Qin Fang smiled slyly and said, "Miss, just follow me and you’ll know."
Song Jiyun had no expectations that a single sentence would make someone treat her differently, so she just wanted to strike up a conversation with Qin Fang. Hearing his words, she smiled and said, "This is my first time entering the palace, and I’m very nervous and a bit scared. Could you give me some advice on what to pay attention to when I reach that place you mentioned?"
Having seen countless shrewd individuals in the palace, even so, Qin Fang had to admit that among the people he had encountered, this young lady was one of the most clever.
People like her usually did not fare too badly, and besides, he was very clear about why Song Jiyun was entering the palace.
Of course, he would not be stingy with his kindness.
"Just be honest and respectful when you get there," he said. "Answer whatever the noble person asks and don’t try to be too clever."
The noble person?
Who in the palace could be called a noble person?
And what did he mean by not trying to be too clever?
Song Jiyun mulled over these questions in her mind.
Although she followed Qin Fang through twists and turns, she realized based on her memories from a previous life that she must be near Yongshou Palace at this moment.
Her heart raced.
Although her history was not very good, the current Emperor should be residing in Qianqing Palace, while the Back Palace was inhabited by concubines. Moreover, they entered through the back door of the Forbidden City, Shenwu Gate.
Could it be that she was going to meet Noble Consort Wan?
At this thought, she was startled.
Setting aside Noble Consort Wan’s temperament, the fact that Prince Ning had sought Noble Consort Wan’s nephew, Wan Shen, to speak on his behalf, and Yuan Yunzhong had been called into the palace just as she arrived in Capital City and had since disappeared, made her begin feeling uneasy.
She couldn’t help but ponder in her heart.
Suddenly, Qin Fang’s voice, tinged with a hint of a smile, reminded her, "Miss Song, watch your step."
Song Jiyun quickly snapped back to attention and looked down at her feet.
There was nothing but flat ground beneath her feet, not even a fallen leaf in sight.
Realizing that Qin Fang was reminding her, Song Jiyun hurriedly smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Qin."
Qin Fang nodded silently to himself.
Indeed, she was clever.
In no time, the two of them entered a courtyard, where agile and shrewd-looking palace maids came forward smilingly to greet Qin Fang, saying, "Eunuch Qin, the Noble Consort has been waiting for you!" As she spoke, she glanced at Song Jiyun and nodded with a smile toward her.
As the saying goes, the gatekeeper of the prime minister’s residence is equivalent to a seventh-rank official.
She still didn’t know what situation she was about to face.
Song Jiyun smiled back at the palace maid, respectfully curtsied, and followed Qin Fang and the palace maid past the screen wall and into a spacious courtyard.
In the courtyard, two begonia trees were lush and sprouting new leaves.
She was led into the main hall of the main building.
Song Jiyun kept her eyes downcast, conscious of her nose, her nose conscious of her heart, without taking much notice of the hall’s furnishings, only to hear the palace maid laugh and say, "Lord Qin, please wait a moment, I will go and report your arrival."
Qin Fang responded with a laugh.
From a side room on the east, a rustling noise came, and then someone lifted the curtain and came out, saying with a smile, "Noble Consort invites Lord Qin and Miss Song to come in."
Qin Fang responded with a smile.
Song Jiyun still did not raise her head, following him into the side room on the east.
A fragrance of apples wafted over.
A curious voice laughed and said, "Is this the Miss Song from Jingde Town who makes porcelain?"
Qin Fang laughed and confirmed "Yes," his voice somewhat ingratiating. "Our department specifically instructed the Manufacturing Office to bring her directly to you upon her arrival in the Capital City."
Song Jiyun hesitated over whether to offer a formal bow or to kneel and kowtow, when the woman’s voice instructed, "Come here, let me take a look at you."
She promptly stepped forward and lifted her head.
Seated upon the Arhat bed was a woman in her thirties, tall and somewhat dark-skinned, with both her appearance and temperament appearing quite ordinary. If not for the seven or eight palace maids flanking her like swan wings, at first glance one might mistake her for a village woman.
Although Song Jiyun tried her best to conceal it, she couldn’t hide a trace of astonishment.
Seeing this, the woman laughed and said to the palace maid who had led them in, "Indeed, she’s clever. It’s just that I don’t know what she has heard, seeing me seems to have stupified her."
A shiver ran through Song Jiyun, scaring a cold sweat out of her.
Noble Consort Wan clearly misunderstood that she had heard some unkind rumors.
And Noble Consort Wan had been the subject of gossip all her life.
Qin Fang had explicitly warned her, yet she hadn’t truly taken it to heart.
Song Jiyun felt embarrassed, her mind racing, yet she showed no sign of it on her face. She crouched down and offered Noble Consort Wan a bow, her face blank with bewilderment as she looked at Noble Consort Wan and Qin Fang, as well as the palace maids, as if she had no idea what she was talking about.
Noble Consort Wan hesitated for a moment.
Song Jiyun looked pleadingly at Qin Fang as if she was asking, "Who is this?" without daring to actually voice the question.
Noble Consort Wan observed a flash of satisfaction in her eyes.
Only then did Qin Fang smile at Song Jiyun and say, "Haven’t you hastened to pay respects to the Noble Consort?"
Song Jiyun performed a grand bow.
Noble Consort Wan, with a smile, said, "Rise," but couldn’t resist asking her, "What were you so bemused by when you saw me just now?"
From this, one could see that Noble Consort Wan was not a forgiving person.
Song Jiyun forced herself to be respectful and said, "This commoner girl did not expect the consorts in the palace to be so plain."
Perhaps because she was not of much importance in Noble Consort Wan’s eyes, Noble Consort Wan noted that she had only styled her hair in a common manner and wore a half-new begonia-colored brocade vest, with no jewelry whatsoever.
Her face showing surprise, she smiled and asked Song Jiyun, "Then, in your mind, how should I be attired to be appropriate?"
Song Jiyun shook her head earnestly and said, "This commoner girl doesn’t know. I never thought I would enter the palace, or meet a consort. It was just that at first glance, I thought the consort wore a vest the same color as my cousin’s, and I was momentarily taken aback."
She had initially wanted to say it was a garment like her mother’s, but then thought that older people generally like to be spoken of as young, so she changed it to cousin at the last moment. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Noble Consort Wan indeed began laughing.
Addressing Qin Fang, she said, "Look at this charming talker. It’s no wonder she can make Lord Yuan dare to defy even Lord Xiao Yuan for her."
Qin Fang merely joined in the laughter.
Song Jiyun, however, had no idea how to voice a single complaint.
How had her affairs with Yuan Yunzhong reached the ears of Noble Consort Wan?
But the message that Noble Consort Wan conveyed was very detrimental to her.
Defiance... akin to disobedience, akin to lacking filial piety.
That was a burden she was not going to bear.
"Your Grace, Your Highness," she stammered as if frightened, "You mean to say, Lord Yuan defied for my sake..."
Noble Consort Wan eyed her with suspicion.
She remained unmoved like a mountain as Noble Consort Wan scrutinized her, until Noble Consort Wan began to doubt herself and hesitantly turned to ask Qin Fang, "Could it be this young lady knows nothing at all?"
Qin Fang was incredulous, but considering that just two encounters could alter Noble Consort Wan’s impression, he was even less willing to get involved.
He pondered and said, "This servant really can’t say—Miss Song has just entered the Capital City and hadn’t had time to change her clothes before I summoned her here."
Noble Consort Wan nodded and asked Song Jiyun, "Let me ask you, do you know about Lord Yuan seeking an imperial grant for your marriage, against his parents’ wishes, by appealing to the Emperor in the palace?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
