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Translator's note: Finally there are advance chapters availaible on Kofi
Translator's note: I would like to give a big shoutout and thank you to Everyone who stayed till the very end. A big thank you to all my dear readers who stayed even with the chaotic posting schedule. you all have my heart. These are the last few chapters please drop your comments and what you think i should do better or any novel you want me to translate or post more chapters on.
Chapter 159: Extra 3
The moment Lu Yu’s words left his lips, Gu Han could not help but cast a glance toward him.
Before making the request to the Emperor, she had predicted that he might agree, but when he granted it without a single second of hesitation, it inevitably birthed a faint illusion inside her—an illusion that the Emperor listened to her with absolute, uncritical faith.
It was precisely this kind of illusion that could easily make one grow arrogant and lightheaded.
Gu Han directed a lingering, sorrowfully reproachful look at Lu Yu, leaving him completely baffled. Lu Yu raised an eyebrow:
"What are you looking at Me for?"
Her inner thoughts were hardly something she could spell out to others, so she merely hummed a muffled response and said nothing at all.
Lu Yu clicked his tongue softly. He wondered if Gu Han even realized that she had naturally developed a touch of willful spoiledness in front of him. Those occasional sideways glances she cast his way were so vivid that whenever Lu Yu recalled them the next day, he couldn't help but chuckle.
The Emperor's overt favoritism toward the Imperial Noble Consort was plain for all to see. The next day, when Lu Yu’s imperial decree was handed down, it stirred no major waves across the harem.
The higher-ranking concubines mostly had offspring under their care. Having the princesses enter the Imperial Academy to study did not get in the way of those with young princes, and for those raising only princesses, it was a rare and welcome stroke of fortune.
With the senior consorts keeping silent, the childless concubines below naturally gave it little thought. Many only noted that the decree had been issued right after the Emperor visited Yihe Palace. Given the close bond between the Imperial Noble Consort and Xiurong Zhou, many couldn't help but marvel under their breath at the sheer weight of her influence over the Son of Heaven.
During the draft selection in the sixth year of Hanyu, Lu Yu had selected merely six concubines to enter the palace.
Yet by early June of the seventh year of Hanyu, none of these six had been summoned for night service even once. In truth, it wasn't just them—a few concubines from Gu Han's own selection cohort years prior had still never been called upon to this day.
The palace grounds were brimming with beauties, and many were destined to live out their entire lives without ever experiencing a single drop of imperial favor.
In the Imperial Garden, Xiurong Zhou was returning from Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager was aging, her health growing frailer by the day. Back then, the court ministers had used the Empress Dowager’s illness as a pretext to force the Emperor into holding a selection, yet even after the new women entered the palace, Her Majesty’s health had not improved in the slightest.
Xiurong Zhou used to spend more than half her days at Cining Palace. As time went on, however, the Empress Dowager forbade her from visiting so often, feeling that the atmosphere in her palace was too dreary and refusing to let Zhou’s face be constantly clouded with gloom.
Running into Noble Lady Lin halfway back was quite unexpected for Xiurong Zhou. Hearing a clear, crisp voice offering greetings from outside the carriage, Zhou lifted the jacquard curtain to see Noble Lady Lin bowing by the roadside. Dressed in a muted green palace gown, her refined and slender grace was fully displayed.
Xiurong Zhou cast a glance toward the path ahead and asked with mild curiosity:
"Where is Noble Lady Lin off to?"
She harbored no grudge against Noble Lady Lin. Furthermore, this recent batch of new concubines was so utterly inconspicuous in the palace that Zhou only remembered her thanks to seeing her regularly during morning greetings.
Maintaining her bowing posture without shifting, Noble Lady Lin offered in a soft, melodious tone:
"The lotus flowers in Zhuque Lake are blooming in all their glory. Having nothing to do in my leisure hours, this concubine thought to pick a few lotus seedpods to bring back."
Hearing this, Xiurong Zhou lost interest. Over the past year, the Emperor had visited no one but the Imperial Noble Consort. With no need to compete for favor, the concubines found themselves with an abundance of idle time; even Zhou had not bothered to inquire about the Emperor's movements in a very long time.
Zhou bade Noble Lady Lin rise. The Eldest Princess was still waiting for her back at her quarters, so without lingering, she instructed her palanquin bearers to proceed home.
Reflecting on Noble Lady Lin, Zhou felt a faint pang of pity in her heart.
Back then, the Lin family had sought to suppress the Imperial Noble Consort's prominence by pushing Noble Lady Lin forward. Yet before she had even stepped foot inside the palace, she had already drawn the Imperial Noble Consort's sharp gaze. As a result, almost no concubines in the harem dared to form a close friendship with her.
It was fortunate that Noble Lady Lin was clever enough to lie low the moment she sensed trouble, but while keeping a low profile was easy, catching the Emperor's eye again was a monumental task.
Xiurong Zhou paid no further mind to this chance encounter until she returned to Changning Court, where news swept through the palace: Noble Lady Lin had run into the Emperor right by Zhuque Lake.
Amid her astonishment, Xiurong Zhou clicked her tongue in amazement:
"This Noble Lady Lin is certainly persistent."
Usually, when ordinary concubines went a whole year without seeing the Emperor, they would gradually care only about whether their daily meals were being withheld by the servants. Yet here was Noble Lady Lin—a full year had passed, and despite knowing the Emperor granted his exclusive favor only to the Imperial Noble Consort, she still refused to let slip any opportunity to vie for grace.
Xiurong Zhou shook her head, even finding the leisure to joke with Ah You:
"Though come to think of it, a temperament like hers is what truly belongs in this palace. Not like me—back then, the moment I met a tiny setback, all I thought about was shrinking back."
Back when Zhou realized her cousin held no romantic feelings for her, she only thought of saving herself from throwing her warmth against a cold wall, promptly stripping away every trace of affection she had held for him. Those so-called feelings couldn't withstand the slightest tempest. She had been young and headstrong back then; looking back now, it was entirely thanks to her status as a daughter of the Zhou family that she could afford to be so willful.
Without her aunt backing her, with a temperament like hers, who knew how long she would have survived in this inner harem?
Ah You cast her a slightly annoyed glance, unable to bear listening to her mistress belittle herself:
"Your Ladyship simply loves to underrate yourself! If the palace didn't have someone like you, it wouldn't even highlight how favored the Imperial Noble Consort truly is."
In this world, where there are good people, there are bad ones; where there are high officials, there are common folk. People say wisdom lies in knowing oneself, and Ah You adored her mistress's easygoing, contented grace. Why bother throwing away a heart full of devotion for someone else?
Xiurong Zhou gave Ah You a teasing glare—just listen to those words, one could hardly tell if it was praise or a poke!
A moment later, Zhou couldn't help but cover her lips and laugh softly. Ah You asked curiously:
"Your Ladyship is on such good terms with the Imperial Noble Consort; aren't you worried for her?"
Zhou tapped her forehead lightly: "Worry for her? Did you fail to hear that the news only mentioned Noble Lady Lin running into the Emperor, without a single word about His Majesty's reaction?"
Just as Xiurong Zhou thought, Gu Han had no need for anyone's concern.
These are the last few chapters please drop your comments and what you think i should do better or any novel you want me to translate or post more chapters on.
When the news reached Yihe Palace, Gu Han didn't even lift an eyelid. She let Jiu nian paint a delicate floral pattern on her brow, asking in an unhurried tone:
"Has Noble Lady Lin returned to her palace?"
Jiusi’s expression froze. She looked up and met her mistress's eyes in the bronze mirror, muttering gloomily: "How does Your Ladyship know everything?"
Inside the hall, both Jiu nian and Xiao Fangzi burst out laughing. Jiusi looked left and right in confusion:
"What are you all laughing at?"
Gu Han shook her head with a smile, while Jiunian covered her mouth and said, "If Noble Lady Lin hadn't returned to her palace, you would have been cursing out loud the moment you stepped into the hall. How could you be standing there looking so pleased?"
Jiusi’s face flushed bright red.
Gu Han glanced into the bronze mirror. Jiu nian was remarkably skilled; the red floral emblem on her brow was exquisite, looking like a divine mark shimmering faintly between her eyebrows, enhancing her ethereal, out-of-this-world charm. Resting her cheek on her hand, she asked Jiusi:
"Has the Emperor not returned yet?"
The heat on Jiusi’s cheeks finally subsided, and she stuck out her tongue playful: "Looking at the time, he should be here very soon."
Before her words could fully settle, a stir came from outside the hall. Gu Han tilted her head and looked through the latticed window, spotting Lu Yu walking toward the hall with his dark brows knit in a slight frown. In his hands, he held several lotus seedpods that were still dripping water.
Lu Yu was feeling thoroughly annoyed when he heard a gentle voice calling from nearby:
"Why is Your Majesty in such a foul mood after just stepping out for a short walk?"
Lu Yu looked up to see Gu Han leaning over the railing, looking out at him with a beaming smile while cupping her face in her hands. The floral mark on her brow seemed to shine in harmony with her starlit almond eyes, glowing so brightly it set one's heart ablaze.
Lu Yu didn't believe for a second that she didn't know what had happened, yet she insisted on asking the obvious.
Lu Yu handed the lotus seedpods to a servant, cast a dry glare at her, and before even stepping into the hall, his voice carried inside:
"If you want to eat lotus seed soup in the future, go pick them yourself. Save yourself from bossing Me around."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Yu saw the figure disappear from the window. When he looked up again, Gu Han was already coming out to greet him from the inner hall, her face bearing a subtle, playful pout as she hummed softly:
"Running into a fair maiden along the way is a stroke of good fortune others could only dream of. Yet Your Majesty is so stone-hearted you know only how to act disgusted."
At first, Lu Yu might have genuinely believed Gu Han was being sincere, but now, he simply let out a cold snort:
"If I had truly returned a quarter of an hour later, I suspect I wouldn't even be able to get through the palace gates."
Such a thing was not without precedent. When the new concubines had just entered the palace and the harem was not yet this quiet, whenever Lu Yu sent word ahead that he would sleep at Yihe Palace, his imperial sedan was often intercepted along the way. On one occasion when he arrived late, Gu Han mistook it as him visiting another concubine's palace and directly ordered the servants to lock the gates.
When Lu Yu arrived at Yihe Palace that night, he was greeted by nothing but a tightly bolted door. That incident had infuriated him to no end, and he had brought it up to tease Gu Han ever since.
Gu Han’s face burned scarlet. She snapped her head around and glared at him: "Your Majesty should stop making wild accusations! I am not such a narrow-minded person!"
Lu Yu merely swept a glance over her, not even bothering to refute her claim.
The lotus seedpods were taken away by the servants to prepare porridge, while Gu Han trailed behind Lu Yu, still trying to defend herself:
"I told you already, that night I was feeling unwell, so I didn't lock the gates on purpose!"
Lu Yu reclined on the soft couch, giving a few superficial "Mhm"s in response, choking Gu Han’s words right back into her throat.
Gu Han curled her lips in a slight pout. Had she known he would keep bringing it up, she would have waited another quarter of an hour that night after all.
Please check out: I CULTIVATED BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE DEMON LORD
Why you should read: FL transmigrates and decides to seduce a pitiful good-looking youth, using him to boost her cultivation... But oops! Who would've thought — that's the novel's ultimate villain that she had picked up! And now he doesn't plan to let his "jiejie" go!
Author's Note:
Kunning Palace: Empress
Yi'an Palace: Consort Shu
Xianleng Palace: Imperial Consort De
Zhaoyang Palace → Main Hall: Xiuyi He
Zhaoyang Palace → Side Hall: Rong Baolin
Yihe Palace → Changchun Pavilion: Female Lead
Rongcui Hall: Beauty Miao
Cuizhu Pavilion: Beauty Lin
Changning Courtyard: Zhou Meiren
Hanleng Palace → (Main Hall transferred to Side Hall): Talented Lady Yuan
Also appearing: Noble Lady Lin, Liu Baolin
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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