Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 118: Clothes Within Clothes

   A blessing?

   Wei Yingluo looked at herself in the mirror, her expression extremely grave.

Ming Yu stood behind her, combing her hair while anxiously saying: “Yingluo, is there really no way to avoid it tonight?”

Wei Yingluo smiled a little: “When the Emperor summons a newly promoted Noble Lady to serve him, it is only proper. How could one avoid it?”

“If His Majesty truly wanted to summon someone for the night, he would arrange it at Jiuzhou Qingyan Hall—that’s where he usually stays in the Yuanmingyuan. Why would it be at Changchun Xianguan? That was the residence of the late Empress.” Ming Yu’s worry deepened. “I’m afraid… I’m afraid…”

“Afraid of what? Afraid he’ll make things difficult for me, or afraid the Empress will somehow come back to life in anger?” Wei Yingluo turned, took her hand, and soothed her: “No matter what, I have to go. Otherwise it would be defying an imperial decree.”

The more reasonably she spoke, the sadder Ming Yu became: “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t said anything, you could have lived peacefully in the Yuanmingyuan.”

“What’s the point of bringing up the past now that things have come to this?” Wei Yingluo acted completely unconcerned. She tapped her own lips with a finger. “You might as well help me with my makeup instead. What color do you think would suit me?”

Ming Yu sighed, opened a box of gardenia rouge, scooped a bit onto her fingertip, mixed it with dewdrops in her palm to dissolve it, and then evenly applied it to Wei Yingluo’s lips. Instantly, her mouth became fragrant and alluring, brimming with seductive charm.

Half an hour later, Li Yu knocked on the door. The moment he saw the person inside, even he—a eunuch incapable of such things—couldn’t help but feel his eyes brighten.

Ordinary beauties might be lovable when they smile, or moving when they cry; each has her strong points and her flaws. But upon seeing this woman in vivid red, one felt she was perfect in joy or sorrow, in a frown or a smile—truly, every aspect of her was flawless.

Li Yu couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly, thinking: Could it be that the feng shui of Yuanmingyuan really nourishes beauty? In the past, Wei Yingluo was considered a beauty, yet never to the point of being able to rival Noble Consort Chun. Now, looking at her, she seemed to possess the momentum to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

No wonder the Emperor couldn’t wait to take her and even summoned her overnight for service in the bedchamber.

At this thought, his voice softened considerably, adopting the same respectful demeanor he used toward Noble Consort Chun:

“Noble Lady Wei, this way, please.”

In the bedchamber of Changchun Xianguan.

Wei Yingluo entered gracefully, curtsied, and said:

“Your humble concubine respectfully greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be at peace.”

Hongli waved his hand. One after another, the eunuchs and palace maids filed past Wei Yingluo. Finally, with a creak, the door closed, leaving only the two of them in the room.

For a long while, no one spoke. Only the quiet burning of the candles could be heard.

“Wei Yingluo,” Hongli said, standing with his hands behind his back, his back to her. “Do you know where this is?”

“It is the residence of the late Empress here in Yuanmingyuan,” Wei Yingluo replied calmly.

Hongli: “Tell me, why do you think I summoned you here?”

Wei Yingluo’s voice remained just as calm: “Your Majesty wishes to humiliate me.”

“No.” Hongli suddenly strode toward her, one hand seizing her chin and forcing her to lift her face. He looked down at her with mocking contempt. “I want the late Empress to see—see the person she once trusted so deeply, how she has now, for fame and fortune, shamelessly betrayed her!”

That beauty which could move even a eunuch seemed to mean nothing in his eyes. Her face was distorted under his grip.

Enduring the pain he inflicted, Wei Yingluo said quietly: “Since Your Majesty has no intention of summoning me to the bed, I shall take her leave.”

Hongli stared at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

One hand still gripped her chin, while the other slowly moved downward—from her collarbone, sliding lower, finally coming to rest on her waist sash.

With a light, teasing motion, he undid the golden sash. Wei Yingluo took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Yet the next move never came.

She opened her eyes and saw Hongli standing three paces away, arms crossed, looking like the world’s most insolent guest. He lifted his chin toward her and sneered:

“What? Do you expect me to undress you? Do it yourself!”

Wei Yingluo stared at him for a moment, then slowly placed both hands on her waist.

The golden sash slid slowly to the floor.

That mocking look in Hongli’s eyes gradually deepened because of her action.

An embroidered outer cloak fell to the ground.

He glanced away for a moment, then quickly looked back, unwilling to yield.

A crimson outer robe dropped.

Hongli’s gaze fixed on her. The sarcasm, the ridicule, and the almost imperceptible stir of emotion all receded like waves, leaving only shock behind.

Wei Yingluo stood before him, dressed entirely in white from head to toe—a snow-white mourning garment!

“Your Majesty.” Wei Yingluo slowly knelt before him. Her black hair hung low, forming a stark contrast with the mourning clothes she wore — the black even blacker, the white even whiter. “To Your Majesty, the former Empress is already someone who has passed away. But in my eyes, she was not only my mistress, but also my sister and my teacher. Therefore, this servant must observe mourning for her for twenty-seven months. The mourning period is not yet over, so even if it is Your Majesty’s command, this concubine absolutely dares not serve in the bedchamber.”

Hongli looked at her with a complicated expression. “…Since you are observing mourning, why did you still come?”

“The imperial decree is hard to disobey, so this concubine could only come.” Wei Yingluo said calmly, “I came to plead guilty, not to serve in the bedchamber… I beg Your Majesty to punish me.”

Punish?

   Hongli couldn’t help turning his head to glance at the memorial portrait on the altar, thinking to himself: Empress, how do you expect me to punish her?

In the end, Hongli neither punished her nor demanded that she serve him. He simply waved his hand, looking weary, and let her withdraw.

Under the strange gazes of the palace servants, Wei Yingluo returned to her residence.

Ming Yu had been too worried to sleep, pacing back and forth in the room. When she heard movement outside, she hurriedly rushed to open the door. Seeing that Wei Yingluo had returned completely unharmed, she let out a long breath of relief. “How did it go?”

Wei Yingluo briefly recounted what had happened earlier. Ming Yu listened with her heart pounding in fear, stamping her foot and exclaiming, “You really are too bold — how dare you treat the Emperor like that!”

“Otherwise what?” Wei Yingluo gently smoothed the mourning clothes she wore and said coolly, “If I had truly served him in bed tonight, it would be equivalent to telling the Emperor that I am an ungrateful woman — one who would shamelessly climb onto the dragon bed in the very chambers where my mistress once lived while she was alive. If I really did that, I would surely be despised by the Emperor for the rest of my life and never rise again. Therefore, even if it means angering His Majesty, I absolutely cannot serve him… at least not tonight!”

“Yingluo…” Ming Yu opened her mouth, then stopped, and unconsciously a tear rolled down her cheek. “You didn’t have to do this. You could have married a good man, and not… not…”

Wei Yingluo raised one hand; the finger painted with nail polish gently pressed against Ming Yu’s lips, stopping the words that were about to come out.

If she had only cared about herself back then, she would not have entered the palace. She would have obeyed her father and married someone else. By now… she might already have children running around her.

“Stop.” Wei Yingluo smiled. There was not the slightest self-pity in her eyes — only firm determination to avenge the Empress and Ming Yu. “I am already a Noble Lady now, but this is only the beginning. To avenge the Empress, I must climb higher… I have to keep climbing up, no matter what it takes, until I stand on equal footing with Noble Consort Chun.”

That also meant that Wei Yingluo would have to join the other palace women in competing for Hongli’s favor. And unlike the others, she came from a lower background and had fewer connections — she would need even more imperial favor. Only the favor that came directly from Hongli could lift her straight up to the clouds.

“But…” Ming Yu understood this point very well, yet she was full of worry. “The Emperor already has so many misunderstandings about you. Is it really possible to make him come to like you?”

“It depends on human effort.” Wei Yingluo said with firm resolve, “Nothing is impossible.”

A meal must be eaten one bite at a time; a road must be walked step by step. Although she had no feelings for him, for the sake of the Empress, she would use every trick she had to seize even a sliver of his true heart! From tonight onward, she would begin to scheme, to plan every step carefully.

At the very least, the first step had succeeded.

He had not kept her to serve him, but he would certainly remember the mourning clothes she wore.

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