Red Chamber 14
Compared to the first letter, which was filled with flattery for the Emperor, this second letter was much more substantial.
A Yuan first reported on her current situation in the palace, then urged Lin Han not to neglect his studies. She advised him to return to Yangzhou as soon as possible and study diligently under Lin Ruhai, striving to pass the Autumn Examination later this year and the Spring Examination the year after to become a Jinshi. This would pave the way for an official career in the future. Meanwhile, she would work hard in the Imperial harem, aiming to give birth to a prince before the Empress entered the palace.
Most importantly, she hoped Lin Han would listen well to Lin Ruhai!
Since he lacked emotional intelligence, obedience would have to make up for it.
Of course, he didn’t need to listen to everyone—words from the likes of Lin Huan and Ma Shi could be treated as nothing but hot air.
Among the thick stack of letters, only two pages were addressed to Lin Han. The rest was another sealed envelope marked “To Be Opened by Lin Ruhai”—clearly, this was a letter within a letter.
Lin Han finished reading the letter with red-rimmed eyes, carefully folded it, and tucked it into his lapel before turning to Granny Hui. “Is the Honored One doing well in the palace?”
No matter how positive the letter sounded, Lin Han dared not believe it entirely. Claims that His Majesty treated her with great gentleness, that she lived in a large room in the palace with over a dozen attendants serving her, and that her food, clothing, and daily necessities were of the highest quality—all such descriptions.
The more Lin Han read, the more his heart ached.
His sister had always been considerate and was surely only reporting the good news, hiding any hardships.
Granny Hui had an honest and simple face, but her temperament was anything but honest. As soon as Lin Han asked his question, she immediately fawned with a smile. “Our mistress is currently the most favored in the palace. Not only was she the first to attend the bedchamber, but she was also conferred the rank of Honored One by imperial decree the very next morning. Now, with His Majesty’s favor, she has been specially granted residence in the main hall of Yongshou Palace.”
Although Lin Han knew little about the inner palace, Granny Hui’s delighted expression told him that his sister had indeed won the Emperor’s affection.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Lin Fu beside him, his wrinkled old face flushed bright red, struggled to suppress a wildly rising smile, harder to control than an AK.
To be initially conferred as an Honored One! Once she became pregnant, wouldn’t she surely be promoted to the rank of Concubine?
Lin Fu clutched his chest, nearly fainting from excitement. The family was about to have an imperial consort! He needed to write to the master immediately. But before that, he had to properly reward the palace matron.
With a trembling hand, he produced a dark red satin pouch—plain, without a single flower embroidered on it. The small, lightweight pouch looked utterly unremarkable.
Yet inside this pouch was a silver note worth a hundred taels.
He slipped the pouch into Granny Hui’s palm, his face breaking into a wide smile. “Please take good care of our young lady in the future. She is young and may not manage everything perfectly, so we hope you will guide her well.”
A matron willing to run errands in such a short time was clearly someone who had pledged her loyalty.
“Of course, of course.”
Granny Hui accepted the pouch without changing her expression. Lin Fu’s smile instantly grew more sincere—it was good that she had taken it.
Lin Han observed this exchange intently, learning earnestly. Just as he was about to ask more about palace affairs after seeing the matron tuck the pouch into her sleeve, a commotion erupted outside, followed by Lin Wang’s booming voice: “What’s going on?”
“Master, a guest’s wife upstairs is suddenly suffering from severe abdominal pain. It seems she’s about to give birth,” replied the inn’s waiter.
Lin Wang was startled. Giving birth was like crossing the threshold of the underworld. A safe delivery was one thing, but if anything went wrong, it would be extremely inauspicious. This tavern was part of the dowry of a noble from the palace. If it were stained with blood and brought misfortune upon the noble, what could be done?
But now the woman had already gone into labor—they couldn’t just carry her out and abandon her.
“Quick, go and fetch a midwife!”
Lin Wang immediately began making arrangements: “Boil plenty of hot water in the kitchen.”
Hearing Lin Wang’s voice, Lin Han instinctively exchanged a glance with Lin Fu, both seeing gravity in each other’s eyes.
For tavern owners, birth and death were the greatest taboos.
“Matron, please rest and have some tea. I’ll go to the front to see what’s happening.” Lin Fu cupped his hands respectfully toward Granny Hui, then hurried out with a stern expression. Leaving the private rooms in the rear courtyard, he made his way to the front of the tavern, where he saw Lin Wang speaking with a middle-aged man, both looking grim.
As soon as Lin Wang spotted Lin Fu, he quickly introduced the man before Lin Fu could even ask: “This is Doctor Qin. The woman in labor is his wife.”
Qin Bangye hastily bowed in apology: “Please forgive us, Master. My humble wife is over eight months pregnant. I never expected she would suddenly go into premature labor and defile your esteemed establishment. I am truly sorry.”
Although he held the position of a construction supervisor, his family was poor. In recent years, he had been busy overseeing the construction of the Retired Emperor’s tomb. If not for his wife’s impending delivery, he wouldn’t have rushed back from the construction site with her. Who could have foreseen that, halfway home, she would go into premature labor?
“Let’s not dwell on that for now. Ensuring a safe delivery is the most important thing.” Lin Fu was also afraid that Madam Qin might suffer a difficult labor and die in the tavern.
“I’ve already made arrangements.”
Lin Wang’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat. At this moment, he was even more anxious than Qin Bangye for the woman to deliver safely. However, resentment still lingered in his heart, and his tone was far from pleasant: “This shop is part of the dowry of a noble from the palace. If something really happens here…”
Qin Bangye’s face instantly turned pale.
“It’s getting late. Let’s close up for the day.” Lin Fu stopped Lin Wang from saying more.
By now, the cries of pain from inside the room were growing louder, making it inconvenient to continue business. It was better to shut the doors and let Madam Qin focus on giving birth.
Soon, the servant returned but hadn’t brought a midwife. His face was crestfallen: “I went to two or three houses, but they all said they were out delivering babies.”
The group of men was instantly at a loss.
In the end, it was Granny Hui who stepped forward: “How about I go in and take a look?”
“Please lend your assistance, Matron.” Lin Fu quickly cupped his hands respectfully toward Granny Hui.
Granny Hui nodded with an air of profound wisdom and then entered the delivery room. Although she only possessed a gray skill, it didn’t stop her from having an ambitious heart.
First, set a small goal—develop a new skill and advance to become a green card Matron!
Madam Qin was nearly forty, an advanced maternal age. This pregnancy had been difficult, and the labor was equally painful. Although Granny Hui was only a gray card Matron, anything produced by the system was of the finest quality. After toiling through the entire night, just as dawn broke and the bells of Huguo Temple rang out, Madam Qin gave birth to a baby boy.
Both mother and child were safe and well.
At the same time, A Yuan, who had just spent the night attending the bedchamber and had seen off the Emperor as he left for court, was about to return to bed for a nap when she let out a surprised “Huh?”
In the System Warehouse, the remaining gray cards, which originally only had the [Secret Messenger] skill, suddenly gained a new gray skill—
[Midwife].
“Congratulations, Mistress!” Aunt Jin exclaimed joyfully, offering her felicitations to A Yuan. “This card has leveled up.”
Leveled up?
A Yuan felt somewhat puzzled but refrained from asking Aunt Jin. Instead, she waved her hand dismissively. “It seems Granny Hui had some extraordinary encounters while she was away. It appears she has her own fortune.”
“Not only does she have fortune, but this is also a skill that you, Mistress, can make use of.”
Midwife, skilled in childbirth.
If Mistress were to become pregnant in the future, she wouldn’t have to rely on those Matrons from the Imperial Household Department whose backgrounds are unclear. This would provide an added layer of security.
A Yuan had also considered this point, and her mood brightened accordingly. She rummaged through her storage and pulled out a Pregnancy Aid Pill, tossing it into her mouth and swallowing it like a piece of candy. Then she patted her belly. “Do your best! Although the little wolf dog is good, eating meat every day is too much to handle!”
She was truly fed up!
The Emperor was young and full of vigor. Even when the Service Affairs Office reminded him of the time, he could still sneak under the covers for more.
And her!
A dodder plant completely dependent on the Emperor—could she refuse him? Absolutely not.
Lately, she had begun to feel a bit kidney-deficient.
“It’s still early, Mistress. Would you like to sleep a little longer?” Yesterday, her mistress had exhausted herself. Those fools from the Service Affairs Office thought there was no movement in the room, but only she knew that the activity had lasted half the night.
“Mmm.” A Yuan yawned and burrowed back under the covers.
Aunt Jin carefully drew the bed curtain closed and hurried out to instruct the servants below to move quietly and avoid disturbing their mistress’s rest.
But how could A Yuan sleep? Her mind was entirely occupied with the gray card’s level-up.
She searched the System Interface for a long time before finally spotting a small question mark in the lower right corner. Inside were all the precautions and explanations, as lengthy and tedious as an old woman’s foot-binding cloth. Fighting off drowsiness, A Yuan scrolled through until she found the section on card leveling.
Cards were divided into two types: leveling up and rank advancement.
Leveling up referred to skill enhancement. Among cards of the same rank, superiority was determined by the number and level of skills.
Rank advancement, on the other hand, involved upgrading a card’s tier, which was more difficult and had stricter requirements. Advancing to a Gold-rank SSR card was the ultimate goal for all cards.
A Yuan gazed thoughtfully at the System Interface.
This system had nearly been broken by her, yet its rules were still so complete…
After studying the system, A Yuan closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
When she awoke, the sun was already high in the sky. Her bones felt as if they had softened from sleep, and even after rising, she lay sprawled on the chaise lounge, unwilling to move. Just as she was dozing off again, Bao Qin entered to announce, “Mistress, Miss Wang from Zhongcui Palace requests an audience.”
Miss Wang from Zhongcui Palace?
A Yuan opened her eyes, feeling a spark of interest. “Quickly invite her in.”
So she couldn’t hold out any longer and came to try her luck?
A Yuan was genuinely looking forward to it. The Imperial harem had been far too quiet and boring lately.
Since the Emperor had summoned A Yuan to his chambers, he had paid no further attention to the other Candidate Maidens. Aside from the one who had been moved out, the remaining Candidate Maidens all lived nameless and titleless in the three palaces. Wang Xiling had been assigned to Zhongcui Palace but was ostracized and forced to reside in a side room.
The side room was already damp, cramped, and poorly ventilated. As the weather grew warmer, it became more and more like a steamer.
She truly couldn’t endure it any longer.
Relying on her previous ability to converse with A Yuan, she mustered the courage to pay a visit. She did not expect to gain favor, only hoping that by serving the Emperor, she could obtain a title and move to another palace, perhaps even to a side hall.
Wang Xiling entered the main hall with a nervous heart, only to be dazzled by its splendor.
The main hall spanned five bays, and even the green gauze cabinet used by Noble Consort Lin for short rests was more spacious than her own small chamber, not to mention the dozens of palace attendants bustling in and out of the hall.
Even before meeting Noble Consort Lin, Wang Xiling was already green with envy.