Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Fully Marinated.

Rong Zhaoyi turned her head, her gaze passing over the crowd and landing squarely on Yun Si.

Qiu Yuan was holding an oiled paper umbrella for her. She stood beneath it, and even the pine and cypress trees beside her seemed to favor her, shielding her from the wind and sun. She lightly lifted her chin, her apricot eyes wide with innocent expression.

“Why is Ladyship Zhaoyi looking at this concubine like that?”

Consort De cast an unreadable glance at the two of them.

Rong Zhaoyi’s eyes cooled, and her tone was calm yet cutting,
“Yun Jieyu now has her rank, and she’s completely different from the cautious self she used to be.”

She was deliberately pointing out that Yun Si had once been nothing but a servant.

Upon hearing this, Yun Si scooted a little deeper under Qiu Yuan’s umbrella, appearing delicate and spoiled. She gently arched her brows and said,

“Ladyship Zhaoyi truly deserves her reputation as the most favored in the palace. You and His Majesty must be perfectly in sync, he said almost the exact same thing yesterday.”

Rong Zhaoyi brought up her past status, so she directly invoked Tan Yuanchu.

Her words, as always, were barbed. A moment ago she had mocked Rong Zhaoyi for falling out of favor, and now she was calling her the most favored, how could Rong Zhaoyi possibly want to be in “perfect sync” with the Emperor over such a comment?

Before Rong Zhaoyi’s expression could darken, Yun Si continued to feign innocence, covering her lips and speaking unhurriedly,

“I was originally worried this temperament of mine might be too much, but His Majesty said he liked it just the way it is. He said the precious delicacy he’s nurtured so carefully can’t be discarded so lightly. As consorts in the harem, isn’t it our job to ease His Majesty’s heart? So of course, I can only follow His Majesty’s wishes.”

As soon as she finished speaking, even Qiu Baolin couldn’t help but glance over at her.

Seeing how she felt no shame whatsoever, and seemed completely unaware that the others’ expressions had all changed, Qiu Baolin couldn’t help but admire her composure.

Everyone could see she was putting on an act, but she didn’t feel even a bit embarrassed. That alone was no small feat.

The calm, composed air Rong Zhaoyi once had was long gone.
She spoke coldly, “Yun Jieyu had best be able to keep this up.”

The threat in her words was unmistakable, if Yun Si ever lost her current favor, what awaited her would be anything but a good ending.

Yun Si narrowed her apricot eyes slightly. Her gaze clashed with Rong Zhaoyi’s in the air, then she suddenly lowered her eyes and let out a soft laugh.

“This concubine thanks Ladyship Zhaoyi for the reminder.”

No one could guarantee being favored for a lifetime. Threats would always exist. It wasn’t something that could be resolved just by no longer being at odds with Rong Zhaoyi in the future.
If one wanted to eliminate a threat, there was only one way, eliminate the person who posed it.

Amid this frozen atmosphere, the imperial carriage finally arrived.

Tan Yuanchu descended from it and immediately spotted a woman hiding behind the crowd. The atmosphere was slightly awkward. Rong Zhaoyi had just turned around when everyone noticed him and knelt to pay their respects.

Someone was standing too far back, when she knelt down, half of her figure was hidden under an oiled paper umbrella. Tan Yuanchu almost couldn’t find her.

He nodded and told them to rise, then casually asked, “What were you all talking about?”

Yun Si didn’t rush to answer. After all, given the ranks of the various consorts, it wasn’t her place to speak first.

Consort De smiled gently.

“Rong Zhaoyi and Yun Jieyu were just chatting idly.”

Tan Yuanchu nodded.
He wasn’t surprised. He had already anticipated this scene when he saw the palace retreat list.

He lifted his chin slightly and looked at the woman hiding among the crowd.

“What are you doing so far back?”

Rong Zhaoyi’s expression changed instantly.

Everyone fell silent.

Yun Si glanced subtly at Rong Zhaoyi, raised her hand to shield her forehead, and lowered her eyes in a listless manner, softly pouting,

“This concubine arrived late, there was no place for me in the front.”

Qiu Baolin couldn’t help but press a handkerchief to her lips to stifle a laugh.

She had seen it clearly, Yun Jieyu hadn’t wanted to stand in front because it was too hot and sunny. She simply didn’t want to be scorched.
But now, just listen to what she said.

It sounded ordinary, harmless even, but Yun Jieyu was a fourth-rank consort. No matter when she arrived, her place could never be taken by others.

In the end, Yun Jieyu was clearly complaining, or rather, she was digging a hole for Rong Zhaoyi.

Tan Yuanchu was also briefly at a loss for words. He beckoned, “Come here.”

Yun Si hesitated for a moment. Everyone clearly saw her glance at Rong Zhaoyi before slowly moving forward. For a moment, silence hung in the air, such a tactic was far too obvious.

Tan Yuanchu suddenly felt a bit of a headache.

Couldn’t she act a little more convincingly?
As it was, who wouldn’t see that she was deliberately trying to get under Rong Zhaoyi’s skin?

Tan Yuanchu truly couldn’t bear to look. He shot the woman a glance, signaling her to hurry up. Once she reached him, he finally said mildly,

“The hour hasn’t arrived yet, how is that considered late?”

Rong Zhaoyi bit her lip. Did he really not know anything?

She didn’t believe it.

Or was it that, even without knowing anything, he still instinctively spoke up for Yun Si?

No matter which it was, Rong Zhaoyi didn’t want to accept it.

Once Tan Yuanchu finished speaking, he directly led Yun Si away, leaving the rest of the consorts standing there.

Xu Shunfu gave a timely reminder, “Honored Ladyships and mistresses, the hour is approaching. Please board your carriages.”

Consort De nodded to Xu Shunfu, and once he left, she glanced at Zhaoyi, sighing lightly as if in reflection.

“It seems Yun Jieyu truly does please His Majesty.”

Even if she didn’t say it outright, Consort De was well aware that she and Rong Zhaoyi had already torn off all pretenses behind the scenes. She shook her head slightly and said,

“I recall that on the last summer retreat to the palace, the one accompanying His Majesty was Rong Zhaoyi, wasn’t it?”

Eong Zhaoyi disliked Yun Si, but she also didn’t like Consort De. Her spine straightened slightly as she replied coldly, “Your Ladyship has a very good memory.”

Then, unhurriedly, she added, “The one accompanying His Majesty often changes. However, if I recall correctly, Your Ladyship Consort De has never had the honor.”

At the end of that sentence, Rong Zhaoyi seemed to realize she may have gone too far and gave an apologetic smile.

Hearing the veiled barbs exchanged between the two ladies, the others couldn’t help but glance at one another, just when did these two become enemies?

Consort De’s smile didn’t waver. She met Rong Zhaoyi’s gaze, and both could clearly see the coldness in each other’s eyes. Consort De said nothing more, simply turned and got into her carriage.

—

The procession exited the imperial palace. Yun Si and Tan Yuanchu boarded the imperial carriage together. She lifted the patterned curtain and poked her head out to take a look.

The carriage hadn’t yet left the palace grounds. From afar, she could only see the palace walls and the tightly arranged ranks of imperial guards. Yun Si looked up, and suddenly locked eyes with someone on horseback.

Lu Dongxun’s feelings were somewhat complicated.

Yun Si had once been his sister’s palace maid. Rationally, he knew that Yun Si had only received her rank after his sister’s death, she hadn’t wronged her.

But he was part of the palace guards. He had watched Yun Si rise step by step with his own eyes. Deep down, he understood clearly, compared to his sister, Yun Si’s current favor with His Majesty was like heaven and earth apart.

Lu Dongxun didn’t know what he was supposed to feel.

When they first met, she was just a maidservant, always one step behind his sister, needing to be cautious even to glance at him.

Now, their statuses were entirely reversed.

Lu Dongxun knew he shouldn’t, but he often recalled that first meeting with Yun Si. He often wondered, if he had been just a bit faster the day his sister drowned, would everything be different now?

While he was tangled in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a surprised, soft voice from the woman,

“Lord Lu has been promoted? I haven’t had the chance to offer my congratulations yet.”

His uniform had changed, and his sword was different too, he had indeed been promoted. Now the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, just one step away from holding real power.

Lu Dongxun’s lips moved. After a long moment, his voice finally came out, “Yun Jieyu is too polite.”

They didn’t speak further. The woman raised her hand over her head, and Tan Yuanchu’s lazy, indifferent voice came from inside.

“I told you to grind ink, and you’re just lazing around again.”

The patterned curtain was hastily lowered, blocking the view inside. The woman no longer looked out. Lu Dongxun lowered his gaze.

Inside the carriage, Yun Si grumbled, “Your Majesty, what are you doing?”

She glanced at the inkstone, there was plenty of ink inside. She said, “Didn’t Qiu Mian grind the ink for you already? Can’t you feel a little pity for your concubine?”

Tan Yuanchu shot her a cold look.

“Pity you?”

“You’re unwilling to grind ink for me, yet you beam with joy congratulating another man on his promotion?”

Yun Si was stunned. Once she registered the meaning behind his words, her almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief.
Anger lit up her beautiful face, full of life as she snapped, “Are you insane?”

Tan Yuanchu remained emotionally detached.

Yun Si bit her lip, her eyes reddening. “Do you want me to die? If others heard those words, how am I supposed to survive?!”

Tan Yuanchu frowned, his expression finally shifted.

She abruptly turned her head and raised her hand to wipe at the corners of her eyes. Tan Yuanchu heard a soft sniffle, and only then did she speak in a low voice, “You know I congratulated him because he’s Lu Cairen’s older brother.”

Lu Cairen?

Upon hearing those three words, Tan Yuanchu’s brow furrowed again. He reached out to pull her toward him, but Yun Si turned away.

Seeing this, Qiu Mian and Xu Shunfu quickly bowed their heads and quietly stepped out of the carriage.

A long moment passed before Tan Yuanchu finally pulled her back. He cupped her chin and made her turn to face him. When he saw real tears on her face, two streaks staining her fair cheeks, her lips were tightly bitten, refusing to look at him.

Tan Yuanchu frowned slightly and raised his hand to wipe her tears, speaking in a quiet voice:

“I got angry in the moment, does that really warrant your tears?”

Yun Si closed her eyes. “To you it’s just a moment of anger. To me, it’s a disaster I might not survive.”

Tan Yuanchu was left speechless.

After a while, he lowered his head and kissed her. Yun Si tried to dodge, but didn’t succeed. Angry, she pushed him away: “Weren’t you angry at me? Why are you kissing me?”

Tan Yuanchu looked down at her, his gaze deep and unreadable, something he didn’t let her see. His tone was light, almost casual,

“It was I who spoke wrongly. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you.”

Yun Si paused. Before she could react, Tan Yuanchu reached out again and gently wiped her face. His voice was low and deep,
“Why do you cry so easily now?”

Yun Si leaned softly into his arms.
“You must never say something like that to your concubine again.”

Tan Yuanchu pinched her cheek, feeling she was pushing her luck. He clearly hadn’t meant anything by those words, but she insisted on making a fuss. Now, even after apologizing, he still had to go along with her tone and make a few promises to appease her.

She was becoming harder and harder to coax.

And he wasn’t sure who had spoiled her like this.

Yun Si, sensing the right moment, backed off with her usual charm. Her almond eyes blinked innocently as she said, soft and weak,
“My heart and eyes are filled only with you. If you misunderstand me, it breaks my heart.”

Tan Yuanchu didn’t believe a single word of that.

Then he heard her say,
“You don’t like me speaking with others. I won’t say a word to anyone from now on.”

Tan Yuanchu lifted his eyes slightly, almost imperceptibly. After all that, she had finally said something that made sense.

He narrowed his eyes and tapped her forehead with his finger.
“You’d better keep it that way.”

If her heart wasn’t with him, wasn’t it natural for him to feel uneasy?

Yun Si covered her head and, once coaxed, behaved obediently. “Do you still need to review memorials? I’ll grind ink for you.”

She was wearing a new palace dress today. Afraid the ink would stain it, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing a fair stretch of wrist. On her snowy wrist was the agate bead bracelet he had gifted her, it stood out brightly.

Tan Yuanchu’s gaze drifted over instinctively.

And he had to admit, her skin was so fair that this color suited her perfectly.

Yun Si didn’t know how long she had stayed inside the carriage. The light outside had already dimmed by the time the carriage finally came to a stop. Only then did she learn that the journey to the summer palace would take half a month by road alone.

Upon hearing that, her face went pale.

Yun Si disliked carriage travel. During the day, with Tan Yuanchu’s company, it was bearable. But later, when he went to discuss state matters with his ministers and she returned to her own carriage, she had been listless ever since.

Qiu Yuan was puzzled.
“What’s wrong, Mistress?”

Yun Si only furrowed her brows and shook her head.

She lay in the carriage, eyes drooping lifelessly, as if all her energy had drained away.

She couldn’t stop thinking about her younger days.

When she was sold off by the Lu family, it was just like this, trapped in a carriage, jolting all the way to the capital. Yun Si still remembered how she had curled up in a corner all day, heart filled with fear. Perhaps the trauma had cut too deep, now, even though she knew she had long since been saved, carriage rides still made her feel suffocated.

Their resting place was a post station. Tan Yuanchu was still busy, and Yun Si returned to the private chamber with Qiu Yuan. She couldn’t help it, she retched violently. Her body pitched forward, legs giving out beneath her, and she collapsed right into Qiu Yuan’s arms.

Qiu Yuan’s face changed at the sight. She quickly instructed the palace maids to care for Yun Si and ran out.

She questioned the passing attendants, eventually locating Imperial Physician Chang, who had accompanied the journey. She hurriedly dragged him back to the room, and along the way, many people saw them.

Xu Shunfu also caught sight of the scene. Once the court officials had left, he didn’t dare delay and quickly reported the news.

Upon hearing it, some of the concubines had their thoughts stirred. One of them turned and made her way to Yun Si’s chamber. But the moment she stepped inside, she instinctively covered her nose and mouth.

Yun Si had just vomited; naturally, the air in the room didn’t smell pleasant.

Qiu Yuan frowned and said,
“The imperial physician said that Mistress needs fresh air. Please don’t crowd the room, Your Highnesses.”

When Tan Yuanchu arrived, this was the first thing he heard, and his voice instantly turned cold.
“What are all of you doing here?”

A path was cleared at the door. Upon hearing his voice, Yun Si quickly called out to stop him.
“Your Majesty, don’t come in.”

Tan Yuanchu pushed through the crowd and entered the room. As he approached, he saw her leaning weakly against the bed, her face pale and spiritless.
He frowned. “What happened?”

She had been perfectly fine back in the imperial carriage. It had only been about an hour, how had she ended up like this?

Seeing that he was already inside, Yun Si didn’t try to send anyone away. Instead, with a tearful voice, she said, “Your Majesty… this concubine feels like she’s dying…”

Tan Yuanchu gave a low scolding.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting all day long?!”

Always going on about dying, didn’t she find it unlucky?

Imperial Physician Chang finally finished checking her pulse and asked,
“Yun Jieyu, do you get motion sickness from carriage rides?”

Yun Si was stunned. After a moment, she hesitantly answered, “Maybe?”

She had never ridden in a carriage before. In her youth, she had only ridden donkey carts. Horses were expensive, and the people who bought her hadn’t been extravagant enough for that.

Besides, back then, she had been too consumed by fear and anxiety to even notice how her body reacted.

Later, she’d hardly ever left the palace gates, so naturally she didn’t understand such things.

Imperial Physician Chang confirmed her condition, wrote a prescription, and palace attendants were sent immediately to fetch the medicine. Before leaving, he instructed,
“Keep the room well-ventilated until the Mistress’s reaction subsides.”

Tan Yuanchu glanced at the crowd blocking the doorway. He said nothing, but his meaning was clear. Though the onlookers felt displeased, they had no choice but to quickly take the hint and disperse.

Once the chamber was finally empty, the decocted medicine was brought back. Tan Yuanchu fed it to her himself and said in a low voice,

“Not a moment’s peace with you.”

In this condition, she should have stayed in the palace. After a journey like this, by the time they reached the summer palace, she’d be half-dead.

Yun Si had no strength to argue.

In fact, it turned out exactly as Tan Yuanchu had expected. With a half-month journey ahead, they had to stop frequently. Yun Si vomited to the point of dizziness, growing visibly weaker day by day. In her state, she didn’t return to the imperial carriage again, it was always Tan Yuanchu coming to check on her.

By the time they arrived at the summer palace, Yun Si had to be helped down from the carriage by Qiu Yuan, her legs so weak they could barely hold her.

Tan Yuanchu pushed past the others and came forward. He reached out and touched her head, his palm came away damp with cold sweat. He asked in a low voice.

“Still not feeling well?”

Yun Si sniffled and nodded weakly from within his arms.

Tan Yuanchu didn’t delay. And so, both the consorts and the officials watched as the emperor carried the woman in his arms and strode directly into the summer palace.

Their living quarters had already been assigned beforehand.
Palace attendants led the way in front.

Yun Si felt unwell and could only vaguely register the winding path along the way. She caught glimpses of lake water, arched bridges, even saw a painted boat drifting on the surface. The shady trees offered respite from the summer heat, radiating a refreshing coolness, but no amount of shade could conceal the extravagance and refinement all around. When she was carried into the residence, Yun Si didn’t even catch what the place was called.

It was only after Tan Yuanchu set her down that she belatedly asked,

“Your Majesty… carrying me in like that in front of all the ministers—wasn’t that inappropriate?”

She looked up at him weakly, her voice tinged with hesitation, as if worried she might cause trouble. She bit her lip unconsciously.

Her fine, dark brows were gently furrowed, as if weighed down by sorrow, enough to make one want to smooth them out for her. Tan Yuanchu lowered his gaze and said lightly,

“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with.”

The words were far from pleasant.

Yun Si couldn’t help but lift her head and glare at him in irritation.

Seeing she still had the strength to glare at him, Tan Yuanchu’s expression eased. Just then, the medicine was brought in. The woman tried to shy away with visible reluctance, only to be pulled back into his arms with an arm around her waist. He muttered irritably:

“Clearly, you’re not suffering enough.”

Forced to drink the medicine, Yun Si scrunched up her face, her apricot eyes full of frustration:
“I’ve been drinking medicine for half a month, my whole body’s probably marinated by now.”

No one consoled her.

Instead, someone leaned in close and sniffed her before nodding.
“There is a bit of a scent.”

Yun Si’s complaints came to an abrupt halt.

The room fell silent. Tan Yuanchu lifted his head and said casually, “Didn’t you say you had a smell? I was just helping you confirm it.”

Yun Si was so angry her chest heaved.

“Can’t you say something nice?”

She changed clothes several times a day, how could she possibly smell?

Tan Yuanchu paused for a moment.

Then he said, “Once you finish your medicine, have the attendants draw hot water for you. Take a few extra baths.”

The room fell completely silent.

Xu Shunfu and Qiu Yuan couldn’t help glancing at the emperor, each feeling the situation was, well, hard to put into words.

After a long while, Yun Si didn’t want to pay a certain someone any attention. She picked up the bowl of medicine and drank it all in one go. During that time, she thought she discreetly lifted her sleeve and secretly took a sniff, she didn’t smell anything. She even furrowed her dark brows in self-doubt.

Tan Yuanchu took everything in at a glance, couldn’t help but turn his head slightly, and curled the corner of his lips.