Chapter 128 Abusing Loyalty If kneeling in the Changchun Garden to participate in Kangxi's...
If kneeling in Changchun Garden to participate in Emperor Kangxi's funeral ceremony was a small affair, then participating in the Emperor's memorial service in the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City was an event of immense scale.
The imperial concubines, royal children, members of the imperial clan, and their female relatives stood in order of their closeness or distance from the late emperor inside and outside the Qianqing Palace. Court officials, according to their civil or military status and rank, stretched from the Qianqing Palace all the way to the east and west gates of the palace. A dense mass of people, following the chants of the ceremonial officials, knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, then knelt again and kowtowed again. After finishing their prayers, they hung their heads and wept bitterly, their cries of sorrow filling the air.
Cheng Qianyue cried and cried, even when she had cried out all her tears, she still sobbed and choked back tears. After a while, a commotion suddenly came from the front, mixed with shouts of "Crown Prince!" and "Please accept my condolences!" Cheng Qianyue looked ahead with worry, wondering what had happened in the hall.
She was still wondering what was going on when she saw the Crown Princess, who was only a step away from her, stumble and fall backward. Luckily, Granny Shuang reacted quickly, otherwise the Crown Princess would have fallen to the ground. Cheng Qianyue was immediately startled and forgot about what was happening in the distance; the person in front of her was the most important. Just as she was about to go over to check on her, Li Jia, who was beside her, was faster than her. She rushed over and pushed Cheng Qianyue, causing her to fall flat on her face.
Cheng Qianyue stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Ruoyun quickly steadied her and looked at her with concern, saying, "Master, are you alright?"
Cheng Qianyue composed herself and whispered, "It's alright." She got up and walked over. At this time, the Crown Princess was surrounded by many people, all of whom were wives of princes from various families. When the others saw her coming, they made way for her. At this moment, Li Jia was holding the Crown Princess's arm and crying, saying, "Crown Princess, please take care of yourself."
Cheng Qianyue walked over and knelt beside the Crown Princess, taking over Shuang Mama's place and saying, "Go to the front and tell the Crown Prince a message." Shuang Mama said yes, but quickly she walked back and said, "The Crown Prince is deeply grieved. He just fainted from crying in front of the late Emperor's spirit tablet and has now moved to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
For a moment, Cheng Qianyue also felt that things were becoming difficult. If the Empress Dowager or one of the imperial concubines were with them, things would be much easier. But the problem was that none of them had a high reputation. Seeing that Li Jia was sobbing and didn't seem like the type to speak up and take responsibility, Cheng Qianyue had no choice but to straighten herself up and say in a deep voice, "When the late Emperor was alive, he praised the Crown Princess as his virtuous and kind daughter-in-law many times. The Crown Prince also knows that the Crown Princess is kind. If the late Emperor and the Crown Prince knew that the Crown Princess was in trouble, how heartbroken they would be. Quickly, have someone help the Crown Princess to the Xiefang Palace and ask the imperial physician to treat her."
With her permission, things could finally proceed. A short while later, the Crown Princess was helped away, and Cheng Qianyue breathed a sigh of relief, then returned to her knees. However, she hadn't even knelt for a quarter of an hour when she heard that the Empress Dowager had moved from the Ning Shou Palace to the Yang Xin Hall, and then the Empress Dowager summoned her there.
When Cheng Qianyue arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there were already many people standing outside. They all bowed their heads in greeting when they saw her. Cheng Qianyue didn't have time to tell them to get rid of the formalities. She quickly walked into the hall and saw the Empress Dowager holding Yinreng with tears streaming down her face. Yinreng was kneeling on her knees, his face covered in tears.
The Empress Dowager said, "Your imperial father has already passed away. If something were to happen to you, what good would it do to leave me alone in this world?" Between sobs, she continued, "Heaven has no mercy, forcing me, a seventy-year-old woman, to endure the pain of losing my son. Now, you are the only solace left in this world. My Crown Prince..."
Yinreng sobbed and said, "Grandma, your grandson will definitely pull himself together and live up to Father Emperor's last wishes." He straightened up and comforted the Empress Dowager, saying, "Please don't be sad. It breaks my heart to see you crying like this."
Hearing their conversation, Cheng Qianyue felt a pang of sadness and slowly walked over to kneel and pay her respects.
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and then said gently and lovingly, "Good child, come quickly to Grandma."
Cheng Qianyue said yes and went over to sit on the edge of the bed. The Empress Dowager held her hand and patted it lightly and heavily, tears streaming down her face again. She urged her, "You must take good care of the Crown Prince. Not only us, but all the people in the world are counting on him."
Cheng Qianyue said "yes" heavily.
The Empress Dowager spoke to them for a while longer, reminding them to take care of their health, as excessive grief is harmful to the body. Finally, she was helped away, her steps unsteady. Only after the Empress Dowager left did Cheng Qianyue dare to tell Yinreng what had happened in the Qianqing Palace.
"Not long after you fainted from crying, the Crown Princess also fainted." Cheng Qianyue held his hand and said softly, "I took the liberty of sending the Crown Princess back to Xiefang Palace."
Yinreng slowly exhaled, "You did the right thing."
Cheng Qianyue looked at him with concern: "The Empress Dowager is right. You must take care of your health. There was a commotion in the hall just now, and then the Crown Princess fainted. Two things happened at once, which almost scared me to death."
Yinreng looked at her gently, "Don't be afraid, everything is alright now. And you did a great job, no one did it better than you."
Cheng Qianyue slowly shook her head. "I only feel at ease after you said that."
Yinreng reached out and stroked her face, saying in a deep voice, "With me here, I guarantee you'll be safe no matter what you do." With him watching over her, he wasn't afraid she'd make a mistake. Even if she did something wrong one day, as long as he was there to support her, no one would dare to criticize her.
After a while, estimating that it was almost time for dinner, Cheng Qianyue asked someone to bring the meal. When the meal arrived, she simply didn't ask Yinreng to get out of bed and ate it right there by the bedside. Crying at a funeral is a physically demanding task; if someone can cry themselves unconscious, they've probably exhausted all their strength, so saving every bit of energy is important.
As expected, after noon, Yinreng went to mourn again. Cheng Qianyue naturally followed, and after entering the Qianqing Palace, she separated from Yinreng. However, when she rejoined the procession, everyone there looked at her with admiration or submission.
Cheng Qianyue: Having people watching like this puts a lot of pressure on her...
Afterwards, taking advantage of a break in her crying, Ruoyun helped her up and handed her a handkerchief, saying softly, "I heard that the Crown Princess woke up after receiving acupuncture and struggled to come over, but the Crown Prince ordered that she go to Ning Shou Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager."
Cheng Qianyue wiped away her tears: "I understand."
Ruoyun then raised her eyes and continued, "Just now, Jingshun sent word that the Crown Prince said that if there is anything here, please feel free to ask."
Cheng Qianyue nodded again. With Yinreng's words, whatever she did would have a legitimate reason.
In Ning Shou Palace, the Crown Princess was attending to the Empress Dowager as she took her medicine. The Empress Dowager's health had been poor in recent years, and she hadn't expected the late Emperor to pass away before her. When she heard of his death, she nearly fainted, only slightly relieved by the comforting words of her attendant. The medicine she was taking now was meant to calm her nerves.
The Empress Dowager drank a few sips of medicine from the spoon the Crown Princess had brought her, then shook her head. Seeing that the Crown Princess looked even more haggard than she did, she said, "Alright, you should go back and rest too."
The Crown Princess shook her head and replied softly, "Your granddaughter-in-law only wishes to stay by your side and fulfill her filial duty."
The Empress Dowager sighed deeply, looking at the Crown Princess. To be honest, she felt a deep affection for the Crown Princess. She saw a reflection of her younger self in her. She herself was an empress from the grasslands, yet she hadn't won Emperor Shunzhi's favor after entering the palace. After his death, she only cared about the late Emperor and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. In the Empress Dowager's opinion, the Crown Princess was actually better off than her; although she didn't receive the Crown Prince's affection, she had a biological child. The Crown Prince valued relationships, and with the late Emperor's praise and the presence of Wulinzhu, the Crown Princess wouldn't treat her badly.
It's just a pity that the Crown Princess seems a bit stubborn, like a wheel stuck in the ground.
The Empress Dowager, wanting to offer a word of advice, remarked with a touch of melancholy, "There's a saying among the Han people: 'The rigid are easily broken.' Remember this: there's nothing in this world that can't be resolved." This is precisely why she has been able to live comfortably to this day, and why everyone calls her "Grand Ancestor."
The Crown Princess did not understand for a moment, but noticing the Empress Dowager's gaze, she replied, "Yes, your granddaughter-in-law will remember your teachings."
The Empress Dowager nodded and continued, "Summon Wulinzhu to keep me company tonight." She didn't know if the Crown Princess could understand, but if she couldn't, she could only hope to gain favor through the child's affection.
——
It's said that time is Schrödinger's time—it flies when you're doing something and drags when you're doing nothing. But this law is currently reversed. Cheng Qianyue feels that this period of mourning is passing incredibly slowly.
According to the rites, a period of mourning for the emperor was required to last twenty-seven months. Fortunately, the succeeding emperor could use days instead of months, so Yinreng only needed to observe twenty-seven days of mourning before he could change into formal attire and handle state affairs. Although there's no harm in comparison, twenty-seven days is still quite a long time.
Cheng Qianyue felt that every day of mourning was like an eternity.
But thinking about it, she was actually doing alright, only having to perform the mourning rituals. Yinreng had to go through an extra step: keeping vigil. He only managed to rest in the Hall of Mental Cultivation the night he returned to the Forbidden City. In the following days, in addition to mourning, he also had to keep vigil with the other princes. After keeping vigil for three consecutive days, he was on the verge of collapse again, and it was only after being persuaded that he could stop.
Cheng Qianyue was helpless. If it was a political show, she could understand it, but looking at Yinreng, it didn't seem like he was faking it. He was genuinely mourning Kangxi and expressing his grief.
On this particular day, after the long and arduous 27-day mourning period had finally ended, Kangxi's coffin was temporarily moved to the Shouhuang Hall in Jingshan Park, to be transported to the imperial mausoleum for burial after Yinreng ascended the throne and had his posthumous title chosen. Logically, Yinreng should now be out of mourning, but today, he refused to touch any of the meat or fish served to him.
Cheng Qianyue was extremely anxious. "You've been in mourning for almost a month, and you haven't even eaten some meat, eggs, or dairy to nourish yourself. What are you trying to do?" She personally ladled out a bowl of chicken soup, carefully skimming off the few drops of oil, and brought it to Yinreng, saying, "You've just finished the mourning period, and it's not quite right to eat meat now. How about you drink some chicken soup first?"
Yinreng shook his head and said, "Although the late emperor's last decree stipulated that the mourning period should be twenty-seven days, I have to consider the clan's etiquette." The late emperor's coffin has already been moved, and he will ascend the throne soon, so he can now call himself "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I" or "I" in Chinese).
Cheng Qianyue was startled by his words. According to clan etiquette, you can't possibly observe twenty-seven months of mourning?! She stood up abruptly. "Your Majesty, how can you do this?" she exclaimed. Unexpectedly, her shout caused all the servants in the hall to kneel. Cheng Qianyue's throat tightened, and she hesitated for a moment before kneeling as well. Then, changing her tone, she advised, "You can't continue to eat poorly. If you harm your health, the late Emperor in heaven won't be at peace. Besides, you can't disregard the Empress Dowager's instructions."
Yinreng glanced around, then reached out to help her up, saying, "I know, but I also want to fulfill my filial duty to the late Emperor. At the very least, I can only rest in peace after the late Emperor is buried in the mausoleum."
How long will that take? A month or two, or half a year?
Cheng Qianyue wasn't sure, and it wasn't a good question to ask, as it would sound like she was hoping to bury Kangxi's body as soon as possible.
Seeing the worry on her face, Yinreng chuckled softly, then placed the bowl of chicken soup in front of her and said, "You should drink it."
He watched tenderly as she finished the soup, then served her another bowl.
Cheng Qianyue: Sigh!
Not long after dinner, the two went to bed. Yinreng fell asleep within fifteen minutes of getting into bed, leaving Cheng Qianyue lost in thought. As she pondered, that feeling of misunderstanding returned.
Yes, it's true that Kangxi and Yinreng were father and son, but were they really that close?
Ever since entering the palace, Cheng Qianyue had witnessed her father, Emperor Kangxi, harboring suspicion and distrust towards his son, Yinreng. Even moments of kindness were quickly followed by slaps. Yinreng's emotions fluctuated wildly, like a rollercoaster. Cheng Qianyue was almost thankful that he hadn't suffered a mental breakdown.
Therefore, in Cheng Qianyue's eyes, Yinreng was suffering from immense mental oppression and abuse. Looking at Yinreng, it seems that after Kangxi's death, all he could think of were Kangxi's good qualities, and he even used this almost self-destructive way to express his remembrance of Kangxi.
Cheng Qianyue looked at the sleeping Yinreng and sighed softly. She wondered if this was the legendary story of loyalty born from abuse?
Harmful!
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