Chapter 64. Blue-feathered guard Cheng Qianyue sobbed, her face buried in her hands on the kang table. ...
Cheng Qianyue lay on the kang table, sobbing. Afraid of being heard, she didn't dare to cry loudly, but just silently shed tears. Sometimes, when she cried too hard, she would sob a couple of times. In just a short while, she had soaked two handkerchiefs.
She felt deeply sorry for the Cheng family; she had caused them so much suffering. Sometimes she thought, if only she had been eliminated during the imperial concubine selection, their family could still live a normal life. But there are no "ifs." Now, circumstances are beyond her control; she can't do anything about it. Now that she serves by Yinreng's side, she inevitably drags them into this mess.
Thinking this, Cheng Qianyue's tears flowed like a river bursting its banks. She cried and cried until she couldn't breathe, sobbing and hiccuping incessantly. She cried like this for a while, until all the tears that had been holding back in her eyelids were cried out, before Cheng Qianyue slowly stopped.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, thinking that it would be good to have a good cry, it would be quite stress-relieving.
Cheng Qianyue changed her handkerchief and wiped her face. After wiping and catching her breath, she prepared to call for someone to bring in water. But just as she was about to speak to someone outside, she noticed that Yinreng was standing by a pillar in the outer room, and she didn't know how long he had been standing there.
!!
Yinreng stood in the shadows, and because she had been crying so hard her vision was blurred, she couldn't see his expression clearly, but she inexplicably sensed that he seemed hesitant and timid.
Cheng Qianyue called out "Master" in a hoarse voice. Oh dear, why does it sound like a duck's quack? She quickly swallowed, coughed twice, and continued, "Why didn't you announce my arrival, Master?" After a while, she asked again, "How long has Master been here?" Could it be that he's been watching her cry for as long as she's been? That's too embarrassing.
Yinreng slowly walked over and sat down.
He had actually been there for a while. After Xitala and Cheng Yexing bowed and took their leave, he set off. But when he stepped into Donglizhai, he saw a group of people standing outside the main room. He frowned, wondering what Cheng Qianyue was doing alone in the room, so he didn't ask the servants to announce his arrival and went straight in. As a result, he found Cheng Qianyue crying there.
It wasn't the kind of loud wailing or tearful crying, but rather a silent, quiet weeping, with only occasional sobs. To be honest, it was quite pitiful. He wondered if she was reluctant to leave her family. However, a voice inside him said that it was most likely because the Cheng family hadn't attended the Third Prince's first birthday banquet yesterday.
After sitting down next to Cheng Qianyue, Yinreng asked someone to fetch water. When the person outside brought in the basin of water, he personally washed a handkerchief, wrung it out, and used it to wipe Cheng Qianyue's face, saying as he did so, "Why are you crying?"
Cheng Qianyue lowered her head and mumbled in reply, "It's nothing."
Yinreng sighed almost imperceptibly, not wanting to press the issue further, which would only rub salt into her wounds. He said in a deep voice, "I know you rarely see your family, but there will be many opportunities to meet in the future."
Cheng Qianyue immediately perked up, and quickly seized the opportunity, raising her red eyes hopefully as she asked, "Can I invite them in to see me often?"
Yinreng smiled and said, "You don't need to summon them. They might even come in and kowtow to you in a couple of days."
What does that mean? Cheng Qianyue looked over with bright eyes.
Yinreng intended to appease her by mentioning the arrangements for Cheng Yexing, and continued, "I'm considering how capable your brother is, so I'd like to transfer him to be my personal bodyguard."
"Huh? To be Yinreng's bodyguard?" Cheng Qianyue subconsciously wanted to decline and said softly, "Your Highness, you don't need to promote him for my sake. He's actually doing quite well in the patrol camp."
Yinreng said, "When he came to pay his respects yesterday, he mentioned wanting to be transferred to fight in the war. However, fighting is not something that can be accomplished by brute force alone, and the work of the patrol camp is tedious and doesn't teach people much skill. But it's different if he serves as a guard by my side. I'll train him for a year or two and then send him out. He can start as a local garrison commander and rise through the ranks based on his military merits."
Cheng Qianyue didn't hear a word of what was said after that; she only caught the word "speaker." Speaker, huh? That's fine. She took a deep breath and said, "I don't understand these things, but as long as he doesn't cause trouble for Master, it's fine."
"Hmm." Yinreng smiled, patted her hand, and asked, "How are you? Do you still want to cry?"
Cheng Qianyue shook her head, slowly smiled, and said firmly, "I'm not crying anymore." She had already cried enough, and now that she had arranged for her family's future, there was even less need to cry.
Yinreng couldn't help but burst out laughing, putting his arm around her waist and saying, "You, you." That's all the grit you've got.
As darkness fell, Lady Hitara and Cheng Yexing arrived at the alley where the Cheng family lived, carrying a cartload of goods. The coachman and the servants hurriedly helped unload the goods and carry them into the main house. After they finished, Cheng Yexing said it was still early and invited them to a restaurant for dinner, but the coachman and the others, knowing they were from the Crown Princess's family, dared not refuse and repeatedly declined. Cheng Yexing didn't insist, but he still insisted on giving them a piece of silver, saying it was for their drinks. The coachman and the others gratefully accepted it, said goodbye, and drove away.
Xitala had been busy for a long time, and only after everyone left did she sit down to have a drink of water. Just then, she saw Cheng Shifu, who had been lying in the inner room, come out wearing an outer robe. She asked, "Why did you come out?"
Cheng Shifu said, "I woke up when I heard a loud crashing noise."
Hitara said "Oh," and then asked, "Have you had dinner?"
Yu Lushi, who was standing nearby, quickly replied, "We ate them. We steamed tofu-filled buns for dinner, and there are still some left in the pot."
Xitala said, "We ate a lot at the banquet in the garden, so we're not hungry yet." As she spoke, she opened the bundle on the table, revealing a bulging oiled paper bag and several porcelain bottles: "These are pastries from the garden. You can't get them outside. Try them all later." Then she said to Cheng Shifu, "My daughter was very worried when she heard you were sick, so she gave me a few bottles of pills for colds and headaches."
Cheng Shifu held the bottles like treasures and said hurriedly, "I knew my daughter cared about me."
Xitala then asked Cheng Yexing to open the box and picked out four or five boxes containing jewelry, which she then told Yulu to take and wear. “They are all handmade in the palace, with pearls, hairpins, earrings, and necklaces. It’s a complete set of headdresses, a gift from the Crown Princess.”
"I dare not wear these fine things," Yu Lushi said hastily upon hearing that they were gifts from her great-aunt, who had become the Crown Princess.
It's no wonder she was so apprehensive. Yulu's family was poor; her father died when she was young, and she grew up with only her elderly mother. If it weren't for the fact that her family were Manchus, and she hadn't been able to participate in the imperial concubine selection, she might have been eaten alive. However, she didn't pass the selection, and Yulu returned home troubled: It was truly better to be a bondservant from the Manchu bannermen; at least she could find work in a prince's or nobleman's household. Now, with no profit to be made, who would want to marry her?
Unexpectedly, just a few months later, a matchmaker came to her house, saying she wanted to arrange a good marriage for her. Upon hearing this, Yu Lushi married without hesitation. However, before marrying into the family, she had already decided that regardless of whether her husband was good or bad, as long as he could support her mother, she would agree to anything. But who knew the Cheng family was completely different from what she had expected? She prayed to Buddha while muttering to herself, "I really don't know what kind of incredible luck I've had."
Yu Lushi kept reminding herself to be more discreet in her words and actions, so as not to give her in-laws any reason to criticize her.
Knowing that Yulu was cautious, but that no woman in the world disliked jewelry, Xitala stuffed the box into Cheng Yexing's hand and said to Yulu, "There's nothing I'm afraid of. The Crown Princess specifically requested it for you."
Only then did Yulu dare to approach Cheng Yexing to receive the items. Xitala said, "As for the cloth, satin, cups, tea, and the like, let's pack them up tomorrow." With that, she told Cheng Yexing and Yulu to go back and rest.
After his son and daughter-in-law left, Cheng Shifu asked Xitala, "How have you been doing these past two years? Has she gained weight? How's the Third Prince? Is he still lively and energetic?"
In front of her husband, Hitara lost her newfound mother-in-law authority and said with a smug look, "I see my daughter is doing quite well. She's wearing nice clothes and using nice things. You know what, I almost didn't recognize her when I first went in. Oh my, she looks like a noblewoman."
Cheng Shifu kept saying "okay," and then asked, "What about the Third Prince?"
Hitara coughed twice and said, "She's very lively, just like my daughter when she was little. Her eyes are dark and bright, and she's not afraid of people. She doesn't cry when I hold her, and she even calls me 'Mom'."
Cheng Shifu was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. He clenched his fist and pounded his chest, sighing deeply. This illness just had to come at this exact moment; it was truly damn unlucky.
Seeing that he had gone too far in showing off, Hitara quickly said, "We'll meet again sometime, so don't be in such a hurry."
Cheng Shifu nodded and said, "Yes, I can still live for several more decades, and I'll be able to see my daughter again." He then opened the bottle of medicine for treating colds, poured out two pills, and casually picked up the teacup that Xitala had just used, and poured the pills into it with water.
Xitala was about to help Cheng Shifu into the inner room, as she was tired and ready to rest. But just as she stood up, she heard a noise coming from the courtyard.
Cheng Shifu looked out the window and sighed, "Xingzi must be practicing martial arts. Luckily, my son is like you, not like me. He knows how to strive for success and has the ability to do so."
Hitara said, "Whether they look alike or not, they are all your children. Stop talking nonsense and go back to your room to rest. Get well soon so that a small illness doesn't become a big one."
The next day, Cheng Yexing went to the outpost for his usual shift. As soon as he entered, six or seven soldiers came over to greet him. Cheng Yexing cupped his hands in greeting and smiled, but in his heart he was thinking, "Look at these disgusting fellows. You weren't like this before the Crown Prince rose to power."
When news of Cheng Qianyue's entry into Xian'an Palace reached his family, it wasn't long before everyone at the outpost knew that his sister had become a concubine for the deposed crown prince. The people at the outpost immediately treated him like a monster, avoiding him at all costs. Even those who used to patrol the streets arm in arm with him started to shun him. Later, it was rumored that the captain who had recommended him for the patrol battalion repeatedly lamented that he had made a mistake, making Cheng Yexing's life at the outpost even more difficult. It was during this time that Cheng Yexing's ambition took root and began to flourish.
He thought his sister was still in the palace; he couldn't let her and their family lose all hope. Who knew that after half a year of this, the Crown Prince was reinstated, and then he heard that Cheng Qianyue was pregnant with the Crown Prince's child. Suddenly, everyone in the outpost was fawning over him.
Cheng Yexing knew what kind of people they were. Although he still laughed it off, this incident taught him the meaning of currying favor with the powerful and flattering the weak, and his ambition hadn't been extinguished. What was that saying again? A brother should always support his sister, right? Of course, his sister had become the Crown Prince's concubine, and no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't compare to the Crown Prince, but he still had to ensure his sister could hold her head high in the palace! Besides, he didn't want to just drift along in the outpost; he wanted to make a name for himself.
When Cheng Yexing came to his senses, listening to the commander's encouraging and conciliatory words, only one thought remained in his mind: he had been transferred to be the Crown Prince's bodyguard? Although it was only a Blue-feathered bodyguard, it was still a sixth-rank official!
Cheng Yexing's face lit up instantly, but he immediately straightened up again. He thought to himself, "This is nothing! I will never embarrass the Crown Prince or his sister!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
