After bidding farewell to Xiang'er at Furong Garden, Fukang'an returned to Jianguozhai and was deeply shocked to see Yan Ning wearing a peacock feather robe. He gestured for Zhu Xiang to be quiet and gently put his arm around Yan Ning's waist.
Yan Ning was trying on the peacock feather robe to see if it fit when someone pulled her into their arms. She was startled at first, then realized it was Fukang'an. She gently stroked Fukang'an's face and said tenderly, "How about I dance for the general?" Since she would have to dance sooner or later, Yan Ning would rather let Fukang'an see her dance first, and besides, she didn't know if she would ever see him again after he left.
Fukang'an had no idea Yan Ning could dance. He released Yan Ning and sat down in the main seat. His eyes were slightly glazed. "Good!"
Yan Ning lifted her skirt with one hand and made a peacock beak shape with the other, just as she bent down. A soldier rushed in, "General, something terrible has happened! The old lady is injured!" Yan Ning was so shocked that she forgot what she was about to do. Fukang'an had already gotten up and went out to meet the soldier.
After inquiring about the situation in detail, Fukang'an hurriedly left Jiangongzhai with that person.
When Yan Ning changed her clothes and arrived at the Peony Hall, it was already in complete chaos. Maids and nannies went in carrying clean water, but came out carrying bloody water. Zhao Xing stood guard outside the main room, his clothes soaked with anxiety. If anything happened to the old lady, Zhao Xing would be dead. The soldiers guarding Qingyun Temple were all kneeling in the courtyard.
Seeing the scene, Yan Ning knew the old lady was seriously injured, so she hurried to the main room to see if there was anything she could help with. Only Xi Ying was directing the maids and nannies bustling about; Fukang'an was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Fukang'an?"
Xi Ying glanced at Yan Ning and said in a calm tone, "The general has gone to the palace to fetch the imperial physician!"
Upon entering, Yan Ning noticed a long, bloody welt on the old lady's back, from which blood was flowing continuously. The doctors, disregarding any taboos between men and women, were all using their skills to stop the bleeding.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor saw Fukang'an kneeling on the ground and was slightly angry. "Didn't I order you to set off immediately? Why are you still in the capital?"
Fukang'an's grief turned into sobs, "My mother has been injured and her life hangs in the balance! I have come to the palace to beg Your Majesty to send a royal physician to my home!"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor stood up in alarm and said to the eunuch beside him, "Wu Shulai, convey my imperial decree: the best physicians from the Imperial Hospital must go to the Fucha residence. If they cannot cure the old lady of the Fucha family, I will take their heads!"
Fukang'an rushed back to the Peony Hall with four imperial physicians and drove all the doctors in the city out.
The old lady was over fifty years old. Although she was nourished by the best medicines every day, the imperial physicians were still drenched in cold sweat.
It took the best physicians from the four Imperial Medical Academies half a day to stop the bleeding for the old lady. Although she was unconscious, her life was no longer in danger. Because of the imperial decree, the physicians remained in the hall, not daring to be careless, while the old lady was still asleep.
Fukang'an was worried that Yan Ning would be too tired the next day and might be disrespectful to the Empress Dowager, so he told her to go back to Jian Gong Zhai to rest. Yan Ning realized that she couldn't help at all, so she listened to Fukang'an and went back.
The next day, the sky was dotted with stars. Fukang'an sent someone to wake Yan Ning and prepare a carriage for her, with Zhao Xing and Zhu Xiang accompanying her. After a short preparation, Yan Ning boarded the carriage. Her heart pounded all the way.
The carriage stopped at Xihua Gate, and Zhao Xing loosened the reins, waiting for the eunuch who had come to meet him. As dawn broke, someone came out of the palace, and Zhao Xing hurriedly ran over and asked, "Are you an official in the Empress Dowager's palace, sir?"
The visitor nodded, and Zhao Xing beckoned to Zhu Xiang, who quickly picked up a bundle. From the bundle, she took out five brocade pouches filled with silver and handed them to Zhao Xing. Zhao Xing gave each of the five eunuchs a small token of his appreciation, saying, “Gentlemen, you have worked hard! This is a small token of our general’s appreciation. Miss Yan Ning is our general’s new wife. The general was unable to attend due to other commitments and specifically instructed me to take good care of you. We hope you will all treat my wife well.”
The head eunuch chuckled shrilly, "General Fucha is truly generous! We servants will do our best to take good care of the new lady!"
Zhao Xing bowed slightly to the eunuchs, then walked to the carriage and said to Yan Ning inside, "Madam, Zhu Xiang and I cannot go in. We will wait for you here. The general asked me to tell you. Don't be afraid, the general will definitely ensure that nothing happens to you!"
As she spoke, she had Zhu Xiang hand a stack of silver notes to Yan Ning, and then said, "These silver notes were given to you by the General. The General said that the people in the palace don't have much income. Even eunuchs who run errands get some rewards. Most of the others live off their monthly stipends. If you give them money, they will naturally do their best to serve you."
Zhao Xing had only returned yesterday, and Yan Ning knew that Fukang'an must have given the instructions late last night, so her pounding heart calmed down. She took Zhu Xiang's hand, got off the carriage, and followed the five eunuchs into the palace gate.
Under the bright moon and starry sky, Yan Ning entered through the Xihua Gate. The mere sight of the guards at the gate made her tremble; their imposing presence was unassailable. Once inside the palace, she found it deserted and empty. Gazing at the palace walls on either side, Yan Ning sighed, lamenting how so many young women in their prime had been buried within these walls, where the atmosphere was permeated with a chilling coldness.
The five eunuchs kept their heads down and walked, because Yan Ning was a Han Chinese woman who entered the palace and could not wear flowerpot shoes, so the only sounds on the road were footsteps and the breathing of the crowd.
By the time the people in front of Yan Ning stopped, it was already broad daylight. The head eunuch turned back from the front of the procession and said to Yan Ning, "Miss Yan Ning, please wait here for the Empress Dowager's decree. We servants are just servants; there are some things we cannot help with. Miss Yan Ning must rely on her own good fortune!"
Yan Ning curtsied to him, "Thank you for your trouble, sir!" The eunuch smiled and left with his men.
Watching their departing figures, Yan Ning knew all too well that people in the palace were adept at exploiting those in power. The difference between "new lady" and "lady" was vast, though only one character. Moreover, since she wasn't married to Fukang'an, others would take her even less seriously. No wonder they spoke one way in front of Zhao Xing, and another way now towards Yan Ning.
A grove of ginkgo trees nearby shaded Yan Ning from the tender red sunlight, dappling her skin. With the light, Yan Ning's fear of the Forbidden City lessened considerably.
Not long after the eunuchs left, more eunuchs arrived carrying tables and chairs. They ignored Yan Ning and focused solely on their tasks. Palace maids dressed in the same color followed behind, arranging fruits and snacks.
Seeing them bustling about, Yan Ning knew that the Empress Dowager must be arriving soon, and she couldn't help but feel nervous again.
As a large group of palace maids and eunuchs escorted the Empress Dowager over, the sun was already high in the sky. Yan Ning knelt on the ground with everyone and shouted, "Long live the Empress Dowager!" Yan Ning secretly glanced up and saw that the Empress Dowager was already eighty years old and needed three or four palace maids to help her sit down.
"Get up, everyone!" A weak, aged voice rang out, and everyone slowly rose to their feet.
After rising, Yan Ning was finally able to get a closer look at the Empress Dowager. Her face, though eighty years old, was concealed by makeup, revealing a considerable age. A voice called "Huan Huan" flashed past Yan Ning's ears, and she suddenly remembered that the Empress Dowager sitting before her was the beloved Niohuru Zhen Huan. A sudden urge arose in her to ask if her maiden name was Huan Huan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
