Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 117: Falling Out

   “Brother…” Wei Yingluo began, then faltered.

Yuan Chunwang strode forward quickly, placed both hands on her shoulders, and demanded: “You clearly promised me you would stay in Yuanmingyuan with me for the rest of your life. And now you’re abandoning me to become the Emperor’s woman!”

“Brother, haven’t you always wanted to become someone above others?” Wei Yingluo was silent for a long moment before forcing a smile at him. “From now on, we no longer have to suffer and endure hardship in the Yuanming Garden. We can return to the Forbidden City, become noble, and live as people above others. Isn’t that good? Besides, I originally only wanted to please the Empress Dowager. I never intended to become the Emperor’s woman—this was just an accident!”

Yuan Chunwang scoffed with icy disdain. “You can fool the whole world, but you can’t fool me! The Emperor is full of misunderstandings about you; he’s convinced you harbor ulterior motives. Do you think he would allow you to stay by the Empress Dowager’s side? But since you’ve won the Empress Dowager’s favor, and the Emperor has always valued filial piety and never defies her wishes, the most legitimate and proper way to stop you is to keep you by his own side! Wei Yingluo, you had this all calculated from the beginning!”

In this world, the person who perhaps truly understood her best… might really be the man standing before her.

   Even Fuheng only loved her—he did not truly understand her. Otherwise, he would never have married Erqing, causing their bond to break and turning them into strangers forever.

   “I really did intend to please the Empress Dowager at first…” Wei Yingluo murmured. But after repeated consideration, she ultimately gave up on that plan. Although the Empress Dowager could serve as a backer, she could only ensure her safety—she could not help her take revenge. In the Empress Dowager’s eyes, all women of the harem belonged to the Emperor; they existed to bear his children and continue the imperial line. To her, they were fundamentally no different from one another. She would not favor Wei Yingluo just because she liked her, nor would she help her go against the Emperor’s women… especially one who already had a child.

So her only choice was the Emperor. It could only be Hongli!

“No matter who you want to marry, I won’t object. I’ll even personally escort you to the wedding—except for Aisin Gioro Hongli! Him, never!” Yuan Chunwang gripped Wei Yingluo’s arm, his eyes faintly red. “Only he is not allowed!”

Just as Yuan Chunwang was the person in this world who understood Wei Yingluo the most, Wei Yingluo was likewise the one who understood him best.

“You two are brothers of the same father but different mothers. He has everything, while you have nothing.” Wei Yingluo looked at him, her heart aching. “And now even I am about to leave you behind…”

If even Wei Yingluo was to abandon him, then in this world, Yuan Chunwang would truly have nothing left.

“Come with me,” Yuan Chunwang said, a trace of pleading even appearing in his eyes. “Every morning at dawn, the water carts from Yuquan Mountain enter the Yuanming Garden. If we plan it carefully, we can escape far away and leave this place forever! I don’t want anything anymore. Let’s go together, all right?”

Wei Yingluo’s heart struggled violently. One moment she saw the gentle face and voice of the Empress; the next, the tenderness with which he fed her medicine; then the image of the Empress leaping from the corner tower; and then the oil-paper umbrella he tilted toward her in the snow.

In this world, there is no way to have it all—neither betraying the Buddha nor wronging one’s beloved.

“…I’m sorry.” Wei Yingluo closed her eyes in pain, tears streaming down her face. “Brother, I’m sorry…”

Yuan Chunwang slowly released his grip. The foster father who had abandoned him and his adoptive mother, the eighth uncle who sent him to be castrated, the biological father who had ignored him, the younger brother who once rode him like a horse… these people, these memories, flashed before his eyes one by one. His gaze became dazed for a moment, then finally settled on Wei Yingluo’s face.

The sorrow and despair gradually faded from his expression, leaving behind only a desolate emptiness like grass and trees reduced to ash. Yuan Chunwang said woodenly, “Wei Yingluo… you have betrayed me too.”

“Brother!” Watching his resolute departing figure, tears filled Wei Yingluo’s eyes. She hurried after him a few steps, but ultimately stopped, closing her eyes and standing alone in miserable solitude, weeping.

This path was the one she had chosen herself, and she alone must walk it to the end.

If she could reach the very end, then she would come back to find him, apologize to him—once if not enough, then twice; if twice not enough, then two hundred times… She would keep coming until he forgave her.

And if she could not reach the end… then on the road to the Yellow Springs, she would walk alone, with no need for him to see her off.

That night, inside the Immortal Pavilion of Changchun Palace.

The one standing alone and forlorn was not only Wei Yingluo—Hongli, too, could not sleep. He stood solitary in the Immortal Pavilion, quietly gazing at the memorial portrait of the Empress before him until night fell deeply. Only then did Li Yu arrive with a lamp, its light dispersing the darkness around him.

“Li Yu,” Hongli slowly closed his eyes. “Summon Hailancha to come here.”

Hailancha hurried over at once and knelt on the ground.

“Speak,” Hongli said, standing with his hands behind his back, his back turned to him. “What exactly happened?”

He had originally thought he would still need to threaten or intimidate him for a while, but unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his mouth, Hailancha simply replied: “Yes.”

Hongli turned around quickly, looking at him with some surprise: “…You’re willing to tell me?”

“Yes.” Hailancha answered with complete frankness. “Your Majesty, Yingluo never intended to hide it in the first place. She said that with Your Majesty’s piercing eyes and acute discernment, you would surely figure out the truth. So if Your Majesty asked, she instructed this servant to tell the truth plainly.”

Hongli scoffed with icy disdain. “Don’t try to flatter me. Speak—what about the fish? Birds can be trained, but how exactly did you train the fish?”

Following the explanation Wei Yingluo had prepared earlier, Hailancha answered truthfully:

“Yingluo asked this servant for help and prepared forty gauze bags filled with fish insects. Each bag had very fine mesh. They were tied to bamboo poles and inserted into a row of stone crevices just below the water surface. After some time, the fish insects would swim out of the bags little by little. All the koi would be attracted over to feed, forming a neat line. With their mouths opening and closing along the ripples, it looked exactly like they were kowtowing…”

After hearing it, Hongli said viciously: “What a cunning mind!”

Carefully glancing at him, Hailancha subtly spoke up for Wei Yingluo: “Yingluo said that Your Majesty went to great lengths to prepare the Ten Thousand Years Festival just to make the Empress Dowager happy. Her goal was the same—anything that makes the Empress Dowager happy is worth doing!”

Hongli fell silent.

The harsh words he had spoken earlier weren’t truly meant to blame her.

No matter how clever the method, carrying it out was extremely troublesome. Among all the concubines in the rear palace, how many would really be willing to put in that kind of effort? Most would simply pass the task to their servants even if they knew the trick.

“Leave.” After a long pause, Hongli suddenly spoke in a listless tone.

“Yes.” Hailancha withdrew. Just as he was about to close the door, Hongli suddenly spoke again: “From now on, remember firmly—she is my Noble Lady Wei. Do not address her incorrectly!”

Hailancha froze for a moment, then bowed his head deeply: “Yes.”

Once outside the door, looking up at the crescent moon like a hook in the sky, Hailancha couldn’t help murmuring to himself: “Fuheng… was what I did right or wrong… I helped bring them together, but what about you?”

Inside the room, Hongli remained motionless in front of the ancestral tablet, murmuring in his heart: “Empress… is Wei Yingluo loyal or treacherous… let me see clearly on your behalf.”

Half a shichen (about one hour) later, the door to the palace maids’ quarters was pushed open. The bedding on the bed had only been half tidied. When Wei Yingluo and Ming Yu turned and saw who it was, they quickly curtsied: “Greetings to Chief Steward Li.”

Li Yu held his whisk, smiling amiably at Wei Yingluo: “Noble Lady Wei, His Majesty is summoning you to serve in the imperial bedchamber tonight. A tremendous blessing—prepare yourself well.”

STORY OF YANXI PALACE CHAPTERS HOME