Chapter Fifteen: The Palace Gate

  After leaving the Zhou residence, our group of people set out on the road to the imperial palace. It was already deep into the night, and the summer evening was sweltering, making us sweat all over as we walked. I really don't know why we had to get up so early to pack up, after being tired for a whole day, and still have to rush along on the road in the middle of the night, it's really unbearable.

  "This road is too far, isn't it? Is the capital city really that big? Why did they build the imperial palace so far away? I'm almost getting flat feet from walking, I muttered to myself."

  I don't know how long I walked, but finally saw the shadow of the imperial palace in the distance. The high walls and glazed tiles were shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see its exact appearance. However, huh? There are many people up ahead, with sedan chairs similar to Zhou Mu Yan's. They should all be young masters waiting to enter the palace. This emperor is really lucky, having so many beautiful wives at once. No wonder everyone wants to be an emperor.

  As we walked to the front of the crowd, our sedan chair stopped on the outside of the crowd. Zhou Muyan gently lifted the curtain in front of the sedan chair and asked softly, "Sir, what's going on outside? Why did we stop?"

  The eunuch who followed, hastily bowed and replied, "Replying to Young Master, they are all the young masters who are about to enter the palace, waiting outside the palace gate, waiting to enter. It's late at night and it's cool, it's just that the slaves didn't do their job well, causing Young Master to delay his rest."

  Zhou Mu Yan smiled lightly and said slowly, "Your Excellency is worrying too much, I was just casually asking. Today is the day when the young masters enter the palace, it's natural that there are many people, and waiting is inevitable. Your words are too serious."

  The old man heard such an answer, and was naturally delighted in his heart. He didn't lose his courtesy, smiled and said, "Master doesn't mind, it's Master's magnanimity, and also the good fortune of a humble servant like me. Please trouble Master to wait here for a moment, I'll go ahead and take a look, then report back to Master."

  "Thank you, sir." Zhou Muyan said softly.

  The eunuch bowed and turned to walk into the crowd, but after a moment, he hurried back and bowed to Zhou Muyan, saying, "Young Master, I've made arrangements. You don't have to wait any longer, you can go ahead."

  "Thanks for your trouble!"

  As they spoke, the sedan bearers lifted Zhou Muyan's sedan and walked towards the crowd. The eunuchs guarding the palace gate had already cleared a path for us to exit, and after passing through the crowd, we arrived at the palace gate.

  Zhou Muyan got out of the sedan chair and ordered her maid, Yue'er, to reward those sedan bearers. Then she walked into the imperial palace with us.

  The gate of this palace is only about two meters wide, although it also has 81 door nails, but the momentum is quite different from what I imagined to be the grand gate of an imperial palace.

  My curiosity got the better of me and I asked the eunuch who was accompanying us, "Sir, why doesn't the imperial palace have a bigger gate? With such a small gate, won't the high-ranking officials have to queue for a long time every day just to get in?"

  Although my voice is not loud, it can make the people around me hear the song clearly. Zhou Muyan seemed to be somewhat annoyed and coldly scolded, "Manyah, don't be rude."

  Don't be rude! These four words sound like a commanding tone, and it's really unpleasant to hear. I muttered to myself, this little girl actually dares to scold me, do you know that I almost became your stepmother? Haven't you heard how Snow White's stepmother treated her? Hmph!

  The eunuch saw me pouting, with a huffy face, looked at me and smiled, "Haha, young lady doesn't know, the imperial palace has four gates, De Yang Gate, An Fu Gate, He Huan Gate, and Xuan Ming Gate. De Yang Gate is for the emperor's entry and exit, usually officials enter the palace from An Fu Gate. We are now walking through He Huan Gate, which is specifically for the ladies of the harem and slaves to enter and exit the palace, as for Xuan Ming Gate, this slave dare not speak, it's a taboo in the imperial palace."

  After listening to this explanation, I understood that the strange thing was that the door was so small. It wasn't for the emperor himself, but rather for the women in the harem who were only allowed to enter and not leave. For many years, apart from when the concubine entered the palace, it was usually only used by servants, so it being a bit simple was normal.

  I bowed and thanked him for his answer.

  Zhou Muyan seemed to still be annoyed by my earlier tactless words, her face cold and unyielding, not even glancing at me as she hastily walked ahead, until we entered her bedroom, Lingbo Hall, before finally speaking up.

  She smiled slightly and took a silver note from Yue'er, then handed it to the eunuch and said thank you.

  The eunuch accepted the silver ticket without declining, with a smile all over his face. He bowed to Zhou Muyan and congratulated her repeatedly, saying some auspicious words that could cheat people to death, then left.

  I followed Zhou Muyan into the Lingbo Hall, and surprisingly, it wasn't empty inside. There were people there, and when they saw Zhou Muyan arrive, they rushed over to kneel on the ground and ask about her well-being.

  "I'll go and pay my respects to Lady Zhou."

  The first one was a thirty-year-old middle-aged European woman, who said congratulations on her mouth, but she had a serious face, as if she were the master. She saw her unwillingly kneeling down to Zhou Muyan, and stiffly knocked her head, with no expression on her face, saying, "I am Yu Xiang, the housekeeper of Lingbo Temple, and I have come to serve Zhaoyuan."

  Good heavens, with her attitude and tone, I couldn't see who would have the good fortune to be served by her.

  Next was a plump little palace maid named Xi Yu, a small palace maid with freckles on her face named Xi Wen, a thin and weak little eunuch named Xiao Rongzi, and a clumsy-looking little eunuch named Xiao Fuzi, all of whom came forward to kowtow to Zhou Muyan and introduce themselves.

  Zhou Muyan seemed to have anticipated this situation, with a hint of fatigue on his face, but also with a few smiles, casually responding to a few sentences, giving silver, and letting the crowd retreat, leaving only Yuèr and me by his side.

  I really want to retreat, I've been busy all day and I'm already sleepy, my heart is thinking of my unknown bed, but unfortunately the master won't let me, so I can only wait here as a maid.

  Zhou Mu Yan ordered Ruo Yue to pick up things, turned around and pulled my hand into hers. My heart tightened, thinking, Zhou Niang, what are you going to act out with me?

  Her eyes were filled with warmth, but also a hint of discernment. Her face showed a tinge of melancholy as she tightly grasped my hand and said, "Manya, we've entered the palace now, from now on we can only rely on each other."

  I let her hold my hand, and for a moment I didn't know what to say in response to her sudden change, so I just hummed softly.

  She didn't seem enthusiastic to see me, just perfunctorily answering, and grasped my hand tighter, with a puzzled look in her eyes, "Manya, are you angry at me for what I said about you in front of your father-in-law?"

  I wouldn't dare admit it, or else I'd be showing how narrow-minded I am. I shook my head vigorously.

  She was half-believing and half-doubting, with a worried face, saying, "I absolutely did not intentionally mention you, it's just that inside the palace, there are many ears and eyes, if one is not careful, rumors will spread, I'm afraid it will lead to more trouble, otherwise, you can scold me when we get back, come on, scold me!"

  She said, and then pushed me to the bed beside, letting me sit down. She stood innocently on one side with her head hung low, just like a naughty kid who had made trouble and was waiting for the teacher's criticism and lecture.

  I didn't know she was right, but seeing her like this, I forgot to be angry and just found it funny. However, such a special request, except in Stephen Chow's movies, I've never heard of it before. If I don't use my right to scold, I'd be letting Master Star down.

  I cleared my throat, slammed my hand on the table and shouted loudly, "Mu Yan, do you know your mistake?"

  "I was wrong, master, please calm down." She really was willing to cooperate, bowing her head and saying quietly.

  Seeing her like this, I became even more playful and hummed again, asking in a sharp voice, "Oh, where did you go wrong?"

  Zhou Muyan never thought I would perform such a play, but since there was a prior agreement, she could only cooperate and said, "I'm guilty, I deserve to die ten thousand times, please complete it for me, master."

  "Alright, since you're seeking death, I'll grant your wish and give you a white silk rope." Before she could even react, my demonic hands reached out to her and started scratching her itchy spots.

  She didn't have time to dodge, so she simply resisted and shrank her body. I was taken aback by her sudden move, but she didn't show any weakness either. One of her hands directly attacked my chest, which hadn't fully developed yet. "Hey, little girl, you're actually using physical force! How can I not fight back if it's against my nature?" So I reached out to touch her full breasts. Seeing this, she refused to give in and countered with a grope of her own.

  We were playing inside the house, laughing and rolling around on the floor, our laughter was so intense that we were both exhausted, our faces were aching from smiling so much. In the end, I still lost to her, my hands were pinned down by hers, and my body was pressed firmly onto the ground. I had no choice but to beg for mercy, only then would she let me go.

  That night, I slept in Zhou Muyan's house. She said she wanted to be like when we were young, eating together, sleeping together, reading together, playing together and being punished together.

  I don't know what they've been through together, but I'll never forget the days that followed.