Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 131: Stolen Goods

Wei Yingluo lifted the white-jade wine flask to her own lips and took a swig straight from the spout. Just as Hongli frowned, she suddenly twisted her body, her voice turning soft and coy in an exaggerated whine: “Your Majesty, this concubine has loved and served you with all her heart, yet you’ve fallen for that vixen and cast this concubine aside. In a moment of despair, this concubine deliberately targeted her! Even if this concubine has a thousand faults, it’s all because I love you!”

   Her manner, her affectation, the tone and gestures of her complaint—they were exactly like Concubine Xiaojia!

Hongli stared in stunned disbelief. Suddenly Wei Yingluo tossed the wine flask aside. The earlier coquettish posturing vanished. She slowly walked over to a flower vase, reached out with a slender hand to pluck a single orchid, tucked it in front of her, and gently inhaled its fragrance—quietly beautiful, the very picture of a refined noble lady in her boudoir.

…She had become the very image of Noble Consort Chun.

“Concubine Ling and Lord Fucha have known each other for a long time. It was merely a chance encounter—they exchanged a few words, that’s all.” Her expression was gentle, and even her voice somehow took on a faint resemblance to the other woman’s. “Even if there really had been some private affection, that’s all in the past. Now that Concubine Ling has entered the palace, those old matters are nothing more than clouds that have passed. Your Majesty, I believe Concubine Ling is absolutely not the kind of woman who would climb over the wall with a lover or act shamelessly.”

“Wei Yingluo…” Hongli looked at her with both shock and suspicion. “What exactly are you doing?”

Wei Yingluo placed the flower back into the vase, then returned to Hongli’s side. With every step she took, she gradually transformed from Noble Consort Chun back into the Empress—respectful, dignified, and virtuous: “Please rest assured, Your Majesty. As the head of the six palaces, I will strictly investigate whoever is spreading these rumors behind the scenes and clear Concubine Ling’s name.”

   Hongli couldn’t help but pull her into his arms. He stared at her for a long time, his gaze half full of doubt, half full of suspicion.

“You’ve only recently entered the palace, yet you seem more familiar with them than anyone else.” He spoke slowly. “From what you just said, it’s almost as if you personally overheard what they were saying.”

He suspected that Wei Yingluo had bribed servants from other palaces—even perhaps some of the servants around him.

But on second thought, that seemed impossible.

If Wei Yingluo truly had such far-reaching influence and connections, he never would have caught her meeting Lord Fucha privately in the Imperial Garden. Someone would have tipped her off long in advance so she could avoid him, and none of the subsequent trouble would have happened.

Sure enough, Wei Yingluo gave a smug little smile. Without any hesitation, she sat right down on his lap, tilted her head, and said to him: “It’s really not such a big deal. After all, women understand women best.”

The enemy understands the enemy best—Hongli silently completed the second half of the sentence in his mind, though his face remained perfectly calm: “You knew how they were talking about you behind your back, yet you still dared to meet Lord Fucha in the garden?”

Here it comes!

   Wei Yingluo’s spirits lifted—she knew the real drama of the evening had finally arrived.

His calmness was only surface-deep. If he could truly face this matter with composure, he wouldn’t have avoided her for so many days.

Yet Wei Yingluo could not bring it up herself. If she did, the thorn in his heart would only dig in deeper. She had to find every possible way to make him raise the issue first, so there could be a chance to resolve it.

“Whether I leave or stay, what difference does it make?” Wei Yingluo shrugged, answering with apparent indifference. “If I had turned and walked away the moment I saw him, they would have said, ‘Oh look at that Concubine Ling— the second she sees Lord Fucha she turns tail and runs. Clearly guilty and heart in a panic!’”

Hongli burst out laughing.

If she were truly indifferent, she wouldn’t have appeared in that Jiangnan marketplace outfit, wouldn’t have worn those clothes, wouldn’t have spoken in that perfect Wu soft accent, and wouldn’t have said to him: “Dear customer, would you like some wine? Sangluo, Xinfeng, chrysanthemum, bamboo-leaf green, or daughter’s red—which one would you like?”

“Your Majesty, rumors can confuse the crowd; three people repeating a lie can make it seem like truth.” Sure enough, she quickly dropped the carefree act and looked at him earnestly. “Your concubine only hopes that, while bestowing your favor on me, you can also give me a little more trust. Otherwise, even if I had a body of iron, their saliva would wear me down to nothing!”

In truth, Hongli’s anger had already subsided by half.

Compared to her private meeting with Lord Fucha, what had truly infuriated him was her apparent indifference toward him.

Now, seeing how much she cared, his heart was completely satisfied. Like a fierce tiger having its chin scratched, he narrowed his eyes, lifted her chin with one finger, and said with a half-smile: “In the entire harem, no one has more tricks up her sleeve than you. Always coming to tease me…”

Wei Yingluo laughed too. The wine pot from earlier was still sitting on the low table beside them. She picked it up again, shook it toward him, and spoke in that soft Wu accent with a charming smile: “So, dear customer, are you going to drink this pot of wine or not?”

“What wine?” Hongli asked with a laugh. “Sangluo, Xinfeng, chrysanthemum, bamboo-leaf green, or daughter’s red?”

“None of those. The name of this wine…” Wei Yingluo took a sip straight from the spout, then leaned in and kissed him.

A wine called Yingluo flowed from her lips into his throat, soothing his heart.

The lotus curtains warmed; the night stretched until dawn.

The news that Wei Yingluo had regained the Emperor’s favor spread through every palace. The one most furious of all was Noble Consort Chun.

“Not only has the Empress used her idea to overshadow my Suzhou market, but now even Wei Yingluo is borrowing my east wind and regaining favor!” Noble Consort Chun bit her fingernail, clearly already aware that Wei Yingluo had disguised herself as a wine seller to lure Hongli over.

“Your Ladyship, please calm your anger. The urgent priority right now is to carry out the donation properly,” Yuhu advised gently from the side.

“Exactly. Serving with beauty is only temporary; a good reputation is what lasts.” Noble Consort Chun glanced at the Sixth Prince sleeping soundly not far away, and her gaze softened. “Even if not for myself, I must accumulate some good name for the Sixth Prince, so that in the future…”

Although the idea of donating money and goods had been proposed by the Empress, the Jiangnan market had been Noble Consort Chun’s original creation. She quickly took over the entire task, working tirelessly for three months until it finally bore fruit. On this day snow blanketed the capital; colorful oil-paper umbrellas bloomed above the heads of the noble ladies, looking from above like a riot of flowers in full bloom.

“Empress Dowager.” Noble Consort Chun supported the Dowager’s arm and smiled. “Over these three months, the donations from every palace have all arrived. Many princes’ consorts and titled ladies heard the news and generously contributed as well. The palace market will first be held inside the Forbidden City for one day, open to ministers and palace personnel. Once preparations are complete outside Shenwu Gate, the market will move there and be opened to merchants and common people. All the money raised will be donated in full.”

The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded.

The Empress also smiled. “Empress Dowager, Noble Consort Chun prepared a detailed plan early on; it only awaits His Majesty’s approval before it can be implemented. In the future, outside Shenwu Gate the market will open on the fourth day of every month, displaying all kinds of goods for free trade. Old items from the Imperial Household Department’s inventory need not be transported elsewhere—they can be sold directly from storage here. The proceeds can either subsidize palace expenses or be donated entirely.”

Noble Consort Chun did not forget to please the Dowager further. “When Your Majesty is in the mood, you could also stroll through the palace market—it would be a good way to observe the sentiments of the merchants. Of course, this is merely an idea I came up with by adapting the model of the Ming-era markets. If Your Majesty finds anything inappropriate, I will correct it at once.”

The Empress Dowager patted her hand. “Noble Consort Chun, these ideas are excellent. I like them very much. You have put in great effort.”

Noble Consort Chun smiled charmingly. “Your Majesty, look—there is an antique stall ahead selling Xuande-period bronze vessels and the new enamelware produced by the Imperial Household Department this year. Shall we go take a look?”

The Empress Dowager had been all smiles, but her expression froze the moment she saw the antique stall. Aunt Liu, who was beside her, stepped forward to examine it and exclaimed in shock, “Empress Dowager, these are items lost from Shoukang Palace!”

She rummaged through the goods and soon pulled out several pieces. “Look, this jade thumb ring, this green jade ruyi scepter, and this floral spittoon… weren’t these all old items from Shoukang Palace? They vanished without a trace—we searched the entire Forbidden City and found nothing. And now they suddenly appear at the palace market!”

“Oh my!” From the crowd, Ming Yu suddenly pushed her way forward, exclaiming loudly. “My lady, isn’t this the embroidered pouch you lost?”

The palace servants had originally gathered to watch the excitement. Hearing her cry out, they all pressed forward too. One after another, they began identifying items—soon a great many lost belongings had been found.

“What palace market? It’s clearly a den of thieves!” Concubine Xiaojia curled her lip. She too had found a pair of stolen eastern-pearl earrings on one of the stalls and naturally would not miss such a perfect chance to strike at her rival. “Everything that’s gone missing from our palaces ends up here for sale, and the money raised is used to cover palace deficits. Hah, what a clever abacus they’ve worked out!”

With such a huge black pot dumped squarely on her head, Noble Consort Chun broke into a cold sweat. She knelt before the Empress Dowager. “Empress Dowager, someone must have known the palace market was opening and deliberately mixed these stolen jewels in to sell them. I truly had no knowledge of this!”

Concubine Xiaojia rolled her eyes. “How easily you say it. The eunuchs in the palace have dirty hands; there’s a vast chain of interests behind it all—how the goods are transported, how they evade notice, how the stolen items are disposed of, and how the profits are divided—it’s all a well-oiled system. Who knows whether Noble Consort Chun accepted some benefits and became part of the chain!”

Noble Consort Chun’s face changed drastically. She hurriedly defended herself. “Empress Dowager, I truly knew nothing about it. I never imagined those despicable people would dare use the palace market to fence stolen goods. I will investigate the source thoroughly—please forgive me, Empress Dowager!”

What had started as a perfectly good charitable endeavor had now completely soured. The Empress Dowager felt a wave of disgust. With an indifferent expression she said, “I am tired. I shall return to the palace first.”

Everyone respectfully saw the Empress Dowager off. The Empress then walked over to Noble Consort Chun with her hands behind her back and sighed. “Noble Consort Chun, you really were too careless in handling this. A perfectly good palace market has been tainted with stolen goods. The Empress Dowager sees clearly and knows you are not involved, but once word spreads, everyone will say you used the market to sell stolen property. That reputation will be truly terrible. I hope you investigate thoroughly and find out exactly what happened!”

After so much effort to seize this assignment, after working so hard and even investing so much of her own money, only to end up with this result—Noble Consort Chun was inwardly seething with hatred, though on the surface she could only reply, “…Yes.”

When flowers are added to brocade, few come forward to praise them; when someone falls into a well, many throw stones. Such a perfect opportunity—the other consorts would never let it pass. Whether or not anything had actually gone missing from their palaces, whether or not the lost items even belonged to them, they all swarmed forward to point fingers and claim their “stolen” goods.

Wei Yingluo had never been the forgiving or long-suffering type. She stepped forward as well, pointing at various items on the stall: “This one, this one, and this one—they all belong to my Yanxi Palace. I’m not like some people with money to burn; I’m poor as can be. I have to take these treasures back!”

Noble Consort Chun’s gaze turned icy cold. Someone was framing her, deliberately planting stolen goods at the palace market to erase all credit for her efforts.

And the person she suspected most was none other than Wei Yingluo!

“Wei Yingluo!” Noble Consort Chun said, her eyes brimming with resentment as she tested the waters. “You really are something!”

Wei Yingluo blinked innocently, her reply watertight: “Noble Consort Niangniang, what are you talking about? This is simply returning things to their rightful owner. Why are you so upset? Could it be—as they say—that Noble Consort has been sheltering thieving eunuchs? No, no, no—Noble Consort Niangniang, you are a talented lady of Suzhou; something as filthy as stolen money would naturally never touch your hands. Others may doubt you, but I believe you!”

The words sounded eerily familiar. Upon closer reflection, they were almost an exact echo of what Noble Consort Chun had once said to persuade Hongli: “Concubine Ling and Lord Fucha were acquainted in the past; they merely ran into each other and exchanged a few words. Even if there was once some private affection, that’s all in the past. Now that Concubine Ling has entered the palace, those old matters are nothing more than clouds that have drifted away. Your Majesty, I believe Concubine Ling is absolutely not the kind of woman who would climb over the wall with a red apricot branch, shameless and without virtue.”

Subtle barbs, half belief and half disbelief.

Noble Consort Chun stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly laughed: “Very well! Very well! Someone—help Concubine Ling carry all her things back. Not a single item is to be left behind!”

In a grand procession, piece by piece, the planted evidence was “returned to its rightful owner” and made its way back to Yanxi Palace.

Casually toying with an embroidered pouch in her hand, Wei Yingluo looked down at the little eunuch kneeling before her and smiled faintly: “Xiaoquanzi, you did very well.”

STORY OF YANXI PALACE CHAPTERS HOME