Chapter 21 After Marriage
Jialu bowed and said in a low voice, "I will obey Your Majesty's command."
The young man stepped past her, leaving only the magnificent eighteen-year-old boy before her eyes.
Jade and agate trembled with fear outside the palace gates.
They were afraid of being beaten, but even more afraid of a conflict between their master and the emperor over it.
The two of them had served their master since childhood, and now they had accompanied their master to the imperial palace in the capital.
Finally, the emperor left, and the two hurriedly entered the palace, just in time to see their master standing up from the ground.
The two were immediately filled with heartache. How cold and painful it must have been for him to kneel on the ground for so long!
When Jialuo saw the two of them come in, her slightly anxious heart finally settled back into her chest.
She slowly exhaled and handed the eighteen coins in her palm to Jade.
"Keep it safe."
"yes."
"Master, your servants will assist you in bathing and changing your clothes."
Jade's voice was low, and she was clearly in pain.
Jialuo didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly, gently placed her hand on Agate's wrist, and carefully took a step.
“Every day is like this. When Master was learning to ride a horse, he never hurt his knee like this.”
Inside the clean room, Jialuo sat on a stool, her legs bare, revealing red and swollen marks on her knees.
Agate's voice even sounded like she was crying.
"Alright, you two, stop looking so miserable and acting like you've suffered a terrible injustice. There are eyes everywhere in our Shou'an Palace these days. You're just making yourselves a laughingstock for no reason."
“The palace is no longer our Khorchin, I am no longer the little princess in Abu’s palm, and you are no longer just high-ranking maids.”
"But it's not bad either. I am now the Empress, and you are the first-class palace maids by the Empress's side."
"As one's status rises, so do the responsibilities."
"The Emperor is not Abu, he is just the Emperor."
"We have a long future ahead of us."
"You two remembered that?"
Jade and agate nodded obediently and said they understood.
Jialuo added, "Besides, today's kneeling wasn't in vain. From now on, our Yongshou Palace will have a period of good days ahead."
"Isn't the point of life to be comfortable? Everything else is trivial."
Upon hearing this, Agate seemed to realize something, and asked with a hint of excitement in her voice, "Does Your Majesty mean that the Empress Dowager will uphold justice for you in this matter today?"
Jialuo noticed that Emerald, who had been carefully applying medicine to her with her head down, also looked up at her.
The fog was so thick that she couldn't see the expectant looks on the two little maids' faces.
Just like the emotions within this palace, they are shrouded in mist, seemingly there yet not there.
"Your Majesty is concerned about the world and has many affairs to attend to. The Emperor and I are bound by our shared destiny as husband and wife, so why should Your Majesty intervene?"
She paused at this point in her speech.
This afternoon, the Emperor arrived in a rage and publicly reprimanded her for making things difficult for Lady Dong'e.
This certainly couldn't escape the Empress Dowager's notice.
Or to put it another way, this was a legitimate "power grab".
She deprived Jialuo of her future authority over Dong E clan as empress.
The Empress Dowager pretended not to know any of this, which was a form of forbearance.
Jialuo thought that Fulin must not have expected that she, Jialuo, would also be so tolerant.
I even saw that passionate meeting that night, and the conversation that followed.
The scene at the time seemed more like Jialuo had switched sides from the Empress Dowager to stand on his side in order to secure the "Empress's position".
That's why he said that last sentence, right?
She made this guess, but she didn't dare say she was right.
After all, the Emperor's anger towards her these past few times was precisely because she misinterpreted his intentions.
But who can fathom the thoughts of this mother and son?
Originally, within the deep palace, the bond between mother and son was the most touching and profound.
But the mother was the shrewd and capable Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, while the son was the cunning and obsessive Emperor Shunzhi.
Why is she getting involved in this mother-son rivalry?
She, Jialuo, stood not for anyone but for herself, for Abu, and for the Khorchin tribe.
……………
Just as Jialuo had said, they spent the next few days very happily.
It is said that Lady Dong'e only calmed down at dawn that night, and the imperial physician used some precious medicinal herbs to carefully nourish her body.
The Emperor was perhaps busy with state affairs and worried about Consort Dong'e, so he did not come to Shou'an Palace, which made Jialuo feel much more relaxed.
Her life was extremely regular. Every morning she would go to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, and the task would be completed in about half an hour.
The rest of the day was all her own.
Jialuo was delighted. She first had breakfast prepared in the small kitchen, then took a nap, waiting to wake up naturally so she could have lunch.
In the afternoon, she might dance with her two maids in the courtyard, a dance they had learned from adults since childhood, or she might laze in a rocking chair and read a book all afternoon.
When she's in a good mood, she might even learn to make traditional pastries and develop incense by studying jade and agate.
They lived a comfortable life, though.
There's another thing, which is also a new task for Galo recently, and that is the talent show.
Although the Emperor entrusted Jialuo with the selection of officials, the Ministry of Revenue actually handled the vast majority of matters.
In order to prevent the empress from participating in the "selection of concubines," the roster was not even shown to her.
Only the Imperial Household Department, which is responsible for the selection of officials, will report to Jialuo.
This can be considered as giving the Empress some of the power to manage the household.
On this day, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department came to pay his respects to Jialuo.
The head of the Imperial Household Department was like the chief steward of the royal household; this was his first meeting with the Empress.
Fu'an is an old servant in the palace, and today he brought his young apprentice to meet the Empress.
The Empress was of noble birth, but she did not win the Emperor's favor, something Fu'an knew all too well.
But this empress was the empress dowager's own niece and the daughter of the Khorchin prince, so how could he dare to show the slightest disrespect?
He bowed respectfully to the Empress.
"This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"
"Get up."
At this moment, the young girl was sitting on the couch in the main room of Shou'an Palace, wearing a pair of white embroidered shoes with pink lotus flowers and pearls, and a light blue satin cheongsam with beaded patterns.
Fu'an dared not look any longer and immediately lowered his eyes.
"twitter."
"The Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department is always extremely busy. What brings you here to see me today?"
Fu'an crouched down, his voice attentive but not obsequious.
"Your Majesty, I have come today because of the imperial concubine selection."
"oh?"
Jialuo became interested and asked, "This election was originally a matter for the Ministry of Revenue. Does the Imperial Household Department also have a say in it?"
Upon hearing this, Fu'an replied, "Your Majesty, this selection was indeed led by the Ministry of Revenue. However, during the selection process, His Majesty specially rewarded the selected ladies who came to the capital with two taels of silver and provided them with their meals on the day of the selection."
"These were all funded by the Imperial Household Department."
Jialuo immediately understood that this meant the Emperor intended to use his private treasury to improve the treatment of the imperial concubines.
She only reported this to Jialuo because the emperor said that she would preside over the selection of officials.
Fu'an then gave Jialuo a detailed report on the entire process and the distribution of money, even pausing slightly at each crucial point.
If Jialuo doesn't understand something, she will ask detailed questions.
The master and servant exchanged questions and answers, with appropriate detail and brevity.
Fu'an was even a little frightened. It was rumored that the Empress was young and spoiled by the Prince of Khorchin, who regarded her as the apple of his eye. She was innocent, naive, spoiled and domineering.
But now he sensed the empress's calmness and wisdom.
She understood all the complicated procedures and the financial arrangements, and in the end, she didn't say much, only telling them to follow the "rules".
Having served so many royal masters, even a young genius like Fulin, when he first ascended the throne, once wanted to "reform the system".
Very few people can restrain themselves and learn to "understand" and "comprehend" its core essence from the very beginning.
So after he paid his respects and left Shou'an Palace, his original plan had changed.
"Master, shall we still present the jade ruyi to the Empress?"
Fu'an glanced at his little apprentice, then looked back at Shou'an Palace, which he had just come out of.
The hibiscus trees grow tall and lush, their vitality everlasting.
"No, our family wants to send something else."
The talent show was handled by Jialuo. Occasionally, Fu'an would send his apprentice to report on the progress, but sometimes he would come in person.
Jialuo gradually gained a thorough understanding of the structure and functions of the Imperial Household Department.
On this day, when the young eunuch came to report on his work, he also presented a jade hairpin inlaid with gemstones.
Despite being only eight or nine years old, the young eunuch was quite clever.
"Your Majesty, this was just delivered to the Imperial Household Department by our servants. It hasn't been put into storage yet. Since I have to report to you today, I brought it to you first."
The meaning is quite clear: if it is put into storage, then this item can only be distributed by the Emperor himself, and even if it is distributed, it will be given to the "Empress".
They only have the right to use it, not the right to own it.
However, if it is not registered in the database but is delivered to her, then it belongs to Galo herself and she owns it.
Although this hairpin is beautiful, it is not very prestigious.
This is a wonderful gift.
Fu'an was a smart man. Even if the matter reached the Emperor, he could still admit it and present it to the Empress.
After all, how can one manage everything without getting tainted while walking around the palace?
In some places, it is a last resort.
Jialuo accepted a tribute from her servants—just a hairpin.
But... Jialuo looked at the little eunuch standing on the ground with amusement, his face full of flattery, yet his voice was still childish.
Fu'an was a shrewd and cunning fat man who spoke with a smile, and his attentiveness did not appear servile.
His young apprentice had an honest appearance, but his eyes seemed to speak volumes.
She does things beautifully.
But it also made Jialu feel sorry for her, because the child was only eight or nine years old and had been protected in his parents' arms in his previous life.
She liked the child, and every time she came, she would ask Emerald to give him some pastries and sweet candies.
Not only him, but all the eunuchs and maids in Shou'an Palace also received rewards from time to time.
The young eunuchs also liked Shou'an Palace.
Today was no different. Jade handed him half a plate of snacks and let him sit on a small stool and eat slowly with another eunuch from Shou'an Palace.
It was quiet and still, without any sound.
Jialuo sat on the south kang (heated brick bed), looking at the hairpin on the table.
Emerald green, lifelike.
It really is very beautiful.
The next morning, as Jialuo was preparing to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace, Emerald asked, "Your Highness, may I wear the gem-encrusted jade hairpin that the little eunuch brought yesterday?"
"No need, just leave it for now."
"The purple cloak you're wearing today doesn't match the hairpin."
"good."
Jialuo has always loved beauty, and in this life she was born extremely beautiful. Sometimes when she suddenly saw her face in the mirror, she would marvel at how lucky she was in this life.
When we finished getting ready and left Shou'an Palace, it was only a hazy early morning.
Once the lingering heat of late summer passes, the weather gradually cools down.
Jialuo felt slightly feverish as soon as she arrived at Cining Palace.
Unlike the usual warm and gentle face of the Empress Dowager, she now frowned and leaned against the cushions with a solemn expression.
Sumala was directing a young palace maid to clean up the broken teacups on the ground.
Jialuo and Sumala exchanged a glance, and Sumala gently shook her head.
Jialuo understood; the Emperor had angered the Empress Dowager.
She stepped forward and bowed to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
"Your Majesty, Jialuo has come to pay her respects."
A note from the author:
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