The Ant Woman Ch. 10

"She let you stay away for a very long time," Lien pointed out. "You must've pleased her well."

His cheeks flushing a bit, the eunuch looked away and said, "Oh, I'm not sure. I'm not the most capable person."

"Very well. I'll let you be." Lien went back to her little errand then.

***

A jar of fragrant cream crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces and letting the cream ooze out. Seafoam Attendant Bora was grunting and screaming.

Pregnant! That Wen was pregnant! If she gave birth to a girl, she'd at least have the Emperor's affection. If she had a boy, she'd have potential for being the natural mother of the throne's successor.

Bora threw an inktone at a statue. Both items ended up fractured.

That Wen was so low class, at least when compared to Bora! She was almost a nothing, but she was already a Bamboo Lady and pregnant!

This was absolutely unacceptable!

Cringing with worry, her maids tried to dodge other things that were being thrown as they cleaned up the messes. They weren't always successful. They received quite a few bruises.

When Bora was finally calm enough to flop onto her bed, rubbing makeup on one of her pillows, she tried to think of a way to get back at Wen.

Much like her maids, she tried.

***

"The snow's falling so elegantly," Pollen Lady Kumi said as she sat by a window, holding a little saucer with a cup of hot tea. Near her Wen sat with her own cup.

"The view must be even more beautiful now that you aren't freezing like a street beggar," Wen said as she took a tray of sweets from Yuwei. Lien was standing nearby, as were Kumi's maids. "Oh, Yuwei," Wen suddenly chirped as she examined the treats' shapes. They were made of a pleasant paste and shaped like plum blossoms. "Your hands are so dexterous. These sweets look very realistic."

With a half-kneel, Yuwei said, "Mistress' pretty compliments are wasted on this unworthy servant." Then she reached out to take the teapot, likely to refill Wen's cup.

Pollen Lady Kumi was the first to put a plum blossom sweet in her mouth. Her cheeks pinkened with glee. "Oh, Dear Bamboo, won't you lend me this maid? She's surprisingly talented with sweets."

Wen nodded as her fingernail guards delicately clacked against her now full cup. They were made of tortoiseshell with a few sections of filigree silver. "I don't mind letting you use her, as long as you're gentle. Yuwei is very useful to me. She's even made a few small pieces of embroidery for some of my accessories."

For the next few days, Yuwei was sent over to the kitchen to make sugary things for Pollen Lady Kumi.

Unfortunately, after those few days, Pollen Lady Kumi fell terribly ill.

***