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Chapter 21
Gu Han lowered her eyelids, concealing the coldness in her eyes. She could tolerate those around her having secrets, but those secrets needed to have nothing to do with her, to cause her no interference.
Now that Xiuyi He had clearly positioned herself as Gu Han's adversary, if Little Fangzi knew things but didn't report them, he could hardly be called loyal to her.
Gu Han's gaze toward Little Fangzi took on a scrutinizing quality.
Meeting his mistress's eyes, Little Fangzi smiled bitterly to himself before suddenly dropping to his knees before Gu Han with a thud.
Gu Han furrowed her delicate brows almost imperceptibly and gave Jiu nian a look. Soon the palace servants in the hall quietly withdrew. Only then did Little Fangzi wipe his face. He said with a bitter smile:
"This servant dares not deceive Mistress. I have roughly guessed what Xiuyi He intends to do."
Gu Han said nothing, but Jiu si had an impatient temperament and couldn't help rolling her eyes. "If you know, then speak quickly! Why all this hemming and hawing?"
This behavior of concealing and not reporting left a poor impression of Little Fangzi in Jiu si's eyes, and her attitude toward him deteriorated considerably.
Little Fangzi dared to lift his head and glance at his mistress. In the end, going against that person's wishes, he chose to speak truthfully:
"That person, Master, should also know him."
Gu Han frowned. She also knew him? Suddenly, as if remembering something, her complexion paled somewhat. Jiu si didn't notice this detail and only curled her lips dismissively. "Nonsense! Master has only been in the palace a few days. How could she know someone from Zhongsheng Hall?"
Little Fangzi paid no mind to Jiusi's sarcasm and said with his head bowed:
"That year when the Xie family fell, Second Master Xie was humiliated by petty people and sent into the palace. It's been three years now. This servant once received Second Master Xie's aid and was later arranged to enter Changchun Pavilion."
As soon as the words left his lips, Gu Han lowered her eyes. No one could tell what she was thinking. Jiu si and Jiu nian exchanged glances, looking at each other in speechless silence.
They were born into the Gu household and had accompanied their mistress since childhood. Naturally they knew of the burden their mistress had carried these past years. They never imagined that Second Master Xie, who had vanished so suddenly all those years ago, had actually been sent into the palace.
It wasn't that Gu Han didn't want to react, her mind was simply in chaos.
Xie Ang'an was truly in the palace, and many people even knew about it. At this moment, Gu Han suddenly had a doubt: did her parents truly not know Xie Ang'an had been sent into the palace?
That year when her elder sister fell gravely ill, even if only to spare her further shock, their parents would have hidden this truth. By the same logic, they wouldn't have told her either.
So the so-called truth had simply been kept from them.
Gu Han dug her nails into her palm. After a long while, she finally managed to speak:
"He's at Zhongsheng Hall?"
At this point, Little Fangzi had no need to hide anything. He nodded with a heavy expression. "Second Master Xie has been at Zhongsheng Hall for three years. Xiuyi He has always wanted the young master to serve at Chaoyang Palace, but the young master was unwilling, so Xiuyi He never forced it."
Xiuyi He's baseless targeting during this time, and how she had gained Little Fangzi's loyalty the moment she entered the palace, all of it could suddenly be connected.
Little Fangzi stole a glance at his mistress. Actually, there was one more thing he hadn't mentioned.
Aside from a few arranged by the Empress or His Majesty himself, the housing assignments for consorts were basically handled by Zhongsheng Hall drawing up a list to submit. So Master ending up in Changchun Pavilion was no accident at all.
Even without him saying it, Gu Han was no fool. With just a little thought, she could guess how much effort Xie Ang'an had put in.
Gu Han suddenly raised her hand to cover her face. She silently pulled at the corners of her lips. She had been reaping benefits in complete ignorance.
The hall fell silent. After a long while, Gu Han finally collected her emotions. It was also the first time Little Fangzi had seen his mistress with such unsheathed sharpness. Her eyes and brows held an unstoppable coldness:
"I still don't understand the palace situation well. In your view, what are the chances Xiuyi He will succeed in going to Zhongsheng Hall for someone?"
Little Fangzi dared not speak carelessly, but he actually wasn't worried about this point:
"Unless there's an order from His Majesty or the Empress, all harem servant assignments are decided by Zhongsheng Hall. If Xiuyi He wants the young master to serve at Zhaoyang Palace, first she must get Eunuch Cheng to agree."
This was nearly impossible.
Little Fangzi didn't know the connection between the young master and Eunuch Cheng, but he did know that since the young master entered the palace, he'd been able to remain at Zhongsheng Hall because Eunuch Cheng had exerted considerable effort on his behalf.
For Xiuyi He to think she could take the young master away with a single sentence was pure delusion.
If she were more favored, Xiuyi He's words naturally wouldn't carry so little weight. But she had no favor, and had just been rebuked by His Majesty. How could Eunuch Cheng possibly do as she wished?
Gu Han couldn't deny that when she heard Little Fangzi's words, she felt relieved.
Though in the eyes of the harem consorts she had been quite favored recently, her rank was still too low. In this matter, she was completely powerless.
Gu Han rubbed her throbbing temples. In just a few days since entering the palace, this series of events had occurred, inevitably making her feel somewhat exhausted. But at least now she knew for certain of Xie Ang'an's whereabouts.
And moreover...
Gu Han pressed her somewhat dry lips together and asked: "He doesn't want to see me?"
Caught between his mistress on one side and his savior on the other, Little Fangzi was truly caught in a bind. He tentatively said a good word for Xie Ang'an:
"Given the young master's current status, even if only thinking of Master's sake, he must not have excessive entanglement with Master."
For a moment, a surge of anger rose in Gu Han's heart, but soon she calmed down. Because she also knew that she and Xie Ang'an indeed shouldn't be entangled, even though she had once truly regarded Xie Ang'an as an elder brother.
But Gu Han would never forget why she had entered the palace.
Suddenly, Gu Han felt tired. She said weakly: "You may withdraw."
Little Fangzi looked at her with concern before bowing and leaving.
Gu Han glanced at the cold food and had no more appetite. She set down her chopsticks. Jiu nian quickly brought tea. After rinsing her mouth, Gu Han was helped by Jiu nian into the inner chamber. She sat on the soft couch, staring blankly out the latticed window.
Jiu nian and Jiu si exchanged glances. After a long while, Jiu nian asked with some confusion:
"Is Master worried about Second Master Xie? Didn't Little Fangzi say Xiuyi He won't succeed?"
Gu Han closed her eyes lightly. Her throat felt somewhat dry. "I originally thought I was able to enter Changchun Pavilion just after entering the palace, and that Yihe Palace had no mistress, I thought it was good luck."
But it wasn't at all. Someone had been quietly arranging things from the moment they learned she had entered the palace.
Jiu nian's lips moved, but after a long while she didn't know what to say to comfort her mistress. But Gu Han needed no one's comfort. Her gaze seemed to fall on some spot beyond the latticed window, yet also seemed to have no focus.
Gu Han didn't tell anyone that when she heard Little Fangzi say Xiuyi He wouldn't succeed, she not only felt relieved, a shameful trace of fortune had also flashed through her heart.
Zhongsheng Hall, a place intimately connected to the harem.
Since Xie Ang'an could arrange for her to enter Changchun Pavilion, one needed only to think to understand Xie Ang'an's position in Zhongsheng Hall. She lamented that such a figure had fallen to this state, and recalling how good Xie Ang'an had been to her in the past, felt dazed and heartbroken.
But if she had someone in Zhongsheng Hall, the convenience and benefits it could bring her were plainly visible.
Gu Han gripped her handkerchief tightly, emotions flickering light and dark in her eyes. A scene suddenly flashed through her mind Xie Ang'an giving her elder sister a painting he'd made himself, and casually giving her a brocade box.
Inside the box lay a jade hairpin, identical to the one she had broken a few days ago. She had loved it especially, and when it broke, she had been downcast for a long time. Seeing this, Xie Ang'an had ordered a new one made.
In that scene in her mind, Xie Ang'an hadn't even said a word to her, as if this matter were natural, as if he had done it a thousand times before.
Indeed he had done it countless times.
She had been young then, still spoiled in temperament, and especially close with her elder sister. To coax her into delivering messages to her sister, Xie Ang'an had given her countless gifts. Back then the Xie family was at its zenith, many of the items he gave her even Gu Han found rare and curious.
They clearly weren't yet family, but caring for her seemed to have become a habit.
Even Gu Han herself had long grown accustomed to Xie Ang'an's presence. Otherwise, after three years, hearing Xie Ang'an's name wouldn't still make her lose composure.
Gathering her scattered thoughts, Gu Han suddenly felt a trace of self-loathing.
She didn't dare think that if she could already harbor thoughts of using Xie Ang'an now, then years from now, who would there be she couldn't use?
Gu Han thought that even in this harem, she should at least have some bottom line.
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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