Chapter 5: The Emperor's Female Guard

In a moment, Ella had figured out her future. She pondered that there seemed to be no need to rebuild her relationship with the Marquis of Qingyun's household, as they would eventually part ways anyway.

Let's congratulate the Marquis of Qingyun for finally getting rid of this troublesome person. Presumably, from now on, he could comfortably take on multiple wives and concubines without any worries.

Fifteen minutes later, Ella walked out of the harem.

Empress Dowager Lu was quite thoughtful, as she called a eunuch to escort Ella to the Donghua Gate. Perhaps she was worried that Ella might get lost?

Coming out of the Cining Palace, Ella felt liberated. Following the eunuch, she bypassed numerous corridors and walked towards the Donghua Gate.

Being in an ancient palace, the surroundings were indeed grand and magnificent. It reminded her vaguely of the Forbidden City she had visited before. However, there were many more palace servants and guards here than in the Forbidden City. They all stood solemnly, adding a lot more majesty than the Forbidden City, which was only visited by tourists.

"Grace?"

As Ella approached the Donghua Gate, a group of three or five people walked towards her. The leader, a neatly dressed girl, looked extremely surprised.

Ella certainly didn't recognize her, but judging by the guard attire she had seen in the palace earlier, she could tell that the girl was dressed as a guard.

There were female guards in the palace?

"Why are you out here?"

The female guard was not very polite, furrowing her brow and standing upright. It was unclear if she had any grudge against the original owner, but she seemed quite surprised that Ella could walk out of the Cining Palace unscathed.

Ella was momentarily speechless. In her mind, she searched for memories, while the eunuch sent by Empress Dowager Lu coughed and said with discernment, "This is Miss Jin from the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion, now one of His Majesty's guards."

A female guard around the emperor's son from another world? The Lu family's style was worrying.

The guard's impoliteness warranted a retort from Ella, but she decided to leave a margin for future encounters. She said, "So, you're Miss Jin, my apologies for the oversight."

But the guard, Miss Jin, suddenly looked astonished. "Have you taken the wrong medicine?" she exclaimed before briskly walking away, casting several glances at Ella.

Was she seeing a ghost?

Watching Miss Jin's departing figure, Ella turned to the eunuch and asked, "Are there many female guards in the palace?" Could it be possible for her to transition from a palace cook in the Cining Palace to a palace guard?

"Not many," replied the eunuch named Gao Shu, who was a seasoned veteran in the Empress Dowager's service, well-versed in observing and interpreting.

Having seen Grace escorted in earlier, subsequently having access to the Empress Dowager's kitchen, even preparing meals personally for her, and finally being specially instructed to escort her out of the palace, Gao Shu no longer regarded Ella as an ordinary person. Therefore, when Grace inquired, he naturally felt obliged to clarify.

"There are only a few female guards around the Empress Dowager. Miss Jin has been trained in martial arts since childhood and is very skilled. Initially, she was appointed by the Empress Dowager to serve by her side. Later, Princess Yanping needed someone, so the Empress Dowager assigned Miss Jin to take care of the princess."

"And then, when Princess Yanping left, His Majesty happened to have a vacancy, so Miss Jin temporarily filled the position."

Continuing her questioning, Ella asked, "Are the female guards in the palace all from prestigious families? Aren't they eager to get married?"

Given that Empress Dowager Lu is a time traveler, and in the original novel, the founding emperor had assigned female guards to her at the beginning of his reign, it's not particularly strange that she still has a few female guards around her.

"Female guards with a background like Guard Yu's are extremely rare, almost unique to her. Generally, they are young ladies from reputable military families who have won the title of martial champion at the Hua Yue Tournament. Since the positions are limited, every family competes to send their daughters to the palace."

At this point, Gao Shu's cloudy eyes revealed genuine admiration for Empress Dowager Lu.

However, Ella suspected that this was a kind of selection process arranged by the Empress Dowager herself...

Gao Shu continued, "Of course, the Empress Dowager wouldn't hinder their marriage prospects. Once they reach the age of twenty, they can return to their families. They can also get married during their service, but they must leave if they do."

"The martial champion of the Hua Yue Tournament?"

"Yes, it must be the martial champion of the Qionghua Haiyue Literary Tournament."

Gao Shu nodded deeply, with a solemnity that seemed intentionally aimed at discouraging the less talented young ladies from the Marquis of Qingyun's household.

Ella was actually familiar with the Qionghua Haiyue Literary Tournament. It was mentioned in the conclusion of the novel, a contest set during the Flower Festival exclusively for women, named after the famous scholar Zhang Che who had contributed a large red coral tree to the event.

After helping the founding emperor establish his empire, the Empress Dowager had proposed several beneficial policies, one of which included hosting a literary contest for women every year during the Flower Festival—this was the Hua Yue Tournament.

However, this was only briefly mentioned in the context of the male protagonist's respect and love for the female protagonist. The author did not elaborate much, so Ella hadn't paid much attention to it.

Moreover, Ella remembered the Qionghua Haiyue Literary Tournament was called a literary contest because it involved competitions in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. How did it also include martial champions, according to Gao Shu?

"Miss!"

Ella was about to ask more questions when two figures, crying and holding up their skirts, ran towards her from the Donghua Gate. "Miss, you finally came out! The Marquis went to Qianqing Palace to see the Emperor. He hasn't come out yet, and we were so worried. We thought something terrible had happened to you!"

She had no time to ponder this further as her maidservants started fussing around her. The one speaking was Xiaojv, with a chrysanthemum embroidered on her collar. The other one, wiping away tears, was Xiaolan, with an orchid embroidered on her collar.

The original owner's taste was quite plain and simple; their names were as common as any other maidservant's.

Ella had just been kneaded and molded by the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace and hadn't yet adjusted to her new high-status identity among the nobility. She was a bit taken aback by their loyal dog-like behavior.

With Xiaojv and Xiaolan each holding one of her hands and sobbing, unwilling to let go, Ella was at a loss.

She turned back to see Gao Shu had already departed.

Recalling the maidservants' words that the Marquis of Qingyun had gone to see the Emperor, Ella asked, "Why did the Marquis go to Qianqing Palace?"

Xiaolan paused and stopped crying, "Of course, he went to ask the Emperor to plead with the Empress Dowager to save you!"

This was new to Ella. The original owner had offended the Empress Dowager and was captured by her. The Marquis of Qingyun, wanting to save his daughter, should be pleading with the Empress Dowager. Why go to the Emperor?

The key issue was that the original owner had offended the Emperor's mother. Would pleading with the Emperor help? Wouldn't he add to her charges instead of helping?