A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 1250: Chapter 1250: Ninth-Rank Selected Attendant

These words sounded incredibly annoying to the Empress Dowager, and also quite perfunctory.

But thankfully, the Empress Dowager was quite an old Jiang; she held it in and continued pretending to be sincere.

"Sigh!"

"The matters of the past were all my fault, Lady Manman, I owe you a title!"

"Now, I want to make up for this regret, would you be willing?"

The woman called Manman stood there very awkwardly, her eyes full of confusion.

She clutched her handkerchief with both hands and, after a long while, slowly bowed and said,

"It’s entirely up to the Empress Dowager!" frёewebηovel.cѳm

Xia Ruqing: "..."

This is utterly insane!

It’s heard of sending young girls to the Emperor, but sending old women to the Emperor is a first.

Tsk tsk tsk, she has certainly opened her eyes.

"Emperor, what’s your opinion?"

The Empress Dowager then looked at Zhao Junyao.

Zhao Junyao’s face darkened and he remained silent.

He indeed had a pained expression, but his eyes were full of reluctance.

His thoughts returned to the past...

Indeed, he once liked this palace maid named Manman very much.

All princes, when they reached a certain age, would have a batch of palace maids to serve them.

Generally, they were girls from small families, not qualified to be Fine Ladies, yet being palace maids would be too degrading.

So there was the role of Accountant Woman Official, similar to the chamber maids of wealthy families, only with a more elegant name in the royal family.

These girls, after being specially trained, mainly served their masters’ daily needs, and at night, if the master required... ahem!

Usually, only princes who were old enough not to marry or take concubines but still needed servants would have such maids around them.

In the future, whether the princes became emperors or were granted lands, these personal maids would either enter the harem as consorts or concubines or become concubines in the prince’s mansion.

In any case, they would have a status.

But those who were favored would have a higher status, and those who weren’t would have a lower one; that’s just how it was.

Luo Manman was the chamber maid beside Zhao Junyao then, elegantly called the Accountant Woman Official.

She was quite good-looking and came from a clean background.

Back then, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent over a dozen girls, and Zhao Junyao picked her at a glance.

She was three years older than Zhao Junyao.

She was elegant and pretty, gentle, witty, literate, and a poetess.

Such a talented and beautiful woman was enormously appealing to the young Zhao Junyao, who was just beginning to understand love.

One was a handsome young man awakening to love, and the other was a beautiful and talented young woman.

In their youthful era, with subtle glances, they first tasted the charm and romance, becoming an idyllic and enchanting story, transcending fairy tales.

But unfortunately...

The story’s ending was not so beautiful.

After Zhao Junyao became the Crown Prince, he became increasingly busy.

And in a mere two or three years, he was busy marrying and taking concubines.

The beautiful wives and concubines of the Eastern Palace flowed in like a stream, quickly leaving the name Luo Manman behind.

Emotions? What emotions? Where is there room for emotions in the royal family?

Let alone for the Crown Prince or the Emperor? Don’t even mention it!

Ultimately, when Zhao Junyao ascended to the throne, Luo Manman, having offended Shih Wanxin, was dismissed by the Empress Dowager for a trivial mistake.

At that time, Zhao Junyao had just ascended the throne.

His mind was full of the kingdom, state affairs, and the mourning of the Late Emperor; he had no time for distractions.

So, he didn’t even know when Luo Manman had been sent away.

Many years later.

When he randomly thought of her and tried to find her again, he learned that she had long been sent away for a mistake, and he didn’t pursue it any further; it ended there.

Just a woman, after all, not worth it.

Didn’t he have countless women in his harem anyway?

In his eyes, she was no different from them.

"Emperor? Emperor?"

Xia Ruqing tugged at his sleeve.

"The Empress Dowager is speaking to you!"

Zhao Junyao snapped back to reality.

He glanced at the complacent-looking Empress Dowager and then at the expectant Luo Manman.

Suddenly, he was very curious about what the Empress Dowager was plotting, so he nodded and said.

"Since she is willing to enter the palace, then let her come!"

"As for her rank, let her be a Ninth-Rank Selected Attendant!"

After a pause, he added.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager, for bringing me an old acquaintance! But now... I already have a beloved wife!"

"In the future, matters like this need not trouble you, Empress Dowager!"

After saying this, he took Xia Ruqing’s hand and walked out, not even glancing back.

The Empress Dowager was utterly dumbfounded.

When she finally came to her senses, no one was there anymore.

"Alas!"

"Just a Selected Attendant?"

"A Ninth-Rank Selected Attendant is the lowest-ranking palace consort, with a status even lower than a palace maid!" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The Empress Dowager was filled with disbelief as she looked at Luo Manman.

"Weren’t you once quite favored?"

"Didn’t the Emperor even write a poem for you?"

Luo Manman’s face was filled with pain and helplessness as she clutched her handkerchief and lowered her head.

"Replying to the Empress Dowager!"

"I am lowly, and after so many years, it’s understandable that the Emperor bears no old affection!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt half her heart grow cold.

"Hmph!"

"I thought you had some skills!"

"Didn’t expect you to be another useless one!"

"In this harem, if you don’t fight, you’re just waiting for death!"

With that, she flicked her sleeves and strode away, leaving Luo Manman alone.

She looked at the desolate moonlight and then in the direction where the Emperor and Empress had left, her eyes full of innumerable despair and pain.

"Ha..."

"Never thought that after all these years, returning to the palace to see the Emperor would be like this!"

"The Emperor could actually be so heartless!"

"And the Empress Dowager, who vowed to help me win favor, shows such a face, haha!"

Luo Manman laughed coldly.

That smile appeared particularly desolate, cold, and eerie under the moonlight.

After who knows how long, she finally lowered her head, stepping into the moonlight, leaving alone.

...

Duanning Palace.

On the way back, Xia Ruqing’s face remained gloomy.

After stepping into the palace gates, her expression was even colder, like a frozen winter landscape with snow for thousands of miles.

Zhao Junyao was deeply uneasy.

He’s always been clumsy with words and never really consoled anyone.

After all, apart from Qingqing, he truly hasn’t coaxed any other woman in all these years.

And Qingqing is the type of woman who brightens up instantly at a table full of delicious food, not needing much coaxing!

So, he truly had no idea how to comfort her.

Despite several attempts, he couldn’t open his mouth to explain.

As the dignified ruler of a nation and a man of nine feet, he was actually breaking out in a sweat.

"Qingqing..."

Xia Ruqing: "..."

She ignored him.

"Qingqing, I was really wrong!"

Xia Ruqing continued to ignore him.

"Qingqing!"

"I hadn’t come of age at that time and didn’t understand anything, just had a bit of curiosity about women!"

"There’s really nothing between me and her!"

"If it were another woman, it would be the same, just need to be a woman..."

Zhao Junyao started to become incoherent.

God! What was he even saying?

What does "any woman would do" mean? How could he say such a thing?!