Chapter 159 The day after Cheng Qianyue was granted permission to leave the palace and return to the Forbidden City, ...
The day after returning to the Forbidden City, Cheng Qianyue met the legendary Jin Shi. She was taken by Fan Shi to Yongshou Palace to pay her respects.
After taking her seat, Lady Fan said, "This servant has not failed the Consort's trust and has taken good care of her." She raised her head and gestured for Lady Jin beside her to come forward and kowtow. She then added, "It's just that she was very ill before, and the imperial physician said that she wouldn't recover in a short time. I saw that she was weak, so I didn't let her do any work. I thought that she would take a year or two to recover and then she would gradually gain weight."
Under Cheng Qianyue's gaze, a slender young girl stepped forward from beside Madam Fan to pay her respects. The first thing Cheng Qianyue noticed was the resemblance; she did indeed look somewhat like Cheng Qianyue when she first entered the palace. Then, she became lost in thought, unconsciously staring at Madam Jin's profile, her heart trembling slightly.
Knowing that this would happen, Jin carefully kowtowed, secretly swallowed twice, and whispered, "This servant greets the Noble Consort Yi."
After regaining her senses, Cheng Qianyue beckoned to Jin Shi, signaling her to come closer. Jin Shi said "yes," stood up, and walked to stand in front of her with her eyes lowered. "From this angle, she looks even more like her," Cheng Qianyue thought, and softly asked, "Good child, how old are you this year?"
Jin pursed her lips and answered softly, "Replying to Your Highness, this servant is fourteen years old this year."
Fourteen years old, she was indeed still a young girl. Cheng Qianyue unconsciously stared at her, and finally couldn't resist reaching out to touch her arm. Jin Shi was startled by her touch, but quickly stood up obediently and stopped moving.
Cheng Qianyue said, "She does feel thin." Looking at her gently, she continued, "Your surname is Jin, so what's your name?"
Jin replied, "My name is Wanwan."
"Wanwan?" Cheng Qianyue's eyes widened slightly, her voice rising slightly as she confirmed, "Is it the Wan of gentleness?"
Jin shook her head. "It's the 'wan' in 'evening.' I was born at dusk, so my father named me that."
Cheng Qianyue silently murmured "Wanwan" a few times, and after a long while, she sighed and said, "It's a good name." After a while, she raised her head again and asked, "The palace is not a good place for people to recuperate. Shall I let you leave the palace and go home?"
"Let her out of the palace, instead of doing something else?" Jin raised her head in disbelief, her eyes soon reddening. She then knelt down tremblingly and said, "This servant thanks the Noble Consort for her grace."
After leaving Yongshou Palace, Lady Jin returned to the side room of the west wing of Chuxiu Palace. As soon as she sat down, she couldn't help but sob softly. She never thought she would have the chance to leave the palace again.
Originally, Lady Jin wasn't very popular in Chuxiu Palace, but after the Consort granted her permission to leave the palace, the maids no longer avoided her. Although Consort He didn't ask her to do anything, she didn't like staying indoors either, occasionally going outside to bask in the sun and helping the young maids by fetching handkerchiefs or handing them things. The young maids would say a few words to her and congratulate her on leaving the palace. Three to five days later, a young maid came to say that her mistress wanted to see her. Lady Jin immediately guessed what it was about, and her heart pounded wildly. She hurriedly went to the main hall to kowtow and beg for her leave.
Lady Fan looked at her and said, "You've been calling me 'Master' in Chuxiu Palace for so many days. Take ten taels of silver before you leave." Then she reminded her, "Don't forget to kowtow at Yongshou Palace to thank the Imperial Concubine for her kindness."
Jin said gratefully, "This servant understands, this servant bids farewell to my mistress." After receiving the silver, she carried the bundle she had packed earlier out of Chuxiu Palace. However, when she arrived at Yongshou Palace, she could not enter, because the Imperial Concubine was not in the palace but had gone to Yangxin Hall.
Jin wanted to kowtow at the gate of Yongshou Palace. But just as she knelt, a young eunuch came out of the palace. He glanced at her, his expression neither kind nor dislike, but rather complex. He asked, "Are you the palace maid Jin?"
Not daring to offend him, Ms. Jin nodded cautiously.
The nobleman said, "Wait a moment, the Imperial Concubine has something to reward you." After a while, he came out again, followed by two eunuchs carrying boxes. The nobleman said, "The Imperial Concubine is rewarding you with one hundred taels of silver, as well as some jewelry and cloth. In addition, she sent someone to inform your family a few days ago, and your father and mother are probably already waiting at the palace gate."
Jin hadn't expected to receive a reward from the Imperial Concubine upon arriving. After realizing what was happening, she kowtowed several times before stopping. After standing up, she hurriedly took out the ten taels of silver she had just received from Chuxiu Palace and kept offering them to the nobleman, saying, "Brother, you've gone to so much trouble."
The nobleman refused to accept it. He had been beaten for the sake of Jin's master, so he felt it was bad luck to take the money. He said, "I am just doing this for my master. You don't need to be so polite." He gestured and said, "Let's go. I need to see you out before I can report back to my master."
Seeing that he clearly didn't want it, Jin quickly thanked him twice and followed the nobleman and the eunuchs carrying the boxes out of the palace. Before she even reached the Shenwu Gate, she saw her father and mother outside the palace gate. Jin quickened her pace.
Upon arriving at Shenwu Gate, the nobleman greeted the guards at the gate, signaling Jin to leave the palace. However, before Jin left, he lowered his voice and said to her, "Once you're out, just live a peaceful life. Our master said that those who survive great calamities are destined for good fortune, and your good fortune is yet to come." He then muttered, "It's only because you met our master that you're safe; otherwise, you wouldn't even know how you lost your life."
Jin's eyes narrowed sharply upon hearing Xian Gui's words, but she was quickly pulled back by her mother outside. In the blink of an eye, she was on the oxcart heading home. Her father drove the cart ahead, while her mother sat in the back, happily asking her, "Wanwan, why did you leave the palace so early, and why did the master reward you with such a large box of things?"
Jin's body trembled slightly, but the jolting of the oxcart made it impossible to see. She paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Because I served well in the palace, that's why the master rewarded me with these things." Her mother said "Oh," and looked at her, saying, "You look much thinner than when you entered the palace. Was the food bad there?"
Jin replied, "I caught a cold and fell ill. My mistress said it was not good to recover in the palace, so she graciously allowed me to come out."
Her mother said, "Your Majesty has shown mercy," and added a few words of Amitabha Buddha. She smiled and said, "It's good that you're out, it's good that you're out. Your mother sent several chickens to our house. We'll make soup for you when we get back to help you recover."
Jin hummed in agreement, but couldn't help looking back repeatedly. She saw the majestic palace with its red walls and yellow tiles receding further and further away.
She had imagined it would be a magnificent world filled with flowers, but instead, she had narrowly escaped death. Tears welled in Jin's eyes, and a smile slowly spread across her face, which had been cautious and reserved for days.
——
Cheng Qianyue returned after having lunch at the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Upon her return, Lin Quan'an reported that Lady Jin had left the palace. Cheng Qianyue smiled and said, "That's good." After resting on the kang (heated brick bed) for a while, she looked to the side and asked, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is in just over ten days. Have the rewards for everyone been prepared?"
Ruodie replied, "Don't worry, Master, everything is arranged."
Cheng Qianyue nodded: "Send them to the various residences in the next few days." She paused for a moment and said: "While you're at it, please invite Prince Cheng, the wife of Prince Chun, and the wife of Prince Lü to the palace. Tell them I'd like to have a chat with them."
Today, she went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to discuss the Mid-Autumn Festival arrangements with Yinreng, but unexpectedly, Yinreng suddenly brought up the Dowager Consorts. Yinreng's idea was to allow several Dowager Consorts to leave the palace to retire after the Mid-Autumn Festival. He said, "The late Emperor's last words were that after his death, his mother should leave the palace to be cared for by the princes. I am thinking of granting permission this year for several Dowager Consorts to leave the palace to enjoy their old age."
At that time, Cheng Qianyue asked him, "Which ones should be sent out of the palace first?" She thought that the princes and the mothers of the county princes who had always been by Yinreng's side should be sent first.
Then Yinreng said, "First, please invite Consort Rong, Consort Dai, and Noble Lady Wanliuha to leave the palace to receive your care."
To be honest, this answer was both expected and unexpected for Cheng Qianyue. It was expected because the Third Prince, Seventh Prince, and Twelfth Prince had been exceptionally loyal after Yinreng ascended the throne, earning him much praise. It was unexpected because Consort De was not among the first batch of imperial concubines sent out of the palace. She wondered if Yinreng knew about Consort Ke's previous attempts to win over Consort De, and was therefore blocking her from leaving. She sighed inwardly and softly said, "Yes."
Afterwards, Yinreng wanted her to leak the information, and he would grant permission after the princes submitted their memorials. So, after returning from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she pondered how to leak the news.
Of course, she couldn't openly discuss this with the imperial concubines, otherwise it would seem like she was trying to kick them out. Furthermore, even if the imperial concubines heard about it from her, they wouldn't know how to react. Should they say they were reluctant to leave the palace, or should they boldly declare that they'd wanted to leave long ago? So, it was awkward for both sides.
Therefore, it would be best to tell the wives of the corresponding princes and nobles about this matter. This way, the news can be relayed to the princes outside, and it will also reach the Dowager Princess in a few days. It is a win-win situation.
After giving these instructions, Cheng Qianyue went for a nap. When she woke up, there was another matter that required her to make arrangements. The head eunuch from Consort Ke's side in Xianfu Palace came to report that Consort Ke was ill and would not be able to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet this year.
Cheng Qianyue: ...You're really something, always backing down at the first sign of trouble!
So much had happened between Yinreng's trip to offer sacrifices at Mount Tai and his return. If she still couldn't see that Li Jia was trying to get rid of her, then all these years she had wasted in the palace. Cheng Qianyue felt she could understand Li Jia's actions, but they were not forgivable.
Li Jia had always hated her to the core, a feeling she could sense even before Yinreng ascended the throne. Now, she probably wanted to devour her alive. Just look at what she did. Leaving aside the matter of winning over the Dowager Consort, other things like finding someone to share her favor and spreading rumors outside were both deadly moves against her.
Cheng Qianyue sighed. She suddenly began to miss the Empress. Thinking back to when the Empress was alive, Li Jia was practically silent in the palace, but less than two years after the Empress left, she suddenly emerged like a sharp thorn, piercing people's hearts.
Lady Li did this because she was worried that she would become empress...
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself.
However, Lady Li was mistaken; Yinreng would not make her empress. If she did, the status of Hongyan and Hongchao would change. Yinreng himself had just experienced the struggle for the throne among his nine sons and would absolutely not want to see them kill each other.
Cheng Qianyue recalled how Yinreng had given her a seven-tailed pearl phoenix hairpin and said he felt very guilty towards her. At the time, she didn't understand, but now she did. It was because Yinreng wouldn't make her empress that he granted her various privileges as compensation.
Did Cheng Qianyue herself want to be empress? Well, that's an empress, the mother of the nation! What woman hasn't dreamed of that? But she could only dream about it. Firstly, Yinreng wouldn't bestow the title, and secondly, with such a splendid example before her, she didn't believe she could be like the late empress.
Cheng Qianyue understood this principle, but Li Jiashi did not. However, Cheng Qianyue did not intend to tell Li Jiashi. She was not a saint. Li Jiashi had already treated her this way, so why should she give Li Jiashi a "Sunflower Mother's Little Class"?
However, Li Jia's malice towards her was too great, and Cheng Qianyue was very worried that Li Jia's malice would extend to the children, especially the eldest prince.
Alas! The eldest prince is older after all, and he already has a reputation for both literary and military prowess. If Yinreng truly intends for Hongxi to inherit the throne, what will become of her and her children in the future?
Cheng Qianyue thought helplessly, and for the time being, she prayed for the law that bad bamboo produces good shoots, hoping that Prince Hongxi would listen to Yinreng's teachings and not be influenced by Li Jia.
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