Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Palace Maid's Sixteen Days
On the day of Chinese Valentine's Day.
The Qixi Banquet is a banquet held by the imperial court every few years. This year's Qixi Banquet was finalized by the Empress Dowager before she left the palace last year, and was entrusted to the virtuous and virtuous concubines to host together, in order to dispel the solemn atmosphere left by the death of the previous emperor.
The deeper meaning is to prepare for the establishment of the queen.
After the current emperor ascended the throne, he was first busy with the funeral ceremonies of the late emperor. Later, all affairs of the previous dynasty and the harem were put on track. The court brought up the issue of establishing a queen again. Ji Chen postponed the matter on the grounds that the late emperor had not yet completed three years of mourning.
Although as an emperor he could use the sky to replace the moon and did not have to strictly abide by the rules of filial piety.
This Qixi Festival is more than two years after the death of the late emperor. Although it is not yet three years, it happens to be outside the twenty-seven months. There is a precedent in our dynasty of using twenty-five or twenty-seven months instead of three years to observe national mourning.
Moreover, Concubine Xian and Concubine De had discussed that this Qixi Festival banquet would not be a grand one, with only the concubines in the harem gathering together to have fun and enjoy singing, dancing and opera.
Inside the Siguozhai.
Du Baolin attached great importance to today. In addition to her purpose of performing a dance to regain the emperor's favor, this was also the first time she appeared in front of the concubines after being demoted. She hated Concubine Gao for making her kneel on the palace road in the Imperial Garden, making everyone in the palace laugh at her. So she must not lose face and be ridiculed this time.
She wanted to let those concubines know that even though she had fallen out of favor, His Majesty would still treat her differently.
Otherwise, how could she be favored for two years? It was quite similar to the favor of Concubine Zhao during the reign of the previous emperor.
Concubine Zhao was the favorite concubine of the late emperor, the one who volunteered to be buried with him. According to the old eunuch in the reading room, Concubine Zhao was as beautiful as jade, and no one in the entire harem of the late emperor could compare to her. Concubine Zhao was selected into the palace, and her favor has never stopped since then. She was promoted to the position of concubine smoothly. Even the empress at that time, now the queen mother, would avoid her.
If Concubine Zhao had not left behind only one daughter, and the current emperor was the eldest son, I am afraid that the current emperor would not have been named the crown prince at the age of seven.
When the present emperor was seven years old, it was calculated that it was the time when Concubine Zhao gave birth to a daughter. After Concubine Zhao gave birth to a daughter, the imperial edict to appoint the prince as the crown prince reached the emperor.
No one knows what the late emperor was thinking at that time.
The previous emperor passed away in his prime, and the current emperor ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. The Princess Yongfu, who inherited some of Concubine Zhao's beauty, is only twelve years old now.
The late emperor had few offspring. Apart from the eldest prince Ji Chen who was the crown prince, there were the second, third and fourth princes. However, due to their young age, they had not yet married or been crowned kings and still lived in the prince's palace in the capital.
Princess Yongfu was the fifth child and lived in the palace with the sixth princess, who was two years younger than her.
Du Baolin could not even dream of becoming the empress, so naturally she took Concubine Zhao as her target, and she always thought that to be a favored concubine she would want to be like Concubine Zhao.
It was because the previous emperor did not reign for long, otherwise Du Baolin felt that Concubine Zhao could have been given the title of Imperial Noble Concubine during her lifetime, rather than being posthumously named Imperial Noble Concubine by the emperor. This may be a pity for Concubine Zhao, but it is Du Baolin's luck.
If the emperor had not ascended the throne earlier, she would have missed him. She felt sweet in her heart. Fortunately, fortunately.
Because Concubine Zhao thought that the late emperor did not live a long life, Du Baolin was really worried about the emperor's health, so he developed the habit of delivering soup to the Qianqing Palace every day.
Later, because Concubine Gao also sent gifts, and because Concubine Gao's favor was only slightly less than hers, Du Baolin began to compete with Concubine Gao.
Of course, even if this hadn't happened, Du Baolin would still dislike her.
In this respect, she is quite sincere.
Du Baolin started to get busy in the morning, and only left from Siguozhai with Shanhu in the afternoon when everything was ready. It was July, and Du Baolin put on a thin cloak and tucked his red dance costume under the cloak that covered his feet.
Shen Qingqing watched Du Baolin leave quietly, waited for a moment, and then walked towards the Jingren Palace of Concubine Xian.
Along the way, she had a lot of thoughts. When she arrived at the gate of Jingren Palace, she wanted to find the eunuch of Jingren Palace to give Xuancao a message, but Jingren Palace was very busy at this time. The sixth and seventh rank officials of the Music Department, Guest Department, and Praise Department of the Shangyi Bureau were coming in and out of Jingren Palace, discussing the matters of the banquet with Concubine Xian and the people around her, to ensure that no unexpected situation would disrupt the normal holding of the Qixi Banquet.
At this time, a second-class palace maid who seemed to be passing by the gate of Jingren Palace accidentally discovered Shen Qingqing. She had a deep memory of what happened in Yiqu Garden that day, so she walked straight over.
"Miss Shen Qing, are you here to see the queen? Do you need me to pass the message on?"
Shen Qingqing knew that Wang Jigui had someone around Concubine Xian, and Xiao Dingzi could also be used, but she was not sure if it was the person in front of her.
So her scattered gaze was like a lake water that was thrown into a stone, startled, with an indelible bitter smile on her lips. She just glanced at the palace maid, and before she remembered her appearance, she lowered her head and took out the jade pendant from that day, and handed it to her with both hands restrained: "Sister, I want to see Sister Xuancao, I wonder if it is possible..."
"...If Sister Xuancao is busy, I can wait, or find an inconspicuous place to wait."
It is impossible to leave. This kind of thing only needs to be done once. After all, a palace maid who is good at enduring her master's injuries will not have the courage to reveal her own scars twice in the short term.
The second-class maid pushed the jade pendant back into Shen Qingqing's hands and said, "My name is Qiehe. Xuancao doesn't have much to do. Just follow me in."
Shen Qingqing smiled faintly, her eyes seemed to brighten a little, and whispered, "Thank you, Sister Qihe."
Qiehe smiled and brought Shen Qingqing to Xuancao.
As expected, Xuancao had little to do today. Instead of staying by Concubine Xian's side to help, she was wandering around Jingren Palace.
Qie He brought the person over, bowed with a smile, and left, as if it was just a trivial matter.
Xuancao was sent by Concubine Xian to keep an eye on the inside and outside of Jingren Palace. In fact, she knew that she would only cause trouble for Concubine Xian and would be of no help. The reason she became Concubine Xian's maid was not because she was capable, but because she was likable. Concubine Xian also liked her for this and often indulged her.
She was self-aware and loyal, and did not feel dissatisfied because the empress looked down on her. Instead, she performed the small tasks assigned to her by the virtuous concubine conscientiously and refused to leave and shirk her duties.
When Hemerocallis saw people, she touched Shen Qingqing's furry head before she could even wait for her to react.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Qingqing lowered her head and bit her lip. After a pause, she said in a low voice, "I shouldn't have bothered Sister Xuancao with such a small matter, but Shen Qing really doesn't know what to do."
Xuancao hissed and lifted Shen Qingqing's chin, and saw that the little girl's eyes were filled with tears, which kept rolling in her eye sockets, as if they were about to fall. Her lips were easily bitten and bled, which showed how many times she bit her lips and how hesitant she was.
Xuancao pried open the little person's mouth, and as soon as she put the handkerchief on Shen Qingqing's lips, slightly cool tears rolled down onto her hands.
She held the handkerchief, not knowing for a moment whether to wipe her tears or her lips.
Finally, Xuancao hugged Shen Qingqing and said, "Let's go to my room and talk. No matter what happens, the queen and I will take care of it for you."
If the matter is easy to settle, she can just step forward. If the Empress is needed, I think the Empress will not refuse even if it is not for the sake of the jade pendant.
Even though they had just met, Xuancao knew that Shen Qing would be the one who was bullied, otherwise why would he be so aggrieved?
Shen Qingqing opened her eyes slightly, as if she wanted to stop crying, but how could the tears that had already flowed be so obedient.
At this moment, she was shaking with emotion.
Xuancao was kind-hearted to begin with, and she felt even more pity when she saw this. Although she didn't know the whole story, she already felt disgusted with the person who caused all this.
After entering the house, Shen Qingqing rolled up her sleeves and whispered, "Sister Shanhu's hand was injured, so I took over to serve the master. Sometimes the master has a bad temper and twists or pinches me. I thought it was just a normal temper, but gradually, the master became more and more aggressive. She used a sharp hairpin to pierce the skin on my arm more than once. It hurt so much, but the master's eyes were so scary. I didn't dare to refuse, let alone not reach out. I could only bite my lip and endure it, thinking that it would be fine after enduring it. I didn't dare to come to sister to complain about the master's faults."
Her voice was very soft, as light as a feather, and her eyes were dull, with only the tears that kept flowing out telling of the sadness beneath the numbness.
Daylily had her eyes wide open in shock. She looked at the layers of scars. The new wounds were still covered in blood, which seeped out from the thick medicine powder. She simply couldn't bear to look at them a second time.
No wonder there was a lingering bitter smell around her, it turned out to be the smell of medicine.
Xuancao stretched out her hands and lifted up Shen Qingqing's arms, staring at her intently, with anger surging in her eyes.
Du Baolin is really abominable! What does she think of palace maids?
Shen Qingqing continued to speak slowly: "But seeing that the master is about to regain the emperor's favor at the banquet today, I am afraid that if I don't tell you now, no one will be able to save me in the future. I don't want to get hurt, and I don't want to be tortured by the master all the time. Even if the master is favored again in the future and valued by the emperor again, I don't want to stay with Baolin. I don't regret coming to see my sister today."
"I just want to be transferred out of Siguozhai and away from Du Baolin, even if it means being a maid again. That's why I dared to come to Sister Xuancao with the jade pendant."
Shen Qingqing mustered up the courage to look at Daylily, her eyes showing a cautious tentativeness like that of a young animal. It seemed that if Daylily refused, she would only give up the last glimmer of hope without a trace of resentment.
Not to mention what Xuancao said when she presented the jade pendant on behalf of Concubine Xian that day.
Xuancao was so empathetic at this point that she was crying and getting angry. Although Shen Qing's words "he was favored by the emperor" were spoken very softly, Xuancao could still hear that Shen Qingqing thought Du Baolin was going to gain the upper hand.
But when faced with Du Baolin who was about to gain power, Shen Qing did not approach him. Instead, he wanted to escape out of fear.
If Shen Qing wasn't afraid that Du Baolin would become more arrogant and cruel after gaining power, why would she come to find her?
I'm afraid that as soon as I get up the courage, I'll shrink back again.
The more she thought about it, the more Xuancao admired Shen Qing's courage at the moment.
Although not all the masters in the palace were as kind to the palace maids as Concubine Xian, there were few who enjoyed hurting others like Du Baolin.
Why does the emperor always favor such a Du Baolin?
Hemerocallis really feels sorry for her own queen.
Moreover, even Shan Hu, who was beside Du Baolin, was injured. Shen Qing was definitely not the only one who was injured. Others were afraid of Du Baolin's power, or Du Baolin's methods had become more ruthless after his demotion. Otherwise, how could Shen Qing be injured like this? How could this wound be faked? Medicines were ineffective!
Since she could take the lives of two palace maids, why would she care whether one palace maid was in pain?
Daylily automatically filled in the whole story in her mind.
She looked at Shen Qing now, and felt so pitiful. She had even sought help from Jingren Palace, but she only said that she was in pain, instead of accusing Du Baolin.
Such a kind-hearted person, but he was injured to this extent by Du Baolin, and he no longer has the lively spirit that he saw in Yiqu Garden that day.
"Don't worry, your sister is here." Daylily said with tears in her eyes.
Shen Qing was not surprised when he heard her cry. Instead, he hurriedly put down his sleeves and carefully wiped Hemerocallis's tears with a clean handkerchief.
"Don't cry, sister. Shen Qing doesn't feel any pain."
Xuancao avoided Shen Qing's injured arm and held her in his arms, intending to comfort her, but unexpectedly, Shen Qing naturally stroked Xuancao's back and comforted her, fearing that she would be upset.
For some reason, Daylily wanted to cry again.
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