Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Past

The night grew darker, and the autumn evening was a bit chilly, but it couldn’t compare to the coldness that Lu Song felt deep in his bones.

He tried to explain, but his words were feeble, “I didn’t know back then…”

Yun Si shook off his hand, and a hint of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. She struggled to suppress her emotions and didn’t let herself lose control. Her voice was cold, “Don’t block my way.”

After breaking free from Lu Song, Yun Si left without hesitation.

When she returned to her quarters, Yun Si couldn’t support herself anymore. She collapsed onto the bed, curling up and burying her face in her knees.

Seeing Lu Song again, she wasn’t prepared at all.

She never thought she would see Lu Song again. She thought the past was long gone, and she wouldn’t have any connection with people from her past. She tried hard to forget everything.

But she had always had bad luck.

She and Lu Song had known each other for a long time, long enough that she might have known him since she was young. She rarely thought about the past, but when she saw Lu Song, the memories she thought she had forgotten kept resurfacing.

She and Lu Song lived in the same village. In her memory, the village seemed peaceful. Her father didn’t fit in with the villagers. Everyone grew crops, but he only cared about hunting. He lived at the foot of the mountain, relying on it for a living. Unexpectedly, he managed to accumulate a considerable amount of silver.

It was a coincidence that she met her mother. Yun Si’s impression of her mother was shallow, as her mother passed away when she was young. She only heard from her father that her mother was once a rich family’s daughter, but their family fortunes declined. Her mother’s family members got into trouble, and she was almost sold. Fortunately, her father saved her. Otherwise, such a celestial being wouldn’t have ended up in this remote and poor village.

When her father talked about this, he always had complex emotions, a mix of gratitude and heartache. He would say that if she hadn’t suffered so much, she wouldn’t have passed away so early.

Her father was good to her and didn’t plan to remarry. He put all his thoughts into her and was afraid she wouldn’t live well. He went hunting more frequently, which wasn’t without danger. When her father was brought back covered in blood, Yun Si remembered her mind going blank, and she was frozen in place. When she came to her senses, she cried so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.

Before her father passed away, he entrusted her to the care of the Lu family next door. The Lu family was different from her father. Lu Song was a prodigy when it came to studying. The Lu family wanted Lu Song to focus on his studies, but ink and brushes were expensive, and they couldn’t afford them.
Her father lent them silver.

He knew she was young and couldn’t make a living on her own. He was also worried that the Lu family would treat her poorly, so he gave them all his savings, hoping they would remember his kindness.

At first, everything was fine. The Lu family treated her well, and she and Lu Song had known each other since they were young. Lu Song was kind to her, and everyone said she resembled her mother. They joked that she would marry Lu Song in the future.

At that time, both she and Lu Song would lower their heads and not dare to speak. But deep down, they both believed it.

Lu Song was good to her, and Yun Si thought that maybe this was okay.

But three years ago, famine spread everywhere, and the Lu family’s food storage gradually ran out. They also had to bear the cost of Lu Song’s studies. Yun Si could sense the restlessness in the Lu family.

But she never expected that misfortune would fall on her again.

She heard her Aunt Lu, who usually treated her with kindness, say that they would sell her. Uncle Lu squatted on the ground, not saying a word. Aunt Lu kept talking about selling her to a wealthy family as a servant, saying it was a blessed fate. Yun Si was stunned, and after a while, she heard Uncle Lu, who had been silent, suddenly say that she was very beautiful.
Aunt Lu fell silent, and after a moment of hesitation, she said that the place was a place where people were ruined.

Yun Si didn’t understand. Being sold as a servant was supposed to be a blessing, so what kind of place was a place where people were ruined?

The two people in the room were silent for a long time. Aunt Lu kept muttering, “Song needs silver for his studies, and he’ll need it for the imperial exams in the future. That place… maybe we can’t redeem her in the future. We’ve raised her for so long, it’s time for her to repay us.”

When Yun Si heard this, she wanted to rush in and tell them that her father had given them silver, and the house her father left her had been sold by the Lu family.

But she didn’t dare. She vaguely sensed that they wanted to sell her to a bad place, and a chill ran down her spine, making her whole body tremble.

She thought for a long time and finally decided to go find Lu Song.

Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu loved Lu Song the most, and if Lu Song was willing to help her, she wouldn’t be sold.

But Yun Si didn’t expect that she couldn’t find Lu Song no matter where she looked in the village. She didn’t see Lu Song until she was sold.

After being sold, she finally knew where the Lu family had sold her. Yun Si was so scared that she cried every day.

She didn’t understand why Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu, who had once loved her, would sell her to such a place. Hadn’t they promised her father that they would take care of her?

She heard the person who bought her say that she was beautiful, and selling her in a small town would be a loss. So they took her to a very prosperous place. Yun Si didn’t know how long they walked. She only knew that she was taken to a very prosperous place, where she had never seen such bright lights and such tall city walls.

She heard the person who bought her say that she would have a good life in the future.

Yun Si didn’t believe it at all. How could she have a good life in a place her mother had tried so hard to escape from?

Before being sent to that place, Yun Si was rescued.

The person who rescued her was Eunuch Liu, who was selecting palace maids. The person who bought her looked reluctant but still handed her over to Eunuch Liu with a smile. From then on, she was brought into the palace.

Later, Yun Si learned that she had thought all places were suffering from famine, but it wasn’t true. Only Yuzhou City was unfortunate enough to have a disaster.
But after the new emperor ascended the throne, silver was allocated, and people were sent to provide disaster relief. Now, several months had passed, and Yuzhou City had stabilized.

Yun Si was stunned for a long time. It turned out that if they had just waited a little longer, the Lu family wouldn’t have needed to sell her.

Yun Si closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about the past. She couldn’t deny that she hated the Lu family.

At that time, there was famine all around, and the Lu family didn’t know that someone was providing disaster relief. They didn’t want to raise another person, and she couldn’t understand it.

But even if the Lu family had sold her as a servant, she might not have hated them so much.

Unfortunately, there were no what-ifs. The incident had already occurred, and she wouldn’t forget the fear and anxiety she felt during those months on the road. So, when Lu Song showed hypocritical guilt, she didn’t feel a thing. She only felt nauseated.

However, Lu Song, who was treasured by the Lu family, had actually entered the palace as a eunuch. It seemed that after selling her, the Lu family’s life hadn’t improved.

Yun Si took a deep breath and pushed the irrelevant person out of her mind. She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

The next day, when she saw Lu Song again, Yun Si was able to remain calm.

When paying respects, Lu Pin was very enthusiastic. She got up early, before Chen Shi, and asked Yun Si to change her into a ginger-red palace dress. Yun Si frowned slightly but saw the excitement in Lu Pin’s eyes and didn’t dissuade her.

In the palace, Yang Jieyu often wore ginger-red palace dresses. The other concubines were aware of this and would intentionally avoid this color.

Lu Pin was clearly doing it on purpose.

Yang Jieyu had bullied her too much, and Lu Pin wasn’t someone with a good temper. She had been keeping score of this grudge, and now that she had the opportunity to annoy Yang Jieyu, Lu Pin wouldn’t let it pass.

As a Pin, Lu Pin was entitled to have an entourage. Even if she couldn’t have one, she was pregnant, and all rules could make way for the imperial heir.

Today, Lu Pin was going to pay respects with an entourage. The four small eunuchs in the palace had to follow her, making a grand spectacle. When they arrived at Kunning Palace, everyone saw her outfit, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

Today, Lu Pin didn’t come to pay respects with Qiu Cairen. She had already taken her seat, and her position was moved forward a bit, separating the two women completely. Qiu Cairen lowered her head and didn’t react at all.

As soon as Lu Pin sat down, someone in the hall spoke up. “It’s rare to see Lu Pin wear such a bright color.”

The speaker was an elderly woman in the palace, He Meiren. What’s more, she and Yang Jieyu lived in the same palace and had a close relationship. In the harem, concubines who weren’t favored had their own way of surviving. He Meiren had long ago sought refuge with Yang Jieyu. In other words, she and Yang Jieyu were in the same camp.

Lu Pin had been in the palace for only a few months, but she was of course aware of this. She smiled softly, her eyes curving. “I think this color is auspicious, and it’s a good match.”

A good match for what? He Meiren certainly understood. Lu Pin had just discovered she was pregnant, which was definitely a joyful event.

He Meiren looked up, seeing Lu Pin’s soft and charming smile. She narrowed her eyes slightly: No wonder Lu Pin was able to stand out among the new concubines.
She was indeed articulate.

As soon as Yang Jieyu entered, she saw Lu Pin wearing the same color as her. The two of them were only separated by the rank of Gui Pin, and they were sitting very close to each other, almost face to face. Lu Pin easily saw Yang Jieyu’s face turn pale.

Lu Pin’s eyes curved even more as she ate her pastry, seemingly savoring its deliciousness.

Some concubines thought to themselves: This Lu Pin might look soft, but she’s not someone to be trifled with. There’s really no one in the harem who’s easy to get along with.

Yang Jieyu sat in her seat with a cold face, not acknowledging Lu Pin. Instead, she turned to He Meiren and said, “Recently, I wore a certain type of hairpin, and yesterday I saw a maidservant wearing a similar silver hairpin. There are really many people in the palace who don’t understand the rules.”

Everyone could tell that she was speaking indirectly, but she didn’t mention anyone’s name, so no one could do anything about it.

He Meiren chuckled, “These servants have ulterior motives. Why bother to take them seriously, Jieyu? Your elegance is something that not everyone can emulate. I’m afraid they’ll end up making a mess of it.”
As soon as the words fell, Lu Pin’s face suddenly turned cold. She wasn’t stupid and could certainly hear the sarcasm from the two women.

Everyone was waiting for Lu Pin’s reaction, and Lu Pin didn’t disappoint them. She turned to the palace maid from Kunning Palace and said, “The imperial physician said that I’m pregnant and can’t drink tea. Please ask the girl to replace it with another cup for me.”

The people around her had different expressions in their eyes. The only two people present who had imperial heirs, Consort De and Rong Zhaoyi, exchanged a glance, slightly raising their eyebrows. They were calm and continued drinking their tea. Yang Jieyu’s smile immediately disappeared.

Lu Pin’s lips curved up slightly.

Was she feeling proud?

After being in the palace for several years, Yang Jieyu had been favored repeatedly but hadn’t had any news. Now, she could only watch Lu Pin with envy.