Chapter 12: When the remonstrance was exposed, the princess knelt down, and the others in the room...
As soon as the Fujin knelt, everyone else in the room followed suit. Cheng Qianyue was no exception; her knees even slammed hard from the haste of kneeling, but she paid no heed to the pain, as her attention was entirely focused on the Fujin!
Yinreng remained seated in his chair, seemingly oblivious to his wife's actions, and continued to feed the food with his chopsticks. Although his movements were light and gentle, the atmosphere in the room visibly soured.
Cheng Qianyue felt that from the moment the Fujin knelt down, the air in the room seemed to thicken. She secretly glanced at the Fujin, wondering why she had suddenly knelt down.
At this moment, the princess spoke.
The princess consort crossed her arms in front of her, her face solemn and dignified. She bowed heavily, and after a moment, her voice was heavy: "Second Master, the sage said: 'The five colors blind the eye, the five sounds deafen the ear, and the five flavors dull the palate.' I dare to say that you should not be so fond of your appetite."
Cheng Qianyue: Holy crap, do you really need to be so particular about eating in the palace? She had no idea!
She was both uneasy and shocked, but was quickly won over by the Princess Consort's demeanor. She looked at the Princess Consort with almost unwavering respect and admiration, for the Princess Consort now seemed like a daring official remonstrating with the Emperor, pointing out how improper the Emperor's words and actions were. For a moment, she felt as if she were in a play, witnessing a scene of court debate between the Emperor and his ministers in the grand hall. (Parentheses: A close-up, live version.)
The princess looked straight ahead and continued solemnly and dignifiedly, "A sage is concerned with the inner self, not the outward appearance. Please remove this table of food."
Yinreng gradually stopped what he was doing. The steam from the pot hit his face, making it impossible to see his expression. However, he quickly turned his head, his face frozen like freshly applied cement.
After a long silence, he said in a deep voice, "Princess Consort, do you still consider yourself the Crown Princess? Your husband, your master, is no longer the Crown Prince. Who are you trying to impress with your act of being a virtuous empress?"
The princess paused, but quickly said, "Even so, you are still a prince and should set an example for the people."
Yinreng stared at her coldly, then suddenly raised his hand and threw down the chopsticks in his hand.
However, the Fujin's expression did not change at all, and her back remained straight. She did not feel the slightest fear because of Yinreng's anger, as if she were watching a child making a fuss.
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "Wow, the Fujin is really amazing. She's not afraid at all, even in this situation. She's so confident!" At the same time, she was worried, fearing that Yinreng's hard-won composure would crumble and that if he acted like he did that day, everything would be over.
No, this can't go on.
Cheng Qianyue hurriedly knelt down and took two steps forward, bowing her head and saying loudly, "Your Highness, please calm down, Madam. All the blame lies with this servant. It was this servant who took it upon herself to change Your Highness's meals."
As soon as she said this, she felt the sharp gaze of the Fujin (principal wife) shooting over her, and a chill ran down her spine.
As expected of the Princess Consort, she looks quite frightening right now!
The Fujin frowned, scrutinizing her from head to toe as if trying to see right through her, and asked in a deep voice, "Cheng Jia, explain yourself clearly."
Cheng Qianyue quickly invoked the name of Emperor Kangxi: "This servant is acting on His Majesty's orders to serve the Second Master's daily needs. However, noticing that His Majesty's appetite has been poor lately, this servant took it upon himself to request dishes from the kitchen. This servant only wanted to take good care of His Majesty, so..."
Before she could finish speaking, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) sternly rebuked her: "How dare you! Palace rules are strict! Cheng Jia Shi, how dare you!"
Cheng Qianyue hurriedly kowtowed, her forehead pressed tightly to the ground, and whispered in her defense, "Your Highness, this servant dared not break the rules. These were extras, and this servant was paid for them."
"That's still outrageous!" the Fujin said. "If the Second Master gets sick from eating this, you'll have countless heads to chop off, and even ten thousand deaths won't atone for your sins." She pointed outside, "Get out and kneel down!"
She dared not disobey her wife's words, and Cheng Qianyue raised her head with a bitter expression, preparing to kneel outside. But at this moment, Yinreng suddenly spoke up for her.
"Wait a minute," Yinreng interrupted, "You're exaggerating, aren't you, Fujin? Even if it's an exception, everything that comes out of the kitchen has been tested for poison by the eunuchs who taste the food. Besides, it was Father who ordered Chengjia to serve me; she was just following orders, what's wrong with that?"
The princess consort raised her head and met his gaze: "Ordering food privately is against the rules, as the sages said..."
Yinreng interrupted her, saying, "Which is more important, the Emperor's words or Father's orders? Why don't you go and ask Father if Cheng Jia's method of care is wrong? If Father says it is wrong, then it's not too late to punish her."
The Princess Consort was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, although she wasn't confined to her quarters according to the imperial decree, as the wife of the Second Prince, she should be bound to Xian'an Palace just like him; on the other hand, there was no reason for her to go and cause trouble in the Qing Palace over such a trivial matter. Furthermore, thinking deeper, did His Majesty even know that Consort Cheng was doing this?
After thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly hesitated.
Yinreng couldn't help but laugh mockingly. What advice, what words of the sages—it was all just a means of currying favor with the emperor. His wife would rather be the emperor's servant than him, her husband. Indeed, neither the crown prince nor any other prince could compare to the emperor on the dragon throne.
Seeing that Yinreng and his wife remained silent, and the air in the room grew increasingly cold, Cheng Qianyue quickly stepped forward to offer a solution, saying, "This servant knows her mistake. From now on, I will no longer order such laborious dishes. At most, I will request a couple of dishes every few days to give Your Majesty a change of pace. One reason is that this servant wants to perform my duties diligently, and the other is that His Majesty cares for the prince. Your Majesty, is this acceptable?"
The princess consort gave her a deep look, and after a long while said, "You must do less of these outrageous things in the future!"
"Yes," Cheng Qianyue replied hastily.
"She's just a princess consort, what's there to be afraid of? How pathetic." Yinreng thought to himself, then took a long breath and slowly exhaled. He didn't call for the person on the ground to get up, but continued to ask, "What brings you here, Princess Consort?"
The Fujin (Prince Consort) did not come on a whim; she wanted to talk to Yinreng about the birthday gifts for the Emperor.
March 18th is His Majesty's birthday, and this year he is also turning fifty, so it will definitely be a grand celebration. Although her family is confined to Xian'an Palace, they still need to prepare the necessary gifts. They had planned to come over before dinner to serve him a meal, and then sit together to discuss the birthday gifts. However, something unexpected happened, and their important business was delayed.
The princess took a deep breath and said, "The emperor's birthday is just over ten days away. I wanted to discuss with you what to send as a gift."
Yinreng had no interest in discussing serious matters at the moment, and casually waved his hand, saying, "I understand, you can go back now. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
The princess consort had been confronting him for a while, but seeing that it wasn't the time to have a proper conversation, she didn't stay. She kowtowed to him and then left.
Cheng Qianyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Thank goodness I got away with it and wasn't punished. But can I get up now?
Just as she was unsure whether to get up or wait for orders from above, Yinreng suddenly got up and personally helped her up from the ground. Then he led her to the kang (a heated brick bed) next to him.
Cheng Qianyue was flattered and flustered as she sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) next to him. Then she heard him ask her gently, "Did you spend money on the kitchen?"
Cheng Qianyue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, the dishes that are prepared differently from the menu are all bought with money."
How much did it cost?
"Twenty taels, and I also sent a gold bracelet over yesterday." As she said this, she slightly raised her head and carefully observed Yinreng's expression, seeing that he didn't seem to be upset about what had just happened.
Yinreng just stared at her, his gaze complex and unreadable, leaving her somewhat bewildered. After a while, he said, "From now on, order a few dishes every few days. Also, if the kitchen needs any more tips, just ask Chen He." He then glanced sideways at Chen He: "Did you hear me?"
Chen He immediately knelt down and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant understands."
Yinreng then looked over, and after a long while, he revealed an extremely gentle smile, a smile that sent chills down Cheng Qianyue's spine. She didn't know what this man was thinking, but she was certain he wasn't thinking the truth!
Dinner was quickly cleared away. Yinreng saw Cheng Qianyue leading the palace maids towards the backyard through the window, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up again.
In his earlier years, his meals were prepared by chefs from the Imperial Kitchen. Some of these chefs were particularly adept at currying favor, but shortly after he was deposed as crown prince, they were all beheaded for secretly contacting princes. So when Cheng Qianyue suggested getting some ingredients from the kitchen to change up his meals, he thought she was incredibly foolish. The examples of those who had failed him were probably long gone, yet she still dared to do such a thing.
However, he didn't tell her; he wanted to see just how far this person could go for him. But now he knew: twenty taels of silver and a gold bracelet.
Ha, she's only a princess, how many years' worth of allowance does she receive? But she's really willing to give up all her possessions just so he can eat something he likes.
Yinreng felt a surge of warmth in his heart, as if he had found confidence in her. Even in his current state of destitution, there were still people willing to treat him as their master!
He didn't have many people like that around him; even if there were, they were almost all dead.
The woman now by his side, the Fujin (Prince Consort), was never the kind of person who would care about him. Even if she did show concern, it was mostly an act, a performance of virtuous advice. As for the other princesses and concubines, those who had no children and had "corrupted the Crown Prince" were publicly said to have died of illness, but in reality, they were all secretly executed. Although Li Jia and Lin Jia, who had children, remained, they all wanted to stay far away from him from then on.
Only this Lady Cheng Jia served him wholeheartedly. Although she was somewhat slow-witted, she was pure of heart and only wanted him to be happy. Even though it was initially just because of the Emperor's decree, he appreciated her kindness.
It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.
Yinreng felt a pang of sadness. After a while, he suddenly asked Chen He, "Does Father know about what happened in the kitchen?"
Chen He thought to himself: My lord, you've finally given me a second glance. He hadn't had a chance to show his loyalty since he started serving this lord, so he quickly replied, "No, I haven't."
Yinreng then gave him a proper look: "Oh?"
Chen He said, "It is of great importance concerning Your Majesty's safety that I certainly cannot hide it from you. But how could I casually talk about trivial matters such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, or household affairs? Although I was appointed to you by Your Majesty, I also know that you are my master."
He wasn't stupid. The Emperor was indeed the master, but the Second Prince was also a master. A master shouldn't be constantly monitored. The Emperor was concerned with whether the Second Prince was forming cliques or contacting court officials; as for anything else, he wouldn't bother making things difficult for the Second Prince. If the Second Prince really did something bad, would he, as his servant, be any better off? He'd be in deep trouble!
Yinreng rarely gave him a kind look, saying, "It seems I underestimated you."
Chen He quickly bowed and said, "This servant dares not."
"Alright," Yinreng continued, "Just tell everyone what happened. You know what to say."
"Yes, sir."
After a while, Yinreng spoke again: "Bring over the inventory list for the storeroom."
Chen He thought he wanted to choose a gift for the Emperor, so he quickly fetched a stack of lists from the study. Yinreng took a new sheet of paper and wrote down a bunch of things he could find on the list, then took another sheet of paper and started drawing room layouts.
After a moment, he blew on two pages of paper and said softly, "Isn't the West Annex Hall locked? Start cleaning it up tomorrow, and arrange everything according to this list."
Chen He had no idea what had gotten into this man, but after taking the order and glancing at it, he suddenly understood. Oh, so it's for that young master! I get it!
A note from the author:
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