Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

It would make sense for a peasant daughter to dream of something so estranged from her, but she was a noble’s daughter, so shouldn’t she be aware of the balance that exist?

Or was it such that she still didn’t understand her status as a palace courtesan?

Well, it was a plausible story if the emperor took pity on her and brought her to the palace to keep her safe.

“I thought that if she is free enough to dream that nonsense then she could’ve just practice the lute more. Well, she won’t listen. Besides, her finger tip skills might have improved, but that’s just how it appears to be.”

According to Xu, that girl totally didn’t grasp the tension brought about by the sound of the lute and the tone that could invoke emotions.

“If that girl’s memory is good, then she could’ve been a top-notch lute musician with proper training, but yeah, she doesn’t have an ounce of patience. She’s already satisfied as soon as she could barely play it. She didn’t have the desire to master it. I guess that’s fine for a lesson for a little princess, but that shouldn’t be the case for the palace courtesans.”

It was said that the status of palace courtesans could change drastically if she caught the eye of the bigwigs.

In order to get their attention, they had to polish their skills as courtesans.

If they fail to do so, they would be overtaken by others. If that were to happen, not only would they end up being at the bottom of the status ladder, they would be deemed as worthless and might even end up losing their status as palace courtesan.

Once they lose that status, they would then become mere prostitutes, and they would have to toil harder than when they were palace courtesans.

Indeed, such would be her ending had she refused to work as the palace courtesan.

She must possess ambition if she wanted to continue being a court courtesan.

 “And yet, that girl won’t listen no matter how much I persuade her too. After all, my lute skills had degraded.”

Xu looked sad as she continued talking.

It was right around that time that Xu began to suffer from rheumatism, and she could no longer play the way she used to.

IT seemed that Xu’s decline was also one of the factors that caused that woman to become more impudent.

“I can play the piece more perfectly than Xu can.”

The woman insisted that she was far more superior than Xu.

However, even if Xu could no longer play the lute, she still had the talent for composing music.

That ability was prized by the Jiaofang, too, so they didn’t have any problems with her not being able to play the lute. They still expected her to stay as a lute teacher and to continue composing music.

“I see, you can be granted an estate if you are an instructor. Moreover, if you are that talented, you can also ask the emperor to release you from being a palace courtesan as your reward.”

“Really?”

Yui Mei’s eyes went round in amazement when she heard the man’s remarks.

Being a teacher in Jiaofang was such a prestigious promotion for a palace courtesan, apparently.

Since she entered the palace as a performer, she could get out of the palace through this route, unlike the emperor’s consorts and concubines who could only be released by going to the nunnery, or being bestowed to the emperor’s subjects through marriage as a gift.

“…It’s too much for me, being only a mere merchant’s daughter as I was. However, I was glad that I still had a place where I could wait for him, even if I could no longer play.”

Xu’s expression was tender as she uttered those words.

For Xu, the time she had left waiting for her lover was far more important than a successful career.

On the other hand, the woman was thoroughly vexed and she exploded in frustration when she caught wind of Xu’s promotion.

She was mad with anger as she wondered why Xu, an elderly palace courtesan who no longer had the ability to play the lute, had to be treated so well when her status had been continuously dropping.     

“It’s just a piece of music!  I can do that much, too, so why are you keeping on favoring Xu instead of using me!”

She grumbled on, but unfortunately for her, no one shared her opinion.

She was isolated because of this, making her more obstinate.

“But then, that girl’s lute music suddenly changed one day.”

Xu covered her eyes while saying so.

———

T/N: Hello! Sorry, it’s been a while. I’ve been observing the author’s release rate, and we’ll catch up with the raws soon enough if we continue with the 3x a week release, so we’re slowing down a bit to allow the author to stock more chaps first ? Starting next week, the schedule for Hundred Blossom Palace will be twice a week, and might adjust depending on the situation ? Thank you <3