Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: “There’s no point in keeping her trapped anymore.”

In the sweltering heat of July, a rain had fallen in the night, yet the daytime remained oppressively stuffy, making it hard for anyone to suppress a growing irritability.

Su Jieyu had resumed her routine visits to Kunning Palace to pay respects. She was more cautious than Lu Cairen had once been—whenever she went out, she was always accompanied by five or six palace attendants, never letting anyone easily approach her.

After the morning greeting, on the way back to Qingyu Courtyard—

Su Jieyu yawned tiredly. Her lower abdomen was slightly rounded, but still relatively flat. She rested one hand gently over it and said languidly, “Where did His Majesty stay last night?”

Ever since becoming pregnant, she had rarely seen Tan Yuanchu—especially since she could no longer serve him in bed. The Emperor had never once stayed overnight in her chambers.

She’d been particularly drowsy last night and went to bed early before the Office of Ceremonial Duties could deliver the nightly report. To this moment, she still hadn’t had a chance to ask which consort had served in bed the night before.

Bai Shao, walking alongside her, shook her head at the question. “His Majesty didn’t enter the harem last night.”

Su Jieyu’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Again?”

One could hardly blame her reaction. Ever since Yun Si had picked that lotus flower—and His Majesty spent the night in Changchun Palace—he hadn’t returned to the inner palace for four or five days.

Naturally, that also meant he hadn’t come to see her in Qingyu Courtyard either.

Just as they neared Qingyu Courtyard, Su Jieyu pressed her lips together and said, “Turn around. We’re going to Yangxin Hall.”

Su Jieyu had actually never gone to the imperial study in person before. In the past, she had always sent Baishao to request an audience with the Emperor, but not once had it been successful. She’d learned her lesson—now that she was carrying the imperial heir, surely His Majesty wouldn’t refuse to see her.

She didn’t actually know where the Emperor was, but it was bound to be either the Imperial Library or Yangxin Hall. There was no morning court today, so at this hour, the Emperor should be in Yangxin Hall.

Su Jieyu had guessed correctly—Tan Yuanchu was indeed in Yangxin Hall.

Her procession halted in front of Yangxin Hall. Xu Shunfu was standing at the door and, from a distance, saw Su Jieyu being helped toward the entrance. His expression froze for a brief moment. He exchanged a look with Qiu Yuan and sighed inwardly on Su Jieyu’s behalf—why was it that every time someone from Qingyu Courtyard came to see the Emperor, it was always such unfortunate timing?

Today was the eleventh of July. While everyone was focused on Su Jieyu’s pregnancy, a few still remembered that today was Yun Si’s birthday.

The thought made Xu Shunfu feel a bit of a headache coming on.

That day, after Rong Zhaoyi left Changchun Palace in tears, His Majesty stayed there overnight. Though Yun Si had seemed calm and said nothing, the attendants at Yangxin Hall quickly sensed that something was off.

Everyone knew Yun Si wasn’t like the other consorts.

Xu Shunfu, being observant, often took the initiative to escort the other attendants away to give the Emperor and Yun Si privacy.

But in the past few days, Yun Si hadn’t been alone with the Emperor even once. Not only that—even Xu Shunfu could tell: she was giving His Majesty the cold shoulder.

Xu Shunfu thought it over and found it entirely understandable.

Yun Si and Rong Zhaoyi didn’t get along. That day, Yun Si had clearly made a move to frustrate Rong Zhaoyi, and the Emperor had gone along with it at first—but in the end, he still gave face to Rong Zhaoyi and went to Changchun Palace.

How could Yun Si possibly be happy about that?

The Emperor had tried to keep a balance between both sides.

And what was the result? He failed to please either one.

Rong Zhaoyi was easier to handle—when the Emperor went to Changchun Palace that day and gave her an excuse to step down, she took it and let things go.

But Yun Si had truly and completely ignored the Emperor for four or five days straight.

Earlier today, Xu Shunfu saw that Yun Si had finished making her sachet. She was dressed in a deep blue-green brocade skirt woven with cloud patterns and wore a sheer, cross-collared gauze robe over it. She hadn’t deliberately embroidered lotus patterns this time; instead, she wore her favorite camellia motif—the same as when she first arrived at Yangxin Hall.

When she raised her eyes, her gaze was delicate and charming; when she lowered her head, the curve of her fair jawline was visible. Elegant and graceful, she made it hard for anyone to look away.

The longer she stayed at Yangxin Hall, the more noble and refined she seemed—almost like a completely different person from the palace maid who once served in Heyi Hall.

The sachet now hung from her waistband, her slender waist cinched with a broad belt that released a faint lotus fragrance.

But—just one thing:

When Yun Si had said she wanted to make a sachet, everyone in the hall, including the Emperor, thought it would be for him. And now the sachet was finished—but it wasn’t for him.

In the end, His Majesty dismissed everyone from the room, and when Xu Shunfu came out, he could tell from the Emperor’s face that he was not in a good mood.

To this moment, Yun Si and the Emperor were still inside. No one else remained in the hall.

That was exactly when Su Jieyu arrived at Yangxin Hall.

Xu Shunfu rubbed his nose and hurried forward, though in truth, he was stepping in to block her path. “Greetings to Su Jieyu. Why have you come in person? If you need something, a servant could’ve been sent.”

Su Jieyu paused in her steps, her expression still cold and composed—she only ever showed a bit of softness before the Emperor. Seeing that Xu Shunfu wasn’t serving inside the inner hall, she was slightly surprised.

“Is His Majesty busy?”

Xu Shunfu awkwardly rubbed his nose. The Emperor was busy, yes—but not the kind of busy Su Jieyu might have imagined.

Outside voices drifted into the hall.

Inside, Yun Si tilted her face to look up at Tan Yuanchu. She was half-reclined on the couch in the Yangxin Hall, one hand propping herself up as she sat upright.

At some point, the sheer gauze robe she wore had slipped halfway down her shoulders, her clothing somewhat disheveled. She didn’t even glance at it. Her other hand pressed lightly against Tan Yuanchu’s chest. Meeting the indifferent gaze he cast down at her, she asked softly and vaguely.

“It’s Su Jieyu. Is Your Majesty not going to see her?”

It was her birthday today. She had wanted to look beautiful, had spent quite some time getting ready. That had made her a little late in coming to serve in the inner hall.

Just as the palace servants had finished assisting Tan Yuanchu with washing up, the matter of the sachet happened. The situation inside the hall wasn’t nearly as romantic as Xu Shunfu might’ve imagined. The two of them were in an extremely suggestive position, but the atmosphere was frozen—cold and tense.

After Yun Si spoke, Tan Yuanchu coolly pulled away from her.

Yun Si clutched at her collar. She no longer looked at him and turned her back to face away, slowly pulling the gauze back up over her bare shoulders, covering both herself and the fleeting hint of intimacy in the air.

With that gesture, the tension in the room grew even heavier.

Tan Yuanchu’s face darkened.

He felt he had spoiled this woman too much.

Forget the consorts of the harem—even in the entire empire, who else dared show him such attitude?

And yet she dared.

The woman quietly straightened her clothes and turned as if to get out of bed and leave. Tan Yuanchu’s expression grew colder and colder. Suddenly, her movements halted—she froze in place, not moving for quite some time.

Tan Yuanchu’s tone was frosty.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Hearing those words, it sounded like she was being dismissed.

Her back grew even more rigid. Seeing this, Tan Yuanchu subtly furrowed his brows—an obscure flicker of regret passed through his eyes. He knew Yun Si’s stubborn temper well—words that sounded like he was chasing her away would only make her feel humiliated.

At last, the woman spoke, “Your Majesty wants this servant to leave like this?”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t immediately understand. Hadn’t she already straightened her clothes? Once she gathered her collar, it was as if nothing had happened.

Just like how she treated him in her heart: it looked like she was full of him, eyes and thoughts all on him—but in truth, if one wiped away the illusion on the surface, not a single trace remained underneath.

Tan Yuanchu’s expression cooled a little more. But when the woman turned around, he finally noticed something was wrong.

The outer gauze robe she wore had somehow been torn—a rip stretched from her waist to the top of her thigh. If she hadn’t stood up, it might have gone unnoticed.

In that instant, an unspeakable awkwardness filled the hall.

Meeting her accusing gaze, the last of Tan Yuanchu’s irritation faded. He cleared his throat lightly and awkwardly explained.

“It was an accident.”

She turned her head away, ignoring him, clearly still upset.

But the suffocating tension in the room had already broken the moment she spoke. Tan Yuanchu no longer dwelled on his earlier annoyance. He pulled her back gently and looked her over, speaking in a seemingly calm tone.

“Take off this gauze robe—then no one will be able to tell.”

The gauze was just a decorative layer; whether she wore it or not didn’t really matter.

Yun Si bit her lip, her apricot eyes slightly red.
“This was a birthday gift I prepared for myself.”

Tan Yuanchu paused for a moment, then said,

“I’ll have Xu Shunfu fetch you another.”

He didn’t even call it a reward—just “fetch,” as if the brocades and silks from his private treasury were hers to take at will.

Yun Si showed no appreciation. She simply lifted her gaze and asked, “Does Your Majesty think it’s the same?”

Tan Yuanchu couldn’t bring himself to say that it was. As he looked up, his eyes unintentionally caught the jade hairpin she wore atop her head, and his movement subtly stalled.

Perhaps it was because the woman used to always wear green palace robes—in fact, she’d seldom worn that color in recent times—but today, she had again donned a cloud-weave brocade skirt in bluish green, matching the jade hairpin in her hair.

Only then did Tan Yuanchu belatedly realize: on days that she considered important, she always wore that jade hairpin.

He had simply never paid attention before.

Perhaps many things he hadn’t cared about had always held special meaning to her—for example, this jade hairpin he had casually gifted her, or the fact that despite knowing the tension between her and Rong Zhaoyi, he still frequently summoned Rong Zhaoyi for the night.

Tan Yuanchu suddenly fell quiet.

No one spoke in the hall. After a long silence, a knock sounded from outside, and Xu Shunfu’s tentative voice came through.

“Your Majesty, Su Jieyu requests an audience.”

Xu Shunfu’s voice shattered the stillness inside. Yun Si lifted her hand to wipe her cheek, said nothing, and—as Tan Yuanchu had just instructed—raised her arms to take off the gauze robe.

It was only then that Tan Yuanchu realized the second mistake he had made today.

He shouldn’t have said “Weren’t you leaving?” when she had paused. And he definitely shouldn’t have responded to her comment about the torn gauze with “Just take it off.”

She had actually been trying—subtly—to ease the tension between them.

But Tan Yuanchu hadn’t noticed—so his response had come off as a rejection.

Before she could turn and leave, Tan Yuanchu stopped her, pulling her into his arms, his voice low and slightly helpless.

“If you’re any more subtle, I won’t understand you even next year.”

She was full of contradictions. At times she seemed shameless and bold, and yet other times, she suddenly grew fiercely proud—as if even taking one step back would break her spine.

Yun Si lifted her almond eyes and said coldly, “Your servant doesn’t understand what Your Majesty is talking about.”

She pushed against Tan Yuanchu, resisting.
“Su Jieyu is still waiting outside for Your Majesty. Please let go of me.”

How could Tan Yuanchu fall into the same trap twice?
He replied unhurriedly, “I never said I wanted to see her. What are you so upset about?”

The woman in his arms stiffened for a moment. Then, instead of struggling further, she turned her head and said, “So in Your Majesty’s eyes, even a pregnant Su Jieyu is still less important than Rong Zhaoyi.”

Rong Zhaoyi again.
Tan Yuanchu was starting to get a headache.

He rarely concerned himself with the conflicts between his concubines, but now he was genuinely curious—what exactly had Rong Zhaoyi done to provoke her?

Su Jieyu had also made things difficult for Yun Si more than once, yet Yun Si had never held a grudge against her.

Could something have happened that he didn’t know about?

A flicker of doubt crossed Tan Yuanchu’s mind. He said casually, “What does this have to do with Rong Zhaoyi?”

Yun Si’s lips curved slightly.

“If it were Rong Zhaoyi out there today, would Your Majesty also refuse to see her?”

The woman looked up. Her pale cheeks were tinged with a soft blush, her almond eyes still faintly red from her earlier grievance. The slight curve of her lips carried a hint of self-mockery and irony, but her gaze was steady—fixed firmly on him, waiting for an answer.

The green jade hairpin on top of her head tilted slightly due to her movement and, without warning, fell onto the bed. Her jet-black hair instantly cascaded down. She froze for a moment, then quickly turned back to look for the hairpin.

Tan Yuanchu’s gaze deepened imperceptibly. When she turned back again, he took the jade hairpin from her hand and pinned it back into her hair. At the same time, he said lightly, “I won’t see her.”

Yun Si looked up, momentarily stunned.

Seeing this, Tan Yuanchu lowered his gaze and repeated plainly,
“Even if Rong Zhaoyi were outside, I still wouldn’t see her.”

Yun Si’s eyelashes trembled lightly. She couldn’t help but clench her handkerchief. After a while, she muttered in a muffled voice.

“Still, it’s not Rong Zhaoyi outside. Who knows if Your Majesty is just trying to fool me.”

Her words were still barbed, but anyone could tell that her tone had softened considerably. Tan Yuanchu helped tidy her collar and didn’t stir up any further intimacy, only speaking quietly.

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Yun Si turned her head away, not saying whether she believed him or not, but half-reluctantly leaned into his arms.

No sound came from the inner hall for a long while. Outside, Xu Shunfu awkwardly turned to look at Su Jieyu and said with a hint of discomfort.

“Su Jieyu, His Majesty is currently occupied. Perhaps it would be better if you return another time?”

Su Jieyu’s expression did not look good. Her hand resting on her lower abdomen stiffened slightly, but since even Xu Shunfu had spoken this way, she had no choice but to leave.

After exiting the Yangxin Hall, Bai Shao spoke a little awkwardly, “Mistress, this servant truly didn’t see Yun Si just now.”

Yun Si wasn’t outside the hall—so where else could she be?

Su Jieyu recalled how she had waited a long time with no response from within the hall, and how Xu Shunfu had clearly been standing guard at the entrance when she arrived at the Yangxin Hall. A sudden realization struck her, and her face instantly turned ugly.

His Majesty clearly knew she was waiting outside, and yet he didn’t react at all?

Su Jieyu couldn’t help clenching her sleeves. She didn’t understand—why was it that whenever it came to her and Yun Si, His Majesty never chose her?

Inside the Yangxin Hall, Tan Yuanchu was unaware of Su Jieyu’s questions. He had Qiu Yuan fetch a new set of clothes for Yun Si.

As Qiu Yuan helped Yun Si dress, Tan Yuanchu glanced at the damaged gauze robe on the bed and instructed Xu Shunfu.

“Go to the Wardrobe Bureau and have them make a new one.”

As soon as he spoke, he noticed the woman glance at him through the bronze mirror and say lazily,

“No matter how similar it is, it still won’t be the same one.”

By now, the hour of the dragon had passed. The main doors of the Yangxin Hall finally opened. Warm sunlight streamed in through the carved lattice windows and the doorway, falling across the woman.

She wore a rouge-colored brocade skirt. Her exposed skin was fairer than frost or snow; a faint blush colored her cheeks, and her naturally red lips were vividly bright. Even the magnolia blossoms blooming outside the window couldn’t compare to the graceful charm in her brows and eyes.

Tan Yuanchu cast a glance at Xu Shunfu, who immediately gathered up the torn garment from the bed, preparing to send it to the Wardrobe Bureau with strict instructions to have it fully restored.

Only after she had finished her toilette did Tan Yuanchu, having given some unknown instructions, look up at her and say, “Let’s go.”

Yun Si was quite puzzled.
“It’s almost noon already. Your Majesty isn’t planning to eat—where are we going?”

Tan Yuanchu glanced at her.
“Do you like watching opera?”

Yun Si vaguely guessed what he intended and turned her head away.
“I’m a common woman. If Your Majesty is trying to celebrate my birthday with an opera or something, I won’t understand it. You might as well just reward me with some gold and jewels—at least that’s practical.”

After a pause, she lifted her eyes and gave a slight sneer.
“If Your Majesty truly has the heart for it, giving me an official title would be what actually matters.”

The entire hall was stunned by her words. Even Qiu Yuan looked like she wanted to speak but didn’t dare—who dared ask the Emperor for a title?

But Tan Yuanchu didn’t mind her words at all, easily brushing them aside.

Yun Si asked angrily,
“Did you never intend to give me a title?”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t accept the blame. Unhurriedly, he shifted responsibility.
“When I wanted to give you a title, wasn’t it you who refused?”

Yun Si was left speechless, her chest heaving with anger.
“You’re still the Emperor, aren’t you? So petty—are you really going to hold a grudge against me for life?”

She had refused him once, and he’d held it against her for two whole years. Who else could be this petty?

Furious, Yun Si turned and stormed off. Tan Yuanchu told Qiu Yuan,
“Take her to Zhaiyue Tower.”

After Qiu Yuan also left, Xu Shunfu finally looked carefully toward the emperor and asked cautiously, “Your Majesty, didn’t you already prepare a title for Yun Si girl?”

He had personally witnessed the emperor selecting the palace residence for Yun Si girl, after all.

Tan Yuanchu gave Xu Shunfu a glance. His expression was indifferent, and he said nothing.

Xu Shunfu couldn’t quite figure out what he meant. Honestly, ever since the Office of Attendants recorded that Yun Si girl had spent the night, yet the emperor still didn’t grant her a title, he’d been unable to understand the emperor’s thinking.

Perhaps part of it was what Yun Si girl had said—but it definitely wasn’t the whole story.

He’d seen it with his own eyes—His Majesty’s feelings toward Yun Si girl were far from shallow. That’s why it was so puzzling: why had it taken this long for her to be given a title?

Seeing the emperor’s indifferent gaze, Xu Shunfu spoke against his better judgment and offered a convenient lie.
“The edict hasn’t been issued yet. If Your Majesty can’t bear to part with Yun Si girl, having her stay in Yangxin Hall a while longer wouldn’t hurt.”

Tan Yuanchu shot him a glance.
“Then go say that to her yourself.”

Xu Shunfu gave a dry cough and tactfully fell silent, his expression innocent. What a joke—Yun Si girl is fixated on getting a title. If I tell her that, wouldn’t she just hold a grudge against me?

While Xu Shunfu was inwardly grumbling, he suddenly heard the emperor murmur something cold yet ambiguous.

“There’s no meaning in keeping her trapped anymore.”