Chapter 3: Two Months of Pulse Records

Before the sky had fully lightened, the bamboo slips arrived.

Liu Xun sat on the edge of her bed, squinting through the sliver of light leaking through the window gap. She read the Medical Records line by line, entries logged by the palace physicians, one per day, covering two months. The handwriting was sloppy, and the herbs repeated in a loop: Angelica, Szechuan Lovage, Donkey-hide Gelatin, Mugwort.

"Is that all?"

The little eunuch who’d delivered the records bowed low. "Your Highness, the physician said she’s lost too much blood after the birth. This is the standard regimen."

"Two months on this, is she better?"

The eunuch stayed silent.

Liu Xun flipped to the final volume. In the last three days, the prescription hadn't changed, except for two added characters: Add Ginseng.

"Add Ginseng." She read it aloud. "Ginseng?"

"Yes. The physician said she was fading. It's to prop up her qi."

"Did it work?"

The eunuch lowered his head.

Liu Xun closed the slips and stood up. The charcoal brazier in the room was dying. She ran a hand over the rim and found a layer of fine gray dust. This was premium Silver Frost Charcoal; it shouldn't have any ash.

"Who supplied this charcoal?"

"The Directorate of Imperial Inmates allocated it."

"How much?"

"Three jin a day."

"Three?" Liu Xun wiped her fingers on a handkerchief. "My room gets five jin a day. Mother’s gets ten. A woman who just gave birth gets three?"

The eunuch didn't answer.

"Who else is in her room?"

"Two general maids, one wet nurse."

"Where did the wet nurse come from?"

"Chosen by the Directorate."

"Did they vet her? Does she have her own children? Is her milk supply adequate?"

The eunuch opened his mouth but found no words.

Liu Xun stopped asking. She slapped the slips on the desk and headed for the door.

The western annex sat right against the palace wall. The base was damp, with moss sprouting in the cracks of the floor tiles. Liu Xun pushed the door open, and a sour, rotting smell hit her face. A brazier was burning inside, but the windows and doors were sealed tight. The charcoal fumes mixed with the scent of medicine and sour milk, stinging her eyes.

The inmate was propped up against the bed, her face the color of old wax. Her cheekbones were sharp, her eye sockets hollow. Seeing someone enter, she tried to sit up.

"Stay down." Liu Xun held her shoulder back. "I have a few questions."

"Your Highness..." The woman’s voice was frail. "Why are you here?"

"To check on you. What is your name?"

"I am surnamed Zhou."

"Lady Zhou. What have you eaten?"

Lady Zhou froze, then pointed to the small stand by the bed. On it sat a bowl of millet porridge, a skin had formed over the top. Next to it was a plate of pickled vegetables, the color dark and bruised.

"Just that?"

"And..." Lady Zhou jerked her chin toward the corner. A clay jar sat there. Liu Xun walked over and lifted the lid. Inside was half a jar of chicken broth, a layer of congealed white fat floating on top.

"Since when?"

"Two days ago... it was sent two days ago."

Liu Xun prodded the contents with a spoon. Chunks of meat sat at the bottom, the color dull and off. She turned to the little eunuch who had followed her in. "What is the standard allowance for postpartum meals in the palace?"

"Your Highness, two main meals, one snack."

"What about the snack?"

The eunuch went to ask the head maid. The maid stammered for a long time before saying, "The snacks... sometimes they come, sometimes they don't."

"Sometimes is when?"

"We skip them when it's busy."

Liu Xun replaced the jar lid and set it back. She crouched by the brazier. Half the charcoal was burnt, and the ash underneath was damp. She pinched a chunk; it was hard. She tapped it against the rim, and it made a dull, thuddy sound.

"There are stones mixed into this charcoal."

The eunuch went pale.

"Go get the person from the Directorate of Imperial Inmates who handles the charcoal."

"Your Highness..."

"Get them."

The charcoal supervisor at the Directorate was a maid surnamed Zhao, in her forties. She had a wide face and walked with a swagger. When she arrived, she performed a proper bow to Liu Xun, but her tone remained defiant.

"Your Highness says there are stones in the charcoal. I don't accept that. This charcoal is procured from outside. It was weighed upon entry. Not a single jin was missing."

"Weight is fine, but it’s not solid." Liu Xun tossed the chunk of charcoal at her feet. "Pick it up and check it yourself."

Zhao picked it up, examined it, and said, "Charcoal naturally has bits of rock. You just pick them out when you burn it."

"She’s a woman who just gave birth. She can barely get out of bed. Who’s picking out the rocks for her?"

"Well... it’s the lower staff who aren’t paying attention. I’ll go back and investigate."

"Whom are you investigating? You manage the charcoal. If there’s a problem with the charcoal, you blame the lower staff?"

Zhao fell silent, her face flushing with embarrassment, but she held her ground. "Your Highness, the palace allowances are fixed by decree. Lady Zhou is an inmate. Her allowance is what it is. If your highness wants to add to it, you need a decree."

"Whose decree?"

"Empress Dowager."

Liu Xun looked at her for three heartbeats, then laughed. "Fine. Go back and wait."

After Zhao left, Liu Xun turned to the eunuch by her side. "Run to Mother. Tell me I need to report something and ask when she’s free."

Lu Zhi was reviewing bamboo slips. A stack piled on her desk; one hand held the brush, the other pressed down on the slips. She didn't look up.

"Speak."

Liu Xun stood before the desk and recounted the details of the Medical Records, the charcoal, and the porridge. Lu Zhi listened, the brush moving without pause.

"Done?"

"Done."

"What do you want?"

"Three things. First, increase Lady Zhou’s allowance to match mine. Second, replace the charcoal supervisor at the Directorate of Imperial Inmates. Third, overhaul the rules for inmate postpartum care."

Lu Zhi’s brush stopped.

"Overhaul?"

"The current rules were written for women who haven’t had children. For those who have, allowances don't increase, physicians aren't rotated, wet nurses aren't vetted. It’s all left to the conscience of the lower staff. If they have a conscience, fine. If they don’t, you get a Lady Zhou."

Lu Zhi set down the brush, leaned back on her couch, and looked at her.

"Do you know how many people an overhaul upsets?"

"I know."

"Do you know who is behind the Directorate of Imperial Inmates?"

"I don't. But whoever it is, someone has to take responsibility for stones in the charcoal."

Lu Zhi didn't answer. She picked up the water bowl on the desk, took a sip, frowned at how cold it had gotten, and set it back down.

"You mentioned the wet nurses aren't vetted?"

"No. The Directorate can't tell us the wet nurse’s name, origin, or if she has her own children. I asked, and they dodged it."

Lu Zhi tapped her fingers on the armrest twice.

"When I gave birth to Ying'er," she said suddenly, "I went through three wet nurses."

Liu Xun didn't respond.

"The first couldn't produce enough milk. Ying'er cried all night from hunger. The second had enough milk, but her own child had died. At night, she’d hold Ying'er and cry, and Ying'er would follow suit. The third..." Lu Zhi paused. "The third was obedient, but she was illiterate. She couldn't remember the dosages the physicians prescribed. She gave the wrong amounts."

"And then?"

"I supervised it myself. I watched Ying'er nurse. I tasted Ying'er’s medicine."

The room was quiet for a moment.

"You said we need to overhaul the rules for inmate postpartum care." Lu Zhi picked up her brush again. "Based on what? You don't even know how many staff the Directorate has, how much charcoal they allocate annually, how many physicians on rotation, or how many wet nurses are available."

"So I will investigate."

"And then?"

"I’ll write a formal proposal. Item by item. Who is responsible for what, and the penalties for failure."

Lu Zhi watched her, the brush tip hovering over the slip. A drop of ink fell, blurring into a black spot.

"Tomorrow." She put the brush down. "Tomorrow at the seventh hour, come to Xuanshi Hall."

"Xuanshi Hall?"

"The new Emperor’s ascension creates a pile of miscellaneous affairs to sort out. I can’t handle all of the rear palace alone." Lu Zhi glanced at her. "Aren’t you the one who wants to investigate? I’ll give you a title, go investigate."

Liu Xun blinked.

"Mother is... approving this?"

"Approving?" Lu Zhi rolled up the slip. "Let’s test the waters. I’ll give you three months. Handle inmate postpartum care first. Do well, then we talk. Mess up..."

"What happens if I mess up?"

Lu Zhi dropped the slip on the desk, her voice level but sharp. "Mess up, and you go back to studying with Ying'er. Don't come near me."

Liu Xun smiled. "Deal. Three months."

She turned to leave, but Lu Zhi called out from behind her.

"Hold on."

"Something else, Mother?"

Lu Zhi pulled a slip from the edge of her desk and tossed it. Liu Xun caught it. Unrolling it, she saw a dense list of over ten questions regarding inmate monthly allowances, physician shifts, wet nurse selection, and charcoal distribution.

"This is..."

"I wrote it last night." Lu Zhi looked down, resuming her work. "What you just described, I’d already anticipated. Anticipating is one thing; I need someone to execute. Since you want to manage this, answer these questions one by one. If you can’t answer, go find out. If you can’t figure it out, don't show your face here."

Liu Xun rolled the slip and clutched it to her chest.

"Tomorrow at the seventh hour. Xuanshi Hall."

"Tomorrow at the seventh hour." Lu Zhi didn't look up. "If you’re late, don't bother coming."

As Liu Xun reached the door, she turned back.

"Mother."

"What now?"

"The first question on that slip asks, 'How often does a physician check on postpartum inmates?' Today I looked at the Medical Records, and it says once a day. But Lady Zhou told me the physician only comes every three days."

Lu Zhi’s brush stopped.

"The records say once a day?"

"Yes."

Lu Zhi slowly lifted her head, narrowing her eyes.

"Who keeps those records?"

"The physician herself."

Lu Zhi snatched the slip back from Liu Xun, spread it on the desk, and traced the first question with her finger. She read it slowly, then snapped the slip shut and let out a cold laugh.

"Fine. Very fine." She looked up. "Tomorrow at the seventh hour, bring the Medical Records with you. I want to see how many things in this palace exist on paper but not in reality."

Liu Xun acknowledged the order and retreated, hugging the slips. In the corridor, she looked down. Under the first question, Lu Zhi had scratched a groove with her fingernail.

A faint fish-belly white appeared on the horizon. Outside the palace walls, a rooster crowed for the first time. Liu Xun stood in the corridor, listening to the sound of a broom sweeping the bricks in the direction of Xuanshi Hall. Scratch, scratch. She counted the rhythms. On the thirty-seventh, she heard a voice behind her.

"Your Highness."

It was the general maid from Lady Zhou’s room, panting, clutching a handkerchief.

"Your Highness, Sister Zhou just coughed blood."

Liu Xun tucked the slips under her arm.

"Move. Let’s go back and check on her."