Chapter 45 The Crown Prince Enters the Palace It was already March, and the Forbidden City…
March is almost here, and the weather in the Forbidden City is finally going to warm up. Cheng Qianyue has been cooped up indoors all winter, and now she can finally come out for some fresh air.
In preparation for spring, the Imperial Household Department sent over more than ten pots of crabapple blossoms. Lin Quan'an and a few others set up a shelf in the courtyard to display them, and Cheng Qianyue went out of the house to admire the flowers in the courtyard.
While supporting Cheng Qianyue, Ruoyun glanced at the crabapple trees on the shelf and said with a smile, "Those two trees with thick branches and full of pink and white flowers are Malus spectabilis, and they look like old trees that have been cultivated for several years. The ones that are a little smaller than them, with buds facing down and long stamens, are Malus halliana. The ones with bright red flowers, thin branches and short stems are Chaenomeles speciosa, and the rest of the small potted plants are Begonia semperflorens, which bloom all year round."
Cheng Qianyue was delighted to see the shelf full of pink and red flowers. In no time, she pointed out where to put them: "Place the two pots that are half a person tall in the doorway, and pick out a few more that are blooming well to move inside. Move the rest to the porch so that the sun won't wilt them."
"Yes," Ruoyun replied, thinking that Cheng Gege must be tired after standing in the courtyard for so long. She turned to signal Ruocai to go to the tea room to make tea, but in that short time, she saw Quanfu, the gatekeeper, winking at Lin Quan'an. Then Lin Quan'an gave her a wink.
Ruoyun glanced unconsciously at the courtyard gate and frowned, but quickly put on a smiling face and said to Cheng Qianyue, "The sun is rising, and Princess must be tired. Let me help you back to your room. While you have a sip of tea, the servants will have already arranged the flowers."
Cheng Qianyue was indeed tired from standing, and nodded upon hearing this. Ruoyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then gestured for Ruoxia to help her into the house.
As soon as Cheng Qianyue entered the house, Ruoyun's face fell. She walked several steps away from the window and asked Lin Quan'an in a low voice, "What happened outside?"
Lin Quan'an said, "The two newly arrived princesses have entered Xiefang Palace. Quanfu saw them coming from afar just now, so they must be going to the main courtyard to pay their respects to the Fujin."
After paying respects to the Fujin (principal wife), wouldn't you then have to see their mistress?
Ruoyun panicked upon hearing this, "Our princess doesn't even know about the new princess yet!" Their princess was getting quite far along in her pregnancy, and she was afraid her princess would be unhappy if she knew about the new concubine, so she hadn't found the right opportunity to tell her. Who knew the new princess would arrive so quickly!
Lin Quan'an also sighed and said, "The Imperial Household Department selected the princesses in mid-February. I thought the new princesses would have to learn the rules outside the palace for a while before coming in. Who knew that the new princesses would arrive at the beginning of March."
Ruo Yun was so upset she was jumping up and down, but no matter how upset she was, she had to tell Cheng Gege. She threw down her handkerchief and hurriedly went into the house.
The young eunuch brought in two pots of crabapple blossoms, one of which, a bright red one, was placed on the table by the kang (heated brick bed) in front of Cheng Qianyue. Cheng Qianyue thought the flowers looked particularly festive, and couldn't help but pluck a blossom and hold it up to her head. As she was doing this, Ruoyun walked in, knelt on the footstool, and began to massage her legs.
Cheng Qianyue noticed that her expression was a bit off and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ruoyun pursed her lips, carefully raised her head and said, "Princess, please don't be angry if I say something."
Cheng Qianyue put down the flowers in her hand, waved to the people next to her to let them out, and then said, "Go ahead and say it, I'm listening."
Ruoyun stammered, "Back at the end of the first month, I heard that the Emperor was going to assign two people to serve the Crown Prince."
The end of the first lunar month? Cheng Qianyue was taken aback. She hadn't heard a thing. She immediately straightened up, frowned, and asked, "How come I didn't know? Were you all keeping it from me?"
"Princess, please don't be angry." Ruoyun quickly explained, "It's because the Crown Prince was afraid you would be unhappy if you knew, so he said he would tell you after things calmed down."
Cheng Qianyue lowered her eyes and continued to ask, "Then why did you only tell me today?"
Ruoyun replied with a mournful face, "The new princess entered the household today and said she has already gone to the main courtyard to pay her respects to the Fujin (the wife of the deceased).
So this was the last straw, and they only reported it to her when things were really badly under control. Cheng Qianyue looked out the window, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
Seeing Cheng Qianyue's sullen face and silence, Ruoyun knew she was unhappy, so she quickly tried to comfort her by mentioning the new princess's family background: "Princess, getting angry is bad for your health, you must try to calm down. Don't worry, the new princess is no match for you at all. They are all from the bondservant class and are Han Bannermen, unlike you who were selected through a special selection. Besides, you are pregnant now, so in terms of prestige, you are a head above them."
Cheng Qianyue didn't want to hear her say this and said in a deep voice, "Alright, stop talking." Ruoyun quickly shut up. Just then, Ruocai came in to serve tea, and then whispered, "Gege, Liu Gege and Fan Gege have come to greet you."
Cheng Qianyue looked up abruptly, unsure whether she should see them.
Ruoyun said, "If the princess doesn't want to see them, that's fine. I'll go and send them away." She had already prepared her excuse in her mind: that the princess was pregnant and not feeling well, and had already gone to bed.
Unexpectedly, the princess above sighed and said, "Never mind, let them in."
Before long, the newly arrived princesses Liu and Fan entered the room. Both of them were dressed in light green qipaos and had their hair in low buns. Without raising their eyebrows, they bowed to Cheng Qianyue on the kang and said, "Your concubines Liu and Fan greet Princess Cheng."
Upon seeing them, the turmoil in Cheng Qianyue's mind dissipated. For the moment they bowed, she felt they were strikingly similar to her when she first entered the palace. Coming to her senses, she coughed lightly a few times and said, "No need for such formalities." Then she asked someone to bring them seats and tea.
Liu and Fan sat down cautiously, expecting Cheng Gege to ask them a few questions, but Cheng Gege only looked them over without saying a word. Liu and Fan exchanged a furtive glance, then hastily drank half a cup of tea before getting up to take their leave.
Ruoyun looked at Cheng Qianyue, who seemed a little stunned, and whispered, "Princess?"
Cheng Qianyue hummed in agreement.
To be honest, she was indeed unhappy when she first found out about this. Because Yinreng was the father of her unborn child, and she also had genuine feelings for him. Since she had genuine feelings, she naturally harbored thoughts of possessiveness and intolerance towards others. But the arrival of the new princess shattered all her little schemes.
But upon closer reflection, did she really have the right to criticize Yinreng and the new princesses? And if one were to truly investigate and trace the responsibility, the Emperor was the real culprit. After all, this world is so messed up; power can decide the fate of those below with just a flick of the finger.
Even setting aside the broader context and focusing solely on their own families, how is she any different from them? In terms of official rank, the Crown Princess is Yinreng's wife. If the Crown Princess doesn't mind, what can she say?
As for Yinreng, even if he treated her well, he still had the education of feudal society. She truly didn't believe that Yinreng would abandon everyone else and only dote on her. It's like how no one would complain about having too much money; who would complain about having too many people serving them?
That's human nature, why bother getting caught up in it? Besides, even if she did get caught up in it, what could she do? What kind of place is this? The Forbidden City! No matter how much you argue, it's none of her business here. Who does she think she is?!
At this moment, Cheng Qianyue's mind was sharper than ever.
Fortunately, compared to feelings of jealousy or dislike, she found herself feeling more sympathy for Liu and Fan.
As for why... Hey everyone, do you remember what happened to Yinreng after that?
It's like she's driving on the road and suddenly realizes there's a cliff ahead. She tries to stop but finds her brakes are broken, so she can only watch helplessly as she heads towards the cliff. She might as well just lie down and wait to fall off, but then she turns around and, lo and behold, there are two unlucky guys who seem to have appeared out of nowhere right behind her.
Since we'll all perish together in the end anyway, what's there to be upset about?
Cheng Qianyue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She wondered why she was worrying about all this; nothing was more important than living happily. But if she wanted to live comfortably, there was no reason to listen to those unsettling words.
She looked at Ruoyun and said, "If the Crown Prince comes to our place in the future, that's fine. But if he goes somewhere else, don't tell me. I don't want to hear it."
Ruoyun's eyes immediately welled up with tears upon hearing this. Look how kind their princess is! Even when she's upset, she never takes it out on anyone. She said, "Princess, if you're angry, just let it out. Keeping it bottled up will only make you sick."
Cheng Qianyue shook her head and smiled gently: "I'm not angry at all now." She looked at the crabapple blossoms beside her and plucked two more. "Go get a mirror, I want to see where it would look good to wear it."
Cheng Qianyue had managed to console herself, but her servants were on tenterhooks, each doing their utmost to cheer her up. A moment later, Lin Quan'an came in and said the crabapple blossoms were all arranged, asking if she wanted to go out and take another look. Then Ruoyun suggested that since she loved crabapple blossoms so much, perhaps someone could embroider some crabapple-patterned handkerchiefs for her. A group of people flitted around her like butterflies.
Cheng Qianyue quite liked how they coaxed her, and she agreed to whatever they said. Then, as evening approached, Yinreng unexpectedly came over.
Yinreng dismissed everyone and sat down next to Cheng Qianyue. He noticed that the smile on her face had faded considerably, and asked her softly, "What's wrong? I just saw you laughing with the palace maids. Why did you stop smiling as soon as I arrived?"
Cheng Qianyue was fine when she didn't see him, but the moment she saw him, a bitter feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart. She thought to herself, "What are you doing here? Why don't you go see your new concubine?"
Yinreng only came because he knew the new princess had entered Xiefang Palace today. At first, he was quite happy to see Cheng Qianyue and thought she didn't mind, but when she saw him, her smile disappeared. He was quite pleased with himself; Cheng Qianyue was only jealous because she had feelings for him. If she were happy, he would be sad.
Cheng Qianyue completely ignored him and turned her face away.
Yinreng laughed, cupped Cheng Qianyue's chin in his hand and turned her towards him, then said, "Let me see which family's jealousy jar has been broken?"
Cheng Qianyue rolled her eyes at him, "Your vinegar jar is broken, might as well let the sourness kill you."
"Hmm, but it looks just the right amount of sour to me," Yinreng said, pressing his forehead against hers. After a while, he sighed and said in a deep voice, "Remember, I treat you differently from others." He thought, what are they anyway? They're just gifts from the Emperor because he thinks they're obedient. In his heart, Lady Chengjia is ultimately different from them.
Cheng Qianyue pursed her lips, thinking that although it was sweet talk, it really made her feel comfortable.
snort!
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Author's Note: Mini-Theater:
Cheng Qianyue: Two more unlucky guys have come. Sigh, how pitiful.
Unlucky guy number one, Liu: ......
Unlucky guy number two, Fan: ......
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