Chapter One: The Ninefold Palace of the Phoenix

  "Will it be a bit quieter like this?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  When Ziyu found that such a provocation was meaningless, he finally gave up. He lifted his long legs and lay down on the stone, playing with the fan in his hand, and said, "What do you plan to do next?"

  Yu Mu smiled faintly and said, "The chess pieces are already on the board, just need a little arrangement."

  "What if she doesn't listen?" Zi Yun smiled slyly and said, "For example, becoming the emperor's woman, after all, who has ever seen him be so gentle to a woman. Women are easily deceived creatures."

  "Prince Wang is indeed experienced." He said, taking a sip of tea, thinking to himself that Qilin should have arrived at the imperial palace by now.

  Early this morning, I received a letter from Green Bamboo, which was really thick. On it, he explained the tea ceremony that he had never seen before and also taught various massage techniques.

  Of course, there are also many improved walking tools.

  "You don't have to go and wait on him, what are you still doing here?"

  "Hey, this is the 'Expel Guest Order'! " As she spoke, Zixia leaned in close to Yu Mu's body and picked up a strand of green silk from his chest, saying "We're that kind of relationship, huh? Already...?"

  Before he could finish what he was saying, a chill killing aura had already emanated from beside him. Although the man still wore a smiling expression, he wisely shut his mouth.

  Is it true that kindness is only for specific people?

  "Ah Chu."

  Qilin rubbed her nose, poked her hand, lifted the curtain to take a look outside. The two sides were filled with ordinary people, and those beggars had been driven to an inconspicuous corner. She couldn't see the shadow of Xizhen and others at all. However... Mu Qingfeng said that he would take care of it, so there shouldn't be any problem.

  But speaking of Mu Qingfeng, it's been a long time since I've seen him. He must be a prince of a country, after all, and can't stay in Fenghuang Country every day.

  But it's really strange, how did he end up in Fenghuang Country? I heard he's even the richest merchant in Fenghuang Country.

  Isn't he going to give up politics and turn to business?

  At this moment, Green Bamboo handed the prepared soup to Qilin, carefully tidied up her clothes and whispered: "Although the young master's position is low, others can see that the emperor has taken a liking to you. With time, you will surely rise through the ranks."

  Qilin smiled slightly, she didn't want to rise step by step, and entering the palace was just a part of Ziyu's plan, the final result...she could predict.

  But is this really good? Feng Changqing is moody, but he's also very gentle.

  "Green Bamboo, what kind of person do you think the Emperor is?" I don't know why I asked such a question, I've heard too much from others, but it's always different from what I see for myself.

  "Your Majesty, diligent in governance and loving the people, reducing the taxes of the common folk. Although sometimes the methods are a bit cruel, that's just how emperors are." As she spoke, Green Bamboo had already poured tea for Qi Lin. "However, Young Master being able to receive such careful attention from His Majesty is unprecedented, and on top of that, having Yu Mu Gongzi as a close friend, with the support of someone like him..."

  It wasn't until then that Green Bamboo realized she had gone off track. She quickly bowed her head in apology.

  Zhilin didn't care anyway, after all, such things happened frequently.

  But is Elmwood an intimate friend?

  She took the wooden box beside her, opened it gently, and inside were her favorite floral teas, as well as specially made bamboo leaf tea from Yu Mu. Of course, there were also some medicines that she might need, all with usage instructions attached by Yu Mu.

  It's really thoughtful, but Qilin didn't expect that Yumu actually knew so many of Feng Changqing's preferences.

  For example, Feng Changqing's sense of smell is very keen and has reached the point where he can identify people by their scent. He also likes Manjusaka flowers and the color red. His martial arts skills are extremely high, and he excels at using poison in sword fighting. Despite being surrounded by beautiful women in the harem, he doesn't indulge in carnal desires.

  The last sentence feels quite contradictory.

  "Phoenix Palace, young master, take a look."

  Lost in thought, I was interrupted by the slightly excited voice of Qing Zhu, and when I lifted the curtain, I was attracted by the scenery in front of me.

  I saw the basic structure of Feng Huang Palace when I was in Zui Hua Lou before. It can only be known that it is built on a mountain.

  But I never thought there could be such a design.

  The entire mountain was a palace, but the highest level was a super-large tree. Because it was too far away to know what kind of tree it was, however, from this direction, the tree looked like a phoenix bird perched in place.

  Each layer of the palace is surrounded by red walls, with mountains and rivers surrounding it. You can also see the white clear spring flowing down from each layer of the palace, and feel the birdsong and fragrance of flowers there.

  Qilin suddenly thought of the legendary Penglai Island.

  When the carriage approached, they did not get off but went straight into the Phoenix Palace.

  Only then did Zhi Lin see clearly the lowest level, the palace wall was as high as twenty meters, and the vermilion palace gate could be slowly opened by thirty strong men. It wasn't until they walked inside that they discovered the ground was almost entirely paved with black stone slabs. The imperial guards in yellow armor stood sternly on both sides of the road, their horse carriage slowly passing by.

  About a hundred meters away, there will be the kind of palace wall and gate that just passed, but the strong men who need to open that door are getting more and more. The roadsides are no longer just the Imperial Guards, officials from the court also slowly appeared. Moreover, every time you enter a palace gate, the officials' attire is different.

  The sound of water flowing beside my ear, only to discover that her hair had been covered with a layer of mist for some time. Just looking at the surrounding flowers, grass and trees made me dizzy, but after walking for so long, I finally saw the house building.

  After counting, I've probably passed through about twenty palace gates. I thought the palaces would be very luxurious, but they're actually similar in style to the Drunken Flower Pavilion. However, there are more pavilions along the way, and the number of Imperial Guards hasn't decreased at all.

  When their motorcade drove into the 107th palace gate, it finally stopped.

  Under the eunuch's support, he walked down from the horse-drawn carriage, and what came into view was a palace wall as high as the first floor. Behind that thick palace gate was the truly magnificent golden imperial palace.

  Such a design, so ingenious, she didn't know what language to use to describe it.

  The first time I was shocked by architecture.

  "The Emperor has issued an edict."

  Everyone hastened to kneel down at the sound, but did not notice that the person proclaiming the imperial edict was no longer Jiang Yuancheng.

  "The Emperor has decreed that Xiao Ran, the young mistress, shall take the position of Empress and reside in the Xigong Yining Palace. The date for her coronation ceremony will be chosen later, after which she will move to the Donggong Palace. Consort Xiao Du will be granted the Antang Palace, Consort Zhuang Bai will be granted the Yuhe Palace, Consort Hui Jun will be granted the Xuening Palace, and Jade Girl Hongxue will be granted the Qinquan Pavilion. Let it be known."

  The eunuch finished reading the imperial edict and put on a smile, continuing, "Young mistresses, I am Xiao Ningzi, who serves in front of the Emperor. If you have any orders, please feel free to give them."

  "Thank you, young master."

  After kneeling and worshiping, the female officials in charge of each palace had already made preparations and were waiting for the young masters to arrive.

  Qilin originally thought that Xiao Ran would give a lot of instructions, but unexpectedly she just exchanged pleasantries and then they each went their separate ways.

  It seems that the place where she lives is not welcoming and is very remote. Otherwise, after walking for so long, they still haven't arrived. Moreover, there are fewer and fewer palace maids around, and even the weeds growing out of the stone road's seams have no one to take care of them.

  Even her personal palace maid did not come to greet her, presumably because she was an unwelcome mistress.

  However, just as she thought of the palace maid, three maids walked over and collided with her. Fortunately, Green Bamboo supported Qilin in time, preventing her from falling.

  "How are you walking?" Green Bamboo suddenly got angry, took a step forward and accused these three people "If you bumped into someone..."

  Qilin held back Lüzhú, indicating that she should retreat. Although Lüzhú was reluctant, she still retreated to one side.

  "Is this the aunt in charge of Quanquan Xuan?" The leading palace maid was about twenty-five or six, wearing a yellow palace uniform, while the palace maid next to her wore a green palace uniform. Their neat and tidy double buns made them look very cute.

  Perhaps it was because they were walking too quickly, fine beads of sweat covered their foreheads, but they saw them strenuously suppressing their panting sounds.

  "Nu Bi is the head palace maid of Qin Quan Xuan, Jin Yu. These two are the accompanying palace maids of the young master, Bing Er and Xin Er." Jin Yu bowed respectfully, but her eyes revealed a hint of disrespect, and her courtesy was only a slight bow of her body.

  Lu Zhú's face was clearly displeased, this kind of dog-like gaze looking down on people is too obvious.

  "Hong Xue still has many things she doesn't understand, so please continue to instruct her in the future." Qi Lin slightly bowed and said in a loud voice, "Once you enter the palace gates, it's like entering the deep sea. If one is not careful and doesn't follow the rules in the palace, their head will be chopped off at any time. Yu Jue auntie, isn't that right?"

  Jing Yu was taken aback, quickly knelt down and performed a big bow, while Bing Er and Xin Er behind her also followed suit.

  "The young master's teachings are, Jin Yu carefully follows the teachings." After finishing, she knocked her head and continued, "I've heard that the young master is gentle and elegant, intelligent and wise, it's really a blessing for us servants to be able to serve the young master."

  Lu Zhū let out a cold hum, Qí Lín only smiled and didn't speak. After they knelt for a while, she slowly said "Jǐn Yú auntie is so clever, Hóng Xuě will definitely be at ease next time. Lu Zhū, reward."

  Lu Zhú took out the prepared silver from her bosom and rewarded them separately. She looked at Qí Lín with admiration, thinking that Qí Lín was a woman who didn't argue about right or wrong. Unexpectedly, teaching others a lesson turned out to be a skill she possessed. With such kindness and authority combined, it's likely that these slaves will behave themselves from now on.

  "Hey, you've just arrived and already started scolding your servants?"

  Looking towards the source of the sound, I saw two people dressed in imperial concubine attire walking towards me, followed by two pairs of palace maids and eunuchs.

  The person speaking was the one in the pink shirt, fanning himself with a feather fan, twisting his devilish body under the support of the eunuchs, looking at Qilin with disdain, seeing that she didn't intend to kneel down, and then gave a glance to another concubine beside her.

  "Daring good fellow, haven't you knelt down yet after seeing the virtuous imperial consort?" The woman sternly scolded.

  "Two noble ladies, please calm down. Hongxue young master has just entered the palace and doesn't know the rules yet. Please forgive her." Qingzhu hurriedly stood up to protect her master, but Qilin didn't even intend to kneel, which made her as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

  "How dare you, master is speaking, what right does a servant have to interrupt? Ning Xiu, shut your mouth."

  A palace maid named Ning Xiou proudly stepped forward and slapped Green Bamboo's face with a loud smack.

  He sternly scolded Green Bamboo, then turned to Jin Yu and said, "Isn't this Palace Maid Jin Yu from the side of Old Princess Consort? What's going on, did Old Princess Consort pass away and you were sent here? However, you're also considered an old-timer in the palace. Your master doesn't understand etiquette, do you not either? Hurry up and teach your master."

  Qilin did not stop Ningxiu, nor did she pay attention to the hesitant Jinyu. She walked forward and performed a formal courtesy, saying softly, "The virtuous consort's teachings are correct."

  Xian Fei looked at Qi Lin in surprise, just as she was about to speak, but was interrupted by Qi Lin.

  "Our own servant is not well-disciplined, and yet it's causing trouble for Empress Xian, this is really not good. It's not the fault of Hongxue...". Here, Qilin bowed again and smiled, "Green Bamboo apologizes to Your Majesty, with a pure heart, I was scolded by Your Majesty, naturally, those who know will say it's not Hongxue's fault, but those who don't know will think that Your Majesty likes to scold other people's servants, if this gets out, it won't be good."

  "You!" The empress dowager was refuted, but Xian Fei couldn't find any words to retort. She waved her hand and let Ning Xi return. "I'm tired, it's rare for me to come here today, but from now on, I won't have the chance to come again. The emperor should summon me soon, you can just stay here."

  "Thank you, Your Highness. Farewell, Your Highness." Watching the virtuous imperial concubine leave, Qilin walked over to help up Lüzhú and smiled warmly "Are you alright?"

  "It's nothing, thank you, young master." Green Bamboo smiled gently, ignoring the red swelling on her face.

  Qilin then realized the three people kneeling down and said in a cold voice, "All of you get up."

  The three men got up quietly at the same time and also looked at Qilin with a different gaze.