Chapter 52 Lamenting the Torment October is almost here, and the Third Prince will be here soon too…
With October fast approaching and the Third Prince nearing his 100th day, Cheng Qianyue decided to take this opportunity to write a letter to Yinreng.
Although Yinreng had told her she could ask the Fourth Prince to deliver the letter to the Mulan Hunting Grounds, she never wrote back. Firstly, unlike modern times, sending a letter in ancient times relied entirely on manpower and horses, and she didn't want to trouble anyone since she didn't have anything important to say. Secondly, with the Fourth Prince overseeing the country, the letters being sent there were likely important court matters, and it wouldn't look good to have letters from the Crown Prince's concubines mixed in.
However, Yinreng had been gone for three months, and to be honest, she missed him a little and was also worried about him being away for so long. With the baby's 100th day, she had a reason to write a letter; after all, she needed to let the child know that his father had grown up.
Cheng Qianyue asked someone to bring paper and pen, and began to write a letter in a flowing style. She first said that everything was fine on her end, then wrote about ordinary things. For example, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the kitchen received pomegranates, each the size of a palm. Breaking them open revealed ruby-like seeds, and the taste was seven parts sweet and three parts sour. She ate one, and fearing the rest wouldn't keep, she juiced the rest and drank it all. She wondered if he had eaten any pomegranates while he was away. Another example was that the weather was gradually getting cooler, and the Imperial Household Department sent over some fabrics. Among them was a particularly beautiful piece of satin, silver-red embroidered with flowers of the four seasons. She planned to use it to make winter clothes, so he could see them when he returned.
Then she began writing about the Third Prince. As the saying goes, "Three months to roll over, six months to sit, nine months to crawl," and the Third Prince was now a hundred days old, just the right time to learn to roll over. She laid him flat on the kang (heated brick bed), and watched as he whimpered and struggled to move, both hands straining. She didn't help, but clenched her fists and softly cheered him on. Then she saw the Third Prince roll over in one go, lift his head, and grin at her. Cheng Qianyue then described this event in detail, informing Yinreng that their child could lift his head and roll over.
After writing all that, the sheet of paper was gone. Cheng Qianyue took another sheet and began inquiring about Yinreng's days there. She asked him if the Mulan Hunting Grounds were fun, if he was hunting, what animals he had caught, like rabbits or foxes, and whether the sheep there were tasty, or as fragrant as those in the palace. Then she asked if he had used the things she had brought him, and if he had gotten sick, and if so, if he had seen the imperial physician. She then simply told him to have fun, just not to overwork himself or get sick, and that someone in the Forbidden City was waiting for him to return.
After finishing writing, Cheng Qianyue put down her pen and then asked someone to bring the Third Prince over. The boy eats and sleeps well and is now plump and healthy. She spends half a day playing with him every day.
"You little rascal, you've grown so fast! By the way, have you gotten fatter again?" She took the Third Prince from the wet nurse and weighed him in her hands. The Third Prince couldn't understand her words yet, he just looked at her and grinned. Cheng Qianyue took the unused letter paper to tease him, and he grabbed it and tried to stuff it into his mouth.
Cheng Qianyue took the paper from his hand and said softly, "I'm writing a letter to your father. Do you know what writing a letter means?" She gently tapped his little head and continued, "You definitely don't know." After a while, she smiled and asked, "Third Prince, do you want to write a letter to your father?"
She suddenly had a whimsical idea. She dipped a brush in ink and smeared it all over the Third Prince's little feet, then imprinted them on a piece of paper. The Third Prince giggled from the beginning, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and kicking his little feet incessantly, leaving a series of tiny footprints on the letter.
Cheng Qianyue called for water and, while wiping the Third Prince's feet with a handkerchief, said, "Put the letter away. Don't forget to put the paper with the Third Prince's little footprint in the envelope. Once it's packed, have someone deliver the letter to Yuqing Palace. But before that, don't forget to inform the Crown Princess in the main courtyard."
After giving the instructions, she focused on wiping the child's feet. A while later, Ruoyun came in to report: "Quanxi just came to report that the mistress's letter was taken by Granny Shuang. She said that the Crown Princess also wants to send a letter, and she will have someone send it to Yuqing Palace together."
Cheng Qianyue was playing the game "Should I eat your little feet?" with the Third Prince at the time, and upon hearing this, she casually replied, "Okay."
Two days later, the Third Prince officially celebrated his 100th day. Cheng Qianyue dressed the boy up early in the morning, putting him in a bright red jacket and trousers, making him look like a lucky doll.
She held a small bell and jingled it in front of him, then suddenly lifted it up just as he was about to grab it. After doing this two or three times, he finally managed to catch the bell and laughed heartily. The Third Prince never tired of this game, and Cheng Qianyue was happy to coax him.
Just then, Ruoyun walked over from the doorway and whispered, "Master, Consort Fan is here."
A short while later, Consort Fan entered, bowed, and explained her purpose: she had come to deliver a gift to the Third Prince for his 100th-day celebration. The gift was a gold lock with auspicious cloud patterns, from which a string of small gourds dangled. The lock was solid gold, heavy, and not meant for a child to wear but rather to be kept under the bed. It was clearly an expensive item.
Cheng Qianyue invited her to sit on the kang (heated brick bed), replaced the bell in her hand with the gold lock, and waved it in front of the Third Prince, saying softly, "Look, this is your Fan..." Sister? Aunt? Her mind raced for a moment before she continued, "It was given to you by your mother, Fan. Do you like it?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Fan showed gratitude and said softly, "As long as you and the Third Prince like it, then this golden lock is a blessing."
Cheng Qianyue smiled at her and said, "This child finds everything fascinating." She then continued to play with the gold lock to amuse the child. After a while, Cheng Qianyue suddenly realized, "Oh dear, I was so busy entertaining the child, why isn't Fan Gege saying anything?" She looked up at Fan Shi and saw her eating snacks on the kang table.
Because the Third Prince was to be placed there, the kang table, which was originally in the middle of the kang, was moved to the other side, right next to Consort Fan. On it were two plates of pastries, newly made dragon beard candy and osmanthus milk cake from the kitchen. At this moment, the plate of osmanthus milk cake was almost empty, and Consort Fan's hand was reaching for the dragon beard candy.
Cheng Qianyue then said to Ruoyun, "Go to the kitchen and get some milk tea." Then she said to Madam Fan, "Do you like these snacks? Or should I have someone bring two more plates?"
Madam Fan quickly removed her hands from the kang table, saying apologetically, "No need, no need, I'm sorry to have made you laugh." She pursed her lips and said softly, "There's an osmanthus tree in my yard, it smells sweet all year round." When she was little, she loved the scent of osmanthus, but she also hated sweeping the yard. Every time the osmanthus bloomed, the ground was covered with petals and stamens, which was incredibly difficult to clean. But now that she was in the palace and smelled this fragrance, she found that sweeping the yard at home was quite nice, so she unknowingly finished the plate of osmanthus cake.
Seeing that she had her head down, Cheng Qianyue asked softly, "Are you homesick?"
Madam Fan hummed in agreement, and then tears streamed down her face.
Cheng Qianyue: ... She felt that her mouth was really too annoying. She knew that the other person was homesick, but she still kept asking. Now, she made the other person cry.
She told the wet nurse to take the Third Prince to the east wing, then dismissed the servants in the room and said softly, "Don't cry, you'll see your family again someday." As she said this, she handed Fan a handkerchief.
After taking the handkerchief, Madam Fan covered her face with it, then slid off the kang (heated brick bed) and said in a deep voice, "Master Cheng, please save this servant." As she spoke, she was about to kowtow.
Cheng Qianyue was startled and quickly pulled her up, asking, "What's wrong?" Why did she suddenly kneel down and talk about saving her?
It was as if Madam Fan wanted to cry out all the bitterness and grievances of the past few days. Tears welled up like a spring as she cried and recounted the torment she had suffered over the past few months.
Cheng Qianyue initially thought it was a trivial matter, but the more she listened, the more something seemed off. After hearing the whole story, she frowned and said, "You're saying you've been eating cold food for three months?!"
In the sweltering summer, everyone complains that food is too hot, so how could there be cold dishes? Cheng Qianyue was about to say that it was impossible, but then she thought, how could it be impossible? Summer is hot, but there is ice, isn't there? I heard that a small underground storage room was dug in the north of the East Palace kitchen, which is specially used to store ice and make iced drinks.
Madam Fan said, "I could tolerate cold dishes and rice, but the Imperial Household Department sent over the charcoal allowance for October a few days ago, and it's already half gone." Cold food can be reheated, and salty food can be rinsed with water, but charcoal for winter is indispensable, as it's needed for boiling water and heating. If half the charcoal for October is gone, will there be less for the following months as well? Is she supposed to freeze to death in the palace during the dead of winter?
She thought to herself, she'd been eating cold food for months, and every month during her period she'd suffer from menstrual cramps. After all this time, her face was deathly pale, and she had to use powder to even begin to conceal it. She was already in this state, so why wouldn't the higher-ups let her go?
Cheng Qianyue said incredulously, "Are the people in the kitchen crazy or the people in the Imperial Household Department crazy?" No matter how bad Consort Fan is, she is still a consort of the Xiefang Palace, a mistress. Even if she is not favored, she still has to put on a show. How could she be so blatant as to cheat and withhold things?
Sobbing, Fan said, "It's not that they've gone mad, but that someone is deliberately trying to torment me."
Who is it?
"Yes...yes..." Fan Shi bit her lips until they turned white, her body trembling with fear. "It's Crown Princess Li Jia Shi, Lady Li."
Cheng Qianyue unconsciously glanced towards the backyard. Li Jia Shi? Why was she tormenting Fan Shi? She asked softly, "Did you offend her before?"
Madam Fan shook her head, sobbing uncontrollably. To be honest, she had no idea who she had offended until Liu's maid secretly left her a message by the window one night. Only then did she realize that the person tormenting her was actually Consort Li, the Crown Prince's concubine. She was stunned, because she didn't know what she had done wrong. But whatever the reason, she accepted it all. She only wanted to kowtow to Consort Li and apologize to avoid such suffering, but she couldn't even get through the gate to the west rear courtyard.
She wanted to find someone to plead for her, but Lady Liu avoided her, and even Lady Lin, the Crown Prince's consort, refused to see her. Finally, having exhausted all other options, she thought of begging Master Cheng. She simply couldn't endure those days of hardship and suffering any longer; she didn't want to freeze to death.
Seeing how pitiful she was, Cheng Qianyue said, "No matter what, what she did was really too much." Then she said, "Come, come with me to see the Crown Princess." She thought that if the Crown Princess knew that Fan was living such a miserable life, she would definitely take action.
Fan hurriedly grabbed Cheng Qianyue's sleeve and said tremblingly, "Please don't go, please don't go." She dared not say that she had offended the Crown Princess because of the matter of serving meals, so the Crown Princess was unwilling to interfere. She just kept begging Cheng Qianyue not to go to the main courtyard.
Cheng Qianyue sighed as she looked at Madam Fan. People in the palace valued their reputation, and perhaps Madam Fan was afraid that she would lose her dignity if she spoke out, which was why she was unwilling to make the matter public. Thinking about it this way, it must have taken a lot of courage for Madam Fan to come to her.
She said, "Now that I know, I certainly won't sit idly by." She gently comforted Madam Fan, "Don't go back to the backyard for dinner today. Eat lunch and dinner with me."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Madam Fan raised her head and gratefully hummed in agreement.
Cheng Qianyue then asked someone to fetch water for Fan Shi to wash her face and reapply her makeup. Just then, someone outside brought in milk tea and pastries. Cheng Qianyue invited Fan Shi to drink hot milk tea and eat pastries with her, and it took quite a while to slowly coax her back to her senses.
When it was time to eat, Cheng Qianyue thought to herself that it was still not proper for her to take charge, but Fan Shi did not dare to go to the main courtyard, so how could she let the Crown Princess know that Fan Shi was being treated unfairly?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com