Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Folk Remedies

In the Yangxin Hall, Xu Shunfu estimated the time. Yun Si girl had been inside for nearly an hour before the sound of someone calling for water came from within.

Xu Shunfu wasn’t surprised at all.

Since Yun Si girl came to the Yangxin Hall, hadn’t the Emperor done many outrageous things?

The news of her being in attendance couldn’t be concealed at all, and it quickly spread throughout the back palace. The reactions of the various palaces were different; some didn’t care, while others were naturally annoyed.

In the Qingyu Courtyard, Su Guipin sat for a long time, so long that Bai Shao became worried and looked at her hesitantly.

“Mistress, it’s getting late. You should rest early.”

The hourglass in the hall was about to run out. Although it was said to be late, only two or three hours had passed since she returned from the red plum forest. In just this short time, the Emperor wanted to bestow Yun Si with even more favor.

Su Guipin’s palms were clenched painfully, and a red plum was crushed by her, spilling out from her fingertips.

Seeing this, Bai Shao suddenly fell silent.

The next day, after the morning greetings, Su Guipin didn’t leave with the other concubines. The Empress looked at her with some surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

In the past six months, the relationship between Su Guipin and the Kunning Palace had become increasingly close. Su Guipin often accompanied the Empress in the Kunning Palace to chat, but today she was clearly preoccupied. After all the concubines had left, she lowered her eyes and remained silent.

For Su Guipin, this performance was rather unusual.

After a long while, Su Guipin seemed to have finally made up her mind. She looked directly at the Empress and said through gritted teeth.

“Your Highness, this concubine wants to try that method.”

She didn’t explain, but the Empress obviously knew what she was talking about. Her expression suddenly changed, and she frowned, sternly rebuking, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Su Guipin bit her lip, and even though she was reprimanded, she didn’t back down at all, straightening her back to look at the Empress.

The Empress was angered by her and held her forehead with a headache, speaking earnestly,
“This palace knows you were wronged yesterday, but this matter cannot be taken lightly. Don’t you know how harmful that method is to the body?”

Su Guipin looked cold, but was actually exceptionally stubborn. “This concubine knows.”

Empress. “Then you still—”

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Su Guipin.
“What if it harms the body? This concubine doesn’t want to continue like this anymore, at least I’ll gamble once.”

The Empress choked.

After a long while, the Empress raised her hand to support her forehead, her temples throbbing.

“This palace truly regrets letting you know about this matter.”

Before the New Year, someone had sent the Empress a method, or rather, a folk remedy, a remedy for seeking a son. It was said to be very effective, with only one drawback: if one was not careful during pregnancy, it could very likely harm the mother’s body.

Although the Empress had been without a child for many years, she had never forced the issue. Even though she received the folk remedy, she ignored it.

When the Empress was talking about this with Baizhi, it was inadvertently overheard by Su Guipin.

Su Guipin didn’t take it seriously, after all, she was young, and even if she wanted to get pregnant with an imperial heir sooner, she wouldn’t resort to desperate measures.

But after yesterday’s incident, Su Guipin finally understood her position in the Emperor’s heart.

Now her favor was just average, and the selection of new concubines would be held again next year. Would the Emperor still remember her when new concubines entered the palace?

Su Guipin didn’t know.

But she didn’t want to continue like this. Didn’t Consort De and Rong Zhaoyi gain the Emperor’s favor because of their imperial heirs?

Rather than waiting for the imperial favor to fade, it was better for her to take a gamble now.

Otherwise, when the imperial favor was gone in the future, she wouldn’t have the chance to gamble even if she wanted to.

The Empress had been frowning. Seeing that she didn’t agree, Su Guipin suddenly got up and knelt down. “I beg Your Highness to have mercy on this concubine once more.”

The Kunning Palace was quiet for a long time. The Empress closed her eyes.

“Su Guipin, you are confused!”

Su Guipin bit her lip and said nothing. She knew that the Empress’s words meant she had agreed to her request.

After Su Guipin left the Kunning Palace, the palace remained quiet for a long time.

Bai Zhi looked at the silent mistress and sighed softly.

“Your Highness, this is Su Guipin’s own choice, you don’t need to feel guilty.”

There was no one in the hall, only the master and her servant. The woman in the bronze mirror sarcastically tugged at her lips, “Is it her own choice?”

How could the conversation in the Kunning Palace be easily overheard?

The folk remedy was merely something she deliberately wanted Su Guipin to know.

She was not some kind of bodhisattva, helping others without seeking anything in return. She would elevate Su Guipin and give her face, naturally with her own motives.

The Empress closed her eyes.

Bai Zhi remained silent for a long time, then softly said, “If she weren’t so unworthy, the Empress wouldn’t have let her use this method.”

Bai Zhi felt that the Empress was sometimes too soft-hearted. Why did they help Su Guipin?
They were trying every means to create opportunities for the Emperor to visit the Qingyu Courtyard, hoping that Su Guipin would conceive an heir.

But so much time had passed, and Su Guipin had plenty of opportunities to serve the Emperor, yet she was still completely unworthy!

Moreover, Bai Zhi was a bit worried.

“Although she has taken the folk remedy, I see that Su Guipin really has no weight in the Emperor’s heart. Even if she conceives an heir, she may not be of any use to the Empress.”

“She comes from the Su family, and even if the Emperor doesn’t care about her, he must consider the Su family’s influence behind her.”

The Su family is one of the few officials in the court who hold military power. Even if the Emperor values new nobility, the Su family’s status in the court is not something the Lu family can compare to.

Furthermore—

The Empress opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in her gaze. “She is useless; just continue to try one by one. I don’t believe that none of them can fulfill my wishes!”

At fifteen o’clock, Kunning Palace will attend to the Emperor.

Yun Si followed the Emperor to Kunning Palace. The weather was very cold. She was brought into the hall by Tan Yuanchu. The hall was heated with a ground dragon, and the entire palace was warm, making people feel a little lazy.

Yun Si had been to Kunning Palace before, but every time she came, she became more respectful to the Empress.

She couldn’t explain the feeling, but one thing was certain—no matter how Tan Yuanchu treated her, the Empress’s attitude towards her was the same as before—which made Yun Si feel that the Empress was somewhat unfathomable.

The Empress’s calm attitude was a little alarming. You must know that after she was assigned to the Yangxin Hall, Rong Zhaoyi had targeted her more than once or twice.

Yun Si suppressed her thoughts.

In the hall, Tan Yuanchu was having a meal with the Empress. She retreated to the back, and Xu Shunfu was serving Tan Yuanchu. The atmosphere was particularly harmonious, until the Empress said,

“Su Guipin caught a cold a couple of days ago. When she came to pay her respects today, I saw that she still came to pay her respects with a sick face, and I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her.”

Yun Si glanced at the Empress subtly. In the past six months, the Empress had always mentioned Su Guipin in various subtle ways.

Yun Si was a little puzzled as to why the Empress was so special to Su Guipin.

Tan Yuanchu picked up a piece of fish, and upon hearing this, he loosened his chopsticks and let the fish fall. He didn’t even raise his eyelids, and said in a faint tone, “She is sensible and understands the rules.”

Since that day in the red plum forest, Tan Yuanchu hadn’t gone to the Qingyu Courtyard. It had been almost half a month. Tan Yuanchu didn’t believe the Empress was unaware of this. She knew, yet she still brought up Su Guipin, and the meaning was self-evident.

Tan Yuanchu’s response was very calm, but the Empress didn’t continue talking about Su Guipin.

As night fell, the darkness deepened. Yun Si had been called to the side room to rest by Xu Shunfu, and wasn’t allowed to stay outside the hall to guard.

But after going to the side room, Yun Si didn’t fall asleep. She waited for a long time, so long that Xu Shunfu and the others had returned, but she didn’t hear the sound of water being called for outside.

She was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized what this meant—Tan Yuanchu hadn’t touched the Empress.

A candle was lit in the side room. They were all sitting and resting, taking the opportunity to nap, and couldn’t sleep soundly. But Yun Si couldn’t help but open her almond eyes in surprise at this moment.

She hadn’t experienced the time of the former Emperor, but she had heard the palace maids discussing that Tan Yuanchu’s visits to the harem shouldn’t be considered frequent.

At most, it wouldn’t exceed ten days in a month, and sometimes, there wouldn’t be any visits at all.

But every time he came to the Kunning Palace, the Kunning Palace would definitely call for water. Yun Si vaguely knew the reason; this dynasty valued the legitimate and the illegitimate, and Tan Yuanchu wanted a legitimate son.

Today’s situation was very rare.

Yun Si blinked her almond eyes.
Was Tan Yuanchu a little dissatisfied with the Empress?

It didn’t seem strange. What kind of person was Tan Yuanchu? He was always doing as he pleased.

The Empress repeatedly interfered with the matter of attending to the Emperor, recommending Su Guipin to Tan Yuanchu.
How could Tan Yuanchu be happy?

The next day, Yun Si woke up early. The sky outside wasn’t even light yet. She followed Xu Shunfu into the hall to serve. Two sets of bedding were spread on the bed, clearly distinct. The Empress and Tan Yuanchu had already gotten up. The Empress took the belt from the palace attendant, wanting to help Tan Yuanchu put it on, but Tan Yuanchu stopped her. “Let her do it.”

Yun Si had a bad premonition. The next moment, she saw Tan Yuanchu looking at her.

Yun Si’s whole body stiffened for a moment. She wished time could go back to a quarter of an hour ago, so she wouldn’t have come in with Xu Shunfu.

The Empress followed Tan Yuanchu’s gaze and looked over. She didn’t mind and smiled at Yun Si.
“Then it’s up to Yun Si girl.”

Yun Si forced a smile. She stiffly took the belt. When she was about to approach Tan Yuanchu, she turned her back to everyone and couldn’t help but glare at him angrily.

He was indeed willful, but in the end, he implicated her.

There were so many servants in the entire palace, why did he have to choose her?

Even though Yun Si was annoyed, she could only tighten the belt a little when she helped him tie it. That person didn’t feel any guilt at all, and lightly tapped her hand with his knuckles, startling her. She glanced around covertly, fearing that others would see his actions and think they were flirting.

She didn’t dare to act up anymore and loosened his belt, not doing anything out of line.

When she left the Kunning Palace, Yun Si felt cold sweat on her back. The wind blew, bringing a chilly sensation.

Without anyone else around, her courage grew. She looked at Tan Yuanchu with resentment.

Tan Yuanchu was amused by her, and pulled her into the imperial carriage. Yun Si didn’t resist; she hadn’t slept well all night and didn’t want to walk back. But as soon as she entered the carriage, she began to criticize him, “How could Your Majesty do that in the Kunning Palace? What if the Empress gets angry with this servant?”

Tan Yuanchu glanced at her and said slowly, “She won’t.”

Yun Si was choked by him.

How could he be so sure that the Empress wouldn’t hold a grudge against her?

This wasn’t a matter of vying for favor, but rather, Tan Yuanchu’s actions in her palace were somewhat like slapping her in the face.

Yun Si wasn’t wrong, but she only guessed half right. As soon as the imperial carriage left, the Kunning Palace was also not peaceful.

The Empress sat in front of the bronze mirror in her inner garments. The palace maids brought in a bronze basin to wash her face. Bai Zhi helped her to comb her hair, but she looked indignant.

“Your Majesty is too much!”

The Empress glanced at her and said coldly, “You have quite a nerve, are you also able to criticize the Emperor?”

Bai Zhi knew that her Highness was warning her, she lowered her head in frustration and said aggrievedly:

“This servant feels it’s unfair for Your Highness. The Emperor deliberately let Yun Si serve him, it’s simply slapping Your Highness in the face.”

All the palace maids in the hall lowered their eyes and looked obedient, as if they were all deaf, unable to hear the conversation between the master and servant, they calmly and orderly presented silk towels and powder boxes.

The Empress looked at the woman in the bronze mirror, not as fresh and tender as the concubines who entered the palace in the selection a year ago, and naturally not as eye-catching as that person. She withdrew her gaze, chose a golden phoenix hairpin, and asked Bai Zhi calmly, “So what?”

All of Bai Zhi’s words were blocked in her throat. She saw that Her Highness had no feelings about these things, and suddenly felt a little sad.

When did the Empress begin to completely accept that the Emperor only respected her and did not favor her?

It seemed that from then on, the Empress’s expression was always so calm when she mentioned the Emperor, without any ripples.

But Bai Zhi still remembered that when the Empress and the Emperor had just married, she always had a shy look on her face and often looked towards the door. She didn’t say it, but Bai Zhi knew that the Empress was also hoping the Emperor would come often back then.

It’s just that time has changed, and things are not what they used to be.

Neither the Emperor nor the Empress could ever go back to the past.

*******

Around the time of April, when the crabapple flowers were in full bloom, they naturally formed a landscape in the palace as they drifted down with the breeze.

Xiao Rongzi saw the fallen crabapple flowers in the idle courtyard and couldn’t help but think of his sister.

When he and his sister were both in the Central Province Hall, his sister always loved to go under the crabapple tree. When he often found her, she was covered in crabapple flowers, making it hard to tell whether the flowers were more charming or the person was more charming.

Liu Anshun was looking at the list, and when he saw something, he suddenly frowned subtly.

He looked up and saw Xiao Rongzi staring at the crabapple tree outside. Liu Anshun clicked his tongue. “You, kid, have nothing to do, right?”

Xiao Rongzi touched his nose and quickly came over. “What is the Eunuch busy with? This servant will do it for you.”

Liu Anshun snorted coldly. He threw the list to Xiao Rongzi and pointed to a place.

“Did you see anything?”

Xiao Rongzi looked in the direction he was pointing. He recognized that it was the list of supplies taken by the Qingyu Courtyard last month, but Xiao Rongzi was rarely a bit confused, and he didn’t understand what the Eunuch wanted him to see.

There was nothing wrong with the Qingyu Courtyard on this list, it was just that some of the items in the supplies had been changed, but they were all in accordance with the rules.

Xiao Rongzi glanced at the Eunuch, and Liu Anshun took a sip of tea and didn’t remind him, only said coldly, “Look carefully.”

Since he regarded Xiao Rongzi as his disciple, he would naturally teach him what he should, but he would also be much stricter than with others.

Xiao Rongzi understood in his heart, and not only did he not resent it, but he was also grateful. He didn’t go to see his father-in-law again, but instead focused on studying the list.

After careful consideration, Xiao Rongzi finally discovered something. Generally, the meals of each palace were prepared by the Imperial Kitchen, but these fruits were still sent to each palace and hall by the Central Province Hall. And last month, most of the things that the Qingyu Courtyard replaced were food, such as yellow pears, hawthorns, and other things that were basically not needed.

Xiao Rongzi was a little puzzled. After a long time, he suddenly realized what the commonality of these foods was—they were cold in nature.

Xiao Rongzi’s face suddenly changed, and he was a little embarrassed. He couldn’t sit still and wanted to get up and go out, but he was stopped by Liu Anshun’s cold voice.

“Stop!”

Xiao Rongzi stood in place.

Liu Anshun asked coldly, “Where are you going?”

Xiao Rongzi turned around, his voice a little hoarse, “Eunuch…”

Liu Anshun showed no mercy, and he said with a blank expression.

“Since you want to take my position in the future, you should know your identity. Even if there are some biases, you should know in your heart what should be done and what should not be done.”

Xiao Rongzi was speechless. After a long time, he lowered his head.

“…Your servant understands.”

After Liu Anshun left, Xiao Rongzi picked up the list again. He looked at the things that Qingyu Courtyard had replaced on the list, and after guessing something in his heart, his eyes gradually turned cold.

He knew the eunuch’s good intentions, but he would not forget why he wanted to take the eunuch’s position, it was just to have the ability to help his sister more.

Xiao Rongzi didn’t go to the Yangxin Hall, but after he went out, he quietly looked at a servant in the courtyard.

Before long, the servant quietly left the Central Province Hall.

Xiao Rongzi glanced at Eunuch Liu’s room. The eunuch was loyal to the Emperor, and even if he was biased against his sister, he still had some reservations.

But he didn’t.

The Emperor didn’t save his life. When his life hung by a thread, only his sister saved him.