The carriage entered the palace gates, and Qi Yue sat without moving.

Chen Shi lifted her hand to pull back the curtain, and the scenery outside became clearly visible.

Qi Yue grinned, Chen Shi also smiled slightly, and neither spoke.

Only then did Qi Yue formally begin touring the palace by carriage.

The scenery was no different from palaces of later eras, only more exquisite and vivid. What met her eyes were well-arranged building complexes, nine-dragon glazed screen walls, white marble and blue brick paving, clean and dignified and solemn, with mostly eunuchs in various colored clothing coming and going.

“The route we’re taking is the one I told you about. Over there is Kunning Palace,” Chen Shi said, pointing to a courtyard.

Qi Yue made an “oh” sound and looked carefully.

“However, you can see this Kunning Palace if you want,” Chen Shi said.

Qi Yue gasped.

Although she really wanted to see a living empress, hadn’t they said they wouldn’t meet anyone?

“The Empress doesn’t live here,” Chen Shi said. “She’s staying with the Empress Dowager in the West Garden.”

Palace secrets? Chen Shi just casually revealed them like this?

Qi Yue couldn’t help looking around.

The eunuch driving the carriage was as if deaf and mute.

Passing through a corridor, the carriage stopped.

Two sedan chairs were carried over.

“Oh my, Madam, you’ve come!” A plump eunuch in red python robes smiled as he came to receive them.

Chen Shi had already gotten out of the carriage and looked at him with slight surprise.

“Don’t you recognize this servant?” the eunuch smiled.

“Are you Huang Chuan?” Chen Shi asked.

“Miss, you still remember little Chuan!” the eunuch said, his eyes reddening as he spoke, raising his hand to wipe tears. “Counting it up, it’s been thirty years since we last met…”

Yes, in the blink of an eye it had been decades. Chen Shi sighed slightly.

“You were thin and small back then. Now you’ve put on weight too,” she smiled again.

“I’m old, old. When you get old, you get fat,” Huang Chuan laughed while extending his hand.

Chen Shi placed her hand on his and walked toward the sedan chair.

“Your body has prospered, and your position has prospered too?” Chen Shi smiled.

The status of eunuchs could be seen from their clothing – earth yellow, blue, purple, red…

“Thanks to Miss’s blessing, I’m now helping out at the Ceremonial Directorate,” Huang Chuan smiled.

The Ceremonial Directorate was the chief eunuch administration.

Chen Shi smiled slightly.

“What blessing do I have? You’re relying on your own fortune,” she said, getting into the sedan chair.

Here, Qi Yue was also helped into the rear sedan chair by a young eunuch.

From beginning to end, the eunuch who was very familiar with Chen Shi didn’t glance at her once, much less ask anything.

“Miss, it’s not easy for you to come once. Let little Chuan guide you, just like we used to,” Huang Chuan said.

Chen Shi looked at him and smiled.

Switching to sedan chairs and passing through a palace gate, the scenery changed again. Compared to the solemnity before, this area seemed softer.

There were more people here too, with palace maids making up more of those coming and going.

A beauty emerged from a palace, wearing a beige front-buttoned shirt with an embroidered beige tube top, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with lovely features. Following her were four palace-dressed maidservants.

“Your Ladyship, where shall we go?” a palace maid asked.

The beauty sighed somewhat bored.

“It’s too stuffy inside. Let’s go to Jade Wave Pool – they’ve raised many new koi there,” she said.

The palace maid smiled and glanced back at the palace behind them.

“Perfect – the pastries Beauty Sun sent can be used to feed the fish,” she said quietly.

The beauty gave her a half-smile.

“I’m afraid they might poison the fish to death,” she laughed.

The palace maid also laughed. The two walked along the path but suddenly stopped.

“Who’s over there?” the beauty asked, looking at two sedan chairs traveling on the left side, squinting.

The palace maid also hurried to look.

“I don’t recognize them, but Chief Steward Huang is accompanying them!” she said in surprise.

“Must be external noble ladies?” another palace maid guessed. “Going to see the Empress Dowager?”

“This direction isn’t toward the Empress Dowager’s place,” the beauty said, watching those sedan chairs.

The sedan chairs turned a corner, coming closer to their side. Since the sun wasn’t harsh, there were no covers on the sedan chairs, so everyone could clearly see the people in them.

“Which external noble lady entering the palace could have Chief Steward Huang’s personal accompaniment?” the beauty couldn’t help murmuring. And most importantly, both women were very beautiful.

The older one being beautiful wasn’t particularly noteworthy given her age, but she was accompanied by Chief Steward Huang. Looking at the one behind…

The beauty’s gaze fell on the rear sedan chair.

Such graceful bearing…

Everyone stopped to watch the two sedan chairs pass by.

“Your Ladyship, shall we still go to Jade Wave Pool?” the palace maid asked carefully, seeing the beauty hadn’t moved.

The appearance of women in the rear palace, especially beautiful ones with unusual status, was a momentous matter.

“No, you go find out – which palace had visitors today?” she said quietly.

The palace maids understood and dispersed.

Unfortunately, after making inquiries all around, they didn’t get the answers they wanted.

“We’ve asked everywhere, even the Empress Dowager’s place, but no one came,” the palace maid said quietly.

The beauty reclined on her arhat bed, even more curious.

“The Empress is one thing – her family hasn’t been allowed to come for ages,” she said, analyzing the palace residents one by one. “What about Consort Dong?”

“No,” the palace maid shook her head. “Lady Dong is with the Empress Dowager, playing cards with the Empress.”

The beauty snorted, then thought of something.

“They wouldn’t be going to see His Majesty, would they?” she suddenly sat up, her expression surprised.

“That can’t be,” the palace maid said hurriedly. “His Majesty is in the front court and has been very busy lately. He hasn’t returned to the inner palace for several days, staying at Diligent Government Hall the whole time.”

Only then did the beauty slowly lean back.

“How strange. Weren’t these two coming to see someone?” she said, somewhat amused.

She had actually guessed correctly – these two really weren’t here to see anyone.

“The palace where Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoci lived doesn’t look very luxurious,” Qi Yue said, surveying her surroundings.

By now she had followed Chen Shi through this palace hall by hall.

“At that time, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaoci was still just the Empress,” Chen Shi said, her hand gently brushing past a door as she walked along the corridor pillars.

“She lived here even then?” Qi Yue asked curiously.

At this moment, the vast palace contained only the two of them. Chief Steward Huang had stopped and taken his leave after they entered, and the young eunuchs carrying the sedan chairs remained outside.

“Yes, the Empress and Emperor both lived here,” Chen Shi said, stopping at a window. “Right here.”

Qi Yue hurried over to look. The window was tightly closed, so there wasn’t really anything to see, but this felt much like visiting an emperor’s residence in modern times.

Qi Yue couldn’t help smiling at this feeling.

“Don’t emperors usually live separately?” she asked.

Chen Shi smiled slightly.

“But this emperor was different,” she smiled. “Back then, court officials even submitted memorials about this. Guess what the Emperor said?”

“What did he say?” Qi Yue asked.

“None of your damn business,” Chen Shi said.

Qi Yue was stunned, though she quickly recovered and couldn’t help laughing.

“Really?” she asked.

Chen Shi nodded and smiled herself.

She walked forward again.

“Here, I lived here,” she said, pointing to a small side room.

Qi Yue hurried to follow and look. She had thought living in the palace was just living there, but hadn’t expected it meant living together with the Son of Heaven and Empress. Even imperial princes and princesses couldn’t do this.

“I was only four then,” she said, looking through the window lattice. She seemed to see a small child stepping over a high threshold, followed by young eunuchs and palace maids carefully protecting her.

“Your Ladyship, Your Ladyship…” the soft childish voice called, throwing herself toward the kind-looking woman in the room, then being held in her embrace. At that time, this embrace was the most longed-for, warmest thing after losing her mother…

Chen Shi’s eyes reddened.

She just hadn’t expected that this was actually the source of losing everything.

“Let’s go,” she suddenly lost interest and turned to say.

Qi Yue withdrew her gaze from the window lattice and made an “oh” sound.

Seeing objects and thinking of old friends was always melancholy. She understood.

Chen Shi and she stepped out, and the young eunuchs hurried to receive them.

“Madam, Chief Steward Huang said these are your favorite Snow Sweet Pills. You love to cry, so they’ll soothe your throat,” a purple-robed young eunuch said, respectfully holding up a small porcelain bottle.

Chen Shi was amused again.

“That little Chuan,” she said, taking it and pouring one into her palm to eat, then passing it to Qi Yue. “You try one too.”

Qi Yue reached out to take it.

“Madam, do you want to go anywhere else?” the young eunuch asked for instructions.

Chen Shi got into the sedan chair and shook her head.

“No, I’ll head back now,” she said.

Hearing this, the young eunuch said no more, made a gesture, and everyone hurried to lift the sedan chairs properly, heading back along the original route.

Qi Yue again enjoyed the scenery along the way, eating the sweet pill in her mouth, feeling quite good.

In the distance, she saw a procession approaching, also sedan chairs, but bright yellow sedan chairs with canopies.

Everyone’s steps involuntarily stopped.

“Is it His Majesty?” Chen Shi asked.

Behind her, Qi Yue was startled and swallowed the sweet pill in one gulp, choking and hurriedly patting her chest to help it down.

Really, really going to see a living emperor? Three kowtows and nine prostrations…

The young eunuchs didn’t respond, but in fact no response was needed – only the Emperor could use such regalia.

They stopped, put down the sedan chairs, and although still at some distance, were already prepared for the imperial audience.

Chen Shi also got down, her expression seeming somewhat complex.

Qi Yue also couldn’t remain seated and stood up to walk beside Chen Shi.

The Emperor’s sedan chair drew closer and closer.

Everyone around lowered their gaze. Qi Yue also didn’t dare stare brazenly, only carefully glancing through Chen Shi’s shoulder to see seven or eight red-robed eunuchs clustered around four purple-robed eunuchs carrying a sedan chair. On it sat a man in bright yellow robes leaning sideways, his hand propping his head, the hanging canopy blocking his face, but from this posture alone one could tell he was definitely leisurely and at ease.

This leisureliness seemed somewhat at odds with the atmosphere here.

The sedan chair drew closer and closer. The young eunuchs all knelt down, Chen Shi also prepared to bow, and Qi Yue didn’t dare look anymore. Just then, however, the Emperor’s sedan chair turned a corner, going down a corridor and disappearing from sight.

Everyone was stunned and didn’t recover for quite some time.