———
~ Please support this site by disabling your ad-blocker ❤️ ~
______
Chapter 1: Yan Lin Actually Defends Her
The sun was nearing dusk, its fading rays spilling across the corridor enclosed by red palace walls. This was the hour when palace servants took their meals, and far fewer guards than usual patrolled the grounds. Cold wind rustled through the bamboo groves, and all around was silent.
Suddenly, the sound of something falling into water rang out:
"Splash…"
The muffled sound came from a stone well. It jolted the woman in light silk robes back to her senses, and she finally realized what she had done. Her face instantly turned deathly pale as she stared blankly at her hands. For a moment she panicked, but quickly, she dug her nails into her palms to force herself to stay calm.
The woman bit her lip hard, carefully surveying her surroundings. After meticulously cleaning away all traces of the earlier struggle between the two people, she slapped her own face twice. Only when her fingers stopped trembling did she turn and leave as if nothing had happened.
Following the small path, after half a quarter-hour, she finally arrived before a palace with waterside pavilions and covered walkways. From a distance, she could see the three characters "Chuxiu Palace" hanging above it.
The woman walked in as usual. A palace servant lifted the curtain, and inside the room there were others present. Upon seeing her, they immediately broke into smiles:
"Sister Gu has returned."
The woman, that is, Gu Han, paused slightly, sweeping her gaze around the room. Feeling that everyone's mood seemed somewhat off, she lowered her eyelids gently and asked in soft, gentle tones: "Has the governess been here?"
The person who had spoken smiled with curved eyes and winked at Gu Han: "Yes, she said we can leave the palace tomorrow."
It happened to be the third year of the Hanyu era. Young women of suitable age from official families like them all had to enter the palace to participate in the imperial selection. Nearly a thousand women had come from various provinces and counties in succession. More than half were eliminated in the initial selection without ever seeing His Majesty's face, leaving just over a hundred.
Now that the palace selection had ended, fewer than twenty remained in Chuxiu Palace.
According to ancestral rules, they should have returned home after the palace selection concluded to await the imperial edict summoning them to the palace. However, during the previous emperor's reign, the imperial consorts had competed too fiercely for favor, with too many instances of violating rules and overstepping their bounds.
The current emperor found this troublesome, so he required all twenty women to remain in Chuxiu Palace to learn palace etiquette from the governesses. Only after completing half a month of study would they leave the palace together to await the edict.
Today was the final day.
As soon as Rong Ling spoke, Gu Han's heart relaxed somewhat.
Because they had all passed the palace selection and were definitively to become masters, the palace servants and governesses of Chuxiu Palace treated them much more politely than before, and supervision was not strict. Moreover, on this final day, people's hearts were in a state of disarray their thoughts had long since flown beyond the palace walls.
Gu Han lowered her eyelids imperceptibly. As long as things became just a bit more chaotic, even if a palace maiden returned late, no one would notice immediately.
Once they left the palace tomorrow, everything could return to calm.
Her thoughts settled, and Gu Han raised her eyes to see Rong Ling glancing out the window from time to time, looking rather restless. A thoughtful gleam flashed through Gu Han's eyes. After a pause, the corners of her lips curved into a faint smile, her dimples appearing and disappearing:
"Yesterday you were so eager to go home, why are you so quiet now?”
Rong Ling's cheeks flushed red.
Gu Han came from the Marquis of Rongyang's household, a renowned noble lady of the capital. Rong Ling had heard of her long ago, but they only interacted after entering the palace. Her temperament was rather gentle, and her family background wasn't particularly distinguished in the capital. When she first learned she would share a room with Gu Han, she had been somewhat anxious.
After these days of contact, however, they had developed a friendship of sorts where they could confide in each other.
Moreover, Rong Ling glanced at Gu Han, the woman sat quietly on a round stool, her skin like congealed fat rivaling frost and snow. Even the faintest smile was as brilliant as lotus blossoms. She had a pair of almond-shaped eyes, clean and clear, and when she spoke in soft, gentle tones, one instinctively quieted down to listen carefully.
Rong Ling felt that, never mind the men of the world, even she couldn't help but feel tenderness toward such a woman.
After some hesitation, Rong Ling drew closer to Gu Han, leaning toward her ear and lowering her voice:
"When I returned earlier, I passed by Maiden Lin's room and heard them seemingly discussing matters about His Majesty."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Han startled.
She hurriedly tugged at Rong Ling, her delicate brows knitting slightly: "Could you have misheard? We're still palace maidens, to carelessly discuss His Majesty, if word reached outsiders' ears, in serious cases one could even be expelled from the palace. Maiden Lin isn't someone without propriety."
Rong Ling realized she had been misunderstood and quickly patted her mouth, saying:
"Sister Gu, let me explain in detail."
"It's news that the whole palace knows. Someone saw His Majesty and Consort Yuan boating on the lake at dusk, and they apparently haven't returned yet. Just now I heard someone say she had indigestion from the evening meal and wanted to leave Chuxiu Palace to walk around."
Gu Han froze for a moment before coming to her senses, thinking the person who said this had a rather absurd notion.
She said she wanted to go walk around, but her true intentions were already obvious.
His Majesty was twenty-seven this year, having ascended the throne three years ago. They had stayed in the palace for so long, learning many rules, and had gained some understanding of palace affairs.
Currently in the inner palace, the principal positions included one empress and two consorts. The Empress palace was valued by His Majesty and respected by all. Noble Consort De had a son, Virtuous Consort Shu enjoyed favor, all were supremely distinguished persons. Below them were several ladies-in-waiting of xiuyi and pin ranks, and beneath the pin rank were various other consorts.
This Consort Yuan was one who had been quite favored recently.
When the palace servants mentioned Consort Yuan to them, they were all somewhat cautious. From this alone, any perceptive person could guess that this lady must have a fierce temperament. These palace maidens had not yet received their titles—if they caught Consort Yuan's eye at this time, they would earn her resentment before even entering the palace.
However, Gu Han's eyelids trembled slightly as she raised her eyes in apparent surprise and asked in a trembling whisper:
"Who is so bold?"
Rong Ling pursed her lips and muttered quietly: "Who else could it be."
She didn't say explicitly, but Gu Han understood instantly. This imperial selection had produced many remarkable personages, both the empress's own younger sister and the Grand Empress Dowager's niece from her maternal family were among them.
The Maiden Lin that Rong Ling had just mentioned was the empress's own younger sister. With this connection, even during the selection, the instructing governesses treated her with courtesy.
However, Maiden Lin understood propriety and had always been kind to others. In comparison, Maiden Zhou was quite different. As the Grand Empress Dowager's own niece and the current emperor's cousin, even after entering the palace in the future, the empress would have to give her some face. How could she regard this group of nameless palace maidens?
Her attitude, if not outright domineering, wasn't far from it.
Once such reckless behavior was attributed to her, it immediately became entirely reasonable.
As soon as Gu Han and Rong Ling's conversation ended, in less than a moment, they heard a commotion from outside. Gu Han and Rong Ling exchanged glances and pushed open half the lattice window, just in time to see Maiden Zhou in a smoke-black gauze dress, her back ramrod straight, departing excitedly.
Gu Han watched dumbstruck. After a long while, she imperceptibly suppressed this emotion.
She couldn't understand, the Grand Empress Dowager had fought her way through the previous emperor's harem to emerge as the final victor, so how could this Maiden Zhou have been raised to be so foolish and brainless?
Gu Han's gaze shifted lightly, falling on the half-open window opposite. That person was leaning against the window looking out, the corners of her mouth seemingly holding a faint smile that vanished in a flash.
Only after Maiden Zhou left did that person withdraw her gaze, happening to meet Gu Han's eyes. She paused, seeming not to expect anyone would be watching her. After a moment of surprise, she nodded at Gu Han in acknowledgment.
Only after the window was closed did Rong Ling breathe a sigh of relief. She glanced at Gu Han and asked softly:
"Sister Gu, why were you looking at Maiden Lin just now?"
Gu Han didn't answer this question, but instead asked curiously: "How did the news about His Majesty and Consort Yuan boating on the lake get out?"
Just now quite a few people had opened their windows, one could imagine that almost everyone in Chuxiu Palace must know this news by now.
Rong Ling shook her head:
"I don't know either. Not long after I returned, this news seemed to become known to everyone."
Gu Han's mind conjured the fleeting smile on Maiden Lin's face from earlier, and she silently shook her head. Regardless, this matter had nothing to do with her. One could even say that Maiden Lin had inadvertently done her a favor.
There were frequent sounds from outside. Unlike others whose hearts were restless, after Maiden Zhou left, Rong Ling actually quieted down and lost interest in such matters. Gu Han understood perfectly well.
Maiden Zhou was domineering. Before the palace selection, she had once sought trouble with Rong Ling. Though they were both daughters of official families, Maiden Zhou had slapped Rong Ling across the face in front of everyone.
Rong Ling had a gentle nature, but that didn't mean she had no spirit.
This public humiliation and beating was enough for someone to resent for a lifetime.
Sure enough, Gu Han heard Rong Ling mutter softly:
"I wonder if Maiden Zhou's威风 will work on Consort Yuan."
Gu Han pretended not to hear. The window wasn't fully closed, and from the sounds, it seemed someone else had left Chuxiu Palace. But after a long while, no governess or palace servant came to stop them. Gu Han and Rong Ling exchanged glances, both sensing something was off.
Gu Han silently took a sip of tea and said softly:
"It's getting late. We still have to leave the palace tomorrow, so let's rest early."
Naturally, Rong Ling had no objection.
But this night was destined to be a sleepless one.
---
Author's Note:
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
Read only on https://royaltywrites.com.ng/
We hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can vote for this novel translation and drop a review on Novel Updates!
Show support by clicking on the Support Us button below!❤️
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments
What's on your mind...