Chapter 6 Six Old Friends Sever Their Ties
The red marks on Jiang Mei's neck weren't very deep, but Wang Yuying felt they were as red as flames, burning fiercely, dazzling and dizzying; red like blood, making her nauseous, with a metallic taste in her throat. She raised her hand to slap the Imperial Concubine, but her hand fell limply, panting heavily. Why should she hit her? The one who deserved to be hit the most... was Xu Heng.
What promises did he keep making to her? He said he would never touch Jiang Mei!
Wang Yuying felt as if she had been slapped hard across the face, her whole body trembling violently, her heart feeling as if it were being pierced by a needle. The sleepless night on Qixi Festival suddenly became a trivial matter, but from then on, she would be unable to sleep or eat every night.
Her world crumbled and collapsed at an alarming rate.
Seeing Wang Yuying's eyes widen in fury, her expression shifting from stunned silence to rage and then to sorrow, the Imperial Concubine felt a secret delight, pleased to see it all unfold. She had gone to such lengths to see the Empress today, all for this very purpose.
The Imperial Concubine tried her best to hide her joy, but when Wang Yuying raised her hand, she hissed as if she had been hit, or perhaps the marks Xu Heng had left were still painful. She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, the silk covering most of her face but not her neck at all: "Last night, I was worried that my sister would be upset if she saw them, so I advised His Majesty not to leave any marks. His Majesty wouldn't listen, he was still fierce and impatient, and he wouldn't listen when I told him to be gentle. I could only cover these marks with thick clothes, but unexpectedly, by some twist of fate, my sister still saw them. It's all my fault..."
"Why are you afraid of being seen by me?" Wang Yuying heard herself ask the question and felt very dazed, as if it wasn't her voice.
"This...this..." The Imperial Concubine hesitated, her voice still soft and sweet, "Because His Majesty told me privately that you, my sister, were spoiled by the General since childhood, which has spoiled your temperament. You have a bad temper, are intolerant of others, and get angry easily. Sometimes your words and actions...are a little harsh, and becoming Empress hasn't changed you. So he's worried that if you see this, you'll become jealous, fly into a rage, and lose your mind—"
Snap!
Wang Yuying raised her hand and slapped the Imperial Concubine hard, causing her head to turn to the side. Her voice immediately stopped—Jiang Mei deserved to be hit too!
For a long time, Wang Yuying's right arm was still raised in the air. She had already thought of Xu Heng from Jiang Mei. He used to love her liveliness and flamboyance, saying that it was good for a woman to be a little feisty. He liked spicy food. Now, this had become her flaw. He even complained about her ugly behavior to other women in private!
He actually... humiliated her like that.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The palace servants all knelt down. Wang Yuying glanced around and saw Xu Heng stride into the pavilion. In that instant, she wondered if Xu Heng had come for her or for Jiang Mei?
"Your Majesty—" The Imperial Concubine immediately rushed towards the Emperor, falling into his arms before struggling to get out. She then curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, I have not been able to greet you properly. Please forgive me."
Unable to stand steadily, Xu Heng raised his hand to support her, and the Imperial Concubine once again fell into the Emperor's arms.
Xu Heng noticed the bright red handprint on the Consort's cheek; it looked like it would turn bruised by tomorrow. He turned to look at Wang Yuying; she really had gone to great lengths.
Frustrated and disappointed, he frowned and stared at Wang Yuying: "What are you doing now?"
Wang Yuying parted her lips, taken aback.
Before she could even ask him why he lied to her or why he betrayed her, he turned around and questioned her first, blaming her instead.
She was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Xu Heng, however, thought that Wang Yuying was in the wrong, and that the concubine in his arms was sobbing and unable to speak, so he casually pointed to a palace maid and said: "Come here, tell me what happened in the pavilion just now?"
Wang Yuying glared angrily and asked the palace servants of Fuyu Palace to judge the matter. Wasn't this a clear case of favoritism towards the Imperial Concubine?
Xu Heng then emphasized in a deep voice, "No one else should say this."
The palace maid knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, my lady has always wanted to reconcile with the Empress. Seeing the Empress here, she was overjoyed and came to chat. Although it was a good intention, the Empress was not very happy. My lady learned that the Empress was here admiring the flowers, so she wanted to dance to entertain her and win her favor. But the Empress wrongly accused my lady, saying that she had ulterior motives. The Empress said, 'Those who offer unsolicited kindness are either treacherous or thieves'..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Heng's eyelids twitched, and he immediately glanced at Wang Yuying, as if she had said it herself.
Wang Yuying immediately understood Xu Heng's look: You're so mean.
This time, she didn't look away, but met Xu Heng's gaze and stared back at him.
The palace maid continued, "If I may be so bold as to say this, my lady was already very upset when she heard these words, but she still smiled and tried to appease her, perhaps because she was too clingy. Her Majesty the Empress found it annoying and slapped my lady across the face."
After hearing this, Wang Yuying sneered and looked down at the palace servant: "You are truly a good servant."
"Enough!" Xu Heng snapped.
A smile played on Wang Yuying's lips. The more he found her sharp-tongued and sarcastic, the more determined she was to finish her sentence: "A good dog!"
"Empress!" Xu Heng's voice rose.
Wang Yuying retorted, provoked by his words: "Of course you'll say that if you ask her, why don't you ask the people in my palace?"
Xu Heng swallowed hard, then ordered the palace servants of Kunning Palace to step forward. But they all said the same thing—the Empress had given the Consort a cold look in front of everyone, but the Consort remained all smiles and even tried to make peace with the Empress in a humble tone.
Wang Yuying's eyes widened, a chill running through her body. The Imperial Concubine lay on the Emperor's chest, only the back of her head visible to her. She stared at the Imperial Concubine's hair, trembling as she murmured: "Jiang Mei, you've learned all the Empress Dowager's methods and skills."
Xu Heng embraced the Imperial Concubine, his gaze toward Wang Yuying growing colder and colder. Finally, he sighed softly, "You know that Mei Niang dances very well."
What's wrong with appreciating a dance performed by a concubine? Why the disdain and malice?
Don't go looking for trouble. Be kinder to people. If only she were as gentle as Mei Niang.
Wang Yuying stared at Xu Heng, and he really believed that she had a bad temper and was deliberately making things difficult for people.
Anyone with a brain wouldn't believe that the imperial concubine was actually dancing in the pavilion!
The imperial concubine's acting was terrible, and he was stupid! A complete idiot!
Wang Yuying couldn't help but glare fiercely at Xu Heng a few times.
Xu Hengquan caught it, and after a moment, pursed his lips, released Guifei, and moved the chilled watermelon on the table in front of Wang Yuying: "It's hot and you're in a bad mood, help me cool down."
It would be better if her temper wasn't mentioned, because mentioning Wang Yuying reminded him of how Xu Heng had slandered and humiliated her in front of the Imperial Concubine.
Xu Heng was still trying to find a scapegoat for Wang Yuying, pointing to the imperial garden outside the pavilion: "In my opinion, it's all the fault of these Gesang flowers. When northern plants migrate south, they must become monsters!"
Wang Yuying mistakenly believed that Xu Heng still minded Hugu Xumi.
She couldn't hold back any longer, and a smirk appeared on her lips: "Yes, people get very hot in this heat, so some people are burning with rage, and they've even made someone's neck turn red."
Xu Heng froze for a moment, his face turning pale. He then avoided Wang Yuying's gaze and even took a half-step back.
Wang Yuying saw it all clearly, and her heart sank to the bottom. Her last glimmer of hope was shattered. He really, really had been with Jiang Mei!
She gritted her teeth and met Xu Heng's gaze, forcing a direct eye contact. He, however, avoided her gaze again and again; her eyes darted across his face, but he dared not meet her eyes even once!
Wang Yuying turned and left: "Then let's do as Your Majesty says and dig up all these troublesome Gesang flowers!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Heng was taken aback at first, then abandoned the others and chased after her out of the pavilion, calling out, "Yingniang!"
Wang Yuying strode quickly, so Xu Heng had to run to catch up with her on the last step.
He stretched out his arm to block Wang Yuying's way.
Wang Yuying raised her eyebrows, lifted her eyelids, and quietly looked at Xu Heng.
Xu Heng's lips trembled, but no sound came out.
Wang Yuying, unable to contain her anger, spoke first: "Do you still remember the hardships we endured in the North?"
She started talking about the past again, but stopped after only three sentences because she saw that Xu Heng was trying hard to show guilt, but he couldn't.
He forgot.
Or rather, I don't want to remember.
I'm already fed up with it, so I'm gradually erasing it.
Wang Yuying actually wanted to say that Jiang Mei had saved Xu Heng from drowning when he was a child, but she had also saved him in the northern border region. Back then, he didn't fall into the calm lake in Beijing, but into an icy hole in the northern border region. If he had been soaked in it for a long time, he would have had difficulty conceiving for the rest of his life.
Wang Yuying's eyes welled up with tears.
Xu Heng was stunned. This was the second time she had cried in his memory. The last time was after they returned to Beijing, when the couple stood for a long time in front of her parents' graves.
He suddenly felt incredibly sad, and no longer wanted to argue. His arm slowly lowered, reaching towards her waist. Wang Yuying, however, forcefully stopped him, pressing down on Xu Heng's arm: "Did you and her actually consummate your marriage?"
She's still not convinced; she might believe Xu Heng if he says no.
Xu Heng's lips were pressed together, and he remained silent.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't touch her?" Her voice trembled more and more.
Xu Heng remained silent for a long time before slowly parting his lips. Before he could speak, Wang Yuying preemptively asked, "Are you going to say that this was also the Empress Dowager's last wish?"
She raised her voice slightly, making it shrill. How ridiculous! She had said she would bring Jiang Mei into the palace out of filial piety and to fulfill her dying wish, but now, almost two years later, the Empress Dowager is still alive.
Xu Heng closed his lips.
After a short while, he restarted the process and looked at Wang Yuying, saying, "No, it is I who sympathize with her."
Wang Yuying had been giving him the cold shoulder for over a year, and even after they reconciled, their relationship remained lukewarm. She never took the initiative to come to Funing Palace, and aside from his visits to her on the first and fifteenth of the month, he had almost no chance to see her. But Mei Niang was always in his sight; if it was cold, she would personally cook jujube porridge, and if it was hot, she would offer him her specially prepared fragrant drinks…
He also wanted someone who cared about his well-being.
And Mei Niang cried so fiercely in front of him. She was different from Wang Yuying. Wang Yuying was indomitable, but Mei Niang had been thin-skinned since childhood. She served the Empress Dowager with utmost caution. Such a woman who cared about her reputation and followed the rules actually presented him with a poem called "Bodhisattva's Charm". She mustered up her courage and wrote: "I must fight with all my life to make you happy today."
“Mei Niang took the infertility medicine beforehand,” he explained to Wang Yuying, “and this was the only time in her life she had to do it.”
Mei Niang only wanted one night with him, yet she was willing to sacrifice her entire life for it.
Xu Heng reached out and grabbed Wang Yuying's wrist, gently shaking her arm. Just this once, please forgive him.
Wang Yuying burst into tears. She knew he was shaking his arm, but she couldn't react or respond.
All she could do was cry, her endless tears soaking her clothes.
After a long silence, Wang Yuying choked up and asked, "What about me?"
she?
Xu Heng gazed tenderly at Wang Yuying and sighed, "Last time you mentioned my mother and said some things about her in the afterlife. I was very upset and angry at the time, and that's why I did many things rashly." He released Wang Yuying's wrist, turned around, and put his arms around her back. "It was my fault, but you can't do that, Yingniang. Neither of us can do that. We are going to be together for a lifetime. The more we understand each other's pain, the less we should speak ill of each other."
Do not slander or tear apart your loved one; do not stab your loved one in the back.
Xu Heng reached out to pull Wang Yuying to his shoulder, but Wang Yuying leaned forward instead, parted her arms slightly, and pointed to the Imperial Garden, ordering, "Dig up all these Gesang flowers!"
"Dig, dig!" Xu Heng echoed with a wry smile. "After we're done, I'll order people to plant more, including Gesang flowers, filling the whole garden." He turned his head to follow Wang Yuying's lead: "Are you satisfied now?"
Tears streamed down Wang Yuying's face, but a slight smile played on her lips.
"Yingniang—" Xu Heng called out in a drawn-out voice, "We haven't spent Qixi Festival together for two years," he said, pulling her closer, "Let's have a proper celebration this year, okay?"
After a long silence, Xu Heng smiled apologetically and said, "I'm begging you."
Wang Yuying raised an eyebrow: "We'll talk about it later."
"I'll take that as a yes!" Xu Heng said loudly, then leaned close to Wang Yuying's ear and whispered, "This Qixi Festival, embroider a belt for me."
Wang Yuying twitched her ears and raised an eyebrow.
She hadn't truly let go; Jiang Mei remained like a fishbone stuck in her throat. But more than two months later, on Qixi Festival, she still dressed up, decorated the Kunning Palace, and waited for Xu Heng's arrival.
Her heart went from pounding with excitement to falling silent, but Xu Heng never showed up.
"What time is it now?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand pressing against the cool mat.
"Your Majesty, it is 9 PM."
Wang Yuying turned her head to look at the water clock. The palace servants were right; it would be the eighth day of the seventh month in a little while.
Qixi Festival is fleeting.
"Why don't we go and ask His Majesty where he is right now?" It wasn't that she had just remembered she could inquire about Xu Heng's whereabouts; rather, she hadn't dared to before.
Since the incident at the pavilion, she replaced all the palace servants and eunuchs in Kunning Palace. The new personal attendants were quite capable and quickly reported that the emperor was neither in Funing Palace nor in the Imperial Study: "His Majesty has been staying in Fuyu Hall all night."
This was the answer Wang Yuying least wanted to hear, yet it was also within her expectations. While she sat there waiting in vain, he was making love with Jiang Mei, completely forgetting the promise she had made just two months earlier.
Wang Yuying stood up: "Prepare the carriage for the Fuyu Palace."
She kept her cheeks taut, and even if she saw the fluttering gauze curtains and two pale, naked bodies, she would still go.
A voice inside her told her that she had to make this trip, and tonight, she would settle things.
A palace maid ran after Wang Yuying, saying, "Your Majesty, His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine are not... not at all..."
She sensed the stammering and vulgarity in his words, and abruptly stopped and turned around.
The palace maid almost lost her footing, fearing she might bump into the Empress, and took a half step back before whispering, "According to my information, the Noble Consort is pregnant. Tonight, she was shocked to see blood coming out, and half of the Imperial Hospital rushed to Fuyu Palace. His Majesty was also there, accompanying the Noble Consort."
Wang Yuying froze for a moment, her Adam's apple bobbing.
Then she abruptly turned and walked towards Fuyu Palace, her neck straight and back upright, her steps steady, her hands always raised in front of her chest. When she burst into Fuyu Palace, Xu Heng was whispering with the imperial physician in a side hall, while only the Imperial Concubine and a group of palace maids were in the main hall.
The Imperial Concubine, leaning against the headboard, saw Wang Yuying and smiled as she tried to get out of bed: "Sister, have you heard about it too?" The Imperial Concubine placed her hand on her belly, "I haven't had a chance to share the joy with you yet."
Wang Yuying stood still, coldly scrutinizing Jiang Mei.
Jiang Mei leaned closer and whispered to Wang Yuying, "When His Majesty first found out, he told me that this was his first child, and if it was a boy, he would be made the crown prince."
Wang Yuying's shoulders trembled and her arms shook. She thought she would never forget this day in her life. On the seventh day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Yuanjia, she first went crazy and hurt herself, hitting the antique cabinet and Consort Jiang with her head. Then, with a ferocious expression, she shouted at Xu Heng, who had rushed over to protect Consort Jiang.
Her heart was pounding, she couldn't breathe, she was gasping for air, and she couldn't move her body.
Without realizing it, his hair was disheveled and he was soaked in sweat.
She "died" on this day.
The seventh day of the seventh month of the fourth year of the Yuanjia era.
"What do you mean 'only once'? What do you mean 'infertility drug'? Xu Linlang, do you think your words are just empty talk?" She repeatedly and sternly questioned Xu Heng.
Xu Heng also pointed at her face: "Look at you, behaving like a shrew, you have not a trace of the demeanor of a virtuous empress!"
Besides feeling heartbroken, she also sensed a hint of disgust on his face.
Wang Yuying retreated with a sigh, looking at the dressing table in the hall. The bronze mirror reflected an ugly, madman's face.
Why is there a mirror here?
Let her see how she is in Xu Heng's eyes.
"Xu Heng," she said coldly, addressing the emperor by his full name.
Xu Heng had already lowered his eyes, but upon hearing this, he glanced at Wang Yuying again.
"If my father were still alive, would you dare to bully me like this?" Wang Yuying asked him softly. He was only bullying her because she had no one else in her family.
She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Xu Heng hard, the very same slap the current emperor gave her.
The room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Wang Yuying felt no fear, and even a sense of relief. The moment she slapped him, the man was like a flower falling from a branch, utterly rotting in the mud.
Later, she was unusually calm when she received the edict to depose her. She left the palace decisively. She knew that Xu Heng was standing on the palace wall watching her go, but he remained calm and did not look back.
Even now, Wang Yuying lies in the Taoist temple reading and chanting poems, feeling that being deposed is a great thing. Staying in the palace and fighting for favor would only make her neither human nor ghost, which is not a way out.
She pressed her faith close to the candlestick, and Xu Heng's chanting of the Yuefu poem immediately turned to ashes.
A note from the author:
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