Cefei's Rise to Prominence Record - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The night was deep, a candle was lit in the room, and the flame swayed gently in the breeze.

The room was silent, Zhou Yun still stood at the door.

The palace maids had already gone in to tidy up the messy bed, they worked quickly, and in less than a quarter of an hour, all the objects were back in their original places.

Liu Momo stood on the long corridor, sighed softly, “Little Master Zhou, it’s late at night, you should rest.”

Her gaze discreetly swept over Zhou Yun’s ankles, and she furrowed her brow imperceptibly, the news from the Jujiao Palace had already spread.

Little Master Zhou was injured, and even Consort Xuan, who had children and was favored, couldn’t get any benefits.

If something went wrong here, Liu momo didn’t dare think about how Noble Consort would react.

Zhou Yun seemed to gradually come back to her senses because of Liu momo’s words, just as Liu momo was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly said, “Who touched my bed?”

Liu Momo’s face stiffened.

In the past few days, Zhou Yun’s attitude towards her had been peaceful, and she thought Zhou Yun had a good temper, but today when Zhang Huashang wanted to search her bed, although she hesitated, she ultimately agreed.

Zhou Yun looked at her, sneered, “Because of one sentence from Zhang Huashang, the Chuxiu Palace was thrown into chaos, Liu Momo did a great job.”

Liu Momo smiled bitterly in her heart, there were so many ladies in this selection that she couldn’t afford to offend, and she had indeed handled this matter improperly, but at that time, she didn’t have a better way.

Zhou Yun didn’t care about her difficulties, her eyes became colder, she didn’t want to clash with Liu Momo in the past, because Liu momo was in charge of all matters concerning the ladies, but that didn’t mean she was afraid of Liu momo.

Even if she was rude, what could Liu momo do to her?

As the atmosphere between the two became increasingly tense, Liu Ruxiang and Fang Ruo behind her exchanged nervous glances, they were extremely tired, but they didn’t dare to say a word.

After a long time, Liu Ruxiang was about to say something, but Zhou Yun’s cold gaze swept over, and Liu Ruxiang immediately fell silent.

Liu momo knew that she was angry, and bowed, “Little Master Zhou, don’t make things difficult for me, the matter of Little Master Gu was reported to the Empress, I was just following the rules.”

Zhou Yun knew that Liu momo was in a difficult position, but she couldn’t just let this matter go.

Zhang Huashang was able to put the jade bracelet in her room so easily, relying on the fact that she didn’t bring anyone into the palace, and this Imperial Selection was hosted by the Empress, which gave her a great advantage.

So, Zhou Yun leaned down and whispered something in Liu momo’s ear, “Today, the Punishment Department brought in a few slaves because they didn’t serve properly.”

People in the palace were afraid of hearing the words “Punishment Department”, Liu momo’s face changed slightly.

Zhou Yun stood up straight, looked into Liu momo’s eyes, and said softly, “The final selection is the day after tomorrow, Liu momo, you should do something to appease me.”
Her voice was very soft, almost only Liu momo could vaguely hear it.

Liu momo didn’t speak, and Zhou Yun didn’t force her, she just casually brushed her shoulder with her hand a few times.

“This clothes looks nice on you, Liu momo.”

The dark color, apart from the expensive fabric, Liu Ruxiang and the others couldn’t see anything nice about the clothes.

But after that, Zhou Yun didn’t say anything else, and Liu momo bowed and retreated.

Liu Ruxiang immediately stood up, walked close to Zhou Yun, and raised her smiling face, “Elder Sister Zhou, be careful, I’ll support you.”

Zhou Yun’s gaze fell on her face, lingering for a long time before shifting away, just as Liu Ruxiang was about to feel uneasy, Zhou Yun spoke, “I’m curious, Elder Sister Gu isn’t the type to go out often, how did the jade bracelet get into the room?”

Liu Ruxiang was taken aback, and understood the implication behind her words.

She felt nervous and flustered, and for some reason, she was intimidated by Zhou Yun, and was afraid that Zhou Yun would suspect her.

After all, even among the selected maidens, there were hierarchies, otherwise, why would Yang Yun follow Zhang Huashang so closely?

She quickly explained, “After Elder Sister Zhou left, I was called away by Miss Luo and the others, this matter really has nothing to do with me.”

Actually, they all knew that a jade bracelet wasn’t worth stealing.
And because it was awarded by the Empress, it was even more impossible.

Zhou Yun didn’t know if she believed it or not, but she furrowed her brow, “Luo Qiushi? What did she want with you?”

Liu Ruxiang hesitated, but didn’t dare to hide it at this time, “Miss Luo asked about our room.”

If Zhang Huashang and Zhou Yun were respected because their aunts were in the palace, then Luo Qiushi and the others were truly noble daughters from prestigious families.

If it wasn’t for the Imperial Selection, Liu Ruxiang wouldn’t have had a chance to interact with them.

Therefore, when Luo Qiushi called her over, Liu Ruxiang was initially excited, but when Luo Qiushi asked that question, she felt like she had been doused with cold water.

She was timid, and knew who not to offend, she didn’t dare to say anything about Zhou Yun’s business.

Moreover, she didn’t know much about Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun narrowed her eyes, she had been bothered by Zhang Huashang these past few days, and had forgotten about Zhuang Yisui and Luo Qiushi, she instinctively glanced at Gu Yan’s bed, and pursed her lips.

In the past, when Gu Yan was around, she didn’t have to worry about these things.

She leaned on the bed, her straight back suddenly bent, and in a place invisible to others, she bit her lip in embarrassment.

She knew that her current arrogance and recklessness were all thanks to her aunt, but even so, she couldn’t protect Gu Yan, who had taken care of her, and that made her feel embarrassed.

Self-blame and embarrassment mixed together, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Zhou Yun’s eyes were slightly moist, she took a deep breath, and buried herself in the embroidered quilt.

——

On the other side, in the small room, Liu Momo sat in front of the table, the small palace maid beside her said dissatisfiedly, “Momo, that Little Master Zhou was too arrogant just now.”

Liu Momo shook her head with a bitter smile, “It’s not that she was arrogant just now, but that she was restraining herself before.”

The little palace maid fell silent, not understanding Liu momo’s meaning, she furrowed her brow.

“I’m stupid, Little Master Zhou was so angry, why did she suddenly praise Momo’s clothes?”

She didn’t hear what Zhou Yun whispered in Liu Momo’s ear, so she thought Zhou Yun’s words were a bit nonsensical.

Liu Momo lowered her eyes, glanced at her clothes, which couldn’t be considered beautiful.

But these clothes weren’t something any palace maid could wear, Little Master Zhou wasn’t praising the clothes.

She stroked the pattern on her sleeve, sighed softly,

“In the past, we thought Little Master Zhou was just a willful person, it’s only because of Little Master Gu’s reminder that she’s been able to get by so smoothly.”

But since the Zhou family could produce someone like Noble Consort, how could they let their only daughter be ignorant of the ways of the world?

It was just that our eyes were shortsighted.

The small palace maid didn’t understand, she just remained silent, vaguely knowing that these words weren’t meant for her.
Suddenly, Liu momo turned her head to look at her:

“Recently, has Little Master Zhang made any requests?”

“Little Master Zhang is gentle and kind to us, she doesn’t have many requests, just one, she loves to eat milk pastries, and after lunch, we always prepare some for her.”

The small palace maid answered respectfully, and after answering, she looked up with some confusion, “Why did Momo ask this?”

Liu Momo just smiled and shook her head, “Nothing, it’s late, you should go back and rest.”

The small palace maid bowed and retreated, Liu momo’s smile faded.

She didn’t want to get involved in the struggles between the show girls, but in the palace, there were no people who could remain neutral.

Liu momo suddenly thought of Little Master Zhou’s mention of “Punishment Department”, and took a deep breath, she had been in the palace for a long time, and understood the situation in the harem better than those ladies.

Little Master Zhou dared to threaten her so openly, and that’s why.

If she told others about this, there would be no witnesses, no evidence, and she would only offend Noble Consort, or rather, she had already offended her.

Just as Little Master Zhou said, what she needed to do now was to figure out how to appease Noble Consort.

——
The next day, Zhou Yun woke up early.

Or rather, she didn’t sleep well all night, there were many things that happened yesterday, even if she had a strong heart, it would be impossible for her to fall asleep immediately.

Around 7-9am, Fu Ling arrived at the Chuxiu Palace, Liu momo led people to greet her, “Aunt Fu Ling, why did you come personally? If Noble Consort has any instructions, she could just send someone, why did you need to come yourself?”

Fu Ling glanced at her calmly, “The Noble Consort is worried about Little Master Zhou’s injury, and sent me to bring a physician.”

She scanned the surroundings, and saw Zhang Huashang and others standing on the long corridor, she paused, “The rules in the Chuxiu Palace this year are not as strict as before, the final selection is tomorrow, how can it be so lax?”

Fu Ling’s arrival from the Jujiao Palace represented the Noble Consort’s face, not to mention Zhang Huashang was still a selected maiden, even if she became a noble consort, she would still have to treat Fu Ling with respect.

The saying “a seventh-rank official at the gate of the prime minister” meant exactly this.

Liu momo quickly apologized, “It was my negligence.”

The people from the Jujiao Palace were so presumptuous, Zhang Huashang’s face froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal.

Hearing Fu Ling’s voice, Zhou Yun thought she had misheard, she pushed open the window, and looked over in surprise:

“Aunt Fu Ling?”

Fu Ling’s expression softened slightly, she finally ignored others, and led the doctor over, bowing slightly, “The Noble Consort is worried about you, and sent me to take a look.”

She saw Zhou Yun’s red and swollen eyes at a glance, and knew that she must have cried for a long time yesterday, after all, she had raised her since she was young, Fu Ling’s heart ached slightly as she furrowed her brow.

Zhou Yun had stood for a long time yesterday, and the injury on her ankle hadn’t healed, but had become even more serious.

The physician massaged her ankle, and the pain made her face turn pale, fine sweat broke out on her forehead, she tightly grasped the embroidered quilt, and wished she could cry out loud.

Fu Ling stroked her hair, and spoke softly, “Miss Gu left the palace due to illness, you should get better soon, and after you leave the palace, you can go visit Miss Gu.”

Zhou Yun was stunned for a long time, before she came back to her senses, her eyes brightened slightly, “Left the palace due to illness?”

“Yes,” Fu Ling smiled and wiped away her tears: “Don’t cry anymore, if the Noble Consort sees you, she’ll be heartbroken.”

In an instant, Zhou Yun’s tense heart finally relaxed a bit.

However, the mood of others who heard this was vastly different from Zhou Yun’s.

The smile on Yang Yun’s face was about to falter, she gritted her teeth, and lowered her voice, “Didn’t we waste our efforts yesterday?”

Zhang Huashang glanced at her coldly, “What else could we do?”

Should they deny the Noble Consort’s personal order?

Yang Yun’s face stiffened slightly.

Zhang Huashang couldn’t stay any longer, turned around, and left with her handkerchief.