Chapter 4: A Wrong Turn in the Bamboo Grove

More than half a month had slipped by since the day I first set foot in the Palace of Eternal Spring. My life had gradually settled into a rhythm.

Serving the Empress by day, returning to my room with An Ninh to rest by night, and now and then receiving a few lines from home, which always left a strange warmth in my heart after reading them.

That day, the Empress sat looking over her ledgers. She set down her teacup and spoke.

"Thẩm Thư Đình."

Mama Tĩnh, standing nearby, murmured a gentle reminder.

"Thư Đình, Her Majesty is calling you."

I hurried forward and bowed my head, awaiting orders. The Empress looked toward me, her voice as gentle as always.

"Yesterday this palace had the Bureau of Palace Affairs repair Fuheng's sword belt. They've just brought it back."

She gestured toward a small wooden box sitting neatly on the table.

"Take it over to the guards' barracks. Just hand it to whoever is on duty at the gate, no need to see Fuheng himself, then come straight back."

Mama Tĩnh added, her voice full of confidence.

"You won't need a young eunuch to lead the way this time. You remember the route by now, don't you?"

I smiled faintly and nodded to accept the task, feeling a small swell of pride at being trusted to handle it alone. The box wasn't large, holding only a leather belt that had just been repaired.

I left the Palace of Eternal Spring, the box held against my chest, walking unhurried along the long corridor, crossing through the Imperial Garden now in full bloom.

I strolled along admiring the scenery, feeling unusually light of heart. But just then, ahead of me rose the sound of lively chatter and laughter, two consorts approaching with a whole retinue of palace maids behind them.

By palace custom, a maid like myself was required to step aside, and if I simply stood waiting on the main path, there was no telling how long it would take before I could get on with my errand.

I glanced to the right and spotted a small side path curving around behind the barracks, far less traveled than the main road.

Thinking it likely made little difference from the main path, I quickly turned down that way, quite pleased with myself for having found such a clever shortcut.

The path was indeed peaceful, lined on both sides by lush green bamboo and long stretches of red wall. After walking for a while, I suddenly stopped short, looking around in confusion.

"How strange."

This path was nothing like the one I had walked with Tiểu Thuận Tử before. I glanced this way and that, and the more I looked, the more it seemed both familiar and unfamiliar at once.

In the end, I had no choice but to bitterly admit to myself that I had indeed lost my way.

While I stood there uncertain which direction to turn, the sound of laughter suddenly rose up ahead. A few men in guard uniforms sat resting beneath a tree after their training.

One of them spotted me and nudged his companion, his voice full of surprise.

"Oh? Looks like there's a pretty little miss in the barracks today."

Another chuckled teasingly. "Little miss, did you lose your way?"

They meant no real harm, just a group of young men who had just finished training, and seeing an unfamiliar maid wander in, they couldn't resist a bit of teasing for fun.

One of them jumped up, laughing as he asked if I'd come looking for someone in the barracks, while another propped his chin in his hand, staring at me, remarking on how pretty I was and asking curiously which palace I served.

I stood there, my face burning slightly, both embarrassed and holding back laughter, and before I could even open my mouth to explain, a low, cold voice suddenly came from behind.

"Do you all have nothing better to do?"

The smiles vanished from their faces instantly, and every one of them shot to their feet as if struck by lightning, calling out in unison.

"Fuheng"

"My lord"

Fuca Fuheng walked forward at an unhurried pace, his gaze sweeping over the group of guards. He didn't need to raise his voice, a single look was enough to silence them all and make them lower their heads.

One of them scratched his head with an awkward laugh, protesting that they'd only meant to help her find her way. Fuheng answered evenly, his voice utterly without feeling.

"If you're rested enough, go back to the training ground for another hour."

Hearing this, their faces fell at once. They quickly answered "yes" and scattered away, not daring to linger a moment longer.

The small path now held only the two of us. Fuheng looked at the wooden box in my hands, then at the Palace of Eternal Spring badge on my sleeve, his voice still cool and precise, as though reciting a rule.

"You've lost your way. The guards' barracks is not a place palace maids are permitted to wander into."

He pointed toward the path on the left.

"Follow that way, and you'll reach the main gate."

Having said this, he turned as if to leave. I quickly clutched the box tighter and smiled slightly, not about to let him go just yet.

"I did lose my way, but I've run into the right person. This is something Her Majesty wanted delivered to you."

I raised the box with both hands before him. Fuheng glanced at it for a moment, his gaze settling on the Palace of Eternal Spring badge.

Only then did he reach out to take it, his movement clean and precise, not so much as brushing my hand. He opened the lid, checked the sword belt inside carefully, and once he'd confirmed the stitching was sound, closed it again and said quietly.

"My thanks."

Just those two words, brief and proper, not a syllable more than needed. He glanced at the path behind me and continued.

"Next time, if you don't know the way, ask whoever's on duty at the gate first. Don't wander into the barracks on your own."

There was no hint of reproach in his tone, only a reminder given strictly according to protocol.

Just then, the barracks' assembly horn sounded. A guard came running to report that training was about to resume. Fuheng gave a slight nod and looked at me one last time.

"The way out is to the right. Don't take a wrong turn again."

With that, he turned and strode off toward the training ground, his straight-backed figure quickly disappearing into the crowd of guards.

I stood there for a few seconds, watching that figure fade from sight, before finally following the direction he'd pointed and leaving the barracks.

To Fuheng, this encounter was probably nothing more than an ordinary occurrence, a Palace of Eternal Spring maid who happened to wander off course, nothing more.

But for me, this unexpected wrong turn had taught me something rather interesting.

That the famously strict and stern lord, cold and sparing with words as he truly was, was in fact quite principled and considerate, nowhere near as difficult to approach as the rumors made him out to be.

I walked on, a small smile tugging at my lips the whole way, privately thinking that this had turned out to be a wrong turn well worth remembering.