Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 114: A New Backer

Deep into the night, two eunuchs pried open the door and quietly slipped into Yingluo’s room.

On the bed was a human-shaped bulge, as though a woman were wrapped in the bedding, sleeping on her side.

One stood watch while the other approached the bed. After waiting a moment and seeing no movement beneath the covers, he drew a dagger and stabbed down hard.

The blade sank into the bedding, but the sensation felt extremely odd.

The eunuch froze, lifted the covers—and his expression instantly changed. “Something’s wrong!”

There was no person inside at all—just two pillows stuffed under the quilt!

“Help! Intruders!” The cry came suddenly. Realizing they had fallen into a trap, the two eunuchs turned to flee, but from outside the door erupted a loud shout: “Assassins! Catch the assassins!”

Palace maids and eunuchs sleep lightly. That sharp scream exploded like thunder from a clear sky, bursting open countless doors. Maids and eunuchs poured out in a rush. The fastest runners collided head-on with the two fleeing eunuchs.

“It’s them!” Wei Yingluo stepped out from behind Chief Steward Zhang and pointed at the pair. “Look! The murder weapon is still in their hands!”

The two eunuchs inwardly cursed their carelessness—why hadn’t they just left the dagger in the room? Why bring it out?

There was no way back now. At Chief Steward Zhang’s command to seize them, the two waved their daggers and tried to flee in different directions. But they were hopelessly outnumbered and were quickly subdued.

Looking at the two kneeling on the ground, Chief Steward Zhang said coldly, “Who are you? How dare you cause trouble in the Yuanmingyuan!”

Yuan Chunwang stepped up beside him. “Chief Steward Zhang, with His Majesty currently in residence, these two clearly came here to assassinate someone. They must have lost their way and wandered in by mistake.”

The crime of regicide—even the mere intention—was enough to exterminate nine generations of their clan. The two men looked at Yuan Chunwang in terror, unable to understand why this stranger, with whom they had no enmity, would strike such a vicious blow. They hurriedly protested, “No! We only wanted to steal things! We never intended to assassinate anyone!”

Yuan Chunwang scoffed with icy disdain. Though he didn’t even recognize these two men, since they had dared to lay a murderous hand on Wei Yingluo, they could not blame him for being ruthless. He immediately drove the nail deeper: “Stealing things? Then why carry daggers? Do you take us for fools?”

Hearing this, Chief Steward Zhang no longer hesitated. He coldly ordered, “These two wretches deserve to be sliced a thousand times—take them away!”

The next day.

   “I heard there was an assassin in your place last night?” Inside Changchun Immortal Pavilion, Hongli stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from Wei Yingluo as he spoke.

“Yes,” Wei Yingluo replied.

Hongli gave a soft “mm” and fell silent again, continuing to stare blankly at the memorial portrait of Empress Fucha.

The immortal hall had been built in the Empress’s honor, and the memorial statue was crafted in her likeness. The artisans of the Imperial Workshops were exceptionally skilled; the statue looked almost exactly like the living person. Gazing at it for too long, one could almost feel as though they had crossed into the netherworld, staring across the yellow springs at the Empress herself.

Hongli stared at it intently for a long time before lowering his gaze to the flowers and pastries on the offering table.

Hongli: “I remember, when the Empress was alive, she loved eating these pastries… Wait, why do the colors look so strange?”

Li Yu, fearing that the Emperor might think his servants had been negligent, hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, these are freshly made every day. Look, they’re still steaming hot!”

The more Hongli looked, the stranger it seemed. He casually picked up a piece of pastry, took a bite, and immediately spat it out, roaring in fury: “What is this?! Who made it!”

Changchun Pavilion had always been managed by Wei Yingluo. When Hongli arrived, she was attending nearby. The moment he asked, she naturally stepped forward: “In reply to Your Majesty, this servant made it.”

Hongli laughed in anger: “Wei Yingluo, is this supposed to be sticky rice cake or a lump of mud?!”

Yingluo: “In reply to Your Majesty, last night this servant dreamed of the Empress. For the first time in two years, my mistress appeared to me in a dream. She said she missed this dish of sticky rice cake! Unfortunately, the cooks in the Yuanmingyuan do not know Her Ladyship’s preferences, so this servant boldly took it upon herself to make it!”

Hongli: “You made it yourself, and this is the monstrous result?”

Yingluo looked aggrieved: “In the past, when the Empress wanted snacks, she always specified that Ming Yu should make them. This servant merely assisted. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”

Li Yu scolded: “Sly and glib!”

Yingluo’s eyes reddened: “Your Majesty, this servant only wanted to fulfill my mistress’s wish. Unfortunately, I am incompetent and have let Her Ladyship down!”

Hongli froze. After a moment, he suddenly turned and asked Li Yu: “That Ming Yu… where is she now?”

In the palace, transferring a single servant could be both easy and difficult depending on the circumstances. But with Hongli’s word, in less than half an hour, Ming Yu was brought to the small kitchen.

This was originally a place where Yuanmingyuan palace servants prepared meals; now it had been temporarily borrowed for this purpose. Li Yu pointed to the fully stocked ingredients inside and said: “Right here—make some proper pastries!”

As soon as he left, Wei Yingluo hurried forward, took Ming Yu’s hands, and asked with concern: “Ming Yu, I lied to the Emperor and said I needed to prepare a full set of offerings for the Empress in order to have you transferred here… Don’t waste time—quickly tell me where you’ve been injured.”

“I… I…” Ming Yu instinctively hugged her own elbow.

Wei Yingluo sensed something. She rushed over, lifted Ming Yu’s sleeve, and carefully examined her elbow. It still looked clean and smooth… No, wait! Suddenly Wei Yingluo squeezed hard. Amid Ming Yu’s pained cry, a needle as fine as an ox hair emerged from the elbow.

“How dare she do this!” Wei Yingluo gasped in shock. She grabbed Ming Yu and said, “Come, I’m taking you to see the Emperor right now!”

“No—no, you can’t!” Ming Yu hurriedly pulled her back, hesitating as though she had something she could not say.

She used to be so lively, like a chattering little bird, but now she was pale and silent, like a bird with a broken neck. Wei Yingluo’s heart ached with pity. She softened her voice: “At the very least, let me help you pull out all the needles in your body first. There must be more than one, right?”

“I secretly went to see a doctor. The doctor said he could only find eight. The rest have already entered my lungs and internal organs… Besides… if they’re removed today, new ones will appear tomorrow.” Ming Yu shook her head. After hesitating a moment longer, she finally made up her mind. She grasped Wei Yingluo’s hand and said very seriously, “Yingluo, I think I may have found the culprit who killed the Seventh Prince!”

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Wei Yingluo’s heart—her eyes immediately turned red.

The death of the Seventh Prince had directly led to the Empress’s suicide. This was the absolute reverse scale in her heart. Wei Yingluo gripped Ming Yu’s hand tightly: “What did you say? Explain clearly!”

“Fate works in mysterious ways. After the Empress passed away, I was assigned to the Zhongcui Palace. At first, Noble Consort Chun treated me fairly well—until one day, I unintentionally discovered that a certain steward named Wang Zhong, who had been on duty at the fire-heating post back then, was actually in a secret ‘pair-food’ relationship with Yuhu…” Ming Yu spoke with a grave expression.

As she slowly recounted the story, a long-buried truth gradually unfolded before Wei Yingluo.

To this day, the fire on New Year’s Eve remains an unsolved case.

All fourteen eunuchs involved were sentenced to strangulation by Hongli.

That was the official disposition on the surface, but many things remained unclear and unresolved. For example, the brazier clearly had a mesh cover—how could it still catch fire? Afterward, it was discovered that the brazier had been filled with highly flammable chrysanthemum charcoal. How could such dangerously flammable charcoal have been supplied to Changchun Palace?

The single most crucial point—eunuchs from the Fire-Watching Office were supposed to light black charcoal under the water vats at the first sign of ice forming, melting it promptly. So why, on the night of the fire, was the water in every single one of Jixiang’s vats frozen solid? There was no water to fight the flames, and Seventh Prince perished in the inferno.

Clearly, this was no simple accident. There had to be foul play behind it. The true culprit was cunning, and Hongli acted far too hastily—fourteen eunuchs sent away in one stroke amounted to silencing witnesses forever. No useful clues could ever be found again.

That is… until Ming Yu arrived at Zhongcui Palace.

“On the day Seventh Prince met with disaster, Wang Zhong was off duty that night and thus escaped the fate of the others.” Wei Yingluo finally remembered this person; her expression darkened. “I always wondered why his luck was so good. Everyone else died, yet not only did he survive, he even got promoted afterward…”

“I didn’t think too deeply about it at first. Eunuchs and palace maids forming ‘paired-food’ relationships is quite common in the palace—I just assumed it was ordinary.” Ming Yu shook her head. “But it was Yuhu herself who got guilty and immediately reported the matter to Noble Consort Chun. From that day on, they started treating me completely differently…”

In the palace, making someone disappear quietly through death is far easier than letting them live quietly.

Noble Consort Chun began finding every excuse to punish Ming Yu—first accusing her of having unclean hands, then saying the tea she brewed was too hot—petty faults, big and small. But they all led to the same punishment: Noble Consort Chun ordered needles to be driven into her body.

One after another, deeply piercing flesh, sinking into her lungs and vital organs.

Today they would pull one out; tomorrow they would drive in two more.

Sooner or later, the needles accumulating inside her would cause her to die silently and without trace.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Wei Yingluo’s heart shattered as she listened. “If you had told me earlier, I…”

“She didn’t kill me immediately because the Forbidden City is full of people and gossip. If I died suddenly, it would arouse suspicion.” Ming Yu gave a bitterly pained smile. “But once she decided to kill me, what difference does it make whether she kills one more or one less? Yingluo, how could I bear to drag you down with me…”

She paused, then closed her eyes weakly. “Besides… they have my parents and family in their grip. If I die alone, I can at least exchange for all of them living…”

Wei Yingluo had already watched helplessly as her sister—the Empress—died. That powerless agony tormented her day and night, like countless fine needles driven deep into her bone marrow. At first it was only a faint pain, but over time it accumulated until it could kill her.

She reached out and gently stroked Ming Yu’s cheek. Pale, yes—but still warm. Still alive. Not yet reduced to a cold, lifeless statue on display.

How could Wei Yingluo stand by and watch her die too?

Rather than avenging her after the fact, she would rather pay any price right now to keep her alive!

“Right now Noble Consort Chun is the most favored consort in the Forbidden City, the Emperor’s favorite. If we have no solid evidence and only our word against her, the only outcome will be both of us losing our lives.” Wei Yingluo spoke gravely. “Let me think… let me think of a way to deal with her…”

Ming Yu was shocked. She grabbed Wei Yingluo’s hand tightly. “You’re already bearing a crime—how dare you go against Noble Consort Chun? No, absolutely not! This isn’t like before. If you offend her now, you’ll be destroyed, body and bones… The Empress is gone. No one can protect you anymore—or me!”

Wei Yingluo was silent for a long time before she slowly said, “Yes… the Empress is gone. That’s why—for your sake, and for mine… we need a new backer. Someone who can firmly suppress Noble Consort Chun.”

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