Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 194: The Southern Inspection List

   Yuan Chunwang smiled lightly. “Naturally, she was punished by the Empress, became overwhelmed with despair, and threw herself down the well to end her life.”

Seeing that even now he refused to tell the truth, Zhener felt increasingly like an outsider to him. She scoffed with icy disdain. “Who in the palace hasn’t been punished? A mere thirty lashes—why would she kill herself over that?”

Yuan Chunwang was extremely skilled at reading people’s expressions. Noticing that she was truly angry this time, he stopped concealing things. He casually set the birdcage down on the stone table in the garden, took her hand, and said softly, “Zhener, didn’t you say you would support me? Have you forgotten everything?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Zhener’s expression softened, though a trace of suspicion remained. “But the Emperor’s misunderstandings toward Niangniang are growing deeper and deeper. Are you really helping Her Ladyship?”

“Of course.” Yuan Chunwang vowed solemnly. “Zhener, only by doing this can we make Her Ladyship see the Emperor’s true face clearly—only then can she awaken from her self-deception!”

“But…” Zhener still hesitated.

Although she was devoted to Yuan Chunwang, her loyalty to the Step-Empress remained. Otherwise she would never have been persuaded by him to carry out so many capital offenses.

At first she had believed everything she did was for the Step-Empress’s sake, but gradually she began to feel more and more that something was wrong…

“Fifth Brother is crippled. Fourth Brother was the culprit. Fifteenth Brother is still so young. Right now, the only one who can inherit the throne is Twelfth Brother.” Yuan Chunwang spoke in a soft, almost bewitching tone as he gently stroked her cheek. “Look—I’ve kept my promise. I’ve been helping the Empress all along.”

Zhener struggled inwardly. “But Her Ladyship is suffering more and more…”

“Prolonged pain is worse than short, sharp pain.” Yuan Chunwang said. “Once Twelfth Brother ascends the throne, the Empress will no longer suffer. And you and I can have a good ending too.”

Zhener looked at him. The man before her was like poison wrapped in honey—the only sustenance in her life. She could either starve or swallow it down. After a moment of inner conflict, she finally nodded, almost deceiving herself as she said, “I believe you.”

Yuan Chunwang smiled slightly and pulled her into his arms.

Zhener let out a long sigh and closed her eyes in his embrace, thus missing the flash of ruthless cruelty that flickered in the depths of his eyes—like the glint of a guillotine blade catching the light as it rises and falls.

“Fifth Brother, Fourth Brother—they’re only the beginning.” Yuan Chunwang held Zhener as though cradling a sacrificial lamb, sneering coldly in his heart. “I will make the Aisin Gioro family taste what true, total destruction feels like…”

No one knew that he was the true mastermind behind it all. Throughout the inner palace, from top to bottom, everyone was discussing how ruthless and cruel the Step-Empress was.

   “That palace maid’s body was covered in burns, whip marks, and bloody holes—oh, it was simply unbearable to look at.”

“I heard she was abused so terribly that in a moment of despair, she threw herself down a well to end her life.”

“But wasn’t it said that she was only punished with thirty lashes?”

“Suicide by a palace maid is a grave crime—her entire family would be implicated. Unless she suffered inhuman torment, why would she take her own life over a mere thirty lashes?”

These words gradually reached the Empress Dowager’s ears, and even the way she looked at the Step-Empress became different from usual.

“Is your illness getting any better?” The Empress Dowager studied her up and down.

The Step-Empress usually dressed plainly and simply, but today she had gone completely against her habit—thick, vivid makeup and an extravagant gown. Yet no amount of cosmetics could hide the dark circles under her eyes. She forced herself to conceal her exhaustion and said, “I am deeply grateful for the Empress Dowager’s concern. But look— these clothes were tailored to my measurements just a month ago, and when they were delivered today, they were suddenly half an inch too tight. I’ve actually gained quite a bit of weight compared to before.”

The Empress Dowager nodded. “That’s good. But don’t force yourself. The southern tour involves travel by boat and carriage—quite exhausting. If you cannot bear it, you should remain in the palace…”

The Step-Empress immediately interjected: “My health has greatly improved. Naturally, I must accompany and serve the Empress Dowager on the journey…”

A flicker of reluctance passed over the Empress Dowager’s face, but she quickly hid it. The two discussed the list of accompanying personnel for the southern tour for a while. Several high-ranking concubines would of course go along, but when it came to the princes and princesses, there was some disagreement.

“Zhaohua and Zhaoyu are both such greedy little eaters. Just yesterday Zhaohua ate an entire eight-treasure duck by herself, couldn’t digest it, and suffered stomach pains all day.” The Empress Dowager shook her head. “No, it’s better to bring both girls along. Leaving them in the Forbidden City with no one to look after them—I wouldn’t feel at ease.”

The Step-Empress said, “Empress Dowager, Zhaohua and Zhaoyu have always been mischievous by nature. His Majesty intends to keep them here so that proper governesses can teach them discipline and rules…”

The Empress Dowager already disliked her, and hearing her describe the two princesses she had personally raised as unruly made her immediately darken her face. “They’re still so young—spending all day learning rules will only make them dull and stupid. What do you mean by ‘rules’? I am the one who sets the rules! I’d like to see who would dare say the child raised in the Shoukang Palace is unruly!”

The Step-Empress fell into awkward silence.

“I also think it would be best to leave the two of them behind,” someone unexpectedly spoke up in her support. And the speaker was none other than Wei Yingluo. Smiling brightly, she said to the Empress Dowager, “The two princesses are still very young—especially Zhaoyu. Last year when she went along to the Mulan Enclosure, she came back gravely ill. The southern tour involves constant travel and fatigue. I’m afraid they might not adjust well to the change in climate and water. It would be better to leave them here.”

Although the Empress Dowager wanted the two children to keep her company, she cared even more about their health. She sighed and said, “Then let Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhou stay behind as well, and select four clever senior palace maids to remain and serve them. If anything goes wrong—even the slightest mishap—they will be held fully accountable!”

They discussed the southern tour’s route for a while longer. As time passed, the Empress Dowager gradually showed signs of fatigue, so the gathering dispersed. On the way back to her palace, Xiaoquanzi asked in a low voice:

“Your Ladyship, why did you bother intervening about whether the Empress goes on the southern tour or not?”

Wei Yingluo walked beneath row after row of lanterns—her face at times lit up snow-white, at times plunged into deep shadow. She said calmly:

“If the children are all staying in the Forbidden City, and she stays too, then I truly won’t feel at ease. Therefore—she must go.”

That was how she thought. But Hongli did not think the same way.

   Inside the Yangxin Hall, he glanced over the list of accompanying concubines for the southern tour, then set it down and said to the Step-Empress:

“You need not go.”

The Step-Empress was stunned. Her already pale face grew several shades whiter, almost blending into the wall behind her.

“Why not?”

“You are ill,” Hongli said indifferently. “On this southern tour, you should remain in the Forbidden City and recuperate properly. Do not follow south and suffer the hardships of travel, lest your condition worsen.”

“I am not ill!” The Step-Empress’s expression changed abruptly with fury. “Even if I were, I would still go on the southern tour. If Your Majesty will not permit it, then I shall remove my hairpins and ornaments, dress as a palace maid, and serve the Empress Dowager all the way!”

Hongli caught the threatening tone in her words and frowned. “You are clearly sick—why insist on forcing yourself? This journey follows the Grand Canal south for thousands of li. What if you fall seriously ill along the way?”

The Step-Empress shook her head. “With both Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager away from the Forbidden City, if I alone remain behind, how will the court officials discuss it? What will the people of the realm say?”

Hongli thought he understood the other’s meaning and couldn’t help but snort. “It seems what you care about isn’t filial piety, nor proper etiquette, but the Empress’s dignity and prestige.”

Step-Empress raised her head defiantly. “No—my dignity is also the rules and decorum of Great Qing! Does Your Majesty truly wish for the entire world to know that I, the Empress of Great Qing, have become nothing more than an ornament, a burden in Your Majesty’s eyes?”

The conversation, naturally, ended without resolution.

Whether out of suspicion or genuine concern for her health, Hongli ultimately refused to allow her to accompany him on the southern inspection tour.

Yet Step-Empress was determined to go along. For this, she refused all food and water for an entire day, lying in bed with wide-open eyes, resolved in her heart: if Hongli did not agree in one day, she would starve for one day; if he did not agree in two days, she would starve for two. No matter what, she must join the southern tour.

Otherwise, once the consorts and court officials learned of it, they would surely gossip: She wasn’t even allowed on the southern tour? Was the Empress so gravely ill she was about to die? Or had she committed some unforgivable offense and been abandoned by His Majesty?

She had never suffered like this since childhood. The first day was bearable, but by the second, her vision began to darken, and even the quilt seemed tempting enough to bite into and swallow.

“Royal Mother.” Yongji received the news and hurried back to persuade her. He brought a spoonful of rice congee to her lips. “Just take one mouthful, please.”

“Why are you here?” Step-Empress turned her head away from the spoon and spoke sharply to him. “At this hour you should be studying in the Shangshu Library. Go back! Go back at once!”

All the suffering she endured—was it not for him? If she couldn’t even attend the southern tour, if she lost favor, what would become of Yongqi’s future?

Yongji left with tears in his eyes. Not long after, he came running back.

Step-Empress was practically furious at his lack of progress and was about to scold him when she heard him call out joyfully:

“Royal Father agreed! He agreed! Royal Mother, you can go with him on the southern tour!”

“…What did you say?” Step-Empress was stunned. “He… His Majesty agreed?”

Yuan Chunwang walked in carrying a cup of water. Yongqi had run all the way here and his throat was parched. Without a word, he snatched the cup and gulped it down.

“Your Ladyship; Empress, Twelfth Prince is truly filial—he persuaded His Majesty to change his mind,” Yuan Chunwang said with a smile.

Step-Empress looked at Yongji, who was tilting his head back to drink, and a smile of both emotion and maternal love appeared on her face.

But in the next second, Yongji set the cup down and said: “No, it wasn’t me. I knelt at the door for three whole hours and Imperial Father ignored me. It was Fifth Brother who was impressive—he went in, and not long after, Imperial Father changed his mind! Royal Mother, we really must thank Fifth Brother properly!”

He spoke with complete innocence, but Step-Empress’s face turned as cold as frost. She snapped:

“Thank him for what!”

Yongji froze.

“You spineless thing—and you’re actually proud of it!” Step-Empress looked at him with both pity and disappointment. “Get out—get out!”

The moment the words left her mouth, she already regretted them. What wrong had Yongji done? If there was fault, it lay with Fifth Prince. He was already crippled, yet he still managed to win Hongli’s favor so easily…

Tears welled in Yongji’s eyes. Zhener gently pushed him out. Just before he left the room, he suddenly turned back and said:

“Royal Mother, everyone says you’re ill. I used to not believe it—but now I see you really are sick!”

With that, he ran out quickly.

Zhener wanted to chase after him, yet she was worried about Step-Empress. Caught between the two, she hesitated—until Step-Empress said slowly:

“Let him go.”

“Your Ladyship…” Zhener returned to the bedside and took her hand to offer comfort.

“He knelt for three hours, yet it wasn’t worth as much as someone else’s single sentence.” Step-Empress was smiling, but the smile was filled with indescribable bitterness. “How laughable… truly laughable. In His Majesty’s heart, the two of us—mother and son—are nothing at all! Nothing at all!”

When a person reaches the extreme of disappointment, it turns into despair.

   And a person in despair is capable of anything.

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