Jiang Yunyao watched as the grand palanquin of Imperial Noble Consort Xi passed through her in the direction of Cun Shan palace.
When Jiang Yunyao reached the Cun Shan palace, she saw that Tong Xiuxia, one of that the ladies in waiting of Imperial Noble Consort Xi, was standing near the gate of Cun Shan palace as if she was waiting for someone.
When the lady caught the sight of Jiang Yunyao, she immediately approached her and said, "Noble Lady Hai, Her Highness the Imperial Noble Consort Xi summoned you to the Golden Jade Courtyard." Although she spoke respectfully, her eyes showed deep contempt and ridicule. Just by looking at the servant, one can imagine how arrogant the master would be.
Hearing these words, both Jiang Yu Heng and He Shiyi were scared. Only Jiang Yunyao remained calm. She did not think that Imperial Noble Consort Xi was going to harm her.
Imperial Noble Consort Xi was a high ranking concubine. In this imperial palace, there are only two women above her. The first is the Empress Dowager and the second is the Empress. Even though Jiang Yunyao was favoured by the Emperor, it was only for a night and it was not a big deal.
Jiang Yunyao did not think that there was any need for Imperial Noble Consort Xi to fuss about this matter and punish her as it would make Imperial Noble Consort Xi seem jealous and petty and would also ruin her reputation.
Moreover, Imperial Noble Consort Xi's father, the left prime minister, was one of the closest friends of her father and Imperial Noble Consort Xi treated her very well in these three months.
The Duke of Yong Ping and the Duke of Anyuan were fighting each other for a long time. The previous year, a flood hit the Yun Province of Guan Zhou Prefecture and many people died because of it. The ones who were able to survive all rushed to the nearby cities. After the flood subsided, the people were infected by plague and it spread to all the nearby cities. The court sent physicians to treat the people but the number of patients exceeded the number of physicians by a large number and the physicians were unable to treat all the people resulting in a huge number of deaths. The people who were being treated felt that the physicians were killing them on purpose and tried to flee to other cities but were unable to do so because the city gates were already closed to ensure that the plague would not spread.
Being locked up and unable to leave the city made the people furious and they were trying to fight their way out of the city. The Provincial prefect of Guan Zhou Prefecture and the Prefect of Yun Province were unable to control the situation and sent pleas to the Imperial court to send someone to control the situation. The Emperor sent her father, the Duke of Anyuan, to the Guan Zhou Prefecture.
It has been nearly half a year since her father left to the Guan Zhou Prefecture and there has been no improvement in the situation. Even though none of the citizens were able to escape the city, more and more people were infected and kept dying. This caused the people to hold a grudge against her father and the Duke of Yong Ping used this opportunity to make trouble for the Jiang family. He made things hard for her elder brothers in the court and used his daughter's name to make trouble for the Jiang family business. So, Jiang Yunyao had no choice but to enter the palace to defeat the Empress.
After entering the Imperial palace, Jiang Yunyao was directly sent to reside in the Cun Shan palace. Even though she was only a Noble Lady, the food and clothing she received was that of the rank of an Imperial Noble Concubine.
A Noble Lady cannot have a single Lady in waiting by her side. Her Courtyard will also not have any personal maids, personal eunuchs and female servants. But Jiang Yunyao has personal maids like He Shiyi who were assigned by Imperial Noble Consort Xi along with Jiang Yu Heng who is her dowry servant brought from her maternal family. She also has an personal eunuch and five female servants who are responsible for taking care of the Willow Courtyard. She just doesn't have any ladies in waiting. It was because the Royal Consorts below the rank of Imperial Concubine cannot have ladies in waiting.
[Ladies in waiting are the personal servants of the Royal Consorts. Ladies in waiting are always with the Royal Consorts and are responsible for taking care of the Royal Consorts and the princes and princesses.
The eunuch run errands and act as fetchers and carriers, bodyguards, nurses, and essentially performed the roles of valets, butlers, maids, and cooks combined.
The female servants were just servants who were responsible for cleaning the courtyards of the Royal Consorts.]
This was all because of Imperial Noble Consort Xi, who begged the Empress Dowager to allow Jiang Yunyao to stay in Cun Shan palace so she could take care of Jiang Yunyao and not let her suffer.
The Empress Dowager, who was Noble Consort Xi's paternal aunt, was unable to refuse her niece and thus agreed to all the requests of Noble Consort Xi.
In the past three months, even though Jiang Yunyao was not favoured and was a low ranking concubine, she was never bullied because she was under Noble Consort Xi's wings.
As she was reminiscing about the past, Jiang Yunyao arrived at the Golden Jade Courtyard.
When Jiang Yunyao arrived, Imperial Noble Consort Xi was seated and eating fruit on the which was placed on the platform. A woman that was clearly twenty six or twenty seven years old, yet her face would make all the women feel jealous.
Jiang Yunyao took the lead and advanced a step, kneeling before Imperial Noble Consort Xi. In a respectful but not alienating tone, she said: "This Concubine pays respects to the Imperial Noble Consort Xi."
"Get up, the floor is cold. Don't keep on kneeling." Imperial Noble Consort Xi's voice was clear and crisp, completely unlike her previous lazy appearance when eating fruit on the platform.
Jiang Yunyao was first to rise. Jiang Yu Heng and He Shiyi stood up and retreated a few steps to stand to the side.
Imperial Noble Consort Xi came down from the platform. Her gorgeous imperial dress had long skirts that flowed on the stairs. Its beauty was intoxicating.
Jiang Yunyao pondered, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager must really dote on this Imperial Noble Consort Xi. Having grown used to seeing the most beautiful woman in the city she could not help but feel that it was a wide world with plenty of people more beautiful.
"Your Highness, come sit over here." Tong Xiuxia, Imperial Noble Consort Xi's Lady in waiting, very naturally went over and took the place of the palace maid. Supporting Imperial Noble Consort Xi to a soft chair, she then brought over the plate of fruits and placed it on the table.
Imperial Noble Consort Xi reached forward and picked up a skinned grape, placing it in her mouth. When she finally spoke, it was to ask Jiang Yunyao: "You were in the palace for so many days. This is the first time you made a move towards the Emperor and you succeeded on the first try. Now, don't let the Emperor slip from your hands until you become pregnant."
Jiang Yunyao hearing this, quickly saluted before saying with a slight smile: "It's this Concubine's honour to serve His Majesty. Being able to carry a royal heir is by god's grace. This Concubine does not dare to be greedy. I am happy with what I have."
Hearing these words, Imperial Noble Consort Xi nodded in satisfaction. She then pointed to a chair at her side, "Come sit."
Jiang Yunyao gave thanks and sat down, appearing very natural remaining neither haughty nor humble.
Imperial Noble Consort Xi became even more satisfied.
After sitting together and chatting for a while, Imperial Noble Consort Xi suddenly said, "You have been in the palace for sometime already but you never come out of the Willow Courtyard. Previously, you spent all your days muddled up in that place, unwilling to even take a step out. Now that you are willing to come out, you need to be more familiar with the palace and the people in it. Come, let's take a stroll around."
Jiang Yunyao nodded her head, "Sure, Your Highness."
To the left of the Cun Shan palace lay a peach forest. Imperial Noble Consort Xi and Jiang Yunyao were about to enter the peach forest when suddenly a sedan passed through startling them and making Imperial Noble Consort Xi nearly fall to the ground.