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Chapter 18
Gu Han stared blankly at the shattered pieces on the floor. In an instant, her eyes reddened. She bit her lip hard, refusing to cry out in Chaoyang Palace.
Jiu Nian let out a shocked gasp. "The jade bracelet!"
Xiuyi He felt both flustered and guilty, but the master and servant's reaction also made her extraordinarily irritated. She said coldly:
"It's just a jade bracelet. Making such a fuss, are people from the Marquis of Rongyang's household really so petty?"
Gu Han lowered her eyes without speaking. She stepped forward and crouched down, using her embroidered handkerchief to collect the bracelet's fragments piece by piece. Jiu Nian heartbrokenly helped her pick them up. Facing Xiuyi He cold mockery, she was both angry and humiliated, her voice trembling:
"This pair of wintersweet mutton-fat jade bracelets was personally bestowed by His Majesty. Mistress treasures and cherishes them greatly. Do imperial gifts mean so little in Your Ladyship's eyes?!"
Xiuyi He’s breath caught instantly.
Destroying an imperially bestowed item, this was a crime that could be major or minor. If His Majesty didn't care, such things were merely trinkets to him. Broken was broken. But if His Majesty chose to make an issue of it, even beheading would be justified.
Gu Han bent to collect the fragments. Her every movement carried suppressed emotion. Loose strands of hair hung by her face, hiding her expression from everyone. After gathering all the pieces, Gu Han only stood at a distance and curtsied:
"This concubine still has matters to attend to in her palace. I take my leave."
She didn't accuse Xiuyi He with a single word. Her lowered eyes seemed calm, yet no one in the hall dared speak.
Someone caught sight of Gu Cáirén's hand gripping the embroidered handkerchief. Having touched the oleander, her fingers had begun turning red. Perhaps while picking up the fragments just now, she hadn't noticed, her fingertip had been pierced by a sharp edge. A crimson bead of blood trembled at her fingertip, about to fall.
No one dared stop her, not even Xiuyi He. Xiuyi He's face paled slightly.
She had dared to target Gu Han so brazenly relying on nothing more than rank. But in the inner palace, rank wasn't the only measure. No one knew what consequences might come if today's events reached His Majesty's ears.
Xiuyi He had hoped Gu Han would make a scene. As long as she caused trouble, Xiuyi He could pin the crime of defying a superior on her.
Xiuyi He suddenly swept her sleeve across the teacups, knocking them over, then ordered Rong Ling out with hatred in her voice:
"The Gu family women, each one more infuriatingly composed than the last!"
***
After leaving Chaoyang Palace, once she had put on a sufficient show of grievance, Jiu Nian's tear-wiping paused. She said with genuine heartache:
"Mistress's hands..."
Gu Han kept her eyes lowered, only softly interrupting: "It's nothing serious."
Jiu Nian bit her lip, thoroughly resenting Xiuyi He in her heart. She glanced at the embroidered handkerchief in her mistress's hand and said regretfully, "Mistress loved that pair of jade bracelets so much. What a pity."
Gu Han pressed her slightly dry lips together, emotion flickering in her eyes.
A pity? If they had only ever adorned her wrists, they would have remained mere ornaments. Now that they had helped her escape danger, those jade bracelets were worth far more than their price.
Gu Han wondered, where would His Majesty go today?
These past few days, Gu Han hadn't hoped His Majesty would visit Changchun Pavilion. After all, having just entered the palace, she wanted a long game. But today, Gu Han particularly wanted His Majesty to come to Changchun Pavilion.
She had to admit it, she was petty, held grudges, and would repay every slight.
Any emotion dulled with time. She couldn't maintain her feelings at peak intensity forever. Gu Han wasn't worried that today's events wouldn't reach His Majesty's ears, but hearing about something was never the same as seeing it with one's own eyes.
Gu Han frowned imperceptibly, frustration flashing in her eyes. Xiuyi He had acted too quickly. If given more time, she wouldn't be in such a passive position!
All the way back to Yihe Palace, countless people witnessed Gu Han's distraught appearance.
Not that Gu Han looked disheveled, she still held her spine straight, every movement beyond reproach. But her downcast eyes made it clear to anyone watching that she was suppressing her emotions.
When news reached the Emperor's Palace, Lu Yu was bent over his desk handling court affairs. Liu An tiptoed in, replacing the long-cold tea on the imperial desk with a fresh one. Just as he was about to withdraw, remembering the news that had just arrived, Liu An hesitated and stopped.
A shadow fell across the memorials. Lu Yu didn't even lift his eyelids. "What is it?" he said flatly.
Liu An bowed slightly and said quietly, "After morning respects today, Gu Cáirén was taken to Chaoyang Palace by Xiuyi He."
Lu Yu's writing hand paused. His impression of the woman still lingered from yesterday afternoon, sleeping peacefully during her nap. Lu Yu set down his brush, leaned back in his chair, and waited silently for Liu An to continue.
Liu An recounted everything that had happened at Chaoyang Palace in meticulous detail, neither adding nor omitting anything, not even missing a single line of dialogue.
Lu Yu paused slightly. "Shattered?"
Liu An clicked his tongue. That pair of jade bracelets had been sitting in His Majesty's private treasury, yet just days after being given away, they were broken.
He quickly said, "Gu Cáirén collected all the fragments and brought them back to Changchun Pavilion."
As he spoke, Liu An stole a glance at His Majesty but couldn't read his emotions at all. He only heard His Majesty ask indifferently, "What did she say?"
Who?
Liu An was confused for a moment before realizing His Majesty must be referring to Gu Cáirén.
Liu An didn't understand His Majesty's meaning. He answered carefully and cautiously, "Gu Cáirén said nothing. She quietly returned to her palace."
Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't even send anyone to report it to me?"
On this point, Liu An was quite certain. "No."
The hall fell quiet. Gu Han had only recently attended him, Lu Yu still had an impression of her. Just from that first night, Lu Yu knew the woman was extremely delicate. The slightest rough touch would make her eyes redden as she whimpered, as if suffering tremendous grievance.
In such circumstances, seeing a beauty in tears, Lu Yu naturally felt some tender compassion. Even when Gu Han had pushed him away afterward, he hadn't felt annoyed.
Since she was so delicate, having suffered such grievance, she actually didn't make a sound?
His thoughts disturbed by this matter, Lu Yu suddenly rose. Liu An froze, quickly handing the tray in his hands to a random young eunuch and hurrying to follow:
"Where is Your Majesty going?"
"Proceed to Changchun Pavilion."
When Lu Yu arrived at Changchun Pavilion, he happened to catch Jiu Nian seeing the female Imperial physician out. They all startled in alarm, about to curtsy, but Lu Yu cut them off, only lowering his eyes toward the medical woman. "What's wrong with Gu Cáirén?"
The female physician dared not conceal anything. "Gu Cáirén came into contact with oleander and was contaminated by some of its toxic sap, causing both hands to redden and itch. However, there's no serious harm. This humble physician has prescribed medicine, applied for three days, it will heal."
Reddened and itching?
Lu Yu frowned imperceptibly. He still remembered why he had bestowed that pair of wintersweet mutton-fat jade bracelets on Gu Cáirén.
He asked no more questions, lifting his feet to step into the hall. He didn't allow anyone to announce him or request an audience. The woman inside didn't yet know he had arrived. When he pushed aside the double curtains, he saw the woman sitting on the soft couch, one knee drawn up, her chin resting on it, staring blankly at the table.
On the table lay a handkerchief. On the handkerchief rested the jade bracelet's fragments.
When Lu Yu had only heard Liu An's report, he had no real sense of it. Now seeing the actual object, he discovered the jade bracelet was truly shattered beyond repair. Even mending it would be impossible.
The woman's eyes were somewhat red-rimmed. He'd heard she showed no loss of composure at Chaoyang Palace, perhaps after returning, she'd secretly cried.
For a young lady of noble birth, maintaining one's dignity and composure is something etched into her very soul.
Lu Yu approached the woman. Hearing movement, Gu Han knitted her delicate brows and looked up. Seeing who it was, she started in shock. The next moment, her eyes completely reddened so quickly it even surprised Lu Yu.
Tears rolled down the woman's cheeks in streams.
She cried even more fiercely than that night.
She seemed to want to hold back her tears but had never suffered such grievance. For a moment she truly couldn't control her emotions. Sobbing, she said:
"Broken... broken..."
A beauty in tears, overwhelming yet quiet, utterly contradictory yet extraordinarily harmonious, enveloping the woman. Even someone as hard-hearted as Lu Yu could only feel pity. His actions moved faster than reason. By the time Lu Yu came to himself, he'd already offered his handkerchief.
Lu Yu glanced at the fragments and wiped away the woman's tears.
"Just a jade bracelet, is it worth crying like this?"
Gu Han moved her lips, too ashamed to explain, finally only managing a hoarse sound.
But Jiu Nian was still in the hall. She wiped her own tears and quietly defended her mistress. "This pair of bracelets was the first thing His Majesty bestowed upon Mistress. Mistress treasured them greatly and wore them constantly, never willing to take them off."
Lu Yu's gaze shifted slightly.
Of course Lu Yu knew that for these aristocratic daughters, the meaning of such gifts outweighed their actual value.
But Jiu Nian's words made Lu Yu swallow the suggestion he had been about to make, to give Gu Han another pair of bracelets as replacement. However fine later gifts might be, they could never match the importance of the first.
This principle, Lu Yu understood.
He lowered his eyes to the woman's tightly wrapped hands, not hard to imagine their condition. He helped wipe away her tears and asked:
"Does it hurt?"
Gu Han neither concealed nor feigned innocence. Her eyes wet and red, she voiced her grievance: "It hurts."
Lu Yu couldn't help looking at the woman more closely. The palace consorts, no matter how much they hated their rivals, always presented themselves as gentle and kind before him. She, on the other hand, showed all her true emotions without any pretense.
Yet somehow, it pleased Lu Yu.
He had originally only meant to come see how the woman was doing. Now, Lu Yu truly felt a touch of anger rising in his heart.
No particular reason, he liked this woman's pair of hands, yet Xiuyi He had ruined them. What reason did he have not to be angry?
---
Author's Note:
Lu Yu: Talented Lady Gu is so forthright.
‘...Right.’
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
I reposted chapter 17
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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