The residences in each of the Inner Palaces were such that the newest and the most junior concubine would get the outermost courtyards. So the very first Virtuous Lady got a courtyard in the deepest part of the Yongyagong, where it was surrounded by beautiful gardens, a protective boundary of trees, containing luxurious materials, full of peace and quiet for the concubine … and the Emperor, whenever he deigned to visit.
As you went out of the deepest residence, you saw the other residences, beautiful and elegant on their own, gracefully concubines lounging at times and their maids scurrying about. But the further you went out, the more exposed the residences were, the less peaceful it got. Of course, it was still miles above what ordinary concubines got. But the newest Virtuous Lady would find herself envying the serene and soft beauty of the innermost courtyard.
The newest Virtuous Lady’s residence did not have the beautiful harmony of the innermost residence. It had a medium-sized garden at the front and its boundary was made of stones. It was easy for sounds to carry over from there. The maids working, giggling and chatting amongst themselves, the gardeners taking care of the gardens, the Virtuous Lady herself would run about at the crack of dawn, and sometimes she played with the daughters of the other concubines. Except at the time when she left for morning greetings, the place was perhaps one of the liveliest places in the harem. Even Fu Caiyi - who preferred the quietness of her own residence - had come to appreciate it.
But today was different.
Today, the entire courtyard was silent, If anyone peaked in, they would see a very rare sight. The maids and servants lined up in front of the residence, hands grasped together in front of them, shoulders hunched in fright and submission. This sight itself was rare. Because everyone in the harem knew that the Virtuous Lady Qing never bothered to discipline her maids, let alone punish them. She let them go about their work their way and shrugged it off when they made a mistake. Most noble concubines looked down upon her for it and most maids looked up to her for the same reason.
Today, however, absolute silence reigned across the courtyard. None of them even dared breathe loudly. You could hear a pin drop… but no, that was not quite right. It was not complete silence. There were the sounds of the wind, the birds, nature … and the sound of pained, labored breathing that stuttered every now and then. You would not hear it if you were not in the courtyard yourself.
At the door of the residence, Qing Samaya sat on a stool. At her feet was a heap. The sound of pained groans was coming from that heap. Only shaky breaths and soft whimpers could be heard from it. Samaya’s hand was holding the wrist of that person, looking curiously at the fingers, two of which were broken. She pressed the broken middle finger, inciting a whine from the woman beneath herself.
“Was this the hand you used to hurt my son?” Her voice was soft, calm … and yet cold enough to send chills down one’s spine.
The woman glared up at her from under her dishevelled strands of hair. “Do you think you will get away with this, you bitch? The Imperial Consort will - AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”
Her words were cut off by her own scream as Samaya broke the third finger. The servants in front of her collectively flinched.
“I asked a goddamn question.” She barely held back a growl, trying to contain her rage. “Are you fucking deaf? Is this the fucking hand you hurt my son with?!”
The woman groaned, panting softly. But Samaya could see the stubborn clench of her jaw. She was not going to talk. Yet.
“I see you are stupidly loyal.” Samaya scoffed. “Normally I would admire such a quality. But you decided to use it in the wrong place.”
She once again glanced down at the hand she was holding. “Well, since you are not speaking, I am going to assume you used both hands.”
Samaya then set about working, mechanically breaking each finger, as painfully as she could. Each time, she pressed and played with the broken finger as if it was a toy, until the woman was screaming in pain. It took longer than she expected for the woman to break. It took eight fingers.
By the eighth finger, she was almost foaming at the mouth, tears and snot running down her face as she begged for mercy.
“It … it was my r-right …. Right hand! I used the right hand!!”
“Ah.” She glanced at the right hand, which she had broken all five fingers of. She smiled. It did not reach her eyes. She then reached out and patted the woman’s head. “See that was not so hard, was it? Now,” she leaned forward, “Tell me. Who ordered you to hurt my son?”
The woman’s eyes widened. She shook her head again. “No one! I was just disciplining the Prince!”
Samaya’s smile dimmed a bit. She sighed. “And here I thought we had come to an understanding, Senior Palace Attendant. You say beating my child with the rod again and again and again until he bled was discipline?”
The woman clearly went to nod but she probably saw something in Samaya’s expression - or perhaps heard something in her tone - but she held back.
Samaya, however, did not.
She took the ninth finger and twisted. “So, this is discipline as well.”
Her scream echoed in the courtyard. Samaya took a moment before breaking the tenth finger as well. She did not speak.
She expected this. She looked at the woman and scoffed.
“So loyal. But unfortunately, that will not help you here.”
She looked up at her maids and then spoke. “Bring me a bucket of cold water.”
They did not move immediately but instead, they looked at each other hesitantly.
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Samaya growled, feeling her impatience grow. “Did I fucking stutter? Bring me a bucket of cold water. NOW!”
Min and Mian scurried off quickly.
Samaya sighed and then looked back down at the woman. “Senior Palace Attendant, I understand you wish to be loyal to your Mistress. But she will not help you here. Do you think this is the worst thing I can do to you? More is coming. If you want it to stop, you need only speak.”
The woman once again clenched her jaw and looked away. Truly admirable. And utterly enraging.
Min and Mian did not take long to come back. The kitchen was close to her residence after all.
Soon enough, there was a bucket of ice cold water in front of her. Samaya grabbed the woman by the back of her neck and hauled her up.
“Last chance.”
Silence.
Samaya did not hesitate at all in dunking her head first into the water. She thrashed about, clearly trying to breathe inside and getting a mouthful of water instead of air. It was bound to get into her mouth, her pipes and her lungs. Samaya waited. Counting the seconds. She could hold her breath underwater for 3-4 minutes at most. But this woman…. Hm… Samaya bet on 60 seconds.
She counted and counted. It took a little over 60 seconds for the woman’s struggles to weaken. Samaya knew it was time. She quickly pulled the woman out of the water, leaving her gasping for breath. She was almost blue and now coughing painfully as the air suddenly entered her lungs. It was no doubt burning, and painful. She could see her eyes tearing up. There was no way a woman like this who lived her whole life inside the palace, albeit working, would be able to withstand the torture.
Samaya had a few ideas as to exactly who ordered the woman but she needed to confirm her suspicions.
And she needed to hurt this woman for what she did to her child.
She did not ask any questions yet. She dunked the woman back in. Pulled her up after another 60 seconds. Again. And again. And again.
Samaya could see the increasing fear in her eyes, and with it, something breaking every time. After the 5th time, she finally let her go and she collapsed on the ground, throwing up the water and coughing. Samaya stood, watched almost apathetically as she struggled to breathe, unable to even anchor herself with her hands due to the excruciating pain in them.
She then stepped on the woman’s left hand. Another scream ripped out of the woman’s throat but Samaya did not alleviate the pressure. Instead, she used the leverage to kneel down, putting even more pressure on that hand.
“Just tell me, and this will all be over.”
She was panting, gasping, and Samaya could hear broken sobs come from her, pleas of mercy interspersed between them. It did not do a thing to her. She had tortured people for far, far lesser reason than hurting her child.
“Come on. I am waiting.”
The woman parted her lips and seemed to mumble something. Samaya was about to lean down to hear properly.
“What is going on here?”
Ah. That familiar voice. It was not enough that the bitch was harassing her, she just had to get in her way just when she was about to get the name. She could hazard a guess why.
She looked up and smiled at the woman storming inside, two maids following her, not moving a single inch from her place.
“Lady Kang!” She grinned. “You missed the good part!”
“You insolent whore!” The woman growled. “Do you think that just because the Emperor favoured you, you can do anything you want? Do you have no fear? How dare you lay your hands on a Palace Attendant?!”
Samaya sighed and stood, finally taking her foot off the woman’s hand. She could tell by the way the woman slumped that she was relieved.
“How dare I?” Samaya raised an eyebrow. “Lady Kang, before asking how daring I am, you should ask the Palace Attendant how daring she is. So daring, she even dares to harm the Prince!”
Samaya gauged the woman’s reaction. Sure enough, there was little sign of surprise. The woman was so angry she forgot to act.
“Disciplining is not harming!” Kang Yuxin growled. “And if she has committed an offence, then you should have taken the matter to the Empress.”
She snorted. “The Empress? What good would that have done? This woman would have gotten a slap on the wrist. No, if I took her to the Empress, how would I pay her back for what she has done to my son? How would I make her scream in agony?”
“You bitch!” Kang Yuxin was clearly about to bring out her martial arts prowess. She took only a second to get in the correct posture before lunging forward, her hand extended, fingers straight and clearly aiming for Samaya’s throat.
Samaya was in no mood to let her have her way. She turned to the side, letting Kang Yuing slide past her, and then grabbed her already extended hand. She could have used the momentum to push her down to the ground but she did not. Instead, Samaya stopped her in place, her grip on the woman’s wrist tight enough to make her bones creak. She leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“If you wish to leave unscathed, I suggest you do not try anything.” She growled. “I am furious right now.”
Kang Yuxin looked at her challengingly. “What? Are you going to break my fingers too?”
The laugh that spilt from Samaya’s lips sounded … sharp, almost hysteric, a bit on the edge of madness.
“Do not tempt me.”
And then she let go. To her credit, Kang Yuxin quickly recovered her balance and straightened. One of the maids came up behind her and whispered something in her ear.
Kang Yuxin looked back at Samaya and scoffed. “Do not think this is over. The Imperial Harem is not a place where you can do whatever you wish. When you are punished, just remember, you brought this upon yourself.”
She looked back at her maids. “Come on, take Senior Palace Attendant Li. We are going back.”
Samaya watched quietly as the two maids picked the woman up and walked out, followed by Kang Yuxin. No doubt going to the Imperial Consort. She will be summoned soon.
There was silence for a moment before Su, the closest to her among the maids, carefully walked up to her.
“My lady,” she whispered. “What will happen now? Lady… Lady Kang will go to the Imperial Consort, who will go to the Empress. My lady, you will be punished for this…”
When Samaya looked toward her, Su seemed wary of speaking to her. And yet, her eyes were full of concern and worry. Samaya finally allowed herself a soft expression. She reached out and rubbed her head.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” She looked at the other maids. “You girls, just do your work as usual. If someone comes for me, just let me know.”
At that moment, she saw Ah-Liu enter the courtyard.
“Get back to work, everybody!”
The servants dispersed just as Ah-Liu approached her.
“Did you find out what I told you to?”
He nodded.
“Good. Let’s go inside and talk. They’ll come for me in a bit.”