Beauty Behind Crimson Walls

Synopsis Xiansi was nothing more than a palace maid, though she possessed a modest measure of beauty. She had spent seven years struggling to survive in the imperial palace, climbing her way from a lowly little maid in the Laundry Bureau to a first-rank maid serving before the Emperor. Over those seven years, she had learned to read her masters’ expressions, to know exactly how hot their tea should be steeped, and she had become the auntie whom the younger palace maids regarded with awe and respect. Yet Xiansi knew perfectly well that, however glorious things might appear on the surface, she was still, in the eyes of her masters, nothing but a servant beneath their notice. By imperial grace, at the age of twenty-three, she was finally about to leave the palace and marry. But on that very day, His Majesty happened to glance at her one moment longer than usual. That night, her clothes were utterly ruined as she knelt at the Emperor’s feet. Afterward, the Emperor leisurely fastened his collar. His cool fingertips grazed over her, his gaze carrying the pitying contempt one might show an ant. “I will not take you for nothing. I shall grant you a stroke of extraordinary fortune.” — His Majesty attended to countless affairs of state each day and had never paid attention to the servants at his side. For years, the maid who served before him had known precisely how strong to brew his tea, how fine to grind his ink, and how much pressure to use when massaging him. Nothing more. But when he looked at her that day, he realized she was actually somewhat attractive—pleasant to look at. She was only a maid. If he wanted her, then he wanted her. But with his grand wedding approaching, he could not be bothered to grant her the rank of an imperial consort and invite unnecessary complications. Afterward, noticing that the chief eunuch who served before him seemed rather familiar with her, he casually bestowed upon the two of them a formal pairing as companions. Liu Lun was the most favored servant at the Emperor’s side. Following him, she could be said to have received a great blessing and married into a suitable place. — Later, His Majesty never imagined that the palace maid’s unyielding backbone would prove like a green pine growing on a mountain ridge—impossible to break, no matter how hard one tried. The words a maid’s bones did not merely describe the slavish bearing of a servant. They also spoke of the clean, unyielding spirit within her. As for himself, once he had tasted her, he found himself unable to forget. The sight of her and the eunuch together, appearing as a pair, filled him with an indescribable irritation. In the end, he did not hesitate to break his word, imprison her once more at his side, and become a foolish, tyrannical ruler for her sake. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: Beauty Behind Crimson Walls — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠