Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite
Chapter 40: Qiu Ming’s Guidance

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Qiu Ming’s Guidance

"Miss Qin He, please return first. It’s time for Miss Lin’s medicine."

Upon seeing Xia An bring the medicine bowl through the door, Qiu Ming spoke calmly, but his expression when looking at Qin He was very serious.

Even with Qin He’s thick skin, there was no reason for her to stay any longer, so she left with Nanny Cui in a hurry.

Lin Wanyi took the medicine bowl and drank it all at once, her movement fluid and without hesitation.

She had been accustomed to taking medicine since childhood, and this bowl of medicine was naturally no challenge for her.

Qiu Ming observed this, and instead thought that Miss Lin must be a straightforward person, unlike other concubines for whom taking medicine seemed like a death sentence, always needing the Emperor’s company or pretending to be elegant.

Very troublesome.

The medicine had calming ingredients, and with Qiu Ming present, she had no worries, so she simply retired to rest.

Seeing Lin Wanyi fall asleep, Qiu Ming and Xia An retreated from the inner room.

"You’ve served by Miss Lin’s side for a long time, so you must pay extra attention to her daily needs in the future."

"Even if Mr. Qiu didn’t mention it, I already know."

"Hmm, in the days to come, matters of this left-side hall can be discussed with me. I am older than everyone here and have been in the palace longer. Some things can be done, and some can’t. We must establish rules first."

Xia An nodded, finding Qiu Ming’s approach quite reasonable.

"I will follow Mr. Qiu’s instructions."

"The first thing to remember is, no matter who requests to meet, Miss Lin’s wishes must be prioritized. If she wants to see them, they can naturally enter, but if not, it’s best to use the right reason to refuse them. Do you understand?"

Xia An opened her mouth slightly, surprised that Qiu Ming’s first order would be such.

"Mr. Qiu, but our Miss Lin’s position is lowly. Just like today, Miss Qin He is a Chief Palace Maid beside the Imperial Concubine. If we refuse her, won’t that bring trouble to Miss Lin?"

"There’s a proper way and wording to refuse people. These are skills learned over time. As servants, if we cannot alleviate worries for our master, then why keep us here?"

After these words, Xia An had an epiphany akin to a sudden enlightenment.

"Take today as an example. Miss Lin didn’t want to see Miss Qin He, who surely had troublesome matters for Miss Lin. So it’s best to keep her outside the door, away from Miss Lin’s ear, preventing any future grudges against her. Do you understand?"

Xia An never knew servants could handle those in higher positions like this.

She couldn’t help but feel that serving at the imperial court indeed gave one more confidence than others!

"Even though Miss Lin is merely a concubine in rank now, a master is still a master, and servants are servants. Qin He’s insolence and threats towards Miss Lin were merely backed by power, and she broke protocol. Face should be given, but arrogance shouldn’t be fostered. Understand?"

Xia An nodded vigorously, feeling this was the most reassuring moment since entering the palace.

Before entering the palace, they were always taught to be cautious in everything, extremely prudent, to maintain respect and a low profile.

Unfortunately, in the palace, scenes of climbing the ranks and stepping over others happen daily.

If you want others to respect you, you must first conduct yourself properly, upright and correct, leaving others no room to find fault.

Constantly bowing and yielding will only make others think you’re easy to handle.

The affairs of Lady Chu is one example, the business with Lin Guifei is another.

"Of course, I’m not saying you should confront head-on. That’s a foolish approach! Words have two sides; you can speak smoothing words, and also harsh ones. Neither make Miss Lin uncomfortable nor allow others to find fault."

With these words, Xia An understood but knew it would still be difficult to put into practice.

Qiu Ming had merely laid out the rationale, and the specifics would depend on future encounters. Time will tell, as learning is a long process.

With a Chief Eunuch like Qiu Ming now in the left-side hall, all rules needed to be re-established.

Previously, only Chunqi, Xia An, and a newcomer Xiao Luzi were there, and Lin Wanyi did not strictly enforce rules, only emphasizing loyalty.

But Qiu Ming brought a different regime, making rules strict and clear, whether new or veteran, if you cross the line, you are dealt with equally.

Such clear rewards and punishments kept everyone in the left-side hall on their toes.

Even Lin Wanyi felt Qiu Ming was indeed a notable figure.

The two chosen by the Inner Court Department were also earnest and honest, the maid named Yan’er and the eunuch named Xiao Hezi.

They handled affairs diligently and swiftly.

During Chunqi’s days lying in bed, Yan’er even took responsibility for applying medicine to her wounds.

With care and thoughtfulness, before long, Chunqi and Yan’er grew closer.

"Yan’er, how much do you remember of those palace rules Mr. Qiu mentioned last time?"

Pointed out, Yan’er tilted her head and thought, then answered honestly.

"About seventy to eighty percent remembered. Mr. Qiu said he’d do random checks, so I dare not forget them!"

Chunqi made a miserable face; she had always feared reciting texts since childhood, and it was only under the lady’s insistence that she learned some characters.

Remembering these articles completely was even worse than being hit a few more times with a rattan stick.

"Heavens."

At that moment, Chunqi hated Lady Chu even more, wishing she had hit her a couple more times, so she could fake illness more convincingly.

With personal attention from Your Majesty, no one dared to be negligent from the Imperial Hospital.

Not to mention Miss Lin, even Chunqi and Xiao Luzi saw daily visits and examinations by medical officers and women.

Medicines were given generously, so in just four or five days, bruises faded early and a few wounds scabbed.

Perhaps due to her good constitution, she was already able to walk around again.

If not for Mr. Qiu overseeing things outside, she might have sneaked into the small kitchen.

Having left pots and pans untouched for some days, her hands itched.

"Miss Lin hasn’t eaten my cooking all these days, I wonder if she’s lost weight?"

"Don’t worry, Sister Chunqi, the Imperial Kitchen sends meals over every day on time. I saw her eat a lot."

Chunqi pouted, thinking Miss Lin was truly pitiful.

Clearly injured, and can’t eat her favorite dish, with Mr. Qiu around, even the freedom of meals lacked, forced to eat more.

With this thought, she wished she could immediately get out of bed and start cooking.

However, fearing being caught by Mr. Qiu as soon as she went out.

Everything else was manageable, but if he asked her to recite some palace rules, she’d rather stay hidden in her room.

Best not seen. _{freew\e bnovel.com}

On the other hand, Xiao Luzi’s reaction was entirely different from Chunqi’s.

Knowing Qiu Ming was assigned to the left-side hall as Chief Eunuch, he felt a surge of joy.

He had hoped before for guidance from Mr. Dong, feeling it would be a stroke of luck.

Though it wasn’t Mr. Dong who came, everyone knew Mr. Qiu was Mr. Dong’s disciple. Receiving his teaching was certainly connecting with Mr. Dong.