Chapter Thirty-One: Disappearance

Qin Hongmian had vanished. Shen Tubai did not know where she had gone, and discussion of her was forbidden within the estate. In the span of a few short days, every trace of her existence had been scrubbed away, as if she had never appeared at all.

However, her departure ultimately brought about significant changes. Li Tinghan and Lu Yuanshuang, who had previously been at constant loggerheads, began to see their relationship thaw from that day forward.

Li Tinghan was remarkably restrained in matters of romance. After Shen Tubai entered the estate, she did not receive his favor every day, and the same held true now that Lu Yuanshuang had taken her place. The difference was that even when Li Tinghan was so busy he barely touched the ground, he would still find time to share meals with Lu Yuanshuang.

Chunchan, a maid with a keen sense of ambition, grew anxious at the sight. "His Highness is truly something. He knows full well that Concubine Lu is overbearing and that there is no one in the estate who can keep her in check. Now that she has gained his favor, she has no regard for anyone else."

"Isn't that for the best? With Concubine Lu focusing all her attention on His Highness, there are fewer maids being scolded by her," Shen Tubai said with a smile. She accepted the situation with ease. Ever since that day, when Lu Yuanshuang had spoken those words, Shen Tubai had known that the concubine would likely enjoy his exclusive favor for some time.

Even in ordinary families, where a couple shared deep affection, a woman would be eager to bear heirs to secure her footing in her husband’s home, and after giving birth, she would devote most of her time to her children. For the royal family, heirs were even more critical, especially given the precarious period Li Tinghan was navigating. Yet, Lu Yuanshuang was willing to forgo children for the sake of his reputation. Shen Tubai was certain that Lu Yuanshuang had not thought through what she said; it had come from the heart, which made it all the more rare. How could a man as gentle as Li Tinghan remain unmoved by such heavy, sincere devotion?

Every step Shen Tubai took was meticulously calculated: finding a good buyer for herself, a good father for her future child, and a reliable patron for the rest of her life. Even she herself could not distinguish between what was real and what was fake in her own heart. A vow to sacrifice oneself without hesitation—that was something she might never be able to utter in this lifetime. Had it not been for their long-standing resentment and their respective positions, Shen Tubai might have sincerely wished for them to grow old together.

"Mistress, you must think of a way. How long has it been since His Highness came?" Chunchan fretted. "With Concubine Lu managing the household, everyone below is following the wind, and the provisions they send are becoming increasingly perfunctory. If His Highness doesn't come soon, who knows if we’ll be reduced to eating chaff and wild greens here in Wutong Pavilion."

"It's not that serious," Shen Tubai replied, displeased by her exaggeration.

Judging by the recent meals, Lu Yuanshuang certainly harbored a suspicion of using public office to settle private grudges, but compared to the days when she was in the Musicians' Quarters, these offerings were still quite acceptable. Shen Tubai could endure it and had no intention of having a falling out over it, because...

Shen Tubai’s hand rested gently on her lower abdomen. Calculating the time, she had missed her monthly cycle by a month and a half. Surely, the fake pregnancy medicine Lu Yuanshuang had sent couldn't have had such a potent effect, could it?

"Mistress? Mistress?"

Shen Tubai returned to her senses. For some reason, although she had yet to show any symptoms of pregnancy, she had an instinctual feeling that a little life was growing inside her.

Chunchan continued to grumble, "Why do you keep drifting off lately? Other things aside, the time to collect our monthly allowance is approaching. Everyone knows Concubine Lu is on bad terms with you; if she intentionally withholds the funds for Wutong Pavilion, I fear the younger maids will be even less diligent in their work."

"What is there to fear? We still have Du Ruo."

At the mention of her name, Chunchan’s lips curled into a pout. Shen Tubai had promised to let Du Ruo help manage Wutong Pavilion. She handled the daily affairs and the younger maids with ease, but she struggled with the account books. Since Chunchan was illiterate, Shen Tubai had simply asked Li Tinghan to let Du Ruo stay here temporarily to teach the maids how to read. Chunchan’s progress was slow, and seeing Chunlan surpass her, she lived in constant fear that Shen Tubai would one day replace her as the head maid. Thus, whenever Du Ruo was mentioned, she couldn't help but spark with hostility.

Shen Tubai saw it but chose to ignore it; a sense of crisis among the maids was a good thing for her. Furthermore, Shen Tubai had other uses for keeping Du Ruo. Previously, because of her lowly status, she had been threatened by the Cui family and forced to curry favor with Li Tinghan, never daring to even mention her rank. But a matter of life and death for her was merely a single word for the Empress Dowager.

Shen Tubai pressed her hands against her abdomen, listening to Du Ruo share news from the palace. She was uncertain if the Empress Dowager would still remember her promise by the time the child was born. But even if there was the slightest sliver of hope, she would swallow her pride and bring it up. If this child, regardless of gender, could grow up by the Empress Dowager's side, even with the stigma of her mother's identity, their future prospects would be bright.

Shen Tubai listened intently to Du Ruo’s accounts of the palace, not wanting to miss a single detail. She was stunned when she heard Du Ruo mention that the palace selected palace maids from among the common people and held annual assessments for promotion to female officials.

"Aren't palace maids only selected from the daughters of officials?"

"Certainly not," Du Ruo said with a smile, shaking her head. "What you are thinking of, Mistress, are the imperial concubine candidates, who are chosen in a grand selection every three years. Palace maids are chosen in a smaller selection every year. Any girl from a respectable family, aged between five and ten, with sound limbs and regular features, is eligible."

"If chosen, the palace provides a resettlement fee. Once they enter the palace, they receive a monthly stipend. If there is a joyous occasion in the palace, the nobles often bestow extra rewards. Once they reach the age of twenty-five, they may leave the palace to marry."

"Those who are clever and do not wish to leave can learn to read and write from the palace matrons. Once they reach the required age, they can participate in the female official examinations. Palace officials are all formally issued with jade tallies of authority."

Shen Tubai felt a hollow ache in her heart. She had originally been born into a farming family with three sisters, an older brother, a younger brother, and dozens of acres of fertile land. From as far back as she could remember, she would follow her sisters, stumbling along the field ridges to deliver meals. In those days, her parents, siblings, and grandparents worked from dawn till dusk, and their family of ten not only had enough to eat but also had surplus grain.

But when she was five, a famine shattered her home. Shen Tubai had faced two choices: first, to be sold as a servant to a wealthy man’s estate where people were carried out dead every day; or second, to marry a lame butcher over thirty years old from the west side of the city. Shen Tubai was young, but she understood what those around her said. They had urged her mother not to sell her, saying that no matter where she went, it would be a dead end.

Shen Tubai did not want to die, but she knew that home could no longer shelter her. So, she had chosen the best path she could find for herself: she sold herself into the Musicians' Quarters. Shen Tubai did not know what the Musicians' Quarters were back then; she simply felt that if she were to be sold, she should go to the most refined place possible. The people who followed the head matron of the Qianjin Pavilion wore the finest fabrics.

For over a decade in the Musicians' Quarters, to cater to the poetic whims of scholars and literati, she had read as many books as any female official. Hearing Du Ruo’s words, she couldn't help but wonder if her life would have been different had she entered the palace instead.