After Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu had been demoted to a noble lady, she continued to live in Cun Shan Palace. It was just that she moved from the main hall to a side hall, but since the Emperor was indifferent about the imperial harem, there were no new members of the imperial harem moving in. In this large Cun Shan Palace, it was still her alone with the final say in what happened. Although she did not have much of a foundation, it was far better than Noble Lady Li’s situation.

  When Zhu Kong Shan arrived, Noble Lady Yuan was having the palace maid, Yue Xiu, apply nail polish for her. Seeing Zhu Kong Shan arrive and perform an elegant salute, Noble Lady Yuan nodded: “As expected, you are a girl worth a second look. When I came into the palace, your mother had not yet gotten married. You know, after entering the palace, you can no longer go out. Though you are my niece, that is the reason that I never met you. A few days ago, I heard Mo’er speak about how his younger cousin in the distant Peng Zhou was a good child. Having the heart of a Bodhisattva, you improved the Zhu family’s reputation in Peng Zhou by quite a bit. I was thinking that raising such a good niece in Peng Zhou really is a pity, thus I had Mo’er send a letter to bring you over. As your aunt, I want to get closer with you.” It was only after she finished speaking that she gestured to a servant to help Zhu Kong Shan stand up. Seeing that Zhu Kong Shan had a proper bearing, neither deliberately getting intimate nor appearing nervous, she grew to like her even more. “There are no outsiders in this palace. Sit!”


  Zhu Kong Shan bowed, “Many thanks, aunty.” She then sat on the edge of a chair, paying very close attention to etiquette. Noble Lady Yuan nodded once more, feeling very satisfied.

  The palace maid, Yue Xiu, brought in some tea and brought it to Zhu Kong Shan, saying very politely: “Young miss, please have some tea.”


  Zhu Kong Shan quickly gave her thanks but did not stand up. She was not demeaning and attracted people’s hearts. Even Yue Xiu viewed this young miss from the Zhu family well.

  Of course, just looking good and being well-mannered was not enough. What Noble Lady Yuan wanted was for her to be smart; however, she did not know enough about this niece’s abilities. She thought about it for a bit, thus she asked her very frankly: “Kong Shan, do you know why aunty called you into the capital this time?”


  Zhu Kong Shan did not understand it originally. The eighth prince did not write about it in his letter, only saying that the two aunts were thinking of her and wanted to invite her into the capital to play. In addition to this, when she returned home the previous day, she did not see her cousin. Apparently, he had been out and busy with work, only returning home after midnight. In the morning, he only left behind his identification plate before heading out for court, thus she did not have a chance to ask. But she was a smart girl. She had her own guesses, and she had her own thoughts. Adding in the things that had happened, she recalled the reactions of the people when she had mentioned that she was His Highness the eighth prince’s cousin. With these thoughts, she was roughly able to guess. She probed: “Was it to have Kong Shan help cousin improve his reputation?”


  Noble Lady Yuan’s eyes lit up, as joy filled her heart, “Good! It’s no loss that you are a child born from my younger sister. Sure enough, everyone in our Liu family is smart!” While she spoke, she took the initiative to refer to Zhu Kong Shan’s mother as younger sister. For the sake of winning over this niece, she pushed a bit further and said: “Although your mother is my younger sister born from a concubine, we were very close as sisters when growing up. It’s just that I married into the palace early on and could not spend very long with her. In addition to this, there are many rules in the palace. After coming in, I could no longer leave. Naturally, there was not much interaction with the family after that. Speaking of, Kong Shan! Is your mother doing well in the Zhu family?” She did not continue to bring up the eighth prince’s matter. Instead, she began to concern herself with the Zhu family’s circumstances. It could be considered as succeeding in pandering to their relations.

  However, even if Zhu Kong Shan wanted to say a bit more, there were still two servants with ulterior motives standing behind her. Thinking long and hard, she could only say: “The Zhu family knows that my concubine mother has the blessing of my two aunts, and they treat us decently.” After thinking a bit, she specifically mentioned: “The family’s head wife and my two elder sisters of the first wife have taken care of us.” It was just that she remained expressionless while saying these words. Not the slightest feeling of intimacy could be felt from her words.

  Noble Lady Yuan had been in the palace for many years, and she had many considerations. Upon hearing these words, she could immediately realize that something was off. She had repeatedly been saying “your mother,” but when it came to Zhu Kong Shan, it had become concubine mother. It could be seen that this girl had to give consideration to something, but what was it for? She turned slightly and quickly noticed the two servants standing behind Zhu Kong Shan. There, she saw that the two had outstanding appearances, and she could not help but laugh to herself, thinking that the Zhu family was also on guard!

  Thus she stopped mentioning the Zhu family, but it was not convenient for her to bring up the eighth prince’s matters with those two servants standing there. Her personal palace maid, Yue Xiu, noticed what was happening and quickly said: “Master, you and the young miss have not met for over a decade. Thinking about it, there must be some intimate things to speak on. It would be inconvenient for us servants to interrupt and will be leaving first. If Your Highness needs something, just call. This servant will be standing guard outside.” After saying this, she saw Noble Lady Yuan nod before saying to the two servants behind Zhu Kong Shan: “You two, come out with me! There are many rules in the palace. The masters will be speaking on intimate matters. As servants, it’s not good for us to stay.”


  To put it plainly, those two servants were just the servants of a lowly sixth rank official. How could they have much experience with the world? When walking through the palace, they had the courage to look around a bit, but once they entered Cun Shan Palace, their bearing withered. Especially in front of Noble Lady Yuan, they simply thought that this was one of the Emperor’s women. Regardless of whether she was an imperial concubine or just a noble lady, she was still a true and proper master. She was different from the ones in the Zhu manor. Also, this was the Imperial Palace. If they took a wrong turn or heard a little too much, they could lose their heads. They would rather not listen and not report back to the Zhu family than linger for a little too long. Hearing Yue Xiu say this, they immediately nodded and hastily retreated.

  It was only after the two had left and the door of the hall was closed that Zhu Kong Shan let out a sigh of relief. She also dared to look up and Noble Lady Yuan. She then said with a great deal of emotion: “Aunty!”


  Noble Lady Yuan nodded and reached out to have her sit near her. While holding Zhu Kong Shan’s hand, she said: “Good girl, you must have suffered in the Zhu family. I have thought about you and your mother quite a bit while here in the palace!”


  The two voiced their complaints for a while. Regardless of whether they were real or fake, at the very least, it looked a bit touching. Zhu Kong Shan spoke about the origins of the two servants and spoke about the Zhu family’s attitude toward her and her mother, but she was a smart girl. She did not ask for Noble Lady Yuan to support them. Instead, she took the initiative to move away from the topic and bring up the eighth prince. She said: “Kong Shan and concubine mother’s matters are minor. Cousin Mo’s matters are what matter most. After entering the capital, Kong Shan was able to see the attitude of the citizens in the capital, and I am very worried. If I can help relieve some of cousin Mo’s worries on this trip to the capital and can help relieve a concern for aunty, that would be the greatest thing for Kong Shan and my concubine mother.”


  Noble Lady Yuan repeatedly nodded upon hearing this, patting the back of her hand and promising: “Kong Shan, you are family. As long as you earnestly help your cousin, when he succeeds, the highest position in the inner palace will definitely come to you. Aunty can help support you right now. As long as that position is given to you, aunty can feel at ease. Nobody else will do. Your cousin Mo has always listened to me, thus there’s no need to worry.”


  “What sort of thing is aunty saying?” Zhu Kong Shan quickly said: “Kong Shan just wants to help cousin and does not ask for any reciprocation! At home, concubine mother often tells Kong Shan about when she was young. she said that aunty did not mind that she was a younger sister born of a concubine and took very good care of her. There was even a time when concubine mother fell into the water, and it was aunty who pulled her out. For Kong Shan to be able to help out cousin Mo, this is something that should be done as a cousin. I really do not ask for anything.”


  The more she spoke like this, the more Nobel Lady Yuan liked her, especially when she thought of that matter from when she was young. She could not help but sigh: “Thinking to back the situation in the manor at that time, that was the happiest time.” Although her treatment of her younger sister born from a concubine could not be considered very loving, she had indeed taken very good care of her. She really did not drift apart from her because that was a daughter of a concubine. She eventually entered the palace and grew up, understanding more of the world and understanding more about being born of the first wife and being born of a concubine, and finally began to gradually grow distant. But in any case, there was the Imperial Palace that could be used as a pretense, and they could not find any faults with that. Thinking about it now, it was fortunate that she had built up a good foundation, which allowed her to have her niece help her son. She had heard about Zhu Kong Shan’s situation in Peng Zhou. She was someone praised by the people as being a Bodhisattva, and her Mo’er was missing someone like this at his side.

  “Aunty.” Zhu Kong Shan said: “Kong Shen came from Peng Zhou, and father specifically prepared some things to have Kong Shan give to aunty. Kong Shan brought them all into the palace today, but I feel as though those things, no matter how valuable, cannot compare to the things in the palace. Thus I made a decision for myself and added a bit more to them. They’re vegetables that Kong Shan went to pick myself before tying them in bundles to be dried. I want to let aunty try something fresh. The palace should have a small kitchen, right?”


  “Good girl, you’ve really been considerate.” Noble Lady Yuan really liked this niece more and more, “The palace does indeed have everything, but it does not have the thing that you spoke of. In the past, I ate them at home. Over the past few decades, I have not tasted them again. I really have missed them. It’s just that your second aunt……” She waved her hand, “You’ll find out once you go to send your gifts. She has been confined to Jing Si Palace and cannot leave that palace. I can help by allowing you to visit, but it’s just to pay a visit. There’s no need to say too much. You are a smart person. There are some things that you should understand without needing me to say them.”


  Zhu Kong Shan nodded and simply said: “Kong Shan will leave after sending the gifts to second aunt and definitely will not say anything more.” Of course, she understood. Both of these aunts had princes for sons; however, there was only one throne. She could help the eighth prince but would not be able to do anything for the sixth prince. Although it could not become enmity, they would no longer be able to get along. “Aside from preparing things for my two aunts, Kong Shan also brought a number of gifts. They’re not particularly valuable things, as they’re just some specialty products from Peng Zhou. They will just be left here with aunty. Aunty can send them to any place you wish. It’s not the gift but the thought that counts. Kong Shan feels that this sort of gift is better than gold or silver, and it does not give off the feeling of currying favor with them.”


  Noble Lady Yuan nodded: “You’re right. The women in the palace have everything, but His Majesty does not come, which means that nothing matters. Giving them jewels will make them feel saddened. It would be better to give some food. Kong Shan really is considerate.”


  The two really hit it off. Although they had never met before this, their blood relations existed. In addition to this, one had a scheme, and the other was smart. The atmosphere of this meeting was extremely harmonious. As they chatted, the conversation dove deeper and deeper into the main topic before Zhu Kong Shan suddenly said to Noble Lady Yuan: “Aunty, you are in the inner palace, and the master of the inner palace is the Empress. Since you are unable to find any openings with the Emperor, you need to pay attention to the Empress. While cousin Mo making plans of his own is important, you should think of a way to quickly return to the position of imperial concubine. The mother relying on the son for honor is one aspect, but the son also needs a mother’s support for things to go better……”