Chapter 20 Accidentally Drinking Strong Liquor: Pei Muwei, How Insolent You Are!
Yangzhou was a place Chu Yueyuan had known since childhood, and it was the hometown that her mother, Madam Hu, had mentioned countless times.
The lotus seeds from Yangzhou are plump, with thin skins and thick flesh, making them perfect for making lotus seed cakes.
The grass carp in Yangzhou are plump, and the fish cake made from the fish meat is snow-white in color, fragrant, smooth and tender, and has a sweet taste.
Whenever Yangzhou is mentioned, my mother's eyes always light up.
Chu Yueyuan's eyes lit up involuntarily, but after a moment, they dimmed again like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.
She shook her head: "If I fake my death and leave the palace, what will the Emperor do?"
"And then there's Granny Xu and Jin Tong. They weren't supposed to go to the palace, but they were afraid I wouldn't be able to endure it there, so they vowed to stay with me to the death. I absolutely cannot abandon them..."
Shen Zizhan lowered his brows, his voice still clear and melodious, yet possessing a bewitching allure:
“In a short time, Prince Chen and Prince Liang will come to the capital to meet the Emperor. That will be the best opportunity. If the Empress Dowager were to ‘die suddenly’ when the two princes arrive in the capital, the Regent would simply keep quiet about it in order to quell the rumors. I still have some connections in the palace and can help Your Highness get out of the palace smoothly.”
"The Regent's power in the court is growing stronger day by day. If the Empress Dowager does not seize this opportunity, she may never be able to leave him again."
Shen Zizhan's words caused Chu Yueyuan to struggle internally.
To be fair, during this period, the Regent did not mistreat her and Xiao Yun, the widow and orphan. The occasional slights they suffered were mostly the work of those sycophantic servants in the palace.
But she does know the truth about the night of the palace coup. When the man ascends to the throne, will he let her, this potential threat, go?
Seeing the woman biting her lower lip tightly and remaining silent, her delicate lips marked with bright red blood, Shen Zizhan felt a pang of heartache. He released the handle and grasped the woman's cold wrist.
"Yuan'er, trust me one more time, I will never let you down."
The man's palm was warm, making Chu Yueyuan, who was covered in cold, want to snuggle up to him.
She was momentarily immersed in this warmth until her lowered gaze fell on the mandarin duck jade rings hanging at the man's waist, and she suddenly came to her senses.
He is a radiant figure among men, a gentleman of noble character, possessing both virtue and talent, with a bright future ahead of him. A man should stand in a high position, enter the cabinet and become a pillar of the state, whose name will be remembered for eternity.
He shouldn't have gotten involved with her, the woman the world sees as a source of trouble, leaving behind in history the infamous reputation of a treacherous minister who, along with the late emperor's wife, wreaked havoc in the palace, ultimately ruining his reputation and his life.
"Lord Shen..."
She gently twisted her wrist, without using much force, yet it expressed her resistance.
The hand gripping the wrist stiffened for a moment, then quickly released its grip.
The flickering candlelight reflected the disappointment in the man's eyes. Shen Zizhan clenched his empty palms tightly, his voice hoarse:
"Your Majesty, I have been presumptuous."
Chu Yueyuan stared at the gradually dimming candlelight in the glass palace lantern and said softly, "Lord Shen is a gentleman who keeps his promises, but our engagement has long been dissolved. Now... I am the late emperor's first wife. To me, Lord Shen is no longer a gentleman, but a subject."
"As a subject, one can put aside the promises made by a gentleman. Just as I said to Lord Shen that day, I am doing well in the palace and there is no need for you to worry about me."
As soon as the words were spoken, the last wick in the glass-painted palace lantern burned out, and the sudden darkness obscured the expressions on their faces.
The woman's voice was light and ethereal: "Take care, Lord Shen. I must return now."
Chu Yueyuan turned around and quickly walked down the bluestone steps.
Under the blue stone bridge, Jin Tong had returned. She held a blue gauze lantern in her hand and anxiously stood on tiptoe to look out.
Seeing the figure appear on the stone steps, she finally felt relieved, but couldn't help looking at the other person's figure.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that the man standing in the darkness seemed much more forlorn than before, as if he were almost blending into the darkness.
"Has His Majesty returned to Yaohua Palace?"
Jin Tong withdrew her gaze and nodded hurriedly: "His Majesty and Granny Xu have already returned to Yaohua Palace to watch the shadow puppet show."
Chu Yueyuan tightened the cloak at her collar. She didn't turn around, but said calmly, "Then I will also go back and watch the shadow puppet show."
On the nine-arched stone bridge, Shen Zizhan watched as the beautiful figure surrounded by candlelight slowly disappeared from sight, his expression utterly desolate.
With a splash, the white porcelain bottle fell to the bottom of the lake, and the ripples it created severed the man's tall figure reflected on the lake's surface.
He actually wanted to tell her that he was not a gentleman.
He wanted to take her away from the palace, not just because of the promise he made years ago, but because he wanted to protect her, care for her, and give her a lifetime of happiness.
The beautiful young lady at the poetry and painting banquet years ago was exceptionally talented, with exquisite writing skills. Her smile was like that of a goddess descending to earth. However, it was precisely because of her outstanding appearance that those self-proclaimed refined scholars were ashamed to acknowledge her excellence, lest they be labeled as weak-willed and lustful.
He thought to himself that the young lady must have suffered a lot of grievances in her daily life.
Later, during their encounter at the Prince of Qinghe's residence, the young lady's eyes were red, her clothes were disheveled, and her hair was messy. When she walked out from behind the Hundred Flowers Screen, she looked like a jade-waisted maid with broken wings, helplessly landing on the petals.
Nongli is fragile and pitiful.
He then realized that the young woman had suffered far more injustice than he had imagined.
A thought quietly rose in Shen Zizhan's heart: he wanted to protect her, take care of her, and not let her suffer the slightest grievance again.
Unfortunately, he ultimately let her down.
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The night was as dark as ink, seeping into the towering and majestic palaces.
The candles in the main hall were removed by the palace servants, leaving only a bright lamp placed under the shadow window. To ensure the young emperor could enjoy the show, the shadow puppets were much larger than ordinary shadow puppets, about 1.8 feet long, exquisitely cut and lifelike. Projected onto the 8-foot-high shadow window, they appeared to be the size of real people.
Skilled performers held shadow puppets under the screen, shaking and moving them. To the rhythmic sounds of gongs and suonas, figures of various shapes and sizes leaped onto the paper, vividly depicting the earth-shattering Battle of Zhuolu from the "In Search of the Supernatural".
The royal relatives and officials at the banquet watched intently, clapping and cheering from time to time.
Chu Yueyuan did not want to attract attention, so she had Jin Tong extinguish the palace lantern in her hand and slowly walked up the golden steps of the Chibi Pavilion from the side hall.
Just as she was about to reach the jade table, she suddenly missed a step and her body tilted uncontrollably.
A steady, strong hand supported her forearm, and Chu Yueyuan met the man's deep eyes in the darkness.
The man's eyes were extremely bright, like dazzling stars embedded in the night sky.
"Your Majesty, please be careful."
"Thank you, Minister Pei."
As Chu Yueyuan regained her footing, the man withdrew his arm, and the two nodded slightly, letting the minor incident pass.
Sitting on the dragon throne, Xiao Yun stared intently at the screen in the center of the hall. In his childish voice, he complained, "Mother, your phoenix crown is blocking my view of the shadow puppet show!"
Chu Yueyuan chuckled and then asked Eunuch Wang to move her jade table to the side, unintentionally encroaching on the Regent's territory.
Pei Muwei glanced sideways at the young empress dowager as she gracefully took her seat. A faint fragrance wafted from her, and her flowing skirt resembled a night-blooming cereus in the darkness, overlapping with his black robe.
On the shadow puppet stage, the play depicts Chi You commanding the Wind Master and Rain Master to fight against the Yellow Emperor. Suddenly, the sound of the zither and the drumbeats filled the air, as if a torrential downpour with thunder and lightning was sweeping through the hall.
In the dim light, Chu Yueyuan no longer needed to worry about the gazes of others, allowing her to shed her dignified and elegant demeanor.
She poured herself a glass of wine, and as she drank alone, she looked at the shadow puppets on the stage, their shadows flickering in the light and shadow. In a daze, it was as if time had reversed, and she had returned to the day she received the imperial edict to be crowned empress.
At that time, Chu Yueyuan locked herself in her room, refusing to eat or drink, while Chu Shuheng and Madam Du talked outside until their saliva was dry. She was like a Mohele doll that neither ate nor drank, beautiful on the outside but withered on the inside.
Until one day, Lady Shen, the wife of the Duke of Shen, visited the Chu residence and knocked on her door.
Shen Zizhan's eyebrows and eyes resembled his mother's, with the same light amber pupils and a gentle and calm gaze.
The first thing Madam Shen said to her was, "Silly child, life is a destiny, and you are born to live. Are you just going to squander the life your mother gave you?"
"Since ancient times, even emperors have been unable to contend with the will of Heaven. Why should a mere woman like you try to understand it?"
Madam Shen took Chu Yueyuan's hand, gently patted the back of her hand, and earnestly advised her:
"Outsiders say that Zizhan is a gentle and refined gentleman, but as his mother, I know that he is the most stubborn. He insisted on marrying you, even though you two came from very different backgrounds and the elders in the clan opposed the marriage. I didn't say much because I knew that once he made up his mind, no one could dissuade him."
"It seems that you two are destined to be apart. I haven't mentioned your intention to enter the palace to Zizhan in my letter yet. After much thought, I think it's best if you write this letter."
Chu Yueyuan understood the deeper meaning behind Madam Shen's words. After a moment of silence, she spoke softly: "Lord Shen is thoroughly investigating the salt affairs in Yangzhou and cannot afford to be distracted. It's better not to write this letter. As for the matter of our dissolution of our engagement, Madam Duchess, there's no need to mention it in the letter. Once it's done, there's no need to try to salvage it."
Madam Shen was deeply gratified, but looked at Chu Yueyuan with regret and sighed softly, "You are a smart and sensible child."
After Madam Shen left, Chu Yueyuan gave up her hunger strike and resigned herself to her fate.
Ever since she received the coveted Phoenix Fate, this fate no longer belonged to her, but to the Chu family, and even involved the entire Shen family.
Later, Emperor Shang died, and she was confined to the harem. Even though her destiny had been taken away, her fate still did not belong to herself, but to the court, becoming the weight on which the regent stabilized the old and new forces in the court.
She was like a shadow puppet behind a screen, manipulated by the performer, crying when made to cry, laughing when made to laugh, bound by that thin string her entire life, unable to break free, without freedom.
Chu Yueyuan gripped the silver wine pot with plum blossom patterns, swayed as she poured herself another cup of wine. As the spicy wine slid down her throat, it made her eyes turn red.
But it gave her a sense of being alive, a sense of controlling her own destiny.
This feeling was addictive to her, and she couldn't stop drinking it, unknowingly finishing one cup after another.
It wasn't until the man's warm, strong hand gripped her wrist that Chu Yueyuan groggily raised her head, narrowed her watery dark eyes, and stared at him for a long while.
Upon recognizing the person blocking her way, she wrinkled her nose and showed a look of disgust.
"What...is Pei Qing doing?"
The woman was not a strong drinker, and her tongue was thick, so her words were incoherent.
Even though the two were standing very close, Pei Muwei still heard it clearly.
"The Empress Dowager picked up the wrong wine pot and drank my Tusu wine."
Chu Yueyuan's gaze was unfocused. She gently shook her head and turned to look at the two jade tables that were almost touching. Just as the Regent had said, the white jade wine pot on the opposite table had been taken by her at some point.
No wonder...no wonder the wine in this jug is so strong.
She chuckled, tilting her head slightly. The phoenix hairpin with a ruby in its beak swayed and shone in the darkness, reflecting the shimmering light in her eyes.
"Pei Qing...you...you can't be so stingy!"
The woman's voice trailed off, like a hook dipped in honey, drawing Pei Muwei's gaze.
Pei Muwei's eyes darkened slightly, and he said in a low voice, "Tusu wine has a strong aftereffect. If the Empress Dowager drinks any more, I'm afraid she will have a terrible headache when she wakes up tomorrow."
"I am perfectly sober now."
Chu Yueyuan frowned impatiently. She struggled to pull her hand away, but the hand bound to her wrist was like a shackle welded shut, and she couldn't break free no matter what she did.
She said angrily, "Pei Muwei, how dare you!"
A note from the author:
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