Chapter 26 Chapter 26 - The Broken-Hearted Boss
I feel like I am a rare genius in mounting paintings. Even after being slapped in the face by Qingfu, I still managed to mount the painting with almost no flaws.
After waiting for a long time for the paper to dry, I covered my precious painting all the way and returned to Xuanwei Hall like a thief.
Wei Wan'er was very satisfied after seeing the finished product and couldn't stop smiling.
Every time she was happy, there would be stars in her eyes, just like the glass crystals from the Western Regions that Li Siyan treasured. At this moment, these beautiful almond eyes with starlight were looking at me happily, curved into a cute flat almond.
Xiaodie said jokingly, "Mrs. Shen looks quite similar to the talented person, especially her eyes, both of them are big and round almond-shaped, very beautiful."
Upon hearing this, Wei Wan'er looked at me carefully and nodded, "Really? If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have noticed. And it's not just the eyes, the nose and mouth are a bit similar. No wonder I felt so familiar with Madam Shen the moment I saw her. I didn't think she was an ordinary palace maid, but more like a sister."
I quickly laughed and said, "Xiao Die is only good at teasing people. How can I be compared with a talented person?"
Wei Wan'er said, "Don't say that. I just realized that we are really similar. The only difference is our hairstyle and eyebrows. Madam Shen's eyebrows must not have been trimmed. If they were trimmed, maybe we would really look like sisters from the same family."
I silently took note of Wei Wan'er's words, went back and looked at myself in the blurry little bronze mirror for a long time, and was surprised to find: Hey, there is indeed some resemblance.
But why didn’t I notice it before?
"The problem is temperament."
Xiaodie answered me like this.
"Look, our talented lady is incredibly gentle, her voice like a gentle spring breeze, her demeanor like a willow swaying along a embankment..." Xiaodie used two high-level metaphors in quick succession, her voice full of emotion as she spoke: "Such a beauty must be some immortal who, tired of the loneliness of eternal life, came down to earth to experience the troubles of the mundane world."
The flattery was so loud that I was stunned and asked expectantly, "What about me?"
Xiaodie was silent for a long moment, then said honestly, "You're different. People out there say you're the incarnation of the evil star Tai Sui. After a fight with His Majesty, you were suppressed beneath Penglai Island in Taiye Lake. You won't reappear until five hundred years later."
I was greatly shocked. I never expected that my folk image would evolve so rapidly, from a female demon to the evil star Tai Sui.
Xiaodie urgently added: "...I don't mean to say anything bad about you, it's just that there are rumors out there."
I lost my confidence for a short time, patted my face which had gained weight recently, and asked depressedly, "Shouldn't I be more gentle?" while lowering my head and looking shy.
Xiaodie was disgusted by me: "What's that idiom you scholars often use? Dong Shi Xiou Pin?"
I was so angry that I instantly turned into my original shrew self, rolled up my sleeves and beat up the unfortunate kid.
For the next two days, Wei Wan'er led Ruiyin and two other palace maids who were good at handicrafts, and worked hard to make a belt and dragon boots for Li Siyan. The Xuanwei Palace was silent, with only the slight sound of silver needles piercing cloth.
This girl is worthy of being the top talent selected by a century-old aristocratic family and sent to the palace. I just mentioned that Li Siyan likes expensive-looking things, and she immediately learned from it. Not only did she inlay fine jade on her belt, she also refurbished the embroidery on her dragon boots with sparkling gold thread. Her patience makes me sigh in admiration.
Xiaodie is not good at needlework and is ruthlessly kicked out of the embroidery team by Wei Wan'er, who has high standards and strict requirements. Her number one competitor Ruiyin is happy about this for the whole day and she shows a faint smile when she sees Xiaodie.
Xiaodie was furious. She slammed the table and yelled at me, "What is she laughing at? She only learned women's work two years longer than me, and she's so proud of herself?"
I looked at the cracks on the table with distress: "Sister, please be gentle. If you knock my table down, where will I go to write?"
Xiaodie couldn't find any spiritual comfort from me, so she ran to Zichen Palace to find her sister Chan'er to pour out her grievances. Chan'er felt sorry for her sister and, risking offending Wang Funiang, secretly revealed the gift Wang Funiang had prepared.
When Xiaodie returned, her face was all red, and she clapped her hands on my desk and laughed heartily, "Guess what that Qingsi Palace lady gave me? You'd never guess that for His Majesty's Qianqiu, a day that only comes once a year, she would just casually give him a crown. I think our Xuanwei Palace is definitely the winner this time!"
I gave up trying to save my table and asked, "What is that crown made of?"
Xiaodie was stunned for a moment: "Concubine Wang has plenty of money. Since it's for the emperor's birthday, it should be inlaid with gold and jade."
I was silent: Sister Wan'er might lose.
Xiaodie walked around Xuanwei Palace with a proud and confident look. In less than an hour, everyone in Xuanwei Palace knew that Wang Funiang's gift was a shabby crown. Everyone celebrated and everyone felt that their master was sure to win.
Even Wei Wan'er herself thinks so.
In the blink of an eye, it was Li Siyan’s centenary day.
During this day, the birthday god was as busy as a spinning top. In the morning, all the officials came to the emperor's house to celebrate with the people. In the afternoon, he had an audience in the palace, with people cheering "Long live the emperor". In the evening, he had a private banquet, inviting a few favorite ministers and concubines, which was very affectionate.
However, I did not attend any of these three games. I slept all day long in the empty Xuanwei Hall.
While I was drinking and chatting with Zhou Gong, Xia Fugui led his palace servants to kowtow to the emperor in batches. After a whole afternoon of hard work, they finally got the matter done smoothly. In the evening, Xia Fugui came to Xuanwei Palace under the pretext of delivering something to Wei Wan'er.
When I heard that Manager Xia was coming, I dressed up without saying a word and went to the door to greet him. In order to avoid suspicion, Xia Fugui's chubby face was as stiff as a piece of iron pear wood. He secretly slipped me a note with four big words written on it: Have you finished writing?
I was so angry that I fell over.
But no matter how angry I was, I still had to hand in the manuscript. I took out the completed version of "Den of Femme Fatales" from my arms and said, "Oh, I accidentally took the notebook I used to keep for the steward out of the palace. Fortunately, the steward Xia came and returned it to its rightful owner."
Xia Fugui never gets too close to me in front of outsiders. He nodded with a stern face and stuffed a thick stack of manuscripts in front of his chest, which made the front of his clothes bulge out a little bit, making him look like a breastfeeding woman who is open-minded.
He took this opportunity to pass me another note, which read: When will you write the next book?
Next one? I’ll wait until inspiration strikes, I replied with a sincere smile.
In the evening, watching Wei Wan'er gracefully walking towards Yanying Palace with the gifts she had carefully prepared, I yawned and lay back on the bed.
I have finished writing "A Den of Femme Fatales", but I have no new inspiration for the time being. I am twisting the green silk ribbon on the bed curtain around my fingertips, thinking that I should use local materials for the next book and write about the love-hate relationship between the emperor and his favorite concubine?
After swishing for a moment, I scratched my head dejectedly: Forget it, literature comes from life, you can't write something that has no basis at all. Most of the tough guys who can spontaneously strive to become emperors only love themselves and can't even manage their own country. Who would be so attentive to women every day? Take Li Siyan for example, I really can't imagine him risking his life for a woman.
Since I couldn’t write about the emperor, I turned my attention to Su Xing and the mysterious Manager Qi: How about... a tragic love story within the palace walls between a serious female official and an amorous eunuch?
After thinking about it for a while, I shook my head again: No, the subject of food is quite sensitive and it is easy to be noticed by the people in the Imperial College. If I write too realistically, these old scholars will investigate and investigate. What if they find me?
Neither this nor that worked. I felt like the Baotu Spring of my literary inspiration was suddenly blocked. I turned over in frustration and picked up a strange story novel to read for entertainment.
After more than an hour, the sky changed from dull blue to a ripe grape color, and the moon slowly climbed up the branches. There was a commotion outside the door, and Wei Wan'er brought Ruiyin, Xiaodie and the others back to the palace.
I walked to the palace door and was about to make a few jokes, but I saw that the palace maids who were leading the way all had solemn and cautious expressions, as if they were trying to reduce their presence so as not to offend their master. I was stunned for a moment and looked outside. I saw Wei Wan'er slowly walking up the steps, her long eyelashes drooping, her expression calm and confused.
She returned to the palace and went into the bedroom without saying a word.
Seeing her distraught look, I thought that Li Siyan had ignored her. But when I asked Xiaodie, the girl shook her head like a rattle and said that His Majesty really liked the gift of the talented person. She praised it several times, which made Wang Funiang's face turn green with anger.
This left me somewhat perplexed. I glanced at the inner hall and asked Xiaodie in a low voice, "Why is the talented person so unhappy?"
Xiaodie was overwhelmed: "How would I know? I'm counting on you to ask, Sister Yingzi."
Xiaodie is very outgoing. A few days ago, she called me Madam Chen, but later she felt that this name was too unfamiliar, so she took the initiative to call me Sister Yingzi.
We squatted in the corner, whispering and analyzing Wei Wan'er's psychological activities for a long time. Halfway through the discussion, Ruiyin suddenly appeared behind me like a ghost and said lightly: "The talented person asked Madam Shen to come in and serve."
Seeing Ruiyin's serious expression, countless counselors who met with miserable ends suddenly emerged in my mind, including Shang Yang, Fan Li, Wu Zixu, Tian Feng, Chao Cuo, Zhou Yafu... My heart tightened: I'm afraid she is going to settle the score with me later.
But on second thought, Wei Wan'er should not be that kind of person.
I was still feeling uneasy, but Xiaodie had already led me to Wei Wan'er's inner hall. Her bedroom was very fancy, with white walls, vermilion pillars, intricate lotus tiles on the floor, and curtains hanging down one after another. The only decorations in the whole room that could be called elegant were a few porcelain jars filled with fresh peach blossoms.
This was my first time entering the inner hall, and I felt a little nervous about entering someone's private space.
When I was in the Zichen Palace before, my activities were limited to the imperial study, the main hall, and the side hall where I lived. The inner hall where Li Siyan slept was a restricted area for me. He wouldn't let me in, and I didn't want to enter either.
But what’s infuriating is that I consciously stay away from Li Siyan’s private life, but he has never respected my privacy. We had several serious arguments and I went on strike in anger, running back to my room and beating the pillow. But Li Siyan has a hot temper and never holds back his anger. Every time he breaks in without saying hello, scolds me and then walks away in a swagger.
One time, he happened to catch me punching a small pillow, and he shamelessly mocked me: "What's the big deal about punching a soft pillow? If you have the guts, go hit a porcelain pillow."
He reminded me, and I swung the porcelain pillow and smashed it against his legs like a king lifting a tripod, cursing as I did so: "I'm gutless, but you're gutless! Bah! Even my nine-year-old nephew knows to knock before entering a house. How can you, an emperor, be worse than a bandit? Get out of here!"
Li Siyan easily grabbed my wrist and said with a grin, "Do you still remember that I'm the emperor? All the land under heaven belongs to me. Logically, this house of yours belongs to me, and yet you're telling the owner to get out?"
The porcelain pillow was broken into pieces all over the floor. I couldn't beat him, and I couldn't be more shameless than him. I was so angry that I almost punched the pillow.
This kind of thing happened frequently in the past two years, but it hasn't happened since that time when I completely angered Li Siyan.
There is no point in thinking too much. I shook my head and put these infuriating memories behind me. I lifted a bead curtain with one hand and saw Wei Wan'er's lonely back in front of the dressing table.
Wei Wan'er was removing her makeup with her back to me. Facing the mirror, she washed off the exquisite plum blossom makeup on her face bit by bit. Finally, she gently tore off the plum blossom petals that served as a flower ornament on her forehead and stared blankly at a dish of turbid water with fine powder floating on it.
I quietly walked over and stood there awkwardly for a moment. Then I picked up a thick piece of clothing nearby and asked, "Are you cold, Mr. Tai? Put on something."
Her muffled voice drifted over: "I'm not cold."
I had no choice but to put the clothes aside again, thought for a moment, sat down next to her, and said softly: "If you have any troubles, why not tell me, but what did Shen Ying do wrong?"
Wei Wan'er pursed her lips, looked at me with complicated eyes, then lowered her eyelashes and shook her head.
"It's not your fault..." She hesitated to speak, looking confused.
I waited quietly for her to gather her thoughts.
It was a very quiet night. The hustle and bustle of the day faded away, leaving only cold and deserted debris on the ground. Dim lights were on in the room, and the long and shrill cries of a raccoon could be heard faintly outside. I don't know which little animal in the palace was emitting its inexhaustible physiological desire.
Hearing the sad meows, Wei Wan'er suddenly burst into tears.
She cried very gracefully, her body trembling slightly, and tears fell from her eyes in big drops, splashing into the dish of muddy water in front of her.
Tears broke up the evenly distributed fine powder, and the originally calm water surface was riddled with holes, just like the girl's restless heart.
I handed her the handkerchief and waited patiently for her to finish crying.
Wei Wan'er's tears seemed endless and kept falling. I sat next to her and wanted to comfort her, but I didn't feel I had the ability to do so.
I am also an animal trapped in a cage, how can I comfort her?
After a long while, she wiped her tears and turned to me with red eyes. She said, "Your Majesty doesn't like me."
I sighed and patted her back gently, just like when I used to comfort the little neighbor girl who had suffered a broken heart.
I wanted to tell her that Li Siyan was a fucking bastard and that he didn't understand what love was. You're a good girl and it's not worth it to be sad for someone with a congenital emotional disability.
But when the words came to my lips, I couldn't say them. I was silent for a moment and said, "How could His Majesty not have a talented person in his heart? He gave you a box full of pearls and jade, treated you very kindly, and even stayed in Xuanwei Palace every night. He..."
"Chen Ying, I'm not stupid. I can see that he doesn't like me at all." Wei Wan'er interrupted me crying.
I was stunned. She was always polite and courteous, but it turned out that she could be so sad sometimes.
She angrily shook off my hand and confided with tears in her eyes, "I'm different from you. I've been an ordinary illegitimate child since I was young. The only good fortune I've ever had was being chosen and sent to the palace. I'm not as doted on as you are, and I don't live a carefree life."
"When I first entered the palace, I had no extravagant expectations. Wang Funiang was so beautiful, Shangguan Fang so talented, Fang Youlan was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and there was also Empress Wen, who was rumored to be very kind to His Majesty. I thought at the time, I'm not outstanding in any of these areas, so why would His Majesty look upon me so highly? He didn't like me at first. He said he was visiting me, but in fact he just came to stay with me for a night and didn't even touch me. But later..."
I interrupted quietly at the right moment, "Let's just leave the past behind. Your Majesty is becoming increasingly warm to talented people, which is a good sign."
"Warm?" Wei Wan'er simply shook her head, as if she had just heard some ridiculous joke. "You all think His Majesty is kind to me, but even I don't know where this inexplicable warmth comes from."
After saying that, she fell silent, her tears stopped, and her eyes were filled with sober fatigue.
I babbled incoherently, trying to find excuses to make her feel better. "This talented person is kind and reserved, like a jade uncut from a stone. Your Majesty is a master at judging stone and carving jade. Naturally, only after a long time can you see the good in this talented person."
After hearing my lame compliment, Wei Wan'er took a deep breath and said seriously, "No, Chen Ying, I'm not kind at all. I'm really bad. When I was little, I pretended to be wronged so that my father would punish my domineering eldest sister. When I grew up, I pretended to be good to win the favor of others. I dream of making Wang Funiang, Shangguan Fang and the others disappear so that His Majesty can only see me."
The words were harsh, but the tone was like that of a good kid who had been tricked by his parents and was determined to be a bad kid.
I immediately changed my tone: "Bad guys are good! Men don't love women who aren't bad."
Wei Wan'er was finally amused by me: "What a mess, you always love to say some witty words."
I said awkwardly, "Go on, Cairen. I won't interrupt."
Wei Wan'er changed into a comfortable position, lying on her back on the futon, her long hair spread out like a bunch of water plants in a deep pool.
She stared at the caisson and said, "Originally, His Majesty was indifferent to me. It all started last month. His Majesty...he suddenly remembered that I was still in the harem. He came a few times, and I was overjoyed. I just wanted him to remember me. But then he came more and more often, always looking at me so attentively and tenderly. I even thought we were in love. It wasn't until tonight that I realized it was all wishful thinking."
"Why...why? Your Majesty, do you not like the gift from the talented person?"
On the one hand, I felt sad for her, and on the other hand, I was extremely curious.
Oh my god, what had Li Siyan done to inflict such wrath upon Wei Wan'er?
Wei Wan'er said, "No, he said my thoughtfulness and craftsmanship were excellent, especially those shoes. He couldn't let them go."
Can't let it go? Isn't that wonderful? I couldn't understand the source of her sadness.
Just when I was confused, she pulled my sleeve, and she lay on her back on the mat, motioning me to lie down too.
I obediently let her pull me down and lay beside her.
Wei Wan'er asked softly, "Chen Ying, why did you come to Xuanwei Palace?"
I didn't know why she suddenly asked this, so I just answered honestly, "His Majesty said that I made a mistake and couldn't stay in Zichen Palace. He asked me to come to Xuanwei Palace to accompany the talented people to study, which can be regarded as making the best use of my resources."
"Is it true? Are you lying to me?" Wei Wan'er asked again.
I became increasingly confused. "Yes, but His Majesty later changed his mind and let me choose whether to stay in Zichen Palace or come to Xuanwei Palace. Naturally, I chose Xuanwei Palace because it's more comfortable here."
"And he wasn't too happy that I chose Xuanwei Palace." I couldn't help but complain, "How can someone change their mind so quickly?"
Wei Wan'er suddenly let out a short laugh.
I thought she had choked, so I quickly turned over and sat up to check. I saw that Wei Wan'er had tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face.
She looked at me and giggled, "So that's how it is."
She covered her eyes with her sleeves and said, "Your Majesty drank a lot of wine tonight, a whole jar of Lingnan Yunxi Boluo and another pot of Jiannan Shaochun. He was drunk, and Qingfu wanted to help him down, but he refused and insisted that I come. Even then, I was still happy. I was happy that he still remembered me even when he was drunk. That must mean he had a place for me in his heart, but... but I was still too wishful. I helped him to the inner room and took off his outer shirt. He looked at me and suddenly called out another woman's name."
Wei Wan'er laughed at herself, "When has he ever called me by my name like that? I thought he had me in his heart, but I didn't expect he was just looking through me to see someone else's shadow."
Wait a minute... Are you calling another girl's name to Wei Wan'er?
I was stunned and my jaw dropped.
Is this what a human being would do, Li Siyan? Calling a girl by another girl's name in front of her is a humiliating act! Luckily, Wei Wan'er has a good temper and only knows how to cry when she's wronged. If it were a shrew like me, I'd definitely blow his skull off!
I was filled with righteous indignation, my face turning blue. I rubbed my fists together and said, "Is he crazy? This is so insulting! Don't cry, Cairen. It's not your fault. This bastard is just being incompetent. He's not worth your sadness!"
Wei Wan'er was lying on the ground, staring at me. Suddenly, she interrupted me and said, "Why don't you ask me whose name he called?"
I got anxious: "Is this the point? Why do you care who he likes? Li Siyan clearly doesn't respect you. Where is your dignity?"
Wei Wan'er sniffed, tilted her head and smiled, "You're right, he certainly didn't care about my dignity, but it wasn't intentional. He was so drunk at the time that he didn't know what time it was, and there was no one else in the inner hall except me... Aren't you curious whose name he called? Come and ask me."
Although I wasn't very interested, seeing that she was determined to talk, I had no choice but to ask, "Whose name did he call?"
Anyway, it couldn't be me. I didn't doubt myself at all. Everyone in the harem was more likable than me. After four months, even if Li Siyan had some affection for me before, it should be gone now.
Wei Wan'er stared into my eyes for a long time.
Resentment, unwillingness, confusion, sadness, and a little bit of strange envy, many emotions intertwined in her eyes.
Two pairs of similar almond-shaped eyes looked at each other, one was calm, the other was complicated and sad.
"I won't tell you." After a while, Wei Wan'er smiled triumphantly.
I could barely catch my breath.
"Are you making fun of me?"
"Do you want to know why? Because I'm a very bad girl." Wei Wan'er declared seriously, "The worst girl in the whole inner courtyard."
She stood up from the futon, dusted herself off, and said to me, "You're a good person and you've taken care of me like a younger sister, but I'm not in a good mood tonight. You'd better leave first."
After saying that, he sat on the bed, lowered the curtain, and threw himself into the quilt.
I said nothing more, and politely excused myself, then walked out slowly through the layers of curtains.
As my soft cloth shoes stepped on the flower tiles, I couldn't help but feel upset. Wei Wan'er was such a good girl. Why did good girls always fail to get what they wanted?
It seemed like she was always being picked over and over throughout her life. She was picked out by the clan and sent to the palace as a beautiful and well-behaved gift. Later, she was picked out by Li Siyan, teased like a little pet, and then thrown aside.
Maybe when she grows up a little, she will understand that at the pinnacle of power, true love is a very luxurious thing. She will be a decent concubine, treat the emperor with coldness, and live her life alone and peacefully. But now she is only seventeen years old, as young as a flower. She treats every emotion seriously. It is too cruel for her to love someone who does not love her.
I once asked my brother a question: How big is a person's heart?
My brother was horrified at the time. He thought I didn't want to be a historian anymore and wanted to change my career to become a coroner.
I said no, I wanted to ask you, how much can a person's heart hold.
At that time, my brother answered me seriously: Good question. He has been reading Nanhua Jing recently, which says: Heaven and earth coexist with me, and all things are one with me. The human heart can be big or small. The small one can only hold needles and thread, and the big one can hold all things and people. As a historian, you should have the world in your heart, hold the sun and the moon in your arms, and have mountains and rivers in your chest.
I had an epiphany, and from then on, whenever someone came to me to talk about their relationship problems, I would advise them to contemplate the mysteries of the universe and the vastness of the world.
But after I comforted them in this way, they cried even more sadly.
I went back to my brother and asked him why these grandchildren acted so upset when they lost their love, even though love is just a tiny thing in the universe.
My brother thought about it and gave me a much warmer answer.
──Humans are indeed a drop in the ocean, a flash in the pan, and extremely small compared to the universe. But even so, every emotion is real and strong to the individual and should not be obscured by a larger narrative.
I think it makes a lot of sense. My brother must be the smartest young man in Chang'an City.
So from then on, I no longer preach bullshit to the sad people who come to me to cry. I just hug them and cry, curse the damn unfaithful person with them, and then fill a glass of forget-me-not liquor for them, raise the glass and say: My friend, drink this glass of wine and forget about that dog.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
