Chapter 70 Whispering and Reporting When Yinreng left Changchun Garden, he was...
When Yinreng came out of Changchun Garden at dusk, he found only a sedan chair outside the carriage area and frowned, asking, "Where are the Crown Princess and Crown Consort's sedan chairs?"
The sedan bearers standing guard nearby hurriedly replied, "The Crown Princess and the Crown Consort returned to the West Garden after noon."
Yinreng wondered if something had happened at Changchun Garden, and why they had returned to Xiyuan so early. Therefore, the first thing he did upon returning was to see the Crown Princess. However, as soon as he arrived at Duanben Hall, a servant reported that the Crown Princess was not there but had gone to the First Princess's Fanghua Terrace.
Thinking of his eldest daughter, Wulinzhu, Yinreng couldn't help but sigh. His daughter had seemed quite healthy when she was little, but in the last two years she had grown increasingly frail. While she wasn't sick every few days, she would fall ill every few months, especially during the changing seasons or when the temperature fluctuated greatly. Recently, perhaps due to catching a chill, Wulinzhu had fallen ill.
Yinreng walked towards Fanghua Terrace to the north. As soon as he entered, he faintly heard the eldest princess, Wulinzhu, crying. He frowned at the people guarding the door and did not let them in to announce his arrival.
Inside the room, the Crown Princess felt a pang of sadness seeing her daughter's tears streaming down her face. She whispered, "Wulinzhu, don't cry. Look carefully at your eyes."
Wulinzhu said, "Mother, I'll be better soon. Once I'm better, can I go to the garden to see Grandma Wukuma and Grandfather?"
The Crown Princess sighed. Seeing that Wulinzhu was already seven years old, and if you counted her age by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, she would be eight and a young lady. So she decided to take her to the garden to meet people. Everything had been agreed upon, and Wulinzhu had vowed to serve the Empress Dowager well in the garden. But who knew that Wulinzhu would fall ill just before the Golden Offering Festival?
Today, she had intended to mention Wulinzhu to the Empress Dowager, but after the Eighth Prince's wife's witty remarks, she didn't get a chance to speak. She thought she could bring it up again after serving the Empress Dowager a short rest, but to her surprise, the Empress Dowager didn't ask her to serve her.
The Crown Princess felt that this year was truly unlucky. She took a handkerchief and wiped away Wulinzhu's tears, saying as she did so, "There are still many days ahead. Why don't you wait until you recover and sew some handkerchiefs to present to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, okay?"
Ulinzhu nodded heavily in agreement, “Mother, I’ll be done soon. I will definitely embroider some handkerchiefs for Grandma Ukuma and Grandfather before the New Year.”
The Crown Princess smiled at her and said, "Good child."
Yinreng couldn't bear to listen any longer. He thought he didn't need his sick child to flatter him outside. He lifted the curtain blocking the door and went in, saying in a deep voice, "Illness comes like a landslide and goes like pulling silk. Getting well is the most important thing. Why embroider a handkerchief?"
The Crown Princess was surprised that the Crown Prince had overheard everything, and she quickly stood up and bowed.
Yinreng raised his hand to her, then sat down on the chair brought by the servants, looked at Wulinzhu on the bed and said, "Your Wukuma Mama and Imperial Grandfather have plenty of handkerchiefs. They would be heartbroken if they knew you were doing needlework before you were fully recovered. Not only would they be heartbroken, but I would be too."
Upon hearing this, Wulinzhu burst into tears again.
Yinreng summoned the eldest princess's wet nurse for questioning, and in a deep voice instructed her to serve her diligently, and ordered that she not be allowed to touch needlework until the eldest princess's health was fully restored next spring.
After a while, once Wulinzhu had taken her medicine, Yinreng and the Crown Princess returned to Duanbentang. Yinreng asked, "Did something happen at Changchun Garden today?"
The Crown Princess paused, recalling how the Eighth Prince's wife had raised an eyebrow and smiled at her earlier that afternoon. She suppressed her displeasure, shook her head, and said with a relaxed expression, "It's nothing serious. It's just that the Empress Dowager wasn't feeling well and asked us to come back early."
Yinreng knew that the Crown Princess would not complain in front of others, so he did not ask in detail. He changed the subject and talked about the eldest princess, "The following months are the coldest time of winter and there are many important occasions. Even if Wulinzhu has recovered from her illness, she is still weak. We should not let her go out this year."
The Crown Princess was taken aback, torn between two conflicting emotions. She cared about Wulinzhu's health, but she was even more concerned about whether she could gain the favor of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor and have a bright future.
However, on this matter, Yinreng did not give the Crown Princess any room for discussion, but made the final decision: "It's settled then. In this freezing weather, have people light more charcoal braziers at Fanghua Terrace."
The Crown Princess lowered her eyes and could only say yes. After Yinreng left, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Have the nanny read a couple more books to Wulinzhu before and after the New Year."
After leaving Duanbentang, Yinreng headed towards Donglizhai. On the way, he instructed his subordinates, "Hongxi and Hongjin will be back from Wuyizhai soon. Send someone to check on them."
Chen He responded and glanced to the side. Jing Shun immediately led a young eunuch behind him toward Taoyuan Bookstore.
Yinreng arrived at Donglizhai and bumped into Cheng Qianyue, who was in the courtyard. He frowned and asked, "Why don't you come inside in this cold weather?"
When Cheng Qianyue saw him coming, all she could think about was him. She walked into the house with him, saying, "Come in, come in." As she spoke, she looked at his face and sensed that he was in a bad mood.
Once they reached the kang (heated brick bed) in the room, Yinreng asked directly, "How was your day at Changchun Garden? Did anything happen?"
Cheng Qianyue pursed her lips, a slight blush appearing on her face. Yinreng wasn't in a hurry, slowly picking up his teacup to moisten his throat. Sure enough, in no time, Cheng Qianyue started babbling on and on like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
"How could she do this?" Cheng Qianyue said angrily, unconsciously slapping the table on the couch. "Although I don't want to talk badly about people behind their backs, what she did was really too much."
Yinreng asked, "Who is it?"
Cheng Qianyue said, "Eighth Princess Consort! She's enjoying herself immensely with the Empress Dowager. That's fine, she's just trying to please the Empress Dowager and the other ladies, but she's openly and secretly undermining the Crown Princess."
Cheng Qianyue was unhappy just thinking about what happened at noon. In her eyes, the Crown Princess was one of her and Yinreng's family. The Eighth Prince's wife disrespecting the Crown Princess in front of the Empress Dowager and the other concubines was disrespecting the Eastern Palace. More importantly, these were all trivial matters, making a mountain out of a molehill, and there was no way to reason with anyone about them. But like a toad jumping on your foot, it doesn't bite but it's still annoying, making you feel sullen and uncomfortable.
Yinreng put down his teacup, and his face darkened.
Cheng Qianyue breathed a sigh of relief. After she had calmed down, she became concerned about him and asked, "Are you alright up ahead?" As the saying goes, husband and wife are one, and she didn't believe that the Eighth Prince's wife was acting so domineeringly without the Eighth Prince's instigation!
Yinreng grinned, looking like a pufferfish about to be fried. Cheng Qianyue knew he probably wasn't having an easy time either. She took his hand and whispered, "Let them be. What can we do when the Emperor likes them now?"
Yinreng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Yes, His Majesty has high hopes for them." He emphasized the words "high hopes."
Cheng Qianyue pondered for a moment, then asked softly, "Was it because Eighth Prince got involved in what happened before?" She paused, then added, "Or is it because the Emperor is going to promote Eighth Prince?"
Yinreng was surprised that Cheng Qianyue guessed correctly, and smiled, asking, "How did you figure that out?"
Cheng Qianyue muttered, "Wasn't Fourth Master and the others following the same path last year?" If it weren't for something Eighth Master did, or the Emperor wanting to promote him, everyone wouldn't be praising their family like this.
For some reason, these words struck a chord with Yinreng, who said in a deep voice, "The whole family is full of scheming and opportunistic swindlers!" Then he began to criticize the Eighth Prince, saying that the Eighth Prince had risen to power by stepping on Prince Zhi, and had won over most of the people who had supported Prince Zhi. He added that the Eighth Prince might have been plotting to undermine Prince Zhi even before Prince Zhi fell from power. Then he started to berate the Eighth Prince's wife, saying that she was like her father, and that her father had been killed for violating the Emperor's ban on gambling and cracking down on powerful officials. He concluded that the Eighth Prince's wife's character was just like her father's. He also took the opportunity to criticize the Eighth Prince's wife's maternal grandparents' family—the An Prince's Mansion—for its sordid affairs.
The series of words seemed to expose the true nature of the Eighth Prince and his wife.
As Cheng Qianyue listened to his rant, she couldn't help but nod in agreement, agreeing that he was right to scold her. Oh my god, it felt so good to hear!
After speaking at length, Yinreng slowly stopped, his displeasure easing considerably. Then he realized he shouldn't have said that, so he coughed twice and said, "Alright, let's not talk about them on such a wonderful day."
Cheng Qianyue hummed in agreement and said, "Yes, let's not talk about it anymore."
Yinreng picked up his cup and took another sip of tea. He then changed the subject and said softly, "It's getting cold. You and the Third Prince should take care. Remember to wear cloaks when you go out and avoid the cold wind."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Cheng Qianyue stood up abruptly and slapped her forehead: "Oh no, I forgot about the Third Prince."
She was in a bad mood when she came back, so she thought she would play with her son to amuse herself. She told the Third Prince that she wanted to play hide-and-seek with him, he would hide and she would find. She had just been in the courtyard to give the Third Prince time to hide, but as soon as Yinreng came, she completely forgot about the Third Prince!
Yinreng was exasperated by her incoherent ramblings. "Look at the way she's been acting as a mother!" he thought. He jumped up and said, "Find her quickly."
Cheng Qianyue went to the east side room, while Yinreng went to the west side in the opposite direction. Yinreng thought that the child was probably hiding under the bed in the inner room while playing hide-and-seek, but as soon as he reached the main hall, he heard Cheng Qianyue say, "Ah, found him."
Yinreng turned around and saw Cheng Qianyue crouching near the pillar separating the east and west wings, leading the Third Prince out from behind the gauze curtain. The Third Prince grinned and shouted, "Mother!" Then he ran to Yinreng's side. In the blink of an eye, he hugged Yinreng's leg, looked up, and said in a drawn-out voice, "Father, Mother hasn't been able to find me for so long, hehe."
Yinreng reached out and picked up the boy, glancing at the guilty Cheng Qianyue beside him. He thought to himself, "It's not that your mother didn't find you, but that she never even thought of looking for you. She forgot about you as soon as she saw me." He touched the boy's chin and praised him, "Yes, Father's Third Prince is really good at hiding."
Cheng Qianyue: ...Hiding my ass! The Third Prince is standing behind the pillar. It's true that the gauze curtain covers his upper body, but his legs and feet are exposed. She saw him as soon as she entered the east side room.
However, she was relieved to find the child. After sitting down, she said, "Why have you been here for so long without saying a word?" She and Yinreng had been talking on the kang in the east room for so long, she didn't know how much the child had heard.
The Third Prince can now speak in both long and short sentences quite fluently, and he has a smug look on his face. "You can't talk while playing hide-and-seek, otherwise Mother will find me very soon."
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but pinch his nose. "You, you're such a clever little devil."
After the Golden Banquet Festival comes the Winter Solstice, and after the Winter Solstice, the Lunar New Year is just around the corner. And then Cheng Qianyue's jinx really came true. Before New Year's Day, the Emperor indeed bestowed a title upon the Eighth Prince, appointing him as the Prince of Lian and sending him to take up a post in the Ministry of Revenue after the New Year.
Cheng Qianyue watched as Yinreng sat at the table with a displeased expression. She gently added a spoonful of soup to his bowl. After seeing that the Third Prince had almost finished eating the minced meat noodles in his bowl, she casually picked up a piece of stewed pork ribs for him.
The Third Prince looked up at her and smiled, then hugged the bone and started gnawing on it. Cheng Qianyue patted his head: "Good boy, your father doesn't seem to be in a good mood. Don't make a fuss, just eat your food."
Yinreng downed the soup in his bowl in one gulp, as if it were wine. He thought to himself, "You're a prince, so you're in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, huh? Nothing lasts forever. I'll see how long you can keep up this smugness!"
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Author's Note: Here's a summary of the titles used in this article:
Uku Mama: Great-grandmother (the imperial grandsons' term for the Empress Dowager).
Guo Luo Mama: Maternal grandmother (the Third Prince's term for Lady Xitala).
Mafa: Grandfather (the term used by the emperor's grandsons to address Emperor Kangxi)
Mama: Grandmother (the term used by the grandson of the emperor to refer to the concubines of Emperor Kangxi, who were his own grandmothers).
Amma: Father
Mother
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