Traveling to the ancient harem

Chapter 198: Past Events in the Palace

Ningyuxuan.

"I think Ningyuxuan is great. I don't think it's a haunted house. Instead, I think given our current situation, it's okay to live here. It's in a remote location, and there aren't many people living around, so it won't attract attention." Huang Ye really thought so.

"Your Majesty, there are people living nearby. The retired emperor lives in the Qiyun Palace not far away." Xiao Xiangzi reminded her.

"The Emperor?" Huang Ye was a little surprised. Isn't this where the concubines live? Why is the Emperor involved?

"After the retired emperor abdicated, he moved into the Qiyun Palace where he lived when he was still a prince, and did not live with the empress dowager," Xiao Xiangzi explained.

"Oh... that's understandable." The Queen Mother's personality is such that no one wants to pay attention to her.

"Go on, isn't there another talented person?" Huang Ye reminded Aunt Fanghua to continue.

"That Jin Cairen was a maid who served the crown prince back then. She had no family background and no status in the harem. She could be said to be the one with the least sense of existence. However, Madam Yu, who served the emperor with her, died half a year after the queen, who was then the crown princess, entered the palace."

"Tell me about it." My aunt was interested in Huang Ye and brought it up specifically. There must be a reason.

"This Madam Yu was very beautiful and was highly regarded by the Crown Prince at the time. Not long after the Crown Princess entered the palace, she suddenly fell ill. It wasn't a serious illness, but she just felt listless. The imperial physician couldn't find the cause of the illness, and she passed away half a year later."

"Things here... aren't that simple, right?" Huang Ye asked. She suspected there was something fishy going on.

"It was the Queen who did it." Aunt Fanghua was very sure.

"What kind of person is the Queen?" Huang Ye was a little confused. Aren't people outside praising her for being carefully brought up since childhood and being the most virtuous and kind? Isn't there such a big difference?

"What kind of person is the Queen? Your Majesty, you should see with your own eyes in the future... Based on your status, you should have six eunuchs this time, but now you only have four."

Fanghua looked at the empress in front of her. This child was very smart. To survive in the harem, she had to be on guard against the queen's tricks. She hoped that she would not fall into the queen's trap.

"Aunt, Xiao Xiangzi, you two will be my right-hand men in the future. We may live together for the rest of our lives. You can tell me whatever you want to say. I don't like hiding things the most." Huang Ye spoke to them both frankly. Aunt didn't need to say anything, and Xiao Xiangzi was arranged by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he should be trustworthy.

"To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I was able to become the chief eunuch of Ningyuxuan this time because I took the lead from Eunuch Sun who worked in the imperial kitchen. No one in the palace knows about this. Eunuch Sun is my fifth uncle." Xiao Xiangzi said it cheerfully. Your Majesty was right. They would be a whole from now on. Wasn't it right to tell Your Majesty about this?

"Eunuch Sun?" Fanghua was very surprised. She really didn't know about this matter. "That Eunuch Sun is a capable person. Purchasing for the imperial kitchen is a lucrative job. You can't hold that position without some skill."

"Were you brought into the palace by your fifth uncle?" Huang Ye asked.

"No, when I was eight years old, my village was hit by a flood and all my family members died. I entered the palace to avoid starvation. After entering the palace, I was assigned to work in the imperial kitchen. I met my fifth uncle there. He didn't recognize me, but I had seen him before."

"When I was a child, he returned to his hometown once to visit his parents' graves. My fifth uncle...both his parents died that year, and he left his hometown and disappeared. I didn't expect to meet him in the palace."

"Did your fifth uncle visit his parents' grave as a eunuch?" Huang Ye asked curiously.

"No, he was an ordinary person. He told the villagers that he was doing business outside."

"I was young at that time and was always bullied in the imperial kitchen. When I saw my fifth uncle, I didn't say anything. I found an opportunity to meet him secretly and recognized him as my relative. After that, my life gradually became better." Xiao Xiangzi did not hide it.

"Except for the queen and my aunt, no one in the palace knows the relationship between me and my fifth uncle. They all think that he is just taking care of me because we both have the surname Sun."

"Then why does your fifth uncle want you to serve me? It's obvious that that person looks much more promising than me." Huang Ye was referring to Xu Rou.

"My fifth uncle told me that this is the best way out he has arranged for me. He said that people from the Huang family are not bad. As long as you work hard and be loyal to the queen, you will never be tortured. In this palace, having a good master is a blessing for servants."

Huang Ye was happy in his heart. This eunuch Sun really had good vision.

"I'm sure Your Majesty already knows about what I did in the past. I almost died that time, but after I recovered, I became ruthless. In this harem, weakness means death. If I don't want to die, I must stand up." Fanghua thought of the past with determination in her eyes.

"I am also lucky to have met two like-minded friends. They have been helping me, so the concubine and I were able to survive. You are familiar with those two people, they are Old Xing and Old Zhang from Chuxiu Palace." Fanghua did not hide her cards.

"I won't talk about Old Xing. Old Zhang used to be a secret guard. Her skills are unfathomable. She was able to bring down that beauty back then because she found out about their plan and used it against them."

Huang Ye understood. It turned out that these two had contributed greatly to the transformation of Aunt Xiaofang from the naive and innocent girl to the current Aunt Fanghua. No wonder the two maids took good care of her in Chuxiu Palace. It seemed that they were entrusted by Aunt.

"It's very late, Your Majesty, you should go to bed early. You have to pay your respects to the Empress tomorrow morning. But you have to be careful of Concubine Gao. She has a foul mouth and will say something if she doesn't like anyone. The Empress doesn't care and is happy to use her as a gun." Fanghua reminded her.