Xiaokui, thinking of something, suppressed the feeling of being charmed.

“Your Grace, Consort Rou, you’re awake?”

Seeing a maid, Chu Jiujiu quickly composed herself and responded coldly.

“This servant will help you dress,” Xiaokui said, about to step forward to serve her.

The awkwardness of yesterday was still fresh in her mind, so Chu Jiujiu said seriously, “Go out, I’ll dress myself.”

Xiaokui: “?” Thinking she had misheard, she didn’t dare to ask more.

“Yes, Your Grace, Consort Rou.”  With that, Xiaokui retreated outside the hall, gently closing the door.

Chu Jiujiu went behind the screen alone and clumsily put on her court dress. Only her long, black hair remained unstyled, a task requiring a maid’s skill, which she lacked.

She remembered a description from the original text: there were several days each month when all the concubines gathered together, and today should be one of those days.

Sure enough, as her personal maid Xiaokui was styling her hair, she whispered, “Your Grace, Consort Rou, today is the day when all the concubines gather. I heard that the Emperor will also be present.”

Chu Jiujiu nodded halfway, but froze when she heard that the Emperor would also be present.

The Emperor’s whereabouts were inherently unpredictable, especially since the villainous emperor’s temperament was erratic. Describing him with the words “vicious methods” was an understatement.

How could anyone possibly know such a person’s whereabouts? Even if they did, no one would dare to reveal it, or… wouldn’t have the chance to.

And her personal maid must have truly heard this “good news,” it wasn’t a lie to comfort her.

That left only one possibility: the villainous emperor deliberately released the news, wanting to watch a bloody spectacle.

“Your Grace, Consort Rou?” When she mentioned the Emperor’s possible appearance, Xiaokui noticed that Consort Rou’s expression froze, a look of… utter misery?

Chu Jiujiu furrowed her brows, saying bitterly, “Mm, I’m very pleased.”

Xiaokui: “…” She didn’t look overjoyed, but rather terrified…

Chu Jiujiu stared at the beautiful woman in the bronze mirror, but was actually feeling a headache. It seemed today’s bloodshed would be unavoidable.

Faced with unknown danger, she wanted to just lie down and give up, but the life-or-death mission could come at any time, and to survive, she had to be on high alert.

Outside Li Fang Dian, autumn leaves fell, and a palace maid swept the bright yellow fallen leaves from the ground.

Chu Jiujiu took small steps out of Li Fang Dian, followed by Xiaokui. The other personal maid, Xiaolan, was left behind in the hall.

Going to the “battlefield,” bringing too many people would make her an easy target.  If something happened, at least one person’s life could be saved.

As for why she chose Xiaokui, it was because Xiaolan was more timid, while Xiaokui seemed more composed.  If anything happened, she might be able to offer advice.

In the early autumn weather, Chu Jiujiu’s long black hair was styled into an elaborate bun, revealing her jade cheeks and petal-like lips, her eyes like water-clear almonds.  She wore a light blue qi-xiong ruqun (a type of ancient Chinese dress), soft and flowing, setting off her fair skin like a flower bud after the rain, delicate and alluring.

Anyone who saw her would exclaim, “This woman is a natural beauty!”

She took small steps, but her pace was quite fast.

In a gathering of concubines, especially in such a cutthroat palace, it was safer to arrive early.

The later she arrived, the more concubines would be gathered, and arriving late would only give others a handle, with only disadvantages and no advantages.

All Chu Jiujiu could do was to act cautiously.  She couldn’t outsmart these native ancient people in terms of scheming, so she could only try to avoid trouble.

She walked gracefully, hurrying towards the Imperial Garden according to her memory.

Xiaokui followed behind her, her expression slightly surprised. Consort Rou usually liked to wait until almost all the concubines had arrived before making a late appearance.

Today… she was probably the first to arrive.

Indeed, when Chu Jiujiu arrived at a pavilion in the Imperial Garden without stopping, only two concubines had arrived before her.

The matter of her attempting to poison Concubine Li’s personal maid had already spread widely.  The two concubines, upon seeing her, were surprised by her early arrival, and their body language immediately showed their apprehension, as no one wanted to be targeted by Consort Rou.

“This concubine greets Your Grace, Consort Rou.”

The two concubines greeted her in unison. Chu Jiujiu smiled, “The two sisters arrived quite early.”

She sat down on a wooden chair in the pavilion. These shoes were terribly uncomfortable; she couldn’t adapt to them yet.

“This concubine had nothing to do, so I arrived early,” Concubine Yu said, smiling, but upon closer inspection, it was a forced smile.

The other concubine stood silently, clearly unwilling to interact much with Chu Jiujiu.

Chu Jiujiu, of course, could see that these two concubines were distancing themselves from her, and she was secretly pleased.  She wished all the concubines in the palace would stay far away from her.

Feigning ignorance, she nodded to Concubine Yu and turned her face to admire the scenery of the Imperial Garden.

These two concubines weren’t even mentioned in the original text. There were too many concubines in the villainous emperor’s harem. Even she, the vicious supporting character, only lived to about halfway through the plot before meeting her end.

After a while, more and more concubines arrived, all of them of rank lower than noble consort.

Most of them weren’t even named in the original text.

Suddenly, the pavilion fell silent. Concubine Li’s figure appeared gracefully. As she stepped into the pavilion and saw a certain striking beauty, the gentle smile on her lips froze.

She probably hadn’t expected Chu Jiujiu to arrive so early.

Chu Jiujiu was looking down at the fat carp in the pond, not interacting with the other concubines, trying to minimize her presence, so she didn’t pay attention to who came and who didn’t.

Currently, the highest-ranking concubine in the palace was Consort Li, only one, and there were only six concubines of the third rank.

There were nine concubines of her rank.

“This concubine greets Your Grace, Consort Rou.”

Chu Jiujiu recognized the voice and slowly turned her captivating face. Seeing that it was Concubine Li, she continued to display her professional false smile, “Quickly, sit down and rest.”