Cefei's Rise to Prominence Record - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It’s the beginning of summer, and yesterday’s drizzly rain washed away some of the heat, bringing a touch of coolness.

The glazed tiles on the roofs of the Forbidden City were spotless after being washed, and the long red corridor was lined with palace maidens walking with their heads lowered, not making a single sound as they moved, the silence was suddenly broken –

In the palace of Chuxiu, the crimson wooden door was pushed open with a loud bang.

The people in the side room were startled, their delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and they turned to look at the person coming in, paused for a moment, then shifted their gaze away, suppressing the thread of anger from being startled.

The woman who pushed open the door wore a step-shaking headdress adorned with red jade and agate, which was very eye-catching, and she was dressed in a bright crimson dress, quite flamboyant, her skin was as white as snow, and her face showed visible signs of blushing.

Zhou Yun returned in a hurry, and her shoes embroidered with pearls were stained with some mud, she twisted a embroidered handkerchief and carelessly wiped the fine sweat from her forehead.

When Gu Yan, who was inside the room, saw her like this, she was puzzled: “Didn’t you go to the palace of Her Ladyship? Why did you get like this?”

The Ladyship she mentioned was the current emperor’s favorite concubine, the Noble Consort Zhen, who was also Zhou Yun’s aunt.

Saying that, Gu Yan poured a cup of cool tea and handed it to her, Zhou Yun didn’t say a word, drank two cups, and only then did she seem to have recovered.

She waved her hand at Gu Yan, kicked off her shoes, and buried herself in the brocade quilt.

Her actions surprised the people in the side room.

Now it’s the sixth day of June, during the selection period, many selected maidens are staying in the Chuxiu Palace, even after the initial selection, there are still over a hundred ladies, the Chuxiu Palace is just this big, no matter how much they were pampered at home, here, they can only live together in the same room.

This side room has four people living in it, theoretically, as selected maidens, they should have the same status, but Zhou Yun, as the daughter of a third-rank minister, in this side room, except for Gu Yan, she has the best family background, and because Gu Yan has always been friendly with her, therefore, she got the bed by the window according to her preference.

But even so, the other few people know that she is not satisfied with this residence.

In the past few days, every time before going to bed, she would complain bitterly, as if this place couldn’t be lived in at all.

Zhou Yun didn’t care what others thought at this moment, she secretly wiped away tears in the brocade quilt, thinking about the scene she unexpectedly saw on the way back, feeling both angry and nauseated.

She wished she could skin that pair of lowly people alive.

With her aunt’s influence, although she participated in the Imperial selection, she knew that if nothing unexpected happened, she would marry into the Prince An Mansion.

She and Prince An have known each other since childhood, although she can’t say she likes him, but he has been good to her in the past, whenever she enters the palace, he would personally escort her, listening to his sweet words many times, it’s hard not to take them to heart.

The family has no requirements for her, just hoping she can live a carefree life.

Anyway, she will have to marry someone, so why not marry someone who will pamper her.

Therefore, the mansion had already discussed it with her aunt beforehand, although her aunt didn’t look up to Prince An, she has always been affectionate towards her, and ultimately agreed to the mansion’s proposal.

But unexpectedly, an accident happened today.

She was returning from her aunt’s palace and stumbled upon that person by the rockery, who knew that before she could even call out to him, she heard a sweet and soft “Master”.

The person who was always gentle and cautious in front of her seemed to have changed his face, glanced around, and then hooked his arm around the woman’s slender waist, taking two or three steps to enter behind the rockery, the movement was so practiced that it was hard to guess how many times this scene had occurred.

Zhou Yun was stunned for a moment, but she reacted quickly and hid behind the tree’s shadow.

She heard the pair of men and women whispering to each other clearly:

“Master, do you really want to marry that Miss Zhou from the Zhou family? She looks so arrogant, how can Master endure such humiliation?”

The rockery was silent for a moment, and then the man said impatiently:

“Who told her to have such an aunt, everyone knows that Noble Consort Zhen has no children, and treats her like a biological daughter, if This Prince marries her…”

He didn’t continue speaking, and Zhou Yun couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

Who knew how hard she had restrained herself, not rushing out when the woman said the first sentence.

She regretted extremely not listening to her aunt’s words, letting the palace maids escort her back, otherwise, why would she be humiliated like this?Although she’s willful, she’s not brainless, at that time, there was no one around, if she had really rushed out impulsively, who knows what would have happened.

Zhou Yun took a deep breath in the brocade quilt.

The couple embracing each other without regard for propriety, and those explicit words, still made her feel nauseous and want to vomit up last night’s dinner when she thought about it now.

Suddenly, the brocade quilt was lightly patted from the outside, and Gu Yan’s concerned voice rose: “Yun’er, come out quickly, be careful not to get sick.”

Zhou Yun paused, wiped away her tears, and when she came out of the brocade quilt, her sweat-dampened hair stuck wetly to her cheeks, her eyes were filled with tears, shining with a watery light, making Gu Yan’s tone soften a little.

Her appearance was delicate and exquisite, and her eyes seemed to contain all the softness and charm in the world, as if they had been gathered and hidden within.

There was no one else in the side room, and seeing her like this, Gu Yan’s expression changed instantly.

Zhou Yun’s family background was good, her appearance was good, no matter where she went, she was like the moon surrounded by stars, when had Gu Yan ever seen her cry like this?

She suddenly walked closer: “What’s wrong?”

Seeing the person she trusted, Zhou Yun’s grievances in her heart began to overflow, she almost tore the handkerchief to pieces, before she could calm her voice and say: “I saw Prince An today.”

Gu Yan was taken aback, and couldn’t connect Prince An with her crying.

“…with Liang Jieyu!”

The last sentence, she almost gritted her teeth to say it out, directly causing Gu Yan to furrow her brows, realizing what she meant, and asking incredulously:

“Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

Liang Jieyu entered the palace three years ago during the Imperial selection, when she was just 14 years old, and even now, she’s only one year older than Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun’s words weren’t absurd, but Gu Yan knew Zhou Yun well, and if she wasn’t sure about this kind of thing, she wouldn’t say it out loud.

Saying it once was already dirtying her mouth, so she wouldn’t say it again, and directly turned her head away without answering.

After a moment, Gu Yan finally came back to her senses, her face was red with anger, and despite her excellent upbringing, she couldn’t help but curse:

“Damnable thing!”

At this moment, she finally understood why Zhou Yun cried like that, it was more like she was angry rather than sad.

Even though it was a royal son, Gu Yan couldn’t help but say: “If it wasn’t for borrowing the power of the Noble Consort, who knows when he would get his title, and now he’s just a prince, and he’s humiliating you like this, what will happen in the future?”

It’s not that she looks down on the title of prince, but everyone knows that Prince An’s mother passed away early, and he’s almost invisible in the royal palace, and this title of prince was given to him only after the Noble Consort proposed it to the Emperor last year.

She quickly grabbed Zhou Yun’s hand, furrowed her brows, and advised: “Since he’s done such a shameful thing, you absolutely can’t marry into his mansion!”
A man having three wives and four concubines is nothing in the eyes of the world, but having an affair with one’s father’s concubine, even in an ordinary family, would be met with a storm of criticism.

The principles Gu Yan spoke of, Zhou Yun understood, she gritted her teeth, a cold light flashed in her eyes, and she said: “Of course I know.”

How dare he climb up by stepping on her, without even looking at his own virtue.

If Prince An was like Prince Xian or the Prince Zhuang, she might not have any way to deal with it, but just like Gu Yan said, Prince An’s title of prince was obtained by relying on her aunt, a prince who couldn’t even see the emperor’s face was no better than a favored servant!

After a long while, Gu Yan finally calmed down, took the wrinkled handkerchief from her hand, and handed her a new one from her bundle.

The handkerchief was embroidered with red plum blossoms and white snow, as proud and aloof as Zhou Yun herself, Gu Yan handed it to her while saying:

“Shi Qiu and the others didn’t follow you into the palace, so you must be careful with everything, just like today, think carefully before acting and don’t be impulsive.”

She didn’t ask Zhou Yun if she had been impulsive at that time, if she had, the palace wouldn’t be so quiet.

Zhou Yun’s eyes focused on the red plum blossoms on the handkerchief, and she felt relieved that she had always been reserved and courteous to Prince An, not showing too much friendliness, the imperial edict hadn’t been issued yet, and everything was still uncertain, the mansion’s thoughts hadn’t been discussed with others.

So there were fewer people who could laugh at her.

At this time, there was a sudden commotion in the courtyard outside.

Zhou Yun frowned impatiently, raised her hand to pat her face, trying to make the traces of crying fade faster, and just as she turned to push open the window, she heard the redwood door being pushed open, and two women walked in one after another, still with some unfinished conversation:

“…what’s there to be proud of…”

The people who came in were the other two show girls in the side room, one was Liu Ruxiang, the daughter of the Metropolitan Governor, and the other was Fang Ruo, the daughter of the Prefect of Liangzhou, both of their faces showed mixed emotions of either admiration or jealousy.

Gu Yan stood up, seemingly unintentionally blocking Zhou Yun’s body, her gentle eyes slightly curved: “What’s going on outside? Why is it so noisy?”

Liu Ruxiang heard her question and quickly stepped forward, saying with a smile: “It’s the Aunt Jin Xiu from the Empress’s palace, she came to send gifts to Miss Zhang.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a soft snort came from behind Gu Yan.

“All sorts of tricks.”

The words carried a hint of sarcasm.

Such a big show, once might be okay, but it’s been performed twice in just three days, as if she was afraid others didn’t know she had a backer.

Liu Ruxiang paused slightly, raised her hand to smooth her hair bun, and smiled in agreement, but didn’t dare to respond further.

She was sharp-eyed and had seen that the window was open, maybe someone outside had heard their conversation, Zhou Yun dared to speak ill of Zhang Huaishang, but she couldn’t.

If one were to say that among the selected maidens in this Imperial Selection, there are some who can’t be offended, Zhang Huaishang would definitely rank first, she’s from the Marquis Zhang Mansion, and the current Empress is her aunt.

And this Imperial Selection is personally hosted by the Her Highness the Empress.

The Zhou Yun in her room is also one of them, the daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, this identity might not stand out in this selection, but who makes her have a Noble Consort aunt who is favored in the palace.

It’s also funny to say, the Empress and Noble Consort Zhen have been fighting their whole lives, and this time, their nieces coincidentally both got selected.

It’s inevitable that they’ll compete to see who wins.

Today at noon, Zhou Yun went to the Noble Consort’s palace for dinner, and in the evening, the Empress’s palace sent gifts to Zhang Huaishang, which arrived at the Chuxiu Palace.

With this, more laughter and conversation can be heard from outside.

“Her Highness’s love for sister is truly enviable, this phoenix hairpin, apart from sister Zhang, I’m afraid no one else is worthy.”

Zhou Yun didn’t quite catch the other words, but this sentence was clearly heard.

The speaker seemed to be implying something, and after speaking, they chuckled lightly.

Zhou Yun straightened her body.

She didn’t used to think of competing with Zhang Huaishang, after all, the mansion had worked hard to pave a comfortable path for her, she just needs to follow it, and she’ll have a lifetime of peace.

This kind of care, is something others can’t envy.

Zhou Yun’s nature has never been one to endure hardship, now that the path makes her feel nauseous, she’s going to change paths.

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