Suiyu Pavilion is remote. After leaving Jingren Palace, the shortest route back will take you through the Imperial Garden in addition to the straight palace roads.
In addition, Xiao Yunzi said that the Emperor had ordered Zhen Huan to return to the palace later. Even though she was feeling unwell, Zhen Huan could only walk around the garden a few more times.
In the blink of an eye, Zhen Huan suddenly saw an old acquaintance.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Kang Luhai, who had already found a way to serve at Qixiang Palace.
Unlike his sleek and polished appearance a few months ago, he was now wearing a slightly worn-out outfit with slightly frayed cuffs.
His collar was stained, and he looked rather disheveled. It seemed that climbing the high branch of Qixiang Palace was not as easy as he had hoped.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be rushing over to greet her right now.
"This servant greets Consort Wan. May Consort Wan be blessed."
"It's Kang Luhai. Why aren't you with Consort Li? What are you doing here?"
Kang Luhai, with a smirk, said...
"Consort Li and Noble Lady Cao have gone to Jingren Palace to pay their respects to the Empress. This servant knew that Your Highness would pass through the Imperial Garden on your way back to Suiyu Pavilion, so I came here in advance to wait for you."
"Upon hearing that Your Highness has been promoted to the rank of Noble Lady, this servant has been wanting to come and pay my respects. However, I am usually busy with other duties, and His Majesty has decreed that no one should disturb Your Highness's peace and quiet."
"This servant has been waiting for this opportunity for so long, and it has finally come today."
"If Your Highness does not find this servant foolish, this servant would like to continue serving Your Highness. I will go through fire and water for Your Highness without hesitation."
Zhen Huan said, "Is that so? You are quite clever. But now that you are serving in Qixiang Palace, does Consort Li know about your thoughts?"
"Besides, I am just a noble person. How could I possibly ask Consort Xiang to ask for her person?"
Kang Luhai knew it wouldn't be easy to get Consort Wan to agree, but he didn't want to stay in Qixiang Palace for even a day longer.
He used to be a head eunuch in charge of the palace, but after going to Consort Li's quarters, not only was he not valued, but even a random palace maid could boss him around.
Consort Wan is more favored than Consort Li, and has a better temperament. If she could return to Suiyu Pavilion, although the head eunuch would be out of a job, with his abilities, he would eventually become the young lady's confidant.
As for what face is worth? It's worthless, not even worth a cornbread!
Kang Luhai said, "Your Highness is too modest. You are currently enjoying great favor from the emperor. It is only a matter of saying a word if you want something."
"If you just say the word, who would dare to refuse you?"
Cui Jinxi and Xiao Yunzi watched from the side, their faces full of mockery and sarcasm, though they didn't say anything.
Such is human nature; there are many people in the palace who fawn over the powerful and scorn the weak, but it is truly rare to see someone as foolish as Kang Luhai.
He looked around and assumed he was the smartest person in the palace, treating everyone else like fools!
Few can refute the young master's face, but why use it on someone like him who is ungrateful, disloyal, and unjust?
If the other concubines saw this, they would probably laugh at their Suiyu Pavilion behind their backs!
If Cui Jinxi and Xiao Yunzi both looked down on him, Zhen Huan would look down on him even less. Someone like Kang Luhai—you really wouldn't dare use him unless you had ten lives.
There was no need for her to refuse verbally; Zhen Huan saw Consort Li approaching with an imposing aura. She must have overheard most of what Consort Li had said earlier.
"He was sneaking around pretending to have a stomachache, but it turned out he saw that the pit of the living dead had suddenly popped up and he was thinking of climbing back up."
"I remember that His Majesty previously instructed the Imperial Household Department to arrange many palace maids and eunuchs for Consort Wan."
"What? The ones arranged by the Emperor are not enough for Consort Wan to do, so you've taken a fancy to this useless servant of mine."
Seeing Consort Li's burning jealousy, Zhen Huan knew that Kang Luhai was a minor matter; what Consort Li cared about was the favor she had received in recent days.
"Greetings, Consort Li."
"Your Majesty is too kind. It is Kang Luhai's good fortune to have gained Your Majesty's favor. Since he is your servant, how could my sister possibly ask him to serve her?"
Consort Li said, "At least he knows some rules, no wonder the Emperor favors him so much. Eunuchs are the most rootless things, they don't know anything else besides climbing the social ladder."
With a single glance from Consort Li, the palace maid standing beside her made Kang Luhai slap himself.
Those slaps not only hit Kang Luhai's face, but also embarrassed Zhen Huan.
Consort Cao watched for a long time and realized that Zhen Huan was also quite capable, so she offered a few words of advice.
After a long argument, Consort Li finally calmed down and stood with Noble Lady Cao at the entrance of Jingren Palace for a while. Upon receiving the Empress's reply that she was unwell and unable to meet, she turned and headed towards Yikun Palace.
*
Yikun Palace
Consort Hua was in a good mood at the moment, because the matter she had asked Zhou Ninghai to investigate had finally yielded results.
Although many years have passed, Empress Chun Yuan was still very famous among the wives of the emperor back then.
Countless people, both inside and outside the palace, have seen her, and the emperor, known as Big Fat Orange, is still obsessed with her.
So even though some people had forgotten her, they dug her out of their memories to cater to the emperor's preferences.
Zhou Ninghai hadn't yet won over Fang Ruo, who served in the Yangxin Hall. However, by chance, he overheard from an old nanny that this Consort Wan bore a striking resemblance to Empress Chun Yuan.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ninghai verified it and quickly reported it to Consort Hua.
"Your Majesty, this servant has inquired. Back then, when the Empress was pregnant, Empress Chun Yuan entered the palace to visit her pregnant sister."
"Who would have thought that the Emperor would fall in love with Empress Chun Yuan at first sight and insist on marrying her as his consort. After the marriage, she became his exclusive favorite, and it was once a beautiful story in the capital."
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