Palace Intrigue?: I Make the Emperor Cry by Rewinding Time!-Chapter 157 - 133

In the dead of night, officials started getting up one after another, putting on formal court attire and leaving early.

Lamps were hung up one by one, illuminating the long street.

At this time, not wearing a python robe on your body, you would feel embarrassed to come out and walk around. The officials stood early in front of the hall, unable to openly talk and laugh aloud, they could only ask familiar colleagues to carefully inspect whether their attire was neat. Their faces radiated a kind of joyous delight.

How to smile in front of superiors is also a matter of great importance. They couldn’t foolishly grin with their mouths wide open, nor could they look down and out; the joy they exuded had to be one that came from all over their body radiating positive energy, making the Emperor feel great upon seeing it.

The officials rose early, and so did the harem.

Rarely was there a festival, Yun Jiao didn’t sleep much, she got up before dawn to groom with Lady Yun coming over from the Qingle Room — her mother had been sent in for some time, noblewomen couldn’t stay in the palace overnight, the Qingle Room was located at the junction outside the palace, a long string of dormitories built for noblewomen who entered the palace to serve.

"By now your father should be getting up too."

Ever since getting married, Lady Yun hadn’t left her husband and couldn’t help but miss him a little.

But compared to her pregnant daughter, it was trivial.

"My father’s official position is low, not enough for him to enter the palace to pay homage; it’s enough for him to just stand outside the hall, it’s also relaxing."

Lady Yun raised her hand to touch her daughter’s forehead: "There’s a saying that pregnancy makes you forgetful for three years, look at your memory! The Emperor specially granted permission for your father to enter the palace to pay homage, did you forget?"

...Yun Jiao really forgot.

To be honest, she actually laughed a bit that day, thinking about how funny the scene of issuing the imperial edict must be!

A eunuch grandly opened the bright yellow edict and proclaimed: the boss wants to reward you!

The subordinate accepted the edict with trepidation, asking what the boss wanted to reward him with?

The boss said he rewarded him with a day off tomorrow to come to the company for team building and by the way, gave him a chance to gift him.

Which worker wouldn’t feel their vision go black at hearing this?

Yun Jiao’s father’s vision went black, but it was from passing out with joy — with his background and official position, he had no qualification to step over the threshold of the Imperial Palace in this lifetime, but because he had a promising daughter, he could enter the palace to pay homage on such a universally celebrated day, and a puff of smoke gushed out from the ancestral tomb.

Lady Yun, equally shocked by her daughter’s honor, was also affected.

On the day she entered the palace, after bowing and greeting the Empress, she turned to Xianfu Palace. Along the way, eunuchs from Zichen Palace accompanied her, afraid she would get lost, there were noble figures everywhere in the palace, she feared offending people and causing trouble for her daughter, but unexpectedly, whoever met her, upon knowing she was Concubine Xi’s biological mother, showed her a kind face.

When she truly saw her daughter, Lady Yun couldn’t help but shed tears.

The precious daughter who had been raised in front of her every day was also about to become a mother, how could she not be moved! Luckily, her daughter looked unchanged, still the innocent and naïve little girl, it seemed the Emperor protected her well, she hadn’t suffered greatly.

"Recently my memory really seems to have worsened."

After putting on the festive dress, Yun Jiao obediently sat down, letting Gong Mei apply makeup for her.

Xue Ya comforted her: "Anyway, Lady, your memory wasn’t particularly good before either."

Yun Jiao pouted.

Lady Yun told her not to make strange faces: "The child in the womb will learn bad things."

"Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you, mother."

As soon as Lady Yun turned away, Yun Jiao used her finger to push her nose upward, making a funny face at Xue Ya.

Lady Yun sighed: "You play the zither so well, later you need to accompany Lady Shufei... Before, our family couldn’t even cross the threshold of joining them at their gatherings. I didn’t want to force you to practice hard when you shouted and complained, thinking it wouldn’t be used for a performance! Unexpectedly, you have to perform on such a big day like the Longevity Festival. Had I known, I would have made sure you practiced well no matter what."

Even with the filter of a mother looking at her daughter, Lady Yun felt her daughter’s zither skills were not refined enough.

"I’ve never seen so many high-ranking officials and aristocrats, anyone I can’t afford to offend, a single finger could press your father to the point of no recovery. You’re in the palace, it’s not easy, as a mother I can’t add trouble for you."

Her brows suddenly furrowed with worry: "I don’t know how your father is doing."

Behind her, Xue Ya exclaimed "oh" and held the lady steady:

"Lady, you can’t lie down after putting on festive clothes, it’ll crease the robes!"

Yun Jiao had no choice but to sit up straight.

The Emperor’s birthday really is exhausting!

...

At the same time, Yun Yuan, who was on Lady Yun’s mind, and the eunuch receiving him were facing a major test.

Not many officials could enter the palace to celebrate the birthday, according to Yan Chi’s tradition, officials below Fourth Grade only fit to stand outside. Queueing and seating arrangements all held significance, not entirely based on official rank, all were about human interactions. But by any standard, the eunuch had never seen such a low-ranked official being able to enter the palace to dine at the table!

"Sir, just place me at the end, standing with you is fine."

Yun Yuan politely said.

He looked around, all were prominent figures he couldn’t afford to offend.

"How could we! I just had the same thought but Lord Fang disagreed, saying it should be rearranged."

Yun Yuan asked which Lord Fang it was.

Upon asking, he vaguely remembered it was the leader of his leader’s leader.

Even such a figure barely touched the edge of entering the palace to celebrate the birthday.

"Why? It’s not like I’m going to stand in front of him."

He was just someone working at the Imperial College, what official power did he have?

"Lord Fang thought," the eunuch looked around cautiously, lowered his voice and said: "When Concubine Xi sees you standing at the back, she certainly won’t be happy, if the Lady isn’t happy, she’ll see who dares to stand in front of her father, if she sees, wouldn’t she resent Lord Fang? Mr. Yun, you are also a person of great standing here."

The officials of the previous dynasty didn’t know Concubine Xi’s disposition.

They didn’t see her carefree and laid-back side; they only saw the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family clash with her, resulting in Concubine Jiang becoming Consort Jiang. It was said Empress Wei had tried to deal with her twice, without any success. With such high-handed tactics, now pregnant, if she whispered into the Emperor’s ear, their official paths would be doomed.

Since they didn’t know, they could only respect her.

Unexpectedly, it was his daughter who wielded influence, Yun Yuan chuckled dryly: "Jiao... the Lady is not such a person, sir, just arrange according to official rank."

The eunuch didn’t rush to refute him, feeling disdain in his heart.

Could the nature nurtured at home be the same as the nature after entering the palace and becoming a master? Besides, how much could a father know his daughter? He accompanied a smiling face: "Mr. Yun, don’t worry, I’ll ask around to see how many are willing to give up their position, moving one space back."

The eunuch went around asking one by one.

After asking for a while, he returned panting: "Mr. Yun, please come over here."

Yun Yuan followed; after walking for some time, he could no longer see the blue stone top crown and wild goose patch attire.

"Mr. Yun, please wait here, later the seating for the banquet will also follow this sequence."

The eunuch said respectfully.

Yun Yuan looked up to see a line of coral top crowns and brocade chicken patch attire, a middle-aged man with a crane embroidered on his body turned his head, looking at him with a sinister smile: "Is this the father of Lady Xi?"