Chapter 4 Kicking the Sandbag Cheng Qianyue felt that she had been too attached to appearances lately. ...
Cheng Qianyue realized she'd been too focused on appearances lately. Because of Ruoyun and Granny Shuang's behavior, she'd been taking the Second Prince and his wife's attitude towards her too seriously. But it was completely unnecessary! These two were the deposed Crown Prince and Crown Princess; they'd be under strict control from now on. What difference did it make whether she tried to get close or not? In the end, wouldn't she still be imprisoned along with them?
Of course, she had no objection to the deposed crown prince being confined; it was his fault for picking a fight and insulting her. But she did feel sorry for the Fujin (the wife of the deposed prince). Although she herself didn't get along with the Fujin, she had to admit that the Fujin was indeed good-natured. Even when she did something wrong, the Fujin would only send someone to tell her not to go near the main courtyard; she didn't scold or punish her.
Of course, Cheng Qianyue only sighed in her heart, but actually did nothing. What a joke, who is she? Just an ordinary girl from a Manchu family, she doesn't have the ability to change history. She herself is barely able to save herself, let alone have the means to do good deeds.
But life goes on. Whether you're happy or unhappy, it's still just one day. She's still young, and she doesn't want to spend her whole life frowning. As a great man once said, "If you have the conditions, seize them; if you don't, create them." So now she's preparing to create the conditions for herself to enjoy herself.
The palace was so quiet that it made her uneasy; she wanted to find something to do that made noise.
In her mind, the entire Xian'an Palace was not a place for one person to live; it was more like a lifeless tomb. Besides the few masters and their personal servants, there were seven or eight palace maids doing odd jobs and a dozen or so eunuchs doing menial tasks. But no matter who they were, they all walked like ghosts, hugging the walls, their footsteps light and quick, making no sound unless you listened carefully.
Cheng Qianyue sat at the entrance of the side hall, occasionally seeing figures drifting by. Some were fetching things, others were going to fetch water from the southwest corner. Fortunately, people weren't allowed to move freely inside or outside the palace at night, otherwise she would have been terrified.
Knowing that she wanted to find something to do to pass the time, Ruoyun gave her a suggestion—do needlework. She didn't need to do the work on large garments; she just needed to send the fabric to the sewing room under the Guangchu Department. However, smaller items, such as handkerchiefs, handkerchiefs, and underwear, generally had to be sewn by herself.
Cheng Qianyue already felt that the surroundings were too quiet, and doing needlework would only make it quieter. Moreover, looking at needlework for too long made her eyes feel dizzy, so she was not happy about it.
"What does the princess want to do?" Ruoyun asked helplessly.
Cheng Qianyue naturally wanted to do something exciting, like rolling dice or playing mahjong. Ruoyun immediately ruled out the first option, because gambling was forbidden in the palace. If a palace maid or eunuch were caught gambling by rolling dice, they would certainly receive twenty strokes of the cane.
Okay. How about playing mahjong?
Before Ruoyun could speak again, Cheng Qianyue mentally crossed that out. Mahjong, similar to an ancient version of mahjong, requires four players, and they didn't have enough! Find someone to play? Heh, the Fujin was a rule-abiding person; she dared not ask. Besides, she had no connection with the two concubines in the east and west side halls of the main courtyard.
Ruoyun thought to herself, "Hmm, Cheng Gege's mind has finally cleared up for once. She should calm down now."
As expected, Cheng Qianyue fell into deep thought. It needed to be lively, with few people, and interesting. Oh dear, what games had she played as a child? By evening, she finally thought of one and excitedly told Ruoyun, "When you go to fetch the meal, ask the kitchen staff for a handful of soybeans."
Ruoyun tilted her head in confusion, "Princess, what do you need this for?"
Cheng Qianyue said, "Don't worry about it, one coin is enough." Saying this, she took out ten copper coins from under the dressing table and gave them to her. Outside, one tael of silver could be exchanged for eight hundred copper coins, but in the palace, one tael could only be exchanged for about six hundred. For some small matters, she couldn't use silver directly, so she exchanged them for copper coins.
Ruoyun didn't know what she was supposed to do, but thinking about what use a handful of soybeans could be, she took the copper coins and readily accepted the order. The kitchen staff weren't so stingy; when Ruoyun returned, there was a bowl of bright yellow soybeans in the food box.
Cheng Qianyue was delighted and quickly added, "I remember there are still a few bolts of cloth in the warehouse. Quickly pick out the brightest ones and cut out a piece. I want to make a cloth shuttlecock."
"A cloth shuttlecock?" Ruoyun thought for a moment, "Oh, a sandbag. That shouldn't be too outrageous." She turned around and went to the side room next door. There was a side room on the north and south sides of the east side hall, and further north were a ring of rooms and a rear enclosure. As her personal maid, she lived in the south side room, while half of the north side room was used to house a tea stove, and the other half was used as a storeroom.
After the fabric was carried to the side hall, Cheng Qianyue enthusiastically picked up the scissors and began to sew. Ruoyun helped stretch the fabric while she neatly cut a strip about half a palm's width. She then cut the strip into sixteen square pieces and sewed them together one by one. This required little skill; all she had to do was ensure the soybeans inside didn't leak out. In no time, two roughly the same size fabric shuttlecocks were finished.
Cheng Qianyue stood up and kicked the shuttlecock twice. The soybeans from the sandbag landed on her feet, making a rustling sound like bells. She gripped the shuttlecock as it tumbled through the air, a smile playing on her lips, exuding an air of domineering confidence.
Before she could speak, Ruoyun reminded her, "Princess, it's evening, time to wash up and go to bed."
"Okay, let's play again tomorrow," Cheng Qianyue thought happily.
The next day, Cheng Qianyue started playing shuttlecock in the courtyard. Playing alone wasn't fun, so she asked Ruoyun to join her. Ruoyun initially refused, but Cheng Qianyue suggested they have a competition, ten copper coins per round, whoever kicked the most shuttlecocks would win. Of course, Ruoyun was a palace maid; although she didn't have to worry about food and clothing, her monthly allowance was only one tael, less than a quarter of Cheng Qianyue's. Cheng Qianyue said it didn't matter if Ruoyun lost; she wouldn't take her money.
This was a sure-fire deal, so Ruoyun didn't hesitate to refuse. Firstly, she'd be playing with her mistress, and secondly, she'd get free money—why not?
The two women played a game of kicking, counting for each other verbally. After a few rounds, they forgot all about their status as princesses and palace maids, laughing and joking around. The noise attracted the attention of the eunuchs passing by in the backyard.
Most of these eunuchs were lowly laborers; they didn't live in the palace. They came here during the day to receive orders and left before the palace gates were locked at night. When there was work to be done, they would busy themselves with tasks; when there wasn't, they would rest in the enclosed rooms at the four corners of the courtyard. Right now, there were a few of them peeking and looking this way.
Cheng Qianyue and Ruoyun played six rounds, with Cheng losing four, tying one, and winning one. She was exhausted and panting, but had no intention of going back to her room. After thinking for a moment, she casually pointed to a peeking eunuch on the north side and said, "You, stop staring like an idiot, come here."
Xiao Yingzi looked around, then pointed to herself to confirm. Seeing Cheng Qianyue nod, she quickly walked over and greeted her, "This servant Xiao Yingzi greets the Princess."
Cheng Qianyue asked him, "Can you play shuttlecock?"
"Your Highness asked, 'Even if you can't kick, you should know how.'" Xiao Yingzi quickly replied, "This servant should know how to kick."
Cheng Qianyue said, "Then you two compete, and you'll get paid!" It was the same old rule: whoever won would get ten copper coins, and of course, Cheng Qianyue would pay for it!
Xiao Yingzi never expected such a good thing! Although ten coins weren't much in the palace, they could buy a pound of good rice outside. These lowly eunuchs had little future, their monthly wages were meager, and after food and expenses, they had to save money to support their elder brothers and grandfathers, so they were always left with very little. Now that there was an opportunity to earn extra money, why not seize it!
Xiao Yingzi was eager to compete, but before kicking, she begged Ruoyun for mercy: "Sister, then I won't be able to spare you."
Ruoyun didn't miss the glint in the little eunuch's eyes either, and immediately snorted, "Who needs your help? Show me what you've got in front of the princess."
Cheng Qianyue was happy to act as the referee, bringing out a chair from inside the house to watch them play, commenting as she watched. "Oh dear, look how clumsy you are, how did you end up kicking it into the flower bed?" "Ruoyun is kicking well, you've already hit fifty!" "Xiao Yingzi, do you even know how to play? You've already lost two rounds."
They played happily for a whole morning, and the shuttlecock kicking competition finally came to an end. In the final tally, Ruoyun won seven rounds and successfully claimed the championship, earning seventy coins. Later, Ruoyun ran out of energy, and Xiaoyingzi only won two rounds, earning twenty coins.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Xiao Yingzi looking at Ruoyun with envy: "This is nothing, there will be more competitions in the future."
Xiao Yingzi nodded emphatically and secretly vowed in her heart that since she had a rare opportunity to make money, she would go back and practice hard!
Before long, Cheng Qianyue became the most sought-after girl among the lowly eunuchs. This new Consort Cheng, though not favored, was greedy and loved to dart around coins, frequently initiating shuttlecock kicking competitions. Lucky servants could win forty or fifty coins a day, while even the unluckiest could snag a win or two. Kicking a shuttlecock required little effort—what a convenient thing!
As a result, Cheng Qianyue's games gradually increased in size, from two people to four, and then to six or seven. Whenever the group of rough eunuchs had nothing to do, they would come over for a stroll. Before long, all the dozen or so eunuchs in Xian'an Palace became familiar with her.
Some people are just bored and want to join in on anything fun, while others are there hoping to win money. Ruoyun even told her with a smile that every day someone comes up to her and asks: "Gege, are you in a good mood today? Want to come out and play?"
Cheng Qianyue laughed heartily at Ruoyun's vivid imitation of a little eunuch. It wasn't that she didn't want to play, but rather that she had set a limit for herself, only setting aside one or two taels of silver per month for entertainment. Now that many people were playing, she did the math and came up with a plan: a competition every three days, except in case the weather was bad.
Speaking of which, it's been drizzling for the past two days. It finally stopped, but it's still cold and gloomy outside, so we haven't gone out. She's been missing playing shuttlecock for a few days, so she said, "Tell them that if the sun comes out tomorrow, we'll play."
Perhaps the old master felt sorry for Cheng Qianyue, who was cooped up in her room, so the sun shone brightly the next day. After breakfast, Cheng Qianyue happily led Ruoyun out of the room, where the eunuchs were already waiting.
Cheng Qianyue herself wasn't very good at kicking, so she preferred to watch others kick. She smiled and said to the group of children below, "Come on, line up one by one, whoever kicks the most wins." As she spoke, she took out two strings of copper coins strung on red rope from her purse and shook them. Each string had a full hundred coins.
The young eunuchs immediately beamed with joy, each rubbing their hands together, ready to show off their skills. Some kicked the sandbags, while others counted, creating a lively scene.
Cheng Qianyue was intently watching and cheering when she turned her head and saw a girl standing behind her, accompanied by an older nanny and a palace maid. She immediately stopped talking. As soon as she stopped, everyone around her stopped and knelt down.
The girl looked to be only five or six years old. Her bright eyes were fixed on the ground—the sandbag that hadn't been picked up. Then she looked up and quietly greeted, "Hello, Mother Cheng."
Cheng Qianyue recognized her immediately. This was the eldest princess, the daughter of the Fujin (the principal wife), who was only five years old this year. She quickly said, "This servant dares not."
Ulinzhu tilted his head, his gaze falling again on the red sandbags on the ground.
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "Children's minds are so easy to understand. If only the Second Prince and his wife were this easy to understand." She then smiled and asked, "Does the Eldest Princess like this?"
Wulinzhu smiled shyly, didn't ask for it, and took two steps back to lean against the old woman's leg. The old woman said, "Eldest Princess, it's time to go to the front and pay your respects to the Princess Consort." After saying that, she curtsied to Cheng Qianyue and left with the Eldest Princess and the palace maid.
A note from the author:
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