Someone once said that if a personâs ancestor from eighteen generations ago performed a terrible act, they would transmigrate into a world where they must live as an imperial concubine. In that event, thereâs only two paths that person could take: either teach the emperor how to love, or be killed by him or the harem members.
Zhuang Laoyan laughed at the person who had come up with such a thought. They must have had problems with their brain. She quickly understood what to do. In this world, anything could happen; there just needed to be a reason.ăă
Come March, the bloom of the peach blossoms could be described in one word: beautiful. Yet only in the imperial harem would the beauty of its inhabitants eclipse those of flowers.
Imperial concubines that were either beautiful, pampered, or charming passed by the empressâ palace, their palace maids trailing behind them. As they did, they caught sight of someone kneeling on the ground. And they indulged in schadenfreude. ăă
âMasterâŠâ said Xieyu in a low voice, a servant of JieyuÂč Zhuang. The servantâs gaze left the woman kneeling before them, and feeling a bit afraid, she watched her masterâs expression. ă
With indifference, Jieyu Zhuang sent a glance at her clothes. âLook at her cowering in a ball from fear. Does she even know what she looks like right now?â After watching Xieyu rise to her feet, she turned back to the woman who was kneeling. She let a smile spread across her lips, one that did not quite touch her eyes. âThis sister of mine is arrogant. Now she has lost all her face. Itâs better that one learns something.â ăă
As Xie Yu saw the glee in Jieyu Zhuangâs eyes, her back began to sweat. No matter how itâs put, WanyiÂČ Zhuang was her masterâs sister. Although they were not born from the same mother, they were still blood-related. Yet the master did not hold any regard for their relationship.
In the past, the emperor had favored that Wanyi Zhuang for a few days. But she let it get to her head and forgot her identity. She lost the emperorâs favor, then lost her demeanor in front of the empressâ procession. Through the grapevine, she had also fallen ill yesterday. And now she was bound to this fate, forced to kneel in front of everyone by the empressâ courtyard.ăă
Zhuang Laoyanâs knees ached like no tomorrow. It was at this moment that she realized that she could no longer be a bystander in the previous Zhuang Laoyanâs pursuit. The pursuit for promotion in the harem. For she had suddenly taken that personâs place as an imperial concubine the emperor disliked.
Letâs not dwell on whether sheâs favored or lacked favor. If one were to put it bluntly, she was only a fifth-rank wanyi. In this imperial harem where girls outnumbered flowers, any person with a higher rank than her could stomp her to death. Once within the imperial harem, women without a powerful background or the emperorâs affection would not have a good future. Zhuang Laoyan sighed.
She carefully used her wide sleeves to rub at her knees. Then she lifted her head, reading the sign that hung above the palace doors. Jingyang Palace. This was the empressâ abode. The place where every woman in the palace dreamed of living.
Her mind holding memories that did not belong to her, Zhuang Laoyan felt a bit of a headache. She once again lowered her head so that no one could see the frown sliding across her face. After picking up a new life, she would not allow others to step on herself.
However, what did her eighteen generations of ancestors do to put her in this situation? Out of nowhere, she became someone who had to kiss the emperor BOSSâ ass. Not only that, she became someone who was too weak to fight with others.
âI was wondering which consort was kneeling. Turns out it was Wanyi Zhuang. Just looking at your pale face breaks my heart.â
Zhuang Laoyan raised her head again. From the corner of her eyes she could see the foot end of a sky blue dress. It belonged to the person who was speaking to her. This womanâs voice was purposely high-pitched and loud, and her actions exaggeratedly illustrated that she she held no love for Zhuang Laoyan. The mystery woman and her bodyâs previous owner must not have had a pleasant relationship. In fact, this woman seemed extremely happy at her poor situation. That said, she did not appear very smart. There was no way she could be promoted to such a high rank of an empress.
âThis slaveÂł pays respect to Jieyu Ma,â said a palace maid kneeling by Zhuang Laoyanâs side, afraid that if she were even a little slow with her greeting, it would anger Jieyu Ma. Another palace maid that was neither afraid nor disrespectful of Jieyu Ma saluted to her properly, kneeling with her back straight as a ramrod. ăă
âGreetings to Jieyu Ma,â Zhuang Laoyan said after breezing through her thoughts. Since she was an independent woman from the modern age, she was akin to a chameleon, able to act either very weak or strong. In this situation, she felt that lowering her head was a smarter option than running away.ăă
Judging by her memories, this Jieyu Ma had lived in the imperial palace for several years. When she had first entered, she received the emperorâs favor. In the past, the previous owner of her body had also been favored a lot. However, the emperor no longer liked said previous owner. No wonder this Jieyu Ma was relishing in her suffering.
If one were to say that Jieyu Maâs mockery of Wanyi Zhuang was a brainless action, then the things that the previous Zhuang Laoyan did were even more stupid. As mentioned before, after receiving a bit of favor, she acted like she was the most powerful woman in the whole imperial harem. It made sense that she had fallen to this point. She wasnât wronged at all.
Before Zhuang Laoyan transmigrated, she had watched many television dramas with harem intrigue. Most of the women from the imperial harem were beautiful and had hearts full of tricks. None of them should be taken lightly. Even this Wanyi Zhuang was originally a Guiji⎠that had been promoted. However, she had forgotten who she was and died after falling ill. And now, Zhuang Laoyan had to take care of the trouble the previous Wanyi Zhuang left behind.
Her profession from her last life required superb acting and coaxing skills. Now in her current borrowed life, she still had to keep this up. In this situation, if she didnât train the emperor, then the emperor would train her. Of these two paths, which was more difficult? ăă
Her knees ached from pain in one second and felt numb in the other. To be a woman, one must live a life full of excitement. One must die a flashy and memorable death. Even if she failed to kiss the emperorâs ass, she would not let the harem force her to a watery death, her corpse having been pushed down a well.
Looking at this from an economic standpoint, wasnât booking a night with the emperorâ” free? In fact, on the other hand, the emperor would even pay for her meals, clothes, residence, transportation, vacations, and entertainment. She didnât have to worry about the price of oil when driving, or meet terrible customers at work. And she didnât have to wake up early in the morning and drag herself to work, only to return home late into the evening. Her salary was large no matter how hard she worked, if at all.
If not, she could still think of ways to make the emperor happy! Even if her success rate was low, she still had a huge goal in this place full of tricks. People were not afraid of being poor. They were afraid of not having a goal.
Although Jieyu Ma mocked her for a good while, Zhuang Laoyan did not respond to her antics at all. Her heart that was originally full of cheer now trembled unhappily. âWanyi Zhuang, are my words not important enough for you to respond?âăă
âMay Jieyu Ma forgive my wrongs. It isnât that Younger Sister dared to act in such a way. Itâs just that Her Majesty the empress ordered me to kneel here. I donât dare to slack off in saluting you, so may Jieyu Ma forgive me.â Wanyi Zhuang lowered her head even more, not looking at Jieyu Maâs expression, not wanting to see the person who could become the ash of a cannon at any secondâ¶. Compared to the reporters that had crowded Zhuang Laoyan in her previous life, Jieyu Ma possessed a far weaker life-ruining power.
Back then, when her companyâs milk product branch had met some trouble, and the company was forced to face hordes of quick-tongued reporters, she was able to handle the situation. Those reporters had been especially good at digging for answers.
However, the reason for her transmigration⊠Could it be due to the problems with her companyâs products? Because she had been the manager of the public relations department, and directly received the anger and discontentment of the customers, perhaps her face had been pitiful upon death. If she thought of it like so, maybe her transmigration had nothing to do with the wrongs of her ancestors. It must have been spurred by a wrong she herself committed.ăă
This meant that for those on earth, the people working for companies with bad ethics would receive divine retribution!
However⊠Wasnât she wronged just a little? She was just an innocent manager of the public relations department. If just a little manager received such a divine punishment, what would her bossâ reincarnation have to deal with to pay for his crimes?!
âThe heavens knew all. There would always be retribution for crimes committed.â There was actually some truth to this proverb.
âYouâŠâ Because Wanyi Zhuang did not pay her any attention, Jieyu Maâs expression darkened.
âVery good. This palaceâ· used to think you were a greedy person. Yet, seeing that you seem to abide by protocol today, you are no longer required to kneel.â Who knew that the empress would appear behind them? From her body radiated a noble air.
âThis imperial concubineâžâs manner of speech and actions were not previously up to standard. It is all thanks to Your Majesty the empressâ teaching that they are now passable,â said Zhuang Laoyan. âDue to Your Majestyâs kindness, this concubine was only punished to kneel. Because of the light punishment for the large crime, this concubine feels ashamed.â She once again saluted grandly, as respectful as possible, then slowly rose to her feet. After she stood straight, she felt that her knees were even more painful than before. But she did not let the pain show on her face. Not only that, she had struggled to speak like a noble from imperial China, finding the manner of speech difficult.
For humans to live a good life, they had to adapt to their environment. School textbooks had not lied about this fact.
Seeing that Wanyi Zhuang had a way with words, the empress lightened her expression slightly. Sheâs just a wanyi that lost favor with the emperor. Not to mention, the Zhuang family held some power. Because of this, the empress would not hurt the Zhuang familyâs face too much. She could also use this chance to seem magnanimous. ă
For stupid women like Wanyi Zhuang, the emperor would at most favor her a few times in the beginning. Then he would quickly forget about her. The empress did not have to rush to kill her. In the imperial palace, to gain or lose such a woman would make no difference.ă
After thinking to this point, the empress glanced coldly at Jieyu Ma, the one who had run her mouth before. The little palace maids by her side helped escort the empress back inside her residence.
Once she could no longer see the figure of the empress, Jieyu Ma lifted a hand to wipe at the sweat on her forehead. She glanced at Wanyi Zhuang on the side and realized that the other womanâs expression was neither happy nor sad. She did not seem frazzled at all. Jieyu Ma harrumphed and left with her palace maids.
âMaster,â said Zhuang Laoyanâs servant girl as she watched Jieyu Ma leave. She wasted no time in helping support Zhuang Luoyan, eyes full of sincere concern. ăă
Zhuang Laoyan glanced at her. If memory proved correct, this palace maid was named Yunxi. She was a maid that was sent as part of Wanyi Zhuangâs dowry. The Zhuang estate prepared heavily for their daughterâs marriage into royalty. Unfortunately, they had not known that their daughterâs personality did not suit the palace. And now, things had progressed to such a point.
âLetâs return,â said Zhuang Laoyan. After witnessing the empressâ attitude today, she did not think the empress would give her much trouble for now. What she needed to do was properly plan.ă
As mentioned before, after watching so many dramas about imperial harems, Zhuang Laoyan was very knowledgeable of such matters. To this emperor, women were nothing but tools. When he liked them, he would hide them in a house full of treasures. When he disliked them, heâd toss them away like trash. However, in the imperial harem, if someone was not at least a little favored, even the palace maids and eunuchs would not respect them. How could one live peacefully then?
Now that she had an extra life, why not live it the best she could? If she could be put down in history as either a favored concubine or an evil concubine, it would be enough.
What she regretted the most was working that PR job in her last life. If she hadnât had that job, she wouldnât be here right now, forced to fight tooth and nail with all these women in the palace. This must be retribution.
Because Wanyi Zhuangâs father had a good position in the morning court, the location of Zhuang Laoyanâs residence, Taoyu Pavilion, was not too shabby. It even had a peach forest. Currently, it was the middle of March, and the peach blossoms were near bloom. Once in full bloom, such a sight was breathtaking.ăă
Once Zhuang Laoyan returned to Taoyu Pavillion, she made a beeline for the couch and sat down, leaning against the backrest with no regard for how unseemly she appeared. Yunxi helped massage her knees, hands extremely skillful. Zhuang Laoyan slowly closed her eyes.
About half an incense stick laterâč, Zhuang Laoyan opened her eyes again, bit by bit. Then she scanned the room. âYunxi, where did Luyi go?â ăă
Yunxi carefully observed her masterâs impassive expression, heart thrashing once against her chest. âThis slave does not know.â
âItâs fine. Currently I am just a wanyi that has lost favor. Once she returns, tell her to go to the embroidery workshop to be a heavy labor laundry servant. Taoyu Pavilion is too small. It does not have enough space for her.â Once these words left her lips, Zhuang Laoyan did not speak again.
After appearing to have fought with herself in her thoughts, Yunxi said, âMaster, if we expel Luyi at this time, the masters of other residences willâŠâ
Zhuang Laoyan sputtered in laughter. âNothing can get worse than this. I canât afford to keep these kinds of servants by my side right now.â
Yunxiâs eyes popped and she lowered her head. She dared not speak again. Her heart hid a bit of fear. For however long she had worked in the palace, her master seemed to have changed.ăă
In some occasions, if one could make quick decisions, one would live in the imperial harem without too much issue. Those who were too honest and good could still survive, but such was a life where one was better off dead. Those who had to deal with customers as part of the public relations department would naturally know how to manipulate a situation to their favor. Reading the expression of someone who worked in such a profession was nearly impossible. These types of people had long since grown past the stage of being a naive little maiden.
Upon lunchtime, only when noon passed did the Imperial Kitchens finally send her meal over. The dishes were not of a high quality, and were not hot to the touch. Zhuang Laoyan observed the food impassively. The servants that were serving her were also expressionless. ăăăă
After all the dishes were set, Zhuang Laoyan counted only four dishes, one bowl of soup, and one plate of dim sumÂčâ°. The soup had already gone cold. It was obvious that the dim sum had been sitting somewhere outside the oven for a while now. After Zhuang Laoyan washed her hands, she picked up a strip of green bamboo shoot with chopsticks. Took a bite. Although it wasnât too fresh, the taste was passable. In her past life, she had been too busy with work and often made do with fast food. So these dishes she could still accept.
Noticing that their master wasnât angry at the food from the Imperial Kitchens, the palace maids in the room let out a sigh of relief.
After Zhuang Laoyan finished eating, Luyi finally returned. Zhuang Laoyan held a teacup and did not look at the kneeling figure of Luyi before her. Only after half a stick of incense had been burnt through did she sigh. âIâm the type of master that never gives trouble to her servants. Today you, Luyi, have not done your duties. However, since you have served me for so long, Iâll send you to the embroidery workshop instead of expelling you from the palace. As for your new duties, Yunxi has already informed the people working there. No matter what, youâll still have something to do.â ăă
âMaster!â Never had Luyi thought that Zhuang Laoyan, who had lost favor, would treat her like this. When Yunxi had relayed to her Zhuang Laoyanâs order, she had only thought that her master had been livid from being punished and was merely venting out on her. Now that she knew Zhuang Laoyan was serious, she kept kowtowing and begging for forgiveness. âMay master have mercy! May Master have mercy! This slave will not dare to do this anymoreâŠâ
âFu Bao, muffle her. Iâm tired and donât want to hear this.â Zhuang Laoyan rose to her feet and decided to take a nap. The infamous nap that most imperial concubines took after a meal.
Being able to take a nap after eating lunch was a blessing. The profession of an imperial concubines was a lot better than her old job.
Could this be considered a benefit of transmigration?
In her previous life, people used women as if they were men and used men as if they were animals. An afternoon nap was a myth. Now in this life, people serviced her to eat and she could even take an afternoon nap.ăăăă
For this reason, Zhuang Laoyan really loved this new life of hers in some ways. Additionally, she believed her bossâ next life would be terrible. Her old boss had been the chief culprit of the companyâs issues after all.
Good results only came from proper preparation. And only after having good results would the heart be at rest. Even though she had died in her previous world, because Zhuang Laoyanâs previous parents had already passed away before her, no one would be that upset after her death. Her situation now was already compensation for her fate. That was why she was able to accept it. ăă
Of course, if the emperor occasionally came see her, to satisfy some of his needs, and raise her status in the process, that would be nice.
Spring was such a beautiful season. Not taking an afternoon nap would be silly.ăă
Guiji: (èŽ”ć§Ź) GuĂŹ jÄ«. You know what, I give up trying to make sense of the imperial concubine ranks in this novel. This rank doesnât even exist in the same dynasty as both Wanyi and Jieyu. And where this rank does exist, itâs definitely higher than a Wanyi, so for the original text to say it was a promotion from Guiji to Wanyi doesnât make any sense. -_-
booking a night with the emperorâ” (ć«äșçćžäž) PiĂĄole huĂĄngdĂŹ. This is hilarious because the word PiĂĄole is the same word youâd use when saying youâre booking a prostitute. So the sentence has the same feel as someone booking the emperor the way someone would buy a hooker.
person who could become the ash of a cannon at any second: Since Jieyu Ma is near the empressâ palace, the powerful empress could punish her in any moment for making such a ruckus. Thatâs where ash of a cannon comes from.
This palace: (æŹćź«) BÄn gĆng, an illeism for imperial concubines with a rank of Consort and above.
This imperial concubine: (ć«ćŠŸ) PĂn qiĂš is the illeism for the Imperial Concubine rank.
About half an incense stick later: One stick lasts about 30 minutes, so half would be 15 minutes
dim sum: (çčćż) From Wikipediaâ Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine. Dim sum is commonly viewed as Cantonese, although other varieties exist, and is prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on a small plate. Dim sum dishes are usually served with tea and together form a full tea brunch. Alternatively, it could be light refreshments or pastries.