Fragrance Beauty Chapter 3: A Girl Named Brocade

Proofreader: Zhu Yuan

"Get up! Get up! " It suddenly became noisy around her.

Ann Brocade woke up suddenly.

An ordinary face showed up on top of her head with eyes looking at her with disgust: "Lazy bone, why haven't you got up? Mammy Cheng will scold you again."

Brocade pressed her chest to calm down her wildly beating heart, silently got up, combed his hair and washed his face. Then she looked at her reflection in a small bronze mirror.

The face and skin in the bronze mirror were as fair as snow, and the bright eyes were pure like water, but the eyelids were slightly drooping, which hid the charming color in those eyes. Delicate nose bridge and mouth red as cherry made her look beautiful and graceful.

Her beauty would be unveiled only when people looked at her for a long time. However, it's hard to discover her beauty at the first glance. It seemed that an invisible hand quietly deliberately erased all her extraordinary glamor without revealing any trace.

She stared at herself in the bronze mirror.

The same face with slight changes had already given her a different appearance, a different name and a different life.

She finally became "alive" again.

That cursed ghost of Fu Cold Fragrance who was beheaded had come back to life.

The maid in the same room swore, "Hurry up or we won't have any food to eat."

Brocade lowered her eyes to cover her bright eyes. She combed her long black hair in a hurry.

After she wiped her face and reached for her makeup case, she found it was empty inside. She asked in a low voice: "Sister Longxiu, have you seen my silver hairpin?"

Longxiu was a maid with rough hands and feet. She entered the palace two years earlier than Ann Brocade. She was regarded as a senior maid in the palace, but somehow, she was always a third-cla.s.s maid in Yuexiu Palace, taking junior maid's monthly payment.

Hearing Brocade's question, Longxiu immediately raised two thick eyebrows and scolded, "What do you mean? Are you blaming me for stealing your silver hairpin? Don't dream to ascend to heaven in the future just with one step by virtue of your good looking and smooth skin. To tell you the truth, since you are here in Yuexiu Palace, you are a maid as humble as me. Hha ...... It is insane for you to dream to climb to the top! You better have self-knowledge! If you had enjoyed the emperor's favors, you would have become a n.o.ble Lady..."

Brocade bowed her head without saying a word and let Longxiu scold her by vulgar words. Longxiu's scolding finally attracted the attention of several maids in the next room.

"Why does she always shout so early in the morning? n.o.body can sleep well!"

"Long Xiu has always been bullying Brocade."

"Brocade is so unlucky. Since she came to the palace, she had been living with the tigress in the same room..."

The buzz outside the house was all backing Brocade, which made Longxiu very infuriated. She stared at Brocade, anxious to punch her in the delicate face.

Longxiu didn't know whether this quiet girl was too good-natured or whether she had some mental problems. Brocade always refused to fight back, making Longxiu's provocative character more and more repugnant to other ladies.

"Why you are so noisy?" Mammy Cheng came in with a straight face.

Brocade was about to come forward to pay a visit when Longxiu's thick and strong body pushed her aside. Longxiu complained first: "Mammy Cheng, this little b.i.t.c.h said I stole her silver hairpin. Heaven and earth can bear witness, I haven't seen her silver hairpin!"

Mammy Cheng looked coldly at Brocade who was bowing her head humbly and asked: "You said she stole your hairpin?"

Brocade said slowly, "I didn't say it. I just asked sister Longxiu whether she had seen the hairpin.  Since she hasn't seen it, we can let it go at that."

Sister Cheng was very satisfied that she did not want to stir up trouble: "Since there isn't any trouble, I am really relieved. You learned how to distinguish fragrance yesterday. Lady Intellectual Chen from the Pharmacopoeia Department said that you learned very well. Pack up quickly and go to the Medicine Hall to wait. Remember, keep arrogance and rashness away from you."

"Yes, thank you Mammy Cheng. I will obey Lady Intellectual Chen." Brocade thanked Mammy Cheng in a low voice.

Seeing that Brocade had not been punished but praised by the strict Mammy Cheng, Longxiu became even more jealous.

Following this, Mammy w.a.n.g smiled amiably: "I bet Waiting Lady Ann is a clever and obedient girl. Longxiu, won't treat her like that anymore."

Longxiu snorted. Mammy Cheng turned to leave. Suddenly she turned back to Ann Brocade and said, "I know you were not convinced when you were not chosen, but to become a Lady Intellectual is your last chance."

"Yes." There was no unwilling color in Brocade eyes.

Mammy Cheng and her people finally left.

Ann Brocade packed up the books and utensils, turned back and asked Longxiu in a low voice: "Sister Longxiu, you said there were many mosquitoes these days, right? I'm going to study herbs and perfume today, and I can ask sisters in the Pharmacopoeia Department for some mosquito repellent herbs."

"Don't pretend to be kind!" Longxiu shouted harshly, "Who knows whether you are genuine or not."

Ann Brocade would like to say something. Other ladies who were familiar with her took her sleeve and urged in a low voice: "Let's go! What do you waste your time at this tigress? Come on, let's go, or we will be late."

Ann Brocade replied, but she still turned back to Longxiu, who was especially angry, and said with a perfect manner, "Sister Longxiu, I'm leaving."

When she finished her word, she left Yuexiu Palace with a bunch of ladies. Longxiu looked at her exquisite figure, so angry that she kicked the stool with one foot.

Ann Brocade followed the waiting ladies. They whispered and giggled as they walked one by one.

They had just been elected to the palace this year. Longxiu was right to some extent. They were chosen from low-status families all over the country to enter the palace, and those with higher status had long been named Royal Lady or n.o.ble Lady. As for those whose ident.i.ty was more valuable, they had been ent.i.tled when they haven't entered the palace.

However, these low-status women were destined to be maids as they entered the palace. They would learn rules in Yuexiu Palace and then they would be a.s.signed to work everywhere in the palace.

Those who learned well or specialized in technical subjects could become first-cla.s.s maids, and could even become a Lady Intellectual after examination. Those who did not learn that well were second-cla.s.s maids. Those stupid ones were reduced to third-cla.s.s maids.

If they could become first-cla.s.s maids, they could have half teal of silver a month and all kinds of seasonal rewards in the palace. If they were lucky enough, the master of each palace would take a fancy to them and made them maids of honor. For some maids, even the emperor took a fancy to them, and the sparrow would become a phoenix. There were many different futures for these waiting ladies.

However, there were not many good opportunities for the maids to stand out.

A maid could learn something and become a Lady Intellectual of low-status concubines in the palace, and become the top Lady Intellectual, and then a Lady Official beside the concubines of a higher status, and then the top Lady Official of the palace.

However, it would take years to fight against overt or covert enemies and stand firmly in the dangerous imperial palace. The green years and beauty would vanish before they climbed to the highest position.

The highest place refers to the nearest position beside the emperor and queen, which was the highest level these ladies could reach.

On that level, when they were favored, they could shade their children; When they were disgraced, they could implicate nine generations.

Ann Brocade entered the palace as a common family girl with a low background. As the daughter of a small county magistrate, she could not partic.i.p.ate in the palace grand election after the three rounds of elections. She was lucky enough not to be thrown out after the first round. If it weren't for her knowledge of reading and writing and a little knowledge of herbs and perfume, she would have been sent to do rough work after learning rules at Yuexiu Palace.

However, she naturally emerged and gained the favor of Lady Intellectual Chen of Pharmacopoeia Department.

Brocade followed a group of beautiful women who went to study perfume on the straight palace road. Her eyelids drooped slightly, but only the light flas.h.i.+ng in those clear eyes made her stand out among all the people.

All the beautiful ladies were talking and laughing when suddenly a group of flowery people crowded in front of them. Ladies suddenly stopped and watched those people.

"Look! That's Sister Ruan Yao! And n.o.ble Lady Cheng!" Some recognized them from the group of imperial concubines.

Brocade looked up. At the end of the line were two graceful figures, Ruan Yao and Cheng Qiuyi. Speaking of these two, Brocade was familiar with them, because they happened to be the best in the same group of waiting ladies.