Chapter 481 - Proper Palace Intrigue (20) (2/2)

During the move, a bunch of palace concubines appeared to spectate.

It was probably because there had never been any woman in all of history to be promoted from concubine to State Teacher.

‘I say, as a concubine, instead of aiming for the position of Empress, she went and became a State Teacher. Isn’t she simply insane?’

The simply insane Shi Sheng carried a small cloth bundle as she left her palace.

A group of finely dressed up women were pointing at her as she left.

Shi Sheng tossed her cloth bundle over her shoulder and waved a hand at the eunuch waiting for her outside. He immediately began leading the way towards Star-Plucking Tower.

“Why do you think His Majesty agreed to her unreasonable request?”

“A woman becoming State Teacher? Just wait to be impeached by all those old officials! You guys just watch, it won’t take too long before she’s…” The speaker drew a finger across her neck.

Their statuses had never been high, so apart from supporting their husband and raising a kid, how would they dare start getting any other ideas?

‘No matter what method she used to become State Teacher, there’ll be plenty of people wanting to pull her down, so all we have to do is watch.’

Star-Plucking Tower wasn’t too far from Lin’An Academy, which just so happened to coincide with Shi Sheng’s intentions since it made going to Jade Tower much more convenient.

As for Weiyang Palace?

‘Don’t know what that is.’

There were only two servants in Star-Plucking Tower. Since Shi Sheng didn’t want it to be too crowded, two was plenty.

Her daily routine consisted of using her status as State Teacher to chill in Jade Tower, or just staying in Star-Plucking Tower to stare at the moon and stars as she pondered about life.

Such a carefree life caused some people’s teeth to itch with hate. There were even people who tried to do something about it.

But despite the large numbers trying to get in, most couldn’t even enter the door. And of those that did, they’d still end up being thrown out.

Gradually, fewer and fewer people dared to try harming Shi Sheng, and Star-Plucking Tower’s reputation got more sinister.

……

Once night fell, Star-Plucking Tower was especially creepy.

Lu Ruo carefully avoided the guard patrols and successfully made her way to Star-Plucking Tower. She raised her head to look at the wall before her that was at least two metres high, a bitter expression on her face. ‘How am I supposed to get up there?’

Yuwen Xun was harder to please as of late—his mood would worsen at the drop of the hat. Adding to her predicament was the fact that the concubines in the palace seemed to be lining up to cause trouble for her. As a result, Lu Ruo’s only thought now was of leaving this damned place.

‘System said Zhuang Qiong has something that can let it level up. For the sake of returning home, I have to be less picky with my methods.’

Lu Ruo took a deep breath and rubbed her hands. She found a good spot to start climbing and started making her way up the wall.

She spread her legs to straddle the wall, took a deep breath, and was preparing to jump down the other side when a voice suddenly spoke up behind her, “What’re you doing?”

Lu Ruo reeled in shock, causing her to lose her balance and fall back out, landing on the icy ground which dazed her.

“Ow…” ‘I think I broke my waist with that fall… Really hurts!’

From where Lu Ruo was lying on the ground, she could see the top of the wall where she’d been.

A dark figure was currently sitting there.

“Zhuang…Qiong?” Lu Ruo hesitantly called out. ‘I think that voice was hers.’

‘Instead of sleeping, she’s sitting on a wall at this hour?! No wait, I didn’t see anyone up there when I climbed up! Just when did she show up?! I actually didn’t notice at all!’

Shi Sheng leapt down from the wall. Her landing was completely silent, which surprised Lu Ruo even more.

Having low-key shown off, Shi Sheng lowered her head to examine Lu Ruo. “What’re you doing, climbing my(lz) wall in the middle of the night?”

‘I(bbb) don’t believe I(bbb) provoked this FL-sama recently? I didn’t even provoke the ML, so how come FL-sama’s delivered herself to my doorstep?’

Lu Ruo clutched her aching waist as she got up, retorting in a somewhat complaint-filled tone, “What’re you doing, sitting on a wall to scare me for?”

Shi Sheng harrumphed lightly. “This wall is part of my territory—I’ll sit here if I want. It’s your own fault for being so easy to scare, yet you’re blaming me(lz)? What were you doing climbing my(lz) wall anyway?”

“You…” ‘I’m easy to scare? I only got startled because she appeared without warning!’

[1] I was actually acquainted with this term before, but I had to look it up beforehand since I’ve not heard of it very often. It means disregard for the “majesty” of royalty, or in this case, the Emperor and the law.

[2] The term used here is more derogatory towards the profession. Basically has the implication that they are a fake. Which is true in this case lol.