Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 66

[Xie Nuange. Assimilation Level: 1.]

Xie Nuange looked around as she walked. The instant she saw the Assimilation Level reach one, her heart jolted.

She lowered her voice. “Su Ye.”

“Mm?”

“It was dark last night, so I couldn’t see clearly.”

She paused. “This place is different from when we first entered the palace.”

Su Ye quietly agreed.

She too was studying the living palace maids and eunuchs, watching the expressions on their faces.

Tired. Numb. Cautious.

Now and then, a young palace maid secretly yawned, then hurriedly covered her mouth.

They looked like people truly struggling to survive in the depths of the palace.

Xie Nuange called to the eunuch ahead. “Xiao Yunzi.”

He immediately slowed. “This servant is here.”

“Did you enter the palace as a child?”

Xiao Yunzi paused, then answered, “Your Ladyship, this servant entered the palace in Year Twelve of Great Qian. It has been three years now.”

Xie Nuange studied him. “Do you have any family left?”

“No, Your Ladyship. They’re all gone.”

A bitter smile touched Xiao Yunzi’s face. “A plague took the whole family and left only this servant. No one in the clan was willing to raise me, so they sent me into the palace.”

“I hear the Empress Dowager’s birthday is approaching.”

Xiao Yunzi did not break stride. He answered respectfully in a low voice, “Her Majesty’s birthday is one month from now.”

One month.

“Does everyone in the palace attend?”

Xie Nuange glanced at Su Ye. The timeline of this stage was rather long.

It appeared… far from easy.

Xiao Yunzi’s step slowed. “Your Ladyship, this servant isn’t entirely certain.”

He hesitated, choosing his words. “But from what this servant has seen, aside from the principal consorts, those permitted to enter the Palace of Longevity and Health to kowtow and offer birthday wishes are ladies especially valued by His Majesty or by the principal consorts. The others… don’t seem to attend.”

Principal consorts. Especially valued.

Xie Nuange memorized both standards.

She met neither. Over the next month, she needed to satisfy at least one.

“What happens during the birthday celebration?” Xie Nuange asked.

Xiao Yunzi shook his head. “This servant has never been inside…”

There was little more to learn from him, so Xie Nuange stopped asking.

The palace road turned. The view suddenly opened, revealing the Palace of Phoenix Grace.

It was more than twice the size of the Palace of Eternal Spring. Its main hall was five bays wide, with yellow tiles and vermilion walls. White-marble stairs rose before it, flanked by bronze cranes and tortoises.

Many people already stood in the courtyard.

Xie Nuange swept her eyes over them and found Ye Wan among a group of consorts, dressed in a pale-yellow banner gown.

Ye Wan saw her too. With one hand resting on Zhang San’s arm, she walked over.

Watching Ye Wan move, Xie Nuange had only one thought.

This woman truly looked like an imperial consort.

Everything from head to toe proclaimed the same thing: I am a consort. A favored consort. A consort favored from the roots of my hair to the heels of my feet.

Ye Wan’s waist swayed gently, a languid smile at her lips. Her walk was graceful without being ostentatious or contrived.

Every inch of her radiated poise.

“Noble Lady Xie,” Xiao Yunzi quietly reminded her. “The lady ahead is Noble Lady Ye. She was selected in the same cohort as Your Ladyship.”

Xie Nuange nodded and went to meet her.

At three steps apart, both stopped, bent their knees, lowered their heads, and spoke at the same time.

“Elder Sister Ye.”

“Younger Sister Xie.”

They straightened. Ye Wan glanced at Su Ye and understood that Xie Nuange had brought her through the stage as well.

All four exchanged smiles.

“Which palace did Younger Sister Xie rest in last night?” Ye Wan asked in the standard tone of harem pleasantries.

As the two moved toward a corner, Xie Nuange answered, “The eastern side hall of the Palace of Eternal Spring. And Elder Sister Ye?”

“The western side hall of Zhongcui Palace.”

Ye Wan covered the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief. “It’s even farther from the Palace of Phoenix Grace than yours. I had to get up before dawn today. I’m dead tired.”

After the complaint, her voice returned to its proper register, now touched with intimacy. “When we’re finished here, let’s take a walk somewhere else.”

“My palace?” Xie Nuange invited her. “I’m… the only one living there.”

Envy filled Ye Wan’s eyes. “The principal mistress of my palace is Consort Qi.”

As they spoke, the doors of the main hall opened.

A eunuch in the dark-blue robes of a chief steward emerged, holding a horsetail whisk. Standing atop the stairs, he drew out his announcement.

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived. Ladies, enter the hall and pay your respects.”

The consorts mounted the steps in order of rank.

At the front walked several richly dressed women in formal robes of strong, proper colors. Xie Nuange could not identify them all and could only estimate from their clothing.

Newly admitted consorts like Xie Nuange entered last.

As she crossed the threshold of the main hall, Xie Nuange raised her eyes and swiftly surveyed the interior.

A phoenix throne stood in the center, bright-yellow brocade draped over its back.

Rows of palace maids stood along both sides in pale-blue robes, hands lowered and eyes fixed decorously ahead.

From the moment she entered, Xie Nuange lowered her lashes and kept her gaze three inches before her toes.

This was etiquette taught at the Palace of Gathered Elegance. A low-ranking consort must not look directly at someone of higher rank.

Xie Nuange followed the others in performing the handkerchief salute.

“This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy ten thousand blessings and perfect peace.”

After every consort entitled to a chair had taken her seat, only the newly admitted women remained standing in the center.

The eunuch drew out his voice once more. “Newly invested ladies, pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Xie Nuange followed the other new Noble Ladies two steps forward, stopped, and performed the hand-to-headdress salute.

“This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress.”

The woman on the phoenix throne laughed softly. “Rise. Give them seats.”

Xie Nuange straightened and followed a guiding maid to a chair in the last row. Su Ye stood behind her.

“From what I can see,” the Empress said slowly, “every one of you is fresh and lovely. No wonder His Majesty praised the register to me several times.”

Xie Nuange turned her head slightly and began studying the consorts seated throughout the hall.

“Now that you’ve entered the palace, we are all one family.”

The Empress reclined against a soft cushion and surveyed the women below.

“The sisters of the harem must live in harmony. If you encounter any difficulty, come tell me. If even I cannot decide the matter, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager remains above me.”

The consorts on both sides voiced their agreement.

Some praised the Empress’s benevolence. Some said they understood. Others invited the new sisters to ask if there was anything they did not know.

Xie Nuange opened her mouth and added her own praise of the Empress’s benevolence.

When the voices subsided, the Empress continued, “Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is worshipping the Buddha today and has excused you from paying respects. Those newly entered may visit the Palace of Longevity and Health another day.”

She lifted a hand and gently clapped twice.

“I have prepared sweet soup for the new sisters. The imperial kitchen made glutinous rice balls with four fillings—peanut, red date, longan, and lotus seed—for an auspicious blessing.”

“May the sisters soon bear branches and leaves for His Majesty.”

Palace maids filed in from the side of the hall carrying gilded lacquer trays.

A small bowl was placed before each new consort. Six round glutinous rice balls floated in osmanthus syrup, steam curling above them.

Xie Nuange lowered her head and stared at her bowl.

Six rice balls. She stirred them with her spoon as acid rose in her throat.

Their skins had been rolled impossibly thin, almost translucent. She could faintly see the colors of the fillings inside.

Each rice ball looked like an eyeball wrapped in a thin membrane.

“Why aren’t the younger sisters drinking?”

A consort in the front row on the left spoke.

Her voice was lovely, its final note petulant. “This sweet soup was bestowed by Her Majesty. Others could beg and never receive it.”

Xie Nuange glanced at the Chosen Players. Every face looked unwell.

[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.]