The Way of Serving a Ruler

She was a palace maid in charge of needlework in the Imperial Household Department, but before entering the palace, she was also the daughter of a prominent family in Wu, skilled in poetry, painting, and embroidery.

Lacking the money for bribes, he entered the sewing workshop, a place where the sun never rises, and day after day buried himself in the weaving table, mending the servants' clothes that seemed to never be finished, walking the endless path of needlework.

Thinking she was in trouble, the girl immediately said, "I'll give you extra money!"

She paused for a moment, then her nervousness subsided, and she chuckled inwardly before finally managing to reply, "My monthly salary is a fixed amount in the palace. What Your Majesty requests is simply my duty, and I am extremely honored."

Although she was also from a prominent family, she had developed the ability to read people and survive in a large family since childhood. She could tell at a glance that this empress was the real young lady from a wealthy family and had no real concept of how to use money.

Money can make people blinded by greed, and it can also buy people's hearts, but not in the way she used it.

But it didn't matter, she understood. From that moment on, she, who was regarded as a discarded child by her family for refusing to become a concubine and who spent her days in a daze in the weaving room, suddenly had an ambition.

If that person remains the Empress, then she will become the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, in charge of all the money, food, and clothing entering and leaving the palace, so that no one can easily take advantage of her.

They actually deliberately made her an ill-fitting empress's robe that couldn't showcase her charm and beauty in the slightest.

Later, in the candlelight of Qiwu Palace late at night, Yanxiu was engrossed in reading, occasionally glancing with a smile at Yanxiu, who was embroidering beside her.

Because of the Empress's favor, she was often summoned to Qiwu Palace to do embroidery in front of the Empress.

Yanxiu's reason was that she wanted to learn the embroidery techniques of the Wu region, or perhaps the garment was extremely important and could not be kept in the weaving room; it had to be made in front of the Empress.

In reality, it was so that she could escape the eyes of those in the weaving room and be free to accompany them in the Qiwu Palace more often.

She asked Yanxiu why she wasn't directly transferred to Qiwu Palace to be her maid.

Yanxiu smiled, glanced outside, and said meaningfully, "With your talent, being a palace maid is a waste of your abilities. You deserve a better future."

She then whispered, "I am not a stable empress, and I am afraid that I will hold you back."

She immediately understood. The sharp-looking palace maid guarding the outer room, never leaving her side, was probably the one responsible for monitoring Yanxiu.

Her understanding of Yanxiu was refreshed once again: she wasn't actually that stupid; she just didn't know how to consider her own needs.

Although she was of low status and knew little about many things, she understood Yanxiu's situation with the emperor by observing that she had never encountered the emperor during all the times she had visited Yanxiu.

The number of beauties in the palace was increasing, and the weaving workshop was becoming increasingly large-scale. There were gold sparrow skirts, pleated gauze, and exotic Hu costumes that needed to be made. This was a fact that she knew.

Yanxiu said her position was unstable, but she did not want the palace to change empresses.

Yanxiu has no interest in this and probably won't compete for favor, so let her figure it out herself.

She first casually hummed "Midnight Song" from her hometown while doing chores, then sparked Yanxiu's interest in female musicians through conversation, and then encouraged Yanxiu to attend the palace's grand song and dance banquet, ostensibly to watch and learn.

Her premonition was correct. When the emperor saw Yanxiu, who never showed her face, appearing at the Yange Terrace filled with singing and dancing, wearing a plain satin phoenix pleated long dress tailored for her, his usually gloomy eyes lit up.

It turns out the emperor didn't dislike Yanxiu.

That's for sure; no man would dislike Yanxiu from her family.

Winning the emperor's favor is not difficult. Just do what the emperor likes, and don't set your own precedent.

Since the emperor enjoyed singing and dancing, she encouraged Yanxiu to choreograph the "White Silk Dance" from Jiangnan, but naturally she didn't let Yanxiu discover her intentions. She simply said that there were so many musical and dance performances in the palace, but most of them were foreign and vulgar music, and the Music Bureau should also have a place for the elegant and refined music of our Han people.

Yanxiu came from a prominent family, a family of Han Chinese gentry, and naturally recognized the superiority of his social class and cultural attributes.

As rehearsals for "White Silk" progressed daily, what was most remarkable was that she noticed a significant change in Yanxiu's state of mind.

The former Yanxiu could be described as elegant and aloof, even somewhat melancholic. Only in her presence could he occasionally show a cheerful smile.

But now, she could see that Yanxiu often smiled, and her casual glances revealed an undisguised brightness and exuberance.

Music and dance can indeed bring joy and relieve worries; otherwise, so many high-ranking officials and nobles would not be so infatuated with them, and there would be the saying "indulging in extravagance and revelry every night."

In her opinion, the former Yanxiu seemed to harbor a deep melancholy and unresolved worries. Her health was already frail, and if left unchecked, it might develop into a heart ailment, or even lead to a premature death.

She knew this very well because her mother had been locked away in the inner quarters, living a lonely and ostracized life until her death.

This directly led to her becoming the daughter in her family who had to leave her hometown and family to come to Jianzhang to wait for an opportunity, despite her outstanding talent and beauty.

Her efforts to entice Yanxiu to compete for favor, secure her position, and indulge in music and dance were at least partly motivated by the hope that she would not follow in her mother's footsteps.

Once a woman marries, she is destined to spend her entire life in the man's household or harem, whether she likes it or not, whether she is happy or not. This is a life she has no choice in.

Given this, she would rather Yanxiu grasp some tangible material things and happiness than live a life of self-pity.

Therefore, when she learned that Yanxiu was pregnant, she was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

This means that her persistent efforts have finally yielded solid results. Whether Yanxiu gives birth to a prince or a princess, they will be a strong support for Yanxiu and the rest of her life.

She knew very well that this child was the result of her painstaking planning, and she feared that she would never have such an opportunity again.

On the night Yanxiu made her first appearance at the Yange Terrace for a dance banquet, the emperor visited Qiwu Palace.

She wasn't there that night; instead, she stayed in the weaving room to finish making the silk costumes needed for the white ramie dance performance. Therefore, she was unaware of what happened that night.

However, when she rushed to Qiwu Palace early in the morning to deliver the sample garment, she was almost frightened by the scene before her.

In the center of the sleeping quarters, a writing table that Yanxiu often used was split in two. Judging from the blade, it was cleaved in two with a heavy weapon. Brushes, ink, and paper were scattered all over the floor, and several inkstones were broken into pieces.

The head maid, who was usually on duty outside, stood coldly at the entrance of the hall, ordering people to clean and tidy up.

Upon seeing her arrive, the aunt said irritably, "You maid from the weaving room, do you have too little work? You don't do any proper work and just wander around Qiwu Palace all day. Do you think everyone here is like you, neglecting their duties, not serving the emperor, and just enjoying themselves?"

Even if she were slow to realize it, she could tell that this was a veiled insult, because in the past, when she came, her aunt, though indifferent, never deliberately targeted her. In fact, her aunt ignored her completely; she came and went as she pleased. Her aunt seemed only concerned with ensuring that Yanxiu didn't drown herself or hang herself, and everyone else was practically nonexistent in her eyes.

Although she was young at the time, she was not easily intimidated. She smiled and said, "I am young, and when it comes to the way of serving my master faithfully, I should learn more from you, Aunt. I often come to Qiwu because I admire your demeanor."

This offhand remark actually silenced the aunt, who muttered to herself but no longer targeted her. Su Jinlan had already come out from the inner room of the bedchamber, gave her a wink, and immediately led her inside.

She only felt half relieved when she saw Yanxiu. Yanxiu was sitting in front of the mirror, being dressed and made up by palace maids, and she looked no different from usual.

She wanted to ask Yanxiu what had happened, but felt it was inconvenient to ask.

Madam Su said in a low voice, "His Majesty arrived suddenly last night. Since this is a rare occurrence, the situation in the palace was a bit chaotic. Please forgive me, Miss Zhao."

Su knew that she was the daughter of the Zhao family, the governor of Eastern Wu, and that they were practically from the same hometown, so he politely addressed her as "Miss Zhao".

Upon hearing this news, she was momentarily unsure whether to be surprised or delighted.

To her delight, this was the first time she had devised a plan for someone, and the result was unexpectedly good. At yesterday's banquet, she had noticed that although the emperor was surrounded by women on both sides, his eyes kept glancing in her direction. She just hadn't expected him to act so quickly.

To her surprise, the outcome didn't seem to be what she had expected. But out of pride, she couldn't bring herself to ask.

While Aunt Chu was still berating outside, Yanxiu suddenly raised her voice and coldly said to the outside, "If this happens again, Aunt Chu will only see my corpse when she sees it at dawn."

In her memory, Yanxiu had always been a gentle and refined young woman. The first time she saw Yanxiu get angry, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

If she had said anything else, Aunt Chu, being a senior member of the palace, would surely have retorted. But she said "saw my corpse," which struck a nerve with everyone in the palace. Even the usually unyielding Aunt Chu immediately fell silent. The entire hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop; no one dared to breathe.

Before and after this, Yanxiu never mentioned a single word about his relationship with the emperor to her.

To her, this person was as if he didn't exist.

From that day on, as she watched Yanxiu's belly grow larger day by day, she felt a mixture of joy and worry. She was happy because even if the emperor never set foot in Qiwu again, this legitimate son would still be Yanxiu and her support for the rest of their lives. She was worried because every time she saw Yanxiu's calm and patient demeanor, she would feel inexplicably uneasy.

She could sense that a huge storm was brewing in the heart of the quiet Yanxiu, but she couldn't guess what it was.

This child was practically brought about by her own hand, and even Yanxiu was completely unaware of her secret schemes. From that moment on, she secretly vowed that whether the child was a boy or a girl, she would do everything in her power to help him ascend the throne. Only in this way could Yanxiu rise from Empress to Empress Dowager and live a peaceful life in the palace, where beauties flocked to her, and jealousy and slander ran rampant.

At that time, she was merely a lowly weaver in a workshop, yet she was already plotting to seize the throne. No one in the entire dynasty could have imagined that she would one day become the soaring phoenix who single-handedly created the Great Yan Empire. Such ambition was not mere arrogance or overestimation of her abilities.

But man proposes, God disposes; she overlooked something crucial.

That is the premise of all these grand schemes and plans, which is the assumption that Yanxiu will spend the rest of her life in the palace.