Chapter 9 Another Wave Rises. We'll see then how she gets...
As the setting sun gradually sank below the eaves, the palace's magnificent buildings, vermilion walls, green tiles, and divine tortoises and cranes all returned to their original cool temperature with the sunset.
Two palace maids knelt under the floor-to-ceiling canopy, their expressions filled with unease.
A woman's clear, melodious voice came from behind the peony-patterned gauze curtain: "There is still more than a month until the Flower Festival. I heard that you have spread rumors that I will cancel the festival rewards. Since you two are so opinionated, why don't you come and become the mistresses of Phoenix Perch Palace?"
The two palace maids hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "We dare not! Please, Your Majesty, understand, we have never said such things..."
Xu Mama interrupted the two sternly: "Still dare to deny it? Madam Du heard you two whispering in the corridor today, complaining that the reward money for the Flower Festival has not been issued yet. Is it because the Inner Palace Department has withheld your monthly wages, or has the Empress Dowager mistreated you in the past?"
"You slack off and cheat on your duties every day. The Empress Dowager is kind and benevolent and has never punished you unruly servants. Instead, she has encouraged your evil ways and dared to speak ill of the Empress Dowager behind her back!"
A palace maid quickly shook her head: "Granny Xu, you've misunderstood. How could I dare to speak ill of the Empress Dowager? I was just... casually mentioning the rewards for the Flower Festival in previous years..."
Seeing that the palace servants caught red-handed still dared to argue, Chu Yueyuan knew that if she didn't make an example of them today, and if Du Shi, who was watching the show, spread the news after leaving the palace, her position as Empress Dowager would be in serious jeopardy.
"The late emperor has been gone for less than three months. The palace has ordered everything to be kept simple. The war on the northwest border is at a critical point. It is unknown when the war between Daqi and Canglang will end. If I were to lavishly reward people in the palace at this time to win their hearts, it would inevitably arouse the criticism of the court officials and cause the people of Daqi to complain."
"You may not have meant anything by it, but listen carefully. With just a few casual words from you two, you've put me on a pedestal. If I distribute the reward money, I'll offend the Regent who advocated frugality in the previous dynasty. If I don't distribute the reward money, I'll be labeled as stingy and petty in your eyes."
"You two are truly skilled!"
As Chu Yueyuan finished speaking, her soft voice became sharper, like a needle hidden in cotton, piercing the two palace maids until their faces turned pale, they broke out in a cold sweat, and their teeth chattered.
"Your Majesty, please understand, this servant...this servant had no such intention..."
Chu Yueyuan put down her palace fan, her dark eyes as deep as a pool, and said in a deep voice: "Words can cause trouble. You have incited people's hearts and disturbed the inner court. Drag her away and slap her thirty times."
For a long time after she finished speaking, the Imperial Guards standing outside the hall remained motionless, like a row of silent terracotta warriors.
A hint of suspicion flickered in Du's eyes.
Chu Yueyuan remained calm and raised her voice slightly, addressing him by name: "Commander Lin, do I need you to go to the Chuigong Hall to inform the Regent before I deal with the people in the harem?"
Lin Mu, whose name had been called, could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb.
Lin Mu recalled the Regent's previous instructions: as long as the Empress Dowager did not interfere in the affairs of the court, she could do whatever she wanted with the trivial matters of the harem.
The punishment of those two gossipy palace maids should...not affect the previous dynasty.
Without further hesitation, Lin Mu strode into the hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and respectfully said, "This humble servant obeys the order." He then ordered two Imperial Guards to drag the offending palace servant out of the hall.
A short while later, the sound of executions could be heard outside the window.
Lin Mu had followed Pei Muwei for many years and was used to living a life of danger in Beiting. His soldiers were also ruthless and merciless.
Hearing those heart-wrenching pleas for mercy, Du was restless, her face turning pale and then red, as if each crisp slap was striking her cheek, burning with a burning shame.
She absentmindedly picked up a teacup from the tea table, brought it to her lips and took a small sip, trying to hide her inner panic.
The scalding hot tea caused Mr. Du to cough violently as soon as it entered his mouth.
"How could Madam Du be so careless?" Chu Yueyuan asked with a smile, her watery eyes filled with gentleness and harmlessness.
"Jintong, quickly go and get some ice for Madam Du."
Du's face flushed red as she waved her hand. She was sitting on pins and needles and did not want to stay a moment longer.
"Your Majesty, it is getting late. I will not disturb Your Highness and His Majesty's rest any longer."
Madam Du rose and gave a perfunctory curtsy, her bottom burning with urgency as she led her maid away.
"Madam Du, please wait a moment."
Chu Yueyuan smiled and pointed her slender finger at the makeup box on the rosewood tea table, gently reminding her, "Madam Du, please don't forget your sister's jewelry."
Granny Xu picked up the makeup box, walked forward with a cold face and handed it back to the maid beside Madam Du, as if she were throwing away some unlucky object.
Du's face turned increasingly purplish-blue, but the shrill sounds of execution outside the hall continued, reminding her that the young woman before her was no longer the same as before, and was no longer the Chu family's young lady whom she could manipulate at will.
"Your Excellency... Thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty."
Chu Yueyuan nodded slightly: "His Majesty is approaching the age of enlightenment. The tutors at Zishan Hall have recently prepared lessons for His Majesty. From now on, on the first and fifteenth of each month, unless summoned by me, Madam Du will not need to trouble herself to come to the palace to pay her respects to His Majesty."
Du Shi stood hunched over, her face no longer bearing the radiant spirit she had displayed upon entering the hall. She stood there for a long while, clenching her teeth, before reluctantly uttering a few words:
"Your Majesty... I obey."
She fled from the Phoenix Perch Palace as if in a panic, then turned and fiercely glared at the magnificent palace under the fiery red sunset.
Hmph, that little vile woman is just a bully pretending to be powerful. Before long, everyone in the palace will realize that the little empress dowager is nothing but a clay idol, clean as clay.
Then we'll see how she gets eaten alive!
———
"Your Highness is truly remarkable! Especially that command you gave to Commander Lin just now, you sounded like a majestic female commander."
Jin Tong's eyes lit up, and her hands, gripping the gilded pot handle, trembled with excitement: "Also, this servant saw Madam Du almost trip over the threshold!"
Xu Mama smiled as well, and unusually did not scold Jin Tong for being too smug. She laughed and said, "Your Highness has quite the demeanor of a mistress of the harem today."
Hearing their praise, Chu Yueyuan smiled slightly. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her porcelain-like skin, and the dimples at the corners of her lips resembled budding flowers.
Today, through Madam Du's intervention, she made an example of someone to deter others and temporarily silenced the gossips of the women in the harem.
Chu Yueyuan bent down and picked up the sleeping Xiao Yun from the rosewood armchair. Her eyes were gentle as she reached out and touched his warm little head.
Her resolute refusal of the gold and silver jewelry sent by the Du family was not an act of impulse.
The palace servants in Fengqi Palace were gossipy; besides complaining about her stinginess, they also gleaned a lot of useful information from her.
For example, Chu Hongtu, the youngest son whom Du and Chu Shuheng cherished since childhood, was dismissed from his leisurely position in the Ministry of Revenue because the regent implemented new laws in the court.
If Chu Yueyuan accepts the gold and silver sent by the Du family, she will have to shamelessly beg the Regent to reinstate Chu Hongtu to his original post.
From then on, all the good-for-nothing sons of the Chu and Du families needed her to find ways to smooth their official careers.
It's better not to take this hot potato.
However, although she managed to drive away the little devil Du by relying on the Regent's infamy, she could not eradicate her current crisis.
She needs to find a way to earn money, a lot of money, so that she can solidify her golden body as a clay Buddha.
One wave subsides, another rises.
Just as Chu Yueyuan was worrying about how to earn money, the Imperial Stud sent a dragon-carved phoenix-inlaid carriage, decorated with gold, silver and jade, which stopped outside the Phoenix Perch Hall.
Eunuch Wang entered the hall with a broad smile, bowed to Chu Yueyuan, who sat on the phoenix throne with a surprised expression, and reported in a high-pitched voice:
"Your Majesty, the Regent requests that Your Highness move to the Hall of Diligent Governance to conduct state affairs."
——
The Great Qi Dynasty spans thousands of miles, is rich in resources and its people are prosperous. During the seasons, the five grains are plentiful and the country is at peace.
However, the sun will eventually decline after it reaches its zenith, and the moon will eventually wane after it is full.
The Canglang Kingdom in the northwest is the Yuheng Star, which shines brightly as the full moon of the Great Qi gradually fades.
In recent years, the rising star of the Canglang Kingdom has become no longer content with being an embellishment to the Great Qi, and has great ambitions to replace it.
After successively capturing several inconspicuous cities on the border of the Great Qi, and seeing that the Great Qi emperor was unmoved, the ambition of the Canglang Khan grew even more greedy. He then captured a fortified city near Yinshan, which finally aroused the vigilance of the Great Qi.
Beyond Yinshan lies a hundred-mile plain. If the Canglang Army breaks through the last barrier and its 100,000 cavalrymen march straight down, then the Great Qi will surely perish.
However, in the eyes of emperors throughout history, internal troubles have always outweighed external threats.
Emperor Shang was preoccupied with weakening the military strength of the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Yi. So he listened to the advice of the court officials and issued an edict ordering the two princes to join forces to repel the Canglang Army that was entrenched outside Yinshan Pass.
Unexpectedly, this move was like inviting a wolf into the house. The King of Shu secretly recalled his troops from the west and launched a surprise attack, raising an army in rebellion on the night of Emperor Shang's wedding.
However, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
The ultimate winner was Pei Muwei, the mantis that had been biding its time in Beiting for nine years.
Unfortunately, the menacing Canglang army was lurking outside Yinshan Mountain. No matter how unwilling the Xiao imperial relatives were, they had no choice but to accept Pei Muwei, the regent who also harbored wolfish ambitions, hoping that the Futu army and the Canglang people could fight to the death.
The new emperor was young, and the regent held absolute power in the court. The nobles and relatives were unhappy about this and tried to cover up their incompetence.
This fig leaf is the Empress Dowager of the Great Qi Dynasty.
Upon hearing the news, Chu Yueyuan felt as if a calamity had befallen her.
Just a few days ago, she was living a peaceful and uneventful life in Fengqi Palace. I wonder which clever minister came up with this terrible idea that forced her and the Regent to be locked up in Qinzheng Hall to listen to government affairs together.
The euphemism for "listening to the government" was actually just having Chu Yueyuan take notes on the ministers' discussions.
The decision was so sudden that the Imperial Household Department didn't even have time to prepare a suitable study for Chu Yueyuan. They simply used a landscape jade screen to divide the original study in two. The central rosewood desk with dragon and cloud patterns was for the Regent, while the small yellow rosewood desk by the window was given to the Empress Dowager.
In this way, the distinction between the two is clear, and the primary and secondary aspects are orderly.
Behind the curtain, the Minister of War hurriedly reported where the Canglang Kingdom's troops had advanced, while the Vice Minister of the Chancellery shook his head, mentioning that the recently promulgated new policies had once again been obstructed by that member of the royal family...
The sheer volume of trivial matters was enough to make one's head spin.
At such times, Chu Yueyuan would put down her pen, twist her stiff neck, and look past the jade screen depicting mountains and water to the man's well-defined profile.
The rosewood desk, carved with dragon and cloud patterns, exudes a dignified and imposing presence. The man, dressed in a purple robe and wearing a golden crown, sits with a white jade belt cinching his waist, highlighting his upright posture. He possesses an otherworldly air. When he hears his ministers vying to report the mess left behind by the late emperor, his handsome, sword-like eyebrows don't even furrow. His clear, cool voice carries a calming power.
The man was like a towering mountain, exuding a sharp and solemn aura. His eyes were calm as a deep pool, yet unfathomable.
Chu Yueyuan quietly yawned.
The Imperial Household Department had chosen a very good spot for her. She sat in this inconspicuous little corner, with a jade beaded curtain hanging in front of her, which made it easy for her to daydream.
Today the sky is clear and the air is crisp. The four windows are decorated with paper-cut window decorations of the Four Gentlemen: plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Thousands of rays of warm sunlight shine through the windows and fall on Chu Yueyuan, as if they were woven into a warm and cozy brocade.
The scholarly emphasis of the Prime Minister echoed in Chu Yueyuan's ears, making her eyelids grow heavier and heavier, and her handwriting become increasingly illegible.
A note from the author:
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