Chapter 181 Forever and Ever (End of Main Text) It wasn't even June yet, Hongyan…
Before June even arrived, joyous news came from Hongyan's residence: Lady Guarjia had successfully given birth to a baby prince. Cheng Qianyue was overjoyed upon hearing this and sent over many nourishing foods. In addition, she specially commissioned the making of a pair of gold locks for the newborn to calm his nerves. Her happiness stemmed from two reasons: firstly, Hongyan had a worthy successor, making her a grandmother; and secondly, she felt the birth of the new life would dispel the gloom of the recent past.
As expected, the imperial family gained a new grandson, and Yinreng was very pleased, saying with emotion, "I hope that their offspring will be numerous and their lineage will flourish."
He also bestowed gifts upon the young prince, but with the same level of generosity as he had given to Hongjin and Wulinzhu's children. Cheng Qianyue understood that he intended to treat them all equally. Indeed, at Yinreng's level, any favoritism would cause quite a stir.
In the latter half of this year, Yinreng changed his usual practice of not valuing the princes and assigned tasks to both Hongjin and Hongyan. Hongjin went to the Ministry of Works, and Hongyan went to the Ministry of Justice. Cheng Qianyue knew that this was another test from Yinreng. But at this time, Cheng Qianyue didn't have much to say to Hongyan. He had been steady and reliable these past two years, and now that he was his father, she had no reason to worry about him.
After the New Year, Hongyan was transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Rites. Later, Yinreng arranged marriages for several princesses, including He Hui, and summoned Hongyan to Mongolia to escort them. A few months after Hongyan returned from Mongolia, Yinreng transferred him to the Ministry of Revenue. Compared to Hongjin, who had been working in the Ministry of Works, Hongyan had spent the last two years running around all six ministries, showing Yinreng's intention to give him experience. Once Hongyan had settled into his roles in the six ministries, Yinreng suddenly announced the recall of Cheng Yexing to the capital.
“He has been stationed in the capital for many years now. With the situation in Jiangnan stabilizing recently, it’s time for him to return,” Yinreng said. A few days later, he issued an imperial edict appointing Cheng Yexing as the Deputy Commander of the Bordered Blue Banner, ordering him to return to the capital to take up his post soon.
Cheng Qianyue wasn't unhappy about Cheng Yexing's return to the capital. Compared to Yinreng's considerations for the court, Cheng Qianyue's thoughts were more focused on her family. Her father and mother were getting old, and having her brother back now would be perfect for supporting them. However, not long after Cheng Yexing's return, calls suddenly arose outside for her to be made empress.
This wasn't something Yinreng told her; it was Yulu who came to the palace to tell her. When the topic turned to officials submitting memorials requesting the establishment of an empress, Yulu's eyes sparkled, though her excited, tentative words were tinged with worry and fear: "When Master heard that officials had submitted memorials requesting the establishment of an empress, he was greatly alarmed and immediately ordered me to come to the palace to pay my respects to Her Majesty. Master said he had only recently returned to the capital and was busy reporting on his duties, so he was unaware of this matter beforehand."
To be honest, Cheng Qianyue was quite surprised when she heard about this, because she really hadn't heard a word about it. However, after seeing Yu Lushi's uneasy look, she came to her senses and smiled, saying, "It's not a big deal. When you get back, tell your brother to be careful." She guessed that her brother was terrified, so he couldn't help but come over to confess when he sensed the lively atmosphere in the capital, afraid that Cheng Qianyue would think he was causing trouble as soon as he returned to the capital.
Yu Lu quickly agreed.
Cheng Qianyue then inquired about her parents, nephews, and nieces, to which Yu Lu replied that everything was fine. Afterwards, Cheng Qianyue invited Yu Lu to stay for lunch, rewarded her with many gifts, and then had someone escort her out of the palace.
After Yu Lushi left, Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but wonder what Yinreng was thinking about the matter of making her empress. Over the past two years, she had come to realize how much Yinreng valued Hongyan. Therefore, Yinreng's decision to make her empress was likely to give Hongyan an edge. But why hadn't he told her about this? Thinking about it, it seemed that Yinreng's expression towards her had been rather strange lately.
Ever since the rebellion incident, Yinreng's feelings for her seemed to have deepened. Whenever they were together, he would always look at her with those tender, affectionate eyes. But these past few days, when he looked at her, his expression would become troubled, as if he were struggling with something. But when she looked back, Yinreng would smile at her again, as if the feeling of being gazed at like that was just an illusion.
Cheng Qianyue had never understood why he had been acting so strangely lately, but now she seemed to understand a little. Was Yinreng struggling with whether or not to make her empress? She herself didn't care about being empress or not, but she was very curious about why Yinreng was struggling with this.
That evening, Yinreng sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her with a troubled expression. Cheng Qianyue didn't dare ask him if he was bothered by the matter of someone outside asking for an empress, so she pretended not to see it. Not long after she lay down, Yinreng held her and sighed, saying, "There's something I don't know how to tell you."
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "Stop beating around the bush, I already know everything," and said, "Speak, sir, I'm listening."
Yinreng said softly, "These past few days, some officials have submitted memorials saying that the position of Empress is vacant..." But he only went this far and then fell silent, as if he was organizing his thoughts. Cheng Qianyue was not in a hurry and waited patiently for him to continue. After a long while, he suddenly uttered a sentence: "I feel that my fate is unlucky."
Huh? Cheng Qianyue was caught off guard by these two completely unrelated sentences. Weren't they talking about the Empress's position? How did they get onto the topic of fate?
But once he said those words, Yinreng felt much more at ease. He hugged the person in his arms tighter and continued, "It's not that I don't want to make you Empress, it's just..." He sighed, his voice filled with sadness and dejection, "I lost my mother when I was young, my father in middle age, and not long after I ascended the throne, my Empress also passed away. Now... so I feel that I have a bad fate."
The implication was that he was a cursed zodiac sign, destined to bring misfortune to his father, mother, wife, and children. Cheng Qianyue hadn't expected him to be thinking about this these past few days, so she turned to face him and asked, "Why would you think that, Master?" Who talks about themselves like that?
Yinreng no longer hid from her, and gently pressed his forehead against Cheng Qianyue's, saying, "I want to be with you for a long time, but I'm afraid that making you empress will shorten your lifespan."
Cheng Qianyue couldn't let him speculate like that, so she quickly said, "Your Highness's thinking is so unreasonable. How can you blame everything on yourself when life is unpredictable? If you're going to say that I'm cursed, how come I've been perfectly fine all these years since I entered the palace? Not only am I fine, but our children are fine too, aren't they?"
But Yinreng said, "I think this is a blessing you were born with." But blessings are finite, and he was afraid that he might ruin her good fortune.
Cheng Qianyue decisively told him, "You're talking nonsense. How could the emperor, the supreme ruler, have a bad fate?" Good heavens, if even the emperor's life is bad, what about the lives of the common people?
He continued, "What's that saying again? 'Man proposes, God disposes.' If fate and destiny were predetermined, how could there be the saying 'Man can conquer nature'?" She rolled her eyes at him and said slyly, "Don't overthink it. If you really want to see if our horoscopes are compatible, there's the Imperial Observatory." Those people at the Imperial Observatory would never find anything bad.
After being lectured by her, the gloom that had been hanging over Yinreng's heart for days gradually dissipated. He realized he had been obsessively thinking things through and said gently, "Yes, I should have the Imperial Astronomical Bureau match our horoscopes." As the saying goes, Heaven has a benevolent heart and will always give people a glimmer of hope. Even if his fate was truly unfavorable, there would always be room for maneuver. Perhaps Cheng Qianyue was the glimmer of hope Heaven had left for him.
Cheng Qianyue thought she was being clever, but then she realized she'd gotten herself into a mess. She'd simply wanted to comfort him, but now it sounded like she desperately wanted to be Empress. She quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I don't care about being Empress or not. I'm just worried about you overthinking things. Even though I'm only a Consort now, I'm no less than an Empress." This was absolutely sincere. There was no Empress in the palace right now; her rank was the highest, and she managed the affairs of the six palaces. So, for her, Empress was just an honorary title; she didn't really feel she absolutely needed that position.
"I think the same way as you, Master. No matter what our status is, as long as we're together forever, that's enough," Cheng Qianyue said, her heart filled with tenderness. She couldn't help but feel grateful and dependent on him. All these years, Yinreng had still shown her such favor, giving her many unique privileges. He even felt his fate was bad and worried he might bring her bad luck—wasn't that a different kind of homesickness? This constant feeling of indebtedness was more precious to her than anything else.
Yinreng held her tightly in his arms, thinking that if he could, he would still like to make her his empress, his rightful wife.
In the following days, seeing that Yinreng's mood had improved considerably, Cheng Qianyue put the matter out of her mind. However, one morning, while she was looking at the account books, someone suddenly came to announce an imperial decree.
Cheng Qianyue: !!!
In recent years, she had never received such a formal imperial edict; Yinreng always spoke to her directly about everything. She knelt on the ground, utterly shocked, wondering if it was what she suspected. And indeed, it was the edict to establish an empress.
Cheng Qianyue was still dazed when she got up from the ground. Her mind was blank for a moment, and she could only say "Thank you for your great kindness" without being able to say anything else. When she came to her senses, her mind went on to think, quite inappropriately, that the Imperial Observatory had done a good thing, and that Yinreng should no longer think of her as a jinx.
Three months later, Cheng Qianyue underwent her coronation ceremony, after which everything proceeded as usual. Actually, Cheng Qianyue had felt quite apprehensive before the ceremony. She had previously felt that there was little difference between being an empress and a noble consort, but in the days leading up to the coronation, she couldn't help feeling anxious because the title of empress was simply too grand. However, once the coronation ceremony was over, she felt that things weren't so different from before. Most of the servants still addressed her as "Master," and only noblewomen addressed her as "Your Majesty the Empress," which she figured she would get used to.
In short, eat and drink as you please, and do whatever you're supposed to do.
Cheng Qianyue gradually came to terms with it.
Not two years after becoming Empress, another wedding was planned in the palace: Hongchao was getting married. He had met his future wife when he was sixteen, and the marriage was bestowed by Yinreng. Now, after the New Year, the wedding was to take place. According to Yinreng's wishes, after the wedding, Hongchao would also establish his own residence outside the palace, making it easier for Hongyan to discipline his brothers. Cheng Qianyue readily agreed, because Hongchao was a cunning young man, and over the years, besides her and Yinreng, only his brother Hongyan could control him.
Not long after Hongchao's marriage, Moyaqi's marriage was also arranged. Just as Cheng Qianyue had guessed, Moyaqi's husband was a former Manchu nobleman from one branch of the Nalan family. Compared to her son's marriage, Cheng Qianyue was more concerned about her daughter's. After learning who Yinreng's preferred candidate was, she even had Hongyan and Hongchao consider it. She was only slightly relieved after both brothers nodded in agreement. However, Moyaqi seemed unhappy, not because her husband was bad, but because she felt she had married too late. Her mother had already become the Empress, and everything was settled before she was betrothed, feeling she hadn't been able to help at all.
Cheng Qianyue: ......
After Moyaqi's wedding, Cheng Qianyue suddenly felt that Yongshou Palace was desolate.
Oh, you might ask, what about Hongyao? Well, don't even mention him. That kid's reached the age for starting his education and has moved to Gandong Fifth Academy.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but sigh; with the children gone, she was practically all alone. Just as she was sighing, Yinreng came in from outside.
"Look at you, thinking about the children again, aren't you?" he said knowingly.
Cheng Qianyue nodded and said, "That's right. Some are married, some are studying. It always feels awkward when things are quiet for a while."
Yinreng patted her hand and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings."
"That's true, the child is grown up and has his own life to live." Cheng Qianyue thought he was right, and then looked at him with special tenderness.
Yinreng's heart softened at her gaze, and he asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Qianyue said softly, "I'm so glad that you're here at this time." No matter what, they are the ones who will hold hands and accompany each other through life.
Upon hearing this, Yinreng came over and hugged her, letting out a sigh of relief and saying, "Yes, I also feel less lonely with you by my side."
A spouse is someone you'll stay with until the end.
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Author's Note: The main story is finished! There are two more bonus chapters, which will be released tomorrow. The first bonus chapter is about the daily life of an old married couple, and the second bonus chapter is about Yinreng's death.
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