Chapter 27: The Situation at the Eastern Palace, First Signs of Affection...
The dim, yellow sun slowly sank and disappeared behind the high walls of the East Palace.
The lavish furnishings in the courtyard were removed, and even the curtains hanging in the sixteen-cornered pavilion were torn away.
A man dressed in linen clothes set out food on a stone table, his swollen hands covered with scabbed bloodstains.
A biting, bleak wind blew, and he shivered violently. He rubbed his hands together and said to the woman sitting in the main seat, "Your Highness, please have your meal."
On the stone table sat two other women and a man, all dressed in rags and looking dejected.
The woman in the main seat, her hair streaked with silver, said calmly, "I am now a commoner named Chen Jue, not some prince."
The men and women at the banquet all wept upon hearing this, uttering mournful sobs.
The man was born into the Cui family of Zhangzhou. He went from being the noble wife of the crown princess to the husband of a commoner. But at least he lived longer than his children and still remembered his manners. He just wiped his reddened eyes.
"Let's eat."
Chen Jue picked up the chipped porcelain bowl and stared at a small dish of radishes in front of him, lost in thought.
These are pickles that the Junior Chamberlain sent over some time ago. Because they were considered cheap items, they had been gathering dust in the storeroom. Unexpectedly, their inconspicuousness allowed them to escape the Imperial Guards' looting, and they have become a rare delicacy for them these days.
The fair-skinned, handsome young man held the bowl and wept, choking out, "Mother, please apologize to the Empress Dowager... This is no life a human being should live."
The other two adult women also looked expectantly at their mothers.
Chen Jue paused in her chopsticks, lifting her eyelids to look at the boy. This was her fourth son, named Lanshan, sixteen years old this year, lively and handsome, and used to be very good at pleasing her.
Chen Jue put the radish and rice into his mouth and chewed it slowly.
Although she was deposed, she had at least cultivated that position of immense power for several years, had some spies in the palace, and knew something about what was happening outside.
She lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "Your eldest brother went with the clan, your second brother drowned a few days ago, and your third brother also died of a cold yesterday."
Chen Lanshan's eyes widened, and the bowl in his hand shattered on the ground with a "crash," breaking into pieces.
His eldest brother was the head of the clan. It was understandable that he would go with the clan after they were involved in a major case. But his second brother was an excellent swimmer. He married into the Zhenguo General's Mansion, which only had a shallow pond. How could he have drowned?
His third brother didn't get along with him and often made him so angry that he would jump up and down. But he was never sick at home and was very healthy. How could he have died from just a cold?
He was terrified as he thought about it, his lips trembled slightly, and he was so frightened that his whole body went limp. He quickly grabbed the edge of the table to barely keep his balance and avoid falling to the ground.
Chen Jue looked exhausted. "The former officials of the Eastern Palace have been either killed or exiled... Even Xu Qiushui, who was not involved, has been dismissed." She paused for a moment, then continued, "She will probably be exiled soon."
With all her paths cut off, she knew there was no chance of a comeback. Today, she severed ties with her spies to avoid suspicion.
Thinking of her tragically deceased son, Cui's eyes turned red, and tears streamed down her face. Numbly picking up the shards from the ground, she cut her hand again, but she was too oblivious to notice, letting the wound bleed.
Seeing his pale face and sorrowful expression, Chen Jue moved his lips but ultimately said nothing.
The emperor wanted to win over the aristocratic families who had previously aligned themselves with her, so he ordered that as long as the fathers of the deposed crown princess's relatives redeemed their families, they could be exempted from their crimes and allowed to return home.
She had countless beauties in her harem, some favored and some not, some who had borne children and some who had not. When disaster struck, they all abandoned her, leaving only this husband who had been neglected by her for many years.
As the moon rises and the sun sets, night falls, and the sky is adorned with countless stars, dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful.
After Zhang Ting finished admiring the moon, she was about to close the window when suddenly a figure nimbly squeezed in and pressed down on one side of the window frame, startling her.
It's him again?
Zhang Ting covered her face and sighed, feeling that the fine lines on her face had increased recently.
I wonder what kind of family could raise him like this? At first, he was timid and cautious, but once he gained a foothold and figured out his territory, he became adept at taking advantage of others and climbing the social ladder.
She lowered her hand from closing the window, leaned against the side, and asked him, "What is it now?"
Hearing her impatient tone, as if she utterly despised him, the boy felt embarrassed and a sense of loss that he hadn't even realized he was experiencing.
He lowered his head, his hands twisting together uncontrollably. He had come to question Zhang Ting, but instead said, "No...no, I'll leave now." With that, he turned and left.
Zhang Ting frowned and called him back.
"If there's anything you need to say, just explain it clearly."
When the boy heard Zhang Ting call him back, his gloom instantly dissipated, replaced by an indescribable joy. Then, as if he had thought of something, his clear, bright eyes darted around, sparkling with a cunning light.
A moment later, he turned back and glanced at Zhang Ting with a pitiful look, stretched out his hand in front of her, looking like a wronged husband, and said pitifully, "I don't know what's wrong with my hands lately, they're swollen and itchy and painful."
He thought to himself: It's all your fault for assigning me work!
Zhang Ting looked closely and saw that the two hands in front of her were red and swollen, completely unlike their slender and fair hands from a few days ago.
He must have come from a wealthy family and never experienced hardship, so he didn't even recognize chilblains. Zhang Ting had also suffered from chilblains; if not treated properly in the early stages, they would ulcerate and fester, causing great discomfort in the later stages.
Her tone softened, "You shouldn't touch cold water now. There are fewer dead leaves in winter anyway, so stop sweeping and cleaning for the next few days. I'll ask Xiao Rong to make you a hand warmer tomorrow."
This meant there would be work to do from now on. The young man pouted, but dared not be too presumptuous. He bowed to Zhang Ting and said softly, "This servant thanks Miss."
He was the most well-mannered person in the courtyard, and he had been working hard lately. Zhang Ting remembered that there was a plate of mung bean cakes that Du Zaolang had made yesterday on the table. She didn't like overly sweet snacks, and she only tried one piece before she was done with it, so she brought it to him.
"It's all thanks to your hard work that the house is so clean and beautiful. You've been working so hard lately. Here, take this plate of pastries to sweeten your mouth and have some fun."
When the boy saw that Zhang Ting had specially brought him pastries, he was so happy that the corners of his lips curled up, revealing two sweet dimples.
He held the plate with both hands, picked up a piece, and took a small bite, thinking it would be incredibly delicious, but he was almost overwhelmed by the sweetness.
He thought he was being tricked by Zhang Ting, so he looked up and glared at her, only to see her staring at him with a serious and expectant expression, which softened his tone.
I also heard her ask with a smile, "Is it delicious?"
Not wanting to disappoint her, the boy put the rest of his food into his mouth, saying, "Delicious."
Zhang Ting could see his reluctance, but said, "If you like it, that's good. Next time the kitchen has such snacks, I'll ask Du Zaolang to send you a portion."
Sure enough, the other person had a miserable expression on their face.
Zhang Ting couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing this, the boy knew he had been tricked again. He slammed the plate down on the windowsill. Despite wearing only simple, rough cotton clothes, he exuded a menacing aura.
But instead of questioning Zhang Ting, he turned his head to the side with tears in his eyes and said in a weak voice, "Miss, please laugh if you want to. Anyway, I'm stupid and often ridiculed. One more person won't make a difference."
He turned halfway to Zhang Ting, his shoulders shaking, and he began to sob.
Zhang Ting was speechless; she had actually made the person cry.
She gripped the window frame, trying to close the window and shut the person out, hoping to avoid seeing them altogether. But the other person was still standing there, and she couldn't close it. Feeling a little embarrassed, she said, "Um... Xiaoyi, don't cry."
The boy rubbed his swollen eyes with his red hands and ignored her.
She scratched her head and said dryly, "You're perfectly fine, but you've made your face ugly from crying."
ugly?
Where she couldn't see, the boy's eyes were red and swollen from crying. Hearing her words, the tears that had been welling up were swallowed back by anger. His handsome face was gloomy, and he couldn't muster any sadness. He pinched himself hard and barely managed to bring out the tears.
He turned his head and stared into Zhang Ting's eyes, intently watching the changes in them. His voice was clear and pleasant, yet it concealed a murderous intent: "Does Miss think I'm ugly?"
Caught off guard, Zhang Ting met his face directly. Seeing the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, she instinctively exclaimed, "You're beautiful! As beautiful as an angel!"
But what she was really thinking was: "My eyes are swollen like walnuts, and that's not ugly?"
But she vaguely grasped the boy's focus, carefully examining his clothes. The cotton clothes were rough and looked rather shabby on him.
"A beautiful woman deserves fine clothes. Why don't you have Xiao Rong make you a winter coat? You can pay me back later."
After saying that, she shook her head, thinking to herself: Could it be that this person is my nemesis? Ever since I met him, I have been losing money one after another.
Upon hearing this, the boy seemed to be coaxed, stopped his tears, and obediently nodded as if accepting his fate.
Zhang Ting breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that it was getting late, he told him to go back and rest and not to wander around anymore.
Then I received another glare.
She immediately stopped talking.
Only after Zhang Ting closed the window did Xiao Yi return to her room, humming a little tune with satisfaction.
I don't have to work these next few days, and I even have gorgeous new clothes to wear.
The next morning, before dawn, he heard Zhang Ting practicing martial arts outside. He pulled the covers up, turned over, and drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Zhang Ting was nowhere to be found, so he went to the kitchen to look for Du Zaolang, and sure enough, they had left him some food.
He curled his lips into a smile and gave Du Zaolang a look that said, "You're smart to know what's good for you."
The food, which had been reheated a second time, wasn't very good, and he only ate a couple of bites before putting it down.
He cried last night and his eyes are very swollen now. In the past, when he was at home, the servant would apply tea bags to his eyes and massage them to reduce the swelling. Now that's not possible, he asked Du Zao Lang if he had any way to reduce the swelling.
Du Zaolang noticed that his eyes were red and swollen, and wondered why the two of them had argued so badly last night. His eyes were swollen from crying.
She scooped an egg out of the pot, dried it, and handed it to him, saying, "Young master, just apply this egg for a quarter of an hour."
The boy took the egg, his thin eyebrows furrowed, a hint of doubt in his mind: Could this cheap thing that he used to refuse to eat really be effective?
After returning to the room and applying the ointment, she looked in the bronze mirror and was indeed restored to her original state. Her every frown and smile in the mirror was captivating.
He cupped his face in satisfaction, then noticed the reflection of the mung bean cake in the mirror. He grimaced in disgust, but still picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The sweet taste spread in his mouth, and he ate with a furrowed brow.
It's so sweet, it's almost cloying. The sweetness seeps right into your heart.
At 9:00 AM, he went to Zhang Ting's study, wrote a detailed list of clothes to be made with paper and pen, and handed it to Xiao Rong with an arrogant expression.
"I suppose you don't know anything about good stuff. I've made this list for you. If you make shoddy products again this time, I won't let you off the hook."
Xiao Rong had received Zhang Ting's instructions that morning and was gradually becoming familiar with his temperament. Upon hearing this, she nodded blankly, took the order, but her eyes went completely blank. "Young master, this servant... cannot read."
So the boy had no choice but to go to Du Zaolang, the only literate man in the household, and ask him to buy the things.
Du Zaolang's family was well-off in his early years, and he had seen some fine things, but the items on the list really made his eyes dizzy.
He hesitated and asked, "Young master... these items might be too expensive?"
The other party assured him confidently that it was the head of the family's intention and had already been approved.
Since Zhang Ting had agreed, how could Du Zaolang dare to say a single word of "no"? He was in charge of the household's finances and promised to go out in the afternoon to help Xiaoyi raise the money to buy it.
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