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Chapter 14
The moon rose above the treetops, the palace wall lotus lamps dimmed. Palace servants carried lanterns ahead, leading their respective mistresses back to their palaces.
By the time she returned to Changchun Pavilion, Gu Han was already exhausted. All evening, her entire body had been tense, she hadn't dared relax for even a moment. She stared blankly through the latticed window toward the hall exterior, not knowing where to rest her gaze.
She was somewhat dazed.
Also somewhat relieved. Fortunately today His Majesty had been intercepted by Noble Consort Shu. Otherwise, with this state she was in, she'd probably have exposed herself before His Majesty.
Jiu Si's cheeks were also somewhat pale. Seeing her mistress like this, she assumed she'd been frightened, after all, that was a real corpse, bloated from being soaked into that state. Even now when Jiu Si thought of it, she felt her stomach churning.
She said softly with concern: "My lady was frightened, wasn't she?"
Gu Han immediately came back to herself. She shook her head lightly, not answering this question, but instead said:
"Prepare the bath water."
While bathing, Gu Han submerged her entire body in the tub, not surfacing for a long time. Very quickly came the sensation of suffocation.
*Gasp—*
At the last moment, Gu Han burst through the water's surface. Hot water mixed with dried flower petals splashed onto the floor. Everything she did was controllable, or rather, autonomous. So she couldn't feel the despair Liu Ruoqian had experienced at that time.
Gu Han's eyes were calm. Her fingers resting on the edge of the tub were slender and pale, no longer trembling slightly when thinking of Liu Ruoqian. She brushed away a petal clinging to her skin.
In this instant, Gu Han couldn't clearly identify what emotion was in her heart.
She felt no guilt toward Liu Ruoqian. From the moment Liu Ruoqian came to her with the so-called evidence, their outcome had been predetermined. Not knowing what impact that supposed evidence would have on her, Gu Han would certainly choose the option with the smallest cost.
Liu Ruoqian was dead, the so-called evidence had disappeared, and she herself was unharmed.
So she wouldn't hypocritically speak high-sounding words. If it happened again, she would still choose to do the same.
In her eyes, others' lives naturally couldn't compare to her own.
More than these things, she just felt she seemed a bit too calm. That was, after all, a human life. Yet upon learning she wouldn't bear any consequences for it, she had merely completely breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Han lightly lowered her eyelids. Had she long been mentally prepared for this rear palace's way of survival, or... was she inherently such a cold-blooded person?
Gu Han didn't know. But as long as it could allow her smooth passage through the rear palace and protect her family's prosperity and wellbeing, then cold-blooded it would be.
Seeing her mistress had soaked too long, Jiu Nian reminded her with concern:
"My lady, the hour grows late."
Gu Han came back to herself, allowing Jiu Nian to help her out of the water, dry her body, and put on her undergarments.
Tonight was Jiu Nian's turn to keep night watch. The other palace servants had long since withdrawn. Jiu Nian laid out bedding before Gu Han's bed. Just as she was about to blow out the candles after her mistress lay down, she suddenly remembered Jiu Si's words. Hesitating, she said softly:
"Shall we leave the candles lit tonight?"
Gu Han paused. She knew Jiu Nian feared she would become afraid during the night.
Gu Han wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but just as the words were about to leave her mouth, she suddenly fell silent. Regardless of whether she was afraid or not, a young lady who had just come of age ought to be afraid. Showing appropriate vulnerability wasn't a bad thing.
Moreover, Gu Han almost imperceptibly glanced once in the direction of Yi'an Palace. All the thoughts and schemes of the rear palace women hoped for nothing more than to elicit a trace of pity from *that person*.
She was the same.
So Gu Han only said gently and softly: "Alright."
*****
At Kunning Palace, Muqiu helped the Empress sit down and removed the golden hairpins from her coiffure. The Empress was noble, the hair ornaments she wore daily were all very precious. Not only precious, but indeed very heavy. Out of habit, after removing the ornaments, Muqiu massaged the Empress's neck.
The Empress removed her nail guards, somewhat wearily rubbing her brow.
Muqiu glanced at Her Majesty through the bronze mirror before voicing the doubt in her heart:
"Your Majesty, did Lady Liu truly accidentally fall into the well herself?"
The Empress didn't even lift her eyelids, saying unhurriedly: "His Majesty's words are as good as gold. Could this matter be false?"
Was the truth really that important?
Muqiu fell silent, but what she wanted to say was:
"But not a single clue could be found on this matter. That person's work was far too clean."
The matter of Liu Ruoqian, after investigating for so long, was finally concluded. The Empress didn't want to discuss this matter further. She raised her hand to her forehead, interrupting Muqiu's words:
"Do you know how many people are in the palace?"
"Those who can harm others aren't only the consorts. There are dozens of consorts in the palace, nearly a thousand serving palace servants. Tell me, for a case without clues or evidence, to uncover the truth among hundreds and thousands of people, how much time would that take?"
The Empress raised her eyes, glancing at Muqiu with near indifference: "Some matters need not be investigated."
Muqiu's lips moved. After a long while, she couldn't speak.
She somewhat wanted to know, was it that some matters need not be investigated, or that some people weren't worth that much time and energy?
In the end, Muqiu didn't ask, because she already had the answer in her heart.
After a pause, the Empress answered her previous statement:
"The reason that person could do it so cleanly is merely because no one cared about the Liu clan. Just like when a hooligan dies in a remote, abandoned temple, even if the corpse stinks, perhaps no one will discover it."
So this matter, it wasn't that the person behind it handled things too cleanly. The problem was that Lady Liu's status wasn't sufficient and hadn't drawn much attention previously.
Muqiu lowered her head. This explanation Her Majesty gave was actually no different from the previous statement.
The Empress pressed her brow, somewhat irritated:
"Enough. Keep watch over the rear palace. Don't let me hear any gossip about the Liu clan."
Compared to Liu Ruoqian, what gave the Empress a headache was Consort Shu. If not for the fact that today should have been Gu Cáirén's turn to receive favor, drawing everyone's attention away, others would likely have long noticed that while His Majesty was in her palace, he was directly enticed away by Consort Shu to leave together.
The Empress closed her eyes, feeling an uncontrollable measure of disappointment toward the newly selected consorts.
**
The next day at morning greetings, Consort Shu finally arrived.
After the Empress emerged from the inner chamber, she arrived belatedly. The natural charm in her bones couldn't be concealed at all. Her bright features were gorgeous. She leaned against her seat, lazily yawning, thoroughly casual in every way.
Gu Han imperceptibly glanced at her. Once Consort Shu arrived, Kunning Palace was full of laughter and pleasant conversation. When the Empress spoke with her, her face even carried a smile, yet the undercurrents surging through the hall left the lower-ranked consorts not daring to interject at all.
Gu Han took a sip of tea. She placed her gaze on Yuan Cáirén across from her.
Having been demoted from Consort Yuan, her position naturally moved down. Now she sat below Zhou Měirén, directly across from her. Compared to her usual brightness and flamboyance, today she was clearly much more dispirited and lost. After all, this kind of disparity wasn't something ordinary people could accept.
But she'd only been demoted in rank. So even if her heart was filled with shame and indignation, she still had to come to Kunning Palace for morning greetings as usual.
The morning greetings dispersed with Noble Consort Shu's statement: "This concubine's body hasn't completely recovered yet, so I'll return first." Consort Shu was helped away in a swagger. Gu Han and the others immediately rose to bow in courtesy.
Gu Han didn't dare look at the Empress's expression.
Consort Shu had come to morning greetings, yet insisted on saying her body hadn't completely recovered. Two days ago, the Empress had just ordered the Bureau of Palace Attendance to remove Noble Consort Shu's green-headed tablet, commanding that Noble Consort Shu's tablet only be hung again once her body had completely recovered.
Yet now, with the green-headed tablet not yet hung, His Majesty had already been to Yi'an Palace.
Originally, if today the Empress had someone go to the Bureau of Palace Attendance to order Consort Shu's green-headed tablet be hung up, this matter could have passed silently.
But Consort Shu clearly couldn't take it. Coming to morning greetings today was obviously deliberately to irritate the Empress.
Kunning Palace was completely quiet. After a long moment, the Empress said with unchanged expression:
"The hour grows late. You may all return as well."
Gu Han left Kunning Palace almost simultaneously with Rong Ling. Today's morning greetings had too many elements. Only at this moment did Gu Han notice Rong Ling's complexion was somewhat off. She furrowed her delicate brows:
"What's wrong?"
Rong Ling bit her lip, her face immediately showing grievance.
Gu Han guessed something, her heart sinking slightly. Sure enough, Rong Ling's words confirmed her suspicion:
"After returning to the palace yesterday, Xiuyi He sent someone to invite me to the main hall, saying that her body had been inconvenient these past days, and starting today, the daily morning greetings must be made up."
Giving daily morning greetings to the palace mistress was the rule. Rong Ling naturally had nothing to say about it.
But yesterday Xiuyi He had used the morning greetings as an excuse to torment her for most of the night. Just the single action of bowing, she'd been made to do it for the time it takes to brew two pots of tea. Both her legs had gone stiff, nearly collapsing on the spot.
Having already returned late yesterday, then being tormented like this by Xiuyi He, Rong Ling hadn't slept all night. This morning she had applied powder to conceal the dark circles around her eyes before hurriedly bringing palace servants to Kunning Palace for morning greetings.
Gu Han pressed her lips together tightly. Xiuyi He had always treated Rong Ling as invisible. Yesterday's sudden behavior must be because Rong Ling had spoken up for her.
How had she offended Xiuyi He?
To make Xiuyi He detest her to this extent, even people who drew close to her were disliked?
Gu Han furrowed her delicate brows and said with guilt: "I've implicated you."
Rong Ling quickly shook her head:
"Yesterday I only spoke the truth. How can I say Elder Sister Gu implicated me?"
Gu Han lowered her eyes to glance at Rong Ling's legs. Sure enough, she discovered her walking today was somewhat unnatural. Gu Han imperceptibly furrowed her brows. From a certain perspective, Rong Ling now counted as her ally.
Rong Ling was being targeted because of her, she naturally couldn't do nothing. Otherwise, she would only completely lose people's hearts.
This was the inconvenience of low rank. The casual methods of those in high positions left them with no power to resist.
Gu Han raised her eyes, tucked a stray lock of Rong Ling's hair behind her ear, sighed lightly, and said with some concern:
"Your body has never been well. I'm afraid you simply can't endure this."
Rong Ling's eyes immediately flickered slightly. After a pause, a trace of a smile crossed her brows as she said softly: "Elder sister speaks truly."
Gu Han, seeing she understood her meaning, was just about to tell her to return early to rest when she heard commotion from the side. Gu Han started, exchanged a glance with Rong Ling, and together they walked toward the commotion.
Drawing closer, they discovered the people in the center of the crowd were Noble Lady Lin and Yuan Cáirén
That day before Kunning Palace, it had been Yuan Cáirén deliberately picking on Noble Lady Lin. Now the scene has completely reversed.
Noble Lady Lin sat in her sedan chair, unhurriedly propping her chin with her hand, looking down from above. Beside the sedan chair, Yuan Cáirén knelt in a sorry state, her skirts stained with mud.
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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TRANSLATOR
Hi guys, i hope that you are enjoying this novel because i am, i am already in chapter 74, i had so many sleepless nights because i just wanted to know what happens next all the time😁 if you have any questions about a character or i made a mistake somewhere, please do let me know in the comment section. i currently have no editor.
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