A Peaceful Spring

Chapter I

"He is superstitious about his life experience, but concerning Madam Li, he has always remembered her. His Majesty regrets that Madam Li doesn't have an identity and status. He can't talk about it, but I want to make it up to him."

"Mistress, if it would help His Majesty, he has the power to promote all the dowagers. He could do a mass posthumous promotion and elevate Madam Li's status without angering Taihou , saying that Madam Li was not his birth mother but rather a palace girl who served the emperor and had no status. Therefore, Taihou would not give you a hard time." Ying Luo gives out a suggestion. "But you must think of this carefully, Mistress. This could be a danger to your favor."

Suo Xin glanced at Ying Luo and smiled. She didn't think of that. No wonder Ruyi favored her. Suo Xin added, "Though I would say Ying Luo is being bold, Mistress, I feel her idea would be the right approach to this difficult problem." Ruyi hummed, liking Ying Luo's plan. With careful words, and a birthday dinner, it worked, and His Majesty, after visiting the empress dowager, did a mass posthumous promotion. And despite knowing what Ruyi did, the empress dowager didn't say a reprimanding word.

Ying Luo, after that, became Ruyi's most trusted maid, right after Suo Xin, accompanying her as much as she could. One day, Ying Luo accompanied Ruyi to Changchun gong. Noble Consort Gao, the Empress, and the Emperor were waiting for her. "Her Highness Consort Xian has arrived." Ying Luo and Ruyi bowed, "Greeting to Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, and Your Highness the Noble Consort."

The Emperor hummed, "Get on up."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ying Luo helped Ruyi up and led her to the nearby seat by the table. Qianlong's eyes seemed to glance at Ying Luo for a second before the maid put her head down and stepped back, not even noticing the slight interest. The conversation was about the eldest prince, Yong Huang, and the prospect of granting him an adopted mother. Ying Luo could hear the distaste in the Empress and Noble Consort Hui at the mention of Ruyi having an adopted son. Eventually, the young prince came into the room doing small greetings, ready to choose his mother. Hui waved a treat to him like a dog. Ying Luo had to push back every word in her throat.

But Yong Huang chose Ruyi as his mother. Ying Luo couldn't help but softly smile at the boy and his new mother. After saying their thanks, they went back home. "Congratulations on your new son, Mistress." Ying Luo said. Ruyi teasingly glanced at Ying Luo, "I could almost feel you hold your breath."

"Yes, only because Noble Consort Gao was waving treats to the young prince to gain favor." Ying Luo didn't say the last part. 'Like a dog,' but Ruyi understood her meaning.

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Word of the marriage between Linxin, the Empress's second maid attendant, and Wang Qin spread quickly. Ying Luo sharply glanced at Suo Xin when she was given the news, her brush still dripping with ink and messing up the paper below. "What? His Majesty granted the marriage?"

"Yes, she's so pitiful.." Suo Xin sighed as she put up a few clothes. Ying Luo's face dropped, her brain working to solve the puzzle as she wrote a few characters Ruyi assigned to her while she wasn't serving her:of why the Empress would do this, and then it was clear. Of course, she was trying to gain an advantage with the Emperor's head eunuch. It was a pity.

That night she was called to serve dinner with A'ruo. Ying Luo came in, serving a few dishes, and once again, Qianlong's attention was slightly gripped by the beautiful maid. Then A'ruo entered with her dishes, obviously trying to attract the Emperor's attention. It worked, and she was allowed to stay while Ying Luo left the room.

Whatever was said in that room was enough to swell her head up. When A'ruo returned to the small servant room, her arrogance worsened.

"Though we serve the same mistress." A'ruo pulled out the small earrings as she looked in the mirror, "I am mistress' dowry maid, and my father earned the emperor's compliment." While Suo Xin, in her usual way, didn't say anything, Ying Luo snapped back quickly, "And you are still a servant. Don't act like you're a Gege. I congratulate you on your family's compliment, but that's just that, a compliment. It's not like you have earned merit."

"You're just jealous, Wei Ying Luo. My father is doing better than yours; what was he again?" Ying Luo took deep breaths in, resisting the urge to slap her. "Ugh, I'm all sweaty. Go fetch me some water to bathe me, and make sure the wormwood is diffused well. Don't let the mosquitoes bite me now." A'ruo ordered as if she was the mistress of the palace

Suo Xin was about to comply with the task, but Ying Luo glared at A'ruo, putting her hand up to stop the other maid from even listening to A'ruo, "Do it yourself, Sister. " Ying Luo's tone was a firm reminder of A'ruo's status. A'ruo turned from looking at the mirror. "Arrogance costs a fortune. Remember that." Ying Luo warned before she and Suo Xin went to get their water to wash in. "I don't know what His Majesty said, but whatever it was, it made her head swollen." Ying Luo whispered to Suo Xin.

A'ruo glared Ying Luo's desk, filled with the stack of paper with steadily improving writing. "Cheap bitch." She tore one paper up in a fit of jealousy

The following day, A'ruo was bold enough to wear new year maids' clothes with embroidery. Ying Luo breathed in, soothing her anger before serving Ruyi. When Qianlong left to drop Yong Huang to the study hall, A'ruo, Suo Xin, and Ying Luo knelt. While A'ruo was trying to gain the Emperor's attention, Ying Luo didn't. His eyes gazed at Ying Luo, who kept her head down. And merely looked at A'ruo.

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"Your attire doesn't look like a palace maid."

Ying Luo glare spoke a thousand words to A'ruo, "What if anyone else saw you like this? Then what would everyone in the inner palace think? Her Highness doesn't like extravagance and you're just blatantly showing it. You are going to get punished." Ruyi didn't even speak because Ying Luo was correct.

"I was just happy so I dressed myself up."

"You're happy for me, or are you happy your father earned merit?"

Ying Luo knew the answer to this quickly.

Ruyi addressed A'ruo again. "Ying Luo is right. She is observant, I suggest you be the same as the highest ranked in Yaxni gong. Except for occasions, palace maids are banned from wearing embroidery. You will be flogged if you do this again. Take it off, and do not wear it if it's not on holiday."

A'ruo backed away, leaving the room. Ying Luo served the tea. "A'ruo has some family business that's blossoming. You and Suo Xin better be on guard living with her.

"Yes, I have already been on guard with her, mistress."

Ruyi nodded and hummed, taking a sip of her tea, "I can tell." She placed down her tea. "How is your practice writing with the new characters?"

"I'll show you now." Ying Luo returned to the servant's room to find one of her papers ripped and a crying A'ruo talking to Suo Xin, "But Mistress thought I was too pretty, and she was afraid I would steal her thunder."

Ying Luo pushed A'ruo on the chest, not making her fall but making her hurt a little. "First of all, you ripped my assignment for mistress! Second of all, you dare say something so foolish!? The inner palace is not a game, A'ruo! Mistress is looking out for all of us!" Ying Luo threw the clothes at A'ruo's chest. "Get dressed. We have chores."

A'ruo said nothing as Ying Luo walked out in a rush, but her hate grew more for the Wei maid.

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Talk within the palace roared, as there were screams last night. Lixian stopped Ruyi and her accompaniment to give her a lost handkerchief. When Lixian was about to leave as it was going to rain, A'ruo just had to run her mouth. "You're different from us now, She has someone who cherishes her even if an event if she rained on, they say eunuchs spoil their wives."

Ying Luo pushed back every urge to slap A'ruo to shut her mouth. Ruyi pulled A'ruo away but she was still talking insults. Ruyi was approached by Noble Consort Hui and her entourage of Palace girls and eunuchs, there was a slight bow of respect with Ruyi while the others bowed a bit deeper.

"To be bratty and mocking freely in the palace, she needs to be flogged to death."

Ying Luo knew this was going to happen.