Once Liyu left, Yanwan stepped forward and offered another bow to Ruyi, saying with honeyed words:
“Many thanks to Consort Xian for transferring this servant out of the Four Offices. This servant truly never expected to have the opportunity to serve by Your Ladyship’s side. Now that Your Ladyship has just settled in, please feel free to give whatever instructions or tasks you may have.”
Hearing this, a smile bloomed on Ruyi’s face. The garment she wore upon leaving the Cold Palace today was the very one Yanwan had made for her. Stroking the peony embroidery along the hem and looking at this motif of the king of all flowers, Ruyi felt that the pent-up gloom accumulated in the Cold Palace had eased somewhat.
Lifting her eyes to look at Yanwan, she saw her dressed in a simple palace maid’s uniform, still holding a bundle.
Recalling the care shown by this pair of siblings back in the Cold Palace, that shared hardship and affection made Ruyi’s gaze soften even further.
“No need for formalities. From now on, Yanwan, you will follow Suixin. Once I leave the Cold Palace, the only people I truly trust are Suixin and you. In the future, close personal duties will be assigned to the two of you, while other matters can be left to the rest. Suixin, since Yanwan just arrived today, take her to get settled before coming back to serve.”
Ruyi’s arrangement was made after careful consideration. Following the incident with A’ruo, she no longer dared to be as careless about the people around her as she once was.
Suixin’s loyalty went without saying; though Yanwan had just arrived, because of Ling Yunche’s multiple rescues, Ruyi naturally held a favorable impression of her.
Aside from Suixin, she had no one else she could trust upon stepping out of the Cold Palace, so she simply assigned Yanwan to the position of a senior maid as well. Since the girl was still young, letting Suixin guide and train her meant she could be heavily relied upon in the future.
“Understood, My Lady. Then this servant will take Yanwan away first. If Your Ladyship needs anything, just have someone call me.”
Suixin had a gentle personality, and Yanwan deliberately drew close to her, so the two quickly grew familiar with one another.
Suixin led Yanwan to choose a room. Since the Yi Kun Palace was spacious with plenty of chambers, she and Yanwan would each have their own room, making living arrangements quite comfortable.
Yanwan smiled brightly and thanked Suixin, then surveyed the room she would likely inhabit for quite some time. She saw that the furniture inside was complete, taking up around forty square meters or so.
The bed curtains were even a soft pink; once she tidied things up later on, the environment would be rather pleasant.
After taking a brief look around, Yanwan changed into the garments Suixin had brought for her, and the two returned together to the main hall.
Just as they reached the entrance, they saw Liyu and Jinzhong standing guard on either side, while a clear, resonant male voice echoed from within the room.
The Emperor had actually come! In that case, the two of them didn’t need to go inside yet and could just wait by the door.
Jinzhong had long since heard about Yanwan from Liyu, and ever since entering the Yi Kun Palace, he had been eagerly anticipating seeing her. Now that he saw her, his gaze kept darting toward her.
He covertly watched Yanwan standing off to the side, noting how she wore a delicately crafted pink palace maid’s uniform, standing there as a dainty and lively figure whose mere smile could leave people entranced.
Of course Yanwan noticed his hopeless display. With Suixin present, she couldn’t well say anything, so she could only use her gaze to warn Jinzhong to behave himself.
No sooner had she finished glaring at Jinzhong and prepared to withdraw her gaze than she happened to lock eyes with Liyu instead.
Well now, wheels within wheels indeed—it had turned right back to Liyu glaring at her!
Ignoring the two of them entirely, she stood obediently by Suixin’s side, cocking her ear to listen to the conversation drifting from inside.
Hearing the Emperor claim that sending Ruyi to the Cold Palace was done to preserve the bigger picture, and that he believed the Cold Palace was the safest place, Yanwan couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
Really? The Emperor must have been trying to coax Ruyi with that line, right?
How could the Cold Palace possibly become the safest place? If she didn’t know the Cold Palace was where sinners of the palace were kept, hearing the Emperor’s words would honestly make one think the Cold Palace was some kind of incredible treasure spot!
If you truly loved someone, you should give her the very best of everything; how could you make someone suffer through hardship instead? Yanwan rolled her eyes in wordless speech.
She had thought that claim was absurd enough, but the Emperor’s ridiculous maneuvers didn’t stop there.
Hearing that the Emperor had whipped up a facial powder called Green Plum Powder for Ruyi, and that just because the Emperor had observed the production process, it suddenly transformed into an item condensed with the Emperor’s heart and soul?
And he even designated it as Ruyi’s exclusive facial powder—was this Emperor secretly mocking Ruyi for aging?
“That’s wonderful; Our Lady has finally made it through the hard times.”
Listening to the words from within, Suixin sighed with a hint of joyous relief.
Liyu, standing off to the side, offered soft agreement as well, leaving Yanwan entirely speechless.
Ruyi had suffered so much, yet instead of giving any tangible, substantive compensation, the Emperor insisted on playing these superficial tricks.
Sending a cosmetic product counted as genuine devotion to Ruyi? Now that was what you called deep emotional ties.
Inside the Yi Kun Palace, after listening to the Emperor’s unavoidable grievances, the resentment and blame in Ruyi’s heart toward the Emperor for casting her into the Cold Palace dissipated by more than half.
The two of them sat side by side on the daybed. Ruyi carefully opened the Green Plum Powder gifted by the Emperor, and a piercing floral fragrance drifted out. Inhaling the elegant, fresh scent of green plum, the last lingering traces of irritation vanished completely.
Her childhood sweetheart remembered her after all; as the sovereign of an entire nation, he kept her in his heart at all times—proof of the Emperor’s deep affection for her.
She raised her head to meet the Emperor’s gaze, and the two smiled at one another. The atmosphere was warm, rippling with threads of mutual affection. Ruyi cherished such a wonderful moment deeply.
Leaning against the Emperor’s shoulder, she lifted her gaze to look at the beloved she hadn’t seen in so long, before speaking softly after a moment:
“Your Ladyship—Your Majesty, I faced danger multiple times in the Cold Palace, and it was entirely thanks to the Cold Palace guard Ling Yunche rescuing this concubine. Now that this concubine has left the Cold Palace, I beg Your Majesty to bestow a favor upon Ling Yunche and grant him a good post!”
The Emperor’s expression shifted slightly. He looked closely at Ruyi, seeing her expression remain as usual, as if she were merely expressing simple gratitude to the guard who had saved her.
Very well, though he disliked harem women meddling in court affairs, it was merely arranging a post for a guard; he could treat it as compensation for Ruyi’s suffering in the Cold Palace.
Although he had instructed Liyu to secretly look after Ruyi through Ling Yunche, the Emperor found it inconvenient to voice those words, lest he stir up Ruyi’s painful memories.
“Rest assured. Once I return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, I will arrange for someone to find a good post for this guard. You need not dwell on this matter any longer—with me here, everything is taken care of!”
The smile on Ruyi’s face deepened as she leaned contentedly into the Emperor’s embrace.
Earlier, she had thought wrongly. While in the Cold Palace, she had already resolved never to trust such romantic sentiments ever again.
Yet upon seeing Hongli, her heart seemed entirely beyond her own control. This was her childhood sweetheart with whom she had shared a mutual affection in her youth—how could she ever let him go?
As the Emperor sat upon the supreme throne, as the saying went, it was lonely at the top. If even she, his pillow-companion of shared heart and soul, were to turn away from him, how terribly lonely Hongli must be within these palace walls!
Immersed in happiness, Ruyi failed to notice that the Emperor was staring in a daze at the peony embroidery on her garment, the tenderness on his face already replaced by a blank expression.
The rules of the palace were strict; the peony was the king of flowers, and naturally could only be used by the Empress.
If everyone behaved with such disregard for rules, failing to understand the distinctions of hierarchy, how could the Empress manage the harem?
Even though displeasure lingered in his heart, the Emperor ultimately said nothing, considering it was Consort Xian’s very first day out of the Cold Palace.
Suppressing the emotion in his eyes, he wrapped an arm around Ruyi’s slender shoulders and gently soothed her:
“Ruyi, your body suffered harm in those past days, so you should let the imperial physician properly nurse you back to health. I must return to the Hall of Mental Cultivation first; once your health improves, I will come to visit you again.”
A flash of reluctance flickered in Ruyi’s dark, grape-like eyes, as she hadn’t expected the Emperor to forgo staying the night. Yet she had always been virtuous and considerate—how could she stubbornly cling to the Emperor?
Gazing at the lavishly decorated Yi Kun Palace and the Green Plum Powder placed upon the low table, Ruyi felt a growing sense of fulfillment in her heart. As long as the Emperor held her in his heart, that was enough.
After the Emperor strode out of the room, while Jinzhong and the others bowed in salute, Yanwan cast a swift glance toward the Emperor.
That single glance felt as though she had discovered a new world; her lowered, watery eyes were filled with astonishment.
No wonder Ruyi was so desperately in love with her childhood sweetheart—she never imagined the Emperor would possess such striking, dashing features, making him a super-sized hunk!
Especially that tall, upright posture with broad shoulders and a narrow waist beneath the dragon robe; it truly possessed the charm to make women fall prostrate before his imperial attire.
That was truly something else! To serve as the ruler of a nation while possessing such superior looks—if that was the case, she could completely understand why all these harem women were utterly out of their minds.