You Reap What You Sow

Qiu Ci and Qiu Le fussed over me the entire afternoon. I finally managed to chase them away and was going to continue working on my secret project, when the family servant arrived again. I guessed that Ling Wan went back and complained, considering that when she left, she looked like she had crawled out of a hay stack. As expected, the letter was anxious (again) and much angrier than the previous few.

According to the letter (which seemed to be written mainly by Concubine Mother Wei), they had entrusted her in my care, she had looked forward to the meeting and staked her future on it since she had annulled her engagement with Shi Yu.

Yet I had pushed her to the ground (explaining her scrapes and dirt), and humiliated her in front of the Emperor. Now Ling Wan is saying that since the Emperor doesn't like her, she doesn't want to live anymore, and they want an explanation. There were also a few choice curse words in it.

I laughed. I quickly wrote a note and put it together with the Ling Clan letter. Then I handed it to Qiu Le and asked her to find a way to get it to the Emperor. "You can go back now." I told the family servant. "Noble Concubine, I can't go back without a response. I will be killed." he said.

"Don't worry. The Emperor will send a letter back for me. If you like, you can sit here until the letter gets sent out and accompany it back." I said. "Thank you, Noble Concubine." he said gratefully.

It didn't take too long for Lu Qing Yu to respond to the letter. "His Highness asks you to read the letter and if you're fine with it, he will seal it and I will arrange for someone to bring it over to the Ling Clan." Eunuch Song Chu said, amused. "Sure." I said, taking it.

Lu Qing Yu had given a very vivid testimony of how Ling Wan had shoved me, leading to an ankle injury that required me to be on bedrest for 1 month, been extremely impolite, grabbed him without his permission, and how he overall found her a turn off and wished she wouldn't go near him again. He also said he would not agree to a second meeting. If they wanted to pursue the matter, he would make sure she be punished for molesting the monarch, injuring a noble concubine, and for slander. In fact, since she had already done so, he straightaway imposed a fine and punishment. She was also to write me and him each an apology letter. If she persisted, he would throw her in jail.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at this. Ling Wan had scrambled home to complain and tell lies, hoping the Ling Clan would persecute me, but she hadn't anticipated she would finally get a response from her darling Emperor in the form of an angry letter, and an official punishment.

According to Eunuch Song Chu, her name and offenses had already been written in the Ministry of Justice. She now had a criminal record. Lu Qing Yu had been willing to close 1 eye if she hadn't been so shameless, but since she still wanted to slander me, he wouldn't care about it any longer. The family servant accompanied the palace eunuch home with the verdict.

The next day, I received a luxurious recovery package, a letter of apology from the Ling Clan, as well as an unwilling letter of apology from Ling Wan. She had clearly put a lot of force into it as the paper was crumbled and dirty in some parts, and the contents didn't sound repentant. "Serves the Third Young Miss right! She's so evil!" Qiu Le remarked. "How could she do this to her elder sister!" Qiu Ci chipped in indignantly.

One good thing came out of this incident. I was able to get a small revenge on Ling Wan, and I finally had time to complete one of my secret projects. "Young Miss, what is this?" Qiu Ci asked curiously as they helped me get ready for my first day at work after my recovery period.

I opened the medium sized jars. They peered into it. I had created face glitter of all sorts of colours. It was non-toxic, safe to put on faces (and anything else), and easy to wash off. I explained to them what it was. They didn't understand and thought it was a miraculous treasure, amazed at how it shimmered and shined.

I stood up, admiring the delicate blue gown in the mirror. This would be a good base to start with. I dipped my fingers into the shimmery silver glitter and spread it between the gauze layers of the skirt. Coupled with the small gems sewn into the dress, it now shimmered and reflected light with every turn.

It was too beautiful. I had made this one non-washable, which meant it would stick with the dress even when it was washed. Then, I got some milder white and gold face glitter and applied it at the eyeshadow area, putting a bit on my cheeks for some effect. Qiu Ci and Qiu Le were transfixed and amazed. They could not stop the praises.

I washed my hands in a basin of water, and it came off. "Young miss, how did you invent such a thing?" Qiu Le sighed in admiration. I explained to them that the materials they had gotten me over our trips was for experimentation to create this. Usually, clothes that were covered in glitter would look tacky. But due to the skills of the royal tailors, and the delicate, gauze material of much of my dresses, a little bit of glitter helped to bring out the gown's beauty.

We sent the tubs of glitter to the royal tailor (only for use on my garments), along with a piece of glittery gauze (my sample to him for inspiration), and I went on my way to work, eliciting gasps of awe along the way. The ladies of upper society were in an uproar over this mysterious "glitter" and couldn't get their hands on any. Whenever I walked, it would shimmer and look especially mysterious and beautiful under the sunlight, moonlight or lanterns.

Meanwhile, the royal tailor (who was taught by Lu Qing Yu to have a bias to me) was also very excited at this "glitter". He came to see me, and pleaded until I agreed to donate the gown I had worn all day as a "sample", then immediately shut himself in his workshop. According to his apprentices, he refused to come out for 4 weeks. If they wanted his approval for any documents or sketches, they had to slide it under his door.