Chapter 155 Wushan is Not Clouds That afternoon, the head eunuch of the Four Treasurys…
That afternoon, the head eunuch of the Four Treasurys led a group of people to Danning Residence. In front of the hall of Danning Residence, he first greeted Jing Shun: "Greetings, Brother Cui."
Although the head eunuch of the Four Treasurys was much older than Jing Shun, Jing Shun accepted his courtesy without hesitation. Since Jing Shun's former tutor, Chen He, had retired, this eunuch had served the Emperor, thus maintaining a respectable position. This respectable position was no longer limited to a mere given name; Jing Shun had reverted to his original surname from outside the palace, and now everyone addressed him as Eunuch Cui or Brother Cui.
Jing Shun said, "It's kind of you, Eunuch Wu, to personally bring people to deliver the imperial robes for spring."
Eunuch Wu said cheerfully, "These are the new offerings from the beginning of spring this year. I thought I'd report them to His Majesty. Also, there are some new palace maids who have come to the four treasuries these past few days. I'm showing them around so they can be more familiar with their duties in the future."
Jing Shun didn't take his words seriously at all, and nodded, saying, "Alright, then I'll go in and inform them for you." After a while, he came out of the hall and said, "His Majesty is reading in the warm pavilion. You may go in."
Eunuch Wu thanked him and immediately called out, leading four palace maids carrying trays into the hall.
Jing Shun stood at the door watching them go in, but when he saw the profile of a palace maid, he suddenly gaped in astonishment: "Grandma, is he seeing things or what? Why does that palace maid look so familiar?!"
At this moment, in the warm pavilion in the east room, Yinreng was reading a book. When he saw the person enter, he put down the book and reached out to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Eunuch Wu hurriedly led his men to bow, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty." After receiving a signal, he said, "The dragon robes and boots newly presented from Sichuan this year are requested to be inspected by Your Majesty."
Yinreng casually replied, "From Shu?"
Eunuch Wu said, "Your Majesty, they are from Sichuan. The people from the Sichuan Textile Bureau said that the craftsmen have been weaving for more than half a year and they specially presented this to you." As he spoke, he gestured for the palace maids to come forward.
Yinreng looked up at the clothes on the tray and said, "Hmm, a reward for the people of the Textile Bureau." But he quickly frowned, looked the palace maid up and down, pointed at her and said, "Raise your head."
Jin's heart skipped a beat. She raised her head slightly but kept her eyes downcast, not daring to meet the Emperor's gaze. After a long while, she heard the Emperor ask, "Who are you? I have never seen you before."
Jin swallowed hard and answered in a low voice, "This servant is a new palace maid who entered the palace this year and is currently working in the Fourth Treasury."
Yinreng hummed in agreement, then stopped looking at her and said after a moment, "Put your things down and leave."
Eunuch Wu was quite pleased to see that the Emperor had taken a liking to Lady Jin, but his heart skipped a beat when he heard the Emperor's words. Did the Emperor favor her or not? But now was not the time to ponder this. He instructed the palace maids to hand the tray to the eunuch in front of the Emperor and then knelt down to pay his respects.
After they came out, Jing Shun deliberately stopped them, glancing at Jin Shi with a half-smile, and said to Eunuch Wu, "Eunuch Wu, you're quite something. Look at the people you've chosen; they're all so beautiful."
Eunuch Wu's expression didn't change at all, and he replied, "How can one not be attentive when serving the Emperor?"
Jing Shun simply laughed, made a couple more laughs, and then dismissed them. However, the Emperor soon summoned him, and he hurriedly went inside to receive instructions.
Yinreng: "The palace maids from the Fourth Treasury, go and investigate what happened."
Jing Shun nodded, his heart pounding. What did the Emperor mean? Did he intend to investigate and bring her to his side, or something else? But soon he heard the Emperor say, "After you've investigated, transfer her away to a quiet place."
Jing Shun: ......
He had barely left Danning Residence when he had a plan in mind, intending to pass it on to his master, Chen He. Although his master wasn't currently serving at the Emperor's court, his connections and abilities far surpassed his own. He said to the young eunuch beside him, "I have something to tell you; you'll have to go out into the garden today." After giving the instructions, Jing Shun chuckled. Regardless of who was behind Eunuch Wu, his scheme had clearly backfired!
Yinreng sat on the kang (heated brick bed), intending to pick up the book and read a little more, but he couldn't concentrate. He eventually gave up and stood up, saying, "Prepare the carriage for Shufengyu." He quickly led his men northwards, and after walking for a while, he faintly heard laughter and merriment ahead. He stopped and turned to look.
As early as when the Emperor announced the preparations for the journey, Jing Shun had already sent people to scout ahead. He hurriedly replied, "The servants said that the Imperial Concubine is leading the princesses in jumping rope outside the pavilion in front of Shufengyu."
Upon hearing this, Yinreng laughed and continued walking in that direction. Sure enough, he saw two eunuchs swinging ropes, while Cheng Qianyue and the princesses were jumping around. However, once he got there, everyone stopped and bowed.
Cheng Qianyue, panting, bowed and said, "Greetings to Your Majesty." The princesses beside her also said, "Greetings to Father Emperor."
Yinreng woke them up and asked, "Are you jumping rope?"
Cheng Qianyue said with bright eyes, "Well, the princesses are on holiday today, so we called them out to play." It's already mid-April, and if they don't jump around a bit, it'll get too hot.
Yinreng looked at Wulinzhu and the others and said, "Then you can continue. Make sure to prepare milk tea and other things, otherwise you'll feel thirsty after sweating a lot from jumping around."
Wulinzhu smiled and said yes to Hehui and the others. Moyaqi added with a grin, "Don't worry, Father Emperor, Mother has prepared everything and it's in the pavilion."
Yinreng nodded in relief. "Then let's continue playing. I have something to say to your mother." He gestured to Cheng Qianyue and said, "Let's go."
Cheng Qianyue sighed, took a couple of steps, then turned back to the eldest princess and said, "Wulinzhu, keep an eye on the younger sisters. Take a break when they're tired from playing." After giving her instructions, she followed Yinreng back to Shufengyu.
Once inside, Yinreng took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, saying, "Look at you, you're all sweaty."
Cheng Qianyue smiled and said, "I was watching them jump rope at first, but then I got interested." Since she was itching to join in, she decided to ask someone to bring her a pair of flat shoes to change into, and she joined in the jump rope. And it was surprisingly refreshing! Especially since she was surrounded by young girls, being with them made her feel young again.
Seeing how at ease she was, Yinreng felt both happy and tender, so he kept staring at her.
At first, Cheng Qianyue didn't think much of it, but soon she noticed he was staring at her. His gaze was particularly strange, as if he were looking at something bizarre. She unconsciously touched her face, wondering if she had something on it. That couldn't be. After a while, she couldn't help but ask him, "What are you looking at, sir?" His constant staring made her feel extremely awkward, almost giving her goosebumps.
Yinreng slowly spoke, "I saw a palace maid today."
Cheng Qianyue: ? ? ?
Before she could even process what he was thinking, he said, "It's quite a coincidence, that palace maid looks somewhat like you."
Cheng Qianyue's first reaction was how similar that person was to her, so much so that he noticed them. Her second reaction was, "Is he trying to play some kind of game of the real person and a substitute?" Ha, he might as well just be straightforward and admit he's a womanizer, admit he's tired of her feelings, instead of using the excuse of loving someone because of them to pull off some melodramatic charade.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but recall the sweet moments they had shared a few days ago, and she pursed her lips, feeling rather unhappy.
Yinreng was even more amused to see her like this. He patted her hand and said, "I didn't intend to take her as a concubine. I just thought I'd talk to you about someone who looks somewhat like you."
"Really?" Cheng Qianyue asked.
Yinreng nodded: "Of course it's true. Otherwise, why would I tell you all this?" If he really wanted to take someone in, he would have just asked her to stay. Why would he tease her with this?
Cheng Qianyue thought for a moment and said, "You are the Emperor, and your word is as good as your bond." So once the words are spoken, don't regret them, because it will be too late to regret them.
Yinreng replied gently, "My word is as good as gold." He paused, then smiled teasingly, "Want to make a pinky promise and get it stamped?"
Cheng Qianyue: Fine, I'll cover it then! She decisively stretched out her hand to him. Yinreng laughed heartily and made a pinky promise with her, saying like a child, "Pinky promise, a hundred years of vows, no take-backs." Then he asked gently, "Are you relieved now?"
Cheng Qianyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Actually, she didn't intend anything serious. She just felt that since he considered her his true love, she would reciprocate. But if he stopped considering her his true love, then she would treat him... her... as family. After all, this was the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City. She and Yinreng didn't have the option of divorce, and besides, they had several children, so she wouldn't break up with him. Moreover, she could manage living alone. Perhaps she would feel sad at first, but she believed that it wouldn't be long before she chose to live happily every day.
But as the saying goes, just do your job and see it through. If you can continue to be in love, then continue to be in love. We'll deal with it when the relationship starts to crack.
Cheng Qianyue smiled as she thought about it.
Yinreng watched her change her expression and said, "You haven't answered my question yet. Are you relieved now?"
Cheng Qianyue nodded. "Since you've already done this, I have nothing to worry about." Then she became curious about the palace maid. "Is she really that similar? In what way?"
Yinreng said, "There's only a slight resemblance in their eyes and brows, but now they don't look that alike." The palace maids, after all, are so rigid and proper, unlike her lively and spirited nature. But seeing that palace maid reminded him of when she first came to serve him, and of their days at Xian'an Palace.
Thinking about it this way, he realized that he and she had known each other since they were both lowly acquaintances. It was precisely because they had known each other since they were lowly acquaintances that he was stunned when he saw a palace maid who looked like her, but he didn't have any other thoughts about her.
Apart from Wushan, there are no other clouds.
Yinreng reached out and touched her cheek, saying, "Since she resembles you somewhat, I shouldn't send her to serve others. I'll transfer her to a quieter place another day." He still didn't know whether the palace maid was sent by his subordinates to curry favor or was found by someone with ulterior motives, but because she looked like the master, he was exceptionally lenient and didn't investigate further.
Cheng Qianyue thought about it for a moment and agreed, nodding and saying, "I'll do whatever you say."
After that, Cheng Qianyue put the matter aside for the time being. But who knew that two months later, someone from the Fan family came from the palace to pay their respects, saying that the Jin family was about to die and they didn't know what she meant.
Cheng Qianyue was completely bewildered: The Jin family? Who is the Jin family?
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