Chapter 13: The Disabled Young Lady (Part Thirteen)

Chapter 13: The Disabled Young Lady (Thirteen)

As per the usual custom of each court, regardless of the status or rank of the palace candidates, all were required to enter a dark room for inspection by the palace maids before entering the palace proper.

They checked for bad breath, hidden ailments, and in severe cases, not even a single dark mole on the body was permitted.

Of course, exceptions existed.

For noble ladies, having to undergo such inspections—often requiring them to be completely undressed—was considered an insult.

Therefore, most noble families would make prior arrangements before their daughters entered the palace, ensuring the process was merely a formality.

Su Kui knew that no such arrangements had been made on behalf of the Grand Tutor’s residence, and while still pondering how to bluff her way through, a maid respectfully ushered her into an adjacent side room next to the dark chamber.

The maid offered her a cup of fragrant tea with great reverence and advised her to rest there for a while before departing.

Tracing the rim of the cup with slender fingers, Su Kui lowered her gaze in thought. She wondered what special grace had granted her this treatment.

Could it be that the matriarch had pulled strings with the palace maids behind her back?

No, that couldn't be right. If the matriarch had done so, she would have informed her.

Unconsciously stroking her jaw, her eyes quietly shifted, and suddenly a spark of realization flickered in her mind.

Could it be... him?

Having understood, Su Kui sipped the fragrant tea lightly, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Indeed, in this world, who else but him possessed such power to reach into the palace?

She knew that many noble ladies outside were far more prestigious than she was, yet none of them enjoyed this kind of treatment. If they found out—

Tsk, Su Kui clicked her tongue.

Jun Mozhen was certainly making her enemies, but why did she feel neither fear nor trepidation, but rather an exhilarating excitement?

Truth be told, Su Kui was the sort to thrive amid chaos—some might even call her a troublemaker.

After twenty-some years of her thoroughly twisted nature, trying to straighten her out was a single word: impossible! Impossible as scaling the skies!

The small side room was cramped, furnished only with a table and a few chairs, leaving no extra space.

The light inside was dim, filtering through the cracks of the window, reminding Su Kui that it was still broad daylight outside.

She sat there motionless for nearly half an hour, long enough to think she might wither away in this airtight little chamber, when the same elderly maid who had brought her in reappeared.

Behind her was a young palace maid, about eighteen years old, dressed in a deep purple palace uniform.

The girl wore twin buns and a palace headdress, her features plain and utterly unremarkable.

Yet Su Kui, experienced in reading people, keenly noticed the girl’s footsteps were almost silent, and beneath her ordinary face, her eyes occasionally flickered with a sharp gleam.

She was certain this palace maid was skilled in martial arts—and quite formidable at that.

Contemplating this, Su Kui maintained a calm expression.

The elderly maid approached with a beaming smile and bowed to her.

“Congratulations, Young Mistress Feng, on your selection. I, your humble servant, offer my felicitations,” she said, then gestured to the palace maid just a few steps away. “This is Lü Yao. She will attend to you from now on. Should you have any dissatisfaction, instruct her to seek me out. I shall serve you with utmost devotion.”

“Oh?” Su Kui was somewhat surprised. She had thought she wouldn’t even pass the preliminary selection. She had even told Maid Gu to wait outside so that if she were rejected, she could return home promptly.

Unexpectedly, she had been chosen!

Su Kui could only sigh inwardly, marveling at the power of the script. Reason or not, the script was king!

(End of Chapter)