Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Xiao Rongzi

The next day, during the morning court, Lu Cairen, who had knelt for a long time the previous day, couldn’t even get out of bed. She sent someone to the Kunning Palace to ask for leave.

Yang Jieyu, who had been scolded by the Emperor the previous day, still felt uncomfortable. When she heard about this, she couldn’t help but sneer: “What a delicate body.”

At that moment, all the imperial consorts were still in the Kunning Palace for the morning court. Upon hearing Yang Jieyu’s words, they immediately fell silent. After all, everyone knew what had happened the previous day.

Rong Zhaoyi was also annoyed by Yang Jieyu’s recklessness: “Lu Cairen is taking a leave today, isn’t it thanks to Yang Jieyu?”

Was Lu Cairen being disrespectful to those above her?

Who in the palace didn’t know the rules better than Yang Jieyu herself?

Yang Jieyu was taken aback, not expecting Rong Zhaoyi to speak up for Lu Cairen. She wanted to say something more, but the Empress suddenly spoke up, interrupting her: “Enough.”

The Empress frowned, her eyes flashing with displeasure as she gazed at Yang Jieyu: “I’ve already heard about what happened yesterday. We’re all sisters in the palace, especially since Lu Cairen is new here. Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and instead of showing her some leniency, you made her kneel for three hours?”

Yang Jieyu almost laughed in anger.

Why should she show leniency to Lu Cairen? Just because Lu Cairen entered the palace first? She hadn’t seen Consort De or the Empress show her any leniency.

And what about kneeling for three hours? She didn’t believe the Empress hadn’t received news about it yesterday. Since the Empress hadn’t reacted yesterday, and Lu Cairen had already knelt for the punishment, what was the point of bringing it up now?It was just a case of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted.

Yang Jieyu’s face turned cold, but she didn’t dare to speak out directly against the Empress. She pouted: “She was disrespectful in her words, and I was momentarily blinded by anger.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Rong Zhaoyi raised her hand to cover her mouth and let out a subtle, meaningful laugh.

Yang Jieyu’s body stiffened, and everyone else lowered their heads to stifle their giggles. Who didn’t know that Yang Jieyu loved to compete with Rong Zhaoyi whenever she attended to the Emperor at night, and she was the one who was most disrespectful to those above her.

Consort De also spoke up slowly: “Yang Jieyu doesn’t have the authority to govern the palace. Saying she was blinded by anger can’t justify her arbitrary punishment of other concubines. If this sets a precedent, the palace will be in chaos.”

Yang Jieyu suddenly looked up. Punishing those below her was a common occurrence for those in positions of power. Consort De’s intervention at this moment clearly meant she still held a grudge from yesterday’s incident.

Yang Jieyu felt a surge of resentment. She had only unintentionally offended Consort De yesterday, and did Consort De really need to hold onto that grudge for so long?

She forced a smile: “Your Ladyship Consort De is exaggerating.”

Consort De nodded and smiled: “You’re right. All the sisters here have been chosen from thousands of candidates. They wouldn’t behave in such a disorderly manner.”

Yang Jieyu’s face turned pale.

Consort De seemed to agree with her, but in reality, she was just pointing out Yang Jieyu’s own lack of discipline.

No matter how angry Yang Jieyu was, she knew she couldn’t do anything about it. Consort De’s status in the palace was already transcendent thanks to her son, the eldest prince. What could Yang Jieyu use to confront Consort De?

In the end, it was the Empress who interrupted this farce. She didn’t punish Yang Jieyu severely and didn’t say much: “Don’t let it happen again in the future.”

Yang Jieyu reluctantly agreed.

The Empress looked at her with a meaningful gaze. If Yang Jieyu felt stifled now, just wait until the Emperor’s compensation came down. The Changle Palace would surely be in for a tumultuous time.

After the morning court, Yang Jieyu returned to the Changle Palace and learned that Lu Cairen had been personally escorted back to the Heyi  by Xu Shunfu the previous day.

Yang Jieyu immediately smashed a set of tea utensils. She turned around abruptly, and the golden hairpins and pendants on her head clinked loudly as she moved. Her angry voice echoed through the hall: “What does she have that makes the Emperor favor her so much? She’s just a lowly concubine!”

The palace maids in the hall suddenly knelt down. Ya Ling glanced at the maids peeking into the hall from outside and frowned. She quickly stepped forward to comfort Yang Jieyu: “Please calm down, Mistress. If the Emperor and the Empress truly valued her, why would they have let her kneel for so long?”

Yang Jieyu was still fuming, especially after being targeted by Consort De and Rong Zhaoyi during the morning court. She was in a terrible mood.

She took a deep breath and instructed: “This afternoon, go to the Emperor’s presence and tell him I’m not feeling well. Ask him to come visit me.”

It had been a long time since the Emperor had visited her in the Changle Palace. After the night she attended to him when the new concubines entered the palace, the lanterns in the Changle Palace hadn’t been lit.

Although part of the reason was that the Emperor hadn’t visited the harem for a while, Yang Jieyu couldn’t help but feel anxious. This batch of new concubines included eight new faces, and with Su Meiren and Lu Cairen occupying so much of the Emperor’s attention, she had no idea when she would get a chance to attend to him.

She couldn’t wait any longer.

If the Emperor wouldn’t come to her, couldn’t she just go to him herself?

In the Heyi Hall, in the side room.

Lu Cairen knew she was injured, so she had exempted herself from her duties and was resting in her room. The room was empty except for her. Before Chen Shi 7-9am, Yun Si woke up unconsciously. As she tried to turn over and get out of bed, she felt pain all over her body, especially in her knees and shoulders.
The pain was so severe that every movement felt like torture.The memories of yesterday gradually came back, and Yun Si furrowed her delicate eyebrows. She had been in the palace for two years, and even in the Central Province Hall, she was accustomed to waking up early.

This was the first time she could choose to sleep in.

Yun Si lay on the bed, staring at the bed curtains above her with her almond-shaped eyes. Suddenly, she had nothing to do, and she didn’t know what to do with herself.

After an unknown amount of time, the door was knocked, and Xiao Rongzi came to bring her lunch.

At the same time, Xiao Rongzi told her in a low voice about what had happened during the morning court.
It wasn’t a secret, after all. Yun Si’s eyes flashed slightly, and she asked in a soft voice: “How is the Cairen?”

When mentioning this, Xiao Rongzi muttered in a sulky tone: “Why does sister care about her? She’s definitely better off than sister.”

Yun Si glared at him, and Xiao Rongzi said in a low voice: “At Chen Shi, Song Rong went to the Kunning Palace to ask for leave. When lunch was delivered, she had already gotten up.”

Xiao Rongzi still didn’t understand: “Why did sister protect her? She doesn’t know the situation and offended Yang Jieyu recklessly. Sister helped her, and she’ll just suffer. It’s better for her to learn to be cautious in the palace.”

Yun Si frowned, her tone becoming heavier: “Xiao Rongzi, we’re both servants of the Heyi Hall, and we’re also Lu Cairen’s servants. It’s only natural to help her.”

Xiao Rongzi turned his head away, and after a long time, he muttered: “It’s not just that.”

Lu Cairen was a master, but not his master. He had asked Eunuch Liu to let him serve in the Heyi Hall just because his sister was here.

Xiao Rongzi knew his thoughts were wrong, but seeing his sister being implicated and injured because of Lu Cairen, he couldn’t help but feel resentment towards Lu Cairen.

Xiao Rongzi even didn’t understand: “Sister does what she wants, and she’ll eventually conflict with Lu Cairen. Why bother to protect her so much?”
Yun Si was taken aback by his words: “I have my own reasons.”

Of course, she knew that things wouldn’t end well between her and Lu Cairen. But as a servant of the Heyi Hall, she had to think about Lu Cairen’s interests.

Xiao Rongzi frowned. He wasn’t foolish, and he could sense the underlying meaning in Yun Si’s words.

Did she really want to help Lu Cairen, or was she forced to do so?

Xiao Rongzi couldn’t help but think of another obstacle in the palace. Song Rong had entered the palace with Lu Cairen and had a natural advantage. If Yun Si wanted to surpass Song Rong and become Lu Cairen’s confidante, she would have to pay a greater price than Song Rong.

But there might be other ways to surpass Song Rong.

Xiao Rongzi’s eyes flashed: “I understand, sister. Don’t be angry.”

In the afternoon, news spread throughout the palace that someone from the Changle Palace had been sent to the Emperor’s presence, saying that Yang Jieyu was unwell.

Lu Cairen’s eyebrows furrowed, and she suddenly sneered: “If she’s unwell, why doesn’t she send for a doctor? Why send for the Emperor? Does the Emperor know how to cure illnesses?”

No one in the hall dared to respond, and the atmosphere turned cold. Lu Cairen frowned, disapproving of their foolishness. She scanned the hall and didn’t see Yun Si. It took her a moment to remember that Yun Si was still recovering from her injuries.

Xiao Rongzi glanced around the hall and stepped forward: “Please calm down, mistress. In my opinion, Yang Jieyu might not get what she wants.”

The atmosphere in the hall eased slightly, and Lu Cairen’s complexion improved. She looked at Xiao Rongzi, remembering him as the leading eunuch among the two in the hall. However, Xiao Rongzi was usually low-key and rarely spoke up. Lu Cairen often overlooked him.

Lu Cairen asked suspiciously: “What do you mean?”

Xiao Rongzi told Lu Cairen about what happened in the Taihe Hall yesterday and looked up: “The servant thinks Yang Jieyu is anxious.”

Lu Cairen sat up straight and asked excitedly: “Is that true?”

Xiao Rongzi nodded.

When the news from the Emperor’s presence arrived, the smile on Lu Cairen’s face grew wider: “I thought she was capable, but it seems she’s not.”

Xiao Rongzi didn’t respond to that. Instead, he reminded her: “I don’t know how serious your injury is, but if it’s severe, you might need to go to the Jingshi  to remove the green head card.”

Lu Cairen’s expression changed: “What?”

Xiao Rongzi patiently explained to her: “When a concubine is injured or menstruating, the Jingshi House Respectful Affair Room/house will remove the road head card to prevent offending the Emperor.”

Lu Cairen’s knees were only slightly bruised from kneeling, and she had almost recovered after resting for a day. She thought it wouldn’t affect her attendance to the Emperor, so she said: “I’m fine. I’ll go to the Kunning Palace for the morning court tomorrow.”

Xiao Rongzi was taken aback.

His intention was to have Lu Cairen remove the green head card, pretending to be pitiful and arousing the Emperor’s sympathy. Even if it didn’t work, it would be good to pin the crime of harming a concubine on Yang Jieyu.

But Lu Cairen didn’t follow the usual pattern, fearing she would miss out on attending to the Emperor.

If the Emperor was interested, he would visit Lu Cairen in the Heyi Hall even if she was injured.

If the Emperor wasn’t interested, would Lu Cairen attending to him with the green head card make a difference?

Moreover, he had seen the situation with Lu Cairen’s legs. Although it wasn’t serious, there were some marks left. The Emperor wouldn’t be so heartless as to make her attend to him with injuries.

There was more to say, but when the news of the Emperor’s visit to the Heyi Hall arrived in the evening, Xiao Rongzi swallowed his words.

He frowned, feeling a bit annoyed.
After this incident, Lu Cairen and Yang Jieyu were completely at odds.

His sister often followed Lu Cairen, and if Lu Cairen was punished, his sister would inevitably be the first to be affected.

Yun Si also received the news. In her room, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and the light was dim. She stood with her back to the bronze mirror, turning her head to glance at the injuries on her back.
The mirror reflected the unclear emotions in her eyes.