"An Ning, An Ning, you're finally awake! Are you still feeling cold? Don't move yet, let me get you some porridge from the stove!"
"How could you be so foolish? Running a fever and not telling me, then dragging yourself to the imperial pharmacy in that state!"
"You have no idea how terrifying you looked yesterday!"
In the small room, a young girl with the same double-bun hairstyle and delicate hairpins as An Ning swiftly brought over warm porridge while continuing her scolding. The millet porridge was thoroughly cooked, mixed with finely chopped red dates that lent a subtle sweetness, clearly having been kept warm on the stove for hours.
For low-ranking palace maids like them, aside from the standard meals provided, they weren't entitled to request food from the kitchens. Any extra cooking had to be done on their own charcoal stoves. In winter, charcoal was precious—barely enough for heating, so they conserved it whenever possible. This bowl of porridge meant the girl wouldn't be able to use her stove for quite some time.
An Ning thought to herself that while the original owner of this body might have been naive, her judgment of people wasn't bad at all.
Mimicking the original's mannerisms, An Ning tugged playfully at the girl's sleeve, her still-flushed face soft and pleading: "Alright, I was too hasty and didn't think things through."
"I know you were just afraid of burdening me!" Xitara Wanqing suddenly grew angry, twisting her handkerchief fiercely: "How dare they bully people !"
"If they want the steward's favor and a chance to climb into the Emperor's bed, they should go for it themselves! What's the point of scheming behind others' backs?"
This girl—how could she be so reckless, saying such things out loud! An Ning, still in bed, startled and despite her weak limbs, immediately covered Wanqing's mouth. While doing so, she glanced around nervously, only relaxing when confirming their roommates were indeed absent.
Having lived in the palace this long, Wanqing clearly wasn't ignorant of protocol either. Realizing her mistake, she promptly sealed her lips.
After finishing the porridge and seeing An Ning regain some strength, Wanqing hesitantly scooted closer and asked: "By the way, An Ning, what exactly happened that day? I heard you were personally escorted back by Prince Zhuang's personal guard, who even specially requested a imperial physician for you."
"They...they all say you'll probably end up in the prince's residence now."
"And they claim Prince Zhuang's household has fertility problems, that it's not a good place..."
Wanqing spoke cautiously, but An Ning actually felt relieved.
As palace maids—even low-ranking ones—they weren't supposed to have private interactions or excessive contact with outside men. That the prince hadn't bothered to conceal his actions meant he'd already taken an interest.
This time, though reckless, had yielded decent results.
After barely managing the chattering girl in their room, An Ning leaned back against the bed to rest properly.
Following that day, An Ning remained indoors to recuperate. Unlike previous occasions when the medicine barely helped, this time the physician was exceptionally thorough—not only carefully explaining treatment precautions but also listing foods that might affect the medication's efficacy.
Other than this, everything seemed unchanged from before.
Within two days, their roommates Suyun and others resumed their shrill, sarcastic remarks.
"Some people think a pretty face can make them phoenixes rising from branches!"
"Little do they know—crows will always be crows, never becoming skyborne songbirds."
To this, An Ning continued recuperating peacefully, turning a deaf ear.
"Host, aren't you anxious? It's been three days since that incident, and there's still no movement from the prince's residence?"
"What's there to rush about?" Snuggling deeper into her warm blankets, An Ning responded indifferently: "While their household situation suits my needs, it's merely one option for now. If it doesn't work out, switching targets is always possible."
Never putting all hopes in one basket—this was a lesson she'd learned in her previous life's orphanage. Though next time, she'd need a different approach.
Truthfully, An Ning considered this operation somewhat reckless, but Qing palace regulations were stringent. Even imperial relatives rarely entered the rear palaces except to pay respects to the empress dowagers.
Missing this chance would make finding another opportunity difficult.
Moreover, she genuinely wanted to stop doing manual labor!
Just considering meals—carrying them from the kitchens in winter meant food arrived half-cold. That useless system couldn't even manage basic reheating.
But soon An Ning's worries ended. As it turned out, the beauty tactic worked wonders when one was beautiful enough.
Three days later, Supervisor Cui arrived with several junior maids. The supervisor, a matron in her thirties wearing dark blue qipao, looked more amiable than ever before:
"Congratulations, young miss. You're truly fortunate—Prince Zhuang personally requested an imperial decree earlier. You're now an official lady of the prince's residence."
"To receive such regard from His Highness surely promises good days ahead!"
An Ning kept her head bowed through the flattery, feigning shyness while paying no real attention. One meeting couldn't possibly create genuine affection—Qing dynasty nobles weren't romance-obsessed fools, at most stirred by momentary attraction.
But so what? If he wanted beauty and she wanted comfort, neither was at a disadvantage!
Mistaking An Ning's silence for bashfulness, Matron Cui simply offered a few more instructions about packing before leaving, mentioning someone from the residence would come for her shortly.
Before departing, however, this Cui steward made a special trip to Plum Garden, taking away several maids who had bullied An Ning—including the steward's niece whose jealousy caused the original owner's death. The official reason was unsatisfactory performance, requiring return to the Imperial Household Department for retraining.
But everyone knew these Plum Garden assignments lacked powerful backing. After this, barring miracles, they'd likely remain toiling in the Xin Zhe Ku servile quarters forever.
An Ning naturally felt no sympathy for their fate. Even if she'd schemed deliberately, the original owner's suffering had been all too real.
Verbal abuse, consistently assigning the hardest chores—how was this different from modern bullying?
Back in her room packing, An Ning bid farewell to her friend while the system watched the weeping maids being dragged away, thoroughly confused.
It knew its host held grudges, but couldn't comprehend how revenge had been achieved so effortlessly.
Such were the limitations of a newly-born system.
"A mere lady of the prince's residence, not even a secondary consort—was such drastic action really necessary from that steward?" After all, they weren't in the palace anymore—currying favor with the host seemed pointless overkill.
"That's precisely why palace folk are such shrewd operators," An Ning sipped tea, her usually charming eyes darkening momentarily.
"To them, a lowly lady might not warrant such effort, but this matter has undoubtedly reached higher ears. Surely you don't think a powerful prince like Zhuang would accept a sudden beauty without thorough investigation?"
Recalling last night's conversation, the system fell silent.
Regardless of whether the prince would personally avenge his new favorite, as subordinates, they had to handle things impeccably even for the slimmest possibility of displeasing their superiors. Especially since Emperor Kangxi traditionally showed particular respect to these older princely houses that avoided power struggles.
Clearly, having reached her position, Matron Cui was no fool.
An Ning lowered her gaze. What was the point of petty bullying and verbal sparring? Either strike decisively to utterly crush opponents, or don't bother—prolonged skirmishes were utterly meaningless!