Chapter 21 The Emperor

  I don't know what kind of bad luck I had today, but somehow I managed to see all the masters in the palace. During the day, it was the various princesses and young masters, and at night, I even had the good fortune to meet the true dragon emperor. Wow, it seems that this trip through time wasn't a waste after all. God has really been kind to me.

  I was in the house with Mu Yan, still in shock as to why the Emperor would come. Before I could even react, the door was opened from the outside. A dignified and elegant old man wearing a bright yellow satin robe appeared before us. He wasn't young, but not as old as I had imagined, probably in his forties. Unlike the ancient old men I had envisioned, he didn't have a beard, just a clean face with a hint of dark circles under his eyes, revealing that he was a diligent and hardworking Emperor, which didn't match my previous image of an old lecher.

  I gazed at the emperor like this, and for a moment I forgot to kneel down and pay my respects. It was Mu Yan who, having seen more of the world than me, pulled on my hand and knelt straight down in front of the emperor, bowing his head and knocking his forehead against the ground with perfect propriety.

  The emperor's smile remained unchanged, and as Mu Yan knocked her head and lifted it up, he pulled her up with one hand and said kindly, "Get up, get up, just the three of us tonight, no need to be so formal."

  As he spoke, the emperor turned his head and looked at the empty plates on the table, and burst out laughing.

  I'm so embarrassed that I've lost face, being a foodie is nothing to be ashamed of, but being a foodie who's been ridiculed by the emperor is another story.

  I felt stifled in my heart, my face turned red, and I didn't know what to do, so I knelt down. Alas, after all, I'm just a slave, kneeling is fine, maybe kneeling will avoid being laughed at. It seems that I was born to be a slave, and I've become addicted to kneeling, how humiliating!

  The emperor saw me kneel down but didn't speak, he seemed to have no intention of letting me get up. He sat down on the stool with a plop and still didn't speak, leaving me kneeling at his feet. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Fortunately, Mu Yan was there, she somehow produced several plates of pastries from who-knows-where and placed them in front of the emperor, saying softly, "Your Majesty, these were brought by the concubine from her residence. If Your Majesty doesn't mind, please try some."

  Without hearing the emperor's response, after a few seconds, only a satisfied "en" sound was heard, saying, "Someone ate up the whole plate, this is what I like to eat, Mu Yan, do you have any more of this? Set it aside for me, I love it."

  "I didn't dare to speak up, and only heard Mu Yan slowly reply, 'I will report back to the Emperor, the concubines brought not many things, but if the Emperor likes them, the concubines can make some with their own hands.'"

  "Uh-huh, okay." The emperor was preoccupied with eating and simply responded briefly.

  I really didn't expect the emperor to be a foodie, and what's more, an uncultured foodie. Alas, poor emperor. I heard that in order not to let others discover his preferences, he would only eat three mouthfuls of each dish, even if it was something he liked. As a fellow foodie, I deeply sympathize with him.

  As I thought of this, I couldn't help but let out a faint sigh, and before I knew it, the emperor had already heard me.

  "What's with the sigh? I'm asking you..." was the emperor's voice.

  This time I'm done for, alas, Umanya, I really owe you an apology, borrowing your body and bringing mortal danger upon you. I was so tense that I didn't know what to say, swallowed hard, and stuttered, "Uh, uh, it's not me, the slave should die."

  I dare not say more, fearing that the more I explain, the more chaotic it will become. I'd rather admit my mistake and bow my head in apology.

  "Hmm? What makes you deserve death? Tell me." The emperor said slowly.

  "I was rude in front of His Holiness..." My voice was so soft I could barely hear it myself.

  "Impropriety? I'm afraid you were even more improper before I arrived!" The emperor's tone seemed to be sarcastic.

  Who would have thought that the old emperor would appear in the middle of the night? If I had known, I wouldn't have messed around with Mu Yan. Unfortunately, it can only be said that heaven wants me to perish!

  I didn't know how to respond, so I simply buried my face in the ground and refused to make a sound. Since the emperor was intentionally looking for trouble, I wasn't capable of resisting him anyway.

  Mu Yan knelt down beside me and said, "Your Majesty, it's not the concubine's fault. I didn't teach her properly every day. Manya grew up with me since childhood, like sisters, lost her sense of propriety, and broke the palace rules. Please forgive her for being young."

  After finishing speaking, Mu Yan bowed his head and knocked his forehead against the ground.

  "Get up, all of you, get up for me." The emperor said with some impatience.

  I didn't dare get up until Mu Yan reached out to pull me, and I only dared to stand up with the momentum, bowing my head and retreating to one side, not daring to look up at the emperor's face.

  "What is your name?" the emperor asked.

  Me? Is it me? Mu Yan pinched me before I realized that the question was directed at me.

  "My name is Umanya." I replied in a weak voice.

  "Xiuman Duoya, what a great name, but somehow the 'Manya' part doesn't seem to suit you."

  Is this sarcasm that I don't deserve such a good name? Humph, unexpectedly the old emperor scolds people and is quite skilled at it, without even using dirty words.

  "What's wrong? Have you become mute? You were speaking so fluently just now, how come you've become mute as soon as you see me?" The emperor asked relentlessly.

  Did I offend him somewhere, why did he rush to me as soon as he entered the house? Did he eat something wrong and his brain is broken? It's possible that this prince was not calculated by other concubines when he was a child, maybe he was left behind by some bowl of hidden red flowers, unfortunately, he hurt his brain.

  "What's wrong with you? What are you talking about?" I replied honestly.

  "Very well, since that's how it is, get out of My sight." The Emperor said, somewhat annoyed, slapping the table.

  "Yes." The old lady rolled her eyes and left Muran's room without looking back. As soon as she stepped out, she was startled by the commotion outside the door. "Wow," she thought to herself, "the Emperor is just taking a stroll after dinner, why bring so many people?" This guy not only has a screw loose but also has paranoid delusions.

  When I returned to the house, this room was where I lived with Yuèr, but at that moment she wasn't inside. No wonder, she had to take care of Mùyān's daily life and meals. Who knows what she might be doing right now? And tonight she still has to keep watch. Compared to me, a useless person, she is really capable of so much more. The capable ones work hard, while I, the disabled one, can just sleep more.

  I lay on that creaky hard bed, and for a while I couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning, thinking about everything that had happened since entering the palace.

  Alas, I've watched so many palace struggles, but as soon as it's my turn, I forget everything. It's only been a few days and I've already offended all the big and small characters in the palace. The worst part is that the emperor also dislikes me. With this going on, can I still survive in the palace? Will I be dragged out and buried tonight? The saying "you'll regret not having read more" is indeed true; if only I had watched more palace struggles earlier.

  Alas, the Zhou residence is still better, although there's a perverted Lord Zhou waiting for me. But compared to this imperial palace where I could lose my head at any moment, it's unknown how many times better. It's all because of that bastard Zhou Mulang, I was deceived by his appearance and believed him, now I regret it. I wonder how the Luoyue Tower is doing, when I get out, I'll properly become a madam, raise the best girls, wait for the emperor to have lustful thoughts, then in front of him, marry those girls off to others, let him be furious, resentful, and die from envy.

  I don't know how long I thought about it, how long I was angry, how long I scolded, and then I fell asleep in a daze. When I opened my eyes again, it was already daylight.

  Aw, Wu Xiaojie, wake up! A hand reached into my bed to shake me awake, and then casually lifted my quilt, letting sunlight shine in through the window, dazzling my eyes so much I couldn't open them.

  I narrowed my eyes and took a closer look. "Hey, isn't that Zhou Da Zhaojuan?" I remained lying down, teasing her from the bed.

  "Master, how did you come here? Don't you need to attend to the Emperor? Do you still remember that there is a humble servant like me in this world?"

  "Who dares to forget the great Miss Wu? She's someone who doesn't even give the emperor face. I say, Manya, how do you have such guts, actually offending the emperor?" Mu Yan leaned against my bed, smiling and asking.

  "It's normal to be nervous and scared, who knew the Emperor would suddenly appear? By the way, how was it last night?"

  "What's going on?" Mu Yan asked, pretending not to understand.

  "This? That? Are you sure you want me to say it directly?" I asked back with a serious face.

  "You say? I'm sure you don't dare say it!" Mu Yan said with a provocative expression.

  "Alright, I dare not say that, how is it after all?" This is a typical case of being invincible in words but powerless in action.

  "After you left, His Majesty had some snacks, drank tea, said a few words, and then left." Mu Yan said with an expression of indifference.

  "Is it gone?"

  "It's gone!"

  "Although you've only been in the palace for a couple of days, what's going on with this emperor? He can't possibly not like women, can he?" I asked incredulously.

  "Shh, you're speaking without a gate on your mouth, this talk will get us beheaded if it gets out." Mu Yan made a silencing gesture with his hand and said in a completely normal tone, "Anyway, that's how it is. Sigh, Wu Xiaojie, wake up, breakfast is ready."

  "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

  I was hungry last night, if it wasn't for the emperor's interference, I wouldn't have gone to bed on an empty stomach. Now that I heard we're going to eat, I immediately got up and dressed and washed up.

  Haha, Mu Yan's laughter came from behind.

  Ever since the last meal incident, I stopped having meals with Wang's aunt and others. Instead, I would ask the food bureau to send some dishes to me, and also asked them to send an extra portion of rice. After everyone finished serving Mu Yan for her meal, when they went to have their own meals, I would go back to my room to eat. Wang's aunt and others knew about this, but no one dared to say a word.

  After breakfast, I followed Mu Yan to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. This is probably a daily routine. We strolled along the way, digesting our food after the meal. When we arrived at the gate of Zhongde Palace, we saw Consort Shu, whom we had seen at the Empress's place yesterday. Today, she was still wearing that pink loose palace attire, with an icy expression on her face.

  The concubine curtsied to Empress Shu and greeted her. Mu Yan bowed slightly towards Empress Shu and paid his respects.

  "Hmm." The Empress's jade-like hand rose slightly, her face still expressionless and calm. Before Mu Yan could get up, she turned around and left.

  "What an arrogant Empress Shu!" I muttered under my breath.

  "Manya!" Mu Yan's cold voice rang out, and I wisely shut up.

  "Wow, Princess Zhou Shaoyuan is indeed a happy and spirited person. She's already here to pay her respects to the Empress so early." The speaker was surprisingly none other than Ruo Xiu, the arrogant dancer from yesterday.

  Mo Yan smiled but didn't speak, looking at her. Instead, the two people beside her were whispering something in her ear, speaking softly and laughing loudly, definitely up to no good.

  "What's all the commotion about? What are you few saying? Tell me, let me hear?" Empress Chen arrived, looking displeased at Rou Xiu, and asked.

  There was another person beside Zhenfei, who was He Jieyu, the one who cried bitterly yesterday.

  "Good fortune to Concubine Zhen!" The crowd bowed to Concubine Zhen in unison.

  "Nothing much, didn't Consort Shu hear about it?" Wu Xiurong said with a proud face.

  The Empress Dowager gave her a glance, indicating that she should stop being coy and speak quickly.

  Wu Xiurong pretended not to see, and continued, "Last night, after everyone returned from the Empress Dowager's place, the Emperor went to Zhou Zhaoyuan's place. This matter has already spread throughout the palace, doesn't Consort Shen know about it?"

  "What?" A faint voice came from beside Consort Xian, and upon looking in the direction of the sound, it was He Jieyu with a scowl on her face. However, that anger dissipated instantly, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

  "Hehe, I wonder what rumors are circulating. His Majesty told me about this last night, and it seems someone only heard half of the story and took it as the whole thing."

  The Empress Dowager didn't care, and smiled with a spring-like expression. After finishing speaking, she took He Jiayu's hand and entered the Zhong De Palace together.

  Wu Xiu Rong saw that she had not been humiliated by Zhen Fei, but lost face instead. With a furious expression, she led the other two into Zhong De Palace.

  It was just the two of us, Mu Yan and I, exchanging a smile, no longer paying attention to the masters of some palace behind us pointing and whispering, entering Zhong De Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.