Chapter 64 My heart sank.
As Cen Yuwei walked with Aunt Xueyu to the gate of Qionglin Garden, eight palace maids holding incense and fans shaded the sun.
Behind him followed a group of graceful concubines of various kinds, stretching as far as the eye could see.
A group of people walked towards us from a distance, chatting and laughing.
Xiao Guizi, who was sweeping, was so frightened that her legs trembled. After a while, she came to her senses and hurriedly ran to the backyard.
Upon seeing Yunxi in the courtyard, Xiao Guizi hurriedly said, "Beauty Yun, Beauty Yun, outside!" His finger trembled as he pointed to the outer courtyard and said, "The Empress and many concubines are walking this way."
Yunxi paused.
Knowing that these people were definitely here to cause her trouble, she jumped onto the roof without saying a word, using the swing set.
The palace maids and eunuchs stared in shock.
Just as Yunxi was about to climb over to the neighboring yard, she paused, turned around and said, "Remember to say I caught a cold and disappeared early this morning."
After giving her instructions, she vanished in a flash.
The remaining palace maids and eunuchs looked at each other, their faces instantly turning pale with grief.
When Cen Yuwei entered, all the palace maids and eunuchs in the courtyard knelt down in unison.
Glancing at them, Xueyu asked, "Who are you?"
Although the older Qiuyue was trembling all over, she still braced herself and answered respectfully, "Replying to Your Majesty, we servants were all assigned by Eunuch Fu to serve Consort Yun."
Consort Xue chuckled softly, fanning herself with her round fan. "A seventh-rank beauty has been given four servants. His Majesty truly dotes on her."
"The rules of the harem are practically meaningless to her," Consort De said with a smile.
These words undoubtedly offended the head of the six palaces.
Cen Yuwei's expression was naturally unpleasant. She stared at the palace maids and eunuchs at her feet and asked coldly, "Where is your master?"
Qiuyue lowered her body even further and said respectfully, "Your Highness caught a cold and went out alone early this morning. Perhaps you got lost on your way to pay your respects to the Empress."
This is clearly fabricated and an attempt to cover it up.
"If you can't even serve your master properly, what are you servants for?" Cen Yuwei coldly rebuked, then gave Aunt Xueyu a look.
Aunt Xueyu immediately led people to go inside the house and searched around, and Yunxi was indeed not there.
She shook her head.
Cen Yuwei secretly clenched her handkerchief.
That sly Yunxi is really slippery; she must have escaped long ago.
"Since you were specially summoned by Eunuch Fu, although it is against etiquette, I will not pursue the matter for now. Tell your mistress that once you enter this palace, you must abide by the palace rules. If anyone dares to disrespect the ancestral laws, then don't worry, I will not be polite." After saying this, Cen Yuwei led the group of concubines away.
Before leaving, Consort Xue said loudly, "She's obviously hiding from us. This Consort Yun is indeed someone who dared to escape from the palace. She clearly doesn't take the people in the harem seriously."
"That's a bit excessive." After glancing at the others, Consort Xian echoed.
Cen Yuwei, who was walking ahead, looked fine on the surface, but everyone knew that she was in a bad mood.
After they left, Yunxi returned to her room close to noon.
Hearing Qiu Yue's account, Yun Xi knew she wouldn't be so foolish as to go and get abused; in short, she adhered to the principle of running away if she couldn't win.
With her unparalleled lightness skill, if you can't afford to offend her, can't you at least avoid her?
As the morning light streamed through the academy, Lu Xiuran was unfolding the Book of Rites.
The early summer sun shines through the swirling mist.
This twenty-six-year-old Hanlin Academy scholar wore a sky-blue silk robe and loosely tied his dark blue hair with a wooden hairpin. He was like a bamboo in the depths of the forest, a pine tree in the mountain stream, or a plum blossom covered in snow, with a refined and upright appearance that seemed to stand apart from the world.
It truly embodies the saying, "A gentleman is like dew, untouched by the turbid world."
The three hundred students from impoverished families present looked at this legendary figure who had achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations at a young age, their eyes filled with admiration.
This man entered the Hanlin Academy when aristocratic families were in power. In just three years, he rose from a compiler to a scholar. He was fearless in the face of powerful figures and insisted on the Northern Expedition. He sold all his family property and donated his salary to open schools. He did not charge poor students a penny. When he saw outstanding students from poor families, this Lord Lu would even pay out of his own pocket to help them with their household expenses, paper and pens, food and lodging. He would also give lectures in the academy from time to time, and people of all social classes could come to listen.
To transcend ignorance and attain sainthood is to transcend social status and wealth.
Broken jade crowns were used as bricks and tiles, and torn brocade robes were used as sails for books.
In the eyes of the people, Lord Lu was not only an incorruptible official who served the country and its people, but also a man who cared deeply about the world and was a ladder to success for countless poor families.
Zhou Yan sat in the last row. Last night, he washed three hundred wine jars for the taverns in the East Market to scrape together enough money to buy a long robe. Suddenly, a voice as clear as the clinking of jade rang out from the front: "Today we will be discussing the Great Way in the Book of Rites. Does anyone understand the essential meaning of 'selecting the virtuous and capable'?"
Zhou Yan suddenly looked up and saw the young Lord Lu standing on the stage, his sleeves still stained with ink from when he was copying the test papers for poor students.
"Sir," Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and stood up. He stared at his shoes, which had been mended seven times, but his voice gradually became clearer. "The wise do not ask about social status, and the capable do not concern themselves with trivial matters. Just as the couplet at the entrance of Qingwu Academy says, 'The humble gate cannot lock the lofty ambition; the cold window always displays the heart to save the world.'"
The room was completely silent.
Lu Xiuran smiled approvingly, then turned and wrote the two characters 'Zhou Yan' in bold, powerful strokes.
"Come back after class to get your new workbook. You understand the 'Essentials of the Waterways Classic' that you annotated the other day better than the students from the Imperial Academy."
The lecture ended.
Wen Lin walked to Lu Xiuran's side with a heavy expression. When they were alone, he said, "Someone from the palace has come to report that Miss Yunxi has been found."
"What did you say?" The young Lord Lu stopped in his tracks, unable to hide his shock as he asked, "Where is she now?"
“In the palace, His Majesty bestowed upon me the title of Beauty,” Wen Lin replied.
Lu Xiuran gazed in the direction of the Forbidden City, remaining silent for a long time.
Seeing Lu Xiuran's solemn expression, Wen Lin reminded him, "My lord, you are to leave the capital for the north tomorrow by imperial decree, so we cannot interfere in this matter for the time being."
That night.
Lu Xiuran sat alone in the desolate back garden. Half a pot of cold wine spilled onto the Northern Expedition Memorial on the stone table. The light shimmering in the celadon cup was not amber, but a half-moon leaking from the eaves.
The night dew at the end of April condensed on the pine needles, falling like a curtain of broken silver.
Lu Xiuran's fingertips rubbed against the cloud pattern of the wolf head design, feeling a sharp pain from the roughness inside his sleeve.
The sound of the second watch drum drifted from the direction of the palace wall, startling the crows on the old willow. He tilted his head back and drank the cold wine to the last drop, but what burned in his throat was the past.
Six years ago, when he was in despair, she rescued him from the clutches of bandits. That night, to comfort him, she smiled and poured him half a bowl of wine, saying, "The sword spirit in Young Master Lu's writing should be nurtured with plum syrup brewed by Yunxi."
“Young Master, it’s time to muster the troops at the hour of Yin.” Wen Lin stood under the hanging flower gate.
His last drunken gaze fell upon the imperial city, where a glass dragon-head ornament perched on the eaves was holding the moon in its mouth.
At this time tomorrow, I should be watering my horse outside Juyong Pass.
As he was leaving, he could only watch helplessly as she was imprisoned in a cage once again, unable to even think of a reason to see her one last time.
The next day, when the concubines paid their respects to Cen Yuwei, the newly promoted Consort Yun was still not among them.
The same thing happened on the third day.
As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times.
However, before Cen Yuwei went to see Xiao Shenjing, he went to Chengqian Palace in person.
After the two talked for a while, Xiao Shenjing changed the subject, "Yunxi is just like that, Yuwei, please bear with her."
Upon hearing this, Cen Yuwei felt a chill in her heart.
She hadn't done anything yet, but Yin'an personally came to protect that slut.
My emotions surged, and the soreness in my chest brought tears to my eyes instantly.
"Your Majesty, I have failed you." Cen Yuwei wiped away her tears with her sleeve and suddenly knelt on the ground. "Since entering the palace, Consort Yun has claimed illness and avoided seeing Your Majesty. I have been afraid of her frail health and have not dared to discipline her strictly. But how can I control the other concubines in this way?"
Her thin shoulders trembled slightly. "Your Majesty, I am unworthy of your position. I only request to temporarily reside in a side palace to assist in managing the six palaces."
"Your Majesty!" Aunt Xueyu exclaimed in surprise, and all the palace maids and eunuchs in the room knelt down.
Xiao Shenjing stared at Cen Yuwei, who was prostrate on the ground, and after a few breaths reached out to help her up. "You know I didn't mean that,"
Cen Yuwei coughed for a while, her frail appearance angering Xiao Shenjing. "Why isn't your cough better yet? Those useless people from the Imperial Hospital."
She immediately said, "It's not their fault, it was because I was enjoying the cool air yesterday."
Wiping her mouth, she said softly, "Brother Yin'an, I know you feel indebted to Consort Yun, but if there are no rules and etiquette in the harem, everyone will inevitably cause chaos. So I want to send someone to teach Consort Yun the rules, which can also be considered as silencing the gossip."
To survive in the palace, one cannot always indulge Yunxi's whims.
After a while, Xiao Shenjing poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Cen Yuwei. He nodded and said, "She comes from a rough background and has a wild nature. We don't need to overcorrect her. The people we send out will need to be patient."
To avoid causing chaos later.
Cen Yuwei nodded.
Even the summer heat couldn't stop a chill from creeping up my heart.
"Your health is deteriorating day by day. I'll have the imperial physician come and take another look," Xiao Shenjing said with concern before leaving.
Cen Yuwei immediately shook her head and refused: "No need, Brother Yin'an, I know my own body."
On the way back to the Qianqing Palace, Xiao Shenjing instructed Fu Shun behind him, "Find a capable eunuch to keep a close eye on the movements in Qionglin Garden. Report to me immediately if anything happens to her."
He paused, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or someone else, "Yunxi's personality is just too unyielding."
This tone almost made Fu Shun ask, "Are you afraid that Miss Yunxi will suffer a loss, or that she will cause even greater trouble?"
But even if you gave Fu Shun ten heads, he wouldn't dare to ask such a question about the emperor's intentions.
The next day, the sun climbed high above the flying horn.
“Lady Liu.” Cen Yuwei stroked the five-colored cloud pattern on her sleeve, her voice like a jade chime soaked in well water. “You have been in charge of the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau for ten years. Go and teach this Lady Yun how to perform the morning and evening greetings.”
After Liu Shanggong left.
Cen Yuwei looked at Xueyu beside her and said, "Aunt, go and ask Deputy General Cen to send me a few skilled martial artists. I want to see just how good that slut's martial arts are."
Huizhou.
When Fan Zishi met Xiao Bei, he already knew that Yun Xi had been found and brought back to the palace.
But then Xiao Bei recounted the details of what had happened in detail.
Upon hearing that Yunxi and Xiao Shenjing were sharing a room, the young Lord Fan gripped his book tightly and remained silent for a long time.
When Xiao Bei recounted how Yun Xi, under the influence of alcohol, secretly passed him a note asking him to make a contraceptive soup, Fan Zishi's eyelashes trembled, as if he couldn't bear it.
Even Xiao Bei noticed that something was wrong with him and couldn't help but stop and ask, "Sir, what's wrong?"
Fan Zishi sat in the jujube wood official's chair, and after a long while looked at Xiao Bei and asked, "Did you give her the contraceptive?"
"I gave it to her." Xiao Bei nodded, then knelt on the ground and asked, "Master, what should we do now? The young lady definitely doesn't like staying in the Forbidden City, and her personality isn't suited to it."
Yes, everyone knows that Yunxi is not suitable for the Forbidden City.
She is the wind, she is the wildfire; she should be unrestrained and free.
But some people will stop at nothing to keep her in a cage.
Chen Da cautioned, "Last time when Miss Yunxi escaped from the palace, the people from the Surveillance Bureau appeared around us. It's clear that His Majesty already suspects you, sir. We shouldn't act rashly this time, otherwise His Majesty will definitely settle scores with us."
Fan Zishi was well aware of this, but how could he stand by and watch Yunxi suffer in the palace?
How could that be?
Qionglin Garden.
Early in the morning, Yunxi was dragged out of bed by Liu Shanggong, who said that she was being taught palace etiquette by order of the Empress.
Based on her principle of not wanting to provoke these concubines in the harem, Yunxi patiently cooperated.
She figured that finishing the course as soon as possible would relieve both of them; she had already used all her patience in studying.
But this Lady Liu was clearly doing it on purpose, always finding various reasons to criticize her, and her words were always dismissive and sarcastic.
Yunxi held back.
Gritting his teeth, he balanced the bowl on his head again.
"This beauty's legs are so masculine, they don't have a trace of femininity."
Before Yunxi could take two steps, Liu Shanggong tapped the back of her knee heavily for the third time with the jade ruler in her hand.
With a "crack," the porcelain shattered; Yunxi had smashed the fifth celadon cup.
Liu Shanggong stared at her with a serious expression. "This Liuyun Fengjun tea ceremony, Your Highness learned it in just three hours and was praised by the Emperor." Liu Shanggong used a ruler to brush aside Yunxi's slightly sweaty hair, and the jade bracelet clattered against the golden nanmu table. "You've certainly brought good luck this morning by breaking things."
"Has Shanggong heard of the custom in Longxi, where breaking a cup is used as a signal?" Yunxi rubbed her knees, her embroidered shoes landing squarely on the trailing hem of Liu Shanggong's pheasant-patterned skirt.
"I have never heard of that," said Lady Liu with a straight face, but smiled slightly. "However, when I was young, I served a lady who rose through the ranks from the laundry department, and I know best how to turn coarse linen into brocade."
Yunxi glared at her. How dare she call her coarse linen?
The palace maids and eunuchs brought by Liu Shanggong couldn't help but lower their heads and laugh.
The people in the palace are best at flattering the powerful and fawning over the weak.
The empress and a seventh-rank concubine naturally knew who to curry favor with.
Then, Lady Liu had new teacups served.
Yunxi just wanted to rest quickly, so she endured it for a while and then accepted it.
"When serving tea, straighten your back, lower your shoulders by three inches, and lower your chin by seven-tenths." Before she could do anything, the gilded dragon head on Liu Shanggong's ruler suddenly poked into her lower back. "This spine is as hard as the poplars in the Gobi Desert."
I finally learned how to serve tea.
Liu Shanggong then made Yunxi kneel down, saying, "These concubines of the six palaces must pay their respects to the Empress every morning and evening."
"Before the fifth watch drum has ceased, when kowtowing, one must press one's forehead against the blue brick for three breaths, and the beads hanging from one's hair must not touch the ground. When rising, one must not step or circle, and must not strike each other or make any noise."
Yun Xi suddenly looked up. "What time did you say?"
"The fifth watch."
Yunxi sneered inwardly.
Should she be made to visit Cen Yuwei every morning before dawn?
Xiao Shenjing really dares to think big.
"When holding a round fan, the little finger must be raised like a crescent moon, and when catching butterflies, it must not be higher than shoulder height. When encountering a high-ranking concubine, one must retreat behind a Taihu rock to adjust one's crown before bowing. If one is traveling with the emperor and empress, one's lotus steps must crush one's own reflection to avoid offending the emperor's countenance."
Lady Liu was measuring the distance between her temples and earlobes with a jade ruler: "The palace rules are strict. Back then, Consort Zheng was given poisoned wine because she showed eight teeth when she smiled."
As she spoke, Liu Shanggong, disliking Yunxi's expression, reached out and pinched Yunxi's face.
Yunxi had long since reached her limit and slapped Liu Shanggong across the face.
With a resounding "smack," Liu Shanggong received a solid slap on the face. She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
She covered her aching face, trembling with rage. "How dare you hit an old woman like me?"
Even the Empress had to give her some face, and she wouldn't easily offend any of the concubines in the palace. But no one expected that a beauty would be so arrogant.
Lady Liu was a proper fifth-rank official.
Yunxi was merely a seventh-rank beauty.
"So what if I hit you? You're taking advantage of my age and acting like you're superior. Get out of here right now." Yunxi brushed the dust off her knees and said impatiently.
Yunxi longed for a peaceful life, so she endured it all day.
Once she learned these rules, Cen Yuwei would stop bothering her. However, it was clear that the other party was sent by Cen Yuwei specifically to deal with her.
Liu Shanggong was clearly unwilling to swallow this insult and was about to take action when she was pulled back by a palace maid behind her.
Neither of them knew what to say, and Liu Shanggong's expression gradually calmed down.
She covered her face and glared at Yunxi, "You have no regard for palace rules and regulations, I cannot teach Consort Yun."
He turned and left.
As they reached the door, Yunxi said, "Wait."
"What are you going to do?" Liu Shanggong instinctively covered her face.
Yunxi sat upright in the chair, staring at her expressionlessly. "Go tell your mistress not to bother me. If you have the ability, get me out of the palace, and I will never appear in front of her again."
Liu Shanggong gave her a strange look.
As soon as she left, several palace maids and eunuchs knelt down.
Qiu Yue's eyes welled up with tears of fear. "Miss, if you offend Consort Liu, you've offended the Empress. What should we do?"
“Even if I don’t make a move today, Cen Yuwei will find every possible way to torment me.” Yunxi took a sip of tea and said, “Qiuyue, go and find Fushun.”
"Looking for Eunuch Fu?" Qiu Yue was stunned, her eyes brimming with tears.
Yunxi nodded and said without hesitation, "Go find him, or if that doesn't work, go find Dao Yi or Dao Er, either one will do. Tell them that if they don't come, any trouble that happens today will be their fault."
Xiao Shenjing's women are so annoying, so incredibly annoying.
When will this constant scramble for favor ever end?
The more he thought about it, the more he loathed Xiao Shenjing.
Yunxi made excellent arrangements. After beating Liu Shanggong, she summoned Xiao Shenjing's men to prevent the Empress from using the opportunity to cause trouble.
She never expected that Qiuyue would be intercepted as soon as she went out.
Before a cup of tea could be brewed, Cen Yuwei led a group of people and rushed in.
Yunxi was shocked.
Staring at Liu Shanggong's swollen face, she finally realized that Cen Yuwei had been waiting outside.
Lady Liu was merely bait she had laid out to lure her out.
Soon, the palace maids and eunuchs brought by Cen Yuwei surrounded Yunxi.
Yunxi stared at Cen Yuwei at the door and sneered, "You've really gone to great lengths to deal with me, Cen Yuwei."
"How dare you!" scolded the palace maid beside Aunt Xueyu.
Cen Yuwei stared at Yunxi and rebuked her, "What an ignorant and disrespectful brat! Lady Liu is a fifth-rank female historian in official robes, and her responsibility for instruction is as great as mine personally. You, a mere newly appointed concubine, dare to slap a palace official! This slap is not just directed at Lady Liu; it is clearly an act of contempt for ancestral laws!"
As she spoke, her voice rose, "Yun Meiren has committed an offense against her superiors. According to the law, she shall be given fifty strokes of the cane as a warning to others!"
"Fifty strokes of the cane? If you want to beat me to death, you might as well just say so." Yunxi was so angry she laughed.
"What are you standing there for? Catch him and punish him in public as a warning to others," Cen Yuwei said angrily.
As soon as she finished speaking, a group of palace maids and eunuchs rushed towards Yunxi.
Yunxi originally thought that a few sweeping kicks would be enough to send these palace maids and eunuchs flying, but she didn't expect to run into several tough opponents with her kick.
She exclaimed in surprise, then had to take it seriously.
As the fight progressed, he frowned more and more, realizing that these people were clearly highly skilled martial artists.
Once she's caught, fifty strokes of the cane will leave her either dead or crippled.
We absolutely cannot get caught.
But two fists can't fight four hands. Not to mention that she was facing eight people who knew martial arts.
She was quickly punched hard in the back, and was forced to fall forward, crashing into the bookshelf.
Amidst a series of clanging sounds, her vision went black. She heard the wind of fists approaching and, without a moment's rest, Yunxi gritted her teeth, punching a burly eunuch flying. Then, she turned and grabbed a vase, smashing it at the people nearby. Pretending to break through towards the door, she abruptly turned and ran to the side as a group of people attacked her.
He grabbed a piece of broken porcelain from his sleeve and fiercely stabbed it at Cen Yuwei.
She always believed in the principle of "capture the king first to catch the thief."
"Stop!" The moment the dragon-patterned boots stepped across the threshold, Xiao Shenjing saw this scene.
Before he could finish his furious words, Yun Xi had already grabbed Cen Yuwei and pressed a shard of porcelain against her throat. Her face was filled with murderous intent. "Don't move, or I'll kill her."
Xiao Shenjing strode across the threshold, his black casual clothes with wide sleeves carrying the damp heat, and the jade belt at his waist jingling with golden bells.
He swept past the kneeling palace servants and stepped through the door, his phoenix eyes fixed on Cen Yuwei's neck, and he shouted, "Yunxi, let her go."
Seeing this scene, Dao Yidao Er's head was already starting to ache.
Yun Xi, suppressing her surging anger, glared at Xiao Shenjing and said, "Take a good look at who Cen Yuwei brought. She wants to publicly punish me with fifty strokes of the cane. If I don't intervene, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yunxi felt Cen Yuwei's neck thrust forward forcefully, and a sharp piece of porcelain instantly slashed her throat.
Xiao Shenjing's expression changed.
“Yunxi”
Well, it seems that those skilled in palace intrigue are ruthless and unscrupulous.
I can't beat them!
She lost this battle.
She let go and took a few steps back.
"Brother Yin'an," Cen Yuwei said, clutching her bleeding neck and walking toward Xiao Shenjing with a look of despair.
Xiao Shenjing stepped forward to catch her. "Quickly, summon the imperial physician for me."
He picked up Cen Yuwei horizontally and looked at Yun Xi, saying coldly, "Consort Yun has repeatedly violated palace rules. Effective immediately, she will be fined half a year's salary, confined to her quarters for three months to reflect on her mistakes, and shall not leave the palace without being summoned. No one is allowed to visit her."
Cen Yuwei trembled violently, looking at Xiao Shenjing in front of her in disbelief.
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