South Garrison Marquis's Mansion.
In two days, the South Garrison Marquis would wed the Princess of Pingyang. The mansion’s servants bustled about, draping the courtyards in festive silk ribbons.
Zhao Qing, temporarily residing in the Luofang Courtyard, closed her door and walked to the corner of the room, where she removed a loose brick from the wall. Hidden inside was her Taihua Notebook. She flipped through a few pages, her brows gradually furrowing.
The notebook was filled with terms she couldn’t comprehend, along with strange, scribbled symbols that resembled crude drawings. Though it contained many weapon schematics, Zhao Qing often spent hours deciphering just one of them.
She turned to a new page, which depicted a bizarre contraption labeled "mechanical cannon"—a combination of two wheels and an iron pipe. The handwriting was wild and nearly illegible. Already struggling with literacy, Zhao Qing found it a headache to read. Frustrated, she stuffed the notebook back into the wall.
The schematics could wait. For now, she had a wedding to prepare for.
She returned to her dressing table, happily adorning herself with the few pieces of jewelry she owned—most of them modest, save for the gold hairpin gifted by Concubine Shen from Prince Yan's Mansion.
But Zhao Qing wasn’t disheartened. Once she became the mistress of the South Garrison Marquis's Mansion, her dressing table would surely overflow with finery.
"Miss," a maid attending to Zhao Qing called from outside the door, "Concubine Shen and Young Mistress Li Yao from Prince Yan's Mansion have arrived."
Setting down her hairpin, Zhao Qing went to the courtyard gate to greet them.
The winter air was bitingly cold. Shen Wei wore a warm fox-fur cloak and cradled an exquisite copper hand warmer adorned with floral patterns. The red plum blossoms in the mansion’s garden were in full bloom, and Shen Wei paused beneath a tree, admiring them.
Cai Ping stood quietly by her side, occasionally brushing aside stray plum branches.
From a distance, Zhao Qing observed Shen Wei beneath the blossoms—the flowers were beautiful, but the woman even more so. Suppressing a pang of envy, she approached politely. "Concubine Shen, what brings you here?"
Shen Wei turned and smiled. "The Princess’s wedding is in two days. Since ancient times, a bride’s phoenix crown and robes must be exquisite—especially the headpiece. Coincidentally, His Highness gifted me a box of South Sea pearls. I thought to present them to you today, to adorn your bridal crown and make it shine."
Cai Ping stepped forward with a sandalwood box and opened it before Zhao Qing. Inside lay twelve flawless South Sea pearls, their luster so perfect they seemed almost unreal.
Zhao Qing had never seen such magnificent pearls. She stared, transfixed.
"This… this is too generous," she stammered, though she longed to snatch them up immediately.
Just then, Cai Lian returned with the lively Li Yao in tow. The eight-year-old girl, brimming with energy, had been exploring the mansion’s gardens under Cai Lian’s watchful eye.
"Auntie, look at this plum-blossom rabbit!" Li Yao proudly held up a peculiar little rabbit.
The toy was woven from bamboo strips, its ears adorned with two vibrant red plum blossoms—a delicate and charming creation.
Li Yao couldn’t put it down.
Cai Lian approached and explained to Shen Wei, "Young Mistress was picking plum blossoms in the garden when she came across a maid crafting these rabbits. The girl was so skilled she made one for Young Mistress in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea."
Beaming, Li Yao waved the rabbit excitedly. "Auntie, I want her to make another one! I’ll give it to Leyou when we go home!"
Shen Wei nodded indulgently, then turned to Zhao Qing with a smile. "Princess, how about this? I’ll give you the pearls, and in return, you let me take that rabbit-making maid. Consider it a small favor to delight the children."
Trading a low-ranking maid for a box of priceless pearls was an offer too good to refuse.
Zhao Qing knew Shen Wei was simply finding a graceful way to gift her the pearls. Who would turn down such generosity? Without hesitation, she instructed her maid to accept the box. "Concubine Shen’s kindness touches my heart."
Shen Wei casually instructed Cai Lian, "Go to the mansion’s steward and retrieve the maid’s contract."
Cai Lian lowered her eyes respectfully. "At once, my lady."
The rabbit-making maid, of course, was the very spy Shen Wei had planted in the mansion to investigate Zhao Qing. The clever girl had discovered Zhao Qing’s hiding spot in the wall.
Shen Wei couldn’t leave her there—she needed an excuse to bring the maid back to Prince Yan's Mansion, where she could keep a closer eye on her.
"The plum blossoms here are breathtaking," Shen Wei remarked. "Would the Princess accompany me for a stroll?"
Having just received such a lavish gift, Zhao Qing could hardly refuse.
Shen Wei then added thoughtfully, "South Sea pearls are delicate—keep them away from sunlight and drafts. Cai Ping, personally deliver the pearls to the Princess’s chambers and instruct her maids on their proper care."
Cai Ping held the pearl casket in her arms and said, "This servant obeys the order."
Zhao Qing didn't think much of it and had her maidservant accompany Cai Ping to her boudoir. Meanwhile, Zhao Qing herself, assuming the demeanor of the mistress of the South Garrison Marquis's Mansion, led Shen Wei to admire the blooming red plum blossoms in the estate.
...
Cai Ping carried the pearl casket and followed Zhao Qing's personal maidservant into the boudoir.
She wasn’t there to deliver pearls—she had been sent by Shen Wei to search for something hidden in the corner of the room.
Zhao Qing’s boudoir wasn’t overly spacious, and the dressing table was adorned with a few pieces of jewelry.
Cai Ping placed the pearl casket on the table, pretending to set it down carelessly. With a clatter, the casket fell to the floor, scattering twelve lustrous pearls in all directions.
"Oh no! Quickly pick them up—we mustn’t let any get damaged!" Cai Ping feigned alarm.
The maidservant was also terrified.
Cai Ping grabbed the girl’s hand and urged anxiously, "Good sister, let’s split up and search. You look on the eastern side of the floor, and I’ll check the western corner by the wall. Search carefully—if even one pearl is missing, selling us both wouldn’t cover the cost!"
The maidservant was new to the South Garrison Marquis's Mansion, timid and inexperienced. She obeyed Cai Ping’s suggestion and knelt on the floor to begin searching.
Cai Ping hurried to the corner, crouching down and pretending to look. Her sharp eyes quickly found the suspicious brick.
With practiced ease, she pried it loose and reached into the crevice, pulling out an aged parchment book.
Having served Shen Wei for a long time, Cai Ping had benefited from her mistress’s emphasis on literacy—all maids and eunuchs in the courtyard were required to learn to read. Under Shen Wei’s influence, Cai Ping had also picked up quite a few characters.
She swiftly skimmed the parchment’s cover, recognizing the words inscribed on it, then flipped through a few pages at random, committing the book’s thickness and structure to memory.
"Sister, how many pearls have you found?" the maidservant called softly from across the room.
Cai Ping stuffed the parchment back into the wall, replaced the brick, and answered brightly, "I’ve found five."
She remembered Shen Wei’s warning—now wasn’t the time to steal the hidden item, or Zhao Qing would immediately suspect her.
Cai Ping continued gathering pearls from the floor, and after a while, the two of them managed to retrieve all twelve. She wiped the dust off the pearls with a handkerchief and carefully returned them to the casket.
Once the pearls were safely stored, Cai Ping clasped the maidservant’s hand, putting on a show of camaraderie. "Good sister, we must never let our mistresses know about the pearls falling. If they punish us, we’ll suffer terribly."
The maidservant’s face paled. Though she hadn’t served Zhao Qing for long, she knew her mistress was difficult to please.
Zhao Qing had a terrible temper, prized her gold and silver jewelry above all, and forbade her maids from touching them. Any servant who dared handle her ornaments would face either beatings or harsh scolding.
Trembling, the maidservant nodded, vowing to keep the incident a secret.
...
