Chapter 20 Chapter 20 - Literary and Stylish Bloom
Some people spend the New Year hugging their loved ones, some people spend the New Year petting cats crazily, and some people spend the New Year secluded and working on their manuscripts.
On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xia Fugui said that he had to attend a dinner with the heads of various departments and could not eat with me, so he asked me to prepare some pickled vegetables and pancakes for myself.
I politely expressed my jealousy and told him to pack up any delicious dishes he saw.
Xia Fugui left, and I stayed in the house to create my latest work.
Time flies so fast. The biography of Pipa Ji that I started writing on the first day of the new year is now only missing the last touching boat scene to be completed.
Inspired by The Dog Emperor, my next book is going to be a rebellious mature woman literature. The tentative plot is about a lecherous official who has taken in countless concubines. There are so many wives and concubines in his house that the concubines can only live in a double room. In the end, the brave and strong wife seduces the concubines, and a group of black widows join forces to drain the lecherous official's money. In the end, they live a shameless and happy life with the official's money.
According to my observation, the popular stories in the market now are either about heroes and beauties or about the supernatural and strange things. They are too monotonous and there is a great lack of this kind of literature targeting mature women. I decided to fill this gap.
As I was thinking, there was a sudden knock on my door, which was particularly creepy in the snowy night.
I walked to the door and opened it.
It was quiet outside and no one was around. There were two letters on the ground.
The envelope was empty and unsigned.
Seeing that there was no one around, I quickly picked up the two letters and went back into the house.
My heart started pounding. The management of the Yunting was not as strict as that of the Zichen Palace. As long as the purchasing eunuchs were bribed, letters could be smuggled in easily. This letter should have entered the palace through such a channel... Who sent it to me?
Aunt? No, not my aunt. She is a thoughtful person and would not rashly hand me a letter. Then who could it be… As I pondered, I took out a knife and opened the envelope. Just when I opened it halfway, three tattered pieces of paper fell out.
I picked up one of them and felt that the crooked and uneven handwriting was very familiar. When I took a closer look, I was immediately amused.
I was wondering who it was, it turned out to be Xiaolan!
The sender of the letter was Shangguan Lan, my best friend, a hardcore polo enthusiast who was accidentally reborn into a civil servant family. She hated reading and writing the most in her life. When she was a child, she often secretly asked me to help her with her homework. Over time, we became friends, and our friendship blossomed through a series of children's team-building activities such as climbing over walls to skip school and climbing trees to shoot birds.
The sea will turn into mulberry fields, and beauty will turn into white hair, but Shangguan Lan's handwriting is ugly with justification, and ugly enough to make the years peaceful.
She gave me a not very sincere greeting and listed a long list of names like a diary, from my aunt to Xiaochuan to herself to the teachers who taught us... and then finally said: Don't worry, all the people listed above are doing well recently.
I looked at it again and didn't see Meng Xu's name. Xiaolan probably thought he had a miserable life.
She continued: I heard that you were punished to the Yunting, and I was very worried. There is nothing I can do to help you, so I will give you some pocket money. I asked a Du Shanggong to bring you five taels of gold, so remember to pick it up.
Look, this is what good sisters are! This is what good sisters are!
I wiped away my tears with emotion, and saw she wrote on the last line: Don’t be sad if you fall out of favor, the next one will be better.
As expected of Xiaolan, she is always at the forefront of fashion trends among women of the time.
There are two letters in total, one is from Xiaolan, where is the other one?
I opened it and saw the familiar handwriting. I screamed in surprise and rolled into the quilt holding the letter.
Although there is no signature, I can recognize it even if it is burned to ashes. This is Brother Meng’s handwriting!
I read it carefully. Brother Meng described his recent situation in simple words. He said that everything was fine with him in the past year, except that he was fined a few months' salary. He also said that he sometimes asked Wei Xizi about my recent situation, so he knew that I had entered the Yunting.
He expressed his longing for me in a very long article. He talked about the first snow in Chang'an, and he thought of me in the Secretariat. When he heard that the emperor took me to the city wall to enjoy the snow, he hurried out to see me. Unfortunately, the emperor had already gone back by then, and he was disappointed and felt very sorry.
Seeing this, my mouth drooped and my eyes felt a little sore. Did he come out to see me at that time? In fact, I was looking for him too. I also felt very sorry.
I picked up my pen to write a reply, but finally put it down. What if Li Siyan found out? I didn't want to implicate Meng Xu anymore.
I carefully hid the letter under my pillow and hugged the quilt in a daze.
We need to find a way to spread the message...
After taking a look at the manuscript, an idea suddenly occurred to me and I became excited.
I will not write that mature woman literature anymore, but a story about childhood sweethearts. When Meng Xu reads it, he will definitely understand that Canglang Jushi is me. In this way, even if I don’t send a letter, he will be able to understand what I want to express by reading my legend.
At this point, I jumped to my feet and began to conceive a new story based on Meng Xu and I—a pair of childhood sweethearts. The girl was kidnapped by a bully in the village, but she never gave in, always trying to find a way to escape. Ten years later, she finally survived the day when the bully was brought to justice. She went back to look for her former lover. The two of them smiled at each other on the riverbank, and the warmth of the past flashed back before my eyes, bringing tears to my eyes...
Because inspiration flowed freely, this legend was completed at the terrifying speed of a hippocampus. Xia Fugui was moved to tears while reading this diarrheal work. He tearfully told me about his childhood sweetheart in the village before he entered the palace. He wondered if she was married now...
I ruthlessly interrupted his reminiscence: "Don't just cry. Find a chance to help me deliver the manuscript. This legend is very important to me."
Xia Fugui asked doubtfully, "What's important?"
I chuckled and said, "This is a secret. I can't tell you."
As long as this legend can make it to the bestseller list, Meng Xu will definitely see it.
Once he reads this story, he will definitely understand that this is a subtle love letter I wrote specifically for him.
While I was lost in sweet fantasies, Xia Fugui put away his manuscript, picked up a butter cake, and said, "Oh, by the way, you might not know this, but His Majesty has promoted Wei Baolin to become Consort Wei. I heard Consort Wang was so angry that she tore up several fans in Qingsi Palace."
I came to my senses and sighed, "We've only been in the palace for a few days and already they're fighting? These ladies are so ambitious!"
Xia Fugui said, "Who says it's not true? Your Majesty is treating everyone equally, so everyone gets a share. But if no one submits, won't fighting break out?"
I agreed deeply and nodded, saying, "If I were him, I would bring Wen Baibi into the palace that very night and have sex with her for ten days or half a month. That way, with a favored queen keeping an eye on her, the concubines below would naturally not dare to act rashly."
Xia Fugui said, "Yingying is right. So do you know when the Queen will enter the palace?"
I scratched my head and said, "It should be soon... I remember it was originally scheduled for May?"
When Li Siyan told me that he chose Wen Baibi as the queen, I didn't react much.
Seeing that I was calm, he continued to nag about how good and kind Wen Baibi was, saying that she would enter the palace in May next year and would definitely be a virtuous and good queen...
I was so annoyed by what I heard and thought to myself, it’s just a wife, what is there to brag about?
Facts have proved that my memory was correct. Just three or two days after the conversation, Li Siyan announced the date of the empress coronation ceremony. It was May 20th, which was said to be an auspicious day that the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had calculated overtime for a month.
Xia Fugui told me about this, and I commented, "It seems he hasn't let the beauty get to his head yet. He knows his harem lacks a capable mistress."
Xia Fugui said calmly, "Yes, there is actually good news, but before I tell you, brother has something to ask of you."
I was in a good mood, chewing on the fried fish fillet, and asked casually, "What's up?"
Xia Fugui asked, "Can you finish writing that book about a den of femme fatales?"
I:
Xia Fugui sighed, "...The two current attendants in the Imperial Court have both taken leave, and there's no one keeping records in the Purple Palace. His Majesty finally remembered you, and he's asking you to accompany him in two days, during the Shangsi Festival..."
Follow...accompany.
My fried fish fillets fell to the ground with a plop.
Ah──no!
After a brief moment of dementia, my frantic howls resounded through the sky.
I haven’t finished my vacation in the Palace yet. Who the hell wants to go back and work for the damn emperor?
I held my head and asked in fear, "What should I do, Fuguier? I don't want to go back. Please think of a way to save me!"
Xia Fugui thought for a long time and suggested uncertainly: "...How about you try pretending to be sick?"
In order to avoid the upcoming Shangsi Festival, I, a smart person, began to actively study how to pretend to be sick.
However, I overestimated my acting skills. In the words of Xia Fugui, "Those quacking in the ditch all look weaker than you."
After he repeatedly criticized my acting skills, I was pushed to the brink of despair. I gritted my teeth and said, "No more pretense. If you're going to do this, let's do it for real!"
Three hours later, in a corner of the Ye Ting on a winter night, Xia Fugui was holding a bucket of cold water and hesitantly said, "You better think about it. This bucket of water is no joke. If you don't handle it well, you could lose your life..."
I said firmly, "When am I going to die? I'll just die, so just pour water on me!"
Xia Fugui stamped his foot and said cruelly, "Okay, just bear with it!"
As the cold water poured over my head, I groaned and shivered all over.
"Are you okay, sister?" Xia Fugui worriedly put clothes on me and said, "I think you should stop struggling, or..."
“Shh,” I said with a smile that was uglier than crying, “Be quiet, don’t scare away my sick energy.”
Xia Fugui: ...
I went back to sleep in a daze for the night, and the next day I successfully became a sniffling cold patient.
When Qingfu came to the palace to pick me up, I was wiping my nose with a handkerchief, and the hand holding the handkerchief weakly raised its index finger.
Celebration:
I blinked and said, "Grandpa Qingfu, I'm sick."
Qingfu: "Why did you choose to get sick on such an important day? Do you think I'm a fool?"
I flicked my handkerchief listlessly and said, "I'm not lying to you. I'm really sick. If you don't believe me, feel my forehead. It's so hot you could fry an egg on it."
Qingfu raised his eyebrows, which were almost invisible, slightly: "Even if you are sick, you have to go. There are no good doctors in the palace, so you can go to Zichen Palace to recuperate."
My mouth opened into a stupid egg shape. "Your Majesty, aren't you tired of me? Why would you want me to go to the Purple Palace and cause trouble?"
Qingfu said leisurely, "Who said that? His Majesty has been in a good mood recently and has already forgiven you. Otherwise, why would he ask you to go back? Be smart and remember to kowtow to His Majesty and express your gratitude when you return."
I struggled desperately: "I..."
Qingfu stood up, his nose turned up to the sky, and said, "I still have to go to the Internal Affairs Bureau to select someone, so I don't have the energy to waste time with you. I give you one incense stick of time to pack up so that we can leave in a dignified manner. If you don't obey, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Too much!
I raised my weak head, made a face at his back, and got up angrily to pack my luggage.
Xia Fugui quietly slipped in from the back door and sighed, "Oh Yingying, you took this bucket of water for nothing..."
"It's all the damn emperor's fault!" I cried out in grievance, stuffing all the unfinished manuscripts of "The Femme Fatale" into Xia Fugui's arms, and said angrily, "He's got a problem! Why doesn't he go and have fun with his first and second wives instead of making fun of me?"
This time, Xia Fugui didn't cover my mouth. He just reached out and rubbed my burning head, and advised: "Don't be angry. It's useless to be angry. It will only hurt yourself..."
Seeing me bow my head and remain silent, he put the manuscript for "The Femme Fatale's Nest" back into my bag and suggested, "If you're really that angry, write something more exciting next time. Maybe a story about a bully who lingers among women and eventually dies of a stroke. That way, you can vent your anger and make money at the same time. How great is that?"
A mouthful of blood boiled in my mouth. Xia Fugui is really my lucky star in career. He is still urging me to submit the manuscript at this time!
With Fuguier's earnest expectations and a heavy heart, I bid farewell to the free and sweet air of Ye Ting in tears and returned to the lifeless Zichen Palace.
According to the script, when I return to the Purple Palace, I should put on full eyeliner, a bright red lipstick, and smile calmly at the palace entrance, saying to the dog emperor, "The former Chen Ying is dead. I am now the Dark Poppy Chen Ying."
However, the imagined scene did not happen. Li Siyan went out of the palace to do some business today, and I didn’t even see his shadow.
At night, I lay straight on my couch, listening to the latest information brought by Xiao Jinliu.
There's nothing strange about her gossip. Xia Fugui has told me everything, except—
"Hmm? Wei Cairen is here to deliver chicken soup?"
Little Jinliu was sewing clothes for me and nodded, "Yes, Wei Cairen is a good cook. She often comes to bring soups and soups. Recently, the weather has become warmer, and she comes more often."
I immediately did a standard sit-up on the sickbed and said excitedly, "Wei Cairen, is that the Wei Cairen who single-handedly made Wang Cairen tear two tribute fans apart in anger?"
Little Jinliu was stunned and said, "Ah, did my wife also hear about this in the palace?"
"Ah, there are no impenetrable walls in the palace. No, I must go and see for myself the woman who could have angered Fu Niang like this!"
I was in a good mood and, regardless of my weak limbs due to illness, I put on my clothes and ran out of the door amid Xiao Jinliu's panicked calls.
However, after a cup of tea, I returned to the house disappointed.
Xiao Jinliu looked at my disappointed face and asked, "What's wrong? Didn't my wife catch up?"
I shook my head and said, "No, I saw her. Well... well, she's a beauty, too, but she's worlds apart from Wang Funiang. I can't understand why His Majesty would leave such a beautiful woman behind and favor the seemingly pretty Wei Cairen instead."
"I heard from Sister Xiaodie in Xuanwei Palace that Consort Wei is very gentle, always smiling, and has a soft voice." Little Jinliu said, "Perhaps His Majesty prefers women who are more chaste and quiet."
I suddenly understood and realized that I had to cling to Wei Cairen from now on.
I sighed, "I think I know why Wang Funiang is so angry."
Little Jin Liu asked in confusion, "What?"
"She lost a loyal human legging."
Xiao Jinliu: ...
...No one wants this kind of thing!
A peaceful night passed, and it was the early morning of March 3rd.
Shangsi Festival is one of the few conscientious festivals throughout the year for outings and entertainment. There is no need to kneel to ancestors or the emperor, and everyone goes out of the city happily to have fun together. Anyone who dares to be reserved on this day will be ridiculed by the social circle for the whole year.
During the Shangsi Festival two years ago, Li Siyan was plotting to usurp the throne. During the Shangsi Festival last year, he was thinking about how to bully the Fanyang Jiedushi. During the Shangsi Festival this year, after marrying a concubine, he finally remembered that there was such a festival for legal entertainment. So, on a whim, he decided to take a few of his favorite concubines out of the city for an outing.
In addition to the concubine, there is also a hapless laid-off servant.
Before daybreak, Su Xing once again forcibly pulled me off the couch. As I put on my clothes, I groggily complained to her, "Don't you people in Zichen Palace know how to be considerate of the sick?"
Su Xing said coldly: "Do your job well and don't complain."
I pouted. "Why do I have to come? Where's Wei Xizi?"
Su Xing said, "Sheren Wei has asked for leave to return to Longxi to visit his mother, and the new attendant Bai Qi fell off his horse and bruised his leg."
My mouth flattened into a slit. "Look! We, the Recorders, also have high-risk duties. Can't Your Majesty appoint a few more? Two is too few, not enough to keep us busy."
Su Xing said indifferently: "Shut up."
Thanks to the efforts of Xiao Jinlian and Xiao Jinliu, my hair was combed into an adult's style, and I put on an ugly palace dress to serve the dog emperor who had been away for four months.
I hadn't worn such loose clothes for four months, and I felt a little uncomfortable. I didn't know where to put my hands and feet.
What makes me even more uncomfortable is the change in Li Siyan.
Xiao Jinliu said that he stayed in Wei Wan'er's Xuanwei Palace last night and did not return to Zichen Palace all night.
So as soon as I got up, I was escorted a long way by Su Xing to Xuanwei Palace, where I stood shivering in the chilly spring air waiting for the emperor.
Waiting with me were a large number of palace maids and eunuchs, each one more resistant to cold than the other. In the early spring breeze, they stood as straight as young poplars, without even a shiver. It was truly magical.
I shrank my neck and looked towards the slightly open door.
The Emperor and the Empress were probably still being affectionate on the couch. The curtain at the entrance of the palace was slightly blown up by the wind, and the warmth from inside and the gentle laughter of the girl came out. I sniffed the fragrant breeze and sneezed in a cowardly manner.
Seeing that all the palace maids' eyes were looking at me, I frustratedly took out a handkerchief and blew my hair hard.
──Forcing patients to work, the Zichen Palace is so fucking inhumane.
I thought the Emperor and the Empress would come out soon, but the noise inside was endless, with no sign of ending. Li Siyan probably really liked Wei Wan'er. He drew her eyebrows, warmed her hands, and did one little romantic thing after another, with a sour smell of love.
I wiped my nose and thought: A virgin who has just started having sex is such a scary creature.
After waiting for about half an hour, Li Siyan came out with the little beauty, and ordered the maids to open the curtain and put on clothes in a pretentious manner.
Why do you say he is pretentious? Because Li Siyan has always been an impatient person and never needs the palace maids to do things for him slowly. But in order to show off in front of Wei Wan'er, he specially enjoyed a full set of out-call services. He is really pretentious.
But no matter whether he was being pretentious or not, seeing that he finally had some ideas, I almost cried for joy even though I was almost frozen into an ice sculpture. I knelt down and saluted with the crowd, shouting "Your Majesty".
This is definitely the most sincere time I have ever called Your Majesty.
When they met for the first time after April, Li Siyan was wearing a green casual suit. The suit was tailored very well and showed off his long legs and thin waist to the fullest.
I glanced at his face again and found that he looked cheerful with a smile on his face, but there was a faint bluish-black spot under his eyes, and he looked like he had not had a good rest.
Ahem...indulgence is harmful to your health.
Li Siyan glanced around at us attendants, his eyes landing on me, then quickly shifted away as if unnoticed. He turned around and affectionately took Wei Wan'er's arm, chuckling softly as he whispered to her, "We'll be leaving soon."
I laughed in my heart. Well, after having this little beauty, he didn’t even bother to look at me.
Li Siyan was born with a good appearance, but he was usually irritable, so people tended to overlook his looks. But once he put down his imperial dignity and acted so gentle and considerate, he looked like a handsome young man from an ordinary family, and the little palace maids below all blushed with shame.
Wei Wan'er beside him seemed a little flattered. She kept her head slightly lowered and leaned on him, like a little bird relying on its mother, with two red clouds floating on her pretty little face.
As I was watching, the tip of my nose suddenly felt itchy and I sneezed loudly again.
I quickly took out a handkerchief to blow my nose. Fortunately, I came prepared today and brought ten handkerchiefs with me, which made my chest look bigger.
The sneeze startled Wei Wan'er. She saw me and saw that I was not dressed like an ordinary palace maid. She hesitated and said, "This lady..."
I was startled, then immediately put on a flattering smile: "An, the talented Wei, my surname is Chen, and I used to work as a historian and a recorder."
Wei Wan'er was stunned: "Ah, so you are Chen Ying?"
I said enthusiastically, "Yes, it's me! Talented..."
Li Siyan didn't even glance towards me, but gently scratched her nose and said with a smile, "Don't pay attention to her. She was originally serving in the imperial court. Today, Wei Bai and the two attendants were on leave, and there was no one to record the emperor's daily life, so she was summoned temporarily."
"Oh, I see." Wei Wan'er nodded.
I wanted to say a few more words to Wei Wan'er, but Li Siyan had already turned his back and quietly separated us. His back gave off an aura of "keep away from strangers".
I rolled my eyes in my heart: Why are you so rude? I won’t eat your little heart.
Wei Wan'er was helped into the car by Li Siyan. Not long after, Wang Funiang and another little Baolin also came. Wang Funiang seemed to have dressed up carefully today. She wore a popular peach blossom makeup and a flower between her eyebrows. She was so gorgeous and her green hair was like clouds. Even I, a woman, drooled at the sight of her.
But Li Siyan didn't seem to treat her kindly because of her beauty. On the contrary, he was very kind to every beauty, which made Wang Funiang's disappointment obvious.
After settling a group of concubines, Li Siyan walked to the front, jumped on his horse, and prepared to leave the palace under the protection of the guards.
Qingfu came over with a sheepish look on his face and asked me, "Can you ride a horse?"
I said, "Of course I can, but I'm sick today and can't sit still..." I also cooperated and acted out the delicate action of Xishi holding her heart.
Qingfu pressed his brows and said with a headache, "Just do it! You deserve to die for your misdeeds!"
Me: Hehe.
The weather is new on March 3rd, and there are many beautiful women by the water in Chang'an.
The carriage was driving on Zhuque Street, and I was staring at the scenery outside the window in a daze.
In fact, when my family was not in trouble, Shangsi Festival was my favorite festival.
Outings in the suburbs, singing at banquets, and writing poems together are all my signature activities, especially writing poems together. My writing skills are unrivaled among the ladies. I usually compete with the Jinshi scholars and was even fortunate enough to be included in the list of famous young scholars in Chang'an.
My second uncle always said that I had a talent for writing, and if I were born a boy, I would definitely be a Jinshi, the kind that would bring honor to our family.
"It's a pity you're a girl," my second uncle sighed as he flipped through my poems. "Girls have sharp talents and prickly tempers, but that's not a good thing after all."
I didn't expect my second uncle to be so sexist. I said angrily, "But if you don't have talent and temper, how can you compete with men?"
"We Yingying are no worse than men," said the second uncle, "we just take a different path, so it's bound to be hard."
I don’t quite remember what I said afterwards, something like “I’m not afraid of hard work”. In fact, this happened just a few years ago, but when I think back on it now, it seems like it happened in my previous life.
Seeing me lift up the car curtain and look out unscrupulously, little Baolin who was sitting opposite me stretched his neck enviously.
Because I was ill and couldn't ride a horse, the chief steward Qingfu took it upon himself to let me share a carriage with the new young lady who had just entered the palace.
The young lady's surname is Shangguan. She is the illegitimate younger sister of my best friend Shangguan Lan. Because she is beautiful, her father forced her into the palace to serve the emperor.
However, this person had a weak character and was not suitable to enter the palace, so Shangguan Baolin's life had been mediocre, and he had received favors only a few times in the past four months.
I felt very uncomfortable under her stare, so I asked tentatively, "You...you want to come and see it too?"
Shangguan Baolin was startled by me and stammered, "...I didn't."
I comforted him, "Don't be afraid, I don't eat people."
Shangguan Baolin's expression became even more panicked.
Wei Xizi said that my public image is that of a three-headed, six-armed witch, and it seems to be true.
I tried to get closer to her: "You must be Xiaolan's sister, right? I think I saw you when I was playing polo."
As expected, Shangguan Baolin relaxed a little when his eldest sister was mentioned. He whispered, "There are many sisters in my family, and my eldest sister rarely takes me out."
This killed the conversation.
It’s hard to imagine that there is someone in the world who is worse at chatting than Wei Xizi. I gave up talking to her, lifted the curtain and looked at the scenery alone.
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