Hence, once Prince Hao spoke, all the palace maids widened their eyes. A jealous heat filling their gazes to varying degrees.
Some inwardly lamented. Prince Hao didn’t pay He Xiangyu any attention after she was flogged by the Empress Dowager, but now he is suddenly involved with Su Xi-er. What would He Xiangyu think if she finds out?
Su Xi-er smiled sincerely. “Many thanks for your kind intentions, Prince Hao. However, this servant won’t be able to adjust to the Beauty Palace after getting accustomed to staying in the Palace Side Quarters for so long. Furthermore, this servant always has a lingering stench on me due to my work of scrubbing the chamber pots. I have no connection to the word ‘beauty’ at all.”
All the palace maids were astonished again. They could no longer restrain themselves from raising their heads to look at Su Xi-er.
The expression on her face is too unperturbed. She doesn’t care about the Beauty Palace at all, actually daring to reject Prince Hao! Only he is allowed to reject others. How would he tolerate others rejecting him!
When they looked at Prince Hao again, his gaze was sinister and callous while his whole body was emanating coldness.
The palace maids’ knees involuntarily trembled as they immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look up again as their hearts palpitated in fear.
They were afraid and on tenterhooks, having witnessed Prince Hao’s handsomeness and cold imposing manner with their own eyes.
“Already accustomed to staying in the Palace Side Quarters?” Prince Hao chuckled and glanced at Su Xi-er. Then, he walked towards the palace gate of the Palace Side Quarters.
His calm tone made his mood indiscernible. As she watched his departing figure, Su Xi-er looked pensive.
Once Pei Qianhao’s figure was out of sight, the previously quiet Palace Side Quarters exploded into activity. With Old Maidservant Zhao, the old-maidservant-in-charge, having been punished, there was no one to discipline them.
As everyone’s voices gradually became louder, their eyes naturally drifted towards the topic of conversation: Su Xi-er.
“She has lost her mind, right? It’s the Beauty Palace, yet she actually chose to not go!”
“Exactly. She offended Prince Hao while already being under Commandery Prince Xie’s ire from when she helped He Xiangyu take the blame. From the looks of it, she’s going to die.”
Hong Li raised her eyebrow. “Do you treat Commandery Prince Xie as a fool? He is very clear about who has offended him. It’s because He Xiangyu got taken into the Beauty Palace that Commandery Prince Xie didn’t pursue the matter further with her.”
Now that she mentioned it, that also seems to make sense.
A fat palace maid chuckled. “Hong Li, you take Su Xi-er’s side a lot. Is it because you think that she is going to prosper that you are so hurriedly hugging her thigh*?”
Su Xi-er hadn’t spoken all this while and finally responded, “My arms and legs are thin. If it’s about the thigh, it’s better to hug yours instead.”
In an instant, the other palace maids could no longer hold it in and laughter escaped their mouth.
That palace maid was the fattest in the Palace Side Quarters. She had been fat since she was young, even growing fatter by drinking water.
Having been teased, the palace maid’s face flushed. People had commented that she was fat since she was young. My body is just like that. I have no choice.
Which woman wouldn’t like to be beautiful? But I am unable to slim down.
The fat palace maid was sad to the point that tears threatened to fall from the rim of her eyes.
At this moment, Su Xi-er walked to her side and patted her shoulder. “Some people are fat and unhealthy. You, however, are very sturdy. You have sufficient strength to work and your body wouldn’t collapse. Instead of seeing this as a flaw, treat it as your unique strength.”
The fat palace maid’s tears flickered and she sniffled. “I don’t need you to pretend to be kind. You can just ridicule me directly for being fat.”
“It’s just you deriding yourself for being fat, not others.” Su Xi-er then turned around and entered the room, Hong Li following closely behind without minding the stares of others.
Right now, everyone was aware that Hong Li was already on the same side as Su Xi-er.
They were all starting to hesitate. Should we learn from Hong Li?
~~~
Su Xi-er glanced at her and smiled. “Are you not going to marry? How can you forever be my person?”
“I…it’s still early for me to marry. Besides, I would already be elated if I could walk out of the Palace Side Quarters. Su Xi-er, what is your goal? Tell me, and I will cooperate with you fully.” Hong Li’s eyes glimmered with hope. She didn’t dare to harbour extravagant hopes of leaving the imperial palace. As long as she could get out of the most desolate part in the imperial palace, she would already be very jubilant.
The expression in Su Xi-er’s eyes became distant. My goal…
Due to Hong Li’s question, Su Xi-er’s thoughts eventually came to Nanzhao’s imperial palace.
Those people probably think that I’m already dead. Was my body tossed into the unmarked mass grave?
“Su Xi-er, what’s wrong?” A soft call pulled her back from her thoughts.
She looked at Hong Li. “We will get out of the Palace Side Quarters. If you want to marry, you will have to leave the imperial palace. None of the men in the imperial palace is decent.”
Hong Li could see the coldness in her eyes and was puzzled. “You sound like you have experienced it before.”
Su Xi-er replied indifferently, “I’m in the Palace Side Quarters throughout the year. How would I have experienced something like that? Instead, it was easy enough to tell just from watching others like He Xiangyu.”
“You’re right; when He Xiangyu was favoured by Prince Hao, her status was high and above. Now that she has been punished by the Empress Dowager, Prince Hao doesn’t pay any attention to her at all. The men in the imperial palace only want something novel.” Hong Li nodded as she reasoned. In a split second, she had understood many principles.
No wonder Su Xi-er is unwilling to go to the Beauty Palace. That place is a grandiose cage. All the women dress and groom themselves every day, looking forward to Prince Hao’s arrival.
“Old Maidservant Zhao’s punishment is about to end soon,” Su Xi-er unhurriedly said as she looked at the window.
Right at this moment, the door of the room was opened. The three palace maids who lived in the same room as Su Xi-er were standing outside.
Although they stayed in the same room, it was the first time Su Xi-er had seen them clearly. In the past, she had only caught brief glances of their backs or simply not seen them around at all because their working and resting times were staggered differently.
“Old Maidservant Zhao was beaten by the plank thirty times. With her old body, it doesn’t look like she will survive!” A palace maid made a big fuss as she shouted.
“The Palace Side Quarters is going to have a change in the old-maidservant-in-charge, Su Xi-er,” another palace maid suddenly called her.
Su Xi-er looked at her. This palace maid was very short and her face was round. She ran over with her short legs and pulled Su Xi-er’s hand intimately with a cheerful face.
“You’re so amazing, borrowing Prince Hao’s hand to fix Old Maidservant Zhao. In the future, the new old-maidservant-in-charge probably has to fear you a little as well. Is it alright if I mingle and follow you?”
Su Xi-er removed her hand impressively. “I’m the same as you; just a palace maid. You should follow your master instead. I’m not your master. Besides, I didn’t borrow Prince Hao’s hand to punish Old Maidservant Zhao.”
The palace maid with a round face pouted. “You still don’t know who I am, right? I’m Lian Qiao. My bed is the fourth one, just beside yours.”
Su Xi-er’s bed was the third one. She is cottoning up to me.
However, I must keep away from this person. Although her words sound normal, they clearly hide a profound meaning.
“Lian Qiao, do your things obediently. In the Palace Side Quarters, all the palace maids are the same.” Hong Li couldn’t stand watching her any longer and cut her off.
Lian Qiao pretended to feel wronged. She lowered her head and didn’t look at them.
Just as the atmosphere in the room became awkward, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside.
“Palace maids of the Palace Side Quarters, assemble!” The person addressing them was an imperial bodyguard with a powerful voice.
There were usually only women in the Palace Side Quarters. Imperial bodyguards would only come when something major transpired.
(* to forge connections with a powerful person)
