Yanwan’s days in the Palace of Earthly Honor were quite relaxed. Ruyi was a person who valued dignity and proper conduct, so she was naturally not harsh with those around her.
She possessed a proud nature, along with an arrogant air of detachment that looked down on everything. Naturally, she disdained paying attention to the mundane affairs of the Palace of Earthly Honor, leaving all the administrative tasks to Suoxin and Yanwan.
This lax management of the Palace of Earthly Honor worked out conveniently for Yanwan, allowing her to easily slack off and fish in troubled waters.
On this day, Ruyi took Suoxin to the Empress Dowager’s palace to pay her respects, leaving Yanwan behind to watch over the Palace of Earthly Honor.
“Everyone, be thorough. Since the end of the year is approaching, let’s clean up these windows early to save ourselves the rush during the New Year.”
Taking advantage of Ruyi’s absence, Yanwan and Sanbao personally supervised the palace servants as they cleaned the dust off the windows of the Palace of Earthly Honor and replaced them with fresh window paper.
Just then, Li Yu arrived at the Palace of Earthly Honor leading a group of young eunuchs who were carrying a large wooden chest.
When Li Yu reached the entrance of the main hall, he saw Yanwan with her back turned to him, handing a piece of window paper to Sanbao, who was standing on a ladder. He could not help but ask, “Yanwan, is Noble Consort Xian in the hall? The Emperor ordered me to deliver the brocades sent from the tribute to Her Ladyship.”
Ever since Ruyi returned from the Cold Palace, the Emperor had not visited her once, though he had sent no shortage of rewards.
“Her Ladyship went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. Chief Eunuch Li, why don’t I show you in to put the items in the main hall first?”
Yanwan raised her hand to beckon a young maid to pass the window paper to Sanbao, while she led Li Yu and the others toward the main hall.
Li Yu glanced at Yanwan beside him. Seeing that the young eunuchs behind them were walking at a distance, he could not help but ask in a low voice, “How have these past few days in the Palace of Earthly Honor been? Have you adjusted well?”
A twinkle of amusement flashed in Yanwan’s eyes. Turning to see Li Yu’s sincere expression, she deliberately said in a delicate, coquettish voice, “Don’t you already know how I am doing? Thanks to you, Chief Eunuch Li, Sister Suoxin doesn’t assign me tasks outside without me even having to say a word. I really don’t know how to thank you, Brother Li.”
Although Suoxin had not said anything explicitly, she was indeed very considerate toward her, rarely assigning her tasks that required leaving the palace grounds.
With such care, one didn’t even need to guess—only Li Yu held enough influence to speak up on her behalf in the Palace of Earthly Honor!
Hearing this excessively sweet voice made Li Yu’s scalp feel numb. He immediately turned his head away, no longer daring to look at her, yet his curiosity was thoroughly piqued by her last sentence.
What did this little ancestor mean? Out of acquaintance, he had merely mentioned her briefly to Suoxin; it was hardly a big deal.
Seeing Li Yu lost in thought, Yanwan raised an eyebrow, reaching out quietly to tug at his sleeve.
Snapping back to his senses, Li Yu hurriedly pulled his sleeve back and warned in a quiet voice, “Speak to me properly. It was just a casual favor, so there’s no need for thanks. Staying dutifully in the Palace of Earthly Honor is the best way you can thank me!”
Seeing her stare at him with wide, innocent eyes, Li Yu did not dare provoke her any further. He quickly walked into the main hall with large strides, calling out to the young eunuchs to place the chest in front of the parlor.
Once the chest was set down, everyone withdrew from the main hall. Li Yu turned around, only to find Yanwan standing smartly aside, watching him. When she saw him look over, she gave him a radiant smile, lighting up the entire room.
Li Yu averted his gaze, not daring to look any longer. His intuition told him that he should not get too close to her, or else he would run into huge trouble.
He could see it clearly now: this girl was highly skilled in her craft; she was deliberately teasing him, yet he had absolutely no way to deal with her!
“Since the goods have been delivered, I shall take my leave. Please extend my greetings to Noble Consort Xian.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Li Yu walked toward the main entrance in a hurry as if he were being pursued. Once out of the main hall, he finally let out a sigh of relief, raising his hand to wipe the thin bead of sweat from his forehead.
Shaking his head helplessly, he thought to himself: as the Grand Chief Eunuch before the Imperial Presence, hiding from a mere young maid made no sense at all.
When Ruyi returned, her expression was heavy; clearly, the meeting with the Empress Dowager had not been pleasant.
Her expression softened slightly only after seeing the various brocades sent by the Emperor. She walked over to sit on the soft couch near the window. Raising her eyes, she noticed that the windows appeared brighter and let in more light than before, so she could not help but ask, “Why do these windows seem so much brighter? Did I see incorrectly?”
Yanwan walked over carrying tea and pastries. Hearing this, she said with a bright smile, “Your Ladyship is truly perceptive; you noticed the moment you entered. Taking advantage of your absence, I had the palace servants replace the window paper with new ones. There are many affairs at the end of the year, so replacing them early avoids piling up all the chores and delaying other matters.”
Ruyi nodded and looked at her with approval. Yanwan was not only eloquent, but also thorough in her work. The longer they spent together, the more fond Ruyi became of delegating tasks to her.
“No wonder I felt the room was much brighter. Yanwan, you act with great care. You and Suoxin can oversee and prepare the palace affairs together.”
Beside them, Suoxin smiled slightly as well. Since their mistress disliked managing affairs, the matters of the Palace of Earthly Honor relied entirely on her and Yanwan. With Yanwan being so capable, her own burden was relieved as well.
Placing the tea beside Ruyi’s hand, Yanwan gently suggested, “Among those brocades just now, are there any colors Your Ladyship fancies? We could select a few and send them to the Bureau of Imperial Attire to make new dresses for you. Since the Emperor sent them, he surely hopes Your Ladyship will wear them for him to see.”
Ruyi was slightly taken aback; this was the first time she had heard such a perspective. Did the Emperor send these fabrics in hopes that she would wear them for him?
In an instant, a blush spread across her fair face. She raised her eyes to look at Yanwan, saying with a hint of hesitation, “Does the Emperor truly think so? If that is the case, then select some lilac and consort-pink fabrics to send to the tailoring bureau.”
Yanwan smiled subtly and said reassuringly, “The Emperor will certainly be pleased upon seeing them. The day after tomorrow is the day to pay respects to the Empress. As it will be your first time meeting the Empress since leaving the Cold Palace, shouldn’t we prepare in advance?”
Gaining Ruyi’s trust was very simple: one only needed to affirm her romantic bond with the Emperor. Being so attentive, Yanwan was naturally willing to cater to her preferences.
Suoxin looked at Yanwan with a touch of curiosity. Was meeting the Empress truly a matter requiring such grand preparation? Seeing her mistress also looking puzzled, she could not help asking, “What do we need to prepare? Isn’t it just going to pay respects to the Empress?”
Now it was Yanwan’s turn to be flabbergasted. Meeting so many romantic rivals, shouldn’t Ruyi steal the show for her first appearance after leaving the Cold Palace?
“Your Ladyship is making her first public appearance, so you mustn’t display any faint-heartedness. We must ensure Your Ladyship outshines the entire crowd!”
It would be best to make the Empress even more wary of Ruyi. At any rate, now that she had arrived at the Palace of Earthly Honor, Ruyi needed to temporarily suppress the others and charm the Emperor over.
Hearing these words, Ruyi fell into thought. Her personality had changed considerably after going through her time in the Cold Palace, especially after learning that the Empress had placed fertility-blocking loose-reed fragrance inside the bracelet given to her in her earlier years.
This matter naturally made Ruyi hate the Empress to the very bone. The truth behind her years of infertility was actually the Empress’s toxic scheme—how could she not feel hatred?
Ruyi quickly agreed to Yanwan’s suggestion. On the day of paying respects, Ruyi’s makeup accentuated her eyes and eyebrows with greater sharpness, her lips were vivid red, and the jewelry she wore consisted entirely of luxurious items.
Dressed in her splendid attire, paired with her composed demeanor, she possessed the aura of a future Empress.
Yanwan did not know how Ruyi and the Empress clashed during the morning greetings, as she was left behind in the Palace of Earthly Honor as usual.
As a senior maid of the Palace of Earthly Honor, she enjoyed considerable freedom. After arranging the daily tasks, she plunged straight into the small kitchen, beginning to work on her private affairs during shift hours!
Seeing that she was actually in the mood to make pastries, the System could not help asking, “I thought you would go meet Ling Yunche. With Jinzhong’s help, Ling Yunche became an Imperial Guard ahead of time. Aren’t you afraid he might ruin your plans?”
Yanwan rolled up her sleeves and vigorously kneaded the dough in the porcelain bowl, explaining with a grin, “Yunche wouldn’t do that. He likes me, so of course he wants me to live well. In cold weather, one burns more calories and gets hungry easily. Making some shortbread pastries to send to Jinzhong and the others, and handing a few to my Brother Yunche along the way.”
The System went silent… Truly attentive. However, knowing that the host never performed useless tasks, it simply went along with her words.
“Food and desire are fundamental human instincts; it is clear that people cannot live without good food. This gift is great and down-to-earth. The smaller the detail, the more it shows your thoughtfulness.”
The System could practically work as the leader of a praise group. While it could not offer much help with the tasks, it could flatter Yanwan in all sorts of ways, proving to be even higher in level than Suoxin’s subtle flattery strategy.