Chapter 145 Visiting Cheng Qianyue While Seriously Ill He returned to the Forbidden City early in the morning, wearing a dress…
Cheng Qianyue returned to the Forbidden City early in the morning and went straight to Jingren Palace without even changing her clothes. Upon arriving, she found the eldest princess already in the courtyard. The eldest princess said anxiously, "Mother still doesn't want to see me?"
The Empress's head maid, Su Xin, shook her head with difficulty. "Her mistress said she would like you to return." Upon seeing Cheng Qianyue approach, she quickly bowed and said, "Greetings to Consort Yi."
Wulinzhu turned around, looking completely lost, her eyes red-rimmed, and said, "Greetings to Mother Cheng."
Cheng Qianyue walked over and asked Wu Linzhu, "The Imperial Hospital staff reported that Her Majesty the Empress is unwell, and His Majesty specially summoned me to attend to her."
When Wulinzhu heard that her return was at the Emperor's behest, her expression softened considerably, though she still looked anxious. "Empress Mother doesn't want to see anyone, not even me." She even told her to leave and return to Changchun Garden, but how could she possibly let her go?
Cheng Qianyue was surprised that the Empress was unwilling to see the eldest princess. How could that be? After thinking for a moment, she said, "Don't worry, I'll go in first to pay my respects to Her Majesty."
Ulinzhu nodded, her voice trembling with tears, then paused and whispered, "Please trouble Mother Fan to convey a message: Is there something I've done wrong that's why the Empress Dowager won't see me? If so..."
Cheng Qianyue interrupted her decisively, saying, "How could that be? There's no one more considerate and gentle than you. How could you possibly be wrong? Don't overthink it. Perhaps Her Majesty is feeling drowsy after taking the medicine, or maybe she's afraid of passing on her illness to you. Don't worry, let's go back first, okay?"
Wulinzhu pursed her lips, and after a long while, she nodded helplessly and said, "Yes, I will take my leave now."
After the eldest princess left, Cheng Qianyue looked into the hall. While she was talking to the eldest princess, Su Xin had already gone in to report. A moment later, she came out and said, "Your Highness, our mistress says she won't see anyone."
Cheng Qianyue lowered her eyes, then raised her head again and said, "This time, the Emperor sent me to attend to the Empress's illness. Please go and inform her again." If the Empress didn't want to see her, she really couldn't force her way in. However, she knew how to use the Emperor's name as leverage. Given the Empress's personality, as long as she knew it was the Emperor's will, she would probably see her.
Sure enough, after a while, Su Xin ran out with a look of surprise and said, "Your Highness, please come in."
As Cheng Qianyue stepped into the hall, the smell of medicine grew stronger the further she went inside. Moreover, at this time, one or two windows should have been open, but all the windows in the hall were tightly shut. Even if sunlight filtered in from outside, it cast dappled shadows inside.
Cheng Qianyue felt increasingly alarmed as she walked. When she reached the bedside, she first bowed and greeted the Empress, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty. This servant has been ordered to come and attend to you."
After a long while, she heard the Empress say in a weak, hoarse voice, "This servant is unworthy to serve Your Majesty. Now I am terminally ill because of my lack of virtue and the lack of ancestral protection. I hope Your Majesty will not trouble yourself with my affairs, otherwise I deserve to die a thousand deaths."
Cheng Qianyue felt increasingly uneasy as she listened, realizing that the words were not directed at her, but rather spoken by the Empress to Yinreng, and that they sounded like the Empress's dying words.
After finishing her speech in one breath, the Empress took a deep breath and said in a somber tone, "Consort, please go back."
Cheng Qianyue didn't go out, but instead boldly sat on the edge of the bed, and then she saw the Empress. She didn't quite recognize her, because the Empress had become almost skin and bones, lying there listlessly, like a clay figure with only a breath left. Cheng Qianyue's first reaction was surprise, surprise that the Empress had changed so much in less than a month. Then, her eyes reddened.
"Your Majesty, please don't think too much about it. Things will get better," she said, her voice choked with emotion.
Cheng Qianyue agreed with her assessment. With Yinreng's ascension to the throne, the Forbidden City belonged to their family, and their future was sure to be bright. Moreover, she could see that Yinreng held the Empress in high regard; otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted her with so much of the palace affairs. Although she didn't know what conflict had arisen between Yinreng and the Empress, she believed no conflict was insurmountable. However, she dared not ask the Empress the specific reason, fearing that asking the wrong question might provoke further conflict.
The Empress looked at her with misty eyes, then suddenly smiled: "Your Highness, you've been crying."
Cheng Qianyue was stunned for a moment, then unconsciously touched her face, realizing that she was indeed crying. She said softly, "I'm worried about you, really. I hope you get better soon." After thinking for a moment, she said, "The flowers in Changchun Garden are blooming, and the willows by the lake are green. When you get better, shall we go to the garden to enjoy the scenery?" Afraid that the Empress would not agree, she added, "Actually, the Emperor is also thinking of you. He has long wanted to bring you to live with him."
The Queen laughed even harder, but she quickly stopped laughing and shook her head: "Go back."
Cheng Qianyue pleaded, "Your Majesty the Empress."
"I'm tired, let's go back." The Empress closed her eyes, and after a long while, she seemed to fall asleep.
Having no other option, Cheng Qianyue had to leave. But instead of leaving immediately, she called Suxin over and asked, "What exactly happened at Jingren Palace?"
Su Xin shook her head with a bitter expression.
Cheng Qianyue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She could tell that the Empress seemed depressed, even to the point of not wanting to live. But what was the reason? She couldn't figure it out, and she couldn't get an answer by asking. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, "Where is Granny Shuang?" She had been thinking about this since earlier. Granny Shuang had always been in charge of all affairs in Jingren Palace, so why was she nowhere to be seen today?
A hint of anger and resentment flashed in Su Xin's eyes. "For some reason, the Empress refused to see Granny Shuang anymore, and since then Granny Shuang has been serving her in the tea room."
Cheng Qianyue said, "I want to see her in the side hall."
After a while, Granny Shuang arrived at the side hall and knelt down. She no longer possessed her former vitality; she seemed to have aged more than ten years. Cheng Qianyue asked her, "Why has the Empress become like this? What happened?"
Granny Shuang trembled a few times, then prostrated herself on the ground, saying in a shaky voice, "This old servant's loyalty is as clear as day." After that, she refused to say anything more.
Well, this lead has also gone cold. Cheng Qianyue sighed helplessly.
Ultimately, unable to find the root cause of the illness, she had to set it aside for the time being. The most urgent task was to rekindle the Empress's hope for life. As for why people want to live, it's driven by two things: instinct and obsession. The Empress's obsession... the Eldest Princess? But if that's the case, why won't the Empress see the Eldest Princess?
Cheng Qianyue's mind was a complete mess. After a while, she decided to start with food and drink; after all, a person couldn't live without food. She asked Granny Shuang, "What does the Empress like to eat?"
Granny Shuang was taken aback when she heard her ask that question.
Cheng Qianyue: "No? The Empress has been in the palace for so many years and has never ordered any dishes from the kitchen?" Seeing that Granny Shuang remained silent, she thought for a moment, "Then did Her Majesty have any particular favorite foods when she was a child?"
After a moment, Granny Shuang lowered her head and said, "When Your Highness was a child... she loved to eat 'tiao tou gao' (a type of rice cake)..."
"Strip cake?"
“Yes,” Granny Shuang replied, “it’s a sweet and soft pastry made with glutinous rice from Jiangnan.”
Having received the answer, Cheng Qianyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. She thought she had finally found a breakthrough!
The Empress saw the rice cake on the morning of the second day. She had skipped breakfast and medicine, but when she saw the snack that was out of place in the palace, she couldn't help but ask someone to bring the plate of rice cake over.
Su Xin was overjoyed and hurriedly helped the Empress up, picking out a piece with chopsticks and feeding it to her. But the Empress only took one bite and shook her head.
As the Empress leaned against Su Xin's chest, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to her childhood.
She was still young then. Her father, Shi Wenbing, was working in Hangzhou, so their family spent a happy time there. Her mother would take her to the temple to burn incense, and on the way back, unable to resist her fussing, she would buy her some sweet, sticky rice cakes from a roadside vendor. She loved these sweet and chewy treats, thinking they were a hundred times better than dry rice cakes.
Later, when she was seven years old, her father was promoted to Commander of the Han Army, and the family returned to the capital. Before returning, she whine to her father and mother that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to eat "tiaotougao" (a type of sweet rice cake) anymore. Her father told her that once they arrived in the capital, he would find her a chef who knew how to make Jiangnan-style pastries.
But when they arrived in the capital, everything changed.
After returning to the capital, her mother took her to the palace, where she met many people. She couldn't remember what they said, but she only remembered that every concubine in the palace was so beautiful and noble. A few days after she left the palace, the young Granny Shuang came to their house and took over her position as wet nurse.
She disliked Granny Shuang at first because her wet nurse, who had cared for her since childhood, left as soon as Granny Shuang arrived. But later, Granny Shuang told her that she was sent by the Emperor. Granny Shuang stroked her head and whispered, "Does the young lady want to become a noble lady in the palace?"
"A distinguished person?" she asked.
"Yes, you must be a role model for all women in the world." Granny Shuang said in a deep voice, "You will become a noble person, a noble person that everyone looks up to."
She didn't understand what Granny Shuang meant at the time, but both her father and mother wanted her to listen to Granny Shuang. So she began to learn what it meant to be virtuous and kind, and what it meant to give appropriate advice. Not only that, her father and mother, and even everyone in the family, kept telling her, "The Emperor's grace is boundless. It's your blessing that the Emperor looks up to our family and to you. So you must be loyal to the Emperor; this is the foundation for your and our livelihood."
She agreed, somewhat bewildered. But studying was tiring, and she wanted something delicious, like a type of rice cake. However, Granny Shuang said, "Miss, that's not presentable enough for a refined meal. Shall I have someone make some of the palace's popular pastries?" When the so-called palace pastries arrived, she couldn't eat them because they were salty. Later, she learned that Granny Shuang had given her salty pastries because the Emperor and Crown Prince both preferred salty flavors.
But gradually, she got used to it, used to the savory snacks, and used to the many rules. She studied and studied, and after several years, she finally received the imperial decree to make her the Crown Princess. She saw her father, mother, and Granny Shuang all happily kowtowing, saying, "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty."
What was she thinking at that time? Yes, that's what she was thinking too. She accepted the imperial edict with both hands and kowtowed, saying, "This servant receives the edict and thanks you for your grace."
Afterwards, she married the Crown Prince, and for a time they got along well. However, she found the Crown Prince arrogant and quite different from what she had imagined. In particular, she discovered that the Crown Prince was overstepping his bounds, even selecting tributes from various regions before the Emperor. What did she do then? She said to the Crown Prince, "The Emperor is the ruler of the country. Although you are the Crown Prince, you should not be above your father."
But the Crown Prince didn't take it seriously and casually said, "Father is so kind as to grant the Eastern Palace a first choice."
Then she knelt down.
To everyone's surprise, the Crown Prince was furious and refused to visit her for a long time, causing Granny Shuang great anxiety. However, she remained remarkably calm, because she believed she was right. The ruler is the guide for his subjects, the father for his son, and the husband for his wife. Although the Crown Prince was her husband, she had to respect the ethical principles that superseded the third.
Unexpectedly, after she had fallen out of favor for only two or three months, the Emperor praised her publicly. He said she was virtuous and filial, and that she was like a capable minister offering advice. She was overjoyed. She thought the Crown Prince was wrong, she was right, and what she had learned for seven or eight years was not wrong!
But now she thinks differently; she sees everything clearly. When her actions align with others' wishes, they say she's right; when her actions don't, they say she's wrong. Neither the late emperor nor the new emperor cares about her sincerity or her character. It was only because her actions pleased the late emperor that he praised her. Conversely, because she consistently disagrees with the crown prince, the new emperor, that he treats her this way.
If this is how the world is, if she firmly believes that what she has practiced for most of her life is just a false mask in the eyes of others, then what else is there for her to hold onto? She can only prove her sincerity with her death.
If she had any last words...
Thinking of this, the Empress said softly, "Call the eldest princess over."
After giving her instructions to the eldest princess, she looked out the window, recalling the words of the Imperial Concubine: "Spring has arrived." She quietly ordered someone to open the window, and saw the brilliant sunlight streaming in.
It was so dazzling, even brighter than the jewels on the Empress's crown, yet so light and weightless. A gentle breeze blew outside, and the pine and cypress branches in the courtyard swayed softly.
It was indeed a bright spring day, no less beautiful than when I was a child.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Writing about the Crown Princess was incredibly difficult, especially these last few chapters. This life of being bound like a sacrifice, coupled with extreme internal conflict... sigh!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com