The gilded fruit platter beside me is filled with candied fruit, a new tribute from Jiangnan—the bright orange-red candied kumquats are soaked until they are translucent, and each bite is full of sweetness.
The honey-soaked dried plums have a glossy sheen and a slightly sour taste.
The hawthorn balls coated in frosting are round and cute, and the frosting looks like tiny diamonds in the sunlight.
They are all her favorite sweet and sour flavors.
She picked up a candied fruit with her fingertips, slowly put it in her mouth, and chewed it, letting the sweet juice spread between her lips and teeth, her tone nonchalant.
It was as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "It's not like I wanted to bring these people into the palace. Whoever caused the trouble should deal with it themselves."
I was only seven or eight years old then, wearing a pink jacket and skirt with a small ruffle trim at the hem, and I was dangling my legs while lying on her lap.
She was still clutching a piece of candy that she had just given her; the wrapper was decorated with delicate floral and bird patterns, featuring a magpie carrying a flower in its beak.
Looking at the smile in her eyes, listening to her slow and leisurely tone of voice, and smelling the faint fragrance of orchids on her body, I felt that my mother was absolutely right.
Those beautiful women, adorned with jingling ornaments and exquisite makeup, were not guests she had invited.
She was the emperor's concubine, a "troublesome burden" in the harem, so naturally she didn't need to bother with such trivial matters.
The people in the harem have always been extremely respectful to the Empress Dowager.
When they meet her, the concubines who were originally chatting and laughing will immediately fall silent, curtsy properly with their knees bent at a perfect arc, and they will not even dare to raise their heads.
She was afraid that any slight imperfection in her makeup or clothing would displease her.
The head maids always had to consider whether their actions would violate the rules of Chang Le Palace. Even when delivering their allowances to Chang Le Palace, they had to choose the freshest and most exquisite items.
Fruits must be freshly picked, and pastries must be freshly baked, for fear of any slight mistake.
I originally thought that they were afraid of their mother's status as Empress, and that the Phoenix Seal in her hands could determine life and death and easily decide their fate.
I only realized later that it wasn't "daring" but "unable".
The Emperor's high regard for the Empress Dowager was an ironclad rule etched into the very bones of the Ning Dynasty.
In the early years, there was a concubine named Su who came from a prominent family. Her father was the Grand Tutor of the court and had taught the emperor.
His elder brother held an important position in the Ministry of War, wielding considerable military power.
When she entered the palace, she was surrounded by great fanfare. Her bridal procession stretched for miles from the palace gate to the Grand Tutor's residence. Her father, the Emperor, also bestowed upon her many treasures, including a rare coral bracelet.
But she was jealous of the phoenix hairpin from the Western Regions that her mother received as a gift from her father—the hairpin was made of pure gold.
The hairpin is inlaid with seven pigeon blood rubies, which reflect a faint red light in the sunlight. The end of the hairpin is adorned with small pearl tassels that sway gently when walking, making a crisp sound.
It is said that only one of these was ever made in the entire Western Regions, and it was a tribute personally presented by the King of the Western Regions to his father.
Consort Su then secretly devised a plan, having her personal maid take advantage of the opportunity to deliver seasonal clothes to Chang Le Palace.
He cut up his mother's favorite copy of Gu Kaizhi's "Nymph of the Luo River" with scissors—the painting was part of his mother's dowry and was purchased from the common people by his maternal grandfather at a high price.
She treasured it dearly, only taking it out to hang for a few days during festivals, and even had a brocade box specially made for its safekeeping.
When the Empress Dowager found out, she didn't say a harsh word. She simply had someone gently put the damaged painting into a camphor wood box and continued to enjoy the flowers and candied fruit every day.
He acted as if nothing had happened, without even frowning.
But somehow this matter reached the ears of the Emperor, who immediately slammed his fist on the imperial desk, causing the ink in the inkstone to splatter out and spill onto the bright yellow brocade, resembling an ugly black flower.
He didn't even bother with interrogation; he simply issued an edict to banish Consort Su to the Cold Palace, a remote and damp place that never saw sunlight and was attended to by only an old palace maid.
His father and brothers were also stripped of their official positions and exiled to a harsh and cold place three thousand miles away, where it is said that people's ears can freeze off in winter and mosquitoes can bite them all over in summer.
That day in the imperial court, the emperor's voice was as cold as icicles in winter, carrying far through the vermilion beams and pillars of the main hall.
The ministers in the hall were so shocked that they all lowered their heads and dared not speak: "The Empress is my first wife and the mother of the Ning Dynasty."
"To touch her things is to touch my things, and to touch the dignity of the Ning Dynasty! Anyone who dares to show the slightest disrespect will suffer the same fate as Grand Tutor Su and his entire family!"
These words were like a whirlwind, sweeping over every palace wall, blowing over every flower in the imperial garden, and entering the hearts of every concubine.
From then on, no one in the harem dared to show the slightest disrespect to the Empress Dowager, and even mentioning her name was done with great caution.
It was as if those two words were a hot potato—everyone knew that touching even a hair on the Empress Dowager's head was like touching the Emperor's sore spot.
Confiscating the entire family's property was considered a lenient punishment, let alone the more severe penalties.
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