The Job of an Imperial Concubine

Chapter 46: Unveiling One’s Might (发威)

The so-called act of “serving ink” was actually just to grind ink and serve tea in the imperial study. Naturally, there would not be any instances of a “young beauty accompanying the scholar as he studied¹.” Feng Jin was a very responsible emperor. Those who were responsible could separate government affairs and play. In his eyes, women were only for amusement and recreational purposes. However, when he dealt with government affairs, women were merely dispensable decorations. At the very least, after Zhuang Laoyan had been in the imperial study for so long, not once did she see the emperor glance at her with an amorous gaze.

“Your Majesty, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Sir Su, has asked for an audience,” said Gao Dezhong in a soft voice as he entered the room.

After hearing those words, Zhuang Laoyan looked at Feng Jin. Noticed that he appeared willing to allow Sir Su entry. She placed down the book in her hands in a natural manner, making her way to the inner chamber behind the divider screen.

Glancing at the divider screen, Feng Jin said in a neutral tone, “Let him in.”

Who knew what kind of relationship existed between the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Sir Su, and Noble Consort Shu? Zhuang Laoyan sized up the inner chamber. The decorations and items followed protocol to an immense degree, not too luxurious or exquisite. It truly resembled the inner chamber of an emperor. On the contrary, it seemed boring.

The sounds in the study could be faintly heard in the inner chamber. Zhuang Laoyan didn’t have the mood to listen to those things. In her opinion, the more one knew, the worse it could be for oneself. However, the moment she suddenly caught the name “Zhuang Qingzhi,” she felt something was amiss. This Assistant Minister Su seemed to be filing a complaint. Furthermore, wasn’t this Zhuang Qingzhi her full-blooded elder brother?

“Beloved subject Su, do you have concrete evidence of this?” said Feng Jin with a tranquil expression, peering down at the kneeling Su Konglan. Slowly, he closed the memorial in his hands, making others unsure of which side he believed in more.

“This humble servant dares not slander Sir Zhuang.” Su Konglan raised his head a hint, catching sight of the emperor’s serene expression. Then he quickly looked down again, many beads of sweat springing from his forehead.

“We understand. We will have someone investigate this matter. You’re dismissed.”

“This humble official will take his leave.”

The study once again grew quiet. Zhuang Laoyan had sat in the inner chamber silently for about an hour, before an eunuch came to tell her to continue her task. Once she had left the inner chamber attached to the study, she looked at the emperor. Feng Jin’s expression still seemed neutral. As if the person mentioned earlier, Zhuang Qingzhi, wasn’t her elder brother, and the person who had filed a complaint wasn’t the elder brother of Noble Consort Shu. Her heart thumped. Such an emperor with profound thoughts was the most terrifying. She had been wondering why he would have the mood to play out this kind of “young beauty accompanying the scholar as he studied” instance, and even chose a person like her who had no interest in poetry. So it turned out he wanted her to hear this.

But was this action of the emperor to warn the Zhuang family or to incite problems between the Zhuang and Su families? Although Zhuang Laoyan had some measures, she did not have the confidence to scheme with politics.

Face full of difficulty, she said, “Your Majesty…”

“A few days ago, an imperial chef from Sichuan arrived. Beloved concubine has always liked to eat gourmet food. In a little while, accompany Us for the noon meal.” Feng Jin smiled. As though he did not notice the look of difficulty on Zhuang Laoyan’s face. He placed the memorial in his hand to the side.

Zhuang Laoyan performed a ceremony of paying respects. “This concubine thanks Your Majesty for the reward.”

Feng Jin grunted in acknowledgement.

Once again, it was quiet in the imperial study.

The Sichuan province had a humid climate. Therefore, most of their dishes were spicy. Thankfully, Zhuang Laoyan had eaten extremely spicy foods often in the past, training a tolerance. Furthermore, in order to be especially careful of the emperor’s stomach, these dishes should not be too spicy.

Feng Jin stared at the woman who was eating calmly. Zhuang Laoyan’s every action caused him satisfaction. She wasn’t considered very smart, but would not make him unhappy due to her own family’s matters. After entering this palace, she had naturally become the emperor’s woman. An imperial concubine who only planned for her paternal family, even if they were very beautiful and smart, would not obtain his favor.

The men and women of the world were selfish. Men wanted women to love them wholeheartedly, and women wanted men to wholeheartedly give them everything. Unfortunately, this world would never be perfect. Feng Jin was an emperor, a special type of man. He had more things than other men, and of course had more requirements as well.

Zhuang Laoyan understood his way of thinking. As such, she put on the appearance of a foolish woman, one who held the emperor to more importance than her own family. She also understood that for Feng Jin to allow her to eavesdrop, at the very least he did not have any intention to punish the Zhuang family for now. 

The benefits and salary actually weren’t bad for an imperial concubine. The job was merely mentally draining. It was difficult to guess what the boss wanted, but she could still bear it with much difficulty.

Since Feng Jin was satisfied, he was in a good mood. Since he was in a good mood, Zhuang Laoyan would naturally stay overnight in the emperor’s resting palace to attend to him.

That the emperor requested Chongyi Zhao to grind his ink, bestowed her a noon meal with himself, and had her stay overnight to attend to him spread through the entire imperial palace that night. Some were jealous. Some were indifferent. But on this night, when it came to the imperial harem, it was pretty normal of a situation.

After the second watch² Zhuang Laoyan opened her eyes. Just as she was about to sit up, a warm hand blocked her.

“Where are you going?”

“Your Majesty, this concubine should go to the side chamber.” As an imperial concubine, if the emperor did not grant her the favor, after attending to the emperor, she must not sleep in his bed overnight.

“No need. Go to sleep.” Feng Jin pressed down on the blankets over Zhuang Laoyan, his tone carrying a trace of sleepiness. “We need to attend court early in the morning. You don’t need to trouble yourself.”

She looked at the emperor that had yet to blink. As she softly agreed, she lay down and stayed motionless. In this kind of weather, getting up just to lie down on a different bed was really troublesome. Holding on to the corners of her blanket, she adjusted it, pulling it over the emperor. She closed her eyes.

As she had done so, Feng Jin opened his eyes. If Zhuang Laoyan had chanced upon it, she would definitely sigh with emotion and say, “this is the legendary complicated expression of every novel’s male lead.”

A while later, she opened her eyes. Above the net-curtains³ of the bed was the image of a dragon soaring through golden clouds. As soon as she had seen it, her originally clouded mind grew clear. This was the emperor’s resting palace. She blinked. Turned to look at the person lying to her side. And said person opened his eyes as if on cue. Their shared gaze did not appear to convey amorous feelings in a charming way; because the emperor’s gaze proved so tranquil, Zhuang Laoyan was unable to sense any emotion from it.  

“Your Majesty,” said Zhuang Laoyan with a smile. In her eyes was the look of a woman who had lain in the embrace of the man she loved throughout the night, satisfied and happy.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Feng Jin sat up. Outside of the net-curtains were palace maids and eunuchs entering the room one by one, holding the necessary items. They helped him dress and put on his shoes.

Zhuang Laoyan stared at his back. “At first, this concubine thought it would not be a good sleep. But later on, this concubine slept very well.”

“Oh?” Feng Jin received a silk towel from a palace maid to wipe his hands. He glanced back and saw that Zhuang Laoyan had gotten off the bed. A trace of an ambiguous smile on his lips. “Indeed that is so.”

Bashfully lowering her head, Zhuang Laoyan stared at the bright and clear floor tiles. The corners of her lips faintly curved upward. He truly deserved to be called the emperor. A natural actor and passionate kind of person.

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In the past when she had watched television dramas, she found those actors playing emperors very pitiful, because the emperor’s robe attracted peoples’ gazes more than the actors themselves. However, today Zhuang Laoyan touched a real set of dragon robes, and learned first-hand how utterly exquisite the craftsmanship was. So smooth to the touch. Who knew how much work had been put into making this dragon robe? Now it made sense why she did not hold those disorderly TV dramas in high regard.

After sending off the emperor in a respectful manner, Zhuang Laoyan led the palace maids by her side to the empress’ resting palace.

She paid respects like she had done so in the past, and the empress was like how she normally was. Noble Consort Shu also did not seem any different from usual. But Zhuang Laoyan suspected she was aware that her family tried to deal with the Zhuang family. It was evident that this woman was scheming and able to bear patiently.

It was cloudy once they had left the empress’ residence. Like it was about to rain. Zhuang Laoyan frowned. In this season, the rain was cold. Truly wasn’t a good thing. 

“What’s the matter, Chongyi Zhao? It’s early in the morning yet you look miserable,” said Jieyu Ma as she slowly approached. She arched a brow. “Could it be that Younger Sister caused His Majesty unhappiness?”

“Jieyu Ma often thinks about these matters.” A smile graced Zhuang Laoyan’s lips.

Just as Jieyu Ma thought Zhuang Laoyan would once again ignore her affronts, who would have expected her expression to change? On her face was not a hint of a smile. “Who gave a little jieyu like you the power to interrogate about the affairs between His Majesty and I? Her Majesty the empress is in charge of managing every matter of the harem. What has this got to do with a jieyu like you? Truly a lack of propriety.”

Jieyu Ma’s expression grew tight. Fear filled her heart. But thinking that there were many imperial concubines around, she felt embarrassed and stubbornly said, “Did I hit the nail on the head and humiliated Younger Sister Chongyi Zhao into a rage?”

“Impudent! Jieyu Ma really has unbridled speech and no manners. Although I am not a proper⁴ high rank, a jieyu like you cannot humiliate me.” Then Zhuang Laoyan yelled, “Tingzhu, slap her!”

“You dare—” Before Jieyu Ma could finish speaking, Tingzhu had already slapped her hard in the face. She wanted to rain curses, but when Jieyu Ma raised her head she caught sight of Zhuang Laoyan’s cold and severe gaze.

“Jieyu Ma, things are different from the past. Your honored self is truly lacking in propriety. This slave has offended you.” Tingzhu then back handed her in the face. After that, she curtsied toward Jieyu Ma and returned to standing behind Zhuang Laoyan.

Things were different from the past?

As Jieyu Ma stared at Zhuang Laoyan’s cold and severe gaze, she recalled her attitude toward Zhuang Laoyan when the latter had lost favor. Her fear practically overwhelmed her. She staggered. Fortunately, her palace maid behind her supported her, and she found her balance with much difficulty.

“Return to the palace.” Zhuang Laoyan did not spare Jieyu Ma a glance, turning to board her sedan.

“Respectfully sending off Chongyi Zhao,” said the other lower-ranked imperial concubines who had watched this lively show. Once Zhuang Laoyan’s procession was far into the distance, they all stared at Jieyu Ma in ridicule. As though they had witnessed a joke.

Jieyu Zhuang’s expression was unsightly as she stood to the side. When Zhuang Laoyan had used the words “little jieyu,” had she only been reprimanding Jieyu Ma, or had she been reprimanding her as well?

“Your Majesty the empress, just now Chongyi Zhao had Jieyu Ma slapped in front of a crowd.” He Yu never would have expected the recently subdued Chongyi Zhao to suddenly stand up in such a domineering way.

“Jieyu Ma consistently lacks propriety. It’s not strange that Chongyi Zhao punished her.” The empress’s countenance did not change. “What’s more, yesterday word had it that Assistant Minister Su complained about the Zhuang family.” 

“Wasn’t yesterday…” Realization struck He Yu at that moment. Hadn’t Chongyi Zhao been in the imperial study yesterday to serve ink? No wonder she wasn’t in a good mood today. And then this Jieyu Ma just happened to bump into this person with a bad mood.

“Young ladies often cannot remain calm.” The empress peered outside the window. “Let this matter be done with. Since Jieyu Ma disobeyed the rules of the palace, her salary will be forfeited for half a year.”

“Yes.” He Yu lowered her head and retreated. This Jieyu Ma was not favored at present. The Department of the Palace already neglected her. Now that her master punished Jieyu Ma to half a year’s worth of salary, perhaps her days from now on would be even more difficult. But these people who could not adapt to the current circumstances should have had such an outcome since long ago. However, her master was compassionate, and only lightly punished her once.

That Chongyi Zhao had punished Jieyu Ma to slaps on the face spread through the entire palace like wildfire, throwing the other imperial concubines into their thoughts. 

“It’s merely taking one’s anger out on someone.” Noble Consort Shu smiled, not caring much. She threw a handful of fish food into the blue and white porcelain fishbowl, watching as the goldfish ate in a hurry. And her smile grew several shades gentler. “Those gluttonous things are unable to remain calm like this.”

Come evening, the rain finally stopped. Night had yet to arrive, the sky still bright. Gao Dezhong led a throng of palace maids and eunuchs to light all the candles. Seeing the emperor still reading his proposals, he retreated to the side.

“We heard that today Chongyi Zhao punished Jieyu Ma?” asked the emperor out of the blue.

After Gao Dezhong broke free from his slight daze, he said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this slave has heard a little about this as well.”

Feng Jin smiled. His expression did not appear displeased. “Today she isn’t happy. Bestow her the auspicious cloud hairpin in the shape of a ruyi⁵ that came as tribute from Hongdu Country a few days ago. Her hair is black and soft. It will suit her well.”

Gao Dezhong was aware who “she” referred to, and quietly gave a sound of acknowledgement.

An imperial concubine like Chongyi Zhao who had a clear view of things, but whose schemes weren’t profound enough and always thought of the emperor, was the kind of imperial concubine who satisfied the emperor the most. If she did not reveal her true feelings even a little, she would have the most terrifying personality.

However, most of the women in the imperial harem were like so. Anyhow, Chongyi Zhao was inexperienced. Fortunately the emperor liked her like this. Otherwise he would not have bestowed her anything, but even interrogate her.

Just as Gao Dezhong was about to leave the room, Feng Jin once again opened his mouth.

“Jieyu Ma’s words and actions are ill-mannered. She has offended her superior and will be demoted to a cairen as a lesson.”

“Yes.” Gao Dezhong raised his head to glance at the emperor. Seeing that he had no other orders, Gao Dezhong retreated without a sound.

LOL our girl ZL finally giving that Jieyu Ma a piece of her mind… or should it be Cairen Ma now XD

And damn, looks like the Su family (Noble Consort Shu’s family) is trying to start trouble….

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