Ji Yu stayed with the Emperor for a few more minutes before she left his study, when she was with Zhai Tianyu, her lips were curled into a smile but the second she stepped out of the study, that smile fell ever so swiftly. Xiaolin who noticed that her mistress looked rather upset hurriedly chased after her as the two of them left the courtyard together.

" What's the matter, missy?" asked Xiaolin as she looked at her mistress who was frowning, her face was taut and she was even biting her lips. This only happened when her missy was rather upset! " Did his majesty say something to you?"

" No," Ji Yu shook her head as she replied to Xiaolin. " His majesty was ever so kind to me, he even prepared tea and cakes for me."

If the emperor did not say anything to her missy then why was she looking so upset for no reason at all? Something must have happened or else her miss would never show such an expression. After all, she was not like those concubines who would throw tantrums at the smallest thing.

" Then what happened, miss?" asked Xiaolin urging Ji Yu to tell her what was going on in her mind. " You were so happy just this morning when you were stewing the soup for his majesty and now that you have seen him, you look upset like this, please tell me what happened miss or else I will not be able to sleep at night."

" You are always so pushy," Ji Yu remarked as she turned her head to look at Xiaolin, she gave her a light glare but Xiaolin did not take her seriously. She knew that her mistress was too kind to punish her, the two of them have been together since they were young and her miss has always treated her more like a sister than a maid.

That was why she was able to speak so freely in front of Ji Yu.

" If I won't push you then you will never tell me anything," said Xiaolin as she took the wicker basket from Ji Yu and smiled at her miss.

Ji Yu was two inches taller than her which was why Xiaolin have to raise her head to look at Ji Yu, with her chubby face and cheerful expression, Xiaolin indeed looked rather cute and Ji Yu who has always wanted a sibling after losing her brother has gotten closer and closer to Xiaolin who was with her in her hardest times.

"It's nothing serious," said Ji Yu with a soft voice as she walked towards the entrance of the Emperor's palace, along with Xiaolin, she brought two other maids that were gifted to her by the Grand Dowager  Empress when she entered the harem but compared to Xiaolin, she did not trust the two maids.

This was why she always kept them at bay, even now when she came to meet the Emperor, she asked the two maids to stay at the entrance.

Which was a good thing or else she wouldn't have been able to talk freely with Xiaolin.

"You are ever kind, that is why you are being bullied by the concubines in the palace," huffed Xiaolin angrily. " You can always use the affection of the Emperor to teach those concubines a lesson but you have been keeping everything to yourself.

If you were as scheming as they are then you would have already kicked half of the harem out, after all, who here does not know that the Emperor cares for you more than he does for the entire harem."

Ji Yu sighed as she poked Xiaolin on the forehead and said, " How many times I have told you? We are no longer at Ji mansion where you can speak as you want, be careful. Even if you are my maid, I am just a concubine as well. My status is not any higher than the other concubines, if they hear you bad mouth them, then how will I save you?"

" I am always careful miss, aren't I saying this only because we are in the Emperor's palace?" Xiaolin poked her tongue out as she lightly spoke to her miss but then as the two got closer to the entrance, her expression turned serious as she looked at her miss and asked with all the seriousness that she could muster. " Miss, you need to tell me what is the matter...

I mean you never tell anyone anything and then keep it to yourself until you have stewed over the matter for days, why not tell me?  I might be of some help to you."

Ji Yu was still hesitant but then she thought about the changes in Zhai Tianyu and she paused in her stride before turning to face Xiaolin. " Lin Lin, tell me what do you think about the Emperor gifting the Queen a round of gifts?

Earlier he promised me and everyone else that he wouldn't give the Queen any gifts even after …" she lowered her voice as she said, " Even after faking his wedding night with her but now he has given her a bunch of gifts, you were there too. You heard him right?

He was telling everyone that he wasn't going to let the Liu family raise their heads in front of him anymore by making use of Liu Hui Ying but now he went back on his words."

Xiaolin knew that her miss has been pinning after the Emperor for all these years, though she has never confessed her feelings everyone could see that she had the Emperor in her heart. How can she not be uncomfortable seeing another woman get closer to the Emperor?

" Miss, you are thinking too much," Xiaolin tried to ease the worry lines on her mistress's face. " We all know that the Emperor hates the Liu family more than anyone and after all when you lost elder master, you were not the only one who lost a brother, his majesty did too.

I don't think that after seeing just how poisonous the women of the Liu family are, the Emperor will try to get close to the Queen."  She paused and added, " And when compared to you, what does the Queen even have?"

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