Chapter 76 The Weeping Palace Maid
"Does your Excellency have any ideas about the choice of empress?" Xiao Jin asked seemingly casually, but his fingertips tapped lightly on the imperial desk.
Yu Cheng was so experienced that he understood immediately and bowed, "If Your Majesty is interested in Yun Shangshi, I... your granddaughter will never dare to hinder General Yun's future."
Xiao Jin's smile deepened, with a barely perceptible hint of eagerness: "Does the Lord agree?"
"Yun Shangshi possesses both talent and virtue, and comes from a noble family. He is a natural choice." Yu Cheng's tone was calm and weighty. "The court is full of civil and military officials who understand the general situation. Your Majesty has no need to worry."
…
Before dinner, Xiao Tao flew into the Imperial Food Bureau like a cheerful bird, "Grand Chef! You're amazing! The whole palace is talking about your proposal to resettle the refugees! I thought we'd just killed all the rioters, but you've actually figured out a way to naturalize them! His Majesty is so pleased today, he's sending rewards to every palace like water!"
Her little face was flushed with admiration.
Yun Zhao was adjusting his temples in the mirror. He smiled indifferently upon hearing this. The figure in the mirror was cold and detached. "I just mentioned it casually. It's just some old stories I heard from my father. It happened to reach Your Majesty's ears. Don't take it seriously."
She didn't feel much joy in her heart, but rather heavy.
Wu Lingyu came in with a tea tray, her eyes as sharp as a hawk, sweeping across Xiaotao's innocence and landing on Yun Zhao's slightly furrowed brows: "Unparalleled glory? Shangshi, this overwhelming praise is like roasting on the fire. 'Good news'? I'm afraid the death spell is coming soon." She lowered her voice very low, with a cold reality.
Yun Zhao paused, the hairpin nearly slipping off his fingers. He smiled wryly and said, "Sister Wu... I'm worried about this matter. Is there any way... to escape?"
"Do you dare to resign?" Wu Lingyu said shockingly.
Yun Zhao suddenly raised his eyes and met Wu Lingyu's all-seeing gaze. His heart was shaken: "...I...will try."
Xiao Tao looked bewildered and asked anxiously, "You're doing well as a chef, why are you quitting? Sister Wu, what do you mean by that?"
"Fool!" Wu Lingyu scolded mercilessly, "This palace is in dire straits. Even if your brain is soaked in honey, you can't taste the saltiness! Get out!"
Xiao Tao's face turned pale after being scolded, her eyes instantly turned red, and she stood there frozen in place, feeling aggrieved and helpless.
"Xiao Tao," Yun Zhao immediately intervened, his voice gentle but unyielding, "Go check the newly arrived tea leaves and carefully check if they're damp. Be careful."
Xiao Tao felt as if she had been pardoned, and she choked with sobs as she retreated.
After they had left, Yun Zhao sighed, "Sister Wu, why do you have to do this? Xiao Tao has a pure heart and treats people with sincerity. Your coldness will only chill her heart."
Wu Lingyu sneered and put the tea tray down heavily: "A pure heart? This deep palace is a place to raise a pure heart? If you treat her well on the surface, she will be open-hearted and defenseless! Shangshi, how long can you protect her? Today's naivety will be the knife that others stab at her tomorrow! There are no true friends in this palace? Do you believe it?" Her eyes were like torches, piercing people's hearts.
Yun Zhao was speechless, feeling mixed emotions.
Wu Lingyu changed the subject, speaking with murderous intent, "And Cao Suzhu, her injuries have healed completely, but she was sneaking around the corner gate of the west side hall a few days ago. Perhaps she couldn't stand the loneliness and hooked up with another guard? Did the chef keep her for the New Year?"
Yun Zhao's expression returned to calm, and there was even a hint of indifference as if she was in control of the overall situation: "In this palace, the only ones who can truly care about me are you and Xiao Tao. Cao Suzhu? Let her jump around first, and deal with her. There is no rush." Her eyes were unfathomable.
Seeing that Yun Zhao was confident, Wu Lingyu said no more.
"Entering the palace is not my wish, and leaving... I'm afraid it's as difficult as ascending to heaven." Yun Zhao looked out the window at the deepening dusk, his voice filled with determination, "I will find a way to have the best of both worlds. Sister, whether it's the position of Empress or leaving the palace, don't mention it again in the future. Walls have ears, don't let me implicate you."
Wu Lingyu nodded silently, turned around to tend to her tea stove, leaving only a cold and stiff back.
Yun Zhao collected his thoughts and called the people from the catering department.
In a solemn and efficient process, each delicious dish was prepared, tested for poison, and plated. The chef in charge wiped his sweat and reported in a low voice on the purchase of ingredients.
In just a moment, eighteen delicious imperial meals were displayed in the Yanying Hall like ceremonial guards.
Xiao Jin enjoyed his dinner in a particularly pleasant manner, and the gloom that had accumulated between his brows was swept away.
He was in high spirits and suggested going to the Imperial Garden to digest his food.
Zhang Fuan was surrounded by eunuchs in public, while Xiao Guizi led people to guard in the dark.
The night wind in early winter was already chilly, and the palace servants had already put on thick winter clothes.
Xiao Jin casually asked about the charcoal expenses of each palace.
"Your Majesty," Zhang Fuan bowed, "Empress Yun has already made all the necessary arrangements. Charcoal firewood and cotton-padded clothes have been distributed to all palaces as per regulations. No one is short of supplies."
Xiao Jin nodded with satisfaction, gathered his new black fox cloak, and strolled in the garden.
The success of the refugee policy in the court today made him feel happy for a rare time.
“Woo… woo…”
A burst of suppressed, intermittent sobbing from a woman suddenly broke the tranquility of the night.
Xiao Jin paused, his brows furrowed in a frown. Zhang Fuan's expression changed, and with a glance, a young eunuch quickly followed the sound to investigate.
The joy in Xiao Jin's heart disappeared instantly, and he followed with a sullen face.
Behind the rockery by the lake, a little palace maid in thin old clothes, shivering with cold, curled up, tightly clutching a faded old silver hairpin in her hand, crying bitterly.
"How dare you, a slut!" the young eunuch leading the way shouted, "Who are you crying here and disturbing the emperor? What crime will you be punished for?"
The palace maid was so frightened that she fell to the ground, shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind: "I... I deserve to die! Please spare my life, Your Majesty! I... I didn't mean it... I just... just..." She burst into tears.
Zhang Fuan waved his hand to signal him to drag him away quickly.
Xiao Jin took a step forward, his cold gaze fixed on the palace maid's thin clothing, which was incompatible with the season. "Which palace are you from? It's already past the beginning of winter, why aren't you wearing cotton clothes?"
The maid lowered her head even lower, her voice trembling with despair: "I... I am from Zhaixing Tower... cotton-padded clothes... I have no share... I made a mistake and was punished... I am not allowed to wear cotton-padded clothes, and I only have one cold meal a day... I... I miss my mother..."
She clenched the worn hairpin tightly, as if it was her only source of warmth.
"Oh?" Xiao Jin's voice suddenly dropped to freezing point, and the chill emanating from his body was more biting than the night wind. "So, all the palace maids in Zhaixing Tower don't have cotton clothes to keep warm?"
The maid trembled even more violently, but dared not answer: "Reply... reply to your majesty... charcoal fire... there are... cotton clothes for the evening... but they were only distributed to the sisters in charge... I... I am new here, I don't have any old ones..."
Xiao Jin looked at the figure on the ground shivering in the cold wind, and the joy he had just felt completely turned into raging rage!
The former dynasty had just stabilized, and the harem dared to treat the palace maids so harshly, slapping him in the face!
"Lead the way!" Xiao Jin's voice was as cold as ice. "I want to go to Zhaixing Tower myself!"
He turned around abruptly, his black fox cloak drawing a sharp arc in the night wind: "Zhang Fuan!"
"The old slave is here!" Zhang Fuan's heart tightened and he thought to himself that something was wrong.
"Immediately summon the Imperial Palace and Clothing Bureaus, and have them come to Zhaixing Tower to see me!" Xiao Jin's voice echoed in the silent imperial garden, brimming with thunderous fury. "I must ask, where are the palace maids being allocated? Where are their winter clothes?! Do you want the world to laugh at me for being so harsh on the palace maids by not even being able to provide them with a few cotton-padded jackets?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down! I'll go and tell them right away! There must be a reason!" Zhang Fuan responded repeatedly, a layer of cold sweat on his back.
Xiao Jin said no more, his face as gloomy as water, and he strode towards the Zhaixing Tower, which was brightly lit but filthy.
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