The items in the Empress Dowager's bedroom are mostly in bright yellow and dark colors. The wisps of smoke that constantly drift by make one feel as if they have entered a Buddhist temple, and the restlessness in one's heart immediately subsides.
The Empress Dowager, who never left the palace, wore only a simple woman's hairstyle, with a swallowtail at the nape of her neck, and a jade hairpin tucked into her hair. She leaned against her couch, her eyes empty and lifeless. Her face was bare of makeup, and her sickly, weary appearance gave Yan Ning a vague feeling that the Empress Dowager might soon pass away, just as she herself had said.
Under Granny Man's guidance, Yan Ning knelt beside the Empress Dowager, smiling gently, hoping to add a touch of joy to the Empress Dowager's life.
The Empress Dowager gently stroked Yan Ning's hair and said to herself, "You look just like her!"
Yan Ning was startled; the Empress Dowager must be referring to the woman in the painting. "What does the Empress Dowager mean?" Yan Ning asked tentatively.
Granny Zhuang coughed lightly, and Yan Ning immediately fell silent, glancing at her as she stood beside the Empress Dowager, looking at her with a slightly annoyed expression.
Granny Zhuang, dressed in a plain, moon-blue cheongsam, whispered in the Empress Dowager's ear, which perfectly complemented the Empress Dowager's bright yellow nightgown. Despite the stark contrast in color, Yan Ning felt that the bond between the two, mistress and servant, was as solid as a rock.
Granny Zhuang gently reminded the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, have you forgotten again? Didn't you want to have a private conversation with Miss Yan Ning?"
Reminded by Granny Zhuang, the Empress Dowager gave a weak laugh. "I'm really getting senile!"
"Your Majesty is still young! Who dares to say you're senile!" Granny Zhuang said with a smile to the Empress Dowager.
Yan Ning gazed at Granny Zhuang, who was nearing seventy, knowing that she must have been with the Empress Dowager for quite some time. She must also know the person the Empress Dowager had just mentioned. Her actions just now were probably an attempt to help the Empress Dowager cover something up.
Granny Zhuang coughed lightly again, and Yan Ning snapped out of her daze and continued Granny Zhuang's words: "The Empress Dowager is not old at all. In all my life, this is the first time I have seen someone of the Empress Dowager's age who is so healthy!" Yan Ning could not learn the euphemisms used in the palace, so she could only speak in plain language.
Unexpectedly, it amused the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor had probably heard too much flattery and shrewd talk, and it was the ordinary words of common people that resonated with them more.
After the Empress Dowager's laughter subsided, silence returned. After a long while, she slowly spoke, "Do you know why I kept you in the palace?"
Yan Ning honestly shook her head; she truly didn't know. But being able to sit in the Empress Dowager's seat, Yan Ning knew she must be extraordinary, and dared not rashly guess her thoughts.
Do you know the relationship between the Emperor and Kang'er?
Yan Ning hadn't expected the Empress Dowager to ask this, and was momentarily stunned, unsure how to answer. Since any answer would be wrong, Yan Ning could only remain silent, letting the Empress Dowager continue.
“Kang’er is a prince raised in the Fucha family!” The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, and Granny Man immediately picked up the jade bowl on the table and fed the Empress Dowager a few sips of ginseng soup.
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, her deeply lined face twitching slightly, as if she were resting or preparing her words. "It is I who have wronged Wanhui, wronged Kang'er. Otherwise, the future..."
Realizing she had said something she shouldn't have, the Empress Dowager fell silent. Then, she slowly spoke again, "This is a secret within the royal court!" With that one sentence, Yan Ning understood that she could only memorize the Empress Dowager's words from today, and must not utter them aloud.
Yan Ning nodded quickly.
The Empress Dowager stroked Yan Ning's hair, "I can see Kang'er's feelings for you. If I keep you in the palace, Kang'er will inevitably come to visit! This will give him more opportunities to meet with the Prince. Over the years, the Prince has been unable to let go of Wan Hui and Kang'er! I am getting younger every day I live. I don't want the Prince to carry the guilt in his heart because of my past mistakes!"
From the Empress Dowager's words, Yan Ning understood that she was being asked to act as a peacemaker and bring Fukang'an and the Emperor closer. In Yan Ning's view, the Emperor had always wanted to treat Fukang'an as a son, while Fukang'an had always strictly adhered to the formalities between ruler and subject towards the Emperor.
Yan Ning held the Empress Dowager's hand as if she were an ordinary old woman, and smiled gently, "Yan Ning will do her best!" Yan Ning secretly rejoiced that she had transmigrated and knew about the Emperor's romantic history; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to glean the gist of the matter from the Empress Dowager's incoherent words. Having lived her entire life in the harem, the Empress Dowager truly regarded her as one of those palace concubines who could discern a person's true nature from the slightest whisper in someone else's ear.
The Empress Dowager wore a smile, her eyes blinking intermittently; at that moment, she resembled an eighty-year-old woman.
As dawn broke, the gates of Cining Palace opened. The concubines, dressed in elegant flowerpot shoes, gracefully entered. The Empress Dowager instructed Yan Ning and Granny Zhuang to greet them outside the palace, so that Yan Ning could familiarize herself with the concubines and serve the Emperor in the future. While waiting at the gate, Granny Zhuang informed Yan Ning...
With no master in the harem, the only three consorts who held the highest rank and seniority and were favored by the emperor were Consort Shu, Consort Rong, and Consort Dun.
Consort Rong had no children.
Consort Shu's son died young at the age of three, and from that time onwards, Consort Shu's health deteriorated day by day, and she could only barely hold on to it.
Consort Dun gave birth to a daughter. The emperor was over sixty years old when he had his daughter and doted on her immensely.
To avoid disturbing the Empress Dowager's peace, only these three concubines came to Cining Palace to pay their respects on behalf of the other concubines each day.
Yan Ning followed behind Granny Zhuang and curtsied to the three ladies. Consort Shu immediately stepped forward and pulled Granny Zhuang back. "Granny Zhuang is of advanced age and truly deserves our respect. Granny Zhuang, please don't make us sisters feel uncomfortable in the future!"
Consort Rong, her long, curved eyelashes fluttering, echoed Consort Shu, saying, "Sister Consort Shu is absolutely right!" Consort Dun, however, remained unmoved.
Granny Zhuang, who had been helped up by Consort Shu, glanced at Consort Dun, and then said to Consort Shu and Consort Rong, "The Empress Dowager is unwell, please return!"
Consort Shu and Consort Rong instructed Granny Zhuang to take good care of the Empress Dowager. Afterwards, the three concubines bowed in the direction of the Empress Dowager's bed and returned by the same route.
Consort Rong took a few steps, then turned back to look at Yan Ning, giving her a sweet smile. This sparked Yan Ning's curiosity about this exceptionally beautiful lady from the frontier.
Not long after the three empresses left, the chief eunuch announced loudly outside the bedchamber, "General Fucha pays his respects to the Empress Dowager!"
Granny Zhuang smiled at Yan Ning, then walked to the palace gate and replied, "Granted!"
Just as Fukang'an knelt outside the curtain, the chief eunuch shouted loudly from outside the palace gate, "Lord Heshen pays his respects to the Empress Dowager!" A hint of displeasure flashed in Fukang'an's eyes.
Seeing the Empress Dowager nod slightly, Granny Zhuang lifted the curtain, walked to the palace entrance, and replied, "Granted!"
After Heshen got up, the Empress Dowager's weak and aged voice came from behind the curtain, "What wind has blown today that you all rushed to see this old woman!"
Yan Ning looked at the Empress Dowager, who was struggling to speak, and her heart ached. At this age, it was truly as she had said, every day she lived was a year less. In just one day, the Empress Dowager's appearance and spirit were vastly different from yesterday.
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