Chapter 127 The Fence-Sitter Inside the Forbidden City, news of the Emperor's death had already…
News of the Emperor's passing had spread rapidly within the Forbidden City. Everyone in the palace was busy preparing the Qianqing Palace for the funeral, as the Crown Prince had decreed that the late Emperor's memorial service be held there, and the hearse would soon return from the Changchun Garden.
Inside the Xiefang Palace, everyone had learned the news and put on mourning clothes. Although the late emperor's coffin had not yet arrived, they knelt and wept in the direction of the Qianqing Palace morning, noon, and night. At this moment, they had just finished kneeling in the morning, and Li Jia and the others retreated into the palace to rest.
Madam Fan let out a long sigh of relief. She had been crying so hard she was almost numb, and only now, sitting down, could she catch her breath. However, she would have to cry again at noon and in the evening. And this was just a little crying; the real crying would begin when the late emperor's coffin arrived.
She held the cup and slowly drank the water to moisten her throat, but Biluo frowned and whispered beside her, "Master, this servant saw Liu Gege leave the courtyard."
Fan paused in her drinking, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is what you're saying true?"
Biluo replied indignantly, "This servant saw it clearly. Where could she go at a time like this?" Speaking of this, Biluo was furious. That Consort Liu was truly too much. Before, when they were taking care of the Second Consort, she had fawned over her, but now that the late Emperor had passed away and the Crown Prince had ascended the throne, she had turned her attention to currying favor with Consort Li. Their Consort had previously tried to resolve their misunderstandings and accept her, but what a waste of their kindness!
Upon learning this news, Lady Fan was also furious. She thought to herself, "Lady Liu, you're really something! Even a weather vane wouldn't be so fickle." She stood up abruptly, pushed open the window, and although spring had arrived, the air was still cold. The cold wind outside barely suppressed Lady Fan's anger. Lady Liu had clearly forgotten how she had been treated. Had she really forgotten everything? Ha! Lady Liu had flattered the Crown Princess only because she had given birth to a prince. But so what? The late Emperor's eldest prince, formerly the Prince of Zhi, had everyone forgotten his fate?
In her eyes, only Consort Cheng, the Crown Prince's concubine, was worthy of being called "Master" in this Xiefang Palace. The Crown Prince doted on Consort Cheng so much that he took her with him wherever he went. Consort Cheng was also very capable, giving birth to the third and fourth princes, as well as the second princess, who was even a boy and the fourth prince twins.
Furthermore, Lady Cheng is kind and never makes things difficult for anyone. If she were in charge, everyone would still have a good life. But if it were Consort Li, others might not know, but her life would probably be in jeopardy. She has always remembered how she was treated back then and has never forgotten it.
Therefore, in her eyes, Consort Li was not even as good as Consort Cheng's little finger!
Fan let the wind whip her face and breathe in the cold air, ignoring Biluo's advice. Only in this way could she calm down and think properly about what to do next.
Just then, Liu entered the courtyard with her entourage, coming right into Fan's sight. Fan couldn't help but glare at her through the window. To her surprise, Liu didn't flinch, but looked straight at her, even raising the corners of her mouth slightly as she bowed slightly to Fan.
Mrs. Fan was furious and slammed the window shut.
Liu's maid, Linghua, said indignantly, "Princess, look how infuriating that Consort Fan is!" They are all princesses, so why are they treated like this? Back then, their mistress also had a difficult time.
Liu glanced at her and said, "Alright, go back." With Fan's brain, what great things could she possibly accomplish? She was just a little luckier than her. But people really do have to rely on fate. It's fortunate that Fan was so stubborn; otherwise, she wouldn't have had the chance to jump out and scheme. Thinking of this, Liu smiled slightly, but then, afraid someone would see her smile, she quickly put on an expressionless face and slowly walked towards her room. However, before entering, she glanced out into the courtyard, her eyes dark and unfocused.
Around noon, Lady Lin, the Crown Prince's consort in the main house of the inner courtyard, estimated that it was time and summoned Lady Liu and Lady Fan. However, upon arriving at the outer courtyard, they found Lady Li nowhere to be seen. Lady Lin frowned and asked, "Where is Lady Li?"
To everyone's surprise, someone nearby replied, "When His Highness Li learned that the Empress Dowager was deeply grieved, he went to the Ning Shou Palace to comfort her."
Lin Jia was stunned and stood there for a long time. After wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, she said, "That's how it should be. The Empress Dowager is old and can't withstand such a blow." Tears streamed down her face as she knelt on the cushion.
Liu and Fan also knelt down, but while Fan was crying, she couldn't help but look at Liu, feeling both puzzled and angry.
Liu: ......
After a while, they had stopped crying, and the people around them immediately began to advise the masters to take care of their health. Lin Jia and the others were helped up and were about to go back to the back.
Liu deliberately walked slowly and said in a low voice, "Now that the Crown Princess is not here, it is a way for Consort Li to comfort the Empress Dowager on behalf of the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince." She didn't care whether Fan understood her words or not, and then she stopped talking.
Fan returned to her room in a daze. After sitting down, she couldn't help but guess the meaning behind Liu's words. It took her a long time to seem to understand.
The next day, it was said that Lady Li Jia had gone to Ning Shou Palace early in the morning to comfort the Empress Dowager. After returning from her morning weeping, Lady Fan prostrated herself three times and knelt nine times before the Buddha statue: "Your Highness, if you don't return soon, others will steal all the limelight." After finishing her prayers, she tightly clutched the amulet she had recently embroidered, silently chanting prayers.
Fortunately, after a while, Biluo walked in lightly and whispered in her ear, "Princess, the imperial procession has entered the palace!" Madam Fan's eyes lit up: That's wonderful. A moment later, she heard that the Crown Princess and Consort Cheng had returned to Xiefang Palace.
Upon hearing this, Madam Fan immediately became restless and said softly, "Redo your makeup." Since their mistress had returned, they had to go and kowtow to greet her. She figured that Prince Lin and Consort Lin would send someone to inform them soon.
About fifteen minutes later, Lady Linjia came out from the backyard, leading Lady Liu and Lady Fan to the main courtyard to pay their respects to the Crown Princess. Upon exiting the backyard and seeing the west backyard opposite, Lady Linjia couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief. The group hurried to the main courtyard, but Granny Shuang stopped them, saying, "Due to the national mourning, the Crown Princess is deeply grieved and cannot receive guests."
"I hope the Crown Princess will take heart in her grief." Lin Jia said this as she kowtowed towards the main hall in the courtyard.
Madam Fan kowtowed as well. After getting up, she didn't rush back. Instead, she waited a step longer than Madam Lin Jia and said softly to Granny Shuang, "This servant respectfully requests that Your Highness take care of yourself. These days, everyone in the palace is living in constant fear. Although Consort Li comforted the Empress Dowager and reassured everyone, this servant was still uneasy. Now that Your Highness has returned, we can finally have someone to rely on."
After finishing her speech, Madam Fan slightly raised her head to observe Granny Shuang's expression, and indeed saw that her face had darkened. Madam Fan was secretly pleased, lowered her eyes, continued to bow towards the hall, and then slowly walked out. After leaving the main courtyard, she went to the west front courtyard, knowing that they were busy inside, so she didn't disturb them, bowed, kowtowed, and went back.
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Liu standing at the door of the side room. Fan was walking towards her own room across the street while looking at her. The two looked at each other for a moment and then turned their heads away.
Madam Fan returned to her room and settled down, a cold smile playing on her lips. If the Crown Princess knew that Consort Li dared to overstep her bounds like this, she would certainly not let her off easily. As expected, it wasn't long before news came that the Crown Princess had gone to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. A while later, it was said that the Emperor had sent someone to fetch Consort Cheng to the Hall of Mental Cultivation!
Lady Fan was overjoyed, but she refrained from smiling outwardly out of consideration for the national mourning. She silently prayed: May the favor bestowed upon Prince Cheng remain undiminished, and may the Crown Princess and Consort Li fight to the death!
Cheng Qianyue didn't see Yinreng for a long time. Since Kangxi's death, although they wore mourning clothes and attended the Emperor's funeral ceremony at Changchun Garden, they only cried and bowed in the front courtyard of Danning Residence. After the ceremony, they returned to the West Garden. Although they went to Changchun Garden to pay their respects again this morning, Yinreng and the others were ahead of them. After paying their respects, they prepared to leave for the Forbidden City, so Cheng Qianyue didn't see Yinreng, let alone speak to him.
Cheng Qianyue was filled with trepidation. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but when she actually met him, she felt a sudden, inexplicable fear and couldn't utter a single word. Because he hadn't yet ascended the throne, she couldn't address him as Emperor, so she only said, "Your Highness."
When Yinreng saw her coming, his tense mind, which had been on edge for days, suddenly relaxed. "I've finally seen you, why are you like this?" he asked.
Only then did Cheng Qianyue begin to feel the reality of the situation. Her eyes immediately reddened, and tears streamed down her face like hailstones.
Yinreng smiled, took a handkerchief to wipe her face, and said as he wiped, "Don't be afraid, Your Majesty is back."
Cheng Qianyue nodded with a sob in her voice, then looked at him with teary eyes, "What has happened to you these past few days, Master? There hasn't been a single word. It's scared me half to death." The next news she heard was that Kangxi had died and Yinreng had taken over the family. Anyone would be shocked to hear such news.
"It was just Father Emperor and I working together to eliminate treacherous officials," Yinreng said casually, but when he mentioned Kangxi, his eyes soon reddened, and he couldn't wipe away his tears.
Cheng Qianyue met his gaze, and after a long while, they embraced and wept bitterly. Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, she wouldn't ask anything anymore; in short, her family's suffering had finally come to an end. After finally stopping crying, she washed her face and dried her hands, and then Yinreng ordered someone to serve her a meal. During the mourning period, there was no meat at all; the dishes served were mostly vegetarian. Cheng Qianyue picked out pieces of tofu and other vegetables and put them in his bowl.
Yinreng had just eaten a spoonful of rice when he put down his chopsticks and said, "I'll reward the Crown Princess with this tofu dish."
Chen He hurriedly stepped forward to reply, saying softly, "Just now, a servant came to report that the Crown Princess and Consort Li are comforting the Empress Dowager at Ning Shou Palace and have not yet returned to Xie Fang Palace."
Upon hearing this, Yinreng frowned slightly, but quickly let out a sigh of relief and said, "Never mind." After finishing his meal, Yinreng stood up and said he was also going to Ning Shou Palace. "You must be tired after a busy day," he said before leaving, then told Cheng Qianyue to stay there and rest in the West Warm Pavilion of Yangxin Hall.
Cheng Qianyue said yes. Fortunately, she had instructed Hongyan before she came that if she did not return, they should follow the eldest prince and the others outside. She had also sent someone to inform Madam Fan about Moyaqi.
Cheng Qianyue breathed a sigh of relief and sat quietly on the kang (heated brick bed) in the warm pavilion. She felt a little happy, yet inexplicably absurd. But soon she felt that the surroundings were too quiet, a quietness that was frightening. She didn't want to sit there anymore and wondered if she should go to the inner room to sleep.
As soon as she moved, Ruoyun came over to help her and said softly, "Master, the Crown Prince hasn't returned yet. Shall I go and ask him?"
Cheng Qianyue was taken aback. Normally, she would have gone to bed long ago, not caring at all whether she waited for him or not. But now, although Yinreng still addressed her as Crown Prince, once the mourning period ended and he ascended the throne, he would be the Emperor. She could be an old married couple with Yinreng, but could she be an old married couple with the Emperor?
Cheng Qianyue was unsure, so she sat back down. After a while, she said, "There's no need to ask. I'll wait a bit longer."
After an unknown amount of time, Yinreng finally returned from outside. He was quite surprised to see her when he came in: "Why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
Cheng Qianyue stood up groggily and said, "You didn't come back, I was waiting for you."
Yinreng seemed to smile gently as he walked over and patted her shoulder softly, ordering someone to bring water for her to wash up. Cheng Qianyue rinsed her mouth and wiped her face in a daze, then hastily took off her outer clothes and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She thought to herself that she had waited so long, and finally she could go to sleep.
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