Chapter 2 — The Emperor's Stupid Orchid

I hesitated in my heart for a moment before saying: "Your Majesty, lately I've been hearing people say that it's against the rules for you to leave me here. They also say that the Queen has been punished for the last fire. I wanted to visit her, but I didn't dare, so I wanted to ask you if this is true?" After listening, His Majesty raised his hand to curl a strand of my hair and asked: "Are you not doing well here? Or are the others not taking good care of you?" "Of course." No. I eat well, live well, Cong Hi is also very good. I don't want to deceive you, these are the most comfortable days I have had since entering the palace, just like at home. His Majesty hugged me, without saying anything too confusing: "You can stay here if you like. As for the queen, I have arranged it myself, it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to have trouble sleeping or eating because of this." "Yes." I nodded. Receiving a satisfactory answer, I curled up in His Majesty's arms and soon fell asleep. The next morning, as usual, I slept until it was completely light before waking up. As soon as I woke up, I heard the queen's people say that she wanted to see me. His Majesty has not returned yet. After all, Cong Hi is just a slave and cannot make his own decisions. I immediately took my mother with me to the queen's palace. Just now Cong Hi quickly went out. It looked like he had something urgent so I didn't ask. When he arrived at the queen's palace, there was already a crowd of people inside. The Queen sat on the main throne, looked at me and said: "Sister Lan is truly a precious person. Just copying a few scriptures, the other ladies were able to copy them, but sister Lan caused a big stir. Not only did she burn down her palace, but she was also exempted from punishment. As expected of a young lady who was pampered by the Marquis." I stood there stunned, for a moment I didn't understand why she said that. But my intuition tells me that what she said was not a good word. I quickly admitted my mistake: "I'm sorry, ma'am. It was my fault that the scriptures were destroyed. I will copy another copy and send it to you." "There's no need to copy anymore. Concubine Lan is so weak, she accidentally burned down your majesty's palace, and in the end the palace was punished." Hearing this, no matter how stupid I am, I still understand. It's still because of the previous fire. Perhaps she was punished by His Majesty, so she wanted to establish rules with me. I didn't immediately know what to do. At that moment, a dark person suddenly ran out, knelt down in front of me, and repeatedly bowed his head: "Lady Lan, please beg your Majesty, please spare me! Please!" I was so startled by her scare that I almost fell down. It was with great difficulty that I realized who this dark shadow was. She was the palace maid who supervised me copying scriptures. After the fire, I didn't pay attention to her anymore, I don't understand why she is like this now. I tried to regain my composure. Unexpected events made us completely panic. I don't know how to solve this problem. It would be good if my grandmother were here, she would definitely teach me how to handle such troublesome things. I tried not to look too scared, but I couldn't laugh. I just asked in a trembling voice: "What have you done that makes His Majesty punish you? Even this palace has to listen to Your Majesty, how can I beg for your help?" I sincerely asked. But I didn't know, in the eyes of others, I was relying on Your Majesty's favor to make things difficult for that maid. The young palace maid looked at me and cried continuously: "Lady, before I was only by your side copying scriptures. But after the fire, I was severely punished. If I hadn't been the one who knocked over the candlestick, I wouldn't have been punished. Please have mercy and save me!" I raised my head.

Looking at the queen sitting high up, he wanted her to stand up and preside over justice. She is gentle and will definitely handle it more satisfactorily than me. But the queen said: "Lan Concubine, after being punished, this palace maid always said she was wronged. You can control her, that's why this palace called her in front of the sisters, wanting to ask how she intended to handle it." Her one sentence directly turned me into the center of the storm. My mind was immediately confused, like a headless fly looking for mom, but found that she had been pulled aside by someone, not knowing what she was talking about. I was completely panicked. The people around were waiting to see the joke and were continuously whispering. That makes me extremely uncomfortable. For the first time in my life, I want to run away from this palace. The people in here are so scary. I want to return to my ancestors and family. Just as I hesitated to speak, my eyes were starting to darken, Cong Hi suddenly shouted loudly: "Your Majesty is here!" "Your Majesty!" A group of people frantically knelt down to pay their respects. My heart immediately returned to its right position. Maybe we are saved. I quickly ran to find His Majesty, no longer paying attention to the ceremony, panicked and grabbed his wrist: "Your Majesty, if that palace maid is punished because of me, then I do not want it. If you can revoke the order, I would like to thank you."