softly.
"Oh, it’s Miss Feng Yin. The Emperor has sent an old servant to deliver a bed for Lady Li, this one here. It’s a canopy bed that Lady Li favors, but this one is much more spacious than the one she’s using now. Both the material and the craftsmanship are of the highest quality. Would Miss Feng Yin like to inspect it first?"
Zhang Jian said with a smile.
The bed was covered with red cloth; after all, it is Lady Li’s bed, how could it be exposed for others in the harem to see?
"Thank you, Eunuch Zhang, for personally coming here. However," Feng Yin said somewhat troubled, "my lady has not yet risen. Perhaps you could first have some tea in the side hall to rest awhile?"
Not up yet?
Before Zhang Jian could reply, a nosy little eunuch behind him asked, "Hasn’t the Emperor left already? So why hasn’t Lady Li risen? Doesn’t she need to attend to the Emperor as he rises?"
Feng Yin raised her eyes to find the speaker, but these eunuchs all wore the uniforms of the Imperial Household, and the crafty scholar’s hats on their heads obscured half of their faces when they bowed. Feng Yin couldn’t immediately tell who was speaking.
"How dare you!" Zhang Jian turned back and scolded: "How dare you speak so recklessly, get back to the punishment room for your penalty!"
"Yes, a thousand apologies, I should not have spoken out of turn, I will go and receive my punishment immediately." The slightly trembling little eunuch in the crowd knelt to admit his fault and then crawled away from Luaxin Pavilion on his hands and knees.
Feng Yin looked closely but couldn’t remember the person’s face.
"Miss Feng Yin, please don’t take it to heart, the young ones below lack understanding and were just curious. They’re all young children who can’t possibly fathom the Emperor’s favor for Lady Li. As an old servant, I’ll just be presumptuous for a while and have a cup of tea inside?"
Zhang Jian smiled, unobtrusively positioning himself in front of Feng Yin as he spoke.
"Eunuch Zhang, you’re too polite, please come in."
Feng Yin guided Zhang Jian to the side hall, where a palace maid had already brought tea.
Zhang Jian sat on a chair at the lower end, took a sip of the freshly brewed hot tea, and with a smile, praised, "Good tea."
Feng Yin accompanied him with a smile and occasionally exchanged a few words with Zhang Jian.
Zhang Jian of the Imperial Household is a trusted aide of the Empress Dowager, so Feng Yin naturally had to treat him with respect, as every necessity for Luaxin Pavilion required the Imperial Household’s arrangement. Now that the Emperor favored Lady Li, the Imperial Household also put on a friendly face, but she knew never to alienate the people of the Imperial Household.
Zhang Jian waited for half an hour.
Though Feng Yin was by his side, she did not personally serve Zhang Jian; the one serving him was a dutiful palace maid from the outer hall, who was smart and did not talk much, never hesitating when it was time to refill the tea.
"Miss Feng Yin, it’s now well past 1:00 PM. Is Lady Li still not awake?"
Zhang Jian was starting to grow impatient.
He never had to wait this long at Princess Consort De’s; after all, Lady Li is just a concubine, how could she be so dismissive?
Feng Yin said with a cheerful smile: "Eunuch Zhang, please wait a moment longer, Lady Li should be waking soon."
"Miss Feng Yin, you said the same thing a quarter of an hour ago," Zhang Jian put down the tea bowl and with a hint of a smile, remarked: "It’s getting late; if Lady Li sleeps any longer, she might have trouble sleeping at night. How about you wake her up now?"