Chapter Twenty-Four: The Palace Maidens

  It's strange to say, since Meiyan entered the palace, it was no longer a strange thing for her to receive special attention from the emperor.

  After entering the palace, the emperor came to Lingbo Hall every day to report, although he didn't stay overnight, but the rewards were not less than those who had served before. Whatever new and rare things others had, Mu Yan had never lacked them, and what others didn't have, Mu Yan also had a lot of. Moreover, among many new palace owners, Mu Yan was still the highest-ranking one, although there were rumors in the palace, it did not change this situation at all.

  But since that night, everything seems to have changed. The emperor left early and never showed up again, and even the rewards stopped after giving a bunch of plain palace clothes. The empress also sent someone to say that she didn't need to visit her anymore, and it was good for her to stay in the Lingbo Palace to recuperate, and even arranged for a handsome doctor from the Imperial Medical Bureau to take her pulse.

  In this way, Meiyan also pretended to be ill and conformed to the emperor's wishes. Every day, she wore the plain white clothes bestowed by the emperor and didn't even step out of Lingbo Hall.

  It's really hard to predict the emperor's favor, that elegant and refined emperor probably did the same as all men do, once he encountered a setback with one woman, he retreated and turned to find another woman.

  Alas, men are all the same throughout history. For the sake of face, they will never resolutely choose a woman and move forward with her. As a species that thinks with their upper and lower body separately, in the end, they still choose desire over love. I've heard this stems from primitive impulses and the concept of passing on one's lineage.

  After that, rumors about that night in the palace never stopped.

  Some say that Mu Yan pretended to be elegant and disturbed the emperor's interest, and the emperor had no other choice but to leave because he had many wives and couldn't find another one like Mu Yan. Others say that the emperor never liked Mu Yan, and the previous rewards were just to avoid being known as a stingy palace owner; otherwise, why would he not have favored her even once? There are also those who say that Mu Yan was a sorceress who could cast spells, and the emperor had been enchanted by her before. However, the emperor is the true dragon son of heaven, with a strong aura, and every day, thousands of people pray for his well-being, so Mu Yan's magic gradually lost its effect, and the emperor saw through her true nature and found someone to subdue her. The so-called "nursing illness" in Lingbo Hall was just a false image to shut people up.

  There are many rumors in the palace, these ancient people's imagination is so rich, not being a paparazzi entertainment reporter would be a waste of talent. What the truth is, no one knows.

  I asked Mu Yan why it would be like this, every time, she was in a careless manner, smiling lightly, lightly, as if everything had nothing to do with her. What can I do about it? Let's just follow the arrangement of fate.

  I don't know when it started, but my relationship with Mu Yan began to fade away, becoming as distant as it was before she entered the palace.

  I'm not a person who follows the crowd, but I've noticed that Mu Yan's attitude has changed, becoming more indifferent. It's become so indifferent that it makes me feel like the Mu Yan who used to laugh with me, play with me, and take revenge for me never existed. Maybe indifference is her protective color, or maybe that's what she's really like.

  The change is not just Mu Yan alone, but also others in the palace.

  Although I don't often go out, apart from Xiaorongzi and a few others, I've heard some rumors about Muyan in the palace. It seems like no one else cares about the people in Lingbo Hall anymore. Even Lin Gonggong, who used to fawn all over me, doesn't come visit anymore, and the things he sends over are getting fewer and worse. I don't really care about anything else, but even the food is not as good as it was when I first entered the palace.

  Mu Yan didn't say anything, but seeing the plain and unappetizing vegetarian dishes, as well as the meager amount of rice, I couldn't bear to eat with her anymore. After all, she was the mistress, while I was just a lowly maid who came with the marriage. In the past, when Mu Yan was favored, she wouldn't have cared about such things, but now it was different.

  Helpless, I had to swallow my pride and return to the back hall with Wang's aunt and them. Fortunately, although they were unwilling in their hearts, they did not make things difficult for me on the surface.

  Half a month later, Xiaorongzi and Zizi, Rui'er three people were called back by Lin Gonggong on the grounds that there were not enough hands, and were arranged to go to other masters.

  Everyone knows that this is just a "correct" choice for slaves to move towards higher places.

  The three of them left, and I thought that would be the end of the meal problem. But who knew, that damned Food Bureau sent over a reduced portion of food, and the dishes were even thinner than before, so thin you could see exactly how many pieces of vegetables were in the bowl.

  Alas, it's been a month now, and I haven't had a full meal in an entire month. You know that Umanya herself is only 15 or 16 years old, still a minor, at the age where she should be growing physically. Her originally not-so-voluptuous bust seems to have shrunk quite a bit after this month of ordeal. As a modern woman of the 21st century, how can I tolerate such a tragic thing happening to an underage girl?

  I made up my mind to sneak out of the palace at night, taking advantage of the darkness. I put on a cloak and slipped out of the Lingbo Hall in search of food.

  In the palace, it is not allowed to move around at night, so I often take advantage of the night to bother Gatekeeper Gong and ask him to deliver messages outside the palace for me. Thinking back on everything that happened before, wasn't it all preparation for tonight's patrol? I've already lived in this imperial palace for three months now.

  I had just entered the palace in the midst of a scorching summer, but now autumn has already arrived. The autumn night is cool as water, this is no exaggeration. I pulled the cord on my neck tighter, wrapping myself tightly in my cloak, and wandered idly in the depths of the palace with my hands and feet shrunk in.

  This trip is for food hunting, so the target location is locked in, Shang Shi Ju.

  I had never been there before, but I asked Wang Auntie about it during the day. Although she still looked like a creditor who was owed money, she wasn't a bad person and carefully told me where Shang Shi Bureau was located. Since she helped me solve my problem with such kindness and didn't betray me like Xiao Rongzi did, serving Mu Yan wholeheartedly, I decided to forget about the past and befriend her. Maybe that's what they mean by "not fighting means not knowing each other".

  The palace is grand, but it also has its own rules. In the past, strolling through the Forbidden City in Beijing, I only felt dizzy and admired those who were deep in the palace and never got lost. After entering the palace, I learned from the guidance of the gatekeepers that there are indeed rules to follow. Simply put, there are three characteristics: central axis symmetry, left ancestor right society, front court back bedroom.

  It's not hard to find the Imperial Food Bureau, but it's difficult because this is a place where the emperor eats, and like many restaurants, there are signs that say "Kitchen off-limits, no entry for idle people", easy to find, but hard to sneak in.

  Fortunately, this young lady is a very patient person. Ah, saying this makes me feel guilty, but at least when it comes to eating, I am very patient. At night, there were originally few people around, until the last two little eunuchs finished their work and sat down at the door, starting to chat and joke. Seeing them secretly drinking wine that was not suitable for their status, after a few cups, they became flushed and hot-headed, chatting away without any inhibitions.

  I sneaked to the back of the house, gently lifted up the unlocked window, and oh, this window was so light that it opened with just a slight creak. The salted chicken in front of me seemed to be beckoning me. I stuck my head inside, slowly leaned forward, but oh no, my back got stuck on the windowsill, seemingly unable to move forward. All I could do was pray for Umaanya to grant me a pair of long arms. With one effort after another, I strained towards the salted chicken, almost there, just a little bit more... Whoa! Finally caught you! I grabbed hold of the chicken leg and pulled my hand back out, slowly straightened up, and carefully withdrew my upper body that was stuck in the window. Then I gently closed the window.

  I gazed at the chicken in my hand, and I thought to myself that there's no food more adorable than this. I couldn't help but laugh lewdly as I sized up the naked poached chicken, saying "Haha, little treasure, you're finally mine."

  Heh heh, chuckled to himself, afraid of startling the two wine ghosts in front, regardless of whether there was oil or not, he hid the chicken in his arms and ran back quickly along the way he came.

  All the way, I unconsciously sang, "Today is a good day, everything I want can come true..."

  But at this moment, a sound came from the darkness, it was a man's voice, "Who is singing in which palace?"

  A dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows, presumably he was the one who had spoken.

  It's a well-known fact that one can't move around freely in the depths of the palace. If I were to sneak out at midnight and break the rules, how much trouble would this person in front of me be in?

  At this point, I didn't feel the slightest bit afraid in my heart and asked back without any fear, "Which palace are you from? Roaming around everywhere at midnight, aren't you afraid that I'll tell your master?"

  I replied like this, and the other party must have expected it. At this time, he didn't answer me, but took a few steps forward, walked out of that dark shadow, and through the twinkling lights, I saw his outfit more clearly.