Discontent

"Ha..." Chun'er sighed, looking up at the sky. It was bright and endless, unlike her future. "How long has it been since His Majesty came here?"

"Two weeks? Or three? It feels like forever..." another servant moaned, leaning against a broom. A small pile of dry leaves lay beside her feet, the tip of an iceberg compared to those scattered throughout the courtyard.

"I miss the days when our eastern chamber was bustling with activity."

"Me too. Now all we get is cold wind blowing through the gates and these blasted dead leaves!"

A eunuch who overheard them stopped and set down the potted plant he was carrying, joining in the rant. "Right?" he exclaimed. "I was actually glad to be assigned to serve Noble Beauty Yang despite the Palace of Tranquillity being so isolated, but now... Compared to the other imperial consorts, our mistress doesn't even care about our survival!"

"I doubt she cares about her own survival," the second servant grumbled, her sharp chin scrunching with the rest of her face. "All she does is eat, sleep, and read all day."

Chun'er sighed again, longer and more helpless than the first time. "She's been like that since she was a courtier," she shared. "While the other courtiers explored the palace, she stayed cooped up in the dorm, reading those weird books of hers. I didn't expect her to maintain the same lack of urgency as a Noble Beauty..."

"If only she would step outside the Palace of Tranquillity!" the eunuch cried, hugging the potted plant like it was his last lifeline.

"Wasn't there a consort from her batch who coincidentally met His Majesty in the Imperial Gardens?" the other servant said. "So much for being proactive..."

"To be fair, Brother Bian and Sister Ji'er, the other consorts who tried to copy Lady Talent Jiang were severely punished by His Majesty," a fourth voice pointed out.

"Yuan'er!" Chun'er jumped three feet into the air. "Since when did you get here?!"

A petite girl with baby cheeks—Yuan'er—cocked her head, pointing at a large pile of neatly swept leaves in a corner. "I finished sweeping the front yard, so I came over to help Sister Ji'er. That's strange... aren't you supposed to be pruning the hedges on the west side, Sister Chun'er?"

Chun'er coughed unnaturally, but Ji'er, the sharp-chinned servant, spoke first.

"Forget the chores!" she snapped. "At this rate, it won't matter what the eastern chamber looks like!"

"What do you mean?" Yuan'er blinked. "We have to keep our home clean and tidy."

"Idiot, this is Noble Beauty Yang's home, not ours."

"But she's our mistress, so naturally her home is ours too."

"Yuan'er, are you on our side or not?!" Ji'er scolded. "Although you're a second-rank servant, you barely have the chance to approach Noble Beauty Yang. The only people she trusts are Yue'er and Qiu'er, and they won't even put in a good word for us!

"If this keeps up, you'll never be promoted. Look at me and Xiao Bian—do you want to to end up like us? In our late twenties and still the lowest-ranked servants, doing the same old menial tasks day after day!"

"E-even so, mistress doesn't mistreat us, and we're allowed to do anything during our free time..." Yuan'er protested.

Xiao Bian shook his head and clapped her shoulder with the earnestness of one who had experienced many ups and downs.

"Yuan'er, you're still young, so you might not know how two-faced imperial consorts are," he said. "No matter how kind they look on the surface, the moment they realise they've lost favour, they'll take out their anger on the servants. Beatings, whippings, dishing out harsh chores... It's only a matter of time before Noble Beauty Yang blames us for her misfortune. What will you do, then?" 

"Listen to us—find another mistress while you still can. I plan to do that too, because there's no future following a passive one like Noble Beauty Yang," Ji'er finished, grabbing her other shoulder and shaking it.

"I— I—"

Yuan'er's mouth flapped open and close as she fumbled for a reasonable retort. 

Were her seniors right? Was serving Noble Beauty Yang a dead end?

But... Noble Beauty Yang had never once been unkind her. In fact, she often immersed herself in her own world, content with what she was given and never demanding more from the servants.

Sure, she wasn't enthusiastic about fighting for favour, but a peaceful life was nice too...

"What are you all doing?!"

A familiar figured appeared, marching towards them with the disbelief of someone who had reached the peak of their anger.

"Sister Yue'er!" Yuan'er broke free from Xiao Bian and Ji'er, clutching her sleeve like a little bird. "Is it true that mistress has lost the emperor's favour? Will she be angry at us? I-I don't want to be beaten..."

"Nonsense!" Yue'er roared, glaring at the three other servants. "Do you people have no shame?! Not only did you badmouth our mistress, but you're also brainwashing a kid like Yuan'er!"

Ji'er's defiance flared at her scornful attitude. "So what if we were? You wouldn't understand our hardship since you're Noble Beauty Yang's personal attendant!"

"That's right!" Xiao Bian nodded aggressively. "We're out here toiling under the sun while you're doing simple embroidery indoors. What gives you the right to—"

"Sister Yue'er, don't listen to them!" Chun'er interrupted, panicking. "They're just blabbing out of frustration! I apologise of behalf of everyone, so please forgive us!"

"Hah! Too late," Yue'er scoffed. "Mistress will be the judge of your actions!"

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving the other servants green with regret behind her.

***

Meanwhile, inside the eastern chamber, Zi Hua was staring at her lunch, chopsticks hovering indecisively over each dish which looked more unappealing than the last.

It had been ages since Tian last visited her, and before the emotional void, she was starting to feel physical one.

The first few days, her treatment had been the same as when she had first entered the rear palace—better, even. But the first week after Tian's absence... things began to change.

It started with the decreasing number of dishes that appeared on the table, and then the quality of the two vegetarian dishes, one meat dish, and one soup left. As for dessert? Whenever Yue'er went to collect the daily specials from the Imperial Kitchens, she always returned empty-handed with the conveyed excuse of "out of stock, come earlier next time". But no matter how early she arrived, there was never "enough" left...

Zi Hua wasn't usually a picky eater, but she simply couldn't muster up an appetite for the woody vegetables and fatty meat on the table. Just as she set down her chopsticks and decided to drink the soup only, Yue'er stomped into the room.

"Mistress, you won't believe what I just heard!"

She stopped with a palpable screech, breathing heavily and red with rage from the face down.

Zi Hua's hunger got replaced by curiosity. "What has you so worked up, Yue'er?"

"I caught a few servants whining about you 'losing favour' and advising each other to jump ship," Yue'er tattled. "It hasn't even been that long since His Majesty stopped visiting, yet the way they spoke made it sound like you were demoted to the Cold Palace already! The nerve of them— Argh!!!"

"Calm down, Yue'er." Zi Hua soothed her back slowly until her emotions stabilised.

"But mistress, aren't you mad?" Yue'er asked, studying her impassive face.

"Not really." Zi Hua shrugged. "I mean, I didn't expect them to be this impatient and opinionated, but since we're only acquaintances, they aren't worth my anger. Besides, they can't all be bad, can they?" she added optimistically.

"Well, you're right..." Yue'er admitted. "Yuan'er spoke up against them, but got ganged up upon. What use is one voice against many, anyway?"

"One voice may be small, but it can make a difference nonetheless," Zi Hua disagreed.

"Still, mistress, are we going to leave those unloyal bullies be?"

"Of course not!" A sly glint flashed through her eyes. "It's time to make good on my promise on the first day."

Yue'er perked up. "You mean...?"

"Yes, we're going to give the eastern chamber servants a wake-up call."