29. Announcement Regarding Official Publication

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Pan Residence

"Madam! Madam! Madam..."

Clutching his official cap in one hand and lifting the hem of his crimson official robes with the other, Master Pan was drenched in sweat. He shouted as he rushed into Ningfeng Hall.

Hearing the commotion, Madam Lin hurriedly emerged from the inner chamber.

After waving away the servants, she observed Master Pan’s frantic and panicked expression. After a moment of thought, she furrowed her brows and asked, "Master, could it be... is it our little mistress? Has something happened to her in the palace again?"

Evidently, news of Pan Yulian spraining herself on her very first day in the palace had already reached the Pan residence.

Ever since Pan Yulian was inexplicably selected, sent home, and then ordered back to the palace by eunuchs to have her rank announced—there hadn't been a single soul in the house who felt at ease.

By rights, as a fifth-rank capital official, and considering standard customs and the need to save face, even if the girl chosen for the palace wasn't sixth-rank, she should at least have been seventh.

Yet, Pan Yulian was merely an eighth-rank Baolin upon entering the palace.

How difficult is it to rise in rank among the consorts of the Great Jin Dynasty?

Apart from the occasional promotion after serving the Emperor—or the excuse of "relying on one’s son" (whether a prince or princess, it was always a decent justification)—there were few ways up.

But now?

Officials privately believed that Emperor Mingchong was a man who valued rules and cared deeply about his reputation. Such an Emperor would never openly declare that he was promoting a consort simply because she was good in bed.

The nobility required a veneer of dignity. Reasons such as "tending to the sick" sounded far more respectable, but there were only three true masters in the palace—the Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager. One couldn't exactly take turns falling ill just to provide an excuse for service.

Therefore, these "dignified" opportunities were reserved for those who held the Emperor’s heart; someone like Pan Yulian could forget about them.

To make matters worse, this disappointing girl not only had a low rank, but upon entering the palace, she spent two whole months simply recovering from her injury!

Thinking of this, the already depressed and vexed Master Pan threw his official cap onto the table, collapsed into a chair, and let out a heavy sigh of regret.

"If only I had known, I never would have let her go to the palace for the selection!"

If something were to happen in the palace, it would surely spell disaster for the Pan family.

Madam Lin grabbed Master Pan's sleeve and asked urgently, "Master, what exactly happened to Yulian in the palace?"

As she spoke, she instinctively tried to devise a solution: "You know her temperament... but although Yulian’s temper is a bit shallow and flamboyant, she has always known how to read the room. Did she accidentally offend some noble person this time?"

"If you can't exert influence inside the palace, could you perhaps entrust someone outside to help mediate?"

Master Pan waved his hand. "Yulian? It has nothing to do with her. She is still perfectly fine in the palace."

Hearing that it wasn't a palace matter, Madam Lin instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Pan Tongdian had clearly come in a panic but was now stalling and acting mysterious, Madam Lin didn't indulge him. She turned, sat in a chair, and reached for a teacup.

The room fell silent.

Master Pan looked at Madam Lin’s displeased and cold expression, then sighed deeply once more.

He leaned back, covered his eyes with one hand, and said painfully, "Madam, the Grandson of the Prince of Xin... the Grandson of the Prince of Xin has arrived in the capital. He is to enter the palace tomorrow."

The Grandson of the Prince of Xin?

Oh, Madam Lin had some impression of that name.

"Is that the one found among the commoners?"

Seeing Master Pan nod with a pained expression, Madam Lin became even more confused. She asked, "So he was found, but what does his arrival in the capital or the palace have to do with our house?"

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"He, he..."

Master Pan, unable to articulate the point after a long while, lowered his hand.

He slumped in his chair, looking at Madam Lin with a pale face. "Madam, do you... do you remember the person who came to our house last year, in the eleventh lunar month, carrying the token left by my father?"

"That person... I remember him. Why on earth are you bringing him up now, Master?"

Because of that incident, Madam Lin had secretly complained about the Old Master Pan for being overly sentimental. If one wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, were there not a thousand ways to do it?

A peasant who could barely put food on the table, neither scholarly nor martial—even if he had a bit of ambition, couldn't he have at least earned the title of a scholar?

Even commoners knew the saying: "Marrying a man is for food and clothing."

Even though the one intended for the betrothal was merely a concubine's daughter from the house, she had been raised like a golden branch and jade leaf right before their eyes. There was absolutely no reason to watch her be trampled and wasted like that.

Therefore, Madam Lin had fully supported Master Pan’s decision to break the engagement and send the man away.

Why bring him up now?

Master Pan would have preferred not to. A lowly peasant from a mud pit had come to ask for a marriage, and the family had broken its promise... how could such a shameful thing be allowed to spread?

He was just a lowly peasant; the Pan family could naturally suppress him completely, ensuring not a whisper of the matter leaked out.

But now... the man had suddenly transformed into a "Dragon’s Grandson."

Thinking back on how ruthlessly the family had turned against this grandson, how they had used threats, inducements, and the most contemptuous, cruel humiliations...

And thinking of those scoundrels in the house who, to show their loyalty, had pulled out all the stops, using the filthiest and most vicious methods to beat the man down...

*Hiss—*

Master Pan drew a sharp breath. He felt terrified, his legs trembling, needles pricking at the back of his neck, and a chill radiating through his entire body.

When he first heard that the Old Prince had found the Grandson of the Prince of Xin and that the man was recovering from injuries in Yanzhou, Master Pan hadn't taken it seriously.

After all, who the hell could imagine that such an insane and bizarre thing could actually happen in this world?

But now that he thought about it, this Grandson of the Prince of Xin needed to recover... what kind of injuries were they?

"Tell me," he whispered, "is it... is it possible that he bumped his head and completely forgot what happened at the Pan residence?"

Master Pan, wearing a mask of extreme agony once more, couldn't say anything else.

He looked at Madam Lin, helpless and filled with despair.

"..."

???

Madam Lin was confused...

Madam Lin was suspicious...

Madam Lin: !!!

Suddenly realizing an absurd and monstrous possibility, Madam Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief!

She sprang up with such force that she knocked over her teacup, not even noticing. When she finally spoke, her voice was sharp, bordering on a scream: "Master, you... you mean, he, he, the Grandson of the Prince of Xin..."

Master Pan closed his eyes in despair and nodded heavily.

*Clang—*

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Madam Lin collapsed back into her chair in a state of shock. Despite the scorching heat of the summer sun, she felt a chill that made her hands tremble.

"Disaster, disaster... a heaven-collapsing disaster..."

...

Lin-hua Palace

For the past two months, the spotlight and the bustle of the inner palace had more or less centered on the new consorts. Because Pan Yulian had been recuperating since the moment she entered, Lin-hua Palace had remained remarkably quiet.

Free from the mental pressure of "forbidden" thoughts, Pan Yulian was now quite calm.

In this life, she had entered the palace without even seeing the male lead’s face, so there was naturally no question of him having any "colorful" ideas about her.

In most novels, the male lead’s ascension to the throne wouldn't take too long, and the background characters would have their time to step down.

It was only a few years of enduring.

She didn't need to fawn over the old Emperor, nor did she need to rack her brains for palace intrigue... she only needed to lie flat and wait for the day she could retire from the palace.

Slowly turning over to let the sweat evaporate, Pan Yulian quickly fanned herself with a round fan.

There are gains and losses; she could endure a bit of summer heat.

*Hoo, hoo*—a calm heart brings coolness.

Pan Yulian, having something to look forward to, could endure it, but others in Lin-hua Palace could no longer hold back.

A few servants gathered in groups of three or five in the shade of the corridor outside the corner room, catching the draft. All of them looked sullen.

Sweat stung their eyes, causing sharp pain.

Guifu lifted the hem of his grey-green robe to wipe the sweat from his brow and cursed sullenly, "Damn it."

After wiping his sweat, Guifu flicked his sleeves and gestured impatiently toward the side hall.

"She’s really been lying there for two months... what do you all think the plan is?"

Anyone with connections in the palace knew the Emperor’s preferences. Guifu had only been confident in taking a gamble because of Pan Yulian’s appearance.

But who would have thought that she would just stay quiet for two damn months?

If they dragged this on any longer, they would surely sink into this mud pit and never be able to climb out.

It was near dusk, but the heat remained oppressive. Cuiyun’s face was flushed red from the warmth; she pursed her lips in silence, and Guixi just gave a foolish,憨憨 smile.

Facing the delicate-looking Cuiyun, Guifu, who had his own thoughts, didn't get angry. But he turned his head and glared at Guixi: "Laughing, laughing, laughing! What are you laughing at? Do you not have a mouth, you damn fool?"

"If it weren't for the fact that your name also has 'Fu' and 'Gui' in it, do you think I, your elder, would even care about you?"

Seeing Guixi hang his head and take the scolding in silence, Guifu, tired from the heat, stopped cursing.

He squatted against the railing, looked up, and muttered, "Old Eunuch Chang said this mistress had a touch of good fortune, which is why I pulled strings to come serve here... Could it be that I heard wrong, and she actually has no such luck?"

Hearing Guifu mention Eunuch Chang, Cuiyun fanned herself and said in a low voice, "Now that Baolin Pan’s injury is almost healed, Consort Wen has ordered us to go to the Central Palace together tomorrow to pay our respects... Why don't we wait a little longer?"

Hearing this, Guifu sighed, "That is all we can do."