Chapter 262 — Entering the Palace
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 4 of 4
Song Yan took the opportunity to tell Dou Yan what sort of people the palace consorts were, what families they came from, and what grudges lay between them. Then, afraid that Dou Yan might take his words too much to heart, he said, "These are, after all, matters of the inner palace, and some of what I know is merely hearsay. As to how things really stand, you must judge for yourself. I tell you these things only so that you will not be caught wholly unprepared when the moment comes."
"I understand," Dou Yan said. "I will take advantage of this visit to the palace to observe the consorts carefully."
Life in the palace was lonely, and sometimes those consorts were fonder of gossip than the women of the marketplace, and nine times out of ten such gossip turned out in the end to be true, making them better informed than even the grand secretaries of the Grand Secretariat.
The two were still talking when Suxin returned.
"The Princess of Ninghuai says you are simply to wear a true-red full-sleeved lined jacket into the palace," she said. She curtsied to Dou Yan and Song Yan. "These past years the Emperor has grown ever fonder of homely talk, and you are a bride, so this dress will suit you well. She also says you need not be flustered when you speak: whatever the Emperor asks, answer as you would answer your own uncle, respectful but not without warmth. As for the Empress, she is the easiest person in the world to talk to; so long as you are respectful at heart, it does not matter even if you answer wrongly. It is at the Empress Dowager's that you must mind your words: the Dowager is advanced in years and her hearing is none too good, yet nothing offends her more than having others know she is hard of hearing, so when you answer Her Majesty, remember to speak up."
Song Yan could not help laughing at this. "I never thought you would win the favor of the Princess of Ninghuai! In all my years, the words she has spoken to me do not add up to as many as she has spoken to you today!"
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Sisters and brothers, I wish you all a happy weekend!
Tomorrow's extra update will be at about 2:30 in the afternoon.
ps: Begging for pink votes... o(n_n)o~
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