Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 115

Chapter 115: A Thank-You Gift

Yun Si had long since set someone to keep an eye on Su Jieyu. The moment Su Jieyu met with Qi Guipin, Yun Si received the news, but she had not expected that even Consort Jing would send someone to report to her.

She paused ever so slightly, her expression unmarked. Song Fu looked at Her Ladyship in puzzlement, when had Consort Jing become entangled with Her Ladyship?

Yun Si did not explain.
Some matters did not need to be made known to everyone.

Qiu Yuan frowned. “Your Ladyship, what shall we do?”

The hall was warm and toasty, the lattice windows open just a crack to let in air. Yun Si sat on the couch wrapped in a thick crane cloak, her shoes off, her feet curled up within the cloak. At Qiu Yuan’s words, she glanced at her lower abdomen.

“The imperial physician says I need to rest for a time.”

And with Su Jieyu and Qi Guipin putting their heads together, who their target would be was practically self-evident.

Yun Si’s apricot eyes lowered slightly. In an offhand tone, she said,

“Let someone drop a hint to Meng Xiurong. She’s only just managed to get the little princess, can she possibly rest easy with Qi Guipin making a move at a time like this?”

She needed rest, but the harem was full of people everywhere.

Finding someone whose interests opposed those of Qi Guipin, and diverting the trouble toward them, was hardly difficult.

When she finished speaking, Yun Si turned her head toward the window.
Outside, the cold wind howled; even with the floor dragons burning inside, she still felt her hands and feet cold. If she felt this way in the main hall, how much more so would others?

Her voice floated out, light as a casual sigh.

“It’s getting colder and colder.”

Qiu Yuan and Song Fu immediately understood her meaning. Song Fu bowed respectfully and silently withdrew from the hall.

Qiu Yuan drew her cloak closer around her, asking in a low voice,

“Should this servant make a trip to the Central Province Hall?”

In the palace, to wear someone down did not always require hidden means, one’s daily clothing, food, lodging, and travel could be enough to cost a person their life.

Yun Si shook her head. “Let Song Fu go. He’s more familiar with the Central Province Hall.”

Qiu Yuan knew this as well, and said no more.

A moment later, the bead curtain outside the hall gave a faint jingle. Yun Si withdrew her gaze, and the mistress and servant, understanding each other, let the matter drop.
Qiu Yuan said, “This servant was planning to make a small set of clothes for the Young Master, but I don’t know what color to choose.”

Qu Mama came in carrying a medicinal soup. Hearing this, her usually stern face showed a faint smile.

“Then choose blue or green, suitable for either gender.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Qu Mama’s heart gave a thump. In the harem, every consort wished to give birth to a prince, she did not know if what she had just said might be a taboo.

Yun Si did not know what was in her thoughts. Slightly embarrassed by the remark, her apricot eyes dodged shyly.

“Mama understands far more than I do.”

Seeing this, Qu Mama secretly let out a sigh of relief and handed her the soup bowl. “This servant got the recipe from the imperial infirmary. It has no bitter taste and is good for both Your Ladyship’s health and the imperial heir. Will Your Ladyship try it?”

Yun Si was not really a capricious person, but lately it had been nothing but medicinal soups and tonics. She could not help feeling a bit weary of them.

Still, she did not waste Qu Mama’s good intentions. After finishing the soup, perhaps because of her inward aversion, she felt slightly uncomfortable and retched twice.

The palace maids immediately brought over a spittoon. By now, Yun Si’s pregnancy reactions had grown more and more severe, and everyone was used to knowing exactly what to do.

After a bout of dry heaving, Yun Si waved a hand for them to take the spittoon away, rinsed her mouth with salt water, and lay languidly on the soft couch. The only other pregnant woman she had ever seen was Lu Pin, and she could not help quietly comparing herself with Lu Pin.

Compared with her, Yun Si’s condition was much better, at least she did not lose her appetite, nor was she vomiting so violently and endlessly as Lu Pin had.

After a moment, a commotion sounded from outside.
Yun Si lifted her head to look at Qiu Yuan, who immediately went out.

Qiu Yuan soon returned, followed by Lu Yuan from the imperial front. Lu Yuan was holding a brocade box in his hands.

Yun Si sat up, her apricot eyes openly showing surprise.

“How come you’re here?”

Seeing that Lu Yuan’s face had gone a bit pale from the cold, she had Qiu Yuan pour him a cup of oil-butter tea.
“Hurry and warm yourself, why didn’t you wear more?”

When Yun Si was at the imperial front, aside from Qiu Yuan, she had the most contact with Lu Yuan. Even now, as a third-rank Xiurong, she would not neglect the connections from the imperial front.

Her tone was natural, making Qu Mama glance at her unobtrusively. Qiu Yuan took the brocade box from Lu Yuan’s hands. As he held the oil-butter tea, his brows and eyes carried a smile; though his hands were stiff from the cold, his expression was cheerful.

“Your Ladyship, please look, this is fox fur personally hunted by His Majesty. Knowing you fear the cold, he had people specially make hand warmers and a neck muff for you.”

Yun Si was genuinely a little surprised. “When did this happen?”

Qiu Yuan opened the brocade box. Yun Si leaned forward for a look, inside were russet-red hand warmers and a neck muff, wrapped all around with raccoon fur, looking warm at first glance. The russet-red was bright against the skin; Yun Si took one look and found she liked it.

She suddenly recalled the scene a few days ago when Tan Yuanchu came to see her, sometimes pinching her hand, sometimes her neck. Her cheeks couldn’t help but flush faintly.

He wasn’t even afraid of getting the measurements wrong!

Yun Si took off her crane cloak, and Qiu Yuan helped her put on the hand warmers and neck muff. They fit perfectly.
Yun Si looked into the bronze mirror, inside it, the woman’s delicate brows arched gently, her apricot eyes holding both a smile and joy. Without powder or rouge, the russet-red muff made her skin look even fairer, whiter than frost and snow, with an indescribable charm that drew the gaze.

Yun Si raised a hand to stroke the raccoon fur at her neck.
The feel beneath her palm was soft and plush.
Finally, she looked at Lu Yuan.

“Help me thank His Majesty. Tell him I like it very much. It’s just a pity the imperial physician has ordered me to rest and I can’t personally go to the imperial front to give thanks.”

Lu Yuan quickly said, “Your Ladyship is now with child, it’s not fitting for you to take the trouble.”

—

At Zhongcui Palace, after Meng Xiurong moved into the main hall, her rank entitled her to two or three more palace maids from the Central Province Hall. Adding in the people caring for the little princess, Zhongcui Palace now had more than twenty attendants.

The news of Qi Guipin going to Qingyu Courtyard reached Meng Xiurong through palace servants while she was in the side hall playing with the little princess.

Hearing it, a faint shadow passed in her eyes. She told her mammy to keep an eye on the little princess, then took Qiao Zhu with her out of the side hall.

Meng Xiurong’s expression was not very pleasant. Qiao Zhu, frowning, said hesitantly,

“Your Ladyship came to raise the little princess by His Majesty’s own decree. No matter what Qi Guipin does, it will be in vain. You needn’t worry.”

Meng Xiurong’s lips curved faintly, how could she not worry?

Only after the little princess came to Zhongcui Palace did it become lively, and she had no wish at all to return her to Qi Guipin. Meng Xiurong frowned, closed her eyes, and murmured softly,

“She must be made to behave.”

While Meng Xiurong was still thinking how to deal with Qi Guipin, Song Fu, having finished his errand, returned first to Chu’an Palace, then went on to the Central Province Hall.

There he met Xiao Rongzi, who had been in the Central Province Hall for a long time. He no longer dared to do serving work; instead, other palace attendants deferred to him. He was becoming harder and harder to read.
Seeing Song Fu, he said, “Eunuch Song, what orders does Her Ladyship have?”

Song Fu was embarrassed by the address, cupping his hands toward Xiao Rongzi. “Don’t make fun of this humble one, Eunuch.”

He didn’t waste time. Keeping his hands tucked into his sleeves, he said,

“Her Ladyship fears the cold. Even with the floor dragons lit, she still feels chilly, so she specially sent me to ask if the Central Province Hall could allocate more charcoal to Chu’an Palace.”

As he spoke, Song Fu’s gaze flicked toward the direction of Changchun Palace and Qingyu Courtyard.
A glimmer of understanding passed through Xiao Rongzi’s eyes.
He replied respectfully, “His Majesty has given orders, Her Ladyship is with child, and everything is to be done for her first. Nothing concerning her must be delayed. Please tell Her Ladyship the charcoal is certainly sufficient.”

How could it possibly be sufficient?

Each palace had a fixed quota and weight for charcoal. But no matter what anyone said, Xi Xiurong was pregnant, if she said she was cold, who would dare to neglect her?

Xiao Rongzi wouldn’t dare, Liu Anshun wouldn’t dare, and even if someone else were in their place, they wouldn’t dare either.

As for what to do if the charcoal wasn’t enough? Naturally, it would have to be taken from other palaces.

Song Fu had gone out empty-handed, but when he returned to Chu’an Palace, two attendants followed behind him, each carrying a basket full of charcoal. From the Central Province Hall back to Chu’an Palace, who knew how many people had witnessed the scene along the way.

By evening, in the Yangxin Hall, the affairs of the harem were in constant motion. Upon receiving the news, Xu Shunfu hurried to report it.

Tan Yuanchu skimmed past the matter of Qi Guipin and Su Jieyu, but when he heard that Chu’an Palace had gone to the Central Province Hall to fetch a basket of charcoal, he finally lifted his eyelids.

“Tell the Central Province Hall to attend to her with extra care.”

Tan Yuanchu knew she feared the cold. Once winter came, her hands and feet were always icy, and when she slept, she always wanted to burrow into someone’s arms, wishing she could press both hands and feet against him to keep warm.

Last year, in the Yangxin Hall, he had been kept from sleeping well for several nights by this habit of hers. Later, once he got used to it, she was no longer in the Yangxin Hall.

Thinking of something, Tan Yuanchu looked toward Xu Shunfu.

“I remember there was a piece of warm jade among the tribute from Liaomo last year.”

Jade could nurture the body, and since her constitution ran cold, warm jade was exactly what suited her best.

As for Su Jieyu and Qi Guipin, Tan Yuanchu ordered coldly, “Have them watched, do not allow them near Chu’an Palace.”

He didn’t want that scene from the other day to happen again, so he might as well completely bar Su Jieyu and the others from approaching her.

As for Su Jieyu’s miscarriage, Tan Yuanchu had indeed once felt pity, but his pity was far too shallow, unable to withstand the passage of time, and even less able to withstand Su Jieyu’s foolishness.

Xu Shunfu answered respectfully, and, confirming that the Emperor had no further instructions, withdrew to go and find the warm jade.

The warm jade was in the private treasury, and finding it took little time. When Xu Shunfu brought it back, Tan Yuanchu was about to have him deliver it to Chu’an Palace, but suddenly recalled what Lu Yuan had brought back earlier that day. He paused, took the jade, and personally rose to leave the Yangxin Hall.

As night was about to fall, the entire harem was waiting for news from the imperial front. Su Jieyu had just drunk a bowl of medicine in the late afternoon, but she still had Bai Shao keep constant watch on the imperial front.

When she heard the imperial carriage had gone to Chu’an Palace, she couldn’t hold back and directly smashed the medicine bowl.

Yun Si again!

When the imperial carriage arrived at Chu’an Palace, the shadow of a lantern suddenly fell across the lattice window.
Looking through it, Yun Si saw the carriage, but she did not go out.

When Tan Yuanchu was about to pass through the second set of curtains into the inner hall, he heard the quick patter of footsteps from within. He raised his brows, and as the curtain lifted, the woman walked straight into his arms.

Startled, Tan Yuanchu quickly caught her, while she herself seemed not to find anything amiss, her apricot eyes curved as she looked at him.

“Why has Your Majesty come?”

Seeing her bare feet, without even shoes, Tan Yuanchu gave a short, cool laugh. “And you’re not cold now?”

The meaning was unclear, but there was no hint of joy in it.

The floor was covered with thick carpets, the floor dragons burned beneath, and braziers stood all around, in truth, it wasn’t very cold.

Yun Si blinked her apricot eyes and pouted. “Your concubine only forgot in the moment upon hearing you had come.”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t listen to her excuses. Carrying her back to the couch, he fastened the warm jade around her neck. “Do not take it off.”

Puzzled, Yun Si touched the pendant. Having been held close to the body all the way, it carried no chill at all.
Though she didn’t understand, she didn’t ask further, only nodding obediently.

The surrounding attendants withdrew. Tan Yuanchu took a handkerchief and wiped her feet. Her feet were very white, her toes tinged with pink. Held in his hands, even a glance was suggestive. Feeling ticklish and slightly shy, Yun Si curled her toes and pulled back, mumbling,

“Please stop…”

Obediently, Tan Yuanchu released her, his fingertips seemingly brushing her ankle by accident.

Yun Si’s apricot eyes widened in surprise.

Only then did Tan Yuanchu speak slowly.

“Didn’t you ask me why I came?”

“I heard Xi Xiurong wished to thank me in person, but was unfortunately inconvenienced. So I had no choice but to come myself and see, how does Xi Xiurong intend to thank me in person?”

One arm slipped around her waist, his tone sounding almost casual.

Yun Si was momentarily speechless.

Wasn’t that just a polite, perfunctory remark?

And besides, who delivers a gift and then personally comes to demand thanks?

Inwardly she spat at him, but the jade pendant at her neck pressed warm against her skin, and she could only look at him plaintively. “How does Your Majesty wish your concubine to thank you?”

When Tan Yuanchu had come to deliver the jade, he truly had not been thinking anything at all. But when the woman looked at him with those plaintive apricot eyes, an indescribable thought suddenly stirred in his mind.

His gaze seemed to linger somewhere for a moment, then he leaned in and murmured two words into her ear.

Yun Si’s face flushed scarlet in an instant.