Chapter 3 Disrespect for Buddha "I've heard about what happened yesterday." Fu...
"I've heard about what happened yesterday," the Fujin said softly, sitting upright above. "The Second Master does have a bit of a temper."
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, "This isn't just a matter of having a bad temper; he can change his mind in an instant!" However, she dared not say it aloud, only saying, "It's my fault for not serving Second Master well."
“A woman is valued for her virtue and gentleness, and it is good that you think this way.” The princess seemed extremely satisfied with her answer and said as if granting a favor, “Come with me to worship Buddha at noon.”
"How long will it take to worship Buddha? I haven't even finished my breakfast yet." Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, but replied with a bitter expression, "Yes, this servant thanks Your Highness for your kindness."
The room where the princess lived was twice the size of her side hall, and it was divided into different rooms by screens or gauze curtains. One of the rooms on the west side was a small Buddhist shrine, and you could smell the strong sandalwood incense even before you went there.
Because the Princess Consort had just spoken, the palace maids prepared two prayer cushions, placing one in front of the other. The Second Princess Consort knelt on them and kowtowed to the Buddha statue. Then another palace maid brought a tray with a flawless jade plate on it; one plate contained Buddha beans, and the other was empty.
Cheng Qianyue had seen her mother pick up Buddha beans at home before. When worshippers picked up a Buddha bean and placed it in an empty plate, they would chant a Buddhist prayer. Today, she accompanied the Fujin (principles' wife), and the palace maids naturally prepared her share as well.
Cheng Qianyue was not one to kneel, but now she had to kneel even if she couldn't. She imitated the way the princess consort looked, bent down to pick up the Buddha beans, put them in another plate, put her hands together and chanted "Amitabha," and then repeated it over and over again.
But not long after, Cheng Qianyue felt dizzy. She couldn't help it; she'd gone to bed late the night before and only eaten a few bites of breakfast, and now she was kneeling on the prayer mat, bending over to pick up Buddha beans. It would be a miracle if she didn't feel dizzy.
Cheng Qianyue bent over, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice, but thankfully she regained her senses after a while and forced herself to lift up. Filled with resentment, she thought intermittently: When will this end? She can't hold on much longer.
The old maid Shuang, who was serving nearby, glared angrily at Cheng Qianyue, who kept nodding her head until it was almost touching the plate. However, since the Princess Consort was in front and hadn't seen it, she didn't dare to speak at this moment. She could only stare blankly and hope that this princess would notice her expression and know some manners!
There were one hundred Buddha beans on the jade plate in front of the princess. After picking up the last one and reciting the last "Amitabha," she finally let out a long sigh of relief. Granny Shuang and the palace maid Su Xin quickly walked over, one on each side, and helped her up.
The commotion ahead finally woke Cheng Qianyue from her drowsiness. She almost jumped up with joy, but her legs went numb from kneeling, and she couldn't stand up even after several attempts. Fortunately, Ruoyun came over in time and helped her up.
"Alright, it's almost time for dinner, you can go back now," said the Second Princess Consort.
Cheng Qianyue's legs wouldn't obey her commands; every movement felt like an electric current coursing through them. She forced a smile and bowed, saying, "Yes, this servant takes her leave." Then, she limped out, supported by Ruoyun.
Only then did Granny Shuang put on a stern face and complain to the Fujin, "This Consort Cheng is really too ill-mannered."
The Princess Consort was still wondering what had happened to Cheng Qianyue's leg; it had been fine just a moment ago. She glanced at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Granny Shuang briefly recounted what had just happened, concluding, "I don't know if this princess is too bold or hasn't learned proper etiquette. One is serving her master, and the other is facing Buddha, yet she is so lazy. It's truly disrespectful."
Seeing that the smile on the Fujin's face had faded, she said again, "How about this servant goes and teaches Consort Cheng some manners for a few days?"
The princess thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Forget it, it's better to avoid trouble. Besides, it's perfectly normal for a sixteen-year-old girl to not be able to kneel properly."
Granny Shuang helped the Princess Consort to a table in another room, where she sat down. Soon, eunuchs carried the meal onto the table. Granny Shuang took the bowl and chopsticks from Su Xin and placed them in front of the Princess Consort without making a sound. After serving the Princess Consort her meal and helping her rinse her mouth with tea, she said, "This servant dares to say, Princess Consort, you really don't need to elevate the new princess in such a way."
Although she was bestowed upon her by His Majesty, she's still just a princess. Didn't you see that even the Second Prince dislikes her and humiliates her? The First Princess Consort has even less reason to treat her well.
The Princess Consort was also somewhat displeased. Contrary to what Granny Shuang thought, she simply felt that she had earned a good reputation by being virtuous and filial, kind to her subordinates, and admonishing her superiors, and by reflecting on herself daily. But today, she had only meant well by giving the new princess face, but unexpectedly, it had been seen as a form of disrespect to Buddha, and she feared that it would ruin her reputation if word got out.
“Tell Cheng Gege that she doesn’t need to come and accompany me to worship Buddha anymore,” she said.
Cheng Qianyue convulsed all the way back to her room and continued eating the breakfast she hadn't finished. Although the porridge was a bit cold, she didn't care about anything else, nor did she have the time to use a spoon. She simply picked up the bowl and gulped down a few mouthfuls. With something in her stomach, her head wasn't so dizzy anymore. She then ate two pieces of soft steamed cake, and then asked Ruoyun to help her to the inner room to sleep.
Ruoyun: "Princess, do you still want lunch?"
Cheng Qianyue's mind was filled with thoughts of catching up on sleep, so she said decisively, "No, you can keep it for yourself. I'm going to sleep for a while, don't call me unless it's something else." She hurriedly took off her jewelry, slipped off her shoes, and got into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
It was around one or two o'clock in the afternoon when Cheng Qianyue finally woke up. After her afternoon nap, she felt much better. She got out of bed, put on her shoes, and just then Ruoyun came in, carrying a teapot. Cheng Qianyue was thirsty, so she asked Ruoyun to pour her some water. Just then, Granny Shuang arrived.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but tremble whenever she saw her. In just two days, this Granny Shuang had left an indelible impression on her, because every time she came, Cheng Qianyue would suffer.
"This servant will convey the message from the Fujin: from now on, the Princess need not accompany the Fujin to the main courtyard to worship Buddha," said Granny Shuang with a stern face.
Cheng Qianyue: She never intended to worship Buddha with the Fujin, so why did she have to come all the way here to deliver a message? But it's good to have a definite answer. Just as she was about to reply, she saw Ruoyun's face suddenly change.
Ruoyun asked cautiously, "Granny Shuang, is there something our princess did wrong?"
Cheng Qianyue belatedly realized that people in the palace spoke in roundabout ways, and the fact that Granny Shuang had come specifically to deliver the message meant that she had done something wrong and displeased the Princess Consort. However, she had been genuinely sleepy and tired that morning, so she immediately defended herself, saying, "I really didn't sleep well last night, so when I was praying to Buddha..."
Granny Shuang interrupted her directly, saying, "There's no need for you to say such things, Princess. If you want to serve the Fujin, then learn the proper etiquette before you come back." Without giving her a chance to reply, she turned and left.
Cheng Qianyue actually liked the Fujin very much. Seeing that the Fujin hadn't scolded her for what happened last night, she thought the Fujin was a good person. She quickly said to Ruoyun, "Quickly, get ready and go to the main courtyard to apologize to the Fujin."
As a result, the two women arrived at the main courtyard but couldn't even enter the palace gate; they were dismissed by a mere palace maid. Upon returning, Ruoyun said dejectedly, "Princess, what should we do?"
Cheng Qianyue didn't know what to do either. She didn't even have a chance to admit her mistake, so she could only wave her hand and say, "Let's see tomorrow."
For the next three days, she and Ruoyun went to the main courtyard early in the morning to pay their respects to the Fujin (principal wife), but they never saw her. Cheng Qianyue gradually gave up the idea of apologizing and admitting her mistakes.
To be honest, she didn't think she had committed any heinous crime, but the Fujin (principal wife) seemed convinced that she was bad and refused to see her even once. The Second Prince did the same, labeling her as unruly because of the tea-serving incident and severely reprimanding her.
Rules, rules. These are two words that people in the palace often say, and only now does she realize how heavy those words are. More importantly, someone of higher rank than her has already condemned her in their heart, so she has no chance to defend herself.
"How about we set up a Buddhist shrine?" Ruoyun suggested. "Clean up the space opposite the dressing table and put up a Buddha statue. You can also learn from the Princess Consort and worship Buddha and transcribe scriptures, what do you think?"
Cheng Qianyue thought for a moment and slowly shook her head. Praying to Buddha and copying scriptures? Ha! She couldn't do that! And would it even work if she really tried to imitate the Princess Consort?
Ruoyun was taken aback by her question and didn't dare to guarantee that it would work, but she still advised, "Princess, besides the Fujin, the other two princesses do the same. I heard that they spend half of their day chanting scriptures."
With a pained expression, she disregarded the shallowness of their feelings and whispered, "Princess, you have to be able to live comfortably in Xian'an Palace."
Cheng Qianyue: ......
Ruoyun dared not address the Second Prince directly, and could only vaguely refer to him as the former prince: "We can't count on the former prince now. If you don't expect the Fujin to take care of you more, how will you live in the future?"
Cheng Qianyue replied, "Don't I already have a stipend?" The palace is quite good in this respect; it covers all aspects of life, including food, clothing, lodging, and transportation, as well as an annual stipend of fifty taels of silver. That's more than four taels per month for twelve months of the year, and she received it on the very day she entered Xian'an Palace.
Don't underestimate these four taels of silver; people outside can't even spend them all in a month.
Ruoyun: No, you're not ambitious at all. You just plan to live off your rations. One day, when your subordinates use inferior goods or charge you for everything, you'll realize how difficult it is to live without your master.
But as the saying goes, good advice is hard to persuade a damned ghost. Since I've encountered someone who just drifts along, I guess I'll just leave it at that.
Ruoyun, disheartened, didn't try to persuade her further. She made an excuse to go outside to fetch food and left. She walked with extra caution along the palace path, kneeling to give way to everyone she encountered. As she walked, she muttered to herself: The Second Prince's Consort had a reputation for virtue since she was the Crown Princess. And Consort Cheng, though carefree and somewhat dim-witted, seemed like an easy person to talk to. Perhaps she should honestly save some money and, in a couple of years, ask for a favor to leave the palace. A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives; she couldn't hang herself on a crooked tree with no future!
Thinking this, he sighed.
Alas, if the Crown Prince hadn't been deposed, even if she were just a palace maid serving under a concubine, she would still be respectfully addressed as "elder sister" when she went out. What a pity! By the time it was her turn to enter the palace to serve, the Crown Prince had already fallen, and her future was like a watermelon in a palace maid's hand on a summer's day—spilled up!
A note from the author:
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