Even though he was bathed in warm water, Song Baozhu could not recover from his shock.
Is it just settled...?
Song Baozhu thought blankly about how special this day that she thought would determine her destiny would be. But it was like the most ordinary day in the past sixteen years, and there was no time to be surprised.
Song Baozhu couldn't remember whether he accepted the imperial edict according to etiquette or whether he looked respectful enough.
She only remembered the sighs behind her at the moment the decree was announced, and Jin Hongyi's eyes full of shame and anger.
"Girl, girl." Yue Nu's voice sounded, and Song Baozhu came back from his trance.
Looking at Yue Nu's happy face, Song Baozhu didn't know how to reciprocate her emotions.
"We girls are so lucky. Once we enter the palace, we will become noble concubines!"
Yue Nu raised Song Baozhu's arm, which was as pink as a white lotus root, and scrubbed it like a treasure.
"I heard that the former imperial concubine was just a little noblewoman when she first entered the palace. It seems that our girl must have a bright future."
Yue Nu smiled, her eyebrows curved like crescent moons, which echoed her name.
Song Baozhu smiled bitterly, really annoyed that he didn't know how to reply to Yue Nu, and the door was pushed open with a creak.
It was the palace maid who led the team during the day, and she walked in with four younger palace maids, all holding trays in their hands.
Song Baozhu glanced at it, it looked like clothes woven from fine brocade.
The woman came to Song Baozhu and bowed respectfully, with an indifferent expression on her face.
"My servant Chang Qing is an old man in this palace. The maids all call her aunt. I have met you during the day. I wonder if your concubine still remembers me."
Aunt Changqing said politely and distantly.
Song Baozhu looked at this woman, somehow feeling a little scared. But he still nodded as a response.
Aunt Changqing waved her hand, and a little palace maid came over respectfully carrying a pile of clothes.
"Then please invite your concubine to come out of the bath. Don't waste the time."
Song Baozhu's heart skipped a beat when he heard Aunt Changqing's words.
The "bridal chamber night of flowers and candles" that I had been looking forward to with a blushing face in my boudoir seemed to be about to take place. But there is no big wedding in the dream, let alone the parents getting married.
I couldn't help but feel miserable in my heart, but the disappointment in my eyes was still swallowed back into my stomach with the next blink.
Song Baozhu took a deep breath and stood up from the mist. Numbly, he accepted the palace people drying the water droplets on his body, and silently accepted the arrangement of fate.
Aunt Changqing skillfully changed Song Baozhu's clothes. The thin gauze under the mirror outlined the girl's graceful figure.
Only then did Song Baozhu realize that the gauze garment was like air covering her body, vaguely, full of the feeling of wanting to stop talking.
Song Baozhu couldn't help but the roots of her ears turned red, which slowly spread to her cheeks.
When it was time to comb her hair, Aunt Changqing, who was like a human spirit, also noticed that Song Baozhu couldn't help lowering her head, but she didn't pity her.
Instead, he used his skinny fingers to lift Song Baozhu's chin, and leaned over to look at the shy beauty in the bronze mirror with her.
"My concubine, tonight is your big day. What should you do if you are so shy?" There was no emotion in Aunt Changqing's tone, which made Song Baozhu feel a little at a loss.
"Yes..." Song Baozhu muttered, but he could only squeeze out one word as thin as a mosquito.
Aunt Changqing waved again, and another tray with books was placed in front of Song Baozhu.
There was no word on the cover, which made Song Baozhu curiously reach out and read it. But just the content on the first page made Song Baozhu jump with fear and look away in a hurry.
Yue Nu also blushed, but she still spoke on behalf of Song Baozhu: "Aunt Changqing, when our girl was in Mi Gen Country... just..."
Aunt Changqing's understanding look made people stop.
"Since your concubine already knew how to serve the Holy Master when she was in her homeland, this is very good."
After that, he just talked to himself and combed Song Baozhu's hair.
"Just because you have learned it doesn't mean you know how to do it. If the noble concubine is still like she was just now, then her future wealth will be far away."
Although he knew that these words were just official words spoken by every concubine, Song Baozhu's stomach still couldn't help but convulsed with discomfort.
Thinking of that dream... all the bad memories from the past in Migen Country came flooding back.
But now was not the time. Song Baozhu pinched her palm, and the pain made her sober.
"Thank you, aunt, for the advice." Song Baozhu smiled in a way that would not cause criticism. At this moment, she had no chance to retreat.
After another cup of tea, Song Baozhu finally dressed up completely. The delicate look in the mirror looked like the first cluster of peonies in early spring, and the provocative dress made Song Baozhu feel a little uncomfortable.
Song Baozhu was wrapped in a brocade quilt and carried to Cheng En's place.
Song Baozhu, who was in the brocade quilt, could hear the sound of footsteps and the wind outside, which made his already random heartbeat even worse.
I don't know where I arrived, but I was gently placed on a bed. Warm incense burned beside the bed, and a glimmer of light showed through the gap.
But Song Baozhu was stiff and didn't dare to move at all.
I don’t know how long it took, maybe an hour, maybe it was as long as an age. The voice of "Respect Your Majesty" finally sounded outside the door, making Song Baozhu's heart tighten.
The man didn't seem to be in a hurry, and just responded slowly, "Yes."
Then the door was opened, followed by a creaking sound followed by footsteps.
Song Baozhu couldn't help but caress the rising and falling chest, and even looked forward to what kind of face he would see when the brocade quilt was lifted off.
Will His Majesty of the Li Kingdom still look as handsome as the rumored one after he has passed his age?
But the rumored His Majesty didn't seem to be interested in what kind of beauty she was under the brocade quilt. His footsteps stopped on one side, and Song Baozhu heard the sound of pouring water.
Song Baozhu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed as the energy he had just cheered up was completely deflated. At this moment, your Majesty actually drinks tea first?
But he couldn't allow Song Baozhu to continue thinking wildly. The footsteps sounded again, but they were not coming towards the bed.
There was the sound of the door opening again, but the wind disturbed the Emperor Li's voice and could not reach Song Baozhu's ears.
Song Baozhu was suddenly lifted up, and she was so helpless that she almost fell out of the quilt.
But the person moving beneath him and the cold wind pouring in from the gap made Song Baozhu wake up instantly.
She was abandoned.
"It's really unlucky... This is the first time I encountered this situation. His Majesty actually let me be carried away without even looking at him."
"Who says it's not? It's true."
The whispers of the internal officials below him were like knives piercing Song Baozhu's heart. She stared in disbelief and shed tears of humiliation.
Until he was sent back to his temporary residence, he looked at Yue Nu with concerned eyes. Song Baozhu didn't even know what she had done wrong, so she was sent back.
"Girl..." Rao Shiyuenu was a big-hearted person and knew that Song Baozhu should not be sent back at this moment. Song Baozhu's stunned look also prevented her from asking another question.
The two of them remained speechless and waited silently until dawn. When the first ray of dawn shone on Song Baozhu, who was collapsed beside the bed, she realized that she was still wearing the transparent gauze dress.
With anger, Song Baozhu took off the clothes and threw them to the ground.
Yue Nu rarely saw Song Baozhu angry, so she could only help Song Baozhu put on the prepared palace clothes in silence.
Just waiting dryly until noon, Aunt Changqing came to Song Baozhu again.
The difference was that on that day it was announced that Song Baozhu would become the imperial concubine's internal official, and he was holding a bright imperial edict in his hand.
Song Baozhu knelt down and looked at the black and blue floor tiles beneath him. Waiting uneasily, perhaps the fate of destruction.
"His Majesty's imperial edict has given Song Baozhu's imperial concubine Fu Lin Palace to live in Lan Yue Pavilion, and she will move there immediately." After the arrogant palace servant said that, several people began to pack up Song Baozhu's few luggage, leaving Song Baozhu and Yue behind. The slaves looked at each other.
"Excuse me, Lord Neiguan, where is the Floating Lin Palace?" Yue Nu couldn't hold back and asked anxiously.
"That's a palace outside the palace, at the foot of Yanqi Mountain in the south of the city." Aunt Changqing still maintained a decent smile, but the coldness behind it made Song Baozhu's heart drop a little more.
"Outside the palace?!" Yue Nu couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this, "Our noble concubine was just rewarded yesterday. Why should we live outside the palace? Shouldn't we go to the harem with other concubines?"
The official looked disgusted and looked at Song Baozhu up and down with his triangular eyes.
"This matter is His Majesty's decision. If you feel aggrieved, you might as well ask Your Majesty yourself!"
Yue Nu was choked to the point of being speechless, as if she was gradually understanding something. She wanted to argue but was stopped by Song Baozhu.
"Forget it, Yue Slave. Since it is His Majesty's arrangement, there is a reason for it." Song Baozhu's helpless words did not sound like he was speaking to Yue Slave, but more like comforting himself.
The officer sneered, and his disdainful eyes dimmed a bit. "Your concubine is a sensible person, so please come with us."
Song Baozhu and his party hurriedly got on the carriage. Before leaving the palace gate, Song Baozhu couldn't help but lift the curtain and take a look at the towering city wall.
Is this what grandma said, ten thousand years of wealth... He has never even entered the inner palace, and now he is being sent away without knowing where he is going.
After swaying in the car for an unknown amount of time, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the officer patted the wall of the car and said.
Song Baozhu stepped out of the carriage and saw a small garden-like courtyard.
"This is the Lan Yue Pavilion of Fu Lin Palace. Your Majesty has given your concubine the gift to live here. Your daily life will be as per your concubine. You can walk around freely in Fu Lin Palace, but you cannot go out."
The inner man's face was as lifeless as a wooden sculpture, and his mouth opened and closed mechanically as he spoke.
Song Baozhu looked at the words "Lanyue Pavilion" on the elegant plaque, and instantly understood what kind of palace this was. It was clearly a prison.
Walking into Lan Yue Pavilion, a group of people who looked like palace maids and chamberlains were already waiting here. The internal official briefly introduced Song Baozhu as their future master, then turned around and prepared to leave.
Song Baozhu, who hesitated all the way, finally summoned up the courage to follow up.
"Sir..." Song Baozhu hesitated. The official seemed to understand what she wanted to ask, so he spoke first.
"My concubine, you don't need to ask me about His Majesty's decision. I can't figure out the Holy Will. But since you have been placed in this floating palace, I still advise you to settle down when you come."
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving only Song Baozhu's back.
Song Baozhu watched the farewell carriage go away, knowing that there was no way back.
But she was still confused. She didn't know why she was sent here after becoming a noble concubine.
But it’s true to say that you’ll take care of yourself once you’ve come. Life still needs to go on.
