Chapter 39 Clever Use of Ointments
A faint medicinal smell always permeates Kunning Palace.
"Cough cough..."
A soft cough came from inside the tent. The maid on night watch quickly poured warm tea, knelt down by the bed, and presented the teacup to Empress Liu, holding it high above her head.
Empress Liu stretched out a pale hand from inside the tent, took the money, and moistened her throat.
She gently patted her chest, calming her breathing.
"What time is it?" Empress Liu asked in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, it is 11:45 AM."
The maid answered in a low voice, and then Empress Liu asked, "Where did the Emperor go tonight?"
The maidservant replied respectfully, "It's still Yongle Palace, where Consort Jin resides."
"I understand."
Empress Liu coughed lightly, closed the bed curtains, and lay back down on the inner side of the couch.
The maid stood by the wall again. This was the rule for night watch in the palace. The palace maids on night watch stood all night, carefully noting whether their master's breathing had changed or whether he had woken up in the middle of the night, so that they could answer when the imperial physician took his pulse.
The room fell silent again.
After a long while, the maid realized something.
Tonight is the fifteenth.
According to custom, Emperor Zhaoheng should visit Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month.
However, due to the Empress's poor health, the Emperor has not visited Kunning Palace for a long time.
The maid listened to the steady breathing coming back into the tent and couldn't help but think to herself.
As expected of the Empress, the head of the six palaces, she gives away her monthly customary favors, seemingly showing no concern for the Emperor whatsoever.
Outside the window, the full moon of the fifteenth day of the lunar month hung high in the sky, casting its cold moonlight.
A faint medicinal aroma lingers in the air within the Kunning Palace, which sits serenely in the most important position within the palace, facing the Qianqing Palace across the distance...
......
The next day, Narcissus didn't get out of bed until almost 9 AM.
Sunlight streamed through the carved window, reflecting off the white porcelain vase on the nearby table, causing the daffodils to shimmer.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, the events of last night flashing through her mind.
This ointment is a soft, smooth ointment used to relieve the skin chafing on the inside of my skin.
Last night, Emperor Zhaoheng kept his promise and washed his hands several times.
Later, still afraid of hurting her, he thought of applying ointment himself, and sure enough, he didn't get any scrapes or cuts.
Narcissus felt that some images from last night had polluted her mind this morning. She covered her face, turned over, and rolled onto the inside of the bed.
Hearing a faint noise coming from the inner room, Yinzhu brought in water and lifted the curtain to enter.
"Your Majesty, someone just came from Cining Palace. They said there's no rush, but the Empress Dowager requests your presence."
Instantly, all romantic thoughts vanished.
Narcissus sat up and used the water that Silver Pearl had brought to wash her face.
Cining Palace... Shui Xian recalled the incredibly loving gaze the Empress Dowager gave the Prince Duan's heir at the birthday banquet.
She raised her hand and gently touched her lower abdomen. Although she was somewhat prepared, she did not expect the people from Cining Palace to arrive so quickly.
After having breakfast, Shui Xian took Yin Zhu to Cining Palace to visit the Empress Dowager.
The main hall of Cining Palace was wide open, and Shuixian and Yinzhu knelt down, waiting for the Empress Dowager's summons.
However, after kneeling and waiting for a quarter of an hour, Shui Xian finally heard the Empress Dowager summon her to the palace.
Yinzhu helped Shuixian up, and Shuixian stepped into the main hall of Cining Palace. There she saw the Empress Dowager sitting on the phoenix chair at the head of the table, dressed in a dark purple phoenix and peony robe, her hair neatly combed.
Beside the Empress Dowager sat a young woman dressed in a light blue palace gown. Shui Xian recognized her; she was the Empress Dowager's niece, Consort Wan, who had been granted the title of Consort as soon as she entered the palace.
The Empress Dowager did not look at the narcissus; her gaze was fixed on the Buddhist prayer beads she was twirling between her fingers.
"Consort Jin," the Empress Dowager finally raised her eyelids, her voice deep and heavy, "Do you know why I've made you kneel for so long?"
Shui Xian's heart skipped a beat, and she knelt down again: "Your Majesty, I am foolish and do not know where I have spoken or acted inappropriately, which has angered Your Majesty. Please enlighten me."
"Hmph," the Empress Dowager said, fiddling with her prayer beads, making a crackling sound. "I see you keeping the Emperor so tightly under your thumb! Ever since you were diagnosed with pregnancy and moved to Yongle Palace, has the Emperor, apart from the court, ever stepped foot into anyone else's palace?"
The Empress Dowager's gaze was deep and intense. "You've monopolized all the imperial favor! Consort Jin, do you know that the phrase 'equal distribution of imperial favor' concerns the royal offspring and the stability of the nation? What kind of logic is this, monopolizing the emperor's grace like this!"
Shui Xian knew perfectly well that the Empress Dowager was there to cause trouble.
Detain Emperor Zhaoheng? That's the current emperor, the emperor of the Great Qi.
Whether he sets foot in the harem or not, it has never been her control. This big label of being arrogant and dominating the emperor's favor is being slapped on so hastily, simply because she, the unexpected imperial child, is blocking the path of Prince Duan's heir, Cheng Ge'er!
She dared not show it on her face, but lowered her head even further: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, I would never dare! The Emperor is the supreme ruler, and his will is absolute. His presence at Yongle Palace is a great blessing for me. I can only serve him with utmost care and devotion. How could I dare to have the slightest thought of monopolizing his favor?"
Narcissus said in a deep voice, "Such a grave crime is something I, your humble servant, cannot possibly bear!"
"Oh? Is that so?" The Empress Dowager drawled, her gaze shifting to the person below. "Consort Wan, you entered the palace early and come from a respectable family; you know the rules best. Tell me, how should Consort Jin handle her current situation?"
Shui Xian raised her eyes and turned her gaze to Consort Wan, who had been sitting quietly.
She was dressed in a light blue brocade palace gown, with a moon-white vest over it, and her hair was adorned with only a few simple pearl hairpins. Her whole demeanor was gentle and graceful.
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager call her name, Consort Wan gracefully rose and curtsied to the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is kind-hearted, but you are concerned about the continuation of the Emperor's lineage and the stability of the nation."
She turned to the narcissus, a friendly smile on her face:
"Consort Jin, the Empress Dowager is not really blaming you. She is just reminding you that as a consort, you need to be more careful with your words and actions in the future. You have just been conferred the title of consort and are pregnant with the emperor's child, so it is understandable that you cannot be attentive to everything at the moment."
Narcissus remained silent, simply listening quietly.
Consort Wan's smile remained unchanged, but her tone became increasingly sincere as she stepped forward to take Narcissus's hand:
“If you don’t mind, I can visit Yongle Palace more often. The rules in the palace are complicated and intricate. Although I am not very talented, I have been in the palace for many years and my experience may help you adapt to the responsibilities of this concubine more quickly, so as not to worry the Empress Dowager again.”
Consort Wan's words were impeccable, as if she were thinking of Narcissus's best interests at heart.
If Narcissus didn't have memories of her past life, she would have believed that Consort Wan was truly kind-hearted.
However... Narcissus recalled her past life. A month before she was due to give birth, Consort Wan and Consort Yi, who was then Consort Yi, used all sorts of tricks to compete for the right to raise her unborn child. Their open and covert struggles almost turned half of the harem upside down!
The charade they're putting on with the Empress Dowager is probably for the sake of the child she's carrying.
Narcissus sneered inwardly.
Since the Empress Dowager has already labeled her as arrogant and spoiled, if she pretends to be docile, she will only become a laughing stock and make the aunt and nephew think she is easy to manipulate!
Perhaps...
Narcissus's face revealed a spoiled, slightly willful arrogance.
She subtly brushed away Consort Wan's hand that was supporting her, her voice clear and bright, tinged with a touch of naivety: "Thank you for your kindness, Consort Wan! However..."
Shui Xian paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping over Consort Wan's gentle face before turning to the Empress Dowager:
"These days, His Majesty has been telling me that he likes how I am now, so innocent and pure, unlike others who are so rigid and proper, which makes them lose their vitality. His Majesty also said,"
Narcissus chuckled lightly and said calmly, "If I am taught to be too well-mannered, the Emperor will not like it and will find it tiresome! I dare not take the risk. If I am taught to be so well-mannered that the Emperor dislikes me, I really don't know what to do."
Her words, when they reached Consort Wan's ears, seemed to be a sarcastic remark about her lack of favor despite being in the palace for many years!
"you!"
The gentle mask on Consort Wan's face was almost shattered.
Shui Xian slowly gestured to Yin Zhu to present the Empress Dowager with a sachet with the character "longevity" that she had sewn herself.
In this way, the etiquette was perfect, and even the Empress Dowager couldn't find any fault with it for a while, so she could only let Shui Xian leave Cining Palace.
After Narcissus left, the Empress Dowager on the phoenix throne and Consort Wan, who had regained her composure, exchanged a glance.
The Empress Dowager fiddled with the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand, but what she uttered were chilling words.
She sighed, "The child in her womb cannot be kept!"
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