Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: How have you been resting recently?

It was the Heyi Hall’s turn to serve the Emperor again, but Lu Cairen and Yun Si’s attitudes were completely different from the previous time.

Yun Si was preoccupied, and when she left the palace to eat, she seemed distracted. Suddenly, a light rain started falling outside, and Yun Si stared blankly at the rain, her eyes unfocused.
Xiao Rongzi looked at her with concern.

He glanced at her bowl and saw that she had eaten less than half of her food. Yun Si hadn’t touched her food much.

Xiao Rongzi pushed the plate towards her, “You’re on night duty tonight, sister. If you don’t eat more, you’ll feel uncomfortable later.”

Yun Si snapped back to reality and smiled weakly at Xiao Rongzi. She didn’t feel like eating, but she forced herself to eat a bit more.

When they were alone, Xiao Rongzi cautiously looked around and asked, “Sister, what are you thinking about?”

What was she thinking about? Yun Si didn’t know how to explain. The Emperor had obviously guessed her thoughts, but she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. The way he tucked her hair behind her ear was a familiar gesture, but between strangers, it created an ambiguous intimacy. Yet, the Emperor hadn’t said anything.

She could only speculate, but as a servant, speculation was taboo.

The rain outside came and went quickly. By the time Yun Si finished eating, the rain had stopped, leaving only the sound of water dripping from the eaves. Yun Si didn’t have an umbrella, and a raindrop fell onto her hair.

The coolness brought her back to reality. The air after the rain was refreshing. Lu Cairen had Song Rong attending to her, so Yun Si didn’t rush back.

She looked up and saw that the sky was getting dark. The sunset’s glow was fading, and the palace lights began to turn on one by one, like stars in the night sky. The soft light added a mysterious glow to the beauty in the palace.

A slow and steady footsteps approached, and someone stopped at a distance. For some reason, Yun Si’s heart started racing, and her breathing became rapid. She turned around and saw a flash of yellow before she dared to look up. She immediately knelt down to pay her respects.

The eunuchs in front of the Emperor held lanterns, and Yun Si couldn’t see the Emperor’s expression clearly. However, she could sense that he was standing there calmly.

Her mind was in chaos, but Yun Si still cursed silently: What were the guards doing? They didn’t even announce the Emperor’s arrival!

Someone held an eight-boned oil-paper umbrella for Tan Yuanchu, and as he stepped forward, the umbrella followed him. He didn’t avoid her or tell her to rise, so Yun Si could only kneel there. She had learned the rules well, and her beauty was evident in her posture, even in such a situation. Her slender waist bent gently, and she looked more elegant than others.

She kept her head down, exposing only the tip of her chin. Her skirt lay on the ground, stained with water and dirt.

Tan Yuanchu extended his hand, and the eunuch handed him the oil-paper umbrella. Although they were in the Heyi Hall, Lu Cairen inside didn’t seem to know anything about it. The eunuchs in front of the Emperor retreated in an orderly manner, creating a perimeter around them.

Assessing the situation was second nature to those in the harem, where being aware of one’s surroundings was ingrained.

While outsiders couldn’t see what was happening inside, Yun Si wasn’t deaf. The Emperor was too close to her, and she could see the yellow of his clothes even as she knelt. She didn’t know how to describe him, but he seemed powerful, like a beast in the forest from her childhood, pressing down on her. He moved slowly but was overwhelming.

Yun Si’s fingers trembled slightly, touching the dirt on the ground. She usually valued cleanliness, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

The sky started drizzling again, and Yun Si felt the coolness. She couldn’t help but look up, and the Emperor stopped at a distance that was both far and near. The oil-paper umbrella only covered him, leaving her exposed to the rain.

The umbrella was spacious enough to shelter two people, but the person holding it didn’t seem inclined to do so. He held the umbrella for himself, allowing the woman in front of him to get wet, without tilting it even slightly. Yun Si was confused and didn’t understand what the Emperor was trying to do.

Tan Yuanchu didn’t know either, but he found the woman’s pretentious expression annoying.

Now, she looked up at him, and the fine rain fell on her face, washing away her pretended propriety. Tan Yuanchu suddenly felt that she was more pleasing to the eye.

He moved his wrist, and the umbrella tilted slightly towards the woman.
He asked casually, “How have you been resting recently?”

It was a strange question, somehow awkward. She and the Emperor had almost no interaction, yet he asked her such a question in a casual tone, as if it were a natural greeting between acquaintances who had known each other for a long time.

Yun Si didn’t know how to respond to such a person.
She was caught off guard.

However, she vaguely understood that he was telling her, in a nonchalant way, that the incident of tucking her hair behind her ear was not a trivial matter. She had been anxious about it, and he hadn’t forgotten.

The rainwater on the roof tiles continued to fall, dripping down from the eaves. The sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella was muffled and restless, carrying an inexplicable itchiness.

Yun Si didn’t dare look at him directly. She wanted to lower her head, but as she did, the umbrella above her disappeared, as if warning her of something. She stood still, not daring to move. She tentatively looked up, and the umbrella tilted towards her again.

Yun Si finally saw the Emperor’s current expression. His face was calm, his eyes were calm, but the color of his eyes was deep.

She didn’t understand, but it didn’t stop her from realizing one thing – the Emperor wasn’t entirely uninterested in her.

That was enough.

She deliberately changed the subject, “Your Majesty, the mistress is waiting for you.”

Mentioning someone else at this moment was particularly annoying. Tan Yuanchu’s hand, which was about to help her up, was withdrawn. The umbrella was held upright, and he didn’t say another word to Yun Si. He turned and entered the palace.

At that moment, the rain poured down. All the eunuchs in front of the Emperor respectfully followed him into the palace, even taking the umbrella from his hand. She was soaked to the bone, and no one paid attention to her or looked back.

However, Yun Si’s mood was quite good.

How had she been resting recently?
Not well at all.

Tan Yuanchu entered the palace, and Lu Cairen, who was getting ready, finally received the news. She widened her eyes and hastily stood up, “How did Your Majesty arrive so quietly?”

Tan Yuanchu responded calmly.

He was still a bit annoyed. Her actions were a clear indication of her ambition to rise in status, and he had given her opportunities, but she refused? Tan Yuanchu wasn’t oblivious to Yun Si’s coyness, but it was the first time he had been rejected, and he couldn’t swallow his pride.

Lu Cairen blinked and vaguely sensed that the Emperor was unhappy. She didn’t understand why and snuggled up to the Emperor’s shoulder, speaking softly, “Who made Your Majesty unhappy?”

Xu Shunfu pretended not to notice, keeping his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, remaining silent. He acted like a deaf person. Of course, it was the little maid from the mistress’s palace who had made the Emperor unhappy. Thinking about the scene earlier, Xu Shunfu couldn’t help but want to smile.

He had never seen this side of the Emperor before. The Emperor, who usually didn’t hide his desires, was now refusing to say a word, as if holding back a breath, and insisting that the other party lower their head first.

Xu Shunfu thought to himself, “He hadn’t seen Miss Yun Si offend the Emperor, had he?” But the Emperor was known for his pride, and it was normal for him to expect others to cater to him.

Tan Yuanchu pushed Lu Cairen’s hand away, and his mood was clearly not good. He didn’t need to hide his emotions and said coldly, “It’s nothing.”

In the past few days, the Emperor had been busy with court affairs and hadn’t had time to visit the harem. His interest in Yun Si wasn’t overwhelming, but when Xu Shunfu asked him if he wanted to visit the harem today, the first image that came to mind was Yun Si’s face, trying to hide her thoughts with her head bowed.

It was no wonder that people often got infatuated and did foolish things because of lust. What one couldn’t have was often what one couldn’t forget.

Thus, the Heyi Hall was scheduled to serve the Emperor tonight.

Lu Cairen wanted to say something more, but Tan Yuanchu interrupted her directly, “Rest.”

Lu Cairen’s voice was muffled. She had waited for the Emperor for a long time, and they hadn’t had dinner yet, but she didn’t dare say it out loud. She obediently followed the Emperor into the inner palace.

Tonight, it was Yun Si’s turn to keep watch. After getting wet in the rain, she didn’t rush back to the palace to attend to Lu Cairen. Instead, she went to the room to change into a new outfit. As a palace maid, her attire followed certain rules, and she was entitled to two sets of clothing each quarter. Only favored servants could receive fabric rewards from their mistresses and make beautiful clothes with their own hands.

Yun Si had been favored by Eunuch Liu, who often distributed rations to the concubines in the harem and had some extra money to spare. He had given her some fabric, so Yun Si didn’t lack clothes.

However, she didn’t dress extravagantly. She changed into a simple light blue long skirt that covered her ankles. When she returned to the palace, Xu Shunfu and the other servants were leaving.

Song Rong saw her calm demeanor and felt a bit dissatisfied, “Where have you been?”

Yun Si replied, “I got wet in the rain, and I was afraid of being unpresentable in front of our mistress, so I went back to change.”
Upon hearing her words, Xu Shunfu couldn’t help but glance at her, almost laughing out loud.

No one could say that Yun Si was lying, she just didn’t reveal the whole truth.

As he thought this, Yun Si looked at him, her lips pursed slightly in tension, seemingly afraid of being exposed. Xu Shunfu averted his gaze, thinking that he wasn’t crazy enough to meddle in the affairs between her and the Emperor.

Song Rong pouted, still disliking Yun Si but unable to do anything about it. She could only feel frustrated and return to her quarters.

There was a resting room for Xu Shunfu and others. As a constant attendant to the Emperor, Xu Shunfu needed to stay alert. Soon, only Yun Si was left standing in the palace.

The night was dark, with a misty fog. Although it was summer, the rain earlier had brought a chill to the night air. A few lanterns were lit on the palace walls, preventing it from being too dark.

Yun Si stood with her head bowed, leaning slightly against the wall, her eyes closed as she dozed off.

As a servant, one had to learn to take it easy. Standing for a whole night without sleep was unbearable.

However, just as Yun Si was starting to drift off to sleep, she heard some movement from inside the palace. She suddenly stood up straight, slapping her face to ensure she was fully awake before bowing her head and pushing open the door to enter the palace.

In the dimly lit inner palace, Yun Si didn’t dare look around much. After a while, as she approached the bed, she glanced up and saw that Lu Cairen was already asleep. The Emperor, however, was leaning against the headboard, his eyes slightly lowered, gazing at her with a hint of indifference.

In such a situation, it was hard not to feel a jolt of tension.