Qi Daiyu's illness caused her to miss the Lantern Festival celebrations entirely.
Though she didn’t get to witness the lively scenes, the thought of not having to face the awkward sight of a duck ice sculpture standing out among the lifelike dragon and phoenix carvings eased her disappointment somewhat.
Still, noticing the curiosity burning in her two young maids, Little Zhuo and Xiaohuan'er, she excused them from their duties and let them go enjoy the festivities.
The girls returned brimming with excitement, chattering nonstop about the spectacle—and lamenting that their mistress hadn’t been able to attend. They eagerly described the grand scenes to her, drawing Xiao Li, Shiliu, and the others to gather around and listen.
"The palace walls were covered in lanterns—so beautiful! They say the entire route from the Shenwu Gate to the Meridian Gate and all the way to South Street was lined with them! And the dancers from the Music Bureau performed on these enormous drums, so big they had to be carried on carts from the palace to the streets for everyone to see!" Little Zhuo, ever the lively storyteller, gestured dramatically, stretching her arms wide to illustrate the sheer size of the drums.
Xiaohuan'er, less articulate, could only nod vigorously in agreement.
"Later, His Majesty will ascend the Meridian Gate tower with the Empress and Concubine Shu to admire the lanterns together. The whole city will release sky lanterns, and there’ll be fireworks! Can you imagine how breathtaking it’ll be?" Of course, low-ranking palace maids like them weren’t permitted to join the viewing atop the gate tower. Just being allowed to leave Yanqing Residence to glimpse the lanterns was already a rare privilege.
Little Zhuo’s eyes sparkled with wonder. "But my favorite part was the ice sculptures on Taiye Lake!"
She leaned in excitedly. "Mistress, there was this enormous swan sculpture—so exquisite! It didn’t look like the swans from Longtan Lake, though. It reminded me more of… well, the snow ducks under our corridor! But the swan was grander, with a longer neck, and it looked so… so…" She stumbled, lacking the vocabulary to describe it.
"Elegant!" Xiaohuan'er blurted out.
Little Zhuo beamed. "Yes! Elegant! Like a sacred swan beside the Bodhisattva—pure and graceful."
A swan?
Qi Daiyu paused. When she had last visited, there had been no trace of a swan sculpture—not even a rough outline.
Unless…
A strange realization dawned on her as she recalled the pained expression on the craftsman’s face when he received the imperial decree.
"No wonder!" Little Cheng suddenly slapped his thigh, drawing everyone’s attention.
He clasped his hands and explained, "A few days ago, a craftsman from the Construction Bureau sent someone from the Inner Workshop to borrow one of our snow ducks. Since they’re scattered all over our courtyard, I didn’t think much of it and handed one over. But hearing Little Zhuo say that swan resembled our duck, it clicked—the craftsman must’ve had no idea what kind of duck His Majesty wanted, so he came here for reference!"
The snow ducks in Yanqing Residence looked nothing like real ducks.
The poor craftsman had been utterly baffled. What was so special about carving a duck? It lacked the majesty of dragons and phoenixes or the delicate beauty of peonies and peonies. Even the auspicious sayings associated with ducks—like "talking at cross purposes" or "waddling like a duck"—hardly seemed celebratory.
But to carve just… a duck? A plain, everyday duck, the kind you’d see paddling in ponds or served at dinner?
If he’d followed the order literally, he’d have surely lost his job.
The craftsman racked his brains, wondering if the Emperor's request held some deeper meaning. Suddenly, inspiration struck—he recalled that the Emperor had exchanged a few words with Consort Hui before ordering the carving of the duck. Perhaps the key lay with Consort Hui?
The Construction Bureau and the Inner Crafts Workshop handled similar tasks, though the latter was staffed by eunuchs who primarily served the imperial harem, while the former catered to the entire palace and even mansions outside, such as those of princes and princesses. Since their work overlapped, the craftsmen from both departments were acquainted.
The craftsman learned that a young eunuch from Consort Hui’s residence was apprenticing at the Inner Crafts Workshop and sent someone to inquire. To his surprise, Yanqing Residence indeed had a "duck"—so he borrowed one, only to find it was a snow duck...
Staring at the delicate and unique duck, the craftsman fell into a long silence. With years of experience in his trade, he’d seen his fair share of oddities. Objectively speaking, the snow duck wasn’t ugly—in fact, upon closer inspection, it had a certain charm.
But charm aside, carving it into a massive sculpture would be downright terrifying...
If it frightened any of the noble ladies, his head would be on the line.
So the craftsman agonized over the design and eventually carved something resembling a swan—yet not quite a swan, rounder and more endearing than the usual elegant figure.
Unexpectedly, among this year’s ice sculptures, this "swan" became the most popular. The usual dragon and phoenix carvings had grown stale, and the novelty of this design even earned praise from the Empress Dowager.
When Little Cheng recounted the story, Qi Daiyu couldn’t help but laugh.
From duck to swan—wasn’t that artistic interpretation at its finest?
Poor craftsman.
Still smiling, a sudden flash of light streaked across the window, followed by a loud "bang."
Xiao Li stepped outside to look. "Mistress, fireworks!"
The explosions continued one after another.
Qi Daiyu wrapped herself in a handwoven woolen blanket and stepped out, gazing up at the distant fireworks illuminating the capital’s night sky. Faintly, she could even hear the cheers of commoners beyond the palace walls.
Fireworks and the full moon painted a breathtaking scene.
"Men have sorrow and joy, they meet or part again; the moon is bright or dim, she waxes or she wanes."
"May we all be blessed with longevity, though a thousand miles apart, we’ll share the beauty of this moon." Qi Daiyu murmured, eyes fixed on the moon.
Shiliu and Putao exchanged glances. They recognized the famous verse—one that spoke of longing for loved ones.
Was their mistress missing her family?
During her recovery, Qi Daiyu had caught up on various Spring Festival and Lantern Festival galas on her phone’s screen, picking up plenty of trendy jokes—though it was a shame she couldn’t use them.
Even if she said them, Shiliu and the others wouldn’t understand.
At the same time, Qi Daiyu realized just how frail her body was. Falling ill from a mere draft was unacceptable. Fortunately, the Emperor had assigned Physician Lu to her. During his visit to check her pulse, Qi Daiyu expressed her desire for a stronger constitution.
Physician Lu studied her medical records—notes from every examination since her entry into the palace—and pondered for a long while. "Consort, your weakness isn’t sudden but stems from childhood. Originally, it was merely a deficiency of qi and blood. As long as you stay warm and avoid exhaustion, daily life shouldn’t be affected."
His diagnosis aligned with Doctor Xia’s earlier conclusion.
Shiliu asked worriedly, "Could it be related to her previous illness?"
Physician Lu shook his head. "Consort Hui previously injured her waist and legs, but she has now fully recovered."
Mentioning this, he found it quite remarkable—someone who should have been bedridden for life had actually regained her health. Even the damage to her heart and lungs caused by excessive melancholy had healed completely, leaving him unsure whether to consider Consort Hui's constitution robust or fragile.
On one hand, she had recovered from ailments that should have been incurable; on the other, she was indeed weak and deficient in qi and blood, making her prone to falling ill at the slightest misstep.
As he pondered, Physician Lu continued, "Her frailty may be congenital, stemming from her time in the womb. The only remedy is careful nurturing. The dietary prescriptions from Doctor Xia are already the best. If Consort Hui continues taking them daily, she will gradually experience their benefits. I will add another qi-nourishing formula for her to take for three months, after which we can reassess and adjust."
In short, restoring her body to the health of an ordinary person would require a long period of careful recuperation.
Shiliu escorted the physician out, while Qi Daiyu rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. Physician Lu’s diagnosis boiled down to a deficiency of qi and blood. Besides dietary therapy, could she also aid her recovery through exercise?
Practices like the Eight Brocades, Tai Chi, or the Five Animal Frolics might help—strengthening both her vitality and physique.
She also resolved to start regular foot soaks, using herbs like motherwort and dried mugwort leaves.
"Madam," Shiliu returned and said cautiously, "Yesterday, Putao and I were organizing the study and found some letters from your family. Should we air them out come spring to prevent mold or insects?"
She watched Qi Daiyu’s expression carefully.
Letters? Hadn’t all the family letters she received been burned after reading? Though they contained nothing incriminating, Qi Daiyu considered letters too risky to keep in the palace. After memorizing their contents, she always disposed of them.
"These... are from years past," Shiliu clarified, her voice uneasy. Those letters shouldn’t have been brought up, but after seeing her mistress’s sorrowful expression during the Lantern Festival—and noticing her recent reconnection with the Qi family—she and Putao had assumed their mistress still longed for her family.
Now that Physician Lu had mentioned her frailty being congenital, and since Qi Daiyu had never been seriously ill before entering the palace, Shiliu wondered if the Qi family might hold some solution.
That was why she had broached the subject.
Qi Daiyu frowned, searching her memories until she finally recalled an incident from the original host’s past.
Back then, the original host had just been confined to bed, her already sensitive temperament sharpened by suffering. Tormented by physical pain and guilt over the Empress’s kindness, she had erupted upon receiving letters from home.
The original host couldn’t help blaming her family for sending her to the imperial selection—had she married an ordinary man instead, she would never have suffered that fall. She even resented the Qi family’s poverty, believing it offered her no advantage and only dragged her down.
At that time, the original host had forgotten—the imperial selection of consorts was not something the Qi family could control. With the court's decree mandating the selection, her age made her an inevitable candidate unless she was already betrothed. But Qi Caishang, a minor official, needed time to carefully select a suitable and satisfactory son-in-law. They couldn’t just hastily marry off their daughter to anyone to avoid the selection.
In the end, the emotionally shattered original host blamed the Qi family for everything. She discarded the letters they sent and ordered Shiliu and Putao not to bring any more correspondence from the Qi family to her—she refused to read them.
From then on, Shiliu and Putao dared not mention it again, though they carefully preserved every letter the Qi family sent.
Understanding the situation, Qi Daiyu sighed.
She had no right to judge the original host. Frail and sensitive by nature, the original host had endured both physical suffering and the gossip of others—her overwhelming stress was no surprise. Her emotional collapse was only natural.
As for pinning all the blame on the Qi family—whether it was a desperate outlet for her frustration or an act of avoidance—only the original host knew the truth.
Or perhaps she was simply afraid. Afraid that reading her family’s letters would make her pour out her grievances. Yet, as she had reasoned, the Qi family was powerless to help her in their humble circumstances. Knowing her plight would only leave them helpless with worry. So, she chose indifference. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t long for them.
"Bring me those letters," Qi Daiyu said.
She was not the original host. She would not break.
