Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 65

The sedan chair continued forward. The funeral music continued playing.

Beyond the white gauze curtains, the palace gates drew closer.

Just as Xie Nuange was about to fall asleep from waiting, the chair finally stopped.

She opened her eyes. A vermilion palace gate stood beyond the gauze.

Someone lifted the curtain from outside. Su Ye looked thoroughly aggrieved. “We’ve arrived, Your Ladyship.”

When Xie Nuange stepped down, a eunuch was waiting beside the chair.

“This servant is Xiao Yunzi. I have been assigned to serve Your Ladyship.”

Xiao Yunzi.

Xie Nuange committed the eunuch’s face to memory, then nodded. “Lead the way.”

Xiao Yunzi stepped aside and walked ahead with a lantern.

It was a considerable distance from the palace gate to the Palace of Eternal Spring.

High vermilion walls rose on both sides of the passage. The moon hung above them, leaving half of each wall in light and half in shadow.

The Palace of Eternal Spring occupied the northwestern corner of the Six Eastern Palaces. Reaching it from the gate meant crossing the entire eastern palace district.

They passed through one last moon gate and arrived.

Xie Nuange raised her head to study the palace where she would live from now on.

The main hall was five bays wide, with golden tiles and vermilion walls. Its doors were shut.

Three side rooms stood to both the east and west. She had been assigned the eastern side hall.

“This way, Your Ladyship.” Xiao Yunzi opened its doors and stepped aside.

Xie Nuange crossed the threshold with Su Ye.

The interior was larger than it appeared from outside. A round table and several embroidered stools occupied the central room, with a tea set arranged on the table.

A four-panel screen partitioned off the right side. Behind it stood a canopied bed, already made with every blanket folded neatly.

A writing desk sat beneath the window, furnished with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

The rules lay on the table.

“If Your Ladyship has no further orders, you may rest early. This servant will be next door. Call if you need anything.”

After receiving Xie Nuange’s permission, Xiao Yunzi withdrew.

Only Xie Nuange and Su Ye remained.

By the light of the oil lamp, they began reading the rules.

[Congratulations, Your Ladyship, on becoming a member of the imperial harem. The Empress Dowager’s birthday is approaching.]

[You must ensure that you remain qualified to attend the birthday banquet.]

[Friendly Reminder: If you cannot become a member of the audience, you can only become one of the performers.]

[Palace Survival Rules]

[Rule One: Always observe distinctions of rank inside the palace. A low-ranking consort may not disobey the orders of a higher-ranking consort. Violate this rule at your own risk.]

[Rule Two: At the exact hour of the Rabbit each day, all consorts must go to the Palace of Phoenix Grace to pay respects to the Empress. Anyone absent without cause will suffer something terrible.]

[Rule Three: The Empress Dowager believes in Buddhism. Do not commit any act that profanes the Buddhas or deities in her presence.]

[Rule Four: The Empress Dowager spends all year worshipping the Buddha. If you encounter her anywhere else, determine carefully whether she is the real Empress Dowager.]

[Rule Five: The Noble Consort is absolutely a good person. You may trust her.]

[Rule Six: The Noble Consort wearing a red sachet is a false Noble Consort. Take care to determine whether the Noble Consort before you is real.]

[Rule Seven: The Empress likes children, but the Empress has no children. If you see an unfamiliar child or hear a child’s voice in the Empress’s palace, ignore it. The Empress has no children!]

[Rule Eight: If a consort in the palace becomes pregnant, the Empress will be happy and the Noble Consort will turn dark. You must protect yourself and distinguish carefully.]

[Rule Nine: If you go one consecutive month without seeing the Emperor, you will be classified as useless. There are no useless people in the palace.]

[Rule Ten: There are no pavilions in the palace. If you are standing inside one, leave immediately. Do not look back. Escape the pavilion’s boundaries as quickly as possible.]

Xie Nuange read the rules twice from beginning to end, then handed them to Su Ye.

Su Ye read every word. Her brows drew tighter with each line.

“When is the Empress Dowager’s birthday? What makes someone qualified?”

Xie Nuange shook her head. “I don’t know when it is, or what qualifies someone to attend.”

She took the paper back and reread the top lines.

[Congratulations, Your Ladyship, on becoming a member of the imperial harem. The Empress Dowager’s birthday is approaching.]

[You must ensure that you remain qualified to attend the birthday banquet.]

[Friendly Reminder: If you cannot become a member of the audience, you can only become one of the performers.]

“The audience and the performers definitely won’t receive the same treatment.”

“Tomorrow, we need to find out what qualifies someone to watch the show.”

Su Ye sat across from her and pushed the oil lamp between them.

“Who do we ask? Xiao Yunzi?”

Xiao Yunzi had spent three years in the palace. If the Empress Dowager’s birthday was celebrated annually, he should know something.

How much a cleaning eunuch might know was another matter.

The Noble Consort would certainly know. The Empress would know even more. Whether either would tell her was uncertain.

“We’ll ask Xiao Yunzi first. When we pay respects tomorrow, we’ll see if we can ask anyone else.”

Xie Nuange paused. “We can ask Ye Wan too. She cleared the scenario before I did, so she should have entered the palace earlier.”

“And these rules—Four and Six.”

Su Ye lowered her voice. “What’s going on in this palace? There are fake versions of the Empress Dowager and Noble Consort?”

Xie Nuange looked at Rule Nine. “We also have to find a way to see the Emperor at least once a month. We can’t lose his favor.”

She turned and began searching elsewhere for clues. “If someone in the harem becomes pregnant, the Empress will be happy and the Noble Consort will turn dark…”

Su Ye looked at her with sympathy. “Do you think you’ll actually have to attend him in bed? What if that’s the qualification for the birthday banquet?”

“We don’t even know what the Emperor looks like. What if he’s like Old Madam Xie…”

Xie Nuange shuddered. “That would be horrifying.”

The two continued searching for clues and additional rules.

“Nothing. This is the only sheet.”

Xie Nuange sat on the bed and looked at Su Ye. “There are no rules for palace maids.”

“Your rules are my rules.”

Su Ye sat on the bed as well.

“Ever since I became your personal maid, I’ve had only one mission: cooperate with you and clear the stage together.”

She held Xie Nuange’s gaze. “So we both have to find a way to watch the show at this birthday banquet.”

“If we have to perform… who knows how dangerous it will be.”

Xie Nuange smiled and rested her head on Su Ye’s shoulder.

“The Palace of Phoenix Grace is only so large. Tomorrow, every consort will be there to pay respects.”

“Should we find someone to cooperate with first? We could have the principal mistress of a palace take us to the birthday banquet.”

Su Ye felt the weight against her shoulder. She considered Xie Nuange’s combat strength, then her own.

“That could work. Ally with an NPC. If you don’t want to attend the Emperor in bed later, you can even push him onto her.”

Xie Nuange murmured agreement. “That makes sense.”

“Let’s sleep early and see what happens tomorrow.”

She kicked off her shoes and undressed. “In that case, bed first.”

Su Ye placed the rules beside the pillow. “Let’s read them again tomorrow morning.”

“I wonder if there will be more and more rules as this continues?”

The next morning, Su Ye shook Xie Nuange awake.

“It’s the hour of the Rabbit,” she whispered. “Xiao Yunzi is waiting outside.”

Xie Nuange sat up. Su Ye had risen ahead of her; they could not let anyone discover that maid and mistress had slept in the same bed.

Su Ye had already brought in the brass basin. The water was exactly the right temperature.

Xie Nuange splashed water over her face and sat before the bronze mirror while Su Ye arranged her hair.

Through the window, she saw that her household consisted of only one cleaning maid and one young eunuch.

“Su Ye, we need to find a way to raise this rank.”

Xie Nuange watched Su Ye’s hands in the mirror.

“At the very least, we need another palace maid to do this instead of you.”

Su Ye worked quickly, fingers flying as she formed a little broom-shaped bun.

“You should learn too, in case—”

“There is no in case.”

Xie Nuange looked at her. “Su Ye, we’re going all the way through this together.”

Once ready, Xie Nuange opened the doors of the eastern side hall.

Dawn had not fully broken.

The western side hall remained closed, as did the main hall. The entire Palace of Eternal Spring was silent.

Xiao Yunzi stood below the steps.

When Xie Nuange emerged, he bowed with a smile. “Did Your Ladyship sleep well?”

“Well enough.”

Xie Nuange descended the steps. “I forgot to ask yesterday. Are there any other mistresses in the Palace of Eternal Spring?”

“No, Your Ladyship. There are no other ladies here.”

Xiao Yunzi walked slightly to one side, guiding her.

“Then let’s go pay respects to the Empress.”

The route from the Palace of Eternal Spring to the Palace of Phoenix Grace followed the main palace road.

From the moment she stepped outside, Xie Nuange adjusted her stride to the two-foot pace she had learned during etiquette training.

Only when she saw palace maids and eunuchs bowing as she passed did she realize something.

This place carried the presence of the living. It was completely different from the palace she had first entered.

Xie Nuange looked ahead, then glanced behind.

Vermilion walls enclosed a passage with no visible end.

Without the mission pressing down on her, she could almost believe she truly belonged to this era—a consort who had entered the palace for her family, now trapped within this Forbidden City.