Phoenix Nine-layer Palace

r Mountain, which was the only thing she knew when she first arrived here. The mountain where she had taken shelter before was called both White Tiger Mountain and Gray Wolf Mountain.But since waking...Chapter 1: The Nine-layer Palace of the Phoenix

"Is it a bit too quiet this way"

"It doesn't matter."

When Zi Yin realized that such banter was pointless, he finally gave up. He stretched out his long legs and lay on the stone, fiddling with the fan in his hand before saying, "What are your plans next"

Yumu smiled faintly and replied, "The pieces have already been placed on the board; it only needs a little adjustment."

"And what if they don't listen," Zi Yin said with an eerie smile. "For example, if she becomes the emperor's woman—no one has seen him so gentle toward any woman before. Women are easy to deceive, after all."

"Your Excellency is quite experienced." He took a sip of tea, thinking that Qi Lin should have arrived at the palace by now.

He had received a thick letter from Lüzhu early in the morning today. It detailed an unfamiliar style of tea ceremony and various massage techniques.

Of course, there were also many improved walking aids.

"If you don't need to serve at the emperor's side, then why are you still here"

"Oh, you're kicking me out," Zi Yin said as he leaned close to Yumu and picked up a strand of his chest-length hair. "We have that kind of relationship, right Isn’t it"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt an icy chill emanating from beside him. Although the other person still had a smile on his face, he wisely kept silent.

Indeed, kindness is reserved only for certain people

"Ah!"

Qi Lin rubbed her nose and poked her hand out to lift the curtain and look outside. Both sides were lined with commoners kneeling down, while beggars had been chased into an unnoticeable corner. She couldn't see any trace of Mu Qingfeng or the others. However, since Mu Qingfeng said he would handle it, she shouldn’t worry.

Speaking of Mu Qingfeng, she hadn't seen him for a long time; as a prince of his own country, he surely couldn't stay in Phoenix Kingdom all day.

But how could he be in Phoenix Kingdom then He was even said to be the kingdom's richest merchant.

Could it be that he abandoned politics for business

Mulling over this, Lüzhu handed Qi Lin a hot water bottle that had been prepared. She carefully straightened her clothes and whispered softly, "Although Your Excellency is of low rank now, everyone can see that the emperor has taken an interest in you. Given time, your status will surely rise."

Qi Lin smiled slightly; she didn't want to climb the ranks step by step, and entering the palace was merely part of Zi Yin's plan anyway. The outcome could be predicted.

But is this really a good thing Feng Changqing may be unpredictable, but he can also be very gentle

"Green Bamboo, what do you think of the Emperor" I don't know why I asked such a question. I've heard too much from others, but it's always different from what I see myself.

"The Emperor is diligent in his duties and loves his people. He reduces taxes for the common folk, although sometimes his methods can be a bit cruel. That’s just how emperors are." As Green Bamboo spoke, she had already brewed tea for Qi Lin. "However, it's unprecedented that Your Excellency receives such meticulous care from the Emperor. And with Elm Wood Young Master as your close friend, and Mr. Wood as a powerful ally."

By this point, Green Bamboo realized she was straying off-topic and quickly bowed in apology.

Qi Lin didn’t mind; such things happened often anyway.

But is Elm Wood really a close friend

Picking up the wooden box beside her, she gently opened it to find her favorite floral tea along with Elm Wood's special bamboo leaf tea. Of course, there were also some medicines that he had meticulously labeled with instructions.

He certainly thought of everything, but Qi Lin hadn’t expected Elm Wood to know so much about Feng Changqing’s preferences.

For example, Feng Changqing has an extremely sensitive sense of smell, which allows him to identify people by their scent. He also loves red spider lilies and the color red. He excels in martial arts, swordsmanship, and poisoning techniques; yet, despite having a harem, he refrains from indulging in pleasures.

The last statement seems contradictory.

"Phoenix Palace, Your Excellency, look."

Her contemplation was interrupted by Green Bamboo's slightly excited voice. Pulling back the curtain, she was captivated by the view before her.

In the past at Drunken Flower Building, she had seen basic structures of Phoenix Palace and knew it was built against a mountain.

But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine such an ingenious design.

The entire mountain is covered in palaces, with the highest level being a massive tree. From this distance, she couldn’t identify which type of tree it was; but from this angle, the tree looked like a phoenix resting atop the palace.

Each layer of the palace has red walls and is surrounded by mountains and water. White cascading streams can be seen flowing down from each level, along with fragrant flowers and melodious birdsong.

The image reminded Qi Lin of the legendary Penglai Island.

When their carriage drew closer, they didn’t get off; instead, they entered Phoenix Palace directly.

Only then did Qi Lin clearly see that the lowest layer had walls as high as twenty meters. The vermilion gates were so heavy that it took thirty strong men to slowly open them. Entering inside, she found the ground almost entirely paved with black stone slabs. Imperial guards in yellow armor stood solemnly on both sides of the road while their carriage proceeded slowly.

About a hundred meters down the road, they encountered walls and gates similar to those at the entrance, but the number of men needed to open each gate grew larger. Besides imperial guards, officials from court began appearing along the roadside too. And with every palace gate they passed through, the attire worn by these officials changed.

Hearing the sound of flowing water, she noticed that her hair was already covered with a layer of mist. Just looking at the design of the surrounding flowers and trees made her eyes dazzle; however, after walking for so long, she finally saw some palace buildings.

Counting the number of palace gates they passed through, it was around twenty. She had thought that the palaces would be very grand but found them to have a similar architectural style as Drunken Flower Tower, although there were more pavilions along the way and no reduction in the number of imperial guards.

When their convoy entered the hundred-and-seventh palace gate, it finally stopped.

With the help of an eunuch, she stepped down from her carriage to see a towering palace wall as high as the first floor. Behind that thick palace gate was the magnificent and golden Imperial Palace.

The design was ingenious; she didn't know how to describe it with words.

She had never been so impressed by architecture in her life.

"The Emperor has an edict."

Hearing this, everyone quickly knelt down without noticing that the person delivering the imperial decree was no longer Jiang Yuanzhong.

"By Imperial Decree: Consort Xiao Ran shall be promoted to Empress and reside in the West Palace's Yi Ning Hall. A grand coronation ceremony will be held on a later date for her entry into the East Palace. Consort Xiao, Du氏, is bestowed An Tang Hall; Consort Zhuang, Bai氏, is granted Jade Union Hall; Concubine Huai, Jun氏, is given Snow Tranquility Hall; and Imperial Concubine Hongxue is awarded Spring Fountain Pavilion. That's all."

The young eunuch changed his expression to a smile after reading the imperial decree and continued, "Your Excellencies, I am Ningzi of the Imperial Court. If you need anything, just tell me."

"The Empress has bestowed her grace upon us."

After the kneeling ceremony, the head palace maids from each palace had already prepared themselves and were waiting for their respective consorts.

Qi Lin thought that Consort Xiao Ran would give a long list of instructions. But surprisingly, she only made some polite small talk before parting ways with everyone else.

Judging by the fact that her residence was quite remote, no one seemed to welcome her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have walked for so long without arriving and there wouldn't be fewer palace maids around here; even the weeds growing from between paving stones were left unattended.

Even her head palace maid didn't come to greet her. It was clear that she wasn't favored by her master.

As soon as Qi Lin thought of the head palace maid, three maids came walking over. Due to their haste, they didn't see her and bumped into her. Green Bamboo helped Qi Lin steady herself and prevent her from falling down.

"How do you walk" Green Bamboo was furious and stepped forward to reproach them. "If you hit someone..."

Qi Lin pulled back Green Bamboo and signaled for her to step aside. Even though she wasn't happy, Green Bamboo still moved away.

"Auntie, are you the head palace maid of Spring Fountain Pavilion" The leading maid was about twenty-five or six years old, wearing a light yellow gown. Her companion wore a blue robe and had two buns on her head, making them look rather adorable.

Due to their haste, sweat trickled down from their foreheads, but they were trying hard not to pant loudly.

"This maid is the head palace maid of Spring Fountain Pavilion. I am Junyu; these two are my lady's accompanying maids—Bing'er and Xine." Junyu bowed respectfully yet showed a hint of disrespect in her eyes, only nodding slightly as a sign of respect.

Green Bamboo looked visibly displeased. Such blatant discrimination was simply too obvious.

"There are still many things I don't understand, so please kindly instruct me in the future, Aunt Jiuyu." Qi Lin slightly bowed and raised her voice, "Once you enter the palace gates, it's like entering a deep sea. If one isn’t careful in the palace and breaks the rules, your head could be on the line at any time. Aunt Jiuyu, do you think I am right"

Jiuyu was taken aback and quickly knelt down to perform an elaborate bow; Bing'er and Xier behind her also followed suit.

"My mistress is correct in her teachings; I will strictly adhere to them." After saying this, she prostrated herself once again before continuing, "I have heard that my mistress is gentle and refined with a sharp intellect. It is truly our blessing to serve such a noble lady."

Green Bamboo snorted coldly, while Qi Lin merely smiled without speaking. A moment later, she said slowly, "Aunt Jiuyu, being so intelligent, Red Snow will surely feel at ease from now on. Green Bamboo, reward them."

Green Bamboo took out the prepared silver coins and rewarded each of them respectively. She admired Qi Lin with a look; originally thinking that Qi Lin was someone who didn’t engage in disputes, she hadn't expected her to be so adept at instructing servants. By combining kindness with authority like this, these servants would surely behave more properly from now on.

"Oh, it's only been a short time since you arrived, and already you're disciplining the servants."

She turned her gaze towards the source of the voice and saw two people dressed in concubine attire approaching. Behind them were pairs of attendant maids and eunuchs.

The speaker was a woman wearing peach-colored clothes, holding a feather fan that she waved gently. With the assistance of an accompanying eunuch, she swayed her curvaceous figure over. She cast a disdainful look at Qi Lin, seeing no indication from her to kneel down; she then glanced sideways at another concubine.

"Rude woman! When you see Concubine Xian, why don’t you quickly kneel" the woman sternly rebuked.

"Please calm down, Your Excellency. Red Snow only recently entered the palace and is unaware of the rules. Please forgive her," Green Bamboo hurriedly stood up to protect Qi Lin; however, Qi Lin showed no intention of kneeling, which distressed Green Bamboo greatly.

"How dare you! When my lady speaks, how can a servant intervene Ningxiu, slap her."

The eunuch named Ningxiu stepped forward with satisfaction, raising his hand to harshly strike Green Bamboo's face. He then turned to Jiuyu and said sternly, "Is this not the palace maid Jiuyu who served by Old Grand Dowager’s side What happened Did Old Grand Dowager dismiss you here when she left However, as an experienced member of the palace, shouldn’t your mistress know the rules if you do too"

Qi Lin did not intervene to stop Ningxiu and ignored Jiuyu's indecision. She walked forward and bowed according to formal etiquette, softly saying, "Concubine Xian is correct."

The Concubine Xian looked at Qi Lin in surprise, about to speak when she was cut off by Qi Lin.

"It’s my fault for not managing my own servants properly and causing you to be concerned. However...," Qi Lin bowed again before smiling and saying, "Green Bamboo is asking for your forgiveness on behalf of Red Snow. If the palace maids see this, they will think that it's Red Snow's fault; if those who don’t know, they might think Your Excellency enjoys punishing servants. Such rumors would be detrimental."

"You!" At a loss for words after being outmaneuvered, Concubine Xian waved Ningxiu back and said, "I am tired today. I rarely visit here; there will be no more opportunities in the future as the Emperor has surely called me to his side now. You may stay here."

"Thank you, Your Excellency. Goodbye," Qi Lin watched as Concubine Xian departed before helping Green Bamboo up. She felt warmly towards her and smiled gently, asking, "Are you okay"

"I am fine; thank you, my mistress." Green Bamboo smiled softly, not minding the redness on her face.sed. The usually arrogant Mu Dan was letting her take the spotlight today but kept herself out of it. But what caught her attention more was that white-clothed man who seemed to have some difficulty m...