Su Mi stood by the carriage for quite a while, the flush on her face gradually fading away.
She took a deep breath and steadied herself before walking towards the palace gate. As expected, a eunuch approached her and said he had been instructed by the Chief to take her to the Taiyuan Hall, where the other maidens from Jiaozhou were waiting.
“Do all the maidens go to Taiyuan Hall?” Su Mi asked the eunuch.
The eunuch smiled and replied, “No, only those from Jiaozhou are sent to Taiyuan Hall.” “Don’t worry, young lady; I will make sure to carry out the chief’s orders properly.”
“Thank you, sir,” Su Mi said, following the instruction without asking further questions. Although she was a little afraid of Qin Yan, she still instinctively trusted him.
She had never imagined that she would have any connection with Qin Yan when she first saw him stepping out of the carriage. Now, in this unfamiliar city, he made her feel more reliable than even Su Xian.
Along the way, she saw the red and white walls of the imperial palace on both sides. She glanced at the scar that had already faded on her palm. If she were selected, she would have to live within these high walls in the future. In the past, she had never thought much of it. After all, she was more willing to do this than to marry Li Xiuyuan.
But now, why did she feel so depressed?
Su Mi was already imagining herself at Taiyuan Hall in her mind. Once she arrived, she saw dozens of interconnected side chambers. The little eunuch whispered to a palace maid, and she led Su Mi into one of them.
“Miss Su, according to the etiquette, three young ladies share one room. Does Miss Su have anyone she would like to share a room with?”
Su Mi scanned the spacious room with its simple yet exquisite decor. Three beds made of Nanmu wood were distributed around the room, surrounding a round redwood table in the center. Whether it was the dressing table, chairs, or tableware, everything was arranged in sets of three.
The palace maid in front of her looked respectful, but Su Mi understood that it was only because of Qin Yan’s influence. Otherwise, as a merchant’s daughter, who would bother to ask her what she wanted?
Su Mi bowed, “Thank you; I don’t want to trouble you. But if possible, please don’t arrange for me and my half-sister Su Zhen to stay together.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
She didn’t really want to use Qin Yan’s name to get special treatment, but Su Zhen…she really didn’t want to see her again, let alone share a room with her.
In the Qianqing Palace, the Emperor of the Ming Yin dynasty, Zhu Jingyu, dressed in bright yellow, sat on the throne between two gold-lacquered pillars. His hands rested on the armrests of the dragon chair, and his face had a sickly look with unusually pale lips. The occasional cough that came from his throat echoed lowly in the spacious palace hall.
His eyes were filled with a heavy sense of death, adding a touch of gloom to his originally handsome and gentle appearance.
“You seem to have been gone for quite a while this time, cough…” the Emperor of the Ming Yin dynasty, Zhu Jingyu, half-closed his phoenix eyes and coughed into his fist, looking towards Qin Yan, who stood below him.
“I took care of some minor matters on my way. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.” Qin Yan walked over to a carved chair on the side and sat down, and Zhu Jingyu showed no surprise, as if it were a common occurrence.
As for what Qin Yan was handling, Zhu Jingyu was not curious either. He took a sip of the brown medicine in his teacup, wiped off the liquid that had spilled from the corner of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, and slowly spoke:
“Lü Dehai has been getting close to Elder Zhang recently, and given their enthusiasm for the matter of the court lady, cough… it seems they have other plans besides the position in the harem.”
“I’ve sent someone to follow him.” “I have already given him the seal of the Chief of the Rites Bureau. Does he even want to take my position as the Chief of the Eastern Bureau?”
“Cough… Ah Yan, you know the human heart is most greedy, and people always want something they can’t have.”
At Zhu Jingyu’s words, the smile on Qin Yan’s lips became even fainter. When he caught sight of Lü Dehai, who was approaching the palace gate, he stood up and returned to the center of the hall.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Please take care of yourself.”
…
By the time Qin Yan left the hall, it was almost dusk. Lü Dehai, who held the token of the Chief of the Rites Bureau, walked behind him with a restrained expression on his face. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“How has His Majesty been during my absence?”
“Reporting to the Lord, His Majesty takes two doses of medicine every day, and the imperial physician visits daily, saying that His Majesty is in good health.” The voice of Lü Dehai was sharp and thin. When he called the Lord, a flash of jealousy crossed his face, but his tone remained respectful.
As Lü Dehai spoke, he muttered quietly to himself about the emperor’s good health. “Good health…Hmmm” He thought that the emperor’s good health was merely an indication that he was still alive. Despite his frail appearance, the emperor looked less manly than even Lü Dehai himself did. However, Lü Dehai could only keep these thoughts to himself.
Without dwelling on his words, Qin Yan asked, “I heard that you reassigned the position of the head of the imperial scribes.” “What happened to the previous ones?”
“My Lord, they made mistakes, so I punished them by sending them to the laundry bureau.”
Qin Yan’s steps faltered, and Lü Dehai also stopped in his tracks, looking up slightly to see Qin Yan smiling at him in a way that sent shivers down his spine.
The position of the Chief of the Rites Bureau was one step higher than that of the Chief of the Eastern Bureau. But who didn’t know that his position was just a puppet role for Qin Yan? Did he not want to truly be above all others? He had served as Chief for so many years, and even if he wanted to replace an eunuch, he still had to defer to Qin Yan’s wishes in the Rites Bureau. It was just too unfair!
Lü Dehai stiffened his neck, forcing himself to meet Qin Yan’s gaze. If he showed weakness now, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head high in the future.
“Alright,” Qin Yan smiled and withdrew his gaze. “Let’s leave it at that for now, Lü Gonggong.”
Lü Dehai watched Qin Yan walk through the Qianqing Gate and head outside the palace, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He then turned and walked towards the direction of the inner court.