Chapter 76
Chapter 76
No one knew what the emperor and empress discussed in Qingzheng Hall. In any case, when Zhu Yin woke the next day, she discovered that the mission progress bar had leaped forward by a large margin.
Be a qualified supporting character: serve as the female lead’s stepping stone in the early stages and make the emperor notice her.
It was as if a door to a whole new world had opened before Barbara. “That really works!”
Zhu Yin replied, “Of course. And I guarantee that the emperor is paying far more attention to the female lead now than he ever did in the plot.”
Ever since Su Yiwan gave those pills to Radiant Consort Yu, she had waited in anxious anticipation.
She did not believe Radiant Consort Yu would refuse her.
How could any consort in the harem resist the temptation of beauty pills?
As for the possibility that Zhu Yin might reveal the pills to anyone else, that had never even crossed her mind.
Unless Radiant Consort Yu was a fool.
She waited in secret. Sure enough, several days later, when she went to Qingzheng Hall to pay her respects, the empress unexpectedly called her by name.
“Attendant Su, you have been in the palace for some time now. Have you grown accustomed to living here?”
Overwhelmed by the attention, Su Yiwan hastily said that life in the palace was wonderful.
The empress then asked what she usually did with her time. They were all ordinary, domestic questions, and Su Yiwan noticed nothing amiss. She assumed Radiant Consort Yu had finally taken action and made the empress see her in a new light.
She had no idea that the Black-Robed Guards had already searched every inch of her residence.
Naturally, they had found nothing.
Attendant Su possessed at least that much caution. She had a spirit-spring realm, and everything connected to it, along with certain valuables, was stored inside.
That only deepened the emperor’s curiosity. He ordered the Black-Robed Guards to keep a close watch on Su Yiwan.
Meanwhile, Zhu Yin had already appeared at the Imperial Menagerie.
Because the emperor had issued special instructions, not only was the manager of the Imperial Menagerie there when she arrived, but the envoy from Cheluo had also brought several guards to welcome her.
A tiny nation such as Cheluo was surrounded by powerful enemies and had always depended on Great Yong for survival. Its tribute of rare treasures and exotic beasts was intended to win more favor from the mighty empire.
Two years earlier, they had even attempted to offer their own princess to the emperor of Great Yong. The girl had only just turned ten, and the emperor had rejected the proposal in utter disbelief.
When the Cheluo envoy heard that the emperor’s favored consort had come to choose a pet, he took the matter very seriously, hoping to win the Radiant Consort’s goodwill.
“Noble Radiant Consort of Great Yong, this humble envoy is Mu Luo of Cheluo. I heard that Your Ladyship is interested in the exotic beasts our nation has presented. I would be honored to serve as your guide.”
Eunuch Xu, the chief steward of the Imperial Menagerie, had arrived one step too late. He rolled his eyes inwardly.
He wanted to win the Radiant Consort’s favor too. Everyone in the palace knew that Radiant Consort Yu was now the most influential person to curry favor with.
Not only had she leaped several ranks immediately after first serving the emperor in bed, but yesterday the empress herself had ordered her residence renamed from Chengyi Hall to Ruyi Hall, signifying her wish that everything would go as the Radiant Consort desired.
What extraordinary favor!
Everyone said that Consort Yu held the most cherished place in the hearts of both His Majesty and Her Majesty.
That sounded rather strange when put that way, but it did not matter. All anyone needed to know was that Radiant Consort Yu carried enormous weight with both the emperor and empress and was well worth flattering.
Since the animals were tribute from a foreign state, the Imperial Menagerie had specially set aside a separate enclosure for Cheluo’s auspicious and exotic beasts.
Envoy Mu Luo had already begun his introduction. “Among the exotic beasts presented this time, the most precious are a pair of pure white peacocks…”
Unfortunately, the Radiant Consort did not seem particularly interested in what he was saying. She strolled forward and soon reached the trees.
Mu Luo hurriedly said, “Your Ladyship, that pair of peacocks lives just over here–”
“What is that?” A clear voice cut him off.
Mu Luo froze. He followed Zhu Yin’s gaze, looked ahead, and froze again.
There stood the prettiest little creature he had ever seen.
It looked like a cat.
But no cat he knew had ever possessed snowy fur tinged with pink, or such clear and beautiful pink eyes, like petals and gemstones at once.
Its great fluffy tail hung lazily behind it as it stood upon a branch, looking down at the dumbstruck humans below. Its glossy coat seemed to glow beneath the sunlight.
This little cat was, of course, Barbara.
Zhu Yin turned to the envoy. “Is this one of the exotic beasts Cheluo presented? It truly is beautiful.”
With that, she beckoned toward the tree.
The beautiful, noble-looking creature tilted its head and stared at her for a long moment. Then it leaped lightly down from the tree, approached her one step at a time, and placed a soft pink paw upon the hem of her skirt.
Ignoring the attendants’ attempts to stop her, Zhu Yin bent down and picked it up.
The proud-looking little cat obediently sheathed its claws and nestled docilely in her arms.
Mu Luo was already dumbfounded.
He and his subordinates exchanged glances. Th-this was not one of the animals they had presented!
But his mind worked extraordinarily fast. When he saw the other eunuchs and attendants staring wide-eyed at the strangely colored cat, his thoughts raced.
“Noble Radiant Consort, your eye is truly exceptional.” His expression filled with admiration and reverence. “This cat is a sacred beast of Cheluo, a gift bestowed upon our nation by the gods…”
He was not an envoy for nothing. On the spot, he invented an extraordinary, richly mythic origin for it.
In his account, this rare cat of unusual coloring was a divine messenger. Even he had to treat it with reverence and dared not command it, which was why the sacred beast had always roamed freely.
The sacred beast was proud. Only a truly noble and kindhearted person destined to meet it could win its favor.
He stared fervently at Zhu Yin and declared with absolute certainty, “Your Ladyship is the noble person whom the sacred beast has recognized and chosen.”
Zhu Yin: …If this were not my Barbara, I would almost believe you.
Still, this was exactly why she had come: to give her little system a public identity. Now that it possessed a physical form, forcing it to hide from people every day was far too unfair.
The next day, Zhu Yin brought Barbara to Qingzheng Hall to pay her respects and, as expected, received envious looks from every consort in the palace.
There was no faulting the quality of skins from the System Store. The cherry-blossom-pink kitten looked like a lump of sweet, soft pink cotton candy. Everyone who saw it wanted to bury their face in its fur.
The empress could not put it down either. After asking Barbara’s opinion, Zhu Yin generously lent it to the empress for some cuddling.
After everyone else dispersed, the empress asked her to remain.
The empress often kept Radiant Consort Yu behind to talk, so no one thought anything of it.
This time, however, the empress opened with a momentous question. “Would you have any interest in managing the inner palace?”
Zhu Yin: ?
Noticing her confusion, the empress smiled helplessly. “You were the first to notice that something was wrong with my health. His Majesty will not allow me to overwork myself, but this vast inner palace has countless matters to handle every day. Someone must attend to them.”
The emperor’s harem was already considered small and harmonious, but the imperial palace as a whole housed dozens of masters and over ten thousand eunuchs and attendants who served them.
The empress had to review matters large and small every day. It was far from easy work.
This time, the emperor was determined that the empress should recuperate properly and refused to let her exhaust herself over palace affairs any longer.
But someone still had to manage so many responsibilities.
Among the high-ranking consorts, the Pure Consort was perpetually ill, while Dignified Consort Jiang’s temperament made her unsuitable.
After considering every option, the empress thought of Zhu Yin.