Chapter 21 - Shangsi Festival Daily Record
Shangguan Baolin was silent for a long time, then suddenly whispered, "When I was still in my boudoir, I once heard of Madam Shen's reputation."
I asked, "Does it mean I have extraordinary abilities, or do I have all sorts of injuries?"
"No... not that," she said timidly, twisting her handkerchief nervously with her fingers. "My eldest sister showed us, Madam Shen, your poems and essays, as well as your own quatrains."
I was startled. “Huh?”
She seemed to muster up her courage, bit her lip, and asked, "We sisters all love to read Madam Shen's writings, especially those about the imperial capital. I can still recite them. Today, on the Shangsi Festival, I wonder if Madam Shen will go and write poems with the talented scholars?"
Being praised by the beautiful girl, I scratched my head in embarrassment and said with a smile, "Oh, I was just writing casually to pass the time. It's not worth mentioning. But as for the poem writing... well, His Majesty will definitely not allow me to go."
Li Siyan doesn't like me to participate in any cultural activities - except accompanying him to read books.
Shangguan Baolin let out a disappointed sound.
"To be honest, Madam Shen, Sister Wei Cairen came to see me and talked a few times before. We got along quite well and both liked calligraphy and painting. Sister Wei also liked Madam Shen's poems."
Oh, I thought to myself, why are all of Li Siyan's concubines talented women? According to his simple aesthetic taste, shouldn't he like the type with big breasts and no brains?
On second thought, I found it funny again. I remembered that I gave Shangguan Lan some poetry learning materials in an attempt to improve her cultural literacy. This uneducated girl kept clamoring to use all these things to use as table legs. She said no, but her body was very honest. Not only did she keep them well, she also showed them to her sisters.
Thinking of my good friends from the past, I couldn't help but smile and said, "Thank you, but I haven't written poetry since I entered the palace."
When I thought about the dog emperor being nearby, I lost all desire to write poetry and just wanted to stab him to death with a pen.
The carriage slowly drove to the bank of Qujiang River. The weather was good today. The river outside the city was wide and the clouds were low. The view was vast and one could even see the old site of Shanglinyuan in the distance.
When I came to Qujiang before, I seldom visited the royal villa. I only passed by it once when I was taking a walk with Meng Xu. Before we got close, we were forcibly driven away by the eunuchs who were clearing the way. I even laughed at the old emperor for being so pretentious. He covered himself tightly with curtains when he went out to play, which made him look stingy.
It’s a matter of course, and now, the person hidden by the curtain has become me.
I pulled out my third handkerchief and sneezed for the twelfth time of the day. I watched the eunuchs running back and forth, pulling up the curtains and laying down the carpets. I thought this was simply outrageous.
Brother, you came out to enjoy the scenery, okay? If you block the scenery, what’s the point of enjoying it?
With no scenery to enjoy, I could only follow the young ladies in boredom, glancing at the water pavilion in the distance from time to time. The talented scholars should have started to compose poems together. Is Brother Meng among them?
It's not just Brother Meng, I also miss my other friends, especially my best friend Shangguan Lan. Woo woo woo, I really want to play polo with Xiaolan, even if she waves her polo stick and scolds Chen Ying, "You bastard who betrays your teammates!"
I listened to the laughter of the people in the distance, and it made me feel very anxious.
...I have been locked up in the palace all the time, so it would be fine if I didn't think about it. But now I am standing on the bank of Qujiang River, but I can't go out and have fun with my friends. How uncomfortable this feels.
Li Siyan was in front, chatting and laughing with Wei Wan'er and Wang Funiang, and walked all the way to the high platform in the other courtyard. I followed Qingfu, my mind already flying far away, when suddenly I tripped on the stone steps -
I screamed and fell flat on my face again.
I stood up in a hurry and saw Wei Wan'er, Wang Funiang, Shangguan Baolin, Li Siyan... a group of noble ladies all staring at me.
Wang Funiang, in particular, pretended to be frightened and slowly fell into Li Siyan's arms.
Li Siyan cooperated and hugged her. Shangguan Baolin witnessed her entire operation and immediately showed a shocked expression of "Oh my God, I've seen the world."
I paused for a moment, then, under the gazes of dozens of deathly gazes, I patted the dirt off my knees and stood up dejectedly, saying, "I'm sorry for disturbing the ladies. Chen Ying apologizes to them."
The ladies had to appear kind in front of Li Siyan, so Wang Funiang in Li Siyan's arms and Wei Wan'er standing beside him rushed to say, "It's okay, you can get up."
Shangguan Baolin glanced at the two excellent examples of palace fighting and showed an envious look.
If someone opens a training course on harem affairs, this girl will sign up immediately.
I pondered for a moment, and thought, well…thanks ladies, but I think I’ve stood up on my own.
However, although the empresses let me go, the emperor did not.
Li Siyan embraced Wang Funiang and suddenly said, "Although my beloved concubine pleaded for her, Chen Ying was disrespectful in front of the emperor and must be punished."
The Dog Emperor's voice was like a knife, and my buttocks, which had just been fine the month before, began to feel numb again.
I rolled my eyes stubbornly in my heart. It’s up to you whether to punish me or not. You even learned to breathe heavily after not seeing me for a few months. You think I care about the nonsense you have to say. Bah.
The dog emperor said arrogantly, "Right here, facing the gate, reflect on your mistakes. Don't move a step until I come out again."
...Is he asking me to stand guard?
I gave a hasty bow and said, "I understand."
The dog emperor continued to criticize me with cold words: "Minister? Now your position as the attendant official has been revoked..."
I readily changed my words and said, "I, Chen Ying, accept the punishment."
Seeing my humble look, Li Siyan remained silent for a long time. Finally, he turned around and without saying a word, he took a few beauties into the small building by the water.
Overall, the arrogance has been restrained.
I thought to myself, isn’t that right? I’ve been so obedient, so of course he feels embarrassed to pick on me.
Then I thought, no, that’s not right. The dog emperor has no heart. He must have been so impatient to be intimate with the beauties that he hurriedly left me and went into the house.
Humph, what an old pervert.
I stood outside the door for a while, feeling a little dizzy, and asked Qingfu, "Grandpa Qingfu, are there any requirements for standing in the correct position?"
Qingfu frowned and said, "What do you want to do now?"
"I have chronic cold legs. My knees hurt after standing for a long time." I pretended to be in pain.
Qingfu said coldly, "Don't try to trick me, Grandpa. Stand still and don't talk nonsense."
I pouted and said, "Okay, then don't move. By the way, I want to ask..."
Before I could even utter the question I wanted to ask, Wang Funiang's sweet voice suddenly rang out from the small building:
"The radiance of white jade reflects my dark eyebrows; the precious mirror is like empty water, and the falling petals are like the wind blowing."
The singing was so beautiful that it immediately attracted my attention.
After she finished singing, the voice of the Dog Emperor came intermittently, as if praising her for having a voice like a yellow oriole and a dance like a crane.
I listened carefully and said to Qingfu, "It seems that the new ladies are very pleasing to His Majesty."
Qingfu turned his head away irritably and said gloomily, "Of course."
I was bored and wanted to pry into the emperor's gossip: "Grandpa Qingfu, which concubine does His Majesty like the most?"
Of course, Qingfu couldn't answer such a fatal question, so I continued to talk to myself: "I think Your Majesty treats Concubine Wei a little differently... But in terms of appearance, Concubine Wang is prettier..."
As I continued to talk, my words became increasingly outrageous, almost like I was going to criticize every concubine in the palace. Qingfu could no longer tolerate this and sternly rebuked me, "You haven't made any progress since your visit to the palace. How can you possibly gossip about the private affairs of His Majesty and the concubines? If you continue to talk nonsense, His Majesty will punish you for your gossip!"
"Oh." I was scolded by him and said angrily, "You don't even let me speak. How overbearing."
Qingfu silenced me, and I had no choice but to stand still and sneeze through my handkerchief from time to time.
Amid the laughter of Li Siyan and the young ladies, my dizzy head kept moving in and out, like a chick pecking at rice when it fell asleep while studying as a child.
While feeling sleepy, I was thinking vaguely: When can I go back? My legend is not finished yet.
"Chen Ying." Qingfu suddenly called me.
"What's wrong?" I opened my eyes and looked at Qingfu.
Qingfu said, "If you can't hold on any longer, go take a nap on the side. Don't faint in front of the emperor like last time. That would be undignified."
I remembered the last time I fainted on the city wall and was thrown directly into the study by Li Siyan, and I immediately became serious.
"Don't worry, Grandpa Qingfu, I'm not that weak."
Qingfu seemed a little unconvinced, but he didn't say much.
There were still sounds coming from the building, as if Wang Funiang and Wei Wan'er were competing in poetry. However, Wang Funiang's poetry skills were not very good. After just three rounds, she ran out of stock and was defeated.
After Wang Funiang was defeated, it was Shangguan Baolin's turn to compete with Wei Wan'er. The two of them were evenly matched and had a lot of fun going back and forth. Li Siyan watched the fight from the side and occasionally gave a word or two of praise. Wei Wan'er suggested that His Majesty should also come and exchange a few couplets, but the dog emperor flatly declined.
I couldn't hear clearly because of the wall, and soon I felt bored again.
Seeing that Qingfu's attitude had softened somewhat, I started chatting with him again: "... Wei Cairen does have some talent for poetry."
Qingfu's sarcastic nature struck again: "Oh, our noble and talented Shen Da also thinks highly of others?"
I was even more sarcastic than he was: "When have I ever looked down on others in the field of literature? Do you think everyone is like your beloved Majesty, uneducated and yet willing to belittle serious scholars?"
Li Siyan has mocked me countless times for being a hypocritical scholar and saying I'm good for nothing. At first, I would seriously refute him, but later I realized he was the most sour one. He said that scholars are a ruin to the country, but in fact he studied very hard in private. So I was too lazy to say anything more because I had to protect his fragile self-esteem.
Qingfu's eyebrows furrowed, and he said angrily, "You're here again, aren't you? Let me tell you..."
Before he could finish what he was about to tell me, a handball fell from the small building and hit me on the head.
Qingfu and I fell silent together.
The Temari ball is very soft and doesn't hurt when it hits people, but I hate the feeling of being treated as a target.
Specifically, it is the feeling of being disrespected.
I raised my head and looked upstairs, and saw a beautiful face like a Shu lotus.
It’s Wang Funiang.
Wang Funiang widened her large, bright eyes and waved her hands repeatedly, “Oh, I didn’t mean to do that. Is Madam Shen okay?”
I looked at her unconcealed gloating and thought to myself: No, you did it on purpose.
I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it, there is someone in the inner courtyard whose acting skills are worse than mine.
I weighed the ball in my hand, wondering whether I should throw it back onto Wang Funiang's pretty little face.
Almost immediately, Li Siyan appeared behind her and asked gently, "What's wrong?"
Wang Fu Niang turned around and said, "I accidentally dropped the ball and it hit Madam Shen."
Li Siyan glanced at me casually, then took Wang Funiang's hand and started to lead her away from the window. He raised his eyebrows and said, "It's broken, so why worry about her? This ball has touched her hands, so it's no longer worthy of your enjoyment. Just give it to her."
I smiled, threw the ball backhand, and threw it into Qujiang River.
Li Siyan didn't turn his head, but from my perspective, his back was a little stiff.
Qingfu said anxiously: "You..."
I sneered, "Last time you rewarded me with a gold box, this time you reward me with a small ball. Do you think this is a slag bucket that you can throw any junk into?"
Qingfu pointed at me with a trembling finger, looking like he was about to have a stroke.
I don’t know whether Li Siyan heard it or not. I guess he heard it, but he pretended not to hear it. He just hugged Wang Funiang and went back without even giving me a glance.
I know what he's feeling guilty about. He's afraid his concubines will find out the story of the golden box and become jealous of him.
Had he ever given these women anything? He must have, and they would have gladly accepted it, not been as ungrateful as I was.
In the final analysis, it's all Li Siyan's fault. If he had let me be the attendant, I would have been the attendant and we might have lived in peace. But he insisted on making me sleep in his bed and gave me expensive rewards. This is really scary.
How does that saying go? If someone shows kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.
I sighed, looked up at the leisurely white clouds, and felt melancholy.
After that, they played in the small building for another half an hour, and when the sun was high in the sky, they finally remembered to leave.
At this moment, my legs were already sore and painful from standing, as if they were filled with lead. Li Siyan walked past me, and I knelt down with difficulty to salute him. Wang Funiang gave me a smug look.
"Why isn't Madam Shen moving? Could it be that you were hit by my temari?" She asked softly, with a hint of malice.
I don't understand what this woman is thinking. It was clearly that bastard Li Siyan who called her into the palace and sent her out in the same way. Instead of holding a grudge against Li Siyan, she only picks on me, a weakling. What kind of brain is this!
However, she thought I was a soft persimmon, but in fact I was a copper pea, the kind that could break three teeth with one bite.
I smiled and said, "My legs are sore from standing for so long, it's nothing serious. But Concubine Wang's hands are too mean. You should play less ball in the future, so as not to accidentally hurt His Majesty or the other ladies. They are nobles, and they are not as easy to deal with as me."
Wang Funiang was embarrassed and her beautiful eyes suddenly widened. I stared at her with a sarcastic smile on my face.
She looked at Li Siyan's back for help, but Li Siyan pretended not to hear her and just kept talking to Qingfu.
She looked at the palace maids beside her. No one said a word. Even the most dignified Huiyue and Suxing had no intention of speaking out.
Wang Funiang had no choice but to glare at me fiercely and followed Li Siyan's back in shame.
My sarcastic smile disappeared in an instant and I rolled my eyes.
“She has such a temper, Madam Shen, please don’t be offended.”
Suddenly, a gentle voice came from the side.
I looked back and saw that it was the woman who left the hall with Li Siyan that morning.
Seeing me looking at her, she smiled at me and said, "My last name is Wei, and my nickname is Wan'er. I have long heard of Madam Shen's literary reputation. It's a pleasure to meet you."
I was flattered when the beautiful woman took the initiative to strike up a conversation with me. After we exchanged names, she started chatting with me in a very gentle manner.
Her attitude is in stark contrast to Wang Funiang's.
I think most beautiful women are always a little bit arrogant. All the beauties in Li Siyan's harem are either cold as ice or as vicious as a snake, but how can the dog emperor appreciate this kind of tone? It would be better for him to learn from Wei Wan'er and launch a gentle offensive.
I was thinking of writing down these experiences so that I can publish a guide to differentiated competition in the harem.
Wei Wan'er certainly didn't know what I was thinking. After chatting with me for a few friendly words, her maid urged her to catch up with the team. She smiled at me again, said goodbye and left.
This smile is so refreshing that I think it is worth copying it down and distributing it to every sister in the harem to recite and study.
Just like that, while I was sighing that beautiful women who love to laugh have the best life, I followed Li Siyan's mighty army of servants to the cloud tent on the bank of Qujiang River.
As we all know, the traditional activities of Shangsi Festival include banquets and entertainment, purification rituals, singing, and the indispensable socializing.
Li Siyan didn't need to make friends or purify himself, so he decided to treat everyone to a meal.
The seating arrangement had already been made, with about a hundred people, including royal relatives and court officials, gathered together.
I suddenly became lively, opened my big almond-shaped eyes and looked for my friends in the crowd.
Unfortunately, my friends were all minor officials and could not get the honor of being invited by the emperor. After looking around, I was disappointed to find that, except for my gay friend the censor, there was no one I knew in the room. They were all just acquaintances whom I had met a few times at the literary gathering.
Of course Meng Xu was not there either.
I became dejected again and sat back dejectedly in the seat reserved for the emperor's attendant next to him.
This seat is relatively close to Li Siyan. As soon as I sat down, Wang Funiang looked at me with jealous eyes.
I noticed that she was unhappy, and looked at her fiercely. If you can do it, go ahead. Do you think I would be happy to remember the bullshit your man says?
However, I haven't sat in this position for a long time.
Looking up at Li Siyan, who was high above me with only his silhouette left for me, I felt that he had changed a lot.
Even though he was surrounded by beautiful women, he still looked unhappy. It was very different from the last time I saw him, when he carried me up to the city wall and forced me to give him orders.
At that time he was full of vigor and ambition, but now for some reason he seemed a little depressed.
Probably because of excessive indulgence.
Perhaps he noticed my strange gaze, and he moved his neck slightly towards me, but it seemed as if something was strangling him in the middle, and he stopped abruptly, and turned back as if unintentionally.
I immediately discovered the biggest mistake.
Yes, the strangest thing is that he's actually starting to avoid me! He hasn't even glanced at me for more than two seconds today! What's wrong with the Dog Emperor today? Is he using all his strength to show that he really, really doesn't like me at all?
After a while, the ministers took their seats one after another and the banquet was about to begin.
The ceremonial officer read aloud a long string of auspicious words like "Shangsi Festival" and "Fang Binglanxi". Then the dog emperor also started talking, and I quickly took notes.
I was shocked when he said the first sentence.
He said that the ancestors said, "In late spring, the spring clothes are ready, and the wind blows as people return from dancing and chanting. Today is a festival, and I am here with you all..."
I looked up suddenly and almost sprained my neck.
What did he just say? What did he say about the ancestors?
I wouldn't be surprised if any of the learned ministers here said this, except for the dog emperor...
When did he learn to quote ancient sages? This doesn't fit with his unlearned and yet love of spouting nonsense, thinking he's the most awesome person in the world!
Seeing that I stopped writing, the little palace maid who was pouring wine for me gently pushed me, silently reminding me not to lose my composure.
I came to my senses and continued writing, feeling sad.
...I have been reading books with him for a year and answering countless stupid questions, but he has not made any progress at all. Now, with Wei Wan'er's help for more than three months, he has even learned to quote the Analects of Confucius. This is simply an insult to my teaching level!
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. The little palace maid beside me saw my sad and angry expression, poured me another glass of water, and said softly, "Madam Shen, calm down."
I looked up at her and found her face unfamiliar, so I asked her if she worked in the Zichen Palace.
The young palace maid was startled. “I just entered the palace last year and served in the Yanying Palace.”
I put my pen aside and started chatting with her: "Since you entered the palace last year, you should have seen me."
The young palace maid replied, "I saw Madam Shen a few times in Yanying Palace, but we were too far away to see her appearance clearly. Later... we also heard a little about Madam Shen being punished and sent to the palace."
At the end of her words, the little girl suddenly realized that she had said something wrong and stopped talking with a red face.
I smiled and said, "Although it's a bit tiring to be in the palace, it's much more comfortable than being in front of the emperor. I feel very comfortable here."
Suddenly, there was a sound of a porcelain plate falling to the ground from above. The little palace maid and I looked in the direction of Li Siyan, only to see that he had accidentally knocked over a crystal cup, and Qingfu was directing the little eunuchs to clean it up.
Li Siyan tilted his head, his face gloomy.
I didn't take it seriously and said, "It's nothing. Your Majesty just dropped a cup. It's nothing more than a small matter. Hey, your accent sounds a bit like Wei Xizi's. Are you also from Longxi..."
We chatted idly, and I asked her how His Majesty was doing recently. She said that His Majesty rarely went to Yanying Palace, so she didn't know.
Qingfu had been listening with his ears perked up. As soon as he heard the word "Your Majesty", he immediately walked towards me and said coldly, "I didn't even pay attention to you, and you are here to gossip about His Majesty. Get out of here! What kind of talk is this at a palace banquet?"
The little palace maid was frightened by Qingfu. She quickly put the kettle in her pocket and crawled away.
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