Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 35: Visiting the Sick

   “Drink this bowl of ginger soup.”

“Thank you for the gift, Master.”

Wei Yingluo accepted the bowl of ginger soup personally handed to her by the Empress. She took a small sip; the heat made her ice-cold body shiver.

“Thanks to you, the flowers in the garden were mostly saved.” The Empress looked at her curiously. “But how did you happen to be there?”

“Last night there was a lunar halo, and this morning black clouds gathered in the east. I suspected wind and rain were coming today and feared the courtyard flowers would suffer. So after finishing the morning sweeping of the inner and outer courtyards, I hurried over.” Wei Yingluo replied respectfully.

At her words, the Empress cast a sidelong glance at Ming Yu.

Sweeping both the inner and outer courtyards was not work one person could finish alone—it would normally take seven or eight palace maids working together. And if what she said was true, that she had swept the entire inner and outer courtyards in the morning, she must have gotten up before dawn. —Ming Yu, this didn’t quite match what you told me earlier.

   “Since you knew it would rain today, why didn’t you tell the others in advance?” After all, they had all been in Changchun Palace together for so long. Erqing, wanting to speak up for Ming Yu, asked Wei Yingluo, “If you had given everyone advance notice and prepared properly, the garden wouldn’t have lost so many flowers.”

Even with all her effort, one person’s strength has its limits. Though Wei Yingluo had done her utmost, she still couldn’t protect every single jasmine. The rain battered the petals, leaving the garden carpeted with fallen red.

“I did say so…” Wei Yingluo replied. Then, seemingly unintentionally, she glanced toward Ming Yu.

Though she hadn’t named anyone specifically, everyone in the palace had an extra pair of eyes compared to outsiders.

The Empress immediately understood whom her words were directed at. She glanced again at Erqing, who now kept her head lowered in silence, then gently shook her head. In a soft voice she said to Wei Yingluo:

“Enough for today—you don’t need to do any more work. Finish this bowl of ginger soup, go back and take a hot bath, then rest early. Don’t catch a cold.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Wei Yingluo finished the ginger soup and withdrew respectfully. From beginning to end, she never spoke a single bad word about Erqing.

But the disappointment in the Empress’s eyes could not be hidden.

“Master, I…” Erqing racked her brains, trying to find a reasonable excuse for her actions.

The Empress raised a hand, stopping her defense—or rather, stopping her from continuing to treat her like a fool.

“I have eyes. I can see for myself.” The Empress spoke half in warning, half in gentle admonishment. “Remember one thing: too many words inevitably lead to mistakes!”

Erqing appeared to lower her head in shame. But the moment the Empress turned away, she lifted a pair of eyes filled with bitter resentment.

The next day, Wei Yingluo did not catch a cold—but the Empress came down with a headache and fever.

From behind the hanging gauze curtain, a hand reached out. Imperial Physician Zhang placed his fingers on the pulse. After a long moment, he gave his diagnosis:

“Your Majesty’s headache and body aches are due to pent-up heat in the lung meridian combined with an external invasion of wind-cold. It is nothing serious. I will prescribe a dose of Qingjie Ningsou Yin, using fresh ginger and pear as guiding ingredients. With proper rest and care for half a month, Your Majesty’s health will be fully restored.”

The Empress reclined inside the bed curtains, her voice carrying a slight nasal tone: “Physician Zhang is a master of the medical arts. Of course We trust him—otherwise We would never have entrusted Noble Lady Yu to your care. Speaking of Noble Lady Yu, how has her health been lately?”

“This…” Physician Zhang hesitated for a moment before replying, “Your Majesty, Noble Lady Yu frequently suffers from dizziness. This humble physician has done his utmost to regulate her condition, yet the results have been minimal. At its root, Noble Lady Yu carries too many worries; her emotions are disordered. If this continues for long… I fear… I fear…”

“That it will affect the dragon fetus in her womb, is that it?” the Empress finished the words he dared not speak.

Physician Zhang let out a breath of relief and answered, “Yes.”

After having Physician Zhang escorted out, the Empress struggled to rise from the bed. “Erqing, help Us change clothes. cough cough We wish to go and visit Noble Lady Yu. cough cough cough…”

“Your Highness must not!” Erqing hurriedly patted her back to ease her breathing. “You have only just caught a chill. You should rest and recover properly—how can you go out into the wind at a time like this?”

A flicker of hesitation passed through the Empress’s eyes. She cared little for her own minor illness, but she feared passing it on to Noble Lady Yu and endangering the child in her belly. Her gaze shifted and landed on Ming Yu, who stood stiffly in the corner. Suddenly the Empress said, “Ming Yu, you shall go in Our place.”

“Me?” Ming Yu was stunned.

The Empress nodded. “Take the box of tribute ginseng that was just delivered from the storeroom. Deliver it to Yonghe Palace and tell Noble Lady Yu to focus on peacefully nurturing her pregnancy. We will visit her very soon.”

“…Yes.” Ming Yu’s reply was extremely reluctant.

As she left the storeroom with the ginseng box in hand, Ming Yu was filled with grievance. In the past, such trivial errands would have been handed off to any random low-ranking palace maid…

Suddenly she halted. Raising her voice toward the front, she called, “You there—come here!”

Wei Yingluo had been sweeping the main hall. Hearing the summons, she set down her broom and walked over.

Ming Yu raised her hand and tossed the ginseng box. It traced an arc through the air and was caught—barely—by Wei Yingluo.

“Go to Yonghe Palace. Tell Noble Lady Yu that the Empress has been thinking of her constantly and that she should rest easy and take good care of her pregnancy. Remember every word.” Having delivered the order, Ming Yu immediately turned and left, giving the other no chance to refuse.

Wei Yingluo had no intention of refusing anyway.

It had been a long time since she last saw her. She wondered how that pitiful Noble Lady Yu was faring.

Carrying the ginseng box, she left Changchun Palace, passed through corridors and wooded paths, and arrived at Yonghe Palace. The red doors were tightly shut. She raised her hand and knocked. “By order of the Empress, I have come to visit Noble Lady Yu. Please open the door.”

She waited a long while, but no one answered.

“Noble Lady Yu? Noble Lady Yu?” Wei Yingluo knocked again. “Is anyone there?”

Still no response.

A strange feeling rose in Wei Yingluo’s heart. This was not the outside world—inside the palace, even if the mistress had gone out to pay a visit, at least one or two eunuchs or maids would remain on duty.

She paced in front of the door a little longer, undecided whether to wait or leave, when suddenly—bang! —a loud crash came from inside.

A wave of foreboding surged through her. Wei Yingluo gritted her teeth and growled under her breath, “Noble Lady Yu—forgive the offense!”

She took a step back, then lowered her body and slammed into the door with all her strength. With a thunderous boom the doors flew open to both sides. She stumbled forward several steps, then stood frozen, staring in shock at the scene before her.

Inside Yonghe Palace, the room had been arranged like a funeral hall.

Incense candles, offerings, white cloth—everything was present. On the floor sat a bronze brazier; faint flames still flickered within, slowly consuming paper money and gold ingots.

A spirit tablet had rolled onto the ground—whether knocked over by someone or fallen from the table on its own, it was the sound of its fall that had prompted Wei Yingluo to rush in.

And then she saw—

Noble Lady Yu lay sprawled on the floor, her neck arched high, a length of white cloth wound tightly around it.

A eunuch was straddling her from behind, both hands wrapped tightly around the ends of a white cloth, pulling with such force that the veins on the backs of his hands bulged grotesquely.

“What are you doing!” Wei Yingluo shouted sharply.

Only then did the eunuch realize there was another person in the hall. A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. He abandoned Noble Lady Yu, lunged straight at Wei Yingluo, and clamped both hands around her throat in a vise-like grip—he clearly intended to kill her to silence her!

“Ahhh!!!”

A blood-curdling scream erupted—from the eunuch’s own mouth.

He staggered backward, his right hand clamped desperately over the side of his neck—where a hairpin now protruded.

Wei Yingluo had never been one to take a beating lying down. The moment he charged at her, she yanked the hairpin from her hair without a second thought and stabbed it straight toward him. If he hadn’t dodged in time, that single thrust would surely have gone straight into his eye.

The eunuch pulled the hairpin out and gripped it in his hand.

Wei Yingluo slowly retreated—she no longer had a second hairpin on her head.

Suddenly she spun around and ran, shouting as she went:

“Help! Someone, come quickly! There’s an assassin!”

She dashed all the way into the inner courtyard. Ahead came the chaotic sound of many footsteps. A flicker of joy had just appeared on Wei Yingluo’s face when it froze solid.

A group of palace maids and eunuchs was approaching in a menacing crowd, escorting a palace consort as gorgeously vivid as a peony in full bloom.

“Noble Consort Hui,” Wei Yingluo’s heart pounded wildly. “Why is she here?”

Something was wrong—very, very wrong.

Although Yonghe Palace was quiet and neglected, Noble Lady Yu was still a titled consort, and a pregnant one at that. There should have been at least some servants attending her.

Where had those people gone? Who had drawn them away, delayed them—or perhaps silenced them permanently?

And now this uninvited group right in front of her…

As they drew closer, Noble Consort Hui’s party also spotted Wei Yingluo. Seeing Noble Consort Hui frown, Zhilan immediately raised her hand and pointed straight at her:

“Seize her!”

Run!

Wei Yingluo whirled around and bolted back into the main hall. She slammed the doors shut, threw the bolt, then hurriedly dragged tables and chairs over to barricade the entrance.

“Someone! Break the door down!”

“Yes!”

A relentless barrage of pounding and crashing against the door rose and fell like waves growing ever more urgent against the shore.

Inside, the situation was equally dire. Seeing Wei Yingluo return, the eunuch gave a vicious grin and pounced at her again. The two grappled fiercely. Fortunately, his neck wound was still bleeding profusely. Wei Yingluo seized on that weakness, relentlessly digging her fingers into the gash.

Finally the eunuch could hold out no longer. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor.

“Huff… huff…” Wei Yingluo was in no better shape. Her clothes and hair were in utter disarray; several holes had been stabbed into her garments by the hairpin, and with every step she took, fresh blood soaked the fabric a deeper red. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she staggered over to Noble Lady Yu, lifted her up, and called urgently,

“Noble Lady, wake up—wake up!”

Noble Lady Yu remained unconscious.

“What do I do?” Wei Yingluo murmured. Her eyes swept the room once, finally settling on the brazier where paper money was still smoldering. After a brief hesitation, she clenched her teeth and muttered,

“No choice… I’ll have to borrow some outside help.”

Half a cup of tea later, the entire Forbidden City erupted into chaos.

“Quick—over here, over here!”

“This little bit of water isn’t enough—get a bigger bucket.”

“Coming, coming!”

Fucha Fuheng, who had been on his way to visit his sick older sister, stopped in his tracks. He grabbed a small eunuch hurrying past and asked, “What’s going on?”

The little eunuch was carrying a wooden bucket brimming with water. Panting heavily, he glanced behind him and said, “Over there… Yonghe Palace has caught fire.”

Fucha Fuheng was stunned. He turned back and looked toward Yonghe Palace. A thick column of rolling smoke shot straight up into the clouds.

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