A day within the palace walls seemed longer than one outside. Inside the red walls and grey tiles, people woke up in the morning yearning for noon, and from noon, they longed for nightfall. Children outside the palace kicked shuttlecocks in the streets, and before they knew it, darkness had fallen; inside, people watched, wide-eyed, as the sun slowly, incredibly slowly, sank. When the eight hundred drumbeats from the Bell and Drum Towers ceased and the Imperial City gates were locked, night truly arrived.

All the priestesses returned to the rear hall. Some sat blankly on the communal bed, lost in thought, while others mended their clothes. Once finished, all needles and thread had to be handed over to Xuan Su, who locked them away in a cabinet, ensuring not a single needle was missing. Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun sat on the edge of the communal bed, quietly whispering to each other.

Xuan Su sat on the communal bed, her gaze flicking between Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun, before she calmly said, “Bai Li, go fetch me a basin of water to wash my feet.”

Zhu Lingyun glared, “Don’t you have hands and feet? Can’t you go yourself?”

Xuan Su smiled, pulling a ruler from beneath her pillow. “In that case, let’s test Bai Li’s lesson for today. If you can recite the forty-nine verses that the True Person taught, I won’t punish her.”

Zhu Lingyun froze, then turned to look at Bai Li with a worried expression.

Bai Li’s expression remained impassive. She recited in a low voice, “The Way that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Way. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. Nameless, it is the beginning of heaven and earth. Named, it is the mother of the myriad creatures. Always without desire, we may contemplate its mystery. Always with desire, we may contemplate its manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name. Together they are called the Enigma. Enigma of enigmas. The gate of all mystery…”

Xuan Su frowned. As she listened to Bai Li recite the forty-nine verses learned that day, not a single word was amiss. The ruler in her hand remained unstruck. She paused in thought for a moment, then turned to Zhu Lingyun. “You recite it!”

Zhu Lingyun stumbled through the recitation: “The Way that can be trodden, not the enduring Way; the name that can be named, not the enduring name…”

Xuan Su suddenly raised her hand, but as it was about to fall, Bai Li intercepted it.

Bai Li held her wrist and said slowly, “I will fetch your foot water, then.”

Xuan Su smiled faintly. “Wouldn’t it have been better if you were this sensible earlier?”

Bai Li got off the communal bed and went to the side room to boil water. She sat blankly in front of the small red clay stove, letting the warm breeze caress her face, lost in thought. She thought of the twentieth verse of the Taoist scripture, silently reciting, “Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs. The sages are not benevolent; they treat the common people as straw dogs.” But she felt that verse was inappropriate, so she then silently recited the twenty-eighth verse: “Dwell in a good place, keep your heart in profound depth, be kind in giving, be orderly in governing, be capable in handling affairs, act at the right time. Only when there is no contention, there will be no fault.”

As she mused, the kettle let out a piercing hiss of steam. Bai Li rose, carried the kettle, poured the hot water into the copper basin, mixed in some cold water, and then calmly placed the basin at Xuan Su’s feet by the communal bed.

Xuan Su removed her shoes and said with a smirk, “By rights, the Prince of Jing’s daughter should be pampered, yet you work so deftly? Your sister, on the other hand, is utterly useless.”

Bai Li calmly corrected her, “She is not utterly useless.”

Xuan Su sneered, “You’re quite a dutiful older sister, always defending your younger one. But why is it that everyone else in Jingyang Palace is alone, while you two sisters can still depend on each other?” Bai Li’s expression remained impassive. She finally understood the reason for Xuan Su’s malice.

Xuan Su placed her feet in the basin and said maliciously, “Wash my feet. From now on, you will wash my feet every day! If you refuse, I will make your sister recite scriptures. If she fails, even if she makes a single mistake, she will be punished!”

Zhu Lingyun was so enraged she stood on the communal bed and cursed, “You wicked old hag! My sister is the Prince of Jing’s eldest daughter; how dare you debase her like this?”

Xuan Su glanced at her sideways. “Is the Prince of Jing’s eldest daughter very precious? In my Jingyang Palace, I make the rules!” As she spoke, several priestesses beside her also stood up, facing Zhu Lingyun, seemingly ready to pin her down on the communal bed and beat her severely.

At this moment, Bai Li said softly, “We are already in a place like this; there are no ‘precious’ people here. I will wash them for you. Lingyun, go to sleep properly.”

Zhu Lingyun’s eyes swam with anger. “Sister, let’s fight them to the death! There’s no point in living!”

Bai Li repeated, “Lingyun! Go to sleep!”

Xuan Su burst into laughter. “The older sister is indeed more mature and composed!” She stirred her fleshy feet in the copper basin and said with a smile, “Wash them, why are you dawdling? One who endures the greatest hardships becomes a superior person. Princess Bai Li, you still have many more hardships to endure, but afterward, great wealth and status surely await you.”

Bai Li silently dipped her hands into the basin.

***

In the early morning, the sound of the morning bell from the Bell and Drum Towers drifted from the north. This bell sound arrived as scheduled every day, always the same, as if the days themselves held nothing new.

As usual, Xuan Su stood by the door, shouting sternly, “Everyone, get up for morning lessons!” She suddenly pushed open the vermilion-lacquered gate, allowing the cold wind to rush into the hall.

Bai Li rose. First, she coiled Zhu Lingyun’s hair, then used a wooden hairpin to tie up Princess Yong Chun’s hair. As she looked at the princess’s wrinkled face, she felt as if she was seeing her future self.

Princess Yong Chun smiled foolishly, “Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, you look so much like a Bodhisattva, truly beautiful.”

Bai Li smiled. “How could a Bodhisattva from Buddhism come to a Taoist temple?”

Princess Yong Chun, in her delirium, retorted, “A place that should be doing good hides people who do evil; why can’t a Bodhisattva from Buddhism come to a Taoist temple?”

Bai Li froze. Before she could ponder it further, Princess Yong Chun had already jumped off the bed and dashed out the door. “Brother Zhuo Yuan must have come to see me today! He promised he would visit!”

Bai Li felt a pang of loss, slowly composed herself, and walked out the door. As she passed the vermilion-colored hall door, Xuan Su leaned against the doorframe and said in a low voice, “Don’t you two think of complaining to Master Xuan Zhen. Behave yourselves; if I find out, I won’t let you off easily.”

Bai Li did not reply, leading Zhu Lingyun directly towards Jingyang Hall.

The meditation cushions were already laid out. The graceful and elegant True Person Xuan Zhen sat cross-legged on a cushion, gently waved her horsetail whisk, struck the chime, and solemnly proclaimed, “The Way that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Way…” The Taoist scriptures they studied were identical to those of the previous day. In a daze, Bai Li almost believed she was trapped in an inescapable predicament, endlessly repeating “a certain day,” with no end in sight, no escape, and no hope of return.

Once the scripture lesson concluded, True Person Xuan Zhen gracefully rose and led everyone in performing the three prostrations and nine kowtows to the Three Pure Ones.

Just then, Zhu Lingyun scrambled up from her cushion and rushed towards Xuan Zhen. Bai Li reached out to pull her back but only grazed her sleeve. In front of the statues of the Three Pure Ones, Zhu Lingyun threw herself at Xuan Zhen’s feet, her voice choked with sobs. “Abbot, that Xuan Su lords over us in the rear hall every day! Chores that should be done by everyone, she forces only my sister and me to do. At night, she even makes us sleep next to the commode, and anyone getting up to use it wakes us. She doesn’t wash her own clothes either; she gives them all to my sister and me. My sister’s hands are chapped and bleeding from the cold; if you don’t believe me, look…”

Xuan Su’s expression changed instantly. “Stop! I told you to stop!” She rushed forward, attempting to grab Zhu Lingyun’s hair, but Xuan Zhen merely turned her head and cast a light, sidelong glance. Xuan Su immediately withdrew her hand awkwardly. “Abbot, I…”

Zhu Lingyun continued to wail, “Abbot, this Xuan Su even makes my sister wash her feet.”

Xuan Zhen waved her horsetail whisk, turned to Xuan Su, and said softly, “A few days ago it was Princess Yong Chun; today it’s Princess Lingyun. How many more times must I intervene on your behalf? If you cannot manage them properly, I will replace you with someone else, so that my serene cultivation is not constantly disturbed.”

Zhu Lingyun froze.

Xuan Su quickly replied, “I can manage them well, perfectly well!”

Xuan Zhen held her horsetail whisk and softly commanded, “Kneel.”

Xuan Su knelt before her, palms open and facing upwards. Xuan Zhen extended her hand, and someone immediately handed her a bamboo ruler. “Recite the Pure Earth Divine Incantation.”

Xuan Su shot a venomous glance at Zhu Lingyun and began to recite, “Heaven and Earth are natural; foul qi disperses. Profound void in the cave; bright and great beginning. Mighty spirits from the eight directions, empower me…”

*Smack!* The ruler struck heavily against her palm. Xuan Su’s fleshy face trembled with pain, but she dared not pause her recitation of the Pure Earth Divine Incantation for even a moment.

After a full one hundred and eight strikes, Xuan Zhen said with a calm expression, “To break the hundred and eight afflictions, your body must become like glass, clear inside and out. Today, you have surpassed your yesterday.”

Xuan Su’s left hand was bruised and bleeding profusely. She prostrated herself respectfully, “Thank you, True Person.”

Xuan Zhen handed the ruler to an attendant, turned, and walked towards the side hall without a backward glance.

As soon as the vermilion-lacquered gate of the side hall closed, Xuan Su abruptly turned to Zhu Lingyun and said sternly, “I told you this morning not to complain and not to disturb the True Person’s cultivation, yet you refused to listen! Drag her into the rear hall and silence her!”

Bai Li stepped forward and pleaded urgently, “No, she won’t do it again!”

Xuan Su glared back. “And Bai Li! Drag her into the rear hall with her!”

Several priestesses dragged them both away, and the side hall door did not open again.

Once in the rear hall, Xuan Su turned back and closed the door. She swung the ruler in her hand, lashing at Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun’s thighs until their skin was broken and bleeding, and their trousers were soaked with blood. Only then did she stop.

At noon, a young eunuch brought the meal, and the priestesses dispersed to the side hall to eat. Only Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun remained lying on the communal bed. Zhu Lingyun wept softly, almost too weak to cry anymore. Princess Yong Chun sat on the threshold, gazing at the sky, her fingers twirling strands of her loose hair, murmuring something to herself.

Bai Li slowly sat up and gently wiped away Zhu Lingyun’s tears. “Does it hurt?”

Zhu Lingyun whimpered, “Sister, it hurts so much.”

Bai Li lifted her robe, and seeing her sister’s bruised and bleeding thighs, felt a piercing pain in her heart. She touched Zhu Lingyun’s cheek and gently coaxed, “Don’t cry. Go eat. It won’t hurt after you’ve eaten.”

Zhu Lingyun buried her head in her arms. “I don’t want to eat. When will these days end, Sister? Father never even hit us.”

Bai Li whispered, “Indeed, not even Father ever hit you.” She struggled to her feet and limped her way out.

As she passed Princess Yong Chun, the princess suddenly stopped twirling her hair. “What she said is wrong.”

Bai Li froze. “What’s wrong?”

Princess Yong Chun sat on the threshold, looking up at her. “Mother told me that you gain by consuming what you want to improve, like eating fish eyes for better sight. So, enduring hardship won’t make you superior; you have to consume others.”

Bai Li stood frozen.

Princess Yong Chun gazed at the blue sky outside and murmured, “I always thought that if I just waited and endured, it would pass, and things would always turn around. But I waited for twenty-two years, and all I finally received was news of death. If I had known this, I should have died twenty-two years ago.”

Bai Li hesitated, “You…”

As she spoke, a butterfly landed outside, gently resting on her hair. It lingered for two breaths, then flapped its wings and flew towards the main hall in the distance. Princess Yong Chun rose and chased after it. “Brother Zhuo Yuan has come for me! Brother Zhuo Yuan, wait for me!”

Bai Li let out a long sigh and walked towards the side hall.

Inside the side hall, Xuan Su and the others were eating. When the priestesses saw Bai Li enter, they immediately shifted their bodies to block any empty spots at the dining table. Bai Li remained silent for a long moment, then suddenly walked forward and overturned the dining table, letting the food and dishes scatter across the floor. Xuan Su looked down at the food stains and vegetable leaves on her Taoist robe, momentarily unable to comprehend what had happened.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Bai Li picked up two steamed buns from the floor, tucked them into her bosom, and walked to a corner of the side hall. She squatted down, avoiding exposing her vital spots.

Xuan Su finally regained her senses and furiously cursed, “This is rebellion! Absolute rebellion! Beat her! Beat her hard and make her understand the rules of Jingyang Palace!”