Chapter 5: Five Things That Are Not Like the Old Home
She let out a sigh of relief, and the emperor and empress parted on bad terms once again.
The next morning, Xu Heng rushed to Kunning Palace as soon as the morning court session ended.
Wang Yuying thought that he would be just like her that day, regretting that he wasn't calm enough and hadn't explained things clearly, and that he would spend the whole night thinking about what to say before going to her door to talk.
She wondered why she was turned away when she sought reconciliation, while Xu Heng was expected to forgive her.
Even if the dragon and phoenix were reversed, she would make him taste her bitterness! Wang Yuying ordered the palace gates to be tightly closed and refused to see him.
Xu Heng lingered in front of the palace for half an hour before leaving.
After everyone left, Wang Yuying belatedly realized that it was the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a day when crows filled the bridge over the river to ferry the Weaver Girl across. Since their marriage, she had spent every Qixi Festival with Xu Heng, and they had never been apart.
No matter how poor life was in the northern border region, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, they would still take out money to buy pastries and pick some fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves to offer as a sacrifice.
The couple bowed to the moon three times, praying for a happy marriage that would last forever. When Wang Yuying was still healthy, she would follow the custom of tying peas and red beans to colorful ropes and soaking them in water, planting them on the Double Seventh Festival to pray for children.
Wang Yuying felt increasingly frustrated and regretful. She took several deep breaths and rubbed her chest, but it didn't help at all.
Even his tightly furrowed brows were difficult to relax.
She looked at a pair of shoes by the bedside. They were red silk flats with gold thread and jewels at the toes, the kind she usually wore in the summer.
She only had her own shoes.
Without the man's wooden clogs, she couldn't help but punch the cool mat twice, as if to vent her anger at Xu Heng.
It still wasn't enough; the pent-up frustration remained stuck in her chest. She got out of bed barefoot, stepping onto the blue bricks, the cold seeping up to her ankles. The bricks were cold, the window was cold, and the cool mat was even colder. Where the moonlight poured in, it was like a frozen river, condensing into frost and snow.
Wang Yuying dismissed the palace servants, took down the sword from the wall, drew it from its sheath, and danced with it all night in the Kunning Palace, with only the crescent moon and the sword's light shining upon her.
Eight days later, on the fifteenth of this month, at three-quarters past 5 PM, Xu Heng finally visited again.
Looking through the window, Wang Yuying immediately spotted the emperor surrounded by his entourage, and her gaze involuntarily lingered on his face.
She was actually quite pathetic; she missed him all the time.
But the thought that this man could ignore her for six days and then use the excuse of visiting the Empress on the first and fifteenth of the month made her furious, and she also hated him for ruining their Qixi Festival this year.
"I won't see him!" She ordered the palace servants not to open the door for the emperor. "Just say that I'm tired and have gone to bed. I won't see anyone!"
Xu Heng lingered outside the palace for a short while before descending the steps and leaving. Wang Yuying peeked through the gauze curtain at him from behind the window, the moonlight casting a soft glow on his tall, straight back. She looked up at the full moon and sniffed.
On the first day of the following month, the emperor, unusually, did not visit the Empress Dowager at Kunning Palace.
Time flies, and before we know it, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival again.
The moon is full and the sky is as clear as water. The fragrance of osmanthus lingers in the heavens. As is customary, a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet will be held in the palace. The emperor and empress must attend together to burn memorials, offer sacrifices to heaven, and pray for blessings. Xu Heng sent someone to inform Wang Yuying two days in advance.
Despite her anger and tantrums, Wang Yuying never considered jeopardizing these important matters concerning the nation. She wore a nine-dragon, four-phoenix crown, a flowing robe and belt, her makeup and attire meticulous, her radiant beauty dazzling. Whether burning documents or offering sacrifices to Heaven, she remained composed and dignified, exuding the majesty of a phoenix.
When she needed to smile, she would subtly curl the corners of her lips, meet the emperor's gaze with a smile, but always maintain a distance of more than a hand's breadth from him.
After the ceremony, the banquet began. The Emperor and Empress sat at the head of the table, palace musicians played music, and dancers performed. Amidst the music, Wang Yuying glanced at the lotus-shaped pastries, ginger tea, and a dish of steamed crab with vinegar and garlic dipping sauce on the table. Suddenly, she felt a tightness in her hand. Looking down, she saw Xu Heng taking her hand under the table. Because of the force, the knuckles and veins on the back of his hand stood out. His nails were clean, and his fingers were long and slender.
Wang Yuying tried to pull her hand away, but Xu Heng held on tightly, and she could feel his strong desire not to let go.
Her heart suddenly ached.
Xu Heng leaned in and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Wife, calm down."
Now Wang Yuying's nose and eyes also felt sore and swollen.
She almost cried, and was about to forgive Xu Heng, when she saw Consort Mei sitting below, smiling and chatting with a noble lady. The one from Qingyin Palace, who had recently been promoted to Baolin, was also present.
Her husband had become an emperor in the secular sense, with three palaces and six courtyards, and many children.
Wang Yuying's heart hardened instantly.
The sudden clarity of her mind caused her immense pain. She wanted to give up, to live a life of debauchery, to compromise, to live in a daze, and to drift aimlessly.
But she is Wang Yuying.
The only daughter of the General Who Conquers the West, some things are her very blood and flesh, inseparable, like her habitually raised chin, like her eyes, which are burning and bright when she looks at her lover, yet cannot tolerate even a grain of sand.
Wang Yuying pulled her hand away even harder, even swinging her arm. Xu Heng's palm slipped, and she managed to break free halfway, leaving only four fingertips still in his palm.
Xu Heng gripped it tightly, refusing to let go.
Wang Yuying coldly replied, "Stop joking around, all those women are watching."
After a short while, Xu Heng slowly released his grip.
Wang Yuying immediately withdrew her arm, placed her hand on the other side, on her knee, which was farther away from Xu Heng.
She felt even sadder than before.
However, he tried his best to remain calm, and Xu Heng's expression did not change much as he looked at the singing and dancing in front of him, only his throat tightened slightly.
As the banquet music and dance came to an end, Xu Heng, as usual, raised his hand and clapped twice. The audience immediately responded with thunderous applause, and Wang Yuying also clapped twice, albeit half-heartedly. Xu Heng said, "Well done, you deserve a reward."
Qingfu distributed the prepared reward money to the Jiaofang. Xu Heng then continued in a deep voice: "Consort Mei is of noble birth, virtuous and gentle, and is hereby promoted to Imperial Consort. Consort Baolin is respectful and cautious, and is hereby promoted to Virtuous Consort."
Wang Yuying couldn't believe her ears at first—what was Xu Heng saying? He had elevated the ranks of both women?
She couldn't help but turn her head to look at the emperor beside her. She saw his Adam's apple bobbing and his lips opening and closing. She used to love the outline of his lips the most, with their distinct features and handsome appearance. But now she felt that his mouth was like a sharp arrow, each word piercing her heart.
Wang Yuying's gaze swept down to the side, where Consort Mei was overjoyed and made no attempt to hide her admiration for the emperor, while Consort Shu was calm and docile, kneeling to express her gratitude.
She quickly lowered her head and pretended to eat crab to hide her sadness.
Xu Heng smiled at Consort Mei and Consort Shu, then glanced quickly at Wang Yuying out of the corner of his eye—she wasn't looking at anyone, her head down, focused on eating the crab that the palace servants had prepared for her, dipping it in vinegar, looking relaxed and carefree.
She didn't take it to heart, and she didn't show the sadness or jealousy that Xu Heng had expected.
He suddenly felt a dull pain in his chest—she really knew how to make him feel incredibly frustrated!
Previously, Xu Heng would personally peel crabs for Wang Yuying, making sure to remove the breastbone completely, as she would arrange it into a butterfly shape. In fact, when he sought peace today, he had already decided to do the same for her. But now he thought, since Wang Yuying didn't care, he would play a crab trick game with the Imperial Concubine and the Noble Concubine below!
He wanted to really make her angry!
Xu Heng hesitated for a while, but still couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.
Firstly, I really don't want to waste my time on other people, and secondly, I have no taste in my mouth.
But as the emperor, with all his ministers watching, he couldn't refuse to eat. Xu Heng forced down two bites, chewing the tender crab like chewing wax, and couldn't help but steal a glance at Wang Yuying, who was eating with great relish.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the osmanthus blossoms fell and the chrysanthemums bloomed. The Emperor and Empress met again at the Double Ninth Festival banquet. Wang Yuying coldly watched the Empress Dowager, whom she had brought back from the Buddhist temple, chatting and laughing with the Consort and the Emperor. The three of them looked like a family of three.
Despite her reluctance, Wang Yuying, as the Empress, still had to wish the Empress Dowager a happy birthday and say some flattering words. The moment she bowed to the Empress Dowager, she felt it was the most humiliating moment of her life.
The same applies to New Year's banquets.
After the party ended, she walked back to Kunning Palace along the winding residential area. Suddenly, she felt someone following her. She turned around alertly and caught a glimpse of a bright yellow figure flashing by.
It was Xu Heng who was following her.
A voice inside Wang Yuying urged her to turn back, meet Xu Heng, and throw herself into his arms, but in the end, her pride prevailed. She became as hard as a stone, took large strides, and hurried toward Kunning Palace.
The moment she stepped through the palace gate, Wang Yuying knew that Xu Heng was still following her and that he had seen her. So she slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Xu Heng never contacted her again.
As the snow melted and spring arrived, and the flowers withered and summer came, she sat alone on the Qixi Festival that year.
I couldn't practice my sword anymore. After a long night of stagnation, I pulled out a clump of hair while getting ready in the morning.
Wang Yuying applied thick layers of powder to conceal her dark circles, dressed up, and then went to the Funing Palace. She finally admitted that she couldn't lose Xu Heng; she knew she would go mad if another cold Qixi Festival came.
She consciously played the fool, entering the Funing Palace to pay her respects to Xu Heng, beating around the bush and saying some polite words.
She just wanted to talk to him.
I want a reciprocal exchange and to get a response from him.
Xu Heng pursed his lips and raised his arm to embrace her waist. When his warm touch came through her dress, she could no longer hold back and poured out her grievances to him: "How wonderful it was when we were in the Northern Frontier. The snow blocked the door, and the two of us stayed in one room for a month without getting tired of it. We had so much to talk about."
“After I married into the Ning Prince’s mansion, you would hug me first thing when you came home from court, and you would paint my portrait in Qingfa Hall. No matter what you did, I felt warm inside.” She pounded her chest. “It was fine when we first moved into the palace.”
She looked around, and everywhere in the Funing Palace, there were shadows of the past. Scene after scene appeared before her eyes as her gaze moved: she sat on the dressing stool, and he squatted down to draw her eyebrows; the two of them insisted on squeezing onto a bed, shoulder to shoulder, each reading their own books; in the gilded silk curtains, they were loving and happy, talking about love and marriage at night.
Wang Yuying couldn't help but reminisce about the past.
"Have you forgotten everything?" she asked Xu Heng, sniffling and her voice trembling with tears.
"I haven't forgotten." Xu Heng replied immediately, raising his free hand to wipe his eyes, while tightening his grip on Wang Yuying's arm.
A deep sense of guilt appeared on his face.
Life seems to have returned to normal.
The emperor and empress reconciled; if not inseparable, they at least treated each other with respect.
Xu Heng restored the ancestral custom of visiting Wang Yuying on the first and fifteenth of each month. Occasionally, they would disagree and exchange a few words, and Wang Yuying would bring up old grievances. Gradually, Xu Heng would stop arguing with her after hearing this.
Seeing his guilt and silence, her chest heaved slightly.
Time didn't seem to fly by; instead, it began to slow down. She felt as if she had been in the palace for several years, but when she checked the almanac, it had only been less than a year.
The summer of the fourth year of the Yuanjia era was scorching hot. It felt like being in a steamer as soon as May arrived, with a sticky and uncomfortable feeling all over. Perhaps because she had been in the northern frontier for a long time, Wang Yuying was not afraid of the cold, but she was extremely afraid of the heat. Every day she would stay in the Funing Palace, fanning herself, drinking cold and fragrant drinks, and carving ice mountains around herself.
If it weren't for the Gesang trees transplanted from northern Xinjiang blooming, she wouldn't have come to the Imperial Garden in the sweltering heat.
Wang Yuying waved her fan, creating multiple images, and was still sweating profusely. Fortunately, the seeds she had brought back from afar did not disappoint her. They were lush and green, with red, white, pink, and orange seeds, six or eight petals, all vying for beauty.
The hotter the sun shines, the more beautiful and charming the Gesang flowers become.
These are the flowers she fell in love with in the fields. She had been worried that they wouldn't survive if moved from the north to the south, but now she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Wang Yuying couldn't help but smile.
"Your Majesty, it's too sunny. Let's go into the pavilion and rest for a while," a palace maid suggested.
"Okay." Wang Yuying waved her fan as she walked up the artificial hill toward the pavilion. The palace servants waiting inside handed her a handkerchief, and she thanked them as usual. The servants then took a watermelon from the ice chest and placed it on the table.
As Wang Yuying fanned herself, she wondered if she should invite Xu Heng to come and admire the flowers as well.
"Sister." Suddenly hearing a call, Wang Yuying looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the Imperial Concubine leading a group of palace servants, smiling as she climbed the steps and came up to the pavilion.
Wang Yuying immediately frowned and raised her eyebrows – Jiang Mei's affectionate address couldn't be good.
She lowered her eyes, but couldn't help looking again. In this sweltering heat, Jiang Mei was still wearing a jacquard long-sleeved dress made of plum blossom ribbed fabric, which covered her completely except for her wrists.
Isn't Jiangmei hot?
Wang Yuying frowned and looked the Consort up and down. Ah, she really was Leng Mei, not sweating at all. Wang Yuying then looked at herself. She was wearing a light blue gauze dress, as thin as a cicada's wing, but she was still drenched in sweat.
The Imperial Concubine was also observing Wang Yuying, but unlike the Empress, she didn't do it openly; she used her peripheral vision to spy on her. Wang Yuying probably didn't realize that the more she sweated, the whiter her skin became, like porcelain. With snow-white skin and a beautiful face, it was no wonder the Emperor was so fond of her.
The imperial concubine kept her thin lips closed, but secretly clenched her teeth behind them—despite the makeup she wore today, she was not as fair-skinned as Wang Yuying without it!
The more hatred she felt in her heart, the more amiable she appeared on the surface. She walked up to Wang Yuying, bowed, and said in a warm tone, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress!"
Wang Yuying didn't want to pay attention, but reluctantly raised her hand to straighten up.
The Imperial Concubine seemed oblivious to the Empress's expression. She stood up, gazing at the Gesang flowers for a moment, then turning back to look at Wang Yuying. Her eyes were like autumn water, clear and deep: "Sister, I wonder what kind of flowers are blooming all over the garden? I am ignorant and do not know their names, but I find them pleasing to the eye and delightful."
Wang Yuying thought to herself: Ignorant? Can't remember the name? Jiang Mei could just ask any of the palace servants who tended the Imperial Garden and they would know.
Wang Yuying patiently explained, "This flower is called Gesang."
The imperial concubine repeated the flower names several times, as if memorizing them. After a while, she said happily, "Beautiful flowers and beautiful scenery, Your Majesty, I am willing to perform a dance to entertain you."
"Forget it." Wang Yuying immediately refused. The pavilion was only so big. With the ice chest set up and the dozen or so palace servants from each side, how could there be enough space for dancing? The Consort was either crazy or had other plans.
Wang Yuying arrived first, and logically she shouldn't be leaving, but she didn't want to get entangled with the Imperial Concubine any longer. She got up to return to Kunning Palace, and the Imperial Concubine's tears came out without warning: "Does Your Majesty find my dance distasteful?"
Wang Yuying glanced at the Imperial Concubine, then parted her red lips slightly: "Unsolicited kindness is either a sign of ulterior motives or theft."
The imperial concubine's expression suddenly froze, and after a moment, she began to cry again.
"Get out of the way!" Wang Yuying snapped. Since she always played the villain in front of the Imperial Concubine anyway, she might as well stick to that villainous role.
The imperial concubine raised her hand to her chest, as if she had suffered a great humiliation and injustice and could not bear it. She opened her lips to inhale, and at the same time her neck and body fell backward.
"Your Majesty!" The palace servants who had followed from Fuyu Palace immediately helped her up.
The imperial concubine managed to maintain her composure, but her large sleeves slipped down, revealing her neck, right collarbone, and a sliver of her shoulder.
Wang Yuying was too lazy to watch this farce and had already stepped out of the pavilion when she inadvertently caught sight of the Imperial Concubine's exposed skin and suddenly froze.
Wang Yuying stared intently at the Imperial Concubine's neck, where a red mark, shaped like a seal, covered the area. Having experienced many affairs over the years, she naturally knew how this mark came about; every time it began, someone would lower their head and suckle there, the more aroused they became, the harder they sucked. Wang Yuying remembered that once, when they were about to leave, he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her collar up with his other hand: "Cover yourself up."
Wang Yuying didn't care: "You bit it yourself, why are you afraid of making a fool of yourself?"
"It's not that I think he's ugly," Xu Heng vehemently denied, but remained tight-lipped about the reason. Much later, Wang Yuying learned that it was because he didn't want other men to see him.
At that time, she was both amused and exasperated, but today she saw red marks on the Consort's neck!
A note from the author:
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