Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 336 Sound Sleep

Green Willow stepped forward and snatched the handkerchief, gently supporting Meng Shu's chin with one hand and carefully wiping her flushed cheeks with the other. The warm handkerchief touched her skin, and Meng Shu subconsciously frowned, but Green Willow firmly pressed her down.

"Don't move." Green Willow's voice carried a hint of reproach, but her movements were gentle. "The rouge has smudged all over my temples."

Meng Shu remained unmoved, letting her do as she pleased. Green Willow's technique was skillful; she first wiped away the remaining makeup from her face, then placed a new handkerchief on her forehead. Amidst the rising steam of wine, Meng Shu's long eyelashes drooped, as docile as a lazy cat.

"It's too early to say anything now," Meng Shu suddenly said, her voice tinged with drunkenness. "Right now, I absolutely cannot live without our Little Green Willow."

Green Willow was adjusting her hairpins when she heard this, and paused in her work. She muttered, "Shu'er always knows how to say nice things to coax me. Just now, from what Aunt Mei said, I thought you were pleading with Madam and wanted to hurry up..." Her eyes reddened before she could finish her sentence.

The gold hairpin trembled slightly between her fingers, reflecting a halo of light in the candlelight.

Seeing that Meng Shu did not respond, Lvliu looked down and realized that Meng Shu had fallen into a deep sleep in her arms at some point.

Green Willow sighed softly, called Xia'er, and the two helped her to bed, carefully covered her with a thin brocade quilt, and Green Willow thoughtfully dimmed the candlelight by the bedside.

Xia'er quietly closed the window and asked in a low voice, "Will the Emperor come tonight?"

Green Willow said, "How can Your Highness serve me in such a drunken state? I'll go and tell Eunuch Jing. You must keep a close watch on her. Have you prepared warm water?"

"Don't worry, Sister Green Willow, everything is prepared. Aunt Mei sent over some Kudzu Flower Hangover Relief Pills. Should Her Majesty take them now?"

"A hangover pill?" Green Willow frowned slightly. "Keep it for me. The Empress isn't too drunk. Let her get some rest."

As soon as Lvliu stepped out of the palace gate, she saw Dong Ming carrying a palace lantern coming this way.

"This servant is here on the orders of Eunuch Jing to deliver a message," Dong Ming said, bowing. "Please prepare your carriage as soon as possible, Your Highness. It will be arriving shortly."

Green Willow bowed slightly and explained, then quietly handed over a purse.

Dong Ming waved her hands repeatedly, "Oh dear, how can this be? His Majesty is in high spirits today, and he has probably already finished reviewing the memorials and is eagerly waiting for Consort Meng. This servant must hurry back to report."

Seeing this, Green Willow quickly stepped forward and stopped him, saying, "It is only right that we trouble you, Your Excellency, to relay this message."

With a flick of her finger, she revealed a small celadon box in her purse. "It's just some refreshing mint balm. Applying it to your temples while on night duty is the best way to wake you up." As she spoke, she subtly slipped the purse into Dong Ming's sleeve.

This was the first time Dong Ming had been addressed as "Noble Lady Zhong," and she felt a surge of pleasure. When she felt the weight of the few silver coins in her purse, her eyes crinkled with a smile: "This is all within my duty, how could I possibly accept this..."

Green Willow then seized the opportunity to add, "If you, the Noble Lady, truly feel apologetic, why not put in a good word for our Lady? I don't know what's wrong with Her Majesty today; she's been in a great mood ever since she returned from seeing Madam Yun, and she unknowingly drank an extra cup at dinner. Tomorrow, when Her Majesty sobers up, she will certainly go to apologize to the Emperor in person."

Dong Ming smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Green Willow, I will definitely pass on the message."

......

Inside Yingzhou Hall, the fragrance of ambergris lingered, and the sound of the jade water clock faded away.

The Emperor had just finished bathing and was being helped by palace maids to change into his plain silk nightgown. Upon hearing Dong Ming's report, he raised an eyebrow slightly, "Did the maidservant beside Consort Meng really say that?"

Dong Ming bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Miss Green Willow did say that Her Majesty was in a very good mood, which is why she drank some wine. She has now rested."

Jingming never missed an opportunity to flatter the emperor. He glanced at the emperor's expression and saw a slight upturn at the corner of the emperor's lips, so he quickly stepped forward to join in the fun.

"In my opinion, Your Majesty must have heard it from Lady Yun herself, otherwise Your Majesty is usually reserved and prudent, and would not be so happy otherwise. Now that your wish has been fulfilled, Your Majesty must be grateful for the Emperor's grace."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's gaze involuntarily turned towards the direction of Bilangxuan, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. He tapped his slender fingers lightly twice on the dragon-patterned table and instructed Dong Ming, "Have the kitchen prepare a ginseng hangover soup, and you personally deliver it to Bilangxuan."

Dong Ming obeyed the order, bowed, and withdrew.

"Your Majesty, you see, tonight is another summons..." Jingming cautiously probed.

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor kicked him in the buttocks, saying, "Shut up! Go and bring me the memorials from Wu County and Lin'an."

Jingming rubbed his bottom, still wanting to persuade him again: "It's getting late, Your Majesty, why don't you rest early..." Seeing that the Emperor was about to get up again, he quickly ran to the side hall, muttering: "This servant will go right away, right away."

On the other side, Green Willow poured a few kudzu flower hangover pills from the porcelain bottle into her palm, gently picked one up, held it to her nose and sniffed it, then examined it carefully for a while before putting the pill away again, intending to find an opportunity to let Winter Melon's good nose smell it carefully.

She didn't know why, but she just felt uneasy.

After returning to the palace, he said to Xia'er, "I will stay here and watch over Your Majesty. Xia'er, go outside and see which concubine Your Majesty will summon to serve you tonight."

That night, Meng Shu slept exceptionally well.

Since that terrifying nightmare, she hadn't slept so soundly in a long time. The warmth of the quilt, aided by the alcohol, kept her awake all night without a dream. She only slowly awoke as dawn broke.

While Meng Shu was getting ready, Green Willow combed her hair and recounted the events of the previous night in detail. Meng Shu was holding a jade hairpin and paused upon hearing this.

"Is there something wrong?" Green Willow panicked, even holding the comb crookedly. "This servant originally thought that it wouldn't be good for the Emperor to hear about the concubines being drunk, so I specifically..."

Meng Shu paused for a moment before saying, "It's fine for you to pass on the message like this, but I'm afraid it might backfire." She put the jade hairpin into her makeup box. "Xia'er said that Aunt Mei sent over some hangover pills yesterday?"

Xia'er, who was tidying the bedding, froze and hurriedly gave Green Willow an apologetic look—it wasn't that she was being nosy, but the Empress had asked, and she dared not hide it.

Green Willow pursed her lips and took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve: "Your Majesty slept soundly yesterday, so I kept it separately."

Seeing this, Xia'er quickly tidied the bed. "This servant will go outside and check the time. Consort Chun and Consort Yun will be arriving soon."

After Xia'er left, Meng Shu poured out a brown pill, picked one up and held it under her nose. "Look at the cloud pattern on this pill. It was pressed out using a special mold made in the manor. When Her Majesty has occasional banquets, Aunt Mei is always thoughtful and prepares them."

“You…” She gently tapped Green Willow’s forehead. “I mentioned before that caution is a good thing, but don’t be too over the top. In the future, when you’re with Aunt Mei and Mengzhu, don’t show any suspicion.”

Meng Shu put the pills back into the porcelain bottle. "As time goes by, it's inevitable to feel disheartened. We don't have many people we can trust to begin with."

Upon hearing this, Green Willow's eyes reddened slightly, and she whispered, "I'm just... always afraid I won't be able to protect Shu'er."

Meng Shu said gently, "Silly girl, it should be me protecting you." She put the porcelain bottle back into Green Willow's hand, "Just be more careful in the future."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Note: I made up the name "Gehua Xingjiu Dan" (葛花醒酒丹). The real name of this prescription is "Shenxian Xingjiu Dan" (神仙醒酒丹), a classic hangover remedy from the "Shengji Zonglu" (圣济总录), an official compilation from the Song Dynasty.

Regarding the title "Zhong Guiren," this article defines it as an honorific title used to refer to eunuchs who served the emperor closely.