Chapter 221| Chapter 222| Chapter 223
Chapter 221: Noble Lady Ji
“Mother, why do you want me to bring Mei’er and Lan’er into the palace? Ju’er and Zhu’er obviously want to go, yet you refuse them!”
The eldest young lady’s familiar, petulant voice drifted down the corridor. Lan’er froze, her footsteps halting entirely.
“It is precisely because they lack the ambition to enter the palace that we must send them,” the Countess replied, her tone earnest and severe. “You are still young; you do not understand the dangers of the inner court! An overly ambitious maid is a deadly liability. Those two have no desire to climb the ranks or scheme to become masters themselves. That lack of drive makes them safe to use.”
“But… Lan’er’s face is simply too… well, she’s far more beautiful than I am. What if she suddenly develops ambitions once we’re inside?”
“Then simply relegate Lan’er to the background,” the Countess suggested smoothly. “Have her serve tea, manage the accounting ledgers, or handle your cosmetics… what’s wrong with that? Just reserve the public-facing duties for Mei’er.”
“Mother, I will heed your advice!”
“…”
The voices gradually faded into the distance.
Lan’er’s eyes flickered with confusion. She cast a casual, sweeping glance at the three maids standing nearby, noticing that their expressions hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Strange! How was she suddenly able to overhear a conversation happening so far down the corridor? She certainly hadn’t possessed such acute hearing before… right?
She scratched her head. A deep, unsettling sensation gnawed at her, telling her something was fundamentally wrong with her existence, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
Forget it, she thought. Maybe I was just daydreaming!
Shaking her head, she tossed the bizarre auditory illusion to the back of her mind.
However, a month later, when the formal edict arrived commanding her to accompany Mei’er into the imperial palace, she was utterly dumbfounded.
It turned out she truly had overheard the Countess and the young lady plotting; it hadn’t been an illusion at all!
Lan’er frowned, sinking into deep thought.
Rationally, she knew that being sent to the imperial palace was a terrifying prospect, and she needed to formulate an escape plan immediately. However, over the past few days, her body had been undergoing a series of bizarre physical transformations, leaving her far too distracted to focus on the impending palace draft.
She felt incredibly strange. Her hearing had sharpened to a terrifying degree; whereas she previously couldn’t hear a conversation through a thin wooden wall, she could now pick up whispered words from several courtyards away. Furthermore, her eyesight had drastically improved. Before, her vision was perfectly average, but now she could vividly track the movements of a tiny insect from dozens of yards out…
The more she pondered the changes, the deeper her frown grew.
Suddenly, the sharp whistle of displaced air sounded directly behind her—carrying with it a wave of profound, lethal malice.
Lan’er’s brows twitched. She was standing at the very edge of the estate’s lotus pond. The blossoms had already begun to wilt, signaling the swift approach of autumn.
Closing her eyes, she perfectly tracked the trajectory of the murderous intent barreling toward her back. Her heightened intuition screamed that she could effortlessly evade the attack by simply pivoting a few inches to her left.
Instead, she locked her knees and stood perfectly still, making absolutely no effort to dodge.
She had made a calculated decision: she intended to use this ambush to test her rapidly evolving physical limits and confirm if there was truly something anomalous about her body. If she smoothly dodged the attack, one could argue she merely had good reflexes or sheer dumb luck. But if she was violently shoved into the deep water…
Splash!
A massive splash echoed across the courtyard as she hit the water.
The assailant above quickly and silently fled the scene.
Lan’er surfaced, shaking the cold water from her hair. She stared at the retreating back of her attacker, her brow furrowing tightly.
It was actually Ju’er! Was the girl truly willing to commit murder just to steal a spot in the imperial draft?!
The glaring flaw in Ju’er’s logic was that even if Lan’er was permanently removed from the equation, there was no guarantee Ju’er would be the replacement; the Countess might very well select Zhu’er instead!
Thoroughly speechless by the girl’s stupidity, Lan’er tore her gaze away and swam effortlessly toward the stone bank, pulling herself out of the water with quiet grace.
When Ju’er had shoved her, she had used tremendous force, launching Lan’er directly into the dead center of the lotus pond. The water there was incredibly deep. If a normal person couldn’t swim, they would have sunk like a stone and drowned in minutes.
Lan’er had lived her entire life as a servant within the Earl’s Mansion. She had never once been taught how to swim. Yet, here she was, treading water and scaling the slippery stone bank with the ease of an Olympic athlete…
Staring down at the rippling water, a heavy, solemn light flashed through Lan’er’s eyes. Shivering in the autumn chill, she hurried back to the servants’ quarters to change her soaking clothes.
“Lan’er has fallen ill? How did that happen?” the Countess asked, her brow knitting in displeasure.
The resident physician stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Madam, it appears the young girl fell into cold water and failed to warm herself properly afterward. The autumn chill has deeply penetrated her constitution. I am afraid she will require several heavy doses of medicinal broth and strict bed rest to recover.”
The Countess’s face darkened significantly. Had the wretched girl deliberately thrown herself into the freezing pond to sabotage her entry into the palace?
After dismissing the physician, she turned, preparing to harshly interrogate the shivering Lan’er lying in bed. But before she could speak, her senior nanny shot her a sharp, meaningful look.
The Countess paused. The nanny stepped close and whispered a quick report into her ear.
The Countess’s expression shifted drastically. She cast a covert, icy glare toward Ju’er standing near the door, a glint of pure malice flashing in her eyes. Lowering her voice, she issued a few rapid commands to the nanny before turning back to Lan’er, her tone softening considerably. “Rest easy, Lan’er. The Ji family would never be so cruel as to cast a sick girl out into the streets.”
“Thank you… Madam,” Lan’er gasped, her face the picture of profound gratitude. Forcing the words out, she allowed her eyes to roll back and convincingly fainted.
But right before she lost consciousness, a bizarre realization struck her. She had a distinct, unshakable feeling that she practically never got sick!
After several days of strict bed rest, Lan’er made a full recovery. When the imperial carriages finally arrived, Lan’er and Mei’er accompanied the eldest young lady into the towering gates of the harem.
As for Zhu’er, the Countess utilized a separate imperial draft for common palace maids to smuggle her inside as a sleeper agent.
Ju’er, however, had supposedly fallen “gravely ill” and was summarily banished to a desolate, remote farming estate. Following her departure, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and the rest of the household never heard a single word about her ever again.
But that was all in the past.
At present, Lan’er had just stepped into the imperial palace alongside the newly invested Noble Lady Ji.
Upon their arrival, they were assigned to a minor side hall within the Jinse Pavilion. Her official title—Noble Lady—had been negotiated and finalized long before she ever crossed the palace threshold.
Noble Lady Ji surveyed her cramped, humble new quarters. A flash of deep dissatisfaction crossed her face, though she wisely bit her tongue. Instead, she summoned the three low-ranking servants assigned to her by the Internal Affairs Bureau. After delivering a stern lecture on loyalty and dispensing a handful of silver coins as bribes, she began her interrogation.
“Ju’er,” the Noble Lady began. “Am I required to pay my formal respects to Her Majesty the Empress tomorrow morning? And who are the other ranking consorts currently residing in the inner court?”
The servants provided by the Bureau consisted of one young palace maid and two junior eunuchs. Because Noble Lady Ji was already accustomed to the naming convention of ‘Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju,’ she arbitrarily renamed the young maid Ju’er on the spot. Her plan was to eventually transfer Zhu’er into her inner circle, officially reuniting her set of four personal attendants.
The newly christened Ju’er bowed deeply. “My Lady, aside from Her Majesty the Empress, the inner court currently houses one Imperial Concubine and two Talented Ladies. Including yourself, three other noble daughters arrived today, all invested with the rank of Noble Lady. As for paying your formal respects, imperial protocol dictates that you must wait until you have been summoned to serve His Majesty in the bedchamber before you are granted an audience with the Empress.”
Noble Lady Ji nodded slowly. “And where do the other consorts reside? I should like to visit my new sisters when I find the time.”
“Her Majesty resides in the Kunning Palace,” Ju’er recited flawlessly. “Imperial Concubine Liu is housed in the eastern side hall of the Hui’an Palace, and Talented Lady Wang resides in the western side hall of the Mingyue Palace…”
Hearing the list of residences, Noble Lady Ji’s expression twisted violently, a flash of pure, venomous indignation burning in her eyes.
Sensing the impending explosion, Mei’er quickly ushered Ju’er and the two eunuchs out of the room. If word leaked that the new Noble Lady was throwing a tantrum over her housing assignment, the Empress would be furious, and disaster would surely follow.
The moment the doors clicked shut, Noble Lady Ji completely lost her composure, slamming her palm violently against the table.
“This is absolutely infuriating!” she sneered, her voice trembling with rage. “We were all drafted as Noble Ladies! Why on earth are they granted superior living conditions while I am thrown into this miserable hovel?!”
Lan’er blinked, genuinely confused. “My Lady, you haven’t even seen their quarters yet. How do you know theirs are better? For all we know, they might be living in squalor!”
Noble Lady Ji shook her head in helpless frustration. “You understand nothing! The naming conventions of the harem’s architecture dictate a strict hierarchy of status. Compounds designated as ‘Palaces’ or ‘Halls’ are the absolute pinnacle of luxury. Those labeled as ‘Pavilions’ or ‘Studios’ are significantly inferior—they’re essentially glorified guest houses. Furthermore, within any given compound, the main hall is the most prestigious, followed by the eastern and western side halls. The absolute worst, most degrading accommodations are the rear side rooms.”
“Those other Noble Ladies were all assigned to magnificent Palaces—even if they’re only in the side halls, the prestige is undeniable! Meanwhile, I have been shoved into a minor side hall of a lowly Pavilion, and located in the furthest possible sector from His Majesty’s quarters!”
The more she ranted, the more agitated she became. She bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled, a glint of profound, bitter grievance flashing in her eyes.
Yet, she didn’t dare vent her frustrations outside these walls. The allocation of harem housing fell under the absolute, unquestionable jurisdiction of the Empress.
If she showed even a hint of public dissatisfaction, the Empress would view it as a direct challenge to her authority, and her life in the palace would become infinitely more miserable.
Realizing this, the young Noble Lady forced herself to take several deep, shuddering breaths, forcibly swallowing her rage. Composing her features into a mask of stoic grace, she ordered, “Lan’er, instruct Ju’er to retrieve our evening meal from the imperial kitchens. Have Mei’er discreetly locate which sector Zhu’er was assigned to.”
“Understood, My Lady,” Lan’er replied softly, bowing before backing out of the room.
The days that followed fell into a monotonous, stifling routine. Lan’er spent her time managing Noble Lady Ji’s elaborate wardrobe, applying her cosmetics, and organizing her private treasury.
Except, there was no treasury to organize. Since Noble Lady Ji had only just entered the palace, she possessed absolutely no imperial rewards or stipends. All she had brought from home was a small wooden chest filled with old, relatively modest jewelry, which she was forced to hoard in case she needed to bribe the eunuchs.
Time dragged on with agonizing slowness.
Noble Lady Ji’s initial anxiety warped into deep-seated irritability, before finally settling into a hollow, suffocating numbness.
It wasn’t until dusk several weeks later that a high-ranking eunuch finally arrived at the Jinse Pavilion, bearing the news she had been desperate to hear.
“Noble Lady Ji, prepare yourself. His Majesty has selected you to serve in the bedchamber tonight.”
Chapter 222: Medical Skills
Noble Lady Ji was stunned when she saw the eunuchs from the Shangqin Bureau. No one had visited her for weeks, and every other newly drafted consort had already served the emperor. She was entirely convinced that she had been completely forgotten by His Majesty!
It took her a good long while to snap out of her daze. Composing herself, she gave Mei’er a sharp nod, signaling her to slip the eunuch a generous silver tip.
The moment the eunuchs left, the entire pavilion dissolved into a frantic panic. The maids rushed around, desperately trying to dress the Noble Lady up in her finest attire.
About half an hour later, several eunuchs wrapped Noble Lady Ji in a thick silk quilt, hoisted her onto their shoulders, and carried her out into the night.
Consorts of middle or lower rank were escorted to the emperor’s bedchamber exclusively by the eunuchs of the Shangqin Bureau. Common personal maids and attendants were strictly forbidden from following them, leaving Mei’er and Lan’er to wait anxiously back at the pavilion.
Lan’er sat quietly in a corner. On the surface, she looked just as anxious as the others, but in reality, she was simply using the quiet time to rest.
What a miserable existence inside this palace! she thought. I have no idea why everyone is so desperate to climb over the walls to get in here. Every single day, she woke up earlier than the rooster and went to sleep later than a dog. She hadn’t felt this utterly exhausted even back in modern times!
She knit her brows, her mind snagging on her own thoughts.
Wait… what on earth does ‘modern’ mean?
Words and concepts she couldn’t understand were constantly bubbling up from the depths of her mind lately. She pondered the strange vocabulary for a moment, but unable to decipher it, she cast it aside without a second thought.
She leaned back, her eyes heavy as she drifted toward sleep, when hushed voices from the adjacent courtyard punctured the silence.
“You should get some sleep. It’s already the dead of night; His Majesty won’t be visiting our pavilion anyway… By the way, who did the emperor summon to serve him tonight?”
“Replying to my lady, it is the newly arrived Lady Ji from the Jinse Pavilion who was summoned.”
“Hmph! And here I was wondering what great beauty had caught his eye! It turned out to be her?!” The speaker, who had been tight with envy just a moment ago, let out a sharp, mocking sneer. Her voice overflowed with smug disdain. “If it’s her, then we have absolutely nothing to worry about. With a plain face like hers, His Majesty will undoubtedly grow sick of her after a single night.”
Following a brief rustle of silk blankets, the neighboring estate fell entirely silent.
Lan’er sat in the dark, her gaze tracking toward the wall separating their courtyards, her mind whirring with quiet calculation.
An hour later, a sudden, heavy commotion rattled the front gates of the Jinse Pavilion. The few servants assigned to the estate instantly scrambled to their feet, rushing out to greet the arrivals.
Lan’er was genuinely shocked when she saw Noble Lady Ji limp across the threshold, struggling to take a single step forward.
Her body was covered in dark, ugly bruises, her face was deathly pale, and she walked with a severe, agonizing limp. At first glance, she looked as though she had violently thrown her hip out of alignment.
The eunuch leading the transport lantern took one look at Mei’er rushing forward to take her mistress, immediately turned on his heel, and marched away without a word.
Noble Lady Ji barely managed to wash the grime from her skin before collapsing onto her bed, completely spent.
Yet, she had barely closed her eyes when she was shaken awake again, forced back into formal robes, and sent to the Kunning Palace to pay her morning respects to the Empress. The Jinse Pavilion was located in the furthest sector of the palace grounds; to ensure she wasn’t late for the imperial audience, she was forced to pull herself out of bed at three o’clock in the morning.
Mei’er took charge of escorting her mistress through the dark corridors, leaving Lan’er behind to guard the quarters.
Lan’er knew exactly why Noble Lady Ji refused to let her join the public entourage—her mistress was terrified of her beauty drawing the wrong attention. Lan’er, however, didn’t care in the slightest. She wasn’t an idiot! Given the agonizingly slow pace of the noblewomen, walking from the Jinse Pavilion to the Kunning Palace took a full half hour. A single round trip swallowed an entire hour of grueling footwork!
While Noble Lady Ji was busy kneeling before the Empress, Lan’er happily took the opportunity to catch up on her sleep and restore her energy.
Unfortunately, when Noble Lady Ji finally returned, her expression was hollow and her eyes were entirely listless, a dark cloud hanging over her head.
Deeply surprised, Lan’er pulled Mei’er into a secluded corner of the kitchen. “Did the young lady get tormented by the senior consorts?” Out of sight of the palace eunuchs, she still unconsciously used their old household term.
“No, nothing like that,” Mei’er replied, letting out a heavy, defeated sigh. “It’s worse. The other Noble Ladies completely ignored her.”
The two maids stared at one another in grim silence.
Inside the cutthroat arena of the harem, being actively bullied or oppressed wasn’t necessarily a death sentence; it meant you possessed enough charm or leverage to evoke envy. But being entirely ignored was a catastrophic sign. It meant neither the Emperor nor the Empress spared you a single thought, and even your direct rivals didn’t view you as enough of a threat to acknowledge your existence.
After a long pause, Lan’er offered a weak bit of comfort. “Well… look on the bright side. At least her life isn’t in danger. At worst, our daily rations will just be a bit meager from now on.”
At the time, neither of them comprehended that being ignored by the imperial apparatus meant far more than simple misery.
A few hours later, Noble Lady Ji stared down at the two wilted dishes laid out on her dining table. The food was bone-cold, and judging by the congealed grease, it had been cooked hours ago. The portions were insultingly tiny, and the vegetables had turned a sickly, rotted yellow. Beside the plate sat a small bowl of congee, but it was practically pure water; after stirring it with a spoon for several minutes, she could only locate a few sad grains of rice.
Her hand trembled so violently she could barely hold her chopsticks.
Although the Ji family estate had been in decline, she was still the treasured, legitimate eldest daughter of an aristocratic household. When had she ever been forced to consume such slop?!
Forget her—even her four personal maids back home had been fed premium meals, enjoying fresh meat every single day until they were entirely full.
If Noble Lady Ji was filled with despair, Lan’er was vibrating with resentment.
To prevent the lower staff from accidentally emitting unseemly noises—like farting or burping—in front of the imperial nobility, palace maids were strictly forbidden from eating until they were full. They were forced to leave the dining hall after consuming a mere three-quarters of their meager rations, and their meals never contained a single scrap of meat.
“Vile!” Noble Lady Ji spat, forcing down two bites before her throat locked up. She slammed her chopsticks violently against the wood.
Drawing a sharp, ragged breath, she snarled, “No! I refuse to sit here and starve!” According to the official imperial stipends, a consort of the Noble Lady rank was legally allocated two full taels of fresh meat every single day! Now, forget meat—even her basic vegetables were coming out yellowed and rancid. If she allowed this negligence to continue, she would starve to death in the dark corners of the pavilion before she ever caught a glimpse of imperial favor!
“Does My Lady have a plan?” Mei’er asked anxiously.
Noble Lady Ji glanced at the setting sun through the window, her jaw tightening. “His Majesty usually strolls through the Imperial Garden at this hour, correct? Strip these robes off me and help me change into something else!”
Hearing the command, the maids instantly understood what she intended to do.
Although they were newcomers, the harem was currently underpopulated, leaving numerous estates vacant. In truth, with so few consorts competing for attention, the desperate ladies were constantly staging elaborate “accidents” to catch the monarch’s eye.
Just last night, a lower-ranking lady had tried to stage a graceful dance in the Imperial Garden, only to lose her footing and plunge face-first into a mud bank. The sudden crash had terrified the emperor out of his wits, making him think an assassin had breached the perimeter, and the imperial guards had nearly turned the poor consort into a human hedgehog on the spot.
Two days before that, another new consort had insisted on delivering homemade ginseng soup to the emperor’s study. Most ladies simply ordered the kitchen staff to prepare the broth, but she believed cooking it herself was the only true way to convey her devotion. Who could have predicted that after the emperor drank the soup, he would be struck with violent diarrhea for an entire day?
With such ridiculous incidents occurring on a daily basis, the Empress was running out of patience. She had issued a stern warning across the sectors, begging the consorts to stop accidentally endangering the emperor’s life. After all, the Empress Dowager had issued an absolute mandate: the throne desperately required an heir as soon as possible.
The emperor was already twenty-five years old, yet his lineage remained entirely vacant—a blemish that was practically unheard of even among common aristocratic families. Not only was the Empress Dowager losing her mind with anxiety, but the high court officials were also growing deeply unsettled.
Following Noble Lady Ji’s frantic instructions, Mei’er and Ju’er bathed her in warm water caked with fragrant flower petals, dressed her in a gossamer-thin, translucent gauze gown, applied expensive perfumed oils to her skin, and painted her face with dramatic, striking cosmetics.
Once she was fully prepared, Noble Lady Ji slid her feet into flat, embroidered silk shoes and slithered gracefully out the door.
Since she was launching a covert seduction campaign, she left her personal maids behind, electing to bring only the two junior eunuchs to guide her path.
With their duties handled, Mei’er and Lan’er finally collapsed onto their mats to rest.
Unfortunately, her expedition proved incredibly short-lived. Barely an hour later, Noble Lady Ji was carried back into the Jinse Pavilion, completely unconscious.
Staring at her limp, pale form, Mei’er panicked. “What happened?! Xiao Shunzi, Xiao Lizi—why has the Noble Lady fainted?!”
The two young eunuchs traded a long, terrified look before Xiao Shunzi stepped forward, his face twisted in a miserable grimace. “Sister Mei’er… the moment we arrived at the Imperial Garden, the Noble Lady began performing a dramatic dance. When His Majesty’s entourage finally approached, she grew so overwhelmed with excitement that she lost her footing, tripped over a decorative boulder, and went flying!”
Xiao Lizi chimed in frantically, “And when she fell, her momentum launched her directly toward His Majesty’s chest! It was pitch black outside, and the second the Emperor caught sight of her face, he let out a horrific shriek…”
Noble Lady Ji had insisted on wearing exceptionally heavy, pale face powder combined with a deep crimson lipstick. Shrieking as she hurtled through the shadows, her mouth had resembled a gaping, bloody maw.
Terrified out of his wits by the sudden specter, the emperor had leapt backward to avoid the impact.
Left with no one to catch her, Noble Lady Ji crashed brutally against the cobblestones, violently twisting her ankle. The physical trauma was severe; her plan to act coquettishly disintegrated instantly, and she let out a piercing scream of pure agony.
Hearing her blood-curdling screech, the emperor panicked even further, bellowing for help as he fled the sector.
Seeing the monarch sprint away, Noble Lady Ji realized her entire meticulously planned seduction had transformed into a humiliating catastrophe. Overwhelmed by a volatile mix of fury, anxiety, and the excruciating throbbing in her leg, her vision went black, and she fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, the Imperial Garden sat adjacent to the Imperial Medical Bureau. The fleeing emperor had stopped long enough to dispatch the physician on duty to the scene. The doctor had quickly bound her foot in a wooden splint, commanding Xiao Lizi and Xiao Shunzi to carry their mistress back to her quarters.
Hearing the explanation, the maids were entirely speechless, though they secretly let out a sigh of relief. Thank the heavens the emperor had been too frightened to launch a formal investigation into the disturbance; otherwise, their lives within the pavilion would have been forfeit.
While Mei’er and Ju’er busied themselves fetching fresh water and clearing the ruined cosmetics, Lan’er approached the bed. Looking down at the unconscious woman, she instinctively reached out her hand, pressing her fingers firmly against Noble Lady Ji’s wrist to check her pulse.
Huh?!
Lan’er’s eyes went wide. She’s pregnant?! And based on the pulse structure, the conception had occurred precisely one month ago!
But… a cold realization struck her.
Wait a minute… how on earth do I know how to read a pregnancy pulse?
Though her conscious mind held absolutely no memory of ever studying medicine, a profound, unyielding confidence filled her chest, telling her that her diagnostic skills were flawless.
Chapter 223: Pregnancy
Lan’er felt absolutely certain that Noble Lady Ji was pregnant.
She pondered the situation for a moment, withdrew her fingers, and tucked the corner of the quilt around Noble Lady Ji. She was just about to quietly slip out of the room when Ju’er and Mei’er walked back in.
Mei’er asked in a hushed, anxious voice, “What happened? How bad is her injury?”
Lan’er went quiet. She had been so entirely focused on the pregnancy pulse that she hadn’t paid the slightest bit of attention to the sprained ankle.
Her eyes darted around as she feigned ignorance. “I… I don’t know the first thing about treating wounds. Should I go fetch the imperial physician? Didn’t he say anything after wrapping her foot?”
Mei’er shook her head helplessly. “They only left two packets of medicinal herbs and told us to brew them for her over the next two days.”
Knowing she was a recent assignment from the Internal Affairs Bureau and didn’t yet possess her master’s trust, Ju’er discreetly stepped away, quietly tending to a pot of flowers in the corner.
When Noble Lady Ji finally woke up the next morning, she flew into a towering rage at the sight of her heavily swollen ankle.
The personal maids, however, were secretly overjoyed—not because their mistress was suffering, but because of the massive political fallout from the previous night’s disaster.
Although Noble Lady Ji had utterly failed to seduce the emperor, her dramatic tumble had certainly left an impression. His Majesty had explicitly mentioned the incident to the Empress that morning, instructing her to ensure the Noble Lady was granted absolute rest and temporarily removed from the rotation for the imperial bedchambers.
The rival concubines, who had been gleefully preparing to mock her, were instantly stunned into silence. The staff at the imperial kitchens were even more terrified; they assumed the emperor harbored a deep, unique attachment to Noble Lady Ji, and that she was only abstaining from serving him due to her physical trauma.
That very afternoon, Noble Lady Ji’s daily rations were restored to the premium portions legally befitting her rank. Consequently, the lower staff at the Jinse Pavilion also began eating significantly better. For a brief period, a rare satisfaction permeated the entire estate.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last.
A mere half-month passed, and Noble Lady Ji’s ankle began to show signs of healing. While she was still completely unable to walk, the kitchen staff noticed her prolonged absence and adjusted accordingly; the premium meats vanished, replaced once more by a sad spread of rotted vegetables and bland tofu. Staring at the plates, her face turned deathly pale.
There was nothing she could do. Ever since she had stopped attending the morning audiences to pay her respects, she had completely vanished from the sight of the Emperor and Empress, and the other concubines had long since forgotten she even existed.
“Lan’er,” Noble Lady Ji called out, her voice dead serious. “Exactly how much of my silver jewelry do I have left?”
Lan’er recited the inventory flawlessly. “You currently possess eighteen taels of loose silver, three silver hairpins, one pair of silver earrings, one pair of gold bracelets, and a single gold necklace.”
Noble Lady Ji drew a sharp breath, her mind racing as she calculated their survival.
If she wanted to bribe the imperial kitchens for decent food, it would cost her a flat fee of one tael of silver per day. Eighteen taels wouldn’t even purchase a single month of adequate nutrition. As for the gold bracelets, they would have to be reserved for buying proper medicine. She had been too stingy to spend silver on a physician earlier, and her ankle remained entirely unusable despite all the liniment rubbing. Meanwhile, a lady in the neighboring pavilion had also suffered a sprained foot—supposedly an even more severe injury—but because she was willing to throw money at the doctors, she had fully recovered in just a few days.
But if Noble Lady Ji liquidated her jewelry now, she would be left completely destitute in the future! Aside from daily food and drink, she had to navigate the cutthroat social obligations of the harem. The Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager celebrated numerous birthdays and annual festivals throughout the year—and every single event demanded a lavish gift. Where would she find the silver for those?
She exhaled slowly, finally experiencing the suffocating reality of being entirely paralyzed by a lack of wealth.
After a long pause, she hardened her heart. “We must endure. If any of you feel hungry, simply drink extra water to fill your stomachs.”
When it came to hoarding silver, she couldn’t shave costs from the palace allotments. The only place she could aggressively cut expenses was the food budget for her own maids and eunuchs.
With her mind made up, she fished out a single tael of silver and handed it to Mei’er. “Go purchase some decent ingredients. Remind the imperial kitchen that I require proper nourishment to heal my injury.”
Mei’er took the currency in grim silence.
From that day forward, because she was actively spending silver to supplement her diet, Noble Lady Ji’s health gradually improved. However, she failed to notice that a subtle, dangerous shift was taking place among the maids and eunuchs of the Jinse Pavilion due to the chronic, gnawing starvation she had inflicted upon them.
Ju’er had spent her entire youth serving within the imperial apparatus; when had she ever encountered a master this pathetic? She was so fiercely stingy that she actively forced her own loyal attendants to starve in the dark! A bitter, deep-seated resentment began to take root in the maid’s heart. No matter how favored Noble Lady Ji might potentially become in the future, Ju’er had absolutely no desire to tie her destiny to a master who couldn’t even afford to feed her household.
Mei’er and Lan’er, having served Noble Lady Ji since childhood, refrained from complaining openly, silently tightening their belts to match her demands.
However, tightening one’s belt was an incredibly flawed strategy. While Mei’er possessed a stoic, quiet disposition and managed to endure the deprivation, Lan’er’s patience had reached its absolute limit.
I can survive without wealth, power, or comfort, she thought frantically, but I cannot survive without food!
As the days blurred together, her hunger mutated into a violent, insatiable craving. Every single object in her field of vision began to resemble an exquisite dish. Whenever a fellow servant walked past her, she would subconsciously swallow her saliva, her eyes tracking them like a predator.
Terrified that she might commit a catastrophic blunder if she lost control, Lan’er began actively avoiding the crowds.
She wrestled with the maddening hunger for hours until finally, on a pitch-black, windy night, her instincts overrode her logic. Slipping out of her quarters, she sneaked into the palace grounds to forage for food.
Unfortunately, since she had been confined to the Jinse Pavilion since the draft, she possessed absolutely no understanding of the palace geography and quickly lost her bearings. Turning a blind corner into a secluded courtyard, she ran straight into a masked man dressed in black, the naked steel of a blade flashing coldly in his hand.
“Catch the assassin!” a chorus of frantic shouts echoed from the corridor behind him. A large platoon of imperial eunuchs came sprinting into the courtyard, their lanterns swaying wildly.
Lan’er never expected to be caught in the crossfire of a literal coup. Clutching her throbbing forehead, she scanned the courtyard frantically, desperate to locate a hiding spot.
But the assassin had already spotted her. A vicious, cold light flared in his eyes, and he lunged forward, driving his blade straight toward her throat.
Refusing to play the victim, her instincts flared, and she violently shoved the attacker away. She had initially assumed that matching a hardened killer would be an agonizing struggle that might cost her life, but to her utter shock, she parried his lethal strikes with effortless grace. Moving in a fluid blur of counterattacks, she dismantled his form in a few swift moves, knocked him flat onto the flagstones, and bolted from the immediate area.
The exact second she broke away, the pursuing eunuchs flooded the courtyard, instantly locking the assassin in a brutal, desperate melee. Swords clashed violently in the dark. Several eunuchs sustained heavy wounds before they finally managed to overpower the intruder, shackling him to be dragged off to the dungeons.
Once the guards departed, a profound, eerie silence settled over the courtyard, broken only by the soft rustling of autumn leaves in the wind.
A few minutes later, the heavy thud of boots echoed once more as a secondary squad of eunuchs returned to meticulously scour the architecture for accomplices.
“Move out! There’s no one else here!” the leading eunuch barked, waving his arm. His subordinates fell into formation, and the squad evacuated the sector completely.
High above, the dense green leaves of an ancient tree rustled softly.
Lan’er dropped silently from a thick branch, landing lightly on her feet before quickly slipping away through the shadows.
No one realized that the moment her boots touched the ground, her eyes were blazing with a brilliant light.
Earlier, when the assassin’s blade had sliced toward her throat, the intense spike of adrenaline had broken the mental fog. Her hand had instinctively reached toward an empty void, trying to summon a longbow from her inventory space—and in that singular microsecond, the floodgates of her mind had torn wide open.
She wasn’t Lan’er at all! She was Lu Yunxi! She was currently trapped inside the third trial of the ancient entity’s gauntlet!
She waited patiently for a few minutes, scanning her surroundings, but the illusion showed absolutely no signs of dissolving.
Her brow furrowed in annoyance. She had operating under the assumption that recovering her true memories would automatically clear the trial, but reality was proving far more complex. Left with no other choice, Lu Yunxi was forced to resume her role, acting the part of a humble palace maid.
Now that her memories were intact, she no longer suffered from the agony of starvation; her personal inventory space was overflowing with an endless supply of premium food rations. Unfortunately, because the palace was teeming with prying eyes, she couldn’t share her bounty with Mei’er or the others without exposing herself.
Fortunately, their deprivation came to an abrupt end a few days later.
During a grand imperial banquet, Noble Lady Ji caught a sudden whiff of a rich fish soup. Her stomach turned violently, and she abruptly doubled over, vomiting right in front of the court.
The entire assembly was thrown into utter chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager rose from their seats in absolute shock, summoning the entire imperial medical staff to the hall with immense anticipation.
The head physician stepped forward to take her pulse, his eyes widening as he delivered the verdict: she was indeed pregnant.
The three most powerful figures in the empire instantly wept tears of profound joy. They looked ready to demand that Noble Lady Ji give birth to the child by the next morning. The rival concubines vibrated with pure, toxic envy, yet none dared to launch a covert attack against her; Noble Lady Ji was currently cocooned within the absolute, coordinated protection of the three highest authorities in the land.
To safeguard the imperial lineage, the emperor immediately issued a decree promoting her to the rank of Consort Ji, bypassing three entire tiers of the harem hierarchy in a single night—a legendary advancement entirely unprecedented in court history. Furthermore, she was officially relocated into the magnificent main hall of the Jinse Pavilion, a move that left the rest of the inner court burning with resentment.
As the old proverb went, when a single person ascends to heaven, even their dogs and chickens are elevated.
With Consort Ji securely established as the reigning favorite of the palace, the finest foods, rare delicacies, and luxurious silks flowed into her estate in an endless stream. The Jinse Pavilion transformed into a bustling hub of political activity overnight, and the very servants who had previously treated her with icy disdain now swarmed her gates to flatter her staff.
Fortunately, Consort Ji remained pragmatic; she recognized that her sudden elevation was entirely contingent on the child growing inside her womb. She quickly ordered a strict guard detail to lock down the courtyard, barring all casual visitors to ensure she could focus entirely on her pregnancy.
Mei’er and Lan’er never had to tighten their belts again.
During the expansion of her personal retinue, Zhu’er was finally located among the common labor pools and transferred into the inner circle. The original set of four attendants—Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum—was officially reunited inside the pavilion. Of course, the maid Ju’er remained the one originally assigned by the Bureau. Because Consort Ji had previously caught wind of her deep-seated resentment during their starving months, Ju’er’s status within the household was thoroughly downgraded, leaving her entirely isolated from the inner circle.
Time flew past in a blur. Under the hyper-vigilant care of the imperial apparatus, Consort Ji safely carried her pregnancy to term, giving birth to a healthy baby girl.
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager hid a brief flicker of disappointment at the child’s gender, but given that it was the very first live birth within the imperial lineage, they rationalized that a daughter would pave the way for sons. They showered the Jinse Pavilion with an astronomical haul of rewards.
The rest of the harem consorts let out a collective sigh of relief. After all, which among them didn’t dream of bearing the emperor’s true, firstborn son themselves?
Once Consort Ji’s delivery concluded, a tense peace returned to the inner court. The rival ladies reassembled their strategies, playing to their respective strengths as they launched a fierce, coordinated campaign to win the emperor back to their own pavilions.
