Chapter 133 At the Beginning of the New Dynasty, in the Empress Dowager's Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Cheng Qianyue and...
Cheng Qianyue was no stranger to the Empress Dowager's Palace of Tranquil Longevity, but none of the previous visits had been as pleasant as this one. It was as if she had suddenly become a super member from an ordinary user, and the treatment she received was also increasing rapidly.
As soon as Cheng Qianyue entered the Ning Shou Palace, Shu, the trusted nanny of the Empress Dowager, personally led a group to greet her. She quickly had Ruoyun help Shu up and softly inquired, "How has the Empress Dowager's health been lately?"
Granny Shu said, "She has been eating well lately, but she hasn't been sleeping well. When she wakes up, she either misses the late Emperor or wonders if the Emperor has eaten properly."
"The Empress Dowager is so kind," Cheng Qianyue sighed. "The Emperor and Empress also think of her. Especially the Emperor, who not long ago told me that the affairs of Ning Shou Palace are the most important in the palace, and instructed me to take good care of her."
Upon hearing this, Granny Shu burst into tears and exclaimed, "His Majesty is a benevolent and filial ruler." She then earnestly led her into the hall and said, "Your Highness, the Noble Consort Yi has come to pay her respects."
Cheng Qianyue stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings to the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager said gently, "Quickly, help her up." After Cheng Qianyue got up, she kindly asked Cheng Qianyue to sit down next to her.
After Cheng Qianyue sat down, she asked in a soft voice how the Empress Dowager was doing lately, whether the imperial physicians came to take her pulse often, and whether anyone had upset her.
The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "Everything is fine. The Emperor is filial, and you all care. Ning Shou Palace is as peaceful as ever."
Cheng Qianyue smiled and said, "Then Your Majesty can rest assured." Gradually, she told the Empress Dowager about sending palace maids out to the countryside.
The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "The Emperor mentioned this matter when he came to pay his respects yesterday. He said that some of the older people should be released and some young and capable people should be selected to serve." She continued gently, "It would be good to select some promising young people to come in. I would be happy to see them."
Cheng Qianyue was taken aback when she realized that Yinreng had already told the Empress Dowager about this matter. After a moment, she said, "Your Majesty has entrusted this matter to me. You can inform Yongshou Palace which people to keep and which to discard."
The Empress Dowager patted her hand, saying, "The Consort is naturally capable, I have no worries about her." After Cheng Qianyue left, the Empress Dowager lowered her eyes and shook her head with a smile.
Granny Shu brought over a cup of hot tea and asked with concern, "What makes you so happy, Master?"
The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's nothing, it's just that it's rare for the palace to have such a favored concubine."
Even Granny Shu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This Noble Consort Yi had enjoyed unwavering favor since the Crown Prince's time as a prince, and it seemed that even after all these years, her affection remained unique. Granny Shu was an old hand in the palace; she had seen it all. Ultimately, favor and deep affection were different. Favor alone was merely a fleeting moment of glory, and one day that favor might slip away to someone else. But deep affection was different; it meant both a title and real power, which demonstrated a person's importance in the Emperor's heart.
Moreover, judging from Consort Yi's expression just now, she was unaware that the Emperor had spoken to the Empress Dowager beforehand. This shows how much the Emperor cares about Consort Yi. No matter what Consort Yi does, the Emperor paves the way for her in advance.
The Empress Dowager continued, "These next few days, let's sort out the people in our palace. Those who are old and those who like to talk too much should be released."
Granny Shu agreed and slowly withdrew.
Cheng Qianyue had already returned to Yongshou Palace. After sitting down, she assigned tasks to her subordinates, instructing them to visit the Dowager Consorts of the Eastern Six Palaces in the afternoon, notify the concubines of the Western Six Palaces early the next morning, and visit the princes' quarters in the afternoon. She needed to make sure everyone was properly informed about the dismissal within the next few days.
Having given these instructions, Cheng Qianyue could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then she thought of the Empress Dowager. It must be said that the Empress Dowager was a remarkably intelligent woman. When Kangxi was still alive, the Empress Dowager was practically a weathervane—whoever Kangxi favored, she favored as well. Whoever Kangxi neglected, she neglected as well. Now that Yinreng had ascended the throne, she only cared about the new emperor.
As the saying goes, lessons from the past are guides for the future. Cheng Qianyue felt that the Empress Dowager's way of handling things was her role model! Thus, the previously established policy became even more resolute.
The work of releasing palace servants from various palaces had been underway for about half a month, and the lists and other documents had been compiled. Afterwards, the Empress issued an edict, ordering the people on the lists to leave the palace one by one.
Cheng Qianyue cleverly placed Ruoyun and Ruohong in the first group of people to leave the palace. Once they left, Ruoxia and Ruocai became the head maids of Yongshou Palace. Not long after, Cheng Qianyue promoted two more people, still naming them after the character "Ruo". The original four names, Yun, Xia, Hong, and Cai, were all celestial, so the new names were names that could fly. The two new maids who served her closely were named Ruodie and Ruoxu.
Before Cheng Qianyue could even reminisce about Ruoyun and the others leaving the palace, she was busy again. The Empress had given her a long-term task: to oversee the distribution of monthly stipends to the concubines in the Western Six Palaces and the palace servants in the Princes' quarters. Oh dear, this was no small undertaking: she had to tally the monthly stipends of the older servants remaining in each palace, as well as the newly arrived ones, noting their rank and allowances. After the stipends were distributed, she would have to compile the data.
Cheng Qianyue: If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Let the work come even more fiercely! (Clenched fist)
Busy as she went, Cheng Qianyue spent about a month getting the palace affairs sorted out and in charge before things gradually became easier. With some free time, she realized she might have been neglecting Yinreng too much lately. These days, he was either personally visiting Yongshou Palace or summoning her to Yangxin Hall. But every time she talked to him, the conversation inevitably turned to work and accounts.
Thinking about it this way, isn't she neglecting his emotional needs a bit?
Cheng Qianyue felt this was wrong. But before she could take any action, Yinreng was about to leave. His purpose was not for anything else, but to send Kangxi's coffin to the imperial mausoleum in Hebei for burial.
Cheng Qianyue: Oh my god, it's been half a year since Kangxi died, he can finally be laid to rest. And for Yinreng, he'll only be out of mourning after the late emperor is buried, so he can eat meat as soon as he returns. Cough cough, of course, I can't say these things to his face, and judging from his current mood, he's probably thinking about how good Kangxi was when he was alive.
When Cheng Qianyue arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation and saw Yinreng's expression, she knew her guess was right. That face reminded her of a folk song: "Little cabbage, yellow in the field, two or three years old, mother dead..." Sigh, thinking about it, Yinreng, now orphaned, was quite pitiful. Cheng Qianyue felt her sympathy was overflowing, so she went over and gently tugged at his sleeve.
Yinreng forced a smile. "What's wrong?"
Cheng Qianyue didn't say anything, but pulled his arm outward, reached out and hugged his waist, burying her whole body in his arms.
Yinreng was a little bewildered by her hug. He wondered if she had encountered problems managing the harem recently. But that shouldn't be the case; she always seemed radiant when they talked lately, not like she was facing any obstacles. Just as he was wondering, he heard her say, "People believe in the importance of a peaceful burial. Don't be sad. Think of it this way: our ancestors are in the imperial mausoleum."
Cheng Qianyue felt that for them, the deceased was gone, but for the deceased, perhaps they had gone home—home was where their parents and relatives were.
Yinreng suddenly realized that she was concerned about him. He pulled her to sit on the couch and said, "What you said makes sense." After a while, he seemed to be lost in thought, and soon his eyes were a little red. "Father said before he died that he saw Mother Empress and the others."
Hearing him say this and seeing his dejected appearance, Cheng Qianyue also felt sad and reached out to stroke his back again and again. After a long while, Yinreng calmed down a bit and let out a breath: "Whenever I think of the late Emperor, I feel that I cannot fail his trust."
He always kept in mind the importance of consolidating the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, balancing the court, and benefiting the people.
Seeing the determined and ambitious look on his face, Cheng Qianyue said softly, "If the late emperor were alive, he would be pleased to see you like this."
A few days later, the formal funeral procession began. Jingshan Hill behind the Forbidden City had been surrounded for days, and people knelt and paid their respects to their ancestors in front of the Shouhuang Hall. Yinreng personally escorted the coffin as it departed. The funeral procession was extremely grand, with hundreds of people leading the way, carrying banners, flags, and scattering paper money; followed by the strongmen carrying the coffin, the imperial relatives and nobles accompanying the coffin, and the guards with swords, all heading east in a magnificent procession.
Cheng Qianyue had learned beforehand that the imperial mausoleum was about one or two hundred li from the capital, and estimated that Yinreng should return in about half a month. So she waited in the Forbidden City. She waited and waited, and in early September, the imperial entourage returned to the capital. On the first day after his return, Yinreng rested alone. Knowing he must be tired from all the work, she only sent him a few plates of savory pastries. The following evening, Yinreng sent someone to invite her over.
Then, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the two poured out their hearts to each other?
Pooh!
Cheng Qianyue was furious! Well, not just angry, she also felt sorry for him. Because Yinreng had trouble walking and was limping.
When Yinreng noticed that she kept glancing at his knees, he explained, "It's because we were sweeping and kowtowing at the tombs of the late emperor and our ancestors."
Cheng Qianyue raised an eyebrow. "You're joking, sir. Do you think I'd believe that? It would be understandable if my hands got blistered, but my knees? Hey, you think you can sweep the floor with your legs? You think you can do some kind of circus act?"
Yinreng paused. He had indeed swept the tomb, but he had been kneeling to do so, which had caused his knees to scab over. However, the scabs had healed in the past few days since he returned, though it still hurt a little when he walked.
After Cheng Qianyue learned the whole story: ...
What can you say to her? She's just that filial, what can you do? Besides, she should be thankful. If Yinreng acted like those in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, she would have cried herself to death. He hasn't gone that crazy yet, which is something to be thankful for.
Although Cheng Qianyue tried to reassure herself, her expression remained rather unpleasant. In contrast, Yinreng's expression was the complete opposite of hers, appearing extremely warm and friendly.
Seeing her long face, Yinreng couldn't help but laugh. "It'll be fine in a few more days," he said.
Cheng Qianyue snorted, "Your body is injured now, you need to take good care of yourself." As she spoke, she went outside to order food, all of which were meat dishes, not a single vegetable.
Yinreng looked at her gently, nodded, and instructed the others, "Listen to the Consort."
After a while, the meal was served. Cheng Qianyue personally ladled out some soup for him to drink. Only after watching him drink the duck soup in one gulp did Cheng Qianyue feel much better.
Now that the late emperor has been buried, a new dynasty will begin, breaking with the old and welcoming the new.
With the new dynasty, everything must be going smoothly, right...?
That's really overthinking it. Just as September arrived, an urgent message arrived from outside, saying that the leader of the Khoshut tribe in Qinghai had joined forces with the Dzungars to rebel against the Qing Dynasty.
Cheng Qianyue: ......
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Author's Note: Update! Local progress 600,000+ words! The finale won't be long! Hahaha!
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