"Miss Qinhe, please take your leave for now. It is time for my lady to take her medicine."
Summer An came in carrying a bowl of medicine, and Qiu Ming spoke calmly — though there was a strictness in his gaze that made even thick-skinned Qinhe shrink back.
She had no choice but to leave in embarrassment, taking Granny Cui with her.
Lin Wanyi took the bowl of medicine and drank it in one smooth motion, without any hesitation.
She had grown up taking medicine, so this was nothing to her.
Qiu Ming watched and was secretly impressed. This lady must have a decisive temperament, unlike other concubines who acted as though drinking medicine would kill them — either demanding the Emperor to coax them or putting on a show.
Such things were troublesome.
Since the medicine contained a mild sedative, and with Qiu Ming around, she had nothing else to worry about, Lin Wanyi soon fell asleep.
After she drifted off, Qiu Ming and Summer An quietly stepped out of the inner chambers.
"You have been serving Lady Lin since before," Qiu Ming said. "So I will rely on you to pay close attention to her daily needs."
"Even without you saying so, I know," Summer An replied.
"Good. From now on, matters in the Left Hall can be discussed with me. Not to brag, but I have seniority over most people here, and came to the palace earlier. So there are some things that can be done, and some things that cannot — the rules must be established first."
Summer An nodded, feeling that Qiu Ming's reasoning made perfect sense.
"I will follow your directions," she agreed.
"Then remember this first lesson," Qiu Ming continued, "no matter who comes to call on Lady Lin, everything must be done according to her wishes. If she wants to see them, then fine. If not, you must find a suitable excuse to turn them away. Understood?"
Summer An's mouth opened slightly in surprise. She had not expected Qiu Ming's first order to be this.
"But Qiu Gonggong, our lady's rank is still low. If it's someone like Miss Qinhe today, a favored maid of the Noble Consort, wouldn't refusing to let them in cause trouble for our lady?"
"There are rules and phrasing for refusing visitors. These must be practiced. If we servants cannot relieve our master's burdens, then what use are we?"
His words were like a sudden awakening for Summer An.
"Take today as an example," Qiu Ming went on. "Our lady clearly did not wish to see Miss Qinhe, and Qinhe would only have made things difficult for her. It would have been best to stop her at the door, so Lady Lin would not even have to hear it — and in future, there would be no chance for resentment to build. Do you understand?"
Summer An had never realized a servant could handle things this way.
She could not help but sigh — no wonder someone who had served at the Emperor's side had such confidence!
"Even though our lady only holds the rank of 'Talented Lady' for now, she is still the master, while servants are servants. Qinhe dared to threaten her to her face, relying on the power behind her. That already broke the rules. Of course, proper respect should be given, but we cannot let their overbearing attitude grow unchecked. Understand?"
Xia An nodded vigorously. She felt this was the most at ease she had been since entering the palace.
Before they ever set foot in the palace, they were constantly taught to be cautious in all things — to be respectful, humble, never overstep.
Yet here in the palace, currying favor and stepping on the weak happened every single day.
If you wanted others to respect you, you first had to stand upright and proper, so no one could find fault with you.
Constantly bowing your head and giving way would only make you look easy to bully.
What happened with Noble Lady Chu was one lesson, and what happened with Noble Consort Lin was another.
"Of course," Qiu Ming continued, "I'm not saying you should charge ahead blindly either. That is a foolish way. People have two lips — they can speak gently, but also sternly. You must neither make your mistress feel embarrassed, nor give others any chance to seize on your mistakes."
At these words, Xia An understood in theory, but knew putting it into practice would still be difficult.
Qiu Ming, after all, had only laid out the principles today. How to handle things concretely would depend on time — the path was long, and she would learn slowly.
Now that a chief eunuch had come to the Left Hall, all the rules would have to be reset.
Before, there had only been Chunqi, Xia An, and the newly arrived Xiaoluzi, so Lin Wanyi had not been too strict, only emphasizing loyalty.
But after Qiu Ming arrived, things were different. Rules were rules. If anyone broke them, whether old or new, they would all be dealt with the same.
This clear system of rewards and punishments left everyone in the Left Hall in awe.
Even Lin Wanyi herself felt that Qiu Ming was truly a capable person.
The two people Qiu Ming had borrowed from the Inner Court were honest and steady: the maid Yaner and the eunuch Xiao Hezi.
They did their work earnestly, hands quick and eyes sharp.
While Chunqi had been confined to bed these past few days, Yaner even took care of changing her medicine, gentle and considerate.
Before long, Chunqi and Yaner had become quite close.
"Yaner, how much of those palace rules Qiu Gonggong explained last time have you memorized?"
Yaner tilted her head to think, then answered honestly:
"I remember about seventy to eighty percent. Qiu Gonggong said he'd quiz us, so I don't dare slack off!"
Chunqi pulled a face miserably.
She had always been terrified of memorizing things. The few characters she recognized had been forced into her by her old mistress.
To make her memorize every line of palace regulations — it felt worse than getting beaten with sticks.
"Heavens!"
Chunqi in that moment hated Noble Lady Chu even more — if only she had struck her a couple more times that day, then her injuries might have looked serious enough to keep faking sick.
With the Emperor personally looking after the Left Hall, the Imperial Medical Bureau did not dare neglect them.
Not to mention the mistress, even Chunqi and Xiaoluzi were visited daily by physicians and medical women for checkups.
They spared no expense on medicines, so within just four or five days, the bruises had already faded, and a few cuts had even scabbed over.
Thanks to her good constitution, Chunqi was soon able to get out of bed.
If Qiu Gonggong hadn't been managing things so tightly outside, she would have sneaked off to the small kitchen by now.
Her hands itched from so many days without pots and pans.
"Our lady hasn't eaten my cooking these days. I wonder if she's lost weight?"
"Don't worry, Sister Chunqi," Yaner reassured her, "the Imperial Kitchen delivers meals on time every day, and I saw the mistress eating plenty."
Chunqi pouted, thinking her lady was really pitiful.
Already hurt, yet still unable to eat her favorite dishes, and with Qiu Gonggong here, even mealtimes weren't free — forcing her to eat more.
Thinking of this, Chunqi longed to get up right away and get cooking again.
But she feared that if she stepped out, Qiu Gonggong would catch her and make her recite a couple palace rules on the spot — she would rather hide in her room.
Better to stay unseen.
On the other hand, Xiaoluzi was the complete opposite.
When he heard that Qiu Ming would be the chief eunuch of the Left Hall, he was overjoyed.
He had long hoped to learn under Lord Dong. That would have been the luckiest thing of his life.
Although it was not Lord Dong who came, everyone knew Qiu Gonggong was Lord Dong's disciple.
Being trained by Qiu Gonggong still meant getting a foot in the door with Lord Dong.