Chapter 5 The Balance of Power Between the Imperial Court and the Harem
Chapter Five: The Balance of Power Between the Former Court and the Inner Palace
Inside the Imperial Study, just as Li Qianche finished listening to the report on the battle at the front, Shen Gaoyi approached with a gold-lacquered tray and said softly, "Your Majesty, the palaces have followed your instructions and added two more meat dishes to the lunch."
Li Qianche paused slightly, his hand holding the pen pausing. Suddenly, the image of Su Su's pale face, devoid of any color, flashed before his eyes during the morning greetings. "Is she ill?" His voice deepened, and he himself didn't realize the subtle urgency in his words.
Upon hearing this, Shen Gaoyi's heart skipped a beat, his knees buckled, and he knelt down on the blue brick floor with a thud. His expression was filled with panic: "Your Majesty, on the day Consort Su was confined, she intended to come to the Imperial Study to plead her case, but she happened to run into Consort Zhuang... She was pushed and shoved, fell, hit her head, and fell unconscious for the entire day. This servant saw that Your Majesty had been busy with military affairs for days, and that Consort Su was unharmed after waking up, so... so I did not dare to disturb Your Majesty and did not report in time..."
Li Qianche did not look up, his gaze still fixed on the memorial, but his voice was as cold as ice: "Go down and receive your punishment."
Shen Gaoyi, with a mournful face, kowtowed and said, "This servant obeys."
He retreated tremblingly, filled with remorse. He knew that the emperor hated servants who concealed information, and he couldn't escape the twenty lashes. Only now did he dare to reflect on his actions: when Consort Su had just been demoted, the emperor's mind was unpredictable. How could he have risked offending the emperor for the sake of a disgraced and willful master? Now he realized that his cleverness had backfired.
In Changxin Palace, Su Su has been copying scriptures every morning and embroidering handkerchiefs in the afternoon, carefully saving the money she earns. She also secretly asked Xiao Anzi to bring back a few chicks and some vegetable seedlings from outside the palace, and carved out a small space for them at the base of the back wall of the side hall.
"Qiuju, tighten the chicken coop in the backyard a bit more," she instructed softly, her gaze sweeping over the tender green shoots emerging from the vegetable patch. "If we run out of food in winter, these vegetables and chickens will be our lifeline." She had to learn to handle these mundane matters of livelihood perfectly. If one day she were banished to the cold palace, the little bit of life in this little corner of the world might help her endure a little longer, until the day she could escape the palace and die.
As she was copying Buddhist scriptures, Chunlan quietly approached and whispered, "My lady, the master has sent a letter."
Su Su put down her wolf-hair brush, her slender fingers unfurling the letter. In it, her father said that because of her sudden demotion, he knew that the household needed to be cautious and had begun to investigate whether there were any suspicious people around him. Seeing that her father was somewhat alert, she felt a little relieved, but her fingertips trembled slightly involuntarily. She hoped that the Su family could avoid disaster in this life.
She held the letter close to the candlelight, the flame licking the edge of the paper with a soft, rustling sound. If anyone else saw this letter, it would surely implicate her father. She watched the letter turn into wisps of smoke, a deep, unyielding melancholy settling between her brows.
To distract herself, she lifted her skirt and walked to the chicken coop. She picked up a handful of golden grains from the earthenware jar, and with a light flick of her wrist, the grains scattered like broken gold. The chicks gathered around, their downy feathers rustling as they fluttered about.
Qiuju approached gently, looked at the scene before her, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle: "My lady, if the master and madam saw you in this state, they would probably be so shocked that they wouldn't be able to speak for a long time. Such a scene was something they would never have dared to imagine in the past."
Su Su smiled upon hearing this, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the rough edge of the pottery jar. Indeed, back in her maiden days, pampered by her parents and brothers, she never imagined that one day she would have to do these things herself. But now, looking at the chicks, she could almost see them growing into plump little creatures. In the winter, she could stew a pot of warm soup, which would not be a waste of the cold years in the deep palace.
Inside the Su residence, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the table laden with exquisite dishes, yet it failed to whet the appetite of Madam Su, Tang Wanqing. She put down her silver chopsticks, tears rolling down her cheeks again, splashing tiny watermarks on the edge of the snow-white porcelain plate: "I wonder if Su'er can even get a hot meal in the palace... Now that she's been demoted to a lowly concubine, I wonder how much suffering she'll endure."
Su Mufeng nodded slightly, his own heart filled with unresolved worries. His daughter's letter was filled with calm words, yet where was the bright spirit of the past? She must have suffered greatly in the palace to cultivate such a composed demeanor. He picked up his ivory chopsticks, placed a piece of glistening crispy pork in his wife's bowl, and wiped away her tears: "Madam, rest assured. As long as Su'er knows how to bide her time, the Empress Dowager will ultimately not ignore the Su family bloodline."
Tang Wanqing has been eating less lately because of Su'er, and she looks much more haggard. For the sake of his wife's health, Su Mufeng continued to comfort her.
Tang Wanqing clenched her handkerchief, her tear stains shimmering in the candlelight: "The matter of the Prince of Ning's heir could never have been done by Su'er! No matter how willful she is, she would never harm anyone... But now the Empress Dowager wants Lin Yue from the second branch of the family to enter the palace. Could it be that she doesn't trust Su'er anymore?" Before she could finish speaking, her throat was already choked with sobs.
Su Mufeng gently placed his palm on her shoulder, the sandalwood sleeves enveloping the two of them: "There are still doubts in this case, and the palace is still investigating. Yesterday, the Empress Dowager sent a message to the clan elders to postpone Lin Yue's entry into the palace." He lowered his voice a few decibels, "In the end, the Empress Dowager still cares about Su'er."
After hearing her husband's words, Tang Wanqing felt a little relieved, gradually stopped crying, and nodded slowly. Her porcelain spoon began to move. Su Mufeng stayed by her side until he watched her swallow the last mouthful of soup before getting up and going to the study.
The moonlight was cold and clear on the bluestone steps. Su Jizhi emerged from the moon gate and saw that his father's sleeves were stained with soup, knowing that he had once again been tending to his mother's meals. These days, his mother had lost a lot of weight because of his sister's situation, and his father couldn't bear to see her cry, so he always accompanied her to every meal...
Su Jizhi followed behind his father with his head bowed, their two tall shadows appearing and disappearing on the blue brick floor. "Father, Mother... is she troubled by my sister's matter again today?" His fingertips unconsciously rubbed his sleeve. If he had known this would happen, he should have persuaded his sister not to go to the palace. But the Emperor and the Empress Dowager each had their own thoughts, and how could the Su family be completely at their own discretion?
Su Mufeng paused in front of the study door, the setting sun casting an even more lonely shadow over him. Gazing at the blood-red sunset, he couldn't help but recall his youth, that spring day when he fell in love with Tang Wanqing at first sight amidst the apricot blossoms and spring rain. From that moment on, his love was deeply rooted. The clan elders, disliking Tang Wanqing for being merely the daughter of a merchant, arranged for him to marry the daughter of the Grand Tutor. He resolutely refused, determined to marry Wanqing. He never regretted this choice. The warm and loving time he had spent with his wife over the years far surpassed the illusions of high office and wealth. However, this action ultimately angered the Grand Tutor and utterly disappointed the clan elders, who were eager for a marriage alliance to strengthen their family. After all, this marriage was originally a carefully paved path to advancement for him by the Empress Dowager and his family.
At that time, the late emperor was vigorously purging the maternal relatives of the empress. Even the maternal family of the then empress and now the empress dowager was walking on thin ice. Seeing that internal divisions had emerged in the Su family, Su Mufeng politely declined the offer of the Grand Tutor's daughter. The late emperor then took the opportunity to place him in the position of Hanlin Academy Reader, ostensibly to appease him, but in reality to prevent him from becoming too powerful. When the elders of the clan saw that he had no hope of promotion and that his official position was low and his power was weak, they gradually became indifferent to the eldest branch of the family.
Over the years, he had long seen through the vanity of power struggles and felt that living a peaceful life was just right. It wasn't until his daughter Su Su was born that she was chosen by the Empress Dowager to be brought into the palace to learn etiquette and be groomed as the future empress. Only then did the elders who hadn't been in contact with him for a long time begin to warm up to him again...
Now the new emperor is quite wary of the Empress Dowager's daily interference in politics. Since Su Su was made a concubine, Su Jizhi has been willing to serve as a fourth-class guard, keeping to himself and not daring to show any ambition. All of this is just to put the emperor on the throne at ease.
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