Inside Hangzhou Palace, the palace maids and eunuchs knelt all over the floor, bowing respectfully in this direction.
Jill Young gaped for a full three seconds before snapping back to reality. She almost gave Simone a good flick on the head and yelled, "You messing with me!"—but remembered the audience just in time and awkwardly stopped herself. Simone burst out laughing and waved to the maids, "You can all leave now."
"Yes, ma'am!" The maids and eunuchs retreated like a tide. Jill Young slammed the door shut, but still couldn't resist giving Simone a flick on the head. "Who are you trying to scare? You think I'm an idiot? Just look at your outfit, then look at mine and Joan's. If I still can't figure out what's going on, I might as well be brain-dead!"
That's right—if you look closely, out of the three people in the room, Simone's clothes are by far the fanciest and most expensive. You know the saying 'the fox borrows the tiger's might'? Normally it's the fox tricking the tiger. But just now, she hid behind Jill Young, so it was the 'tiger' tricking the 'fox.' The suddenness of it all really gave Jill Young a scare.
"Whew—" Jill Young patted her chest, breathing a sigh of relief like she’d narrowly escaped disaster. "You almost scared me to death! Joan, you’re just as bad, teaming up with her to mess with me. After all the trust I put in you, I guess from now on I can’t believe anything!"
Joan looked totally unfazed, even a little shameless: "Hey, don’t blame me. I didn’t tell a single lie from start to finish."
"But this whole scheme was definitely your idea—or at least you went along with it! As long as I’m not the one playing princess, I’m good!" Jill Young was in a great mood, poking Joan’s waist. "Telling lies with the truth—Joan, you’re picking up bad habits from Simone!"
Once the door was closed and explanations were exchanged, Jill Young finally understood the whole story.
"I gotta say, you’re something else." Jill Young clapped Simone on the shoulder. "Back home, even getting a government job means endless background checks—they’d dig up every playground fight you ever had. I have no clue how they verify someone for the palace, but it’s gotta be stricter, right? Like, digging up your ancestors and all. Yet here you are: a total mystery, bringing two wanted fugitives, and somehow you passed all the checks and became a royal consort? How’d you pull that off? This is legendary!"
"It’s really nothing special, honestly. Super simple. No matter how strict the system, it’s people running it. And as long as it’s people, I’ve got a way." Simone made a circle with her fingers—money gesture. "This is the easiest trick in the book." (Side note: Ancient China didn’t have paper bills, so this finger gesture for money doesn’t make much sense. In Japan, it’s been used since ancient times. Since Chinese and Japanese coins looked similar and there’s a lot of cultural crossover, I borrowed it here. If it’s wrong, don’t blame me!)
"You’re telling me all it takes is money?" Jill Young was skeptical. "If bribery could get anyone into the palace, how’s the emperor still alive?"
"Of course, you need a few other tricks too. People are full of contradictions—afraid of getting caught and blamed, but also greedy for perks. The easy ones, I just pay off. The tough ones, I nudge their dark side a bit, and they start thinking, 'There are plenty more checks ahead, so my part doesn’t matter,' or, 'Everyone else is letting things slide, so why not me?' Then they take the cash and wave me through. Out of ten checkpoints, I breeze past eight."
When it comes to mind games and hypnotic sonic skills, Simone is a total pro. Stuff Jill Young and Joan couldn’t pull off, Simone handles with ease. That’s why the three of them make such a good team—they cover each other’s weak spots.
"Isn’t there even one checkpoint that’s strict?" Surely the Song court wouldn’t let just anyone stroll into the palace, right?
"There’s one tough checkpoint—they bring in experts to check if you’ve got martial arts skills. Not just inner power, but if your hands are calloused or your body shows signs of training, you’re out. Sometimes they’ll even arrest you on the spot. That part is genuinely strict, no way to bluff through. But—" Simone shrugged. "We don’t have to worry. First, our top dog’s skills are so advanced, they’re invisible—no way those so-called experts could spot them."
"Yep." Everyone nodded.
"And as for me, my hands may have a few marks, but I can always claim it’s from playing the zither. Plus, my technique is different from the local style—my lower dantian is totally empty. No matter how they check, they’ll never find anything."
"Oh, makes sense." Nods all around.
"As for you, boss, you’d normally be in trouble, but now it’s no big deal. The inspector took one look and declared you’ve got a Severed Vein—totally unable to practice martial arts—so they just waved you through."
"So that’s what happened… Wait, Severed Vein?" When did I become Severed Vein material? Jill Young stared at herself, then finally got it. Turns out her twelve meridians were so jam-packed with elemental energy, it was like they’d been cemented shut—no way for any energy to get through.
Even her fifty-five-plus years of internal strength were blocked inside her dantian, unable to budge. Unless someone with zero foundation had a super expert willing to forcibly clear their meridians, there’s just no way to refine blood, transform energy, or store inner power. Calling these meridians a Severed Vein isn’t an exaggeration.
"No wonder I remember hurting all over before I blacked out. That explains it!" Jill Young swung her arms, twisted her waist, rolled her neck, and jumped up and down, getting used to her new body. "So, for now, I can’t use my inner power, but if I chew through all this elemental energy, the benefits will be huge. I bet I can store up to sixty years’ worth! Then I’ll use it as fuel, blast through the Jiazi Heavenly Barrier, and break straight into the next realm!"
(This chapter’s not over yet~.~ Click next page for more awesome content!)
"That day isn’t far off," Joan said happily. "Breaking through is a huge milestone for mastering supreme techniques. Once you smash the Jiazi Heavenly Barrier, you’ll unlock the golden shackles, break the jade locks, and shake off tons of restraints. With your talent and foundation, the road to Peerless Grandmaster should be smooth sailing from there."
"Haha, that’d be awesome!" Jill Young did a few squats, full of energy. "We’ve sparred plenty before, but you always held back so you wouldn’t snap my meridians, and I held back so I wouldn’t break your bones—never felt right! When I hit Peerless Grandmaster, your Titan Spirit Method will be close to full Dragon strength. When we finally go all out, it’s gonna be epic! I’ve been looking forward to that fight forever!"
"Me too." Joan quietly clenched her hand inside her sleeve and smiled softly. "I really want to have a match with you where we both go all out."
"That’s just the martial artist’s spirit! I say we stick around for a while and lay low—see how things play out. If all goes well, we can train here, eat, drink, and get waited on. Perfect! If things go south and we get discovered—" Crack! Jill Young clenched her fists, and two dragon-shaped phantoms appeared, coiling around her knuckles, radiating fierce power and a bit of intimidation. "Who do we have to be scared of?"
That phantom dragon power was already more than ninety percent complete.
Two top-tier warriors who specialize in hard-hitting battles, plus a half-step king who excels at support and control—even with just three people, Jill Young felt like they could handle an army. She was totally fearless.
Just then, a palace maid came to the door and announced, "Madam, it’s getting late. Time to head out. You can’t be late today."
"Got it, I’ll head out now." Simone replied grandly, then turned to the others with a wicked grin: "Well, looks like you two are my handmaidens now! Today, the new Imperial Consorts have to greet the Empress and all the other consorts. Handmaidens, come escort your mistress!"
"Oh-ho! Singing the song of the liberated serf, huh? Life’s ups and downs really are wild." A consort meeting? Jill Young had never seen anything like it and was instantly intrigued. She didn’t mind the handmaiden gig, but laid down her rules: "Okay, but I have three conditions: No pouring tea, no laundry, no making beds. Everything else is negotiable—deal?"
"...Like I have a choice..."
"Settled, then!" With her hair already dyed black to avoid standing out, Jill Young figured this was a good chance to test the palace’s connections to their pursuers. Time for a walk! She called Joan over, grabbed Simone, and headed out enthusiastically. "Not even in the palace yet and you’re already an Imperial Consort—what an opportunity! Don’t dawdle, let’s go show off—my lady!"
Simone was speechless. With handmaidens like these, all she could say was—yes, ma’am...
———————————————My Lady’s Section Break———————————————
Simone was officially named Imperial Consort Mia Wise.
Technically, the emperor’s consorts are a one-to-one deal—Imperial Consort isn’t just a rank, it’s a spot. Only one at a time. If the emperor has other favorites, he gives them different titles. The order goes: Virtuous Consort, Moral Consort, Gentle Consort, Imperial Consort. After that, you’ve got your Attendants, Beauties, Talents, and so on—not real consorts.
Imperial Consort is top of the heap, right under the Empress. In the strict palace system, she helps run the inner court—a real power player.
Jill Young didn’t know or care about any of this. But she did know that Imperial Consort sounds pretty high up—in TV dramas and real history, they’re always a big deal. Like the famous "Drunken Imperial Consort"—everyone’s heard of that one. If the Empress is weak, the Imperial Consort can even be the type to hand out some serious punishment. For regular maids and eunuchs, she’s a storm in the palace, slicing tongues and breaking legs at will.
But when Imperial Consort Mia Wise set out from her own palace, Maid Jill perked up her ears and quickly realized her assumptions had been totally wrong.
She didn’t know what the real Emperor Lizong of Song was like, but one thing was clear—in this palace, Imperial Consorts weren’t exactly rare. Including Simone, Emperor Lizong actually had seven Imperial Consorts at the same time!
Seven! What is this, a lineup of gourd dolls or something?
Seriously, Zhao Yun, couldn’t you come up with a different title or something? Change a character, anything! But no, you just call them all Imperial Consort. What do you expect the power players behind these women to think? How are the high officials supposed to play their palace games now?
After eavesdropping a bit longer, Maid Jill finally figured it out.
Turns out, the current emperor’s been on the throne so long, he’s basically trashed all the old palace rules. He hands out Imperial Consort titles on a whim—this isn’t even the first time he’s just promoted someone out of nowhere. The meaning of "Imperial Consort" has totally changed; now it just means "the woman the emperor most wants to play with." This isn’t like the strict Qing Dynasty system where nobody skips rank—here, any maid could get promoted overnight if the emperor feels like it.
Of course, the flip side is, if "the woman he most wants to play with" becomes "the woman he’s bored of," she can drop from Imperial Consort status in a flash. In the past few years, who knows how many have come and gone? It’s like the barracks are made of iron, but the girls are just passing through. The rumors about Brother Zhao’s wild ways? Not so far-fetched after all.
And the only reason he gets away with it is because none of these beauties have any real backing. Whether they rise or fall, no one dares say a word.
(This chapter’s not over yet~.~ Click next page for more awesome content!)
And the reason these women have no powerful backers is because someone’s controlling who gets to be a consort, keeping everything tightly in hand. This person wants to eliminate any risk of political meddling, casting their shadow over the whole dynasty—so no daughters of top officials are allowed to become consorts.
That person was Minister Simon Jia.
A man who basically keeps the emperor penned up like livestock.
"Suddenly, this palace feels like a pig farm," Jill Young whispered to Joan, watching the parade of maids and beauties. "Look, all of them—pig feed."
Just then, two groups bumped into each other in the distance. Judging by their outfits, the two leading women were lower-ranked consorts, probably headed to the meet-and-greet.
They clearly didn’t get along—the moment they met, it was all snark and sarcasm. One mocked the other’s taste, the other shot back about fashion sense, and the eye rolls were flying. Their faces cycled through every meme-worthy expression, trading barbs nonstop, loud enough to hear across the courtyard.
Joan listened for a moment, then shook her head and added, "These pig feed girls actually love it—scrambling to get noticed, afraid the pigs won’t eat them. It’s like you said: ‘Love your job, no matter what it is.’"
Simone joined the conversation with a secret voice transmission: "But think about it—how many women dream of palace glory? Out of ten daughters, nine probably fantasize about this glamorous life. There’s a whole crowd desperate to become pig feed."
"That’s why this is our biggest enemy. Palace walls can’t stop us, but the endless longing of the world for this tiny place—that’s the real obstacle." Jill Young strode forward. "Come on, know yourself and know your enemy—let’s go see just how fierce this obstacle really is."