Chapter 8: Into the Palace

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Yun Dai decided to just remove her clothes by herself.

She definitely didn’t want a bunch of strong older women pinning her down and stripping her.

The two maids’ expressions got friendlier when they saw that she was being cooperative now.

“That’s the way. Once you’re in the palace, you don’t get a choice anymore. In this palace, the only one who’s important is His Highness. For the rest of us, our lives are worthless,” said the maid, as she looked this young woman in front of her up and down.

Even though these two older maids had long been used to seeing pretty ladies in the palace, they couldn’t help but marvel to themselves.

“You’ve given birth before?” asked Mo Chun in surprise.

“That’s right,” replied Yun Dai.

She didn’t feel the need to hide something like this.

She had gone out to work precisely to earn enough to feed herself and her child.

The other maid, Song Mei, said, “It’s good to be so young. I can’t tell at all.”

Yun Dai smiled a little shyly.

Mo Chun jokingly said, “Who knows? Maybe one day His Highness might take a fancy to you, and you’ll be able to rise in the ranks.”

Yun Dai quickly replied, “Please don’t even joke like this. I just want to do the work I’m assigned to, and I don’t want to think about anything else.”

Song Mei snorted. “Even if you never thought about it, it would be good to have this sort of fate. There are so many young, beautiful ladies out there, and how many of them have this sort of fate? Besides, you’ve even given birth before.”

Yun Dai smiled and responded, “It is indeed as you have said.”

Yun Dai was gentle and obedient, so the two maids wouldn’t carry on with this conversation. Once they were finished checking her, they let her put her clothes back on.

Yun Dai swiftly put her clothes on again.

The weather was getting warm now, so all she was wearing was a light green linen shirt with narrow sleeves and a gathered skirt that was made from the same material. Her hair was rolled into a bun and held together with one wooden hairpin.

This was the way almost all the commoner women dressed.

She wasn’t very pretty, but she was gentle and obedient.

When the two maids looked at her, they felt that she was dressed a little too poorly, but since she was going to just do menial work in the kitchen, then it didn’t really matter.

After they emerged from the room, the two maids talked to the eunuch, and then the eunuch helped her with her contract and other documents in order to register her.

After Yun Dai had severed all ties with the Gu family, she had become an adopted daughter of Auntie Pan’s family. And, just like that, Yun Dai went from being the Chen family’s kitchen helper to being the East Palace’s small kitchen helper.

According to the rules of the palace, all members of the royal family would have their food prepared by the royal kitchen. The crown prince was the only son that didn’t have his food prepared by the royal kitchen because his health wasn’t in a great condition.

As a result, the East Palace had built a small kitchen and hired only the best cooks to specially cook for the crown prince.

Earlier that day, the crown prince, Zhao Yuanjing, had eaten braised meat at the Chen’s manor, and he had actually eaten five pieces of meat.

The crown prince never usually had such a good appetite, and this was something that had never happened before.

And so Yun Dai had ended up coming to his palace.

Song Mei was the housekeeper of the entire East Palace and was in charge of everything, including the crown prince’s living quarters, clothing, food, etc. Mo Chun was in charge of the small kitchen.

She showed Yun Dai where she would sleep and then took her to the kitchen. Along the way there, she instructed her, “The East Palace is different from other places. There are many rules here. You only have to work in the kitchen from now on. Don’t go anywhere else, because if you happen to bump into any royals, you will definitely be dead meat, and nobody will be able to save you.”