"By the grace of Heaven and in accordance with the imperial will, it is decreed that: Su Shis tranquil and elegant nature, his warm and gentle disposition, his refined exterior and wise interior, are specially recognized by the conferment of the rank of Seventh Grade Official, with residence in Guanju Palace, Drunken Cloud Pavilion. Let this be respected!"

  "Thanks to your majestys great kindness, long live our emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand and ten thousand years!" The Su family members all knelt on the ground, shouting in unison.

  Su Shu Yan got up from the ground and handed a bundle to the eunuch who was reading out the imperial edict, but didnt ask for any news.

  That old man quietly weighed it, put it in his sleeve, and politely said to Su Jingzhu, "According to the young masters rank, you can bring a maid into the palace to serve. Please prepare well, Su Young Master, and then follow our family into the palace."

  As expected, everyone who comes out of the palace is clever.

  "Please wait a moment, sir," Su Jing said with a demure expression, her eyes cast down.

  The old man bowed and said, "I dont dare, I dont dare."

  Su Jing changed into a new set of clothes in her room and rearranged her hair, then bid farewell to her mother and went straight to the front hall.

  There are outsiders present, so its better not to say much. The important things were already said yesterday. With a slight nod, Su Jing wrapped herself in a sedan chair and left.

  From then on, her world was confined within these palace walls.

  At the top of the vermilion lacquer gate, a black gold silk nanmu plaque hangs with three large characters "Guanju Palace". Further inside, the main hall can be seen from afar, with its glazed tiles carved into floating windows and walls made of jade stones.

  Su Jing followed her father-in-law along a stone path on one side leading to the back of Zuiyunwu.

  "Su Xiaozhu, this is Zuiyunwu," said the leading eunuch, stopping to one side and bowing slightly.

  Su Jing gave a hint with her eyes, and Yao Li immediately handed him a purse. "Please, sir, give us some advice."

  "Dont be afraid, dont be afraid," the leading eunuch also didnt decline, taking over the bundle, "This Guan Yu Palace currently only has Su Xiao as its sole resident, so theres no need to go pay respects in the morning either."

  This is considered a good sale for her. When she first entered the palace, whether or not she gained favor was unknown, but its always right to widely establish good relationships.

  "Behind Guanjiu Palace, there is a peach forest. Although it has passed the blooming season now, Lianhua Lake is not far from here either. Su Xiaozhu can go take a look when shes free."

  "Thanks for your trouble," Su Jing nodded slightly.

  After the eunuch led the way and retreated, Su Jingzhen finally stepped into the Drunken Cloud Pavilion.

  The slave who came from the provincial government has arrived. Seeing her come in, she quickly knelt down on the ground and said, "Your humble servant greets you, young master."

  Su Jingxi didnt rush them to wake up either. She sat down beside the table, took a cup of tea from Tingyao, and didnt drink it, gently stirring the teacup instead.

  The people below also knew she was trying to assert her authority, and they all held their breath, not daring to make a sound, with their heads bowed, looking at the ground.

  "Alright, everyone get up," Su Jing said and went into the inner room without telling them what to do.

  Xiang Yao followed her in, "Young Master, is this really it?"

  "Lets just leave it like this for now and see," Su Jing said, sizing up her future room.

  A four-foot-wide wooden bed, on which is a silk quilt with golden and silver threads, a soft pillow with a cloud-patterned brocade cover, and a canopy with a golden thread pattern. Next to it is a rattan couch, a set of carved yellow pear wood tables and chairs, as well as a matching dresser.

  Its not a lot of things, but its also not few. Just a common thing, yet it can be used for so many good things. Indeed, the royal family is different when they take action.

  "From now on, this inner room will be temporarily accessible only to you."

  Yao Ting heard this and nodded her head in obedience, "This servant will follow your orders."

  "Alright, you and I are master and servant, naturally different from others. You must remember, no matter how I treat others in the future, it will always be different with you." Su Jing felt that some things should still be made clear, unnecessary misunderstandings often arise from bottling up ones words.

  Ting Yao nodded and bowed her body, "The slave understands."

  "Alright, from now on when its just the two of us, theres no need for so much courtesy," Su Jing said, feeling tired just looking at her.

  "Slave..."

  "Alright, come with me and take a look," Su Jing interrupted her in time.

  Going out of the outer hall, there were only two palace maids and one eunuch still standing in their original positions without moving, while the rest of the people didnt know where they went.

  "The slaves pay their respects to the young master," all three of them bowed.

  Su Jing didnt bother them anymore, "Get up, where are the others?"

  Several people looked at each other, and one of the palace maids stepped forward and curtsied, "Reporting to Young Master, Xiaofu has gone to the imperial kitchen to fetch some pastries for Young Master, Shunzi has gone outside to sweep the floor, and Chunlan has gone to pick flower petals for Young Master."

  "What about you?" Su Jing raised her head and glanced at them, her eyes casually sweeping over them.

  Xia Lan felt a cool breeze rising from the soles of her feet on this sweltering summer day, calming her mind. "Reply to Young Master, we servants are waiting for your orders here."

  "Arent you afraid Ill blame you?"

  "We dare not," the three of them hastily knelt down.

  Su Jing raised her eyes slightly, "Alright, get up, theyre back. Let them all kneel outside for half an hour."

  Ignoring their astonished gazes, Su Jing turned around and entered the inner chamber, "I want to rest for a while."

  Yaoer waited on her as she washed her face, then helped her onto the bed and knelt beside her to fan her.

  Su Jing had just entered the palace, and some of the documents had not been delivered yet.

  "Its all right, open the window and you go rest," Su Jing said with her eyes still closed.

  Yao responded with a "yes", she knew that what was required of her most basically was obedience.

  Su Jing opened her eyes after a while, and when she woke up, it was already one oclock in the afternoon. She woke up dazedly, and if she hadnt suddenly discovered the change in her surroundings, she would have thought she was still at home.

  Shaking his head, he gathered himself and walked out. The three of them were still here, while outside the door, another three people were kneeling.

  Xiang Tingya gave a signal with her eyes, and when the three of them came in, they still knelt on the ground. "Do you know your mistake?"

  One of the eunuchs knocked his head on the ground and said, "I dont know where I went wrong, please enlighten me, young master."

  "Who can tell him where hes wrong?" Su Jing stirred her tea cup and took a sip of the not-so-good Longjing tea.

  "The slaves shouldnt be so presumptuous," Chunlan said with some tension.

  Su Jing chuckled softly, "You already know why, so why go out?"

  "Slave... Slave just wants to make young master happy," Chunlan said with some fear, but still decided to tell the truth.

  "So you think youve pleased me?"

  "Slave... slave doesnt know..." Chun Lan broke out in a cold sweat, originally thinking this was just someone with a gentle temper, it seems the previous information gathered was all wrong.

  If she had a choice, she would rather follow a formidable master than an incompetent one. She composed herself and said, "This slave deserves to die, from now on I will definitely obey Young Masters orders."

  Su Jingxi put the cup on the table, making a slight noise, which sounded particularly out of place in this room. "Does anyone else have anything to say?"

  After a moment, "I was wrong, I will serve you wholeheartedly from now on, young master," said Xiaofuzi.

  Immediately afterwards, others also expressed their views.

  "Alright, from now on Xiaofuzi will be the head eunuch of our Drunken Cloud Pavilion. You know what to do, and as for Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoanzhi, theyll follow you. Remember, if anything happens, Ill come looking for you first."

  "As for the three of you, lets call them Dai Man, Dai Qing and Dai Xia," pointing at Chun Lan who had been renamed as Dai Man, "you follow Lianer to serve me, others do what they should do."

  After finishing speaking, he got up and walked a few steps before stopping again. "Write down which palace you were in before, which master you followed, as well as the people in your household and where they live. Let Xiaofuzi and Daiman be in charge of registering everything."

  "Remember, only when Im well can you be well. Even if Im not doing well, I can still punish you, and what I like most is to drag you down with me. Youd better think carefully about what you want to do."

  The six people kneeling below were all sweating coldly. They sold themselves into the palace for their families, especially the eunuchs. Now their only thought was also just about their families.

  This master is really unbearable.

  Kunning Palace

  Jinmumu handed the empress a cup of tea and told her about what had just happened at Zuiyun Pavilion as if it were a joke, "Indeed, youre still young and dont understand things."

  "Are you young?" The queen took over the tea, took a sip and put it on the table.

  "She did this, and it shocked the people below."

  "Dont worry, Your Majesty. Su Chang is just a newcomer to the palace, and its easy for you to punish her if you want to," Jin Mu comforted.

  The queen thought of something, "Yes, shes just a newcomer to the palace. The real threat to me is Qiao Jingyu, and the emperor slept with her again last night."

  Qiao Jingyu, Shu Guifei, her father is the current first-class Grand Preceptor, from the time when the emperor was still a prince, the two people started competing for favor in the palace, until now it has become an endless struggle.

  "Your Majesty neednt worry, even if Consort Shu gains favor again and has no children, she will eventually grow old after all. In the end, she cant compare to these new palace maidens."

  "Speaking of which, I should remind the Emperor that fairness is key," said the Empress with a smile, adjusting her hairpiece.

  Zichen Hall

  Su Shunan stood at the bottom, slowly reporting to the emperor what happened in the harem this afternoon, and when he mentioned Zuiyun Pavilion.

  "Is Su always like this?" Zong Zhengjin continued to flip through the memorial, without lifting his head.

  Su Shun had been serving him for so long and naturally knew his temperament. Without saying seven parts, there were at least three parts of it.

  "His Majesty has just confirmed that it is indeed Su Changzai, the daughter of Su Shuan, a senior official in the Hanlin Academy. She entered the palace this morning."

  "This move of hers isnt bad," Zong Zhengjin suddenly remembered who she was, and he hadnt forgotten the glance she gave him before leaving.

  Interesting.

  Su Shuang couldnt quite grasp his meaning, so she went along with him, "Exactly, it not only intimidated the subordinates but also made them aware of who could be used temporarily, making them dare not harbor any rebellious thoughts."

  "You mean you think this move is great?"

  Su Shun hastily knelt down, "Your humble servant does not dare."

  It is also a great crime to discuss the emperors wives and concubines arbitrarily.

  Zong Zhengjin put down his pen on the memorial and wrote a few words, throwing it aside, "Alright, get up."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty," Su Shunyan stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

  Your Majesty, nowadays its getting harder to tell whether youre happy or angry.