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Chapter 23
The imperial procession had originally been heading to Yi'an Palace, but midway, Lu Yu still descended from his sedan chair and nodded slightly:
"All of you may rise."
Jiu nian exerted force helping her up before Gu Han could borrow the strength to stand. She didn't put on a show of looking pitiful. Lu Yu swept a discreet glance over her before casually withdrawing his gaze. He asked indifferently:
"What are you all gathered here for?"
Gu Han lowered her eyelids lightly. Among the concubines present, Noble LadyLin's rank was higher than hers, so Gu Han didn't rush to respond.
But someone else wasn't so self-aware. Gu Han heard a muffled voice and looked up to see Bǎolín Liu's tears falling as if they cost nothing, streaming down endlessly. She sobbed brokenly, "Please, Your Majesty, render judgment! This concubine didn't mean to bump into Gu Měirén!"
There were no ugly women among the harem consorts. Bǎolín Liu was also born pretty and delicate. She was a few years older than Gu Han, but dressed in pink, crying like this, how pitiful could she be?
Jiu nian frowned deeply at what she heard, so angry she was about to step forward and refute her. Gu Han inconspicuously stopped her.
A hint of coldness flashed imperceptibly through Noble Lady Lin's eyes. Bǎolín Liu was practically invisible in the harem. Now that she had finally encountered His Majesty with great difficulty, of course she wanted to stand out. But this behavior of disregarding others also caused Noble concubine Lin to feel some displeasure.
Her tone was soft as she sighed, "This concubine doesn't know what happened either. I only heard Bǎolín Liu crying pitifully."
She truly disliked Bǎolín Liu, but Noble concubine Lin ultimately wasn't stupid. Comparing Gu Han and Bǎolín Liu, who posed more of a threat to her was clear at a glance.
Her words lacked impartiality, obviously showing private favoritism, but no one could pick out any fault, after all, she had arrived late and hadn't seen anything.
During their exchange, Gu Han kept her eyes lowered without speaking. Even hearing this, she only pressed her lips together slightly. When Lu Yu looked at her, he only saw the woman gripping her handkerchief tightly, her whole body seemingly tense, yet making no rebuttal.
But that disheveled appearance was ultimately an eyesore. Lu Yu raised his hand slightly, pointing at Jiu nian:
"You tell it."
Everyone's expressions shifted slightly. Gu Han also froze, looking up at His Majesty, as if she hadn't expected him to do this.
Jiu nian dropped to her knees with a thud. "This servant begs Your Majesty's discerning judgment! Bǎolín Liu suddenly rushed from behind, heading straight for Gu Měirén. If Gu Měirén hadn't dodged at the critical moment, how could she still be standing here paying respects to Your Majesty?! Bǎolín Liu keeps saying it was unintentional, how could she so coincidentally avoid all the other palace servants?"
"Gu Měirén had just been helped up and hadn't even had time to speak when Bǎolín Liu knelt there crying and wailing, as if Gu Měirén had somehow persecuted her! This servant begs Your Majesty to render justice for Gu Měirén!"
Bǎolín Liu's face turned deathly pale. She frantically denied it: "This concubine did no such thing! This concubine and Gu Měirén have no grievances or enmity, why would I bump into Beauty Gu for no reason?!"
If not for fear of inviting trouble for her mistress, Jiu nian would have loved to spit at Bǎolín Liu. Regardless of whether it was intentional, her subsequent behavior was deliberately disgusting her mistress.
Lu Yu's gaze swept over the steps beside Gu Han and the path paved with pebbles beneath her feet. He immediately understood the danger the palace maid described.
Noble concubine Lin imperceptibly furrowed her brow and suddenly interjected, hesitantly:
"Hearing it this way, Bǎolín Liu truly didn't mean it."
Gu Han suddenly felt impatient with Noble lady Lin. This matter originally had nothing to do with Noble concubine Lin Perhaps wanting to flaunt her rank before them, she kept chattering among them, pointlessly inviting annoyance.
"I wonder what matter, caused Bǎolín Liu to lose her composure so badly that she didn't even watch the road while walking?"
Harem consorts all paid great attention to deportment. Afraid of bumping into noble persons, they wished they could stop every three steps. Even at corners, it would be difficult to collide.
Bǎolín Liu's eyes flickered slightly with evasion. She couldn't answer for a moment, and after a long while could only force out: "This concubine was just anxious to return to my palace."
This excuse was too lame. Even Noble concubine Lin couldn't bear to listen. The corners of her lips twitched, and she fell silent with some disdain.
Gu Han naturally wouldn't believe this reason either. She finally looked up at His Majesty and bowed respectfully:
"This concubine begs Your Majesty to render justice for me."
Let Bǎolín Liu go? Impossible.
Something must have struck her knee, when she bent it, there was always a faint ache. Her bowing movements were quite awkward. Lu Yu had somehow walked in front of her and reached out to pull her up.
Noble Lady Lin looked at their clasped hands and paused, unable to help feeling somewhat bitter in her heart.
His Majesty had always been partial. When he passed by her, he hadn't even glanced at her once. Gu Měirén had only entered the palace barely a month, by what right did His Majesty treat her so tenderly? Same people, different fates!
Lu Yu raised his hand and removed a fallen leaf hanging on the woman's dark hair. Gu Han froze, suddenly remembering how disheveled she currently was. Her body immediately stiffened, and a blush burned across her cheeks. She lowered her head tightly in embarrassment.
Before Gu Han's embarrassment could fade, she heard the person beside her give bland instructions:
"Bǎolín Liu lost decorum and bumped into her superior. Confine her for three months."
No demotion, not even a fine on her monthly stipend. But this punishment frightened Bǎolín Liu until her whole body went soft. She already had no favor. Once three months of confinement ended, who in this harem would still remember her?
Once a harem consort completely lost favor, the life she led was even worse than a servant's.
Bǎolín Liu was so frightened that tears streamed across her face, crying much more genuinely than before. She kowtowed fiercely:
"This concubine didn't mean it! This concubine begs Your Majesty to calm your anger!"
Lu Yu had long forgotten who Bǎolín Liu even was. Now hearing her wail, he felt somewhat impatient. The person who had been bumped and injured hadn't made a sound, what did she have to feel wronged about?
Lu Yu lifted his eyelids and looked at Bǎolín Liu. "You think I've punished you too severely?"
Meeting His Majesty's gaze, Bǎolín Liu suddenly shivered. Her dull head also cleared a bit. Rewards and punishments were all imperial grace, what qualifications did she have to haggle?
Her body trembled almost imperceptibly. Her crying ceased abruptly, and she mumbled in a small voice:
"This... this concubine wouldn't dare..."
Lu Yu looked coldly at Bǎolín Liu. Suddenly, the person beside him leaned toward him slightly. Lu Yu paused and turned his head to look. He saw the woman also seemed not to have expected this. Her body clearly stiffened, then she quietly straightened up, even tugging on his sleeve during the process as a point of support.
His sleeve was pulled quite hard. Lu Yu's temple twitched. The bit of impatience in his heart scattered away with the woman's movement. His peripheral vision swept over the woman's leg. Too lazy to waste more words with Bǎolín Liu, he instructed Liu An: "Summon the imperial physician."
Knowing Gu Han was injured, Lu Yu naturally wouldn't let her return on her own. He said lightly:
"I'll escort you back."
Gu Han naturally wouldn't refuse His Majesty's kindness.
But Liu An, hearing His Majesty's words, immediately looked up in surprise and stole a glance at Gu Měirén wanting to speak but stopping.
Did His Majesty still remember why he had entered the palace at this time?
Lu Yu caught sight of his appearance from the corner of his eye and only then remembered his original purpose for entering the palace. But he didn't even lift an eyelid, nonchalantly leading Gu Han onto the sedan chair.
---
When the imperial procession arrived at Changchun Pavilion, the imperial physician had already arrived.
When her skirt hem was lifted, Gu Han finally understood why her knee had been aching continuously. Her undergarments were stained with blood. When the female physician used scissors to cut them open and tore off the fabric, Gu Han immediately drew in a sharp breath.
A woman's skin was delicate, her whole body well-maintained, so that not-so-large wound on her knee appeared somewhat raw and bloody.
Lu Yu frowned watching it, making no attempt to hide it, his expression cooling slightly.
The female physician examined it carefully and breathed a sigh of relief. "Gu Měirén is not seriously injured. The skin is just scraped. Don't walk these next two days, and it will heal in a few days."
This type of wound truly wasn't serious, but it would hurt quite a bit, slowly seeping blood. The female physician cleaned it for her and applied ointment.
Cold sweat broke out on Gu Han's forehead. After the ointment was applied and a cooling sensation came, her tense body finally relaxed. Disregarding that Lu Yu was still present, she asked in a small, worried voice:
"Physician, will this wound leave a scar?"
After receiving the female physician's negative answer, everyone present could see her sigh with relief.
Lu Yu looked up at her and gave a soft snort, impossible to tell what it meant, yet it made Gu Han blush. She lowered her head awkwardly.
"I thought you didn't care about anything."
From encountering her in the Imperial Garden, aside from being somewhat disheveled, she showed no difference from usual. Even when asking him to render justice, her emotions were very calm. Just now when the medicine was being applied, her fingers gripping the handkerchief had turned white, yet she'd gritted her teeth tightly without making a sound.
If not for the cold sweat on her forehead, Lu Yu would probably have thought she wasn't in pain at all.
Gu Han knew why he said this. She lowered her eyes lightly, her voice low and muffled:
"She cried so pitifully. This concubine was afraid Your Majesty would be like Noble lady Lin and think this concubine was being aggressive and overbearing."
So she had simply said nothing at all?
Lu Yu didn't know what to say about this, but felt she was somewhat foolish:
"She can cry, can't you?"
He paused, then furrowed his brow. "That day you cried quite well. Why are you mute today?"
His tone seemed somewhat disdainful, but no one could deny the favoritism in those words.
Gu Han froze before realizing which occasion His Majesty was referring to. She blushed, lowering her eyes awkwardly, in that moment, gently. She mumbled, "How... how can that be compared?"
Lu Yu glanced at her, knowing that as a woman she was thin-skinned, and had her own pride. To learn from Bǎolín Liu and cry without dignity before outsiders was truly somewhat difficult for her. In the end, he didn't continue criticizing her.
But the woman had pleased him recently. Lu Yu lowered his eyes and said casually:
"With your temperament, if you don't change it, sooner or later you'll suffer for it.”
Here are the ranks of imperial consorts:
- Empress (皇后 Huánghoù) — Head of the Imperial Harem
- Imperial Noble Consort (皇贵妃 Huáng Guìfēi) — Rank 1
- Noble Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort, Worthy Consort (贵妃、淑妃、德妃、贤妃 Guìfēi, Shūfēi, Défēi, Xiánfēi)** — Senior Rank 1 (The Four Consorts, with Noble Consort as the highest)
- Consort (妃 Fēi) — Junior Rank 2
- Bright Deportment, Bright Countenance (昭仪、昭容 Zhāoyí, Zhāoróng) — Senior Rank 3
- Cultivated Deportment, Cultivated Countenance (修仪、修容 Xiūyí, Xiūróng) — Junior Rank 3
- Noble Lady (贵嫔 Guìpín) — Senior Rank 4
- Imperial Concubine (嫔 Pín) — Junior Rank 4
- Beauty (美人 Měirén) — Senior Rank 5
- Talented Lady (才人 Cáirén) — Junior Rank 5
- Precious Grove (宝林 Bǎolín) — Senior Rank 6
- Imperial Woman (御女 Yùnǚ) — Junior Rank 6
- Palace Maid (宫女子 Gōngnǚzǐ) — Senior Rank 7
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