Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 128: Misunderstanding

   The Emperor’s favor was directly tied to the treatment each palace received.

Ever since Hongli stopped visiting Yanxi Palace, supplies of food, clothing, and daily necessities immediately became tight. It wasn’t to the point of starvation, but the dishes served were unappetizing and often not fresh. As for the daily snacks and pastries, they disappeared entirely.

Half a month later, things in the palace even began to go missing. In just a few days, Wei Yingluo lost several earrings and jade bracelets. Ming Yu flew into a rage over it and complained to her: “This life is truly unbearable now. People outside dare to give our palace the cold shoulder, and people inside dare to steal from us. When I find out who it is, I’ll skin them alive!”

But these were small matters. After venting for a while, Ming Yu said worriedly: “Yingluo, do you think… His Majesty really believes the rumors and that’s why he’s not coming to Changchun Palace anymore?”

“What else could it be?” Wei Yingluo was gently waving her beauty-round fan. Suddenly her hand stilled, and she looked toward someone not far away.

Following her gaze, Ming Yu cried out in alarm: “Lord Fucha…”

Somehow, Fuheng had slipped into the Imperial Garden and come close to where they were standing. The years had sharpened his features; the air of a noble young master had faded from him, replaced by the weathered ruggedness of a battlefield general. He stood utterly out of place amid the palace’s refined splendor—one side filled with music and dance, the other carrying the scent of blood on long spears.

Ming Yu immediately grabbed Wei Yingluo’s arm, staring warily at him, and said urgently: “Your Ladyship, we’ve been out here long enough. Let’s go back quickly!”

It is said that rumors stop with the wise, but the world has always been short on wise people.

There are far more who believe blindly and follow blindly, and plenty more who fan the flames. Ming Yu was terrified that someone might see them and cause the already blazing rumors to burn even hotter. She almost wanted to hoist Yingluo onto her back and run.

But Wei Yingluo shook her head, refusing her kindness.

“Whether I leave or stay, the result will be the same,” she said. “If I don’t leave, people will say we have a secret affair. If I do leave, they’ll say I’m guilty and panicking. Do you understand?”

Those who harbor malice toward her will find malice no matter what she does.

The one spreading rumors behind her back would not stop just because she had left.

“Yingluo.” Fuheng had already walked over from the opposite side and was gazing deeply at her. “I have something to say to you.”

As it happened, she also had something to say to him. Wei Yingluo smiled slightly. “Let’s talk over there.”

She found a pavilion nestled beside a wisteria tree, its branches heavy with luxuriant purple blossoms cascading downward. Wei Yingluo sat inside the pavilion. Under Ming Yu’s openly warning glare, Fuheng did not sit; he merely stood not far from her and asked, “Why?”

A question without preamble, yet Wei Yingluo answered directly: “I didn’t want to remain a palace maid any longer.”

Fuheng was silent for a long moment before speaking in a hoarse voice: “Why didn’t you wait for me to return? I could have—”

“Become your concubine?” Wei Yingluo said with mockery. “No. If I’m going to be a concubine either way, why shouldn’t I become His Majesty’s? At least then I would rank above others. When I sit, you can only stand.”

Fuheng stared at her for a very long time, then shook his head. “Yingluo, you don’t need to say such things to anger me. I know what kind of person you are…”

Hearing those words, Wei Yingluo said nothing, but Ming Yu’s eyebrows twitched violently—she looked ready to leap up and slap him across the mouth, to teach him which words could be spoken and which could not.

She had not expected him to say something like that. Wei Yingluo fell silent for a long while. Wisteria petals drifted down around them. If she thought back carefully, in the past they had often sought out a pavilion just like this one, a flowering tree just like this one, to tease each other into anger and then coax each other into laughter.

The pavilion was still the same pavilion; the flowering tree was still the same tree. But the people were no longer the same people.

The young master of those days, the stubborn little palace maid of those days—they had both been buried beneath the fallen petals of memory.

“…Fucha Fuheng.” At last Wei Yingluo spoke. “Do you know that rumors about you and me are circulating in the palace right now?”

As an outer-court official, Fuheng was naturally unaware of the inner palace’s private scandals, so he asked, “What rumors?”

“They say that you and I have had an improper relationship.” Wei Yingluo spoke calmly. “You are a minister who has rendered great military service; His Majesty naturally will not make things difficult for you. But I am different… So from today onward, please keep your distance from me!”

“…And if I say I cannot do that?” Fuheng lowered his head for a moment, then suddenly lifted it again.

“You!” He had always been gentle and refined, never aggressive. Wei Yingluo truly had not expected him to speak this way.

“I cannot stop looking at you. I cannot stop caring about you.” The battlefield had truly changed him a great deal. In the past he would never have looked at Wei Yingluo with such frank, unguarded eyes, nor would he ever have spoken his heart so openly. “In my heart… you are not His Majesty’s Concubine Ling. You are simply my Yingluo.”

You stand on the bridge gazing at the scenery; someone below the bridge is gazing at you.

“Look.”

Not far away, Noble Consort Chun was leading Hongli over. She pointed toward the two people whose eyes had just met and said, “Isn’t that Concubine Ling? And the man beside her seems to be…”

The palace was full of watchful eyes. Wei Yingluo had made no particular effort to hide, so the news had naturally traveled to Zhongcui Palace at lightning speed—and Noble Consort Chun had, with equal speed, brought Hongli to the Imperial Garden.

Hongli watched them from afar.

At such a distance, he could not hear what they were saying.

But merely seeing the two of them looking into each other’s eyes made his chest feel unbearably stifled. All the jealousy he had swallowed over the years surged up into his throat at once, so sour that he could not even speak.

“Your Majesty.” Noble Consort Chun appeared to be comforting him, but in reality she was pouring more vinegar down his throat. “Concubine Ling used to be a palace maid in Changchun Palace, so naturally she is familiar with Lord Fucha. The two of them are speaking in an open place, with palace maids present—it is all perfectly proper and aboveboard…”

How could Hongli listen to her explanations? He only believed what he saw: “If it is all perfectly proper and aboveboard, why do you need to explain it?”

Noble Consort Chun hurriedly lowered her head. “Your Majesty, I was only afraid you might misunderstand Concubine Ling. After all, she is young and spirited; she does not yet fully understand palace rules. If she occasionally steps out of line, it is only human nature…”

A misstep? What kind of mistake—and committed together with whom?

The angrier Hongli became as he listened, the more fiercely he glared at Wei Yingluo in the distance before finally flicking his sleeve and storming away.

Yanxi Palace.

   Ever since returning from the Imperial Garden, Wei Yingluo had been distracted and restless. While watering a pot of gardenias in front of her, the water overflowed the basin entirely; by the time she noticed, a small puddle had already formed on the floor.

With a sigh, Wei Yingluo was just about to call Ming Yu over to clean it up when the door opened. Li Yu entered, followed by several eunuchs.

Li Yu was always all smiles, but smiles come in different varieties. The one he wore now could hardly be called friendly—it was chilling, almost sinister.

“Chief Steward Li, what brings you here?” Ming Yu hurried forward. “Is His Majesty coming?”

Li Yu ignored her question. With a glance at the eunuchs beside him, they immediately scattered in different directions. One of them approached Wei Yingluo, bent down, and picked up the pot of gardenias from the floor.

Wei Yingluo watched calmly, showing no reaction. Ming Yu, however, could not stay composed. She cried out at once:

“What are you doing?”

“Concubine Ling, Your Ladyship,” Li Yu said with a beaming smile, “His Majesty said the smell of the night-soil buckets in Yong Alley is too overpowering. He’s borrowing your gardenias to perfume the place.”

“How can that be?” Ming Yu exclaimed in panic. “These are all precious flower varieties bestowed on Her Ladyship by His Majesty himself! How can they be used to fumigate Yong Alley? Put it down—put it down at once…”

Wei Yingluo tugged lightly at her sleeve, signaling her not to act rashly.

Soon the room was stripped bare of every potted plant. Presumably the ones outside would meet the same fate. One by one the eunuchs carried out armfuls of pots and left. Li Yu, ever the considerate man who always left himself an escape route, waited until the others had gone before speaking softly to Wei Yingluo:

“Your Ladyship Concubine Ling, His Majesty is currently angry with you. Once this burst of temper passes, things will be fine. This servant is merely carrying out orders—please do not blame me.”

Though the words seemed to defend himself, they actually conveyed one extremely important piece of information.

He was angry.

   Wei Yingluo’s heart stirred. After seeing him off, she instructed Ming Yu:

“Go find out whether His Majesty went to the Imperial Garden today.”

“Could it be…” Ming Yu’s face instantly turned pale.

“No need to guess wildly. First find out the facts clearly,” Wei Yingluo said.

Ming Yu rushed out in a hurry. When she returned, her steps were unsteady, her gaze vacant, as though she had lost her very soul. She kept muttering under her breath:

“It’s over… completely over…”

As pot after pot of gardenias was carried away in grand procession, everyone in the palace reached the same conclusion—

Yanxi Palace had thoroughly fallen from favor.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 127: Rumors

After that night, Wei Yingluo was no longer the sole favorite.

Hongli began to visit this palace for a while, then that one, as if the novelty of a certain person had finally worn off, and he was resuming the practice of spreading his favor evenly.

That day he came to Chuxiu Palace again, but his mood remained low throughout. He held a cup of wine for two whole hours without drinking more than a sip; it was still full. As bedtime approached, he suddenly stood up and said, “I just remembered there are still several important memorials I haven’t finished reviewing. I’ll return first.”

“I will see Your Majesty off.” Concubine Xiaojia lowered her eyes for a moment, then lifted her gaze with a smile. She took Hongli’s arm and led him out of the sleeping chamber, deliberately taking a longer route. She raised the lantern in her hand, illuminating the garden full of gardenia flowers. “Your Majesty, I plan to build a new pavilion here and name it the Jade Capital Pavilion. What do you think?”

“‘The flowers of Shu are all gone, yet the peaches of Yue are now in bloom. Their color seems to lean against jade trees, their fragrance like it comes from the Jade Capital.’” Hongli gazed at the garden full of gardenias and smiled. “Not bad. This patch of gardenias is blooming quite beautifully.”

In his heart, he found it somewhat amusing. Last time she had imitated Wei Yingluo by pretending to be ill; this time she was imitating her by planting gardenias in the garden. Why go to such trouble? No matter how much she copied, she was still herself—unique and irreplaceable.

“However… the very best gardenias are not in my possession…” Concubine Xiaojia drawled the words out.

“Hm, hm…” Hongli thought to himself, Of course they’re not with you—they’re with Wei Yingluo.

   Everyone in the palace knew that Wei Yingluo loved gardenias the most.

To please her, Hongli had people collect many of the finest specimens and plant them all over her Yanxi Palace. Over time, some of the lower-ranking servants jokingly began calling her the Gardenia Palace Mistress instead of the Mistress of Yanxi Palace.

“…but in the Fucha residence,” Concubine Xiaojia finished her unfinished sentence.

Hongli froze and turned sharply to stare at her.

His expression was so dark that Concubine Xiaojia couldn’t help swallowing hard. Trembling slightly with fear, she asked, “Your Majesty… did I say something wrong?”

“Do you really take me for a fool?” Hongli said coldly. “Every word and line are full of insinuation, slandering Concubine Ling!”

With her thoughts laid bare, Concubine Xiaojia decided to throw caution to the wind. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed, “Your Majesty, the one who truly loves you, you don’t care for. Those who love vanity, you hold close to your heart. Even if you kill me today, I must still say it—Concubine Ling has wronged you!”

Hongli shoved her away, sending her sprawling to the ground. Without looking back, he turned and strode off.

“Your Ladyship, why do you do this to yourself?” Zhener hurried over to help her up. “To wound the enemy by a thousand, you injure yourself by eight hundred.”

Concubine Xiaojia scoffed with a sneer, used Zhener’s hand to stand, then laughed viciously. “His Majesty is the supreme Son of Heaven, high above all. If the most favored consort is coveted by a subject, can he possibly bear it on his face? What’s a little risk? I want that vixen to never rise again!”

Rumors spread like flocks of birds, blotting out the sky, flying throughout the entire rear palace, reaching every ear.

In the end, they also reached Hongli’s ears.

That day the Empress was drinking tea when she heard chaotic footsteps outside. She turned and saw Hongli storm in, seething with anger. Before she could rise to greet him, he waved his hand and said, “Empress, lately rumors are running rampant in the palace. Have you heard them?”

“Rumors?” The Empress was taken aback. “Do you mean the ones about Concubine Ling and Lord Fucha…?”

Hongli’s face grimed. “Even you have heard them? It seems the entire rear palace already knows. Isn’t that so?”

The Empress sighed: “Your Majesty, during this period, you have been favoring Concubine Ling so much that it has naturally provoked jealousy among the six palaces and given rise to all sorts of gossip. It is unavoidable. Rest assured, I will thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure Concubine Ling receives justice.”

Hongli asked: “So you believe she is innocent?”

The Empress smiled: “Your Majesty, Lord Fucha has been away on campaigns for years, and Concubine Ling has been deep within the palace. If they happened to meet by chance and exchanged a few words, it is hardly excessive. After all, Concubine Ling was once the late Empress’s trusted palace maid. The bond between them was always different from that with others.”

Hongli’s fingers, resting on his knee, suddenly clenched into a fist. “…Bond?”

From the corner of her eye, the Empress noticed his fist but continued calmly: “Your Majesty, you have misunderstood my meaning. I only meant that those are things of the past. Ever since the late Empress passed away, Concubine Ling has lived quietly in the Yuanmingyuan and has never met Lord Fucha again. Now that she has become Your Majesty’s consort, she is even more cautious and rule-abiding in every way. What is there to criticize? Your Majesty is magnanimous; such minor matters never troubled you before…”

Yet the human heart is unpredictable. Sometimes the things one is told not to take to heart are precisely the ones that become impossible to let go.

Hongli suddenly raised his head and spoke word by word: “From this day forward, anyone who dares to discuss this matter again will be beaten to death with staves!”

“Your Majesty…” The Empress was stunned by the order. Even after he left, she remained staring at his departing figure in a daze.

Zhener approached: “Niangniang, regarding this matter…”

“I have never seen His Majesty make such a fuss over a woman before. What exactly has this Wei Yingluo done to him…” The Empress scoffed with icy disdain. “It seems Noble Consort Chun has finally met her match!”

The order was quickly issued, but it had little effect. On the surface, the palace servants kept their mouths shut, but behind closed doors the gossip continued to spread.

“I’ve already inquired about it,” Ming Yu said worriedly in Yanxi Palace. For nearly half an hour she had been unable to comb her hair properly; the ox-horn comb in her hand creaked under the pressure of her grip. “Recently, rumors about you and Lord Fucha have been circulating in the palace. Some say you two were already promised to each other back in Changchun Palace. Others say Lord Fucha, in order to advance his career, offered his beloved to the Emperor. And still others claim you two are still entangled to this day… It is precisely because of these rumors that His Majesty has not come to Yanxi Palace.”

Indeed, Hongli had not set foot in Yanxi Palace for a full month.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 126: Everyone Has Jealousy

   Their eyes met for a moment, then quickly darted away.

There was not a flicker of emotion on Wei Yingluo’s face—no joy at seeing a former lover, no rage at seeing an enemy. She was utterly unmoved, as if she had merely glanced at a roadside pebble or a white flower by the water’s edge. With an extremely indifferent and sparse look, she withdrew her gaze.

She passed calmly in front of Fuheng with her attendants, leaving him standing behind her. Though the spring sunlight was bright and warm, he felt as though he were plunged into ice and snow.

Just like back then, when Wei Yingluo had lain prostrate in the freezing cold, watching him walk away side by side with Erqing, the world turning upside down, her heart dying to ashes.

Hailancha sighed, pressed a hand to his shoulder, and said, “A lot has happened. In short… she is now His Majesty’s woman. Fuheng, give up.”

Yangxin Hall.

   “Fuheng, you have not disappointed me.” Hongli looked at him with eyes full of gratification; the admiration was practically overflowing. “You have rendered extraordinary service in Jinchuan this time. I ought to reward you. Speak—what do you want?”

Having achieved such a monumental victory, Fuheng showed not the slightest trace of joy. On the contrary, he seemed lifeless, like a dying man already half-buried in his coffin after a doctor pronounced his death sentence.

After a long silence, he slowly raised his head and stared at Hongli. “Your Majesty… no matter what this servant asks for, will you grant it?”

Though he had not yet said a single word of his request, Hongli seemed to sense something. The joy gradually faded from his face. With an indifferent tone, he issued the decree: “Proclaim: Fucha Fuheng is hereby ennobled as Duke of Loyalty and Valor of the First Rank, and is granted a jeweled crown button and the four-dragon court robe.”

Fuheng was stunned and opened his mouth to say something, but Hongli casually lifted a memorial and held it in front of his face, blocking his view. “That will be all. You may withdraw.”

“…Yes.” Seeing that His Majesty’s mind was made up, Fuheng could only kowtow deeply. “This servant kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty’s profound grace.”

Hongli nodded. Behind the memorial, his expression was dark and gloomy.

“Your Majesty.” Not long after, Li Yu entered, carrying the green-headed name tablets. The one placed in the most prominent position was, unmistakably, Wei Yingluo’s.

Hongli picked up the tablet and rubbed his thumb over the character “Ling” engraved on it. In a calm voice he said, “Back when we were in Changchun Palace, Fuheng always took very good care of Concubine Ling. Now that he has returned safely from the battlefield, Concubine Ling must have been constantly worried. Knowing he is safe will surely lift a great weight from her heart.”

Li Yu did not know how to respond to this and simply stood quietly to one side.

Suddenly Hongli flung the tablet down hard and said in a muffled voice, “Go to Chuxiu Palace!”

Deep into the night, inside the Fucha residence.

   Cup after cup of wine—emptied, refilled, emptied again.

“Young Master.” Qinglian came in carrying a wooden tray on which rested a bowl of rice and several small side dishes. Concerned, she said, “Young Master, you haven’t touched food or water all day. You won a great victory and received high honors—both are joyful things. Why are you so miserable?”

Fuheng remained silent. He raised the wine cup in his hand and drained it in one gulp.

Qinglian sighed, set the tray down, and was about to withdraw. Halfway to the door, a low, muffled voice came from behind: “Why?”

She turned back and saw Fuheng slumped in his chair, reeking of alcohol. He looked nothing like an ever-victorious general—more like a wanderer fallen to the ends of the earth, alone with only his sword and his wine for company.

“When the battle reached its most desperate moment, His Majesty issued twelve urgent edicts in succession, ordering me to withdraw the troops. I defied the order and refused to retreat. I fought with my very last breath because I was determined to win. As long as I won…” He poured himself another cup of wine and drank, murmuring half-drunk, half-awake, “…then I could ask His Majesty for one wish…”

Qinglian ventured cautiously, “What did Young Master want?”

She was genuinely curious. Fuheng had always been indifferent to worldly desires—power, wealth, women, none of them moved him. Everyone said that among all the officials in court, he was the one who could not be bought, because no one knew what he truly wanted.

“I wanted one person,” Fuheng said.

Qinglian was slightly startled.

“I want to use military merit… to exchange for one person… a person I lost, one I’d risk everything to get back.” Fuheng closed his eyes and slowly uttered two earth-shattering words: “Yingluo…”

Qinglian was so shocked her soul nearly left her body.

The three characters “Wei Yingluo” were a strict taboo in this household.

Erqing constantly dragged those three words into every conversation, cursing and reviling them as though they were the most hateful words in the world. Even after the other woman was promoted to Concubine Ling, she still wouldn’t let it go.

Qinglian had never understood why Erqing hated her so much—until now, when she began to guess a little…

“Do you think I’ve gone mad?” Fuheng opened his eyes and smiled at her. Slowly he raised his right hand and pressed it against his own chest. “On the battlefield I came back from the jaws of death nine times out of ten. There’s a scar here—barely missed the heart. At that moment I thought: if I can survive and return, I will marry her… even if she resents me for it, even if she curses me, I will never be separated from her again.”

“Young Master…” Qinglian opened her mouth, then closed it again. She didn’t know whether to call him infatuated or foolish. In the end she could only let out a soft sigh. “Young Master, you’re drunk.”

“I’ve only just woken from a great dream—now I’m finally clear-headed.” Fuheng gave a rueful laugh. “All this time I thought I was magnanimous and tolerant, that I could suppress my feelings, watch her from afar, and wish her happiness. Only now do I realize it was all self-deception. The moment I learned she had become His Majesty’s woman, I couldn’t sit still. I rushed straight to the Emperor and demanded her from him…”

Hearing this, Qinglian broke into a cold sweat.

“Young—Young Master.” For a moment she could barely speak coherently. “You… you really demanded Concubine Ling from His Majesty?”

Such blatant disrespect—even if Fuheng won ten more battles like Jinchuan, it might not be enough to offset the crime! The entire Fucha household, high and low, could be dragged into disaster because of a single sentence!

   “I’m not quite that insane yet.” Fuheng gave a bitter smile, tilted his head back against the chair, and murmured, “I really am a useless man… right up to the end, I still couldn’t say it out loud…”

Qinglian let out a breath of relief. Seeing him like this, she felt a pang of heartache. She stepped closer, her fingers reaching out, hesitating, stretching forward again—then timidly drew them back behind her.

“Young Master, this isn’t your fault. It’s the cruelty of fate…” She cursed her own lack of education; she couldn’t find the right words to comfort him and could only offer these useless phrases.

Fuheng didn’t reply. He closed his eyes and fell asleep right there in the chair.

Qinglian couldn’t bear to leave him at such a moment. She was afraid that if he woke up in the middle of the night and found no one beside him, he would feel even colder and lonelier. So she stood quietly nearby, watching over him.

The candle on the table burned down to nothing. When Qinglian replaced it with a fresh one, Fuheng’s voice drifted hazily from behind her. He seemed to be trapped in a nightmare—tears glistened at the corners of his eyes, one tear sliding slowly down his cheek as he murmured in his sleep:

“Sister… I regret it so much…”

   Qinglian looked at him. Suddenly she raised her hand; her fingertips came away wet. For some reason, she too began to cry.

Things remain, but people change—everything comes to an end.

Before a word is spoken, tears already fall.

So many things in the world: at the time you feel nothing, but only later, when you think back, does regret come crashing in.

Inside Chuxiu Palace, Hongli regarded the woman crying piteously before him.

Concubine Xiaojia had just finished her month of strict confinement. Fearing she had fallen out of favor, she had visibly lost weight—her sash hung looser, her figure noticeably thinner. Silent tears streaming down her face made her look utterly pitiful.

“Your Majesty, I know I was wrong,” she knelt on the ground, sobbing. “No matter how you punish me, I’ll accept it—just please don’t ignore your concubine anymore!”

“It’s good that you recognize your mistake,” Hongli said calmly. Yet in his heart he thought: How wonderful it would be if she could be as gentle and obedient as you.

Concubine Xiaojia crawled forward on her knees like a small dog terrified of being abandoned by its master. She didn’t even dare stand up. Reaching him, she clutched the hem of his robe with both hands, looked up at him with a pitiful expression, and said:

“Ever since Concubine Ling entered the palace, Your Majesty has paid attention to no one else. I am just a simple, ignorant little woman—my heart holds only Your Majesty. Watching you spend every day with Concubine Ling has been pure torment! In a moment of confusion I made her kneel as punishment! Your concubine knows she was wrong. From now on I will never make things difficult for her again!”

Hongli sighed. “All right, get up.”

Only then did Concubine Xiaojia rise from the floor. But after a moment she let out a soft, plaintive sigh, and—seemingly casually—added:

“Your Majesty, please don’t blame me anymore. Everyone feels jealousy. If only you would share just a fraction of the favor you give Concubine Ling with me, I would never have done such a thing.”

“Everyone feels jealousy…” Hongli slowly rolled the phrase around on his tongue, tasting it. Then suddenly he asked:

“…And what if there is someone who never cares where I go, who never cares whom I favor?”

“That person clearly doesn’t have Your Majesty in their heart at all,” Concubine Xiaojia said without a moment’s hesitation, her words firm and decisive.

Hongli remained silent for a long time.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 125: Return

When joy comes, the spirit flourishes. After reconciling with Wei Yingluo, Hongli had been visibly cheerful for several days in a row. Even when a young eunuch beside him accidentally spilled tea on his robes, he didn’t get angry; instead he spoke gently and told Li Yu not to punish the boy.

Perhaps good things come in pairs—on this day, while he was handling state affairs in the Yangxin Hall, Li Yu suddenly rushed in from outside.

“Your Majesty!” Li Yu bowed and reported, “Great victory at Jinchuan! General Fucha personally led the campaign and captured several Jinchuan blockhouses!”

Hongli immediately stood up, joy spreading across his face:

“Really? Jinchuan has been won? Fuheng has won!”

Li Yu: “Yes, Your Majesty. The Jinchuan chieftain Salawen has submitted a petition of surrender. The army will soon withdraw and return to the capital!”

“Good! Good! Good!” Hongli said the word three times in succession. “My judgment was not wrong—Fuheng is truly a rare military talent! Transmit the decree: Fuheng is to return to the capital first to report on his duties!”

This campaign had lasted a full two years. When Fuheng returned to the Fucha residence, the people of the household almost failed to recognize him. The elegant young gentleman who once shone like a full moon was now not only tanned dark but noticeably thinner, his face weathered by wind and dust—more like a lone wisp of smoke rising in the great desert than the bright full moon of before.

“Fuheng, Fuheng!” The old madam rushed out quickly. Her eyesight had grown even worse; even though the person was right in front of her, she couldn’t see him. Her hands kept groping around in all directions. “Where are you? Where are you?”

“Mother!” Fuheng hurriedly reached out to support her.

The old madam followed his hand, feeling her way up to his cheek. Gradually she recognized her son’s face and said with tears in her eyes, “You’ve been gone nearly three years, and you’ve finally come back. My son, you’ve grown so thin…”

“It’s good that you’re back.” Erqing approached in splendid attire, her smile radiant and charming. “From now on, don’t leave again, so that neither Mother nor I have to worry ourselves sick.”

The moment he saw her, Fuheng’s expression immediately darkened. “Why are you here?”

Though the old madam couldn’t see, she could hear the displeasure in his voice and spoke with a slight reproach: “You went away and left your wife behind. Poor thing—she was heavily pregnant and nearly died in difficult labor. If I hadn’t forced people to break open that building, you would have caused me to lose my grandson!”

Fuheng replied indifferently, “Isn’t everything fine now?”

The old madam didn’t understand why he treated her this way. He was kind to everyone else, yet toward Erqing he acted as if she were his mortal enemy. She had tried to persuade him many times, but it was useless. The two of them were like a mirror shattered into pieces—even if forcibly pieced back together, the cracks would always remain.

Now she could only pin her hopes on that child, hoping he might mend their broken relationship. The old madam said, “Come now, come and see your son—Fukang’an… Fukang’an…”

The crowd parted, and a small boy walked toward them.

He was about two or three years old, dressed in a brocade robe of blue with floral patterns, wearing a precious cap on his head adorned with a beautiful Eastern pearl that shimmered with light. The child walked up to Fuheng, raised his head, and timidly looked at him. His pair of extremely beautiful eyes were strikingly similar to those of Hongli in his youth, as Fuheng remembered them.

Fuheng felt as though a needle had pierced his heart. He quickly turned his head away. “Mother, I still have to enter the palace to report on official duties. I cannot stay at home long. I’ll come back tonight to keep you company and talk, alright?”

For people of the Fucha family, state affairs always took precedence over family matters. The old madam could only nod in agreement. Before he left, she still reminded him, “Come back early. Don’t spend all your time on the affairs of the nation. Occasionally you should also find some time to spend with your wife and your child.”

Fuheng gave a reluctant nod, but he had no desire whatsoever to look at that mother and son. After seeing the old madam off, he immediately prepared to depart, as though two ferocious beasts were chasing after him.

“Stop.”

One of the beasts called out to him.

Seeing that Fuheng did not pause, the other party simply ran over and blocked his way.

“Fuheng.” Erqing’s makeup was exquisite, yet no amount of thick powder or vivid rouge could conceal the malice hidden in her smile. “This is your son. How can you not even take a proper look at him?”

As she spoke, she pushed Fukang’an forward.

Once again, Fuheng averted his eyes. He truly did not want to see that familiar pair of eyes.

“Do you know I nearly died giving birth in that attic?” Erqing said with a laugh. “Now that you see me, you won’t even say a single word of apology?”

Fuheng replied coldly, “There were doctors and midwives in the building.”

He hated her for her infidelity, hated her for scheming against Hongli and conceiving a forbidden child. Even so, he had never intended to kill her or silence her. He still provided her with fine food and wine, and never skimped on her daily needs. From her, he had only taken one thing—her freedom.

Yet Erqing only remembered that he had taken her freedom; she forgot everything he had given her.

Perhaps in her eyes, Fuheng would always be the one who owed her, and therefore she could naturally take revenge on him and demand everything from him.

“I needed my husband’s care even more.” She moved closer to Fuheng, reaching for the thing she craved most—love.

But Fuheng stretched out his hand and pushed her away, giving a faint smile. “From the moment you did that thing, Fucha Fuheng ceased to be your husband.”

Erqing fell silent for a moment, then smiled at him. “Fuheng, you won’t be so heartless toward me.”

“Do you think that my keeping you here means I have feelings for you?” Fuheng looked at her, his eyes devoid of the slightest trace of affection. His gaze slowly shifted to Fukang’an, filled with an indescribable complexity. “It’s only for this child’s sake… Since you gave birth to him, be a proper mother from now on. Stop humiliating yourself.”

Fukang’an shuddered and hid his small body behind Erqing, then cautiously peeked out to observe him.

Fuheng looked at the child.

He could not give him fatherly love. He didn’t even know what kind of gaze he should use to look at him in the future. With a quiet sigh in his heart, Fuheng turned to leave.

Behind him, Erqing suddenly scoffed with icy disdain. “Lord Fucha, are you in such a hurry to enter the palace to see Wei Yingluo?”

Fuheng ignored her.

“Oh my, look at my loose tongue!” Erqing raised her voice slightly. “How could I call her Wei Yingluo? I should properly address her as her Ladyship Concubine Ling!”

Fuheng’s steps faltered. He whipped around sharply. “What did you say?”

Without immediately answering, Erqing bent down and picked up the hiding Fukang’an, holding him in her arms. The adult and child — two ferocious floods — stared at Fuheng together, carrying an unspeakable humiliation and unbearable shame.

“The humiliation I give you, the pain Fukang’an causes you… it seems that together they still cannot compare to one Wei Yingluo.” Erqing smiled sweetly and said, “Look at you — your face has gone so pale… Aren’t you going to see her? Go on then. Go to Yanxi Palace. Go kneel before her. Go call her Her Ladyship Concubine Ling.”

Each sentence, each word, stabbed into Fuheng’s chest like a knife, leaving him bleeding profusely, covered in wounds. “I don’t believe it.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then gritted his teeth and opened them again. “You’re lying to me!”

He stumbled away in near-disarray, mounted his horse, whipped it fiercely, and galloped through the palace gates.

Horses were not allowed inside the palace. He dismounted, tossed the reins to the guard, and hurried inside — but not toward Yangxin Hall.

“Fuheng!” A hand grabbed his arm. “Have you gone mad?”

Fuheng turned to look at the other person. “Let go.”

Hailancha seemed to have run all the way here; his breathing was slightly ragged, sweat beaded on his forehead. He glanced around warily, then lowered his voice: “The Emperor is still waiting for you at Yangxin Hall. What are you doing running to Yanxi Palace?”

As an outer court official, privately entering the inner palace could be a capital offense.

Not to mention Fuheng’s past with Wei Yingluo…

Fuheng knew it was improper, yet he could not control his own feet. They seemed to have a will of their own, desperately carrying him toward Yanxi Palace, toward that person.

“I…” Fuheng murmured, “I have one sentence I need to say to her.”

That sentence had been hidden in his heart for a very long time.

He had originally planned to tell her before going to the battlefield. But then he thought — if he died on the battlefield, wouldn’t those words become a burden to her? So in the Yuanmingyuan, he only looked at her from afar, swallowed the words that had reached his lips, turned silently, and marched off to war.

He told himself: “I will keep these words in my heart. If I die on the battlefield, this heart will rot with me. If I return alive, I will cut this heart open and give it to her.”

“…She’s coming!” Hailancha suddenly yanked him down. “Quick, lower your head!”

But Fuheng refused to bow. He stared straight ahead at the approaching palanquin with its ceremonial poles.

He had survived nine deaths and one life for the chance to speak to her.

   Yet now that he had finally returned alive, he had already lost the right to speak to her.

   This heart had not rotted on the battlefield — it would rot inside his chest instead…

   As if sensing something, inside the palanquin, Wei Yingluo suddenly turned her head. The bright moon-shaped earring swayed with her movement, flashing two streaks of snowy white light in the air. Her gaze was colder than the pearl’s gleam, fixing firmly on Fuheng’s face.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 124: Keeping Distance Yet Close

   Men are proud by nature, and Hongli was prouder than all the men in the world combined by a factor of three.

He knew full well that he was in the wrong, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say “sorry,” nor could he swallow his pride enough to go to Yanxi Palace.

So day after day, he went to Shoukang Palace instead.

What was in Shoukang Palace? Besides the Empress Dowager, there was Wei Yingluo.

Perhaps because she was older now, the Empress Dowager preferred liveliness over quiet. This Wei Yingluo was especially favored there—not only did she dress up as Jia Baoyu or Du Liniang, but today she would perform a scene from Dream of the Red Chamber, tomorrow she would sing an aria from The Peony Pavilion.

Today Hongli came to Shoukang Palace to pay his respects again. His gaze swept quickly past the people beside the Empress Dowager. A flash of disappointment crossed his eyes before he swiftly concealed it and said to the Empress Dowager with composure: “This son respectfully greets the Empress Dowager and wishes Her Ladyship well.”

The Empress Dowager did not rise. The concubines beside her all stood up and curtsied: “We pay respects to Your Majesty.”

Everyone had their own little calculations.

Hongli came to pay respects so diligently that the concubines from every palace could only be even more diligent.

In the past, Shoukang Palace had rarely been so lively. Now half the harem had practically moved in. Every concubine had something to say to the Empress Dowager. If they couldn’t find words, they would find some excuse to wait nearby, hoping Hongli would come by.

“You’ve come at just the right time. I was just talking with Noble Consort Chun about the scenery of Jiangnan.” The Empress Dowager saw through everything but said nothing, smiling as she spoke to Hongli. “Unfortunately, I never got to visit Suzhou in my lifetime, so I’ve never seen the landscapes of Jiangnan. Fortunately, I’ve just acquired a painting of the beautiful scenery of Jinan. Emperor, why don’t we admire it together?”

Aunt Liu brought over a scroll. When it was unrolled, strange mountains and wondrous waters unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

But upon seeing the layered peaks of Changting, fishing boats appearing and disappearing, and two mountain peaks rising and falling amid the water and clouds—grand, perilous, and majestically imposing—Noble Consort Chun only gave it a single glance before recognizing the painting. “This is… Zhao Mengfu’s Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains?”

She quickly turned her eyes toward Hongli, only to see his gaze fixed on the painting, his expression visibly darkening. Gritting his teeth, he said, “This is the painting Noble Lady Wei presented to the Empress Dowager?”

Why would he suddenly bring up Wei Yingluo?

The Empress Dowager was extremely perceptive. After a brief moment of surprise, she immediately understood the underlying issue and smiled warmly, saying, “Yes… Emperor, don’t you always particularly like this kind of landscape painting? Then I shall give this painting to you.”

Hongli forcibly suppressed his anger and forced a smile. “Since it is the Empress Dowager’s kind intention, your son naturally cannot refuse.”

This “kind intention” left Hongli furious the entire morning.

He barely ate any lunch—whatever was brought in was sent back out untouched.

“Li Yu.” Hongli stood with his hands behind his back, facing the wall where Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains now hung. His expression was extremely gloomy as he said, “Tell me—even if I wronged her, even if I treated her unjustly—she could have come to me like Concubine Xiaojia did, crying and pleading her case. Why did she stubbornly refuse to speak and instead blame me for neglecting her?”

Li Yu cautiously glanced at him. “Your Majesty, shall this servant… deliver these words to Yanxi Palace for you?”

“Insolent!” Hongli roared.

“Yes, this servant deserves death!” Li Yu thought he had misread the imperial intention and immediately dropped any mention of going to Yanxi Palace.

He thought he had finally gotten it right this time, but moments later he received another angry rebuke from Hongli: “Why are you still standing there?”

Li Yu dropped to his knees. They say accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger—he truly understood the misery of that saying today. Go or not go—Your Majesty, please just give a clear order.

In truth, Hongli himself had no clear answer in his heart.

One moment he thought of apologizing; the next, his pride roared at him not to do so. One moment he was furious that she had given away something he personally bestowed; the next, he couldn’t help but make excuses for her: “…She’s merely a Noble Lady.”

Li Yu no longer dared respond—anything he said would be wrong—so he simply kept his mouth shut and listened.

“When she suddenly received imperial favor, naturally the other consorts were jealous. She has no powerful family background, so it’s inevitable she would be bullied. Not long ago, didn’t she injure her knees from kneeling?” Hongli didn’t need a reply. When one hates a person, everything they do is wrong; when one likes a person, everything they do has a reason. “At that time… she probably wanted to come to me, but before I had sorted things out clearly, I punished her.”

He paused, then let out a soft sigh. “She must have been afraid, and so she no longer placed her hopes in me, but instead turned to the Empress Dowager for protection.”

As for why the painting ended up in Shoukang Palace, he no longer wanted to pursue the matter.

Perhaps she had sent it to curry favor with the Empress Dowager. Or perhaps the Empress Dowager had seen it and casually expressed a liking for it, and given her lowly status, how could she possibly refuse such a request from the Dowager?

“Go,” Hongli said softly. “Go to Yanxi Palace.”

Li Yu acknowledged the order with a “Yes” and withdrew.

The waiting was the most agonizing part. Hongli paced back and forth in front of Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains, glancing toward the door with almost every step.

Only when Li Yu’s figure reappeared at the doorway did he finally stop. He quickly returned to his desk, picked up a memorial as a pretense, and pretended to be indifferent: “What did Noble Lady Wei say?”

Li Yu noticed that the memorial in His Majesty’s hand was upside down but pretended not to see it. Lowering his head, he replied, “Noble Lady Wei said… she already knows she was wrong.”

“Is that so?” Hongli immediately set the memorial down and stood up almost eagerly. “I’ll go see how she is admitting her fault.”

He left so hurriedly that the servants below had no time to announce his arrival.

In Yanxi Palace, candles were hastily lit. Ming Yu hurriedly tidied herself and, holding a hexagonal palace lantern, came out to greet him: “Your Majesty, Her Ladyship has just retired for the night…”

Hongli raised a hand to silence her and strode directly toward the inner bedchamber.

Wei Yingluo had just gotten up, still draped in a sleeping robe, her long hair uncombed and cascading down her back like a length of jet-black satin that reflected the flickering candlelight, dazzlingly beautiful. She smiled and said, “Your Majesty, why have you come?”

Hongli took a deep breath, his whole body radiating arrogance, yet the moment she turned and smiled at him, he bowed his head in submission. Before she could even apologize, he spoke first:

“I’ve ordered Concubine Xiaojia to be confined to her palace for one month of self-reflection and to copy the Rules for Women one hundred times.”

This was the utmost limit of what he could bring himself to do. He could never actually utter the words “I’m sorry,” but these words and this action were already his equivalent of an apology.

Wei Yingluo understood this perfectly. She froze for a moment, then gave a soft, amused smile and deliberately provoked him:

“Your Majesty, are you… apologizing to me?”

Hongli’s eyelid twitched.

This woman… she sees right through everything but refuses to stay quiet!

Irritated, he strode over, suddenly pinned Wei Yingluo down onto the bed, and looked down at her from above, his eyes filled with helplessness and annoyance:

“Wei Yingluo, you always manage to infuriate me!”

Wei Yingluo burst into giggles. Her laughter was so charming that it smoothed away even his anger.

“Your Majesty,” she reached up, hooked her arms around Hongli’s neck, pulled his lips toward hers, and gave him a light peck, playful as a little kitten, “this is just the way your concubine is. Even if you dislike it, I’m afraid I can’t change!”

Hongli was momentarily stunned. His heart felt as though a cat’s claws had lightly scratched it—how could he possibly want her to change?

She had always been like this: visible yet untouchable, touchable yet unattainable, coming close yet remaining distant, like a solitary cat that comes and goes as it pleases. It was always him who went to find her, never her who came looking for him or begged for anything.

All the women in the palace belonged to him, and of course she did too… yet somehow she never truly felt like his.

   How could he possibly tame this elusive, independent cat?

   One night of tender intimacy passed.

   When night gave way to dawn, Wei Yingluo was curled up in the blankets like a contented cat. Hongli sat beside her, gazing at her in fascination, then suddenly spoke in a low voice:

“Li Yu, come transmit a decree.”

Li Yu stepped forward, but secretly resolved that this time he would not act too quickly—lest the Emperor change his mind again and he himself end up taking the blame.

Hongli said:

“Appoint Minister of Works Hadaha as chief envoy and Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Wu Ling’an as deputy envoy. They shall carry the imperial credentials and invest Noble Lady Wei as Concubine Ling. Also, Concubine Xiaojia is to remain confined for one month of self-reflection and copy the Rules for Women one hundred times.”

The title “Ling” comes from the Book of Songs (Greater Odes): “Like a jade tablet, like a scepter, of excellent fame and excellent dignity”—pure and beautiful as jade, worthy of such an honorific.

   Li Yu was astonished: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

In his heart he thought: His Majesty was just thundering with rage a moment ago, and now in the blink of an eye he bestows such a title! Noble Lady Wei has been in the palace less than three months—she’s practically riding a ladder to the clouds. It’s truly frightening. Once word gets out, the harem will surely be thrown into unrest again.

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 123: Tangled and Attached

   By the time Hongli came back to his senses, he was practically spending every night at Yanxi Palace.

Even the Empress Dowager could not help but remind him: “Your Majesty, you should know to let the rain and dew fall evenly.”

Hongli immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Thinking back carefully, he realized he had neglected the rear palace for so many days. What kind of bewitchment had that Wei Yingluo cast on him?

“It’s just a woman, nothing more.” He pressed his brow and closed his eyes. “Just a woman, nothing more…”

Just a woman, nothing more… Yet the moment he closed his eyes, her shadow filled his mind—there was no one else!

“Your Majesty!” A soft body suddenly threw itself into his arms, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. “This concubine has been in the palace for so long and has never suffered such humiliation!”

Hongli opened his eyes and looked at Concubine Xiaojia in his embrace.

He already had a head full of his own troubles—how could he have the patience to listen to hers? It was bound to be the usual drama of concubines vying for favor and slandering each other. His tone carried a trace of impatience: “Who has offended you?”

“Who else but that Noble Lady Wei!” Concubine Xiaojia said while wiping her tears. “Ever since she gained your favor, she has become insufferably arrogant. This concubine fell ill and sent Lan’er to fetch medicine. On the way, she ran into her—and she actually slapped the medicine bowl right out of Lan’er’s hands!”

Hongli listened expressionlessly until she finished, then turned his head and asked Li Yu: “Was Noble Lady Wei really so overbearing?”

Li Yu gave an apologetic smile. “This… this servant did not witness it personally, so I cannot say whether it is true or false.”

Hongli said coldly: “It seems to me she is in need of discipline. Back in Changchun Palace she already dared to defy me. Now that she has my favor, she has become utterly outrageous!”

Li Yu: “Then what does Your Majesty intend…?”

Hongli: “Immediately remove her name tablet!”

Li Yu: “As you command.”

Concubine Xiaojia left looking very satisfied, but Hongli felt some regret. He wasn’t regretting it for Concubine Xiaojia’s sake—he was angry at himself. He resented her for making him neglect court affairs, for making his moods so unpredictable.

But the words had already left his lips. How could he immediately retract an order he had just given? He had no choice but to let it stand. For the next several days, he did not go to Wei Yingluo’s palace.

He had intended to return to his old routine of spreading his favor evenly, but for some reason, every other place felt lacking compared to Yanxi Palace. Either the food tasted wrong, or the wine was particularly hard to drink…

“Your Majesty.” Today Hongli had chosen Concubine Xiaojia’s tablet. She sang and danced for him. Though her singing and dancing were quite ordinary, she was young and full of youthful charm. After the dance, she came over holding a cup, leaned into Hongli’s arms, and said with a touch of loneliness: “Back when there was no Noble Lady Wei, you were so good to me. But ever since Noble Lady Wei entered the palace, you haven’t come in such a long time…”

Hongli smiled at her, his gaze on her body, but his heart was elsewhere.

“Come, Your Majesty, this concubine toasts you.” Concubine Xiaojia brought the wine to Hongli’s lips.

Hongli lowered his head and drank. The fragrance of the wine filled the air, but in his mouth it tasted like plain water—bland and flavorless.

“Li Yu.” After leaving Chuxiu Palace, Hongli asked Li Yu, “Why does the wine at Chuxiu Palace taste so much worse than at Yanxi Palace?”

Li Yu glanced at him cautiously and said: “Your Majesty, the wine served at Chuxiu Palace and at Yanxi Palace is exactly the same.”

Hongli was stunned.

So the meals and wine supplied to every palace were identical. It wasn’t the food that tasted wrong, nor the wine—it was the person who was wrong…

Back at Yangxin Hall, Ye Tianshi was already waiting outside the door. Hongli sat down in a chair. Ye Tianshi came over of his own accord, placed his fingers on Hongli’s wrist, and quietly took his pulse for a health reading.

Hongli was in a foul mood and only wanted to be left alone. After a short while, he said, “I’m fine. You may go.”

But Ye Tianshi did not leave. Still fulfilling his duty as a physician, he continued taking the Emperor’s pulse while saying, “It is unwise to conceal illness and avoid treatment. Noble Lady Wei delayed seeking medical care for so long that her knees became bruised and purple, nearly affecting her future mobility. Your Majesty should still allow this humble servant to examine you…”

Hongli was taken aback. “What did you just say?”

Ye Tianshi looked surprised. “This humble servant was saying that a peace pulse should still be taken; it cannot be delayed…”

Hongli interrupted him impatiently. “What did you say about Noble Lady Wei’s legs?”

“I heard that a few days ago, in the Imperial Garden, she accidentally bumped into Concubine Xiaojia’s maid and knocked over the medicine intended for Concubine Xiaojia,” Ye Tianshi replied respectfully. “Concubine Xiaojia punished Noble Lady by making her kneel for two full hours. Her knees were injured from the kneeling and took a long time to heal. Only in the past couple of days has there been noticeable improvement… Eh? Your Majesty, where are you going?”

Hongli had already strode to the doorway. Suddenly remembering the order he had previously issued, he paused, turned back, and paced back and forth in Yangxin Hall for a long time—long enough to make Ye Tianshi’s eyes spin—before finally stopping and saying abruptly, “Li Yu!”

“This slave is here!”

That very night, a stream of gifts was carried into Yanxi Palace.

Jewelry, paintings, calligraphy, rare antiques, curios—the majority, however, consisted of various tonics and medicinal herbs. The sheer quantity and superb quality were enough to bring a dead person back to life.

Li Yu approached Wei Yingluo holding a scroll painting. “Noble Lady Wei, these are all His Majesty’s bestowals. Please take a look—this painting is Zhao Mengfu’s ‘Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains.’ When Noble Consort Chun once begged His Majesty for it, he was unwilling to part with it. Yet now he has eagerly sent it straight to you.”

As he spoke, he carefully observed Wei Yingluo on the bed.

Sure enough, she appeared as though she had just recovered from a serious illness. She couldn’t even get out of bed by herself and had to be supported by Ming Yu to come forward and express gratitude. After being granted a seat, she smiled and said, “Is that so? Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of literature or painting. His Majesty sending me such a treasure is truly a waste. Besides, this painting is far too precious—I dare not accept it. You had better take it back.”

“Noble Lady,” Li Yu said with a smile, “to be honest with you, His Majesty has already severely punished Concubine Xiaojia. Please accept the painting and go to Yangxin Hall to offer thanks.”

Wei Yingluo let out a soft “aiya,” her right hand gently stroking her knee.

In truth, her injury was not severe. With Ye Tianshi’s care, the wound on her knee had already healed almost completely. The bandages and medicinal paste were deliberately left in place—for outsiders to see, and especially for Hongli to see.

Even on that day in the Imperial Garden when she encountered Concubine Xiaojia, she had knelt without the slightest resistance.

Since Concubine Xiaojia had been foolish enough to harm her in front of everyone, she could hardly blame Wei Yingluo for seizing the opportunity to make use of it.

Li Yu looked at her knee. In reality, Hongli had already questioned Ye Tianshi repeatedly and knew that her injury had improved significantly. But while physical wounds could be healed, wounds of the heart were far harder to mend. Thinking of how he had removed Wei Yingluo’s green-headed tablet from the duty roster merely because of a few words from Concubine Xiaojia, Hongli felt deep guilt and believed he owed her.

Yet for an emperor to bow his head and admit fault was easier said than done.

Thus he had sent Li Yu in his stead to soften the approach: “Noble Lady, this slave has served His Majesty for so long and has never seen him care so much about anyone! Very well—even if you do not wish to appear in person, this slave can have the Respect Affairs Office send up your green-headed slip. That should suffice, yes?”

“I’m afraid not,” Wei Yingluo sighed, her fingers still resting on her injured knee. “Right now I can barely walk—how could I serve His Majesty? Moreover… cough cough… these past few days my throat has been rather uncomfortable. I’m afraid of passing something on to His Majesty. It would be better to wait until my health improves before going.”

Li Yu could not persuade her, and he certainly could not force her to be carried to Yangxin Hall. This errand had become impossible—whatever he did, he would displease someone. Trembling with anxiety, he returned to report the news to Yangxin Hall.

As expected, Hongli flew into a rage and swept all the green-headed tablets off the table in one furious motion.

Li Yu: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”

Hongli: “Since she is unwilling, then let her never serve in the bedchamber for the rest of her life!”

Li Yu: “This… Yes, Your Majesty!”

The golden mouth opened, and the order was passed down. Hongli… regretted it again. Thus, for several consecutive days, he found fault with Li Yu, resenting him for acting too quickly—before he could even take back his words, Li Yu had already treated them as an imperial decree and sent them out.

Li Yu was inwardly complaining even more. Today the Emperor complained that the tea he brought was too hot, tomorrow he complained that his voice was too shrill. Left and right, nothing about him pleased the Emperor. This couldn’t go on forever. Unlike ordinary people, a eunuch’s entire honor and favor depended on his master. After much thought, Li Yu sought out Wei Yingluo again and hinted: “It’s rare for His Majesty to change his mind—why not take the chance to step down gracefully? Angering the Emperor now would surely bring more loss than gain.”

Wei Yingluo smiled but said nothing, still unwilling to yield.

Li Yu left Yanxi Palace dejectedly. Spies from various palaces reported the news back. One of them slipped silently into Zhongcui Palace and whispered a few words into Consort Chun’s ear.

In front of Noble Consort Chun lay a white jade chessboard. She held a chess piece in her hand but didn’t place it for a long time.

“What exactly is this Wei Yingluo thinking?” Her opponent was Naran Chuxue, who was also well-informed. She knew about Wei Yingluo’s affairs but not her intentions. “Isn’t she afraid of angering the Emperor and losing favor completely?”

Snap—a black piece was placed. Noble Consort Chun said calmly: “Every woman in the world thinks she is special—especially those who have just received imperial favor. But after a while, they realize that in His Majesty’s heart, there is no such thing as ‘special.’”

Naran Chuxue thought about it and felt she had a point. Raising a white piece, she said: “Your Ladyship is right. This Wei Yingluo probably wants to stand out and make His Majesty worry about her day and night. But does she not realize who His Majesty is? Is he some ordinary commoner from the countryside? The Son of Heaven—how could he, like an ordinary man, be so hung up on a mere woman?”

Yet the Son of Heaven was still a man.

No matter how lofty a man might be, once he becomes hung up on a woman, he falls from the heavens and becomes an ordinary mortal man.

Li Yu returned to Yangxin Hall and relayed Wei Yingluo’s response to Hongli. Then he cautiously raised his eyes to look at the other man’s back.

Hongli stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from him, gazing out the window.

Li Yu had thought he would be furious—perhaps even punish Wei Yingluo again in a fit of anger. But after waiting a long time, all he heard was a sigh.

“Does she… not like the ‘Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains’ painting?” Hongli hesitated for a moment before asking, “What do you think she likes?”

Li Yu: “…”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 122: Neither Approaching Nor Departing

   The mountain rain is about to fall, the wind fills the tower—this was already the third consecutive day Hongli had spent the night in Yanxi Palace.

Hongli had always been quite restrained when it came to women. Even when favoring the harem, he had never stayed with the same person night after night like this. Naturally, it made others restless and uneasy.

“Empress!” In Chengqian Palace, Naran Chuxue was the first to speak up. “That Wei Yingluo has served in the bedchamber for three consecutive days now, and her eyes have already grown on top of her head. What time is it already, and she still hasn’t come to pay her respects to you!”

The other concubines chimed in one after another, each adding their own criticisms of Wei Yingluo.

Only Lu Wanwan spoke softly: “Perhaps Noble Lady Wei was delayed by something!”

Naran Chuxue scoffed with icy disdain. “Delayed by what? It’s clearly arrogance born of favor! She’s just a former palace maid at heart—no sense of propriety at all. In this concubine’s opinion, Your Ladyship should send a senior nanny over to properly discipline her, so she doesn’t cause trouble later.”

How could the Step Empress let herself be used as a tool? She immediately smiled and said: “Concubine Shu, whom His Majesty chooses to favor is entirely His Majesty’s will. We concubines have no choice but to obey. If you were favored today and tomorrow I sent someone to reprimand you, what kind of person would that make me?”

Consort Ying: “Empress, that’s not how it should be said. When it comes to virtue, speech, appearance, and accomplishments, virtue ranks first. A woman who disregards rules and ignores propriety, lingering by His Majesty’s side, will sooner or later bring disaster. Your Ladyship manages the Six Palaces—you cannot be soft-hearted.”

Concubine Xiaojia: “The Empress is benevolent and naturally wouldn’t stoop to argue with a mere little Noble Lady. But if she takes an inch and wants a mile, using the opportunity to stir up trouble, that would no longer be a good thing. Your Ladyship should take precautions in advance!”

The discussion continued until noon before everyone finally fell silent and took their leave one by one.

“Empress, just listen to the nonsense they were spouting earlier—truly unbecoming!” Zhener came in carrying a plate of freshly washed grapes.

“Indeed.” The Step Empress picked up a deep-purple grape and glanced in the direction the others had left. “His Majesty merely summoned her a couple more times, and they all turned into black-eyed chickens, revealing their ugly sides.”

“But then again, His Majesty has never consecutively summoned the same concubine to serve him before, so it’s no wonder they’re all restless. This Wei Yingluo really is formidable.” Zhener peeled a grape for her. “Empress, should we…?”

The Step Empress shook her head: “Even the most beautiful flower will eventually grow tiresome. His Majesty has seen countless women—how long can Wei Yingluo possibly hold his attention, no matter how special she is? Only these shallow women jump three feet high at the slightest thing.”

“True.” Zhener smiled. “No matter how they fight among themselves, Your Ladyship sits firmly on the fish platform. Let them fight—the fiercer the better!”

The Step Empress ate the grape she offered, lazily saying: “Since there’s nothing else to do, why don’t we make a guess: who will make the first move—Noble Consort Chun, or Concubine Xiaojia…?”

Noble Consort Chun had long harbored a grudge against Wei Yingluo and was, among all the concubines, the one who most wished her dead.

As for Concubine Xiaojia, she and Wei Yingluo were both newly favored concubines. One mountain cannot hold two tigers—especially when both relied on their beauty to serve the Emperor. Naturally, neither could tolerate the other.

Zhener thought for a moment: “This servant guesses it will be Noble Consort Chun.”

“Then I’ll bet on Concubine Xiaojia.” The Step Empress gave a meaningful smile.

The older the ginger, the spicier it is. In the end, it was the newcomer Concubine Xiaojia who couldn’t hold her temper. After smashing a jade pendant in the palace, she said to the maid beside her: “Lan’er, go to Yangxin Hall and tell Chief Steward Li that I am ill—very seriously ill. If I don’t see His Majesty soon, I’m going to die!”

Lan’er was shocked: “Mistress, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be proper!”

Concubine Xiaojia waved her hand impatiently: “What’s improper about it? Didn’t that lowly woman trick His Majesty the same way? If she can do it, why can’t I? Go quickly, or I’ll whip you!”

The message soon reached Yangxin Hall. Upon hearing that Concubine Xiaojia was also “ill,” Hongli laughed.

“Why are they all imitating her now?” Hongli shook his head, looking as though he saw right through it, and chuckled. “What is there to learn from someone as mischievous as her?”

Li Yu watched coldly from the side, thinking to himself: It’s only because Your Majesty likes it. The King of Chu loved slender waists, and so the palace filled with starving women.

After finishing the day’s affairs of state, Hongli set down his brush: “Let’s go.”

Li Yu knowingly asked: “Where to?”

Hongli glared at him, reluctantly spitting out three words through gritted teeth: “Yanxi Palace.”

He felt he had already given Wei Yingluo plenty of face. When other consorts fell ill, he had never gone to visit them personally—yet here he was, coming especially for her. Who could have known he would arrive to find her absent? Zhenzhu approached with a face full of trepidation: “Your Majesty, Noble Lady Wei is not in the hall.”

Hongli was stunned. “Where did she go?”

Zhenzhu found it extremely difficult to say: “Noble Lady Wei said the weather was too hot, so she went out for a stroll.”

Hongli was practically speechless. Was she some seventy- or eighty-year-old grandmother? Finishing a meal and then going out for a walk to “preserve her health”? Behind him, Li Yu was struggling to hold back his laughter: “Your Majesty, where to now?”

Hongli shot him a glare, then gritted his teeth and said, “Go inside and sit.”

And so he sat—until nightfall.

Zhenzhu was already sweating profusely; the handkerchief in her hand was wiped and wiped again, but the sweat only increased, never lessened.

Hongli’s face had grown as black as the bottom of a pot. Li Yu, watching his expression closely, couldn’t resist scolding Zhenzhu for what felt like the umpteenth time: “Where is she? Why hasn’t she returned yet? It’s always others who wait upon the Emperor—yet your mistress has the nerve to turn everything upside down. Does she have any sense of propriety at all!”

Just as Zhenzhu was on the verge of tears from anxiety, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside. The door opened, and Ming Yu walked in. She respectfully kowtowed to Hongli: “Your Majesty, please forgive us. Today Noble Lady Wei personally prepared an ice bowl and sent it to Shoukang Palace. She is currently accompanying the Empress Dowager and chatting with her.”

Hongli: “All the way until now?”

Ming Yu: “The Empress Dowager is in an exceptionally good mood today. She began talking about the time she accompanied the late Emperor on his private inspection tour of Jiangnan, which left Noble Lady Wei full of admiration and envy. I’m afraid she won’t be able to return anytime soon!”

Hongli gave a snort. “So she’s just leaving me here to wait?”

Ming Yu offered an apologetic smile: “Your Majesty, Noble Lady is keeping the Empress Dowager company out of pure filial devotion. Otherwise… perhaps Your Majesty could go elsewhere.”

Li Yu snapped furiously: “You’ve lost your mind! How dare you speak like that!”

Ming Yu immediately kowtowed again, sounding aggrieved: “Your Majesty, you cannot blame Noble Lady Wei for this. It is the Empress Dowager who is keeping her—the mistress truly cannot leave. Filial piety is greater than Heaven itself; how could she possibly abandon the Empress Dowager?”

Hongli let out a cold humph, stood up, and strode out.

Li Yu pointed at Ming Yu: “Fine, fine—just you wait. Everyone’s learning from your mistress now. One day we’ll deal with you too!”

Hongli stormed off in a rage. Little did he know that the moment he left, Wei Yingluo walked back into the palace.

“What happened?” Wei Yingluo took the hot towel Ming Yu handed her and wiped the sweat from her face and neck.

Ming Yu hesitated for a long while before finally blurting out: “Yingluo, why did you deliberately avoid the Emperor?”

“Even the most delicious thing in the world, if you eat it three or four days in a row, will start to feel cloying.” Wei Yingluo winked her right eye at her with an extremely cunning smile. “Do you believe me when I say he’ll come back tonight?”

What is the most delicious thing in the world?

   The thing you can’t have.

   What kind of woman makes a man most restless and unable to let go?

   The woman he cannot see.

   Ming Yu blew out the candle. Wei Yingluo climbed into bed. Half-asleep and half-awake, she suddenly felt a weight settle over her body. She opened her eyes, feigning surprise: “Your Majesty… didn’t you leave?”

Hongli had indeed returned. He straddled her—not so much like a man coming to see his lover as like one coming to confront an enemy. His hands clamped around her throat as he ground out through clenched teeth: “What? You don’t want to see me?”

“Your Majesty…” Wei Yingluo smiled. In a sudden movement she flipped over, pinning Hongli beneath her instead. Her long, cascading hair poured over him like a waterfall. She lowered her head and smiled down at him—a smile that carried an aggressiveness unlike that of any other consort. “You’re hurting your concubine.”

With that, her own hands closed around his throat. The moment a look of offense flashed across Hongli’s face, she leaned down and gently bit his lip.

Compared to the soft, yielding kisses of other beauties, her wild, untamed way of kissing brought Hongli a completely different kind of stimulation.

Hongli was kissed by her like this for a while, and the anger on his face gradually melted away. Suddenly he laughed, pinned her down onto the bed in one motion, then pressed himself against her back. While undoing his own belt, he suppressed a low gasp and said, “A wild, untamed woman like you—I’m going to punish you.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 121: Under the Gardenia Flowers

   Wei Yingluo spat out the medicine in one mouthful: “Too hot.”

With a loud clatter, Hupo simply set the medicine bowl down on the table—making a great noise and showing great attitude: “Noble Lady Wei, you really are delicate. It’s hot—so blow on it a little, and it’ll be fine, won’t it?”

This was no longer treating herself as a servant; she was already acting like the master. Wei Yingluo looked at her with a half-smile: “Hupo, as a palace servant of Yanxi Palace, is this how you serve me?”

“We’re both servants who came from Changchun Palace—what’s the point of saying that?” Hupo sat down beside the table without ceremony. On it were many snacks and delicacies that the Empress Dowager had sent over after hearing Wei Yingluo was ill. She didn’t stand on ceremony, casually picking things up to eat. Seeds and shells soon littered the floor as she complained: “Since you’re not some lofty Noble Lady, don’t complain about my poor service.”

“The past is the past; the present is the present.” Wei Yingluo covered her lips and coughed. “Now, after all, I am a Noble Lady…”

Hupo spat out a melon seed shell and impatiently interrupted her: “Yes, yes, yes—you’re the noble mistress, and I’m the lowly slave. Naturally I must obey every word! Since you don’t want to drink it, then don’t drink it. This slave will go pour it out right now!”

Amid the snickering of the other palace maids, she picked up the medicine bowl from the table and poured it straight into the nearby potted plant.

“Good servant, indeed!”

A cold voice suddenly rang out behind her. Hupo was startled, turned around, and in her shock, couldn’t hold onto the medicine bowl—it fell to the ground with a clatter.

“This… this servant greets the Emperor!” She hurriedly knelt before him.

Hongli looked down at her from above. The more he looked, the more displeasing she became to him; the more he looked, the more his anger flared.

“Noble Lady Wei may have come from a palace maid background, but once she became my noble lady, no servant is allowed to disrespect her!” he said coldly. “Drag her out, give her eighty strokes of the cane, and send her to the Cleansing Division.”

“Emperor! Emperor, this servant knows her mistake—please forgive this servant!” Amber hurriedly begged for mercy.

From the bed, Wei Yingluo covered her mouth and let out a light cough. Hongli caught it from the corner of his eye. For some inexplicable reason, he added, almost as if compelled by an unseen force: “…Do it in the courtyard outside. Let everyone see!”

The eunuchs immediately gagged Hupo and dragged her away.

Soon afterward, the sharp, rhythmic sound of caning—crack, crack—came from outside the door, accompanied by Amber’s increasingly feeble and anguished cries.

“…When did you become so weak that you would allow a mere servant to climb over your head?” Hongli slowly walked to the bedside.

Wei Yingluo lowered the hand covering her mouth and replied calmly, “Your Majesty, she was a servant of the late Empress. She was once my colleague.”

Hongli said coldly, “In the past you were a servant, but now you are my Noble Lady! Remember this firmly, and do not disgrace my face!”

Yingluo lowered her head, the corners of her lips curving slightly. “Yes.”

The more he saw her acting meek and obedient, the angrier he became. With a cold snort, he turned and left.

The others thought he was genuinely furious and didn’t dare breathe loudly. Only Li Yu, who knew his temperament well, lagged a step behind. He smiled softly at Wei Yingluo and said, “Noble Lady Wei, congratulations!”

Regardless of anything else, after the eighty strokes were finished, Amber was dragged away. Ming Yu pointed at the bloodstains still visible in the courtyard and declared, “Did everyone see that clearly? This is the consequence of neglecting one’s master. Whoever dares to disrespect their superior again will be the next Hupo!”

From that moment, the atmosphere in Yanxi Palace was thoroughly cleansed. At least for the foreseeable future, no one would dare cause trouble again, lest they meet the same fate as Hupo.

Meanwhile, over at Yangxin Hall, after several consecutive days without seeing Wei Yingluo’s green name tablet appear, Hongli finally set aside his pride and took the initiative to ask:

“…Is Noble Lady Wei still ill?”

Li Yu: “Yes.”

Hongli: “Have Ye Tianshi go and examine her.”

Li Yu: “Yes! Actually… even if Your Majesty hadn’t said anything, the Imperial Medical Bureau would still do their utmost to treat Noble Lady Wei!”

After cautiously glancing at him, Li Yu added, “If you are truly so concerned about Noble Lady Wei, why not go and see her yourself? Seeing Your Majesty would surely bring joy to Noble Lady Wei’s heart, and her illness would improve much faster.”

“Mind your own business,” Hongli said coldly, giving him a glance before standing up and heading outside.

“Yes, this servant spoke out of turn.” Li Yu hurriedly slapped his own face.

“What are you still standing there for?” Hongli’s voice drifted back from a distance. “Go to Yanxi Palace.”

Li Yu: “…”

As soon as Hongli stepped into Yanxi Palace, he wrinkled his nose slightly. “This is—the fragrance of gardenia flowers?”

In the sweltering heat of summer, even standing in the sun for a short while would soak one’s clothes with sweat. The perfumed scents worn by the palace consorts became cloying and heavy in the heat, making the head dizzy after prolonged exposure. But this natural floral fragrance brought a refreshing clarity, instantly lifting the spirit and easing the summer heat.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Ming Yu came out from the inner chamber and said softly, “Noble Lady has just taken her medicine and is resting behind the bed curtains. This servant will go wake her at once.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping inside the room?” Hongli frowned as he looked at the canopy tent set up in the garden. “Truly absurd. Doesn’t she know how to take care of her own body?”

He strode straight into the garden, brushing aside flowers and willows along the way until he reached the side of the canopy. Through the light gauze and soft curtains, the faint silhouette of a woman could be seen inside. Because it was half-hidden and half-revealed, it appeared all the more enticing.

Hongli lightened his steps. Behind him, Li Yu and Ming Yu exchanged a glance and quietly withdrew.

In the garden, only Hongli and Wei Yingluo remained.

He gently lifted the curtain. A clear tinkling sound rang out—the wind chime hanging at one corner of the canopy chimed crisply, its tone sweet and melodic, like a summer daydream.

From inside came a soft murmur. Wei Yingluo turned over, her eyes still heavy with sleep, her clothing half-slipped off. Perhaps because of the intense heat, she was wearing very little—just a thin robe the color of gardenia flowers, soft as a layer of petals wrapped around her body.

Gazing at her face, flushed and lovely like a sleeping crabapple in spring, Hongli felt his heart stir. He reached out to stroke her slightly reddened cheek. His fingers were cool; she let out a small whimper and rubbed her face against his fingertips.

This was the first time Hongli had ever seen her like this.

In the past she had either ignored him completely or mocked him coldly. On the rare occasions she showed him any warmth, it was always superficial, with hidden defiance. Such innocent, unguarded closeness was extremely rare. It made Hongli freeze in place, almost wishing she would never wake up and that things could stay like this forever.

But soon his fingers were warmed by her cheek. Wei Yingluo murmured “so hot” in a drowsy voice, then slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times in surprise before looking at him. “Your Majesty… why are you here?”

Hongli’s heart itched unbearably from her unconscious allure. Before she could sit up, he had already reached out and pressed her back down inside the canopy.

Her long hair spilled like ink across the snow-white bed curtains. Wei Yingluo lay pillowed on clouds of hair, returning to her usual demeanor—neither afraid of him nor attached to him, neither drawing close nor pushing him away. Like a cloud drifting on the horizon, she gave him a half-smile and said, “This is the garden… Your Majesty, this really isn’t proper.”

Hongli reached out to capture that drifting cloud. He leaned down and kissed her neck, like a beast seizing its prey. He bit lightly—not too hard—on her throat and said in a muffled voice, “Shut up… I am your proper!”

When he found her pleasing, everything about her was pleasing—even her small struggles at this moment became a kind of delight. Just like the thorns on a flower: when someone loves the bloom too much, they no longer mind being pricked.

Hongli closed his eyes and gently kissed the flower beneath his lips. He still didn’t realize how much he liked this flower—or rather, even if he did like her… he would absolutely never admit it.

Her sleeping chignon had come loose; her spring brows seemed to grow even longer. The gardenia hairpin weighed heavy; faint wine-scented chrysanthemum fragrance lingered.

Embroidered quilts dimmed to golden hues; silk crumpled and lost its sheen. Sometimes in idle moments she toyed with a brush, painting pairs of mandarin ducks.

Ming Yu left the courtyard but did not linger beside Li Yu. Afraid that if she stayed too long he would notice something unusual about her, she hurriedly made an excuse and left. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she collapsed onto the grass, buried her face deep in her knees, and her shoulders began to tremble slightly.

After some unknown stretch of time, a man’s hand rested gently on her shoulder.

Ming Yu started in fright and dared not lift her head.

“Why won’t you turn around and look at me?” the man said with a laugh. His voice carried a natural, free-spirited gallantry, like that of a wandering swordsman.

Ming Yu recognized the voice. She turned her head. Their eyes met. Hailancha was stunned. “Ming Yu… why are you crying?”

Ming Yu did not answer. She simply looked at him and let the tears fall silently.

Hailancha was on duty that night and was not supposed to leave his post. But seeing the girl he loved crying like this, he thought for a moment, then ran to a fellow guard he was on good terms with, quietly asked him to cover the shift, and slipped away.

With no further worries, he hurried back, sat down beside Ming Yu, and looked at her with utmost seriousness. “What exactly happened?”

Ming Yu gave a choked sob, her voice hoarse. “I think I’ve made a mistake.”

Hailancha smiled. “Who in this world doesn’t make mistakes?”

Ming Yu: “No, you don’t understand.”

Hailancha: “I don’t understand. You can tell me.”

Ming Yu choked with sobs: “If I hadn’t said anything, when Yingluo turned twenty-five, she could have smoothly left the palace. Someone like her could have lived happily anywhere she went. It was me—I personally destroyed her happiness. I’ve trapped her in the Forbidden City for the rest of her life. It’s my fault! All my fault!”

Hailancha: “Ming Yu, you didn’t mean to…”

Ming Yu suddenly lifted her face: “No, I did it on purpose! Noble Consort Chun bullied me at every turn, and I couldn’t accept it. I wanted to get justice, so I dragged Yingluo into it with me. I’m so despicable. I’m a truly vicious person!”

Hailancha: “Ming Yu! Ming Yu! Stop crying, don’t cry anymore! You’re not that kind of person. Don’t blame yourself…”

Ming Yu threw herself into his arms, clinging to him and crying heartbrokenly.

Hailancha knew how to defeat enemies and take lives, but he had no idea how to stop her tears. After a moment of helpless floundering, he finally sighed, wrapped his arms tightly around her, and said in a low, grave voice: “I don’t know what Noble Consort Chun did to drive you to such desperation, but as long as you tell me… I will definitely help you.”

“Really?” Ming Yu murmured. “You’ll really help me?”

“Yes.” Hailancha nodded. “I swear it!”

“Thank you…” Ming Yu sighed, lifting her head from his embrace. Her lips gently pressed against his cheek.

The skin beneath her lips gradually grew hot, just like Hailancha’s heart.

“Set off—return to the palace!”

The moment Hongli left, a flood of precious gifts arrived right after, as if he were afraid no one would realize how much he favored Wei Yingluo.

When Ming Yu returned, she found the entire palace staff beaming with joy, crowding around Wei Yingluo: “Congratulations, Noble Lady Wei! Congratulations, Noble Lady Wei!”

Wei Yingluo waved her hand, signaling them to withdraw.

“Where did you go?” Wei Yingluo beckoned Ming Yu closer, reached out, and gently wiped the tears from her cheek. “Why were you crying?”

“I’m fine.” Ming Yu smiled through her tears. “What about you? Are you all right?”

“I’m very well—extremely well.” Not a single tear stained Wei Yingluo’s face. She touched the lingering kiss marks on her neck with an indifferent smile. “One step closer to my goal. I’m very happy.”

Ming Yu’s heart ached. She took her hand and said earnestly: “Yingluo, don’t worry. You’re working hard, and so will I.”

Yingluo: “Ming Yu, what have you done?”

Ming Yu smiled and gently rested her head on Yingluo’s knee: “I’ll grow stronger bit by bit and become your support. As long as it helps you, I’m willing to do anything! You’re truly amazing. You said you wanted to win the Emperor’s favor, and now you’ve done it…”

Yingluo suddenly burst out laughing.

Ming Yu looked up in surprise: “Did I say something wrong?”

Yingluo: “Do you think that just because I successfully served him in bed, I’ve won the Emperor’s favor?”

Ming Yu: “But…”

Yingluo smiled slightly: “Right now the Emperor only sees me as a new toy. In a little while he’ll forget all about me. Unless I can enter his heart, defeating Noble Consort Chun is still a very long way off.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 120: Turning a Blind Eye

   What Hupo said turned out to be prophetic.

   Yanxi Palace truly was the most isolated and forgotten palace. Several months after Wei Yingluo moved in, Hongli had still not set foot there even once.

   Gradually the palace servants began to grow restless. One day Ming Yu called out to Hupo: “Hupo, go to the Imperial Household Department and collect this month’s stipend.”

In the past Hupo might have dawdled for a while, but now she simply refused to move. She stayed seated at the table, cracking and eating her melon seeds: “Sister Ming Yu, I’m not going to suffer that kind of hardship.”

Ming Yu was stunned. “What did you say?”

“The mistress has been in the palace for quite some time now, yet His Majesty has still not summoned her to his bed. Rumors are flying everywhere in the palace that His Majesty doesn’t look upon her with favor at all—he only kept her here reluctantly because of the Empress Dowager.” Hupo spat out a melon-seed shell. “The people in the Imperial Household Department only serve those who have influence. If I go, I’ll just be asking for humiliation.”

Ming Yu’s face turned livid with anger. She shouted and cursed, but she could not make a single one of these lazy good-for-nothings budge.

“I’m truly going to die of rage!”

In the bedchamber, Wei Yingluo was seated before the mirror doing her hair. From the reflection, she caught sight of Ming Yu entering with an angry expression on her face. Puzzled, she turned her head: “What’s wrong?”

“The palace leaks wind and rain, and the meals delivered every day are always cold—I could put up with that.” Ming Yu paced back and forth in the room, each step making the floor thud loudly. “But what’s absolutely intolerable is that group of maids…”

“You mean… Hupo?” Wei Yingluo continued combing her hair without rising from the chair. In just one month, she had gone from being seen by others as a fortunate one to a shrinking turtle—spending her days holed up in Yanxi Palace, holed up in a small room, neither causing trouble nor doing anything.

“It’s exactly her!” Ming Yu fumed. “She came from Changchun Palace just like us—how dare she treat you with such disrespect!”

Wei Yingluo smiled a little. “Precisely because she came from Changchun Palace with us is why she treats me this way.”

Her former colleagues had not become allies in her present situation; instead, they had turned into major obstacles.

The biggest obstacle was Hupo. Not only could Ming Yu not command her— even Wei Yingluo, her mistress, could not make her obey. Lately, Hupo had grown even more arrogant, faintly threatening to climb over Wei Yingluo’s head.

“Hupo is an old servant from Changchun Palace. Back then we were equals. Now that I’ve become a Noble Lady, she’s been reassigned to serve me—how could she willingly accept it?” Wei Yingluo said calmly. “And I… cannot punish her.”

Ming Yu was stunned. “Why not?”

“Because she was a palace maid by my former mistress’s side. If I were to punish her, I would be branded as ungrateful and disloyal.” Wei Yingluo spoke with extreme composure. She had long anticipated that the road ahead would be difficult. Her means of rising were improper, so she was bound to endure much hardship. But enough days had passed—it was time to change her current circumstances.

Excessive low profile would only make others mistake her for weak and easily bullied.

“Let’s go.” Wei Yingluo suddenly stood up.

Ming Yu was startled. “Where to?”

Wei Yingluo narrowed her eyes and smiled. “If not for the Empress Dowager’s bestowals, I; Noble Lady Wei would have starved to death long ago. Shouldn’t we hurry to express our gratitude?”

Hongli turned a blind eye to Wei Yingluo, but the Empress Dowager had not forgotten this “auspicious omen” from the release-of-life banquet. Sometimes it was pastries and delicacies, sometimes a few newly tailored garments. Even if it was merely a passing whim of the Empress Dowager, the presence of these gifts ensured that no one in the palace dared treat her too harshly—fearing that one day the Empress Dowager might suddenly remember her and summon her.

Hongli harbored the same worry in his heart.

He could not say exactly what was wrong with Wei Yingluo, yet he also could not say what was right about her. There was an indescribable feeling—he simply did not want others to see her.

After all, this woman was growing more and more bewitching by the day; whoever laid eyes on her would likely be captivated by her appearance.

Suddenly his steps halted. Hongli looked toward Shoukang Palace not far away. The sound of singing drifted closer, reaching his ears. The lyrics came from Dream of the Red Chamber: “This younger sister—I have seen her before.”

The melody was excellent, yet it sounded somewhat unfamiliar—not from any of the palace’s resident performers. Could it be a new opera troupe invited from outside the palace? Hongli waved his hand, silencing the eunuch who was about to announce him, so as not to disturb the Empress Dowager’s enjoyment. He slipped quietly through the palace gate, then abruptly stopped, gazing from afar at the young gentleman opposite.

A temporary stage had been set up in Shoukang Palace. The Empress Dowager sat below, watching with relish. On stage, a young man had his back to Hongli, playing two roles at once. First he assumed the manner of Grandmother Jia: “Nonsense again! When have you ever seen him?”

Then he instantly transformed into Jia Baoyu’s gentle, affectionate demeanor: “Though I have never seen him, his face seems familiar to me, as if we were old acquaintances. To meet again today after a long parting would not be unreasonable!”

The young man turned gracefully. He wore a purple-gold crown studded with gems to bind his hair, a golden forehead band with two dragons vying for a pearl across his brow, and a bright-red arrow-sleeve robe embroidered with hundred butterflies in two-tone gold threading through flowers. He looked exactly like Jia Baoyu stepping out from the pages of the book. With a snap, he opened his folding fan—scholars and beauties depicted upon it—and flashed a dashing smile toward Hongli: “Your humble concubine respectfully greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be at peace.”

It was Wei Yingluo.

It took Hongli a long while before he finally looked away. “What sort of vulgar street book is this, daring to be performed before the Empress Dowager? Look at the state of your attire—what do you think you look like!”

But the Empress Dowager laughed. “Don’t blame her. I was bored and asked her to come keep me company and chat. Just talking was dull, so she dressed up for the part. It was quite an effort on her part, all to amuse me. Still, this story is truly interesting. Your Majesty should listen to it sometime when you have a moment.”

Hongli refused to admit that he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He spoke stiffly: “This is improper—get out!”

“Yes.” Wei Yingluo mischievously winked at the Empress Dowager before withdrawing.

The Empress Dowager found her charming and adorable. After she left, she spoke up on her behalf to Hongli: “I’ve been in the palace for so many years and have seen plenty of filial and virtuous concubines, but this is the first time I’ve met someone so clever and mischievous. She has a hundred different ways to make me happy every day—it’s truly amusing.”

Hongli’s face remained cold: “Empress Dowager, that girl gets carried away easily. It’s better not to indulge her too much, or she’ll become spoiled from favor!”

After returning from Shoukang Palace, Hongli held the memorial in his hand but couldn’t concentrate at all.

That night, Li Yu brought in the green-headed nameplates. Hongli casually glanced over them, and his gaze landed on Wei Yingluo’s plate.

He had thought he had already forgotten her. He had thought he no longer cared. Yet after merely seeing her once again, his mind was filled with nothing but her.

He shook his head forcefully, trying to drive her image out of his thoughts, and picked up Noble Consort Chun’s plate instead.

He chose to ignore her.

This continued day after day for several days. Inside Yanxi Palace, Ming Yu was helping Wei Yingluo remove her hair accessories. She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: “Yingluo, you go to Shoukang Palace every day, yet the Emperor keeps ignoring you completely…”

Wei Yingluo smiled: “How many days has it been?”

Ming Yu counted: “This… more than a month. Every single time you go, but the Emperor won’t say even half a word to you!”

Wei Yingluo gave an “oh” and said: “More than a month? Then tomorrow I won’t go.”

Ming Yu: “Why not?”

Yingluo pretended to cough lightly a couple of times: “I’ve caught a chill and have a sore throat. I can’t tell stories like this. I’ll ask the Empress Dowager for a leave of absence first.”

Though puzzled, Ming Yu believed Wei Yingluo never acted without reason, so she did as instructed.

Thus, the next night, Hongli stared at the tray for a long time but couldn’t find Wei Yingluo’s plate.

Li Yu was skilled at reading expressions. Seeing the Emperor frowning and unable to pick a single plate while refusing to let him leave, he roughly guessed whose absence mattered. Putting on a wide smile, he said: “Noble Lady Wei submitted her plate today, saying she is unwell.”

“Unwell?” Hongli was momentarily stunned, then said with a straight face, “Did I ask about her?”

Li Yu lightly slapped his own mouth: “This servant spoke out of turn!”

Hongli scoffed with a sneer and continued reading his book. But the words on the page turned into tiny buzzing mosquitoes swarming in his mind. After a moment, growing more and more irritated, he slammed the book face-down on the table, stood up with a cold expression, and said: “I’m going out for a walk.”

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   Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 119: Yanxi Palace

   After the release-of-life banquet ended, the noble ladies gradually returned to their palaces.

“Your ladyship, last night His Majesty summoned Wei Yingluo to serve in the bedchamber.” On the way back to the palace, Zhener reported the news she had just gathered to the Step Empress. “That woman really is restless!”

Noble Consort Xian… that is, the current Step Empress, curved her lips into a smile. “Isn’t that quite interesting?”

She shifted into a more comfortable leaning position. The sedan curtain was lifted by a gust of wind, revealing several palace maids passing by her sedan, each holding a jade tray. On the trays were fresh lychees, plump and perfect, still glistening with a few drops of dew.

Noble Consort Chun loved lychees the most. Because of the heat, she insisted on lychees washed with spring water. These lychees were already impressive, but the spring water used to wash them had been specially fetched at full gallop from the palace’s own spring — a whole group of people working themselves to exhaustion just so she could eat one chilled fruit.

This display, this level of imperial favor, faintly reminded people of the Noble Consort Hui of years past…

“Noble Consort Chun has been prideful for too long,” the Empress said lightly. “It’s about time she had an opponent, don’t you think?”

Zhener was taken aback for a moment before venturing a guess: “Does Your Ladyship mean… to support Wei Yingluo and use her to deal with Noble Consort Chun?”

“I have no spare time to prop anyone up,” the Empress replied with a faint smile. “Whether she can win the Emperor’s favor and suppress Noble Consort Chun depends entirely on her own ability.”

Zhener glanced around cautiously, then lowered her voice: “No one else will do? It has to be her? Aren’t you worried that once she learns the truth…”

“What is there to worry about?” The Empress laughed softly. “From beginning to end, my hands have remained perfectly clean. If anyone should be afraid right now, it’s Noble Consort Chun!”

Zhener thought it over carefully and realized it was indeed the case.

   It was Noble Consort Chun who bribed the chief steward of the Fire Department.

   It was Noble Consort Chun who orchestrated the tragedy at Changchun Palace.

   And even afterward, when she tried to silence witnesses by killing Ming Yu and Wei Yingluo to cover her tracks—it was still Noble Consort Chun.

   What did any of it have to do with the Empress? Throughout the entire affair, the Empress had merely offered Noble Consort Chun a few subtle hints at the critical moments…

   “Your Ladyship is truly wise,” Zhener said with a relieved smile once she understood. “Then where should we arrange for Wei Yingluo to be placed? In my humble opinion, why not simply put her in Zhongcui Palace? That would surely make things very lively!”

“You,” the Empress chided with amusement, “how can you be so deliberately obvious!” She pondered for a moment, then opened her eyes with a smile. “Let her go to Yanxi Palace.”

Yanxi Palace.

   Wei Yingluo looked around at the new residence where she would soon be living.

It appeared to have been uninhabited for a very long time. The palace hall was dilapidated: the red lacquer on the pillars had peeled away, thick cobwebs hung in the corners, and fine dust filled the air, making Ming Yu cough repeatedly.

“Noble Lady Wei,” Wu Shulai said, “this is Yanxi Palace. From now on, this will be your residence.”

“Chief Steward Wu, thank you,” Wei Yingluo replied, showing no trace of dissatisfaction on her face. She called out, “Ming Yu.”

Ming Yu reluctantly produced a red envelope and handed it over. Wu Shulai smiled and tried to decline: “Noble Lady Wei is too courteous.”

Wei Yingluo insisted: “This is proper etiquette. Chief Steward Wu need not refuse.”

Only then did Wu Shulai accept the red envelope. “In the future, if Noble Lady has any instructions, just call for this servant. I will do my utmost to assist.”

Wei Yingluo: “Thank you.”

After seeing Wu Shulai off, Ming Yu closed the door and said worriedly, “I’ve inquired about it. Among the six eastern and six western palaces, Yanxi Palace is the most remote and isolated—practically a cold palace. What are we going to do?”

Wei Yingluo gave an indifferent smile, brushed the dust off a chair, and sat down. “Don’t be impatient. Just endure for now.”

She knew her own situation clearly. Entering the palace this time through irregular means meant she was destined to suffer at the beginning. She simply didn’t know what other hardships Hongli still had in store for her beyond this rundown palace.

Less than half an hour later, Wu Shulai returned, bringing with him a group of palace maids.

Every single one of them was a familiar face.

Zhenzhu, Hupo, and the other former servants of Changchun Palace all knelt and greeted her in unison: “This servant pays respects to Noble Lady.”

“Rise,” Wei Yingluo said.

The moment she finished speaking, the group quickly stood up. Amber stepped forward with a cheerful giggle: “It’s been so long, Yingluo…”

Wei Yingluo was momentarily stunned. Before she could respond, Ming Yu beside her reacted first: “Hupo, who gave you permission to address the Noble Lady that way? Can’t you distinguish between high and low?”

Amber pouted. “We used to serve Her Majesty the Empress together. Has Noble Lady really forgotten all of us?”

Wei Yingluo’s expression darkened.

Privately, of course, they could be casual and informal with her, reminiscing together about the days in Changchun Palace. The problem was that Wu Shulai had not yet left; he was still watching with great interest from the side. How could they, at such a moment, keep calling her “Yingluo” one after another, as if she were not their master but merely a servant of roughly the same status as themselves?

In the palace, hierarchy and respect for superiors were taken most seriously. If word of this got out, no one would think she was kindly and approachable toward her servants. Instead, they would say she still had the servile nature of old, with not the slightest trace of a mistress’s dignity—she was an utterly hopeless “Ah Dou” who could not be propped up.

Over time, who would still regard her with proper respect? How could she possibly hold her ground in the rear palace?

But losing her temper with them right then and there was not a good option either, so she could only give a faint smile: “Ming Yu, I’m tired. I’ll go inside to rest first.”

This was not entirely an excuse. After traveling dusty roads and moving from the Yuanmingyuan into Yanxi Palace, she really was exhausted. It was time to conserve her energy and then figure out how to deal with them properly.

Ming Yu, however, did not have that kind of patience. After seeing Wu Shulai off, she immediately turned her anger on Hupo and the others: “Hupo, what was that just now?”

“Ming Yu, what’s wrong with you?” Hupo asked, feigning innocence. “After the late Empress passed away, the few of us were scattered in different places. Now that we’ve finally managed to reunite, aren’t you happy?”

“Happy?” Ming Yu almost wanted to spit in her face. “This is Yanxi Palace. Noble Lady Wei is now our master. You openly called her by name in front of everyone—that is blatant insubordination. The fact that she didn’t severely punish you was already showing extraordinary mercy, yet you still refuse to repent!”

“How would she dare?” Hupo replied with a charming smile, sounding almost smug and fearless. “Noble Lady Wei has only just entered the palace. Naturally she has to build a reputation for benevolence and virtue. If she openly punished former colleagues from Changchun Palace, people would only say she forgets her roots.”

Hearing this, Ming Yu nearly exploded with rage, feeling as though her soul was about to leave her body: “Hupo, don’t go too far!”

A group of palace maids leaned together, giggling and watching her with amusement. Clearly they had already formed a tight little clique, united in their scheme to manipulate Wei Yingluo.

The phenomenon of strong servants oppressing a weak master was not at all rare in the palace.

Some masters who had neither powerful birth nor any backing often lived worse than the servants around them. Every bolt of fabric or monthly stipend issued to them would be entirely skimmed off by the servants at their side. The most miserable ones couldn’t even get a hot meal and had to eat the cold leftovers their servants had discarded.

Ming Yu didn’t know whether Hupo had similar intentions, but she saw Hupo’s eyes flicker. Suddenly Hupo smiled at her with exaggerated warmth: “Ming Yu, you have far more seniority than Wei Yingluo, and you’re much prettier. Isn’t it a pity to be nothing but her yes-woman? She can become a Noble Lady—why can’t you?”

This cheap wench! She was actually trying to drive a wedge and pull her into their little gang too!

   Ming Yu trembled with fury and said coldly: “Hupo, you know Noble Lady Wei’s temperament better than I do. I advise you not to stir up trouble. Otherwise, no one will be able to save you!”

Hupo’s smile froze. It seemed she had suddenly remembered the ruthless methods Wei Yingluo had employed back in the day.

Ginger only gets spicier with age; ruthlessness only grows sharper.

   In the end Hupo no longer sounded so confident. She only dared mutter a few words under her breath: “The Emperor sent her to Yanxi Palace, the most remote and desolate hall in the whole complex. Ten years could pass without His Majesty ever setting foot here. What is there to be afraid of in a person like that…”

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