Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Paying Respects

The woman wearing a luxurious dress adorned with gold and pearls stepped in. She was very beautiful, with a slightly flamboyant and radiant beauty. The jewels and gold hairpins added a touch of splendor to her appearance. Even the grand palace attire couldn’t suppress her charm, and a single glance from her slanted eyes was enough to captivate. Rong Zhaoyi was supported by the court maidens as she entered, and she only looked at Consort De, saying in a playful tone: “Why is everyone so quiet? I thought I was early. I’m here to pay my respects to Sister Consort De.”

The first part of her sentence was spoken in a playful and petulant tone, but the second part was directed solely at Consort De. She bowed gracefully, her slender waist moving elegantly, and her bright smile was a bit dazzling to some people.

Consort De smiled and covered her mouth, gently helping Rong Zhaoyi up: “Get up, quickly.”

Rong Zhaoyi stood up smoothly and scanned the hall. She didn’t see Yang Jieyu and raised an eyebrow slightly, saying nothing, but her smile faltered for a moment. When she sat down, her smile returned.

The feud between her and Yang Jieyu was well-known in the palace, but both of them were favored by the Emperor, and no one dared to intervene. Yun Si watched Rong Zhaoyi’s entrance and thought for a moment.

Everyone said that Rong Zhaoyi was favored and had a spoiled personality, but today’s encounter didn’t quite match the rumors. Although she was favored, she didn’t arrive late for the morning court and didn’t disrespect the superiors. She knew how to balance her favored status with humility.

No wonder Rong Zhaoyi’s favor hadn’t waned.

Su Meiren entered the hall right after Rong Zhaoyi. She wore a coral-colored, wide-sleeved long gown, with a jade hairpin and a belt around her waist. The rumors about her exceptional beauty during the selection process were true. Unlike Rong Zhaoyi, Su Meiren’s beauty was more elegant and refined, like the moon, with a subtle and icy coldness.

Rong Zhaoyi looked at her and narrowed her eyes slightly.

After a moment, there was a commotion in the hall, and everyone immediately fell silent. The bead curtain was lifted, and the Empress was escorted in. She wore a luxurious dress and a phoenix hairpin, without excessive makeup, but she exuded dignity and elegance. When she looked up, her gaze was warm, but her presence was imposing, making it impossible to ignore.

The Empress raised her hand, and the people who were bowing stood up. She looked at the new concubines and smiled: “It’s been a long time since the harem was so lively.”

Consort De responded, covering her mouth with a smile: “It seems that Your Highness used to find us too quiet. But now that so many sisters have entered the palace, it’s going to be difficult for Your Highness to find peace.”

It seemed like a casual joke, but Yun Si glanced at Consort De discreetly. Indeed, with more concubines in the palace, it would be hard for the Empress to have any peace.

The Empress didn’t seem to notice the deeper meaning behind Consort De’s words and chatted with her. The people around them also chimed in, but Rong Zhaoyi’s mood wasn’t high. Her fingers lightly drummed on the cup, and her gaze kept falling on the only empty seat in the hall.

Yun Si followed Rong Zhaoyi’s gaze and easily guessed who the seat belonged to. Currently, the only one who hadn’t arrived to pay respects to the Empress was Yang Jieyu.

Recalling the feud between Yang Jieyu and Rong Zhaoyi, and the timing of Yang Jieyu’s visit to the Emperor’s bedchamber yesterday, Yun Si quickly lowered her head and didn’t dare look anymore.

Su Meiren and Lu Cairen were the two with the highest ranks among the new concubines. They should have been the focus of attention during the morning court, but unfortunately, Yang Jieyu had visited the Emperor’s bedchamber yesterday, and she still hadn’t arrived. As a result, everyone’s attention was drawn to Yang Jieyu.

For Su Meiren and Lu Cairen, this was a good thing. At least Lu Cairen thought so. She hadn’t eaten breakfast and was now hungry. She ate pastries and sipped tea, occasionally glancing at Su Meiren. If she hadn’t been looking at Su Meiren, Yun Si would have thought she was there just to enjoy the snacks.

Rong Zhaoyi’s actions weren’t subtle, and many people saw them. The Empress naturally wouldn’t ignore them. At this point, Rong Zhaoyi slowly touched her forehead and said in a playful tone: “Yang Jieyu is really delicate. After visiting the Emperor’s bedchamber yesterday, she’s too lazy to get out of bed to pay her respects today.”

These words didn’t sound out of place coming from Rong Zhaoyi. Although Yang Jieyu was favored, she couldn’t compare to Rong Zhaoyi in terms of favor. However, regardless of whether she had visited the Emperor’s bedchamber or not, Rong Zhaoyi never missed paying her respects.

But Yang Jieyu was arrogant. Just one visit to the Emperor’s bedchamber, and she didn’t even bother to come to pay her respects?

The Empress might not care about favor, but she didn’t like anyone challenging her authority. After Rong Zhaoyi spoke, the Empress looked at her casually and then frowned, following up on her words: “Send someone to the Changle Palace to check on Yang Jieyu. Maybe she’s not feeling well.”

Just as she finished speaking, there was a commotion outside the hall. Before the person arrived, their voice was heard: “It’s all your fault, you clumsy servant. You listened to the Emperor’s words and didn’t wake me up. You made me late for paying my respects!”

“Please forgive me, mistress. I was just following the Emperor’s instructions to let you rest, so I didn’t dare wake you up.”

The conversation was heard in the hall, and everyone couldn’t help but frown. The Empress’s expression also became slightly colder. The bead curtain was lifted, and everyone finally saw Yang Jieyu’s appearance. She was also wearing luxurious clothes and had gold jewels in her hair. At first glance, she did resemble Rong Zhaoyi, mainly due to their similar aura and attire. Many people couldn’t help but look at Rong Zhaoyi.

Many people understood why Rong Zhaoyi and Yang Jieyu didn’t get along. It was clear that they were like oil and water.

As soon as Yang Jieyu entered, her gaze fell on Rong Zhaoyi, as if she wanted everyone to know that she and Rong Zhaoyi didn’t get along. When she saw that Rong Zhaoyi wasn’t smiling as brightly as usual, her expression became even more sulky. She was supported by the court maidens and bowed gracefully to the Empress: “Your servant pays her respects to the Empress. I’m late, and I hope the Empress will forgive me.”

She had deliberately said something about the Emperor taking care of her before coming in, so no one dared to say anything about her being late. The Empress didn’t say anything, just nodded slightly: “Get up.”

Yang Jieyu wasn’t surprised. Everyone knew that if the Emperor favored someone, the Empress would lean towards that person. As she stood up, she deliberately held her waist, making it clear that she had visited the Emperor’s bedchamber the previous day. Yun Si saw many people rolling their eyes in annoyance.

Yang Jieyu was very pleased with herself today. After all, the Emperor had gone to the Changle Palace on the day the new concubines entered the palace. Didn’t that show that she was favored?

No wonder she dared to be arrogant today.

After sitting down, she looked up and found Rong Zhaoyi, smiling brightly: “Rong Zhaoyi looks radiant today. It’s hard for Your Servant to recognize her.”

Who could compare to her in terms of radiance today? It was just a deliberate attempt to provoke Rong Zhaoyi.

Rong Zhaoyi looked up at her and gazed at her for a moment. For a moment, Rong Zhaoyi didn’t want to talk to this idiot. But this idiot was imitating her in an attempt to gain favor, and it seemed to have caught the Emperor’s eye. It was really annoying.

Just one night with the Emperor, and look at her arrogant attitude. Rong Zhaoyi touched her forehead and said lazily: “Yang Jieyu is quite good at speaking today.”

She knew exactly what Yang Jieyu was trying to do. Normally, she would respond with something like “not as good as me,” since Yang Jieyu’s gold hairpin was dazzling. But Rong Zhaoyi deliberately didn’t give her the satisfaction.

Yang Jieyu was taken aback and slightly pursed her lips.

Consort De covered her mouth and smiled. This kind of confrontation was really embarrassing.

The Empress ignored Yang Jieyu and admonished the new concubines again. Then she rubbed her forehead, looking a bit tired: “The Empress Dowager is not feeling well recently and needs to rest. When the Empress Dowager’s health improves, This Palace¹ will take you to the Cining Palace to pay our respects.”

Everyone responded, and the morning court ended. Consort De was the first to stand up and leave the palace.

Lu Cairen’s rank was not high, so she had to wait for the higher-ranking concubines to leave before it was her turn. As soon as Yun Si supported Lu Cairen out of the palace, they heard a collision sound. Yun Si and Lu Cairen looked up and saw Su Meiren stumbling and falling to the ground. The ground was uneven, and she fell hard, scraping her palm and causing a small amount of blood to seep out.

Everyone gasped in shock. Su Meiren’s maidservant finally reacted and cried out: “Mistress!”
Lu Cairen was stunned, almost unable to react. Yun Si discreetly pulled her back, and Lu Cairen finally came back to her senses. She quickly stepped aside, moving closer to the path to make it easier for her to leave later. Only then did she dare to look up and watch the drama unfold.

She was shocked and whispered to Yun Si: “This is still right outside the palace gate. It’s crazy!”

Who wouldn’t agree? They hadn’t even left the palace grounds, and yet this kind of incident happened. It was as if they didn’t care about the Empress’s authority.

Yun Si looked at Su Meiren. Su Meiren’s skirt had gotten dusty, and she was pale due to the unexpected fall and the pain in her palm. Her elegance was mixed with a bit of clumsiness, which made people feel sympathetic towards her.

The person who collided with her was Yang Jieyu’s maidservant. No one knew if it was intentional, but given Yang Jieyu’s past behavior, people couldn’t help but wonder.

Yang Jieyu’s maidservant, Ya Ling, didn’t seem frightened. Instead, she frowned and questioned: “Why are you in such a hurry, Su Meiren? If you offend my mistress, can you take responsibility?”

Su Meiren’s maidservant, Bai Shao, was furious and wanted to argue with Ya Ling, but Su Meiren quickly grabbed her arm, and Bai Shao bit her lip, not daring to cause trouble for her master. Su Meiren looked up at Ya Ling, her face pale but her emotions calm. Ya Ling felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze and subconsciously looked away.

Su Meiren was one of the top-ranked new concubines, with a good background. No one knew if she would rise to prominence in the future, but precisely because of that, she was more likely to be resented.

Yang Jieyu looked up, as if she had just realized what had happened. She covered her mouth: “Oh my, how did this happen? Why is everyone just standing there? Don’t just stand there, go help your mistress up.”

Bai Shao held back tears and helped her master up. Su Meiren didn’t cry, but she lowered her gaze slightly, making it impossible to read her emotions.

Seeing this, Yang Jieyu narrowed her eyes and smiled: “My clumsy servant accidentally bumped into Su Meiren. I’ll apologize on her behalf.”

Su Meiren’s tone was cold: “Your servant wouldn’t dare.”

Whether it was an accident or not, Su Meiren knew in her heart.

Seeing that Su Meiren wasn’t receptive to her apology, Yang Jieyu lost patience. She raised her chin slightly and said as she turned to leave: “I’ll send for a doctor to treat Su Meiren’s injuries.”

Su Meiren remained calm, controlling her emotions so well that some people around her couldn’t help but look at her with deeper interest. Rong Zhaoyi raised an eyebrow and nodded, signaling the entourage to return to the palace.

The incident in the palace seemed to end there, with no further commotion.

But as they returned to the palace, Lu Cairen clicked her tongue twice, causing Yun Si to look up in confusion. Lu Cairen whispered: “Just wait and see. There’s going to be drama. Su Meiren isn’t someone who would take bullying lying down.”

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