The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

For most people, traveling is an extremely troublesome thing these days.

In preparation for the Emperor and Empress' upcoming tour, everyone, whether in the inner palace or the outer court, was busy.

The list of names of people who would accompany the emperor on the tour had already been finalized. Most of the central figures in the government followed the emperor and empress, leaving only a few in the capital to maintain basic operations. Princess Yuyi, the emperor and empress's beloved daughter, quietly took her people and set off early, heading south, under the cover of her elders.

Lu Weiyuan's trip was not secret, it was just not announced to the public with much fanfare. However, at present, only the people closest to her knew about her early departure.

"Your Highness, it would be better for you to apply for permission to stay in Beijing. Your health is not good..." said the chief historian of Princess Shou'an's mansion with a worried look on his face.

The woman sitting in front of the dressing mirror in front of her was only wearing a midriff-baring gown, with long loose hair and a dress with gray-white fur on the edges. She turned her face and her complexion was abnormally pale, but the color of her lips was a deep red with a hint of lavender, and a layer of pale white on the surface: "Ahem... It's just a minor illness, it's not a big deal. I was born and raised in the capital, and it's rare for me to have the opportunity to go out... Ahem..."

"My fifth sister is not with our father and mother along the way. This is a good opportunity for us to show our talents to the two elders. Otherwise... I am really afraid that my life will pass away silently." Princess Shou'an coughed twice and waited until her breathing was completely stable before she took the warm medicine from the table and sipped it one sip at a time.

The chief historian frowned: "But your highness's health..."

"I have not been in good health since I was young, so I cannot be as unrestrained as my other sisters. But it's like drinking this bitter medicine - although the medicine is bitter, you have to drink it slowly, one mouthful at a time, and finally the effect will show. If you drink it all in one gulp because you are afraid of the bitterness, it will lose its medicinal properties, and even go against your will and poison your body... Only if you can endure hardship can you have a future." Princess Shou'an said gently.

When only a thin layer of liquid remained in the medicine bowl, she put the bowl down and gently wiped the corners of her lips with a plain handkerchief. Her eyes were half closed, as if she was still savoring the bitter taste in her mouth. "...By the way, when the person in the cold palace heard about His Majesty's tour, what was his reaction?"

Upon hearing this, the Chief Clerk straightened his expression and said, "That lady, upon learning that His Majesty and His Majesty were planning to go on a tour to the south, she... requested that Your Highness help her find out where her sister was buried after her death while on the road... In exchange, Shen is willing to hand over the secrets that were once controlled by the Yuyang Marquis's Mansion to Your Highness. This secret was told to Shen in person by the Marquis's wife when she last entered the palace before the Yuyang Marquis's Mansion was confiscated, and it was not recorded on paper."

Lu Baohui turned her head slowly and stared at her sickly face in the mirror, but she laughed at herself again: "See, not being noticed or valued by others still has its benefits, doesn't it?"

She lost her mother at a young age. Although her mother sought an imperial decree to sever all ties with her at the last moment, they were still biological mother and daughter. Even with the imperial decree, Lu Baohui was still implicated in her mother's assassination. Although she was still a princess and still enjoyed all the offerings of an emperor's daughter, but... she could feel that there was a void in her heart.

This void was soon filled with confusion, helplessness, fear, shame, jealousy, resentment, etc. Lu Baohui had made a fuss and felt unfair, but that only earned her more disregard. Slowly, she finally understood that no matter how much trouble she made, in the eyes of those high and mighty people, she was just like a chicken that fell into the water and was flapping its wings in a funny way.

So she became calm and gentle to everyone, and imitated the female elders she often came into contact with, such as Empress Xie, and occasionally showed her persistence and knowledge. After a few years, she finally left her name in the hearts of those who had not regarded her in the past.

And before this change...everyone in Chonghua Palace knew that the fourth princess, left behind by the Liu family, whose entire family had been executed, was an extremely difficult master to serve.

No one would want to stay with a bad kid like that all the time. Even though Empress Xie had strictly ordered the palace servants who were taking care of the royal heirs not to be neglected, she was so busy that she simply couldn't spare the time to inquire about the royal heirs' lives in every detail. Therefore, Lu Baohui could always find the weakest link in the palace servants' defense, and when they were taking over, she would either take the excuse of taking a nap or deliberately lose her temper and drive them away. When she was alone, she would sneak out of her residence and wander around in places where there was no one.

She was caught several times but she never gave up this hobby. As she grew older, her sneaking skills became more and more proficient. She formed a small, very secret but tacit sneaking alliance with her fifth sister, with whom she used to have a bad relationship.

When I was fourteen years old.

The day her mother died.

Lu Baohui set foot on the desolate and cold place that no one in the palace was most willing to go to.

Her biological father, the current emperor, no matter how picky he was, it was difficult to pick out the part of a "good man" from the quagmire. Or, in other words, sometimes, he was not even a complete person. However, the concubines in his harem who were pampered lived the best lives in all dynasties. However, Lu Baohui did not think that this was the emperor's credit.

Most of the ladies in the palace are living very comfortably now, which makes Lu Baohui unable to help but imagine, if her mother were still alive, would she help the empress manage the inner palace and be in charge of the affairs of the Shanggong Bureau like the imperial concubine and the others, and occasionally go to the front court to listen to government affairs and interfere in the government affairs outside the palace?

Just like Concubine Shu, she would take a few days every month to settle accounts, and spend the rest of the time lying comfortably in the palace, or going outings, listening to operas, painting and composing music with other concubines. The most annoying thing was that her daughter was too jumpy and rebellious.

But her mother was dead, and no amount of fantasizing would help.

The best way to stop yourself from worrying about something is to divert your attention with other things. Lu Baohui naturally became curious. Among the only three concubines of her father who were banished to the cold palace, one of the two who were still alive was a sister of the dead one. The two sisters were banished to the cold palace one after another, one died, and although the other survived, her family was destroyed.

Although the court announced that the crime of the Yuyang Marquis's family was to spy on the palace, murder the queen and intend to rebel, which led to the tragic extermination of their entire family, Lu Baohui always felt that there was a deeper story hidden in it. So with an emotion that she still couldn't figure out, the still immature girl took the initiative to set foot in that special place on that special day.