Chapter 38 I want Xian'er to feel happy too
The Imperial Garden was not a good place for reminiscing, so Shui Xian returned to Yongle Palace with her family whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
The moment they stepped into Yongle Palace, the overwhelming luxury left the three of them completely stunned.
Beneath their feet lay gleaming gold bricks, and overhead, carved beams and painted rafters were inlaid with luminous pearls. A delicate fragrance permeated the air. Inside the palace were treasures and artifacts beyond their wildest imagination, each one priceless.
Such a luxurious environment left the elderly couple, who had toiled for half their lives, at a loss for what to do with themselves, and a sense of awe for the daffodils arose spontaneously within them.
Only then did they truly realize that the eldest daughter before them was no longer the little servant Shui Xian who was bullied by everyone in the Yi family, but the incomparably noble Consort Jin!
Shui Xiu, who was only fourteen years old, was relatively simple-minded.
After the initial shock, she hugged Narcissus's arm tightly and called out to her sister repeatedly, finally relieving the pain of separation between the sisters over the years.
Narcissus patted her sister's hand reassuringly, her gaze quickly sweeping over her family, keenly noticing the scars on their new clothes that couldn't conceal them.
She gently took her mother's rough hand, her slender fingers tracing the lingering purplish marks and scars on her wrist.
Narcissus's mother flinched, her eyes instantly reddening, and tears silently rolled down her cheeks.
“Mother…” Narcissus’s voice was filled with heartache.
"Xian'er..." the mother choked, wiping away her tears haphazardly with her sleeve.
She sobbed uncontrollably, "Madam Yi used to be quite kind to Mother, but after that day, she was like a completely different person! She insisted that Mother broke the imperial porcelain vase... Mother really didn't! But they... they wouldn't listen to Mother's explanation, they locked her up, didn't give her food, and... they even beat her..."
Narcissus turned her gaze to her father.
The honest and unassuming driver, now hunched over, looked ten years older than he remembered.
“Father…” Narcissus felt a pang of sadness.
Tears welled up in his father's cloudy eyes. He waved his hand, but when he spoke, the black hole left by his knocked-out tooth was visible: "Father is fine. Father just feels sorry for your mother and your sister... Father wanted to protect them, but... but they said Father disobeyed the master of the house, and they locked Father up too. I'm so useless..."
Shui Xian looked at her younger sister Shui Xiu, who was nestled close to her.
Shui Xiu lowered her head subconsciously, her long eyelashes concealing the emotions in her eyes, but Shui Xian could see the red marks on her slender wrists where she had been bound by ropes.
She didn't need to say anything, but Narcissus knew.
What could a fourteen-year-old girl, just coming of age, possibly encounter? If the Yi family hadn't been hoping to use Shui Xiu to threaten her, her sister's fate would probably have been even worse!
Seeing her family members still in shock, Shui Xian's heartache turned into hatred for the Yi family and for Yi Guichun.
Her voice was deep and clear:
"Father, Mother, Xiuer, don't ask why. There is no why. Because we were born into a lowly family, from the day we were born, we no longer belonged to ourselves. Our lives, our dignity, have always been worthless in their eyes!"
Narcissus looked intently at her parents: "Now, we have received the Emperor's grace, been freed from our lowly status, and become law-abiding citizens. But this is only the beginning!"
She earnestly advised, "If you cannot truly stand on your own two feet, learn to protect yourselves, and learn to stand tall as human beings, then even if you are now law-abiding citizens, sooner or later we will still fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives and be wantonly bullied and trampled upon!"
The father and mother looked at each other, they were used to being submissive, and independence was too foreign to them.
Narcissus's father sighed heavily and said sorrowfully:
"Being independent... is easier said than done! Xian'er, we only have daughters, no sons. Without a son, how can we support the family? How can we manage the household? I'm thinking... it would be better to find Xiu'er a good, honest, and reliable family to marry into as soon as possible. With a man to support the family, life will be more stable..."
"Father!" Narcissus coldly interrupted her father's cowardly thoughts:
"You're thinking too simply! Xiuer's marriage right now can't be solved by just finding an honest and law-abiding man!"
She looked at her parents and calmly analyzed the cruel reality: "Although Xiuer is now a law-abiding citizen, her background—she was once a servant in the Yi family—cannot be erased! Which family with even a little social standing and a sense of social status would truly respect her?"
Seeing her parents' slightly changed expressions, Shui Xian sighed and said, "Father, Mother, think about it! Our family now lives on the imperial estate and has gold, silver and land bestowed by the Emperor. This wealth may not be much in the eyes of truly established aristocratic families, but in the eyes of those of ordinary or even impoverished backgrounds, it is a huge piece of fat meat!"
She put her arm around Shuixiu's shoulder. "If we really let Xiuer marry such a person, it's fine if he treats Xiuer sincerely, but what if he only cares about money? What will happen to Xiuer if he runs off with the family property or even abandons his wife and children? What will happen to you? Wouldn't the peace and stability we've worked so hard for be gone again?"
Narcissus's parents were completely stunned by her insightful and cruel analysis!
They never imagined that the world after they were freed from slavery would be so complex and treacherous!
Narcissus's father opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that his daughter's words made perfect sense, and he couldn't refute them at all.
Her mother turned pale with fright, and the two of them looked even more worried, filled with a deeper sense of uncertainty about the future.
Shui Xian turned her gaze to her younger sister Shui Xiu, who had been silent all along.
She lifted Shuixiu's chin, making her look into her eyes, her voice gentle yet powerful: "Xiuer, tell your sister, do you want to become strong? Do you want to one day truly control your own destiny?"
Shui Xiu's eyes reflected her sister's resolute gaze.
She recalled the dreadful, dark days at the Yi residence, the constant fear of being treated like merchandise and handed over; she remembered the disdainful look Consort Li gave her in the Imperial Garden today, as if she were an ant; she remembered the heartbreaking humility of her parents as they begged for mercy...
A determination she had never felt before arose in Shui Xiu's heart!
"Yes!" Shui Xiu's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
She straightened her thin back, her gaze becoming more resolute than ever before. "Sister, I want to! I want to become strong! I want to protect Mom and Dad! I never want to be bullied again!"
"Good!" A hint of relief flashed in Shui Xian's eyes. She turned to her parents and said, "Father, Mother, you see? Xiu'er has this heart! This is the hope for the future of our Shui family! From today onwards, take out the money to hire the best tutor for Xiu'er! Let her study! Let her understand things and broaden her horizons!"
"Study...study?" Narcissus's father was completely dumbfounded. "What's the point of a girl studying so many books? She can't possibly become the top scholar..."
"Father!" Narcissus whispered, "Precisely because she is a girl, it is even more difficult for her to establish herself in this world, and that's why she needs to study and understand reason! Studying is not for passing the imperial examinations, but to help her understand the rules of this world and know how to protect herself!"
Having experienced the ups and downs of two lifetimes, Shui Xian knew better than anyone that for those at the bottom who wanted to turn their lives around, the fastest way to escape hardship and poverty was through education!
Knowledge is power!
Seeing the unyielding gazes of his two daughters, Narcissus's father, though still harboring doubts, could not bring himself to object.
Subconsciously, he had an almost blind trust in his daughter, who was now the noble Consort Jin.
He nodded, which was taken as agreement.
She also had many private conversations with her family, giving them detailed instructions on what to do outside the palace.
Time flies, and the eunuch leading the way coughs softly outside the palace to remind everyone that the time for visiting relatives is approaching.
Tears welled up in the mother and Shuixiu's eyes again as they held Shuixian's hands, reluctant to part. Shuixian's father, trying to maintain his dignity as a father, also had tears in his eyes.
Shui Xian felt a pang of sorrow, but forced a smile and said, "Mother, Xiu'er, don't cry. Yinzhu, take your mother and Xiu'er to the storeroom and pick out some suitable jewelry and fabrics to take back with us."
She needs to talk to her father alone about something more important.
After Yinzhu led her mother and Shuixiu away, only Shuixian and her father remained in the hall.
Shui Xian's expression turned serious: "Father, although I am now the Noble Consort Jin and seem to be living a glamorous life, there are dangers lurking everywhere in this deep palace. My greatest weakness is that I have no one in the court! I am isolated and helpless in the palace. If anything happens, I am afraid I will not be able to protect myself and the children, let alone you!"
Upon hearing this, the father panicked: "No one in the previous court? What can I, your father, do? Although I have no ability, for your sake, I will not enter the court..."
“Father,” Shui Xian interrupted him, “I understand your intentions. But the officialdom of the previous dynasty is a hundred or a thousand times more dangerous than the inner court of the Yi family! You are honest and kind, and do not understand those intricacies. If you rashly get involved, I am afraid you will die even faster than you did in the Yi family.”
Narcissus's father was speechless at his daughter's blunt words, and his face turned a little pale.
Shui Xian took out a heavy brocade pouch and a neatly folded piece of paper from her sleeve and stuffed them into her father's hand: "Father, take this money and when you go back, find a suitable location in the capital and open an inn."
This was a solution she had come up with after much thought.
"Open...open an inn?" Narcissus's father was completely dumbfounded and couldn't keep up with his daughter's train of thought.
“Yes, open an inn.” Narcissus’s gaze was deep. “It doesn’t need to be too big, but it must be clean, tidy, and conveniently located. Start it up first, and run it with care. This is the first thing your daughter is entrusting to you.”
She pointed to the note and said, "Go to the address on this note and find a young man named Zhou Yan. He should be a down-on-his-luck scholar living in poverty now."
Narcissus carefully instructed her father on the method: "When you find him, just say... say that you admire his talent and want to hire him as the manager of your inn. Tell him that as long as he can run the inn well, he will definitely be given an important position in the future!"
The note contained the image of the man from Narcissus's previous life, a man who later rose to prominence in the business world but was now still just a poor scholar who had failed the imperial examinations several times.
In her previous life, he helped her a lot; in this life, it's her turn to help him.
Shui Xian's father was completely confused, not understanding what opening an inn had to do with the lack of talent in the previous dynasty, but his daughter was now Consort Jin, and her instructions must have a deeper meaning.
He solemnly tucked the brocade pouch and note into the pocket closest to his body, and nodded vigorously: "Xian'er, don't worry, Father will definitely handle this matter well!"
The time to visit relatives has finally arrived.
Shui Xian saw her family off at the entrance of Yongle Palace. Watching their figures gradually disappear at the end of the palace road under the guidance of the eunuchs, a deep sense of reluctance welled up in her heart.
Today we part ways, and I don't know when we'll meet again.
As their figures completely disappeared, the last trace of warmth in Narcissus's eyes also vanished.
The palace is a dangerous place, and she chose this path to survive better.
She has no regrets.
......
That night, after finishing his official duties, Emperor Zhaoheng arrived at Yongle Palace under the moonlight.
As soon as I entered the inner room, I saw Narcissus sitting alone on the soft couch by the window, gazing at the cool moonlight outside, her expression filled with a faint longing.
"Xian'er." Emperor Zhaoheng stepped forward and gently embraced her from behind. "Have you met your family today?"
Narcissus nestled into his arms, buried her face in his neck, and murmured a soft "hmm."
Emperor Zhaoheng felt a sweet fragrance in his arms, and his heart ached even more: "Don't be too sad, it will hurt your health and the child. I have ordered the Imperial Household Department to prepare some fine clothing, nourishing medicines and practical utensils, and I will send someone to the Imperial Estate tomorrow to provide for your parents and sister."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Shui Xian raised her head, her eyes filled with grateful tears. She took the initiative to hook her arm around Emperor Zhaoheng's shoulder and kissed his thin lips.
This kiss carried the bittersweetness of longing, and also the touching tenderness he showed her.
Emperor Zhaoheng paused for a moment, then immediately deepened the kiss.
He put one arm around her waist and gently stroked her slightly protruding belly with the other, his movements tender and full of affection.
"Xian'er..." His voice was hoarse with passion as he kissed her lips, chin, and slender neck, leaving delicate marks.
Narcissus seemed to be both welcoming and resisting, raising her chin and stretching her slender neck in a charming arc in the air.
"Your Majesty, the sores from the other day are still hurting."
She softly and sweetly accepted his advances.
Last time, Emperor Zhaoheng suddenly got excited and accidentally hurt her.
Now, looking at the narcissus, who, although unable to have sex, is becoming more and more lustrous and beautiful as her pregnancy progresses, a sense of satisfaction wells up in his heart.
He took out a brocade ribbon and placed it beside the soft couch.
One second, the sash was still tightly wrapped around Narcissus's dress; the next second, it had already fallen to the ground, cascading down into a heap.
"Xian'er..."
His voice was slightly hoarse as he raised his hand and gently touched her.
"I want Xian'er to feel happy too."
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