Chapter 80 I will miss you if I’m obsessed with you
Xun Huan became a female official in the Ministry of Music. Many people in the palace did not expect this. At first, they all thought that it was a foregone conclusion that the emperor would take her as his concubine.
With the passing of a prominent figure, Chengluan Palace suddenly lost a lot of its popularity. When Xun Huan first arrived, Suoying and Doukou were both snorting and glaring, looking at her like she was a plague, but now they were both thinking of her.
Doukou spent the whole morning in the small kitchen preparing snacks for lunch. The spring weather was still chilly, and eating some hot cakes, soup and cheese warmed her body.
When the food was served, he was still wondering whether to give Xun Huan a portion as well: "I don't know how good the food at Liu Shang is. It may not be as good as our small kitchen. Look at these flower-shaped rice cakes and rose cheese!"
Qingzan sat on the porch, reading in the sun, a fur blanket covering her knees. She picked up a piece of red bean paste-filled glutinous rice dumpling. The outer layer of the glutinous rice dumpling was a translucent, crystal-clear glutinous rice dumpling, and the filling was easily recognizable. She took a bite and said, "Didn't you dislike me back then?"
Doukou said embarrassedly, "Even though he only stayed for a few days, he is still a person who left our Chengluan Palace after all."
She ran to add some water to the parrot's bowl. When she came back, she saw that the parrot had finished the yogurt and had eaten several pieces of glutinous rice cake. She muttered, "They say sour food is good for boys and spicy food is good for girls, but why does the parrot always like to eat sweets?"
Chan Yi, who was carrying a bamboo basket of dried starfruits out to dry, heard this and joined in with a smile, "The idea of 'sour boy, spicy girl' means that a pregnant woman's taste buds change. Someone who normally enjoys a bland diet might suddenly develop a craving for sour or spicy foods. But it doesn't mean that those who prefer sour foods are expecting a daughter, or those who prefer spicy foods are expecting a son."
Doukou was now extremely worried: "So that's what you mean? Imperial Physician Lin is the most skilled physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau, and even he can't figure it out. Is there really no way to find out?"
Qingzan hadn't told anyone else about the bet with the emperor, but Doukou was even more eager to know the outcome than she was. She smiled and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Doukou came over carrying the birdcage: "This servant is thinking that when the master makes small clothes and shoes, it would be easier for her to choose patterns and colors, instead of having to choose those plain and dull colors."
She opened the cage door. The two green parrots were now well-trained. Once out of the cage, they would hover in the corridor, sometimes even stepping on people's shoulders when they were naughty. The parrots flapped their wings and flew around, calling out, "Qingzan, Qingzan, I wish you a happy Lantern Festival! I wish you a happy Lantern Festival!"
Doukou finally believed that they were just parrots and could not understand the meaning of the words at all. She sighed and said, "They are really stupid. They didn't even know that the Lantern Festival was over."
The parrot then imitated her voice and said, "You are such an idiot! You didn't even know that the Lantern Festival has already passed."
Doukou immediately became angry with the two birds and chased them to hit their heads. The corridor was in chaos for a while.
Qingzan couldn't help feeling melancholy. How long could this kind of life last?
She chose those plain colors because if she gave birth to a little princess, she could leave the palace. After leaving the palace, it would be inappropriate to use expensive dragon and phoenix patterns, as it would not be suitable for her status.
By then, she would find a house in the suburbs of Beijing, be able to visit her mother regularly, take her daughter out for an outing to admire the flowers in the spring, and go boating and pick lotus flowers in the summer. Her daughter would eventually be able to live the life she had never lived.
If she could take the money she saved with her, she would open a few charity houses in her mother's name to shelter orphans and the elderly. In her own way, she could let the world remember her mother's name.
But everything in the palace, these friends... and the emperor, I probably won't see them again in this life.
*
Yesterday, at the Emperor's birthday banquet, the concubines performed their art and, as is customary, were rewarded. Everyone was beaming with joy, but the Emperor seemed uninterested, a fact that caught the Empress Dowager's eye and caused her further concern. Today, it was revealed that the Emperor had just arrived from Chengluan Palace, so she summoned Xun Huan to her side.
Xun Huan wore a dark red short jacket with a round collar, a floral shawl, and her hair was combed into a high bun, which was the most common style for female officials.
The Queen Mother said to Nanny Lian, "Look, your niece looks really like a real lady dressed up like this."
He then asked Xun Huan, "How have you been living in Chengluan Palace these days? Did you see the Emperor yesterday?"
Xun Huan approached and sat down beside the empress dowager. "Huan'er is fine. Concubine Ying is very easy to get along with. But Your Majesty should worry less. I heard from my aunt that you didn't sleep well for several nights because of the princess. You can't rely on your age to worry so much. If you have white hair one day, no matter how beautiful your appearance is, it will be useless!"
The Queen Mother was so flattered by her praise that she smiled and said, "You're indirectly calling me a nosy old lady!"
She knew in her heart that she could not get any more information out of Xun Huan, but the Queen Mother had other ways. The maidservant beside Xun Huan was given to her by herself.
After calling the person over and asking, the empress dowager found out that the emperor had actually set up a wedding hall for people in Baoyuyou Pavilion!
The emperor’s wife has always been the empress.
This is a heartfelt expression of love, which has completely disregarded the ancestral etiquette and the majesty and restraint of the emperor.
Taking advantage of the evening, he guessed that the emperor should have finished reading the memorials, so he hurriedly called everyone to the Ziquan Palace for dinner.
The Queen Mother brought up the question she had asked before: "Now that the great title has been given, what position do you plan to give Qingzan after she gives birth safely? Now that we have Consort Shu and Consort Hui among the Four Consorts, I think she would be suitable to be Consort Xian."
The emperor was about to pick up his chopsticks, but put them down again: "Xianfei?"
"I don't need her to be 'virtuous'."
"With her status, wouldn't it be a joke if she became the head of the Four Concubines? Even if she is the daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, she is still an illegitimate daughter." After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she thought of something and reluctantly gave in, "Well, if you really like her, then you can be the Imperial Concubine."
The emperor nodded and said, "Let's change her title. What do you think of 'Chen'?"
The Empress Dowager nearly slammed the table and stood up, her beautiful face furrowed with thick eyebrows. "Noble Consort Chen? The word Chen means the throne. How can a mere concubine be worthy of it? Why did you have to choose this? Yi, Hua, and Luan are both characters. I won't reject your opinion."
The emperor had more in mind, "I think since we are promoting her to Noble Consort first and then conferring her the title of Empress, the character 'Chen' is the most appropriate and fitting name."
The emperor just revealed his intention to appoint someone as his empress. The empress dowager was so angry that she rubbed her chest and said, "Isn't it possible that the eldest son's biological mother's contributions to running the six harems and taking care of the affairs for you, are not worth a little love?"
The emperor remained silent for a long time. He simply stood up, left the table, and turned his back to the empress dowager, seemingly pacing for a moment before suddenly saying, "My queen, are you aware that many scholars have recently been demanding a thorough investigation of the Duan family?"
Of course, the Queen Mother had heard about this. She was still furious and didn't want to discuss anything else with him, but she still asked in confusion, "So what? The Duan family is truly unreliable. Marrying Duan Lanzhen was an injustice to you. Fortunately, her position as Queen has been abolished, so it's time to choose another virtuous woman."
The Emperor said, "Early this morning, an old doctor came to the imperial court in Beijing and told me he had a clue to the assassination of the late Emperor. Queen Mother, do you know that he once treated my father?"
The Empress Dowager recalled, "Your father was sent to the Eastern Palace by Duan Ruoxu, but his wounds had already been bandaged and the bleeding had stopped. I guess this was the doctor the Duan family hired back then?"
The Emperor turned around, his eyes stern, and asked, "Then, Queen Mother, do you know that the old doctor said that the one who sent Father to his clinic was actually a woman?"
The Queen Mother had just stood up, but upon hearing this, she immediately staggered back to her seat.
When the late emperor woke up in the East Palace, he heard that a scholar named Duan Ruoxu had sent him back. The late emperor personally met with the scholar and later verified the time and place when he rescued him. They matched his memory, so naturally he no longer had any doubts about the matter.
She couldn't believe it: "Could it be that there was someone else who saved your father?"
The emperor continued to explain the whole story -
At that time, Duan Ruoxu gave the clinic a large sum of hush money, asked them to move to the south thousands of miles away, and arranged for the family's youngest son to work in the marquis's mansion.
If the Duan family had not fallen, and if the public was not outraged and scholars were not rising up, this person would not have dared to tell the truth and risk being accused of deceiving the emperor.
Of course, what he dared not do even more was disobey the imperial order.
When the Emperor mentioned that the woman who had truly saved the late Emperor was Duan Ruoxu's concubine, who also had a daughter, the Empress Dowager had already connected everything. Besides the Emperor, she was the only one in the palace who knew about the connection between Qing Zan and the Duan family.
The Emperor did not tell the Empress Dowager that this matter had been exposed. From beginning to end, including the arrangement of the doctor, he had arranged it himself. He only asked: "Who do you think I should make my empress now, mother?"
The Queen Mother looked dazed, with tears in her eyes, as if she was trapped in an old memory or an old friend, unable to escape. She also seemed to be filled with shock, remorse, and guilt, and her mood was unclear.
"What an injustice! What an injustice...!"
If this matter were to get out, I wonder how many people would laugh at the late emperor!
But now the court is in an uproar. First, many people advocated a strong investigation, and then the doctor went to the court to petition. Now, the innocent will be vindicated, and the evildoers will suffer the consequences.
Everything is God's will.
After a long while, the Queen Mother finally said weakly, "What you owe others must be repaid."
I'm afraid that just being a queen is far from enough.
*
On the first day of February, the weather was clear and sunny. The spring clothes Qingzan had made in advance last year were no longer wide enough to wear, even after being loosened a few fingers. She had to cut the material and patch it with other fabrics. According to Doukou, it would be better to save them for after giving birth and make a few new ones.
Qingzan thought that she might not be able to wear these clothes in the future, and she didn't want to waste manpower and effort to make new ones, so she took the clothes and altered them herself, making a particularly bright multi-pleated skirt in silver, red and sapphire blue.
Concubine Hui has been vigorously investigating people in the palace who have come into contact with plum blossoms these days. Because Xun Huan sent a large bunch of red plums to Zhaoshui Palace, the palace maids were called to Ruizhu Palace for questioning. When they came back, they were all discussing the fact that Marquis Yongning had been stripped of his title, and they walked in chattering.
One person said, "I heard that the person who saved the late emperor was a woman, and she is no longer alive. I don't know how to make amends. I can't posthumously confer the title of female marquis on her."
Another person asked, "How do you know it's a woman? Don't tell me, what's her name and where is she from?"
Qingzan had changed into that eye-catching two-toned long dress today and was pulled to the center of the main hall by Doukou, who called on everyone to come and surround her and praise her. Unexpectedly, she happened to hear these two words, and when she raised her head again, she said proudly, "Shuyun, her name is Shuyun."
The palace servants gathered around with a smile, "Master, how did you know? You haven't been out for the past two days, yet you're so well-informed!"
Qingzan smiled and was thinking about how surprised they would be if she told them that she was Shuyun's daughter at this moment. Then, the eunuchs' chanting could be heard outside:
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
*
In the inner hall, Qingzan sat in front of the mirror, Xiao Fang stood behind her and pinned a newly opened forsythia on the foot of her bun. The small stamens were goose yellow and looked lively and lovely.
Xiao Fang asked, "There are only three months left at most. Are you really so cruel that you plan to separate from me?"
Qing Zan thought he was going to go back on his word, so while looking in the mirror, she said, "Didn't we agree to leave everything to fate?"
Xiao Fang suddenly hugged her around the waist, supported her knees, and lifted her up high. He suddenly turned her around so that she sat facing him on the dressing table. He leaned in to look at her and said, "If fate doesn't go as I wish, will you miss me?"
Qingzan raised her eyes.
These past few days, she'd heard the palace gossip about her mother and the Duan family. Perhaps within two days, the truth would finally be revealed. She knew better than anyone else that from the ministers' petitions to the public outrage, the late emperor's supposed will, and the doctor's sudden resurgence, every step was orchestrated by the emperor.
I once felt resentment and disappointment towards him, but naturally I also felt gratitude and guilt. Whether it was love or hate, the old scars were destined to be hard to erase.
But at the time, she was so overwhelmed by this shocking secret that she forgot he was also a son. And the fact that Yongning Hou recognized the late emperor's then-crown prince and sent him back to the Eastern Palace did not mean he had no merit in saving the late emperor.
Filial piety and righteousness, love and gratitude, he probably hasn't had an easy time these days, right?
Qing Zan gently rubbed the emperor's nose: "Maybe he will think about it."
The emperor raised his hands and held them behind her head: "That's it? But I have been missing you so much, yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
His kisses fell densely, carrying with them the madness and obsession of a long absence.
Thinking that they might be separated, Qingzan no longer hid, allowing herself to become the water on the shore, flooding again when it was about to dry up.
The jewel box and precious ornaments were scattered all over the floor. The emperor held the person's face, gently stroking it with his fingertips, and then forcefully grabbed it with his thin lips, as if he wanted to rub the person into his bones and blood.
The royal blue and silver-red skirt was pulled down, but not completely. It lay under the fair snow-white skin, wrinkled and wet, like the receptacle of a flower in the rain, sad and beautiful, even more eye-catching than when it was shiny and tidy.
The mirror behind him was shaking, and the small and exquisite winter jasmine flower fell on his ear bone and hung there nervously. Xiao Fang held it in his mouth, picked it up, and branded it on a fragrant hill with his lips, letting it sway and flutter, and finally slide into some deserted place.
The moment the emperor carried her down and turned her over, Qingzan raised her eyes hazily and saw herself in the mirror. She said in a trembling voice, "Go to the couch..."
"Right here. You're already pregnant, so I won't hurt you." Xiao Fang laughed hoarsely, "You just need to stand there. I'll take care of everything else."
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