Chapter 90 A Chaotic Day
Since Empress Wang fell ill and secluded herself in the palace to recuperate, palace affairs have been managed by Consort Zhang and Consort Jiang, with Consort Xian and Consort Sheng assisting. So, nothing went wrong.
The renovation of Guanju Palace, which is known for its meticulous work, took nearly three years to complete. Many green sandalwood trees were also moved into the courtyard.
Perhaps due to the suitable climate, in just seven or eight years, these Chinese sandalwood trees have grown from saplings into lush, verdant trees with abundant branches and leaves. Now, in June, they are in full bloom, filling the courtyard with a faint, sweet fragrance.
It was noon, just before the meal was served, when two figures returned from the Imperial Study and entered Guanju Palace, one on each side.
The Ninth Prince, walking on the right, wore a royal blue brocade robe. Because he was so handsome, with delicate features and still some baby fat on his cheeks, he looked even more gentle.
He was tilting his head to the side, listening to what the Seventh Princess was saying.
The seventh princess, on the other hand, was dressed much more brightly and beautifully. In the summer, she wore a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with simple auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on it.
She tilted her head slightly, her hair tied with jeweled beads intertwined with her braided hair, which shimmered in the sunlight.
"Brother, you are just too fond of pleasure."
With a proud and triumphant air, like a princess who had won a great victory, she declared, "We'll teach them a lesson this time and see if they dare to be so annoying next time!"
"Your Majesty, Hongzhen did it on purpose. If those members of the Wang family dare to speak disrespectfully again, you should..."
"Jiahe!!!"
The "refined" temperament that A-Zhu had cultivated over the past few years, which had made her increasingly "gentle and tender," suddenly crumbled in an instant, transforming her into a roaring "tiger mom."
Hearing her mother's angry voice, the Seventh Princess, who had been holding her head high, suddenly drooped her "tail," looked timid, and had a look of "something bad is about to happen."
The Ninth Prince suppressed his laughter and shook his head. He quickened his pace and stepped in front of Princess Jiahe.
Princess Jiahe obediently hid behind the Ninth Prince, and the two entered the hall one after the other.
Upon entering the hall, the Ninth Prince and Princess Jiahe called out almost simultaneously, "Mother Consort."
Without waiting for A-Zhu's response, Princess Jiahe, holding the small jade belt around the Ninth Prince's waist, peeked at A-Zhu at the head of the table.
Seeing Ah Zhu's gloomy expression and the imminent storm brewing, Princess Jiahe shrank back, inwardly uttering a few cries of "Alas!"
Seeing how "perilous" the situation was, the Ninth Prince gave Ah Zhu a sweet and gentle smile.
"Mother, I got up a little late today and only ate a few snacks. My stomach is really empty now, and I'm so hungry. Shall we have a meal now?"
Based on past experience, mealtimes were also when their mother could calm down.
When Jiahe went over to serve his mother a meal with a "humble and submissive" demeanor, his mother's anger would subside by half after the meal.
Sure enough, when the Ninth Prince said he was hungry, A-Zhu nodded.
Before the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess could even be happy, they heard A-Zhu say, "Here are some snacks. Mingchen, you go and have a bite first. Jiahe, stay here."
The Ninth Prince wasn't really going to eat snacks. He stood still, about to change the subject, when he heard Ah Zhu start mocking him.
"What, isn't our Seventh Princess always a self-proclaimed 'hero' who dares to take responsibility?"
"Why are you hiding now?"
Unable to resist this "provocation," the Seventh Princess immediately stood up.
But having stood up, she smiled ingratiatingly at Ah Zhu and called out to her in a coquettish tone, "Mother... please don't be angry, I, I know I was wrong."
"You know you were wrong?" A-Zhu nodded with a forced smile and said, "Okay, then tell me what you did wrong?"
Does the Seventh Princess truly know she was wrong?
She acted as if she had just entered the palace, clearly indicating that she would dare to do it again next time.
Seeing that Ah Zhu was truly angry, the Seventh Princess lowered her head, rubbing the edge of her sleeve, and huffed, "I...I won't joke with him anymore."
"joke?!"
Ah Zhu glared at the Seventh Princess, her voice rising with anger: "You're saying that was a joke?!"
"Mother!"
The seventh princess, who had been keeping her head down, couldn't help but raise it.
She retorted defiantly, "If Hongzhen and the others can joke with my brother, why can't I joke with him?"
The Hongzhen mentioned by the Seventh Princess was the eldest son of the Crown Prince.
As the eldest grandson, his status was like being edged with gold, truly precious and extraordinary. He was a year older than the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess, and was currently studying in the Imperial Study.
Empress Wang is still "ill" and has not stepped out of Kunning Palace.
What disease can last this long?
The people in the palace had clearly come to their senses.
Adults can pretend to be naive and feign ignorance, but children's likes and dislikes are very clear.
The princes who had no official duties, the princesses who had not yet married, as well as some imperial relatives and their companions, were all in the Imperial Study.
The seventh princess couldn't sit still; she would disappear even during breaks between classes.
A few days ago, there was a slight delay, and I saw the Ninth Prince being pushed to the ground by the Wang family. When the Seventh Princess saw this, she was furious and rolled up her sleeves to confront Hongzhen.
Fortunately, the others intervened quickly, and it was just a minor shoving match. The Ninth Prince and Hongzhen had no intention of making a big fuss, so the matter was suppressed.
But since friction has already occurred, the matter is clearly not going to settle down so easily. Today, the group had another big argument in the Imperial Study.
But Ah Zhu was clearly not referring to that.
Seeing that the Seventh Princess had made a big mistake but still looked resentful and even argued her point, Ah Zhu was so angry that she slammed her hand on the table and cursed loudly.
"What does this have to do with Hong'er?"
"You bastard!"
"You, you, you are always daydreaming during the teacher's lessons, and when the teacher asks you a question, you know nothing."
"He often neglects his studies and is constantly complaining of aches and pains, arriving late or leaving early..."
"Okay, okay, you say you really don't like these classical Chinese phrases, and I didn't expect you to become a top scholar anyway."
“I can turn a blind eye to all your actions and not hold it against you.”
"But you, on the contrary, are becoming even more outrageous!"
"They've actually dared to bully the master!"
"Master Gao is your teacher!"
"It's not your fault if you can't learn the Four Books and Five Classics well, or if you don't like to learn them. But it's a big mistake that you are so morally corrupt and so despicable!"
"Respect your teachers and value their teachings! Respect your teachers and value their teachings! Have you ever learned these four words? Do you even know them?!"
"Do you even know how to write these four characters?!"
"And now you dare to shamelessly tell me you're joking..."
Ah Zhu was so angry that she felt dizzy.
“Master Gao is over fifty years old, and his beard is already turning white.”
"Highly respected and virtuous."
"He made you so angry that you fainted in the back hall of the school."
"If you, if you were to anger him to death today, Jiahe, how would you live afterward?"
"Have you thought about the consequences?!"
"You angered your own teacher to death, Jiahe, do you dare to hear that?!"
Has Master Gao fainted?
Jiahe was stunned by what he heard.
She subconsciously looked up at the Ninth Prince, who was also stunned. Then he realized... no wonder Scholar Qin was the one who taught the second half of the class this morning.
"Mother."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Ninth Prince quickly said, "Has the imperial physician examined Mr. Gao? Is he feeling better now?"
"Thank God she didn't die of anger!"
Enraged, A-Zhu glared at Jia-He through gritted teeth.
"Go and apologize to Mr. Gao right now."
"Go now, immediately!"
"You'd better kneel down and sincerely apologize. If the master doesn't forgive you, you'll keep apologizing!"
The Seventh Princess, who was already anxious upon hearing the news of Master Gao's fainting, was told by A-Zhu to apologize to Master Gao... She pursed her lips tightly, tightened her jaw, and remained silent for a long time.
"Fine, really, really..." Enraged, Ah Zhu looked around with reddened eyes, then reached out and grabbed the ruler that he had originally used to scare people.
"I'm asking you one last time, are you going or not?!"
Princess Jiahe, with tears in her eyes, was incredibly stubborn. She knelt on the ground, looked up at Azhu, but refused to speak.
With a "smack!", the Ninth Prince, who had rushed over, caught the ruler.
"Brother!"
"Mingchen..."
A-Zhu subconsciously loosened his grip, but the Ninth Prince, who trembled in pain, tightly gripped the ruler in his hand.
The Ninth Prince patted Jiahe, who was crying and clinging to his hand, and then smiled at Azhu: "Mother, in the end, it is also my fault."
"Your subject is somewhat foolish and not good at his studies. The teacher, the teacher is also somewhat disappointed in me, which is why he often scolds me and disciplines me a bit too strictly. Jiahe is also..."
"Brother!"
"You're still speaking up for that old scoundrel!"
Jiahe wiped away her tears and started wailing and cursing.
"And he even had the nerve to call himself a Grand Scholar!"
"That pedantic scholar, all he does is fawn over the Crown Prince all day long!"
"What about the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, the difference between superior and inferior, the presumption of power and disrespect, the hierarchy between ruler and subject—they just keep spewing nonsense on their lips all day long."
“He is always finding fault with his elder brother.”
"No matter what the assignments are, no matter how diligently my brother writes them, he can always find countless faults in that old scoundrel's class."
Hearing Jiahe launch into a tirade of unrestrained curses, the Ninth Prince quickly said, "Jiahe."
Princess Jiahe, however, was no longer willing to tolerate it.
She turned her head away from the Ninth Prince, but did not get up. Instead, she crawled on her knees to A-Zhu's side, tears streaming down her face, and said through gritted teeth, "Mother."
"This old codger, relying on his more books and his status, and taking advantage of the Emperor's good nature, often uses the pretext of studies to publicly humiliate the Emperor."
"I only regret that my brother is not the reincarnation of Confucius. His words are harsh and he deliberately belittles my brother to the point of being worthless."
"He always looked at his elder brother with that kind of worthless, strange gaze."
"They keep talking about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, but their hearts are all crooked."
"Even Master Qin praised my brother's calligraphy, but that old geezer kept scolding him. Today he said my brother wasn't working hard enough, tomorrow he said my brother wasn't conscientious enough. Whenever my brother was mentioned, he would shake his head and sway his body incoherently."
"He always punished his elder brother by making him copy books... but then he would praise Hongzhen's 'nonsense'. Isn't this just a way of stepping on his elder brother to belittle him and praising the crown prince?"
"Mother, he bullied people first."
"Waaaaah, it's clearly him who's been bullying my brother all along."
"My brother says he is a teacher... but Master Qin and Master Wei never do that!"
Princess Jiahe, who is usually the most vain, was crying so hard that snot bubbles were coming out of her nose.
Her harsh words became broken and intermittent due to sobs.
"That old geezer, how come he doesn't get so angry he dies?"
"I... I want to spit in his face! He still wants... he still wants me to admit my mistake! Waaaaah, I won't admit it!"
"He is the most hateful, the most..."
It was June, but Ah Zhu felt as if she had suddenly fallen straight into an ice cellar. Her ears were ringing, and her hands and feet were cold. It felt as if there was a breath stuck in her chest, making her face turn pale and unable to breathe. She felt a suffocating pain in her heart.
A-Zhu's trembling hands grasped the Seventh Princess's hand, which was clinging to her sleeve, and reached out to help her up, but she couldn't muster any strength. In the end, it was the Ninth Prince who pulled Jiahe up.
"Mingchen..."
A-Zhu looked up at the Ninth Prince, her lips trembling, "Jiahe...is what Jiahe said true?"
The Ninth Prince instinctively wanted to shake his head, but Ah Zhu held his hand tightly, and tears, like broken beads, kept falling down her face.
Azhu's voice was choked with sobs.
"My mother came from a poor background and didn't receive much formal education."
"The teachers who taught you in the Imperial Study were all Grand Secretaries."
"My mother thinks they are all well-read, knowledgeable, and highly respected gentlemen..."
“Jiahe said she didn’t like studying, and her mother believed her, but never asked her in detail why she didn’t like it.”
“You always study late into the night, and you say it’s because you like it. Your mother believed you.”
"You never say that..."
"Chen'er, tell your mother, is what Jiahe said true?"
"Mother."
The Ninth Prince wiped away A-Zhu's tears and gently comforted her.
"It's not a big deal."
"Sir is indeed a bit strict. At first, I did feel sad."
"But upon further reflection, since Mr. Gao was able to find fault with my studies, it must indeed be my fault."
"It's good that I've changed."
"Once or twice, it will gradually decrease..."
"Chen'er." Azhu gripped the Ninth Prince's hand tightly and shook her head vigorously.
"People who nitpick won't say you're right just because you're actually right."
Even if you turned into gold, he would still curse you for being greedy and claim that he was penniless.
“You’ve kept this a secret all along, you’re at fault. Your mother is a careless, muddle-headed, and blind person… it’s also your fault.”
Ah Zhu looked down at the Ninth Prince's hands, which were red, swollen, and bluish, and hot tears fell onto them.
She quickly wiped away her tears. "Apply the medicine first."
"After you've applied the medicine, have your meal first. Eat a proper meal, and then rest for a while."
As she spoke, A-Zhu ordered the meal to be served.
"Mmm." The Seventh Princess wiped away her tears and took Ah Zhu's hand to go to the table together, but was patted on the head. "Jiahe, you and your brother go to the table first."
On the other side, the Ninth Prince looked up at A-Zhu upon hearing this, and said earnestly, "Mother, I have never felt sad because of Master Gao's strictness, he..."
These words brought tears to A-Zhu's eyes.
She stroked the Ninth Prince's head and smiled at him, saying, "Mother knows our Chen'er is a good child, but there's no reason why a good child should be bullied."
"Besides, whether you feel sad or not, this thing should never have existed in the first place."
"Your mother knows what she is doing. You should all go and have your meal."
Normally, A-Zhu is very easy to talk to, but in Guanju Palace, no one can say a word against her decisions.
San Cai and Sixi stayed in the palace to take care of the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess during their meals.
Qingliu helped Azhu to the inner hall to change clothes, and Lüfu brought water to serve Azhu to wash his face.
Ah Zhu's gaze was deep, and he didn't say a word.
In the Guanju Palace, the roles of "red face" and "white face" are reversed.
Sometimes, when the Seventh Princess was scolded by Ah Zhu, she would feel so wronged that she would cry and wail and run to Emperor Xuanpei to "get justice".
Emperor Xuanpei often protected people and even smiled and advised Azhu to calm down.
Jiahe can be mischievous, but she cannot act recklessly and lawlessly. So when Azhu heard about Master Gao's matter, she told her to "plead guilty with thorns on her back"—she had to know that there are some things that can be done and some things that cannot be done in this world.
But Ah Zhu didn't climb to this position with great difficulty just to let people bully her child.
Soon, A-Zhu rode in a sedan chair out of Guanju Palace and headed straight for Hanyuan Hall.
Seeing A-Zhu's figure from afar, Eunuch Chen went down the steps to greet her.
"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine."
"Manager Chen."
Azhu nodded in return: "Are the ministers still inside the hall?"
"It's been about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
Eunuch Chen said, "It's just that Minister Chang from the Ministry of Rites sent a memorial, and His Majesty should still be reading it... He hasn't served the meal yet."
"I have something to discuss with His Majesty. Please inform the chief steward."
Seeing how polite Ah Zhu was, Eunuch Chen, who knew what had happened in the Imperial Study that day, became anxious.
He quickly said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
"Master Gao has recovered and is mostly fine. His Majesty has always been most concerned about Princess Jiahe."
Ah Zhu let out a long sigh.
After offering a few more words of advice, Eunuch Chen turned and went inside to report the matter.
In no time at all, Eunuch Chen invited A-Zhu into the hall.
Emperor Xuanpei rubbed his eyes after spending the morning scheming against those "foxes".
When he looked up at A-Zhu, his face relaxed and a smile appeared. Then, with a "thud," A-Zhu knelt down.
Emperor Xuanpei stood up and walked to Azhu, extending his hand to her with a helpless expression.
"My knees are aching from hearing this. The ground is cold. Get up quickly."
A-Zhu looked up at Emperor Xuanpei, her eyes red-rimmed, tears welling up before she could even speak.
Over the years, except when they were on the bed, whenever Ah Zhu pitifully shed tears, Emperor Xuanpei would instantly soften his heart.
Seeing that A-Zhu did not get up, Emperor Xuanpei bent down and picked her up, kissed her face, and coaxed her softly.
"What's so important that you're crying like this?"
"Your eyes are all red. You were crying back in the Guanju Palace?"
"Because of Jiahe's matter?"
Ah Zhu clung to Emperor Xuanpei's neck, tears streaming down her face.
"It's my fault, I didn't teach her well..."
Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Xuanpei bit Ah Zhu's lip.
Seeing Ah Zhu wince in pain, Emperor Xuanpei stopped biting and gently licked the spot where Ah Zhu had just bitten him.
Seeing that Emperor Xuanpei clearly didn't want to hear those pretentious words, Azhu pursed her lips, nestled in Emperor Xuanpei's arms, and started talking about herself.
"Your Majesty."
"No matter what, Master Gao is still a teacher."
“I know Jiahe has done something wrong, and she should be punished severely.”
"But, my concubine..."
"I've been through this myself, and I know best how hurtful those words are; they're like needles piercing my heart."
"I'm a thick-skinned concubine, and I've gotten through this without really understanding what's going on."
"Ke Jiahe is still so young, and she's so proud. If she gets this reputation, everyone in the palace will point fingers at her... and they'll use it to criticize her no matter what they say..."
"I originally thought that although Jiahe was a bit mischievous, she was honest and kind-hearted. She was playing tricks on her teacher... Did she say why?"
Ah Zhu couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
She buried her face in Emperor Xuanpei's neck and sobbed.
Emperor Xuanpei was stunned. Then he gently stroked Azhu's back and coaxed her softly, "Why are you so aggrieved? I'm here."
"Jiahe, Jiahe is doing this for Chen'er."
Ah Zhu repeated the Seventh Princess's words, sobbing.
Emperor Xuanpei gently patted Azhu's back. Once Azhu's emotions had calmed down a bit, he reached out and took a teacup to feed her some water.
But when Ah Zhu looked at Emperor Xuanpei, whose expression was calm and almost eerily composed, his palms felt a little cold.
Emperor Xuanpei wiped away Azhu's tears.
"A-Zhu, I understand what you mean."
"But it is ultimately related to Chen'er and Jiahe."
"Let them come too, I have something I want to ask them."
"Your Majesty..."
Emperor Xuanpei cupped Azhu's face and kissed her forehead.
"Chen'er is all grown up now. There are some things I need to ask him about before I can decide what to do, right?"
The matter concerning the Imperial Study suddenly became a very small matter, yet it also seemed to have become a fuse that ignited a fire...
Looking at Emperor Xuanpei's expression, Azhu couldn't help but tremble.
Emperor Xuanpei hugged Azhu tightly, sighed, kissed her temple, and then smiled.
"Your panic makes me feel uneasy."
"I have been hesitating for a while, but letting things go like this... is obviously not a good idea."
"A-Zhu, this day will come sooner or later."
......
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