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The Glass Shatters: Subtle Ripples in the Deep Palace
墨書 Inktalez
In the depths of the palace, I had just become Consort Hui and was hiding away.
The question arises: what is it like to climb from being the Daughter of a Traitor and a Lowly Palace Maid all the way to Assistant, tearing apart formidable enemies along the way? It feels like transforming Family Medical Art into a Palace Intrigue Manual, where every step is fraught with danger, and life itself is at stake. Seeking justice for my father, gaining power in the harem, I look at my blood-stained hands filled with glory and feel that this glass-like life is fragile and cold to the bone. Was it worth it to come this far?
My name is Shen Wei Lan. Wei Lan, like a stone thrown into a calm surface of water, creating ripples that spread outwards. My father was a Grand Imperial Physician in the previous dynasty, renowned for his medical skills, yet he fell victim to an unfounded "Witchcraft" accusation that condemned our entire family. The male members were exiled, while the women were forced into servitude in the palace. That year, I had just turned fourteen; once the apple of my father's eye, I suddenly fell from grace and became the lowest laundry maid in the Palace Wing.
The memories of fragrant courtyards filled with medicinal scents transformed into the cold stone paths before me, with the sharp smell of soap pods and the harsh scolding from the matron. I knew my father was wronged; that so-called "Witchcraft" was merely a tool for political rivals. Yet within these high palace walls, truth is the least valuable commodity. Surviving is more important than anything else. This was my only promise to myself from the moment I stepped through the palace gates.
Life in the Palace Wing was arduous and monotonous. Each day began before dawn as I scrubbed clothes in icy river water, my hands turning red and cracked like carrots. I ate leftover scraps and lived in cramped, damp quarters. The other maids around me mostly wore vacant expressions, though a few, like me, harbored unyielding spirits beneath their submissive facades. We were the most lowly beings, liable to be punished for even minor mistakes or lose our lives.
Using the medical knowledge I had absorbed since childhood, I quietly treated myself and a few familiar sisters for minor ailments. This earned me some meager goodwill and made me realize that knowledge and skills—no matter how insignificant—were essential for survival in this ruthless place.
Alongside me in the palace was a girl named Lin Yanyu. She was originally a young lady from a weaving family in Jiangnan, gentle by nature and skilled in embroidery. Our circumstances were similar, and we quickly supported each other, becoming each other's only solace within these cold palace walls. Yan Yu often said, "Wei Lan, we must endure until we can escape; even if we cannot leave the palace, we must live like human beings." I held her icy hand tightly and nodded earnestly. At that time, we naively believed that "living like human beings" was an easily attainable goal.
The years in the palace flowed by silently like water. Over two years, I transformed from an innocent girl into someone who learned to read people’s expressions and keep my head down while hiding all my brilliance and discontent beneath a facade of obedience. I understood that opportunities would only come to those who were prepared and knew how to endure.
A turning point came during the winter of my sixteenth year when an unexpected epidemic swept through the palace. It began with low-ranking servants and eventually affected even some lesser-ranked consorts. The Imperial Medical Department was at a loss while panic spread among the palace inhabitants. Using my father's medical texts and my own memory, I recognized that this was not an ordinary cold but rather a Pestilence mixed with damp toxins that required targeted treatment along with strict isolation and cleanliness.
As I watched people around me fall ill—even the matron succumbed—I felt anxious yet powerless. One day, while delivering freshly washed clothes to Consort Li, who was currently favored by the emperor, I encountered her Head Maid in distress, frantically saying that Consort Li had a high fever that wouldn’t subside and that none of the prescriptions from the imperial physicians were effective.
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