The high-ranked eunuch carefully looked over this newly minted Honoured Lady Jinyi. A hint of befuddlement entered his eyes. He hadn’t expected that this Honoured Lady Jinyi would be so young. She looked like she had just recently come of age.
Honoured Lady Jinyi wasn’t even wearing a speck of powder on her natural, lovely face. When she smiled, it felt like a warm spring breeze. She rated highly just on her looks alone, and seemed particularly matching with He Sanlang the Fair.
By the time Chu Lian had received her decree, Matriarch He had already risen to her feet, supported by a few servants. She shot a look behind her at Senior Servant Liu, and Senior Servant Liu brought out a deep blue purse from her sleeve, passing it over to the high-ranked eunuch who had announced the good news.
The eunuch smiled and accepted it.
Matriarch He started to exchange pleasantries with the high-ranked eunuch. It turned out that he had served by the Empress Dowager’s side before, and Matriarch He had seen him once or twice while visiting the Dowager.
It was at this moment that a younger eunuch walked out from behind the high-ranked eunuch and slightly bowed towards Chu Lian.
“This servant greets Honoured Lady Jinyi.”
Chu Lian’s brows were slightly furrowed as she turned to look at this young eunuch. He was tall and slender with a high nose bridge. While his facial features were handsome on their own, when they were placed all together on his face, it just seemed a little… off.
Though the eunuch’s words were full of respect, Chu Lian could see the disdain he held in his eyes.
“May I ask what business you have with me?”
The corner of the eunuch’s lips curled up. However, his features weren’t softened by the smile — it actually made his expression look even more sinister and wretched.
“Replying to Honoured Lady Jinyi, this servant works in Yonghe Hall, and this servant heard that the Imperial Princess accidentally left behind a golden qilin here with Honoured Lady Jinyi.”
Yonghe Hall!
That was the name of a certain hall in the palace and the residence of Imperial Concubine Wei, who just so happened to be Imperial Princess Leyao’s mother.
A shadow passed over Chu Lian’s eyes. She had expected Imperial Princess Leyao to send someone to demand her golden qilin back, but she hadn’t really thought that the princess would resort to such a shameless tactic as this. She was trying to use the name of Yonghe Hall to pressure her.
She wondered if Imperial Princess Leyao was overestimating or underestimating her with this move.
As long as He Changdi was her husband, she wouldn’t trouble herself playing nice with Imperial Princess Leyao. She had already offended the princess anyway, so it didn’t matter if she acquiesced or not now; the end result would be the same. Since that was the case, why bother giving in to the bullying?
If the dear princess wanted her precious treasure back, she would have to pay the price first.
Chu Lian sneered in her mind.
“Oh? Did something like that happen? How come I don’t remember? Gonggong, your memory doesn’t seem to be working too well. Is your age catching up to you?” Although Chu Lian’s expression seemed friendly on the surface, her words didn’t leave a single shred of mercy for the eunuch.
Although the eunuch wasn’t old and could even be deemed young, from the perspective of a young lady like Chu Lian who had just come of age, he was definitely much, much older.
The eunuch flushed red in anger. As someone working in Yonghe Hall, even in the palace, not many people dared to offend him, and the only exclusions to that were the servants of the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
His face was a little contorted as he gritted his teeth and said, words dropping from his mouth like stones, “Is Honoured Lady Jinyi sure that she doesn’t remember? You should think carefully. It wouldn’t be good if you offended the Imperial Concubine and Princess, right?”
Chu Lian wasn’t afraid of him at all. Anyway, she didn’t have any reason to enter the palace. Even if Imperial Concubine Wei and Imperial Princess Leyao wanted to take out their anger on her, they had to come out of the palace first!
