Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Her Ladyship Consort Jing

The lotus pond was surrounded by railings. The breeze blew, lifting a strand of Lu Cairen‘s black hair. She leaned against the railing, with a backdrop of flowers, exuding an enchanting and delicate charm. She smiled gently at Tan Yuanchu and walked towards him with joy, “Does Your Majesty often come here?”

Tan Yuanchu nodded slightly and turned to go up to the pavilion.

Lu Cairen felt a bit annoyed by his perfunctory attitude. He was the one who asked her to accompany him, yet he showed such a lukewarm expression.

Lu Cairen pouted, feeling frustrated. She hadn’t experienced such treatment at home, but in the palace, she seemed to be getting it all too often.

Someone behind her touched her, and she suddenly regained her composure. After taking a deep breath, Lu Cairen’s expression returned to normal. She followed him up to the pavilion, complaining in a soft and sweet tone, “Your Majesty didn’t wait for me.”

Before she entered the palace, her mother had told her that she should be respectful towards the Emperor, but not too respectful. After all, she wasn’t a servant. As a concubine, she should treat the Emperor like a lover. She could be as playful and affectionate as she was at home.

Lu Cairen didn’t think her mother’s advice was wrong. She pouted and looked up at the Emperor with accusing eyes. She didn’t sit properly, instead leaning against the Emperor and wrapping her fingers around his sleeve.

Xu Shunfu pretended not to notice, keeping his eyes downcast. However, he couldn’t help but glance at Yun Si.
He almost burst out laughing.

This woman was not even pretending to be obedient.The pavilion was draped with gauze curtains, a good place to steal some leisure time. However, the pavilion wasn’t very large, with a guifei couch noble consort couch and a desk inside. It was already crowded, and the palace maids had retreated outside after serving tea, leaving only Xu Shunfu inside.

Xu Shunfu knew the inside story. The Emperor’s visit to the harem today wasn’t to appreciate the flowers, but to visit Rong Zhaoyi in the Changchun Palace. Rong Zhaoyi was usually favored, and with a princess by her side, the Emperor would visit her several times a month. It had been over a month since the Emperor had visited the Changchun Palace, which was unusual.

The Emperor’s itinerary had been disrupted by someone. As for who the Emperor truly wanted to accompany him, Xu Shunfu had a guess, but he wasn’t sure.
After all, the Emperor seemed to be chatting with Lu Cairen, occasionally hearing her embarrassed laughter, yet not even glancing at Yun Si.

Xu Shunfu shook his head slightly, finding it hard to understand. Outside the gauze curtains, Yun Si stood with her head bowed, unaffected by the joyful laughter coming from inside.

She had thought everything through when she chose this path. With over 3,000 beauties in the palace, everyone hoped for the Emperor’s favor, whether they were present or not.

Inside the pavilion, Tan Yuanchu’s gaze lingered on the gauze curtains before shifting to Lu Cairen’s hand, which held a sour plum cake. Lu Cairen’s soft voice said, “Try this, Your Majesty.”

Tan Yuanchu casually looked away and took a bite, the sour taste moderate. However, he couldn’t help but think of the previous day, when someone had fed him lotus powder and osmanthus cake, bit by bit, in a closed palace hall. Her slender legs had wrapped around his waist, and she had tilted her long neck, as if waiting for his mercy.

The brief warmth he had felt earlier disappeared in an instant. Tan Yuanchu swallowed the cake and glanced at the gauze curtains again. The person stood still, without any movement.
Tan Yuanchu suddenly made a disapproving sound, and Lu Cairen looked up at him uncertainly, “What’s wrong, Your Majesty? Doesn’t it suit your taste?”

The way she asked, but Lu Cairen didn’t expect the Emperor to actually nod, “Indeed, it doesn’t suit my taste.”

Lu Cairen froze for a moment, thinking the Emperor was being quite blunt.

She subtly pouted her lips. In the summer, she particularly loved sour plum cakes, which were appetizing and relieving. However, since the Emperor didn’t like it, she would have to stop liking it too.

Lu Cairen pushed the sour plum cake away, preparing to take another pastry, and said, “Your Majesty, try this one?”

Tan Yuanchu pushed her hand away, “No need.”

Lu Cairen’s movement was off, and the pastry accidentally fell to the ground, rolling over the gauze curtain and stopping at the feet of the person standing outside.
Lu Cairen lightly bit her lip.

Tan Yuanchu stood up directly, “I still need to visit Rong Zhaoyi. You can return to the palace on your own.”

Lu Cairen was stunned, completely forgetting about the pastry’s mishap.

Watching the Emperor leave the pavilion, Lu Cairen still couldn’t process what had just happened. The Emperor had left her alone here to visit Rong Zhaoyi?!

Yun Si also heard the Emperor’s words and couldn’t help but look up. The Emperor truly didn’t care about the concubine’s feelings.

Just then, Tan Yuanchu passed through the gauze curtain, and their eyes met in mid-air. Yun Si hastily lowered her gaze.Tan Yuanchu coldly withdrew his gaze and walked past her without any hesitation, showing no signs of the intimacy they had shared the previous day.

When everyone from the imperial entourage had left, Yun Si turned and entered the pavilion. Lu Cairen heard the movement and tears suddenly dropped down her face.
She sobbed and said, “He’s so cruel!”

She had been called to accompany the Emperor and had felt elated about it, only to be discarded like a worn-out shoe. Lu Cairen, despite her usual confidence, couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Lu Cairen collapsed onto the guifei couch and cried uncontrollably. Yun Si knelt down beside her and hugged her, “The ground is cold, mistress. Even if you’re feeling down, you need to take care of yourself.”

After a while, Lu Cairen finally stood up again, gritting her teeth, “This won’t happen again.”

At home, Lu Cairen was the beloved legitimate daughter, never ignored. But after entering the palace, with her low status, she could only be bullied and couldn’t speak out. She thought she could use the Emperor to provoke Yang Jieyu, but today she realized she was insignificant to the Emperor. She didn’t want to experience that feeling again.

Before returning to the Heyi Hall,, the news of the Emperor abandoning Lu Cairen to visit the Changchun Palace had spread throughout the harem.

Yun Si had never seen Lu Cairen lose her temper like this. The jade Ruyi, which Lu Cairen usually played with, was shattered on the ground. Song Rong was shocked and didn’t dare to approach her.

Lu Cairen didn’t want anyone to see her in this state and snapped, “Get out!”

Song Rong had never seen her mistress like this and was momentarily at a loss. She instinctively looked at Yun Si, who shook her head. Yun Si gestured behind her, and soon all the palace maids retreated, leaving space for Lu Cairen.

As soon as Song Rong went out, she couldn’t help but ask, “What happened?”

Yun Si briefly explained the situation, “The mistress is a bit sad. You need to comfort her carefully later.”

Song Rong was taken aback, and after a moment, she managed to say, “How could the Emperor treat our mistress like this?”

No one could answer her question, and Yun Si just lowered her head without speaking. After a pause, she said, “I’ll go get lunch. You keep an eye on the palace.”

Song Rong turned her head without responding. She didn’t need Yun Si to tell her to pay attention to the palace.

The imperial kitchen was not far from the Heyi Hall, but it required a detour. It would take at least two quarters of an hour to go back and forth. Yun Si looked up at the scorching sun in the sky and sighed inwardly. She chose a shaded path and quickened her pace.

However, no matter how careful Yun Si was, she still managed to get into trouble.

“Stop, you slave!”

Yun Si’s footsteps halted. The voice came from behind her. She glanced around and saw that there was no one in front of her. The footsteps behind her were getting closer, and it was clear that the voice was directed at her.

Yun Si immediately stopped and turned around, quickly glancing at the person approaching her. The person was accompanied by an entourage.

Realizing this, Yun Si knelt down immediately. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of the maidservant beside the entourage. For a moment, she was taken aback.

She had never seen this maidservant before.

Her thoughts racing, she remembered that she often accompanied Lu Cairen to pay her respects. She had almost seen all the mistresses in the palace. Those with entourages were at least of the rank of concubine or above. There was only one mistress in the palace she hadn’t seen.

Yun Si guessed the identity of the person and bowed respectfully, “This servant pays her respects to Her Ladyship Consort Jing.”

The entourage stopped in front of her, and the curtain was lifted, revealing the face of Consort Jing. She looked down, and upon closer inspection, there was a slight resemblance to the Emperor. She coughed lightly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, “I didn’t expect there to be someone in the palace who recognizes me.”

Yun Si didn’t know how to respond to this.

As far as she knew, Ladyship Consort Jing was a special existence in the palace. She was the niece of the current Empress Dowager and was the first woman to enter the palace after the Emperor’s ascension. She didn’t enter through the usual selection process, and her title was already a second-rank consort when she entered the palace.

Despite her high title, Consort Jing wasn’t favored by the Emperor. In fact, the Emperor rarely visited her palace, sometimes not even once a year.

The only person who didn’t have to attend the daily paying respects in the Kunning Palace was Consort Jing, because everyone in the harem knew that she was in poor health. Her presence in the palace was a favor granted by the Empress Dowager, and her title was more like a facade. She stayed in the palace to recuperate, and apart from occasionally visiting the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace, she rarely appeared in public.

Even her palace, the Yongning Palace, was located closest to the Cining Palace.

Despite her situation, no one dared to disrespect her, and even the Empress treated her with leniency.

Consort Jing didn’t seem to expect a response from Yun Si. She suddenly spoke up, “Lift your head.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze that could be blown away.

Yun Si felt a surge of tension but didn’t dare disobey. She slowly lifted her head. There were hibiscus flowers blooming around her, and everyone was used to seeing beautiful women in the palace. However, when they saw Yun Si’s face, they were all taken aback.

Yun Si wore a greenish-blue jacket and skirt, which was one of the two colors commonly worn by palace maids. Her attire wasn’t out of the ordinary, but her beauty was exceptional.

She had willow-leaf eyebrows, apricot-shaped eyes and red lips, rosy cheeks and a powdered face, with a pointed chin with full and tender cheeks. Her cheeks were lightly flushed with rouge, which added a subtle touch of color to her face.

Yun Si felt a bit nervous, and her eyelids trembled slightly. Even the vibrant colors of the hibiscus flowers seemed dull in comparison.

Everyone was stunned by her beauty, and Consort Jing was no exception. Although she had guessed that Yun Si would be a beauty based on her back view, she was still surprised by her exceptional beauty.

Consort Jing regained her composure and asked Yun Si, her voice gentle, “Which palace do you serve in?”

Yun Si clenched her handkerchief tightly, “This servant serves in the Heyi Hall.”

The maidservant beside Consort Jing whispered something to her, and Consort Jing’s eyes flashed with understanding. She smiled and said in a calm tone, “Would you like to serve in my palace?”