Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 116: The Release Banquet

Not long after, the Ten Thousand Years of Longevity celebration officially began.

At the Rear Lake of the Yuanmingyuan, the clear blue water was like a flawless piece of emerald. The reflections of mountains and sky shimmered upon its surface, resembling patterns embedded within the gem. Hongli stood in a small pavilion by the lakeside. With a wave of his hand, several eunuchs carried over two large iron cages filled with all kinds of birds—some preening their feathers, others singing loudly.

Hongli said, “Please, Empress Dowager, release them.”

The Empress Dowager smiled and stepped forward. She lightly brushed her hand over the iron cages and said one word: “Release.”

The eunuchs opened the cages. All the birds fluttered their wings at once and soared into the sky, momentarily blotting out the sun.

Everyone let out a collective sound of surprise.

The release ceremony happened every year, but unlike previous occasions, countless pairs of wings descended from above—the flock of liberated birds had turned back and were returning, landing once again inside the iron cages.

The consorts and concubines immediately began whispering among themselves.

“What’s wrong with these birds? Why did they all fly back for no reason?”

“In all the previous release ceremonies, nothing like this has ever happened!”

“How strange and bizarre.”

Several eunuchs stepped forward and shouted to drive them away, but after shouting for a long time, the birds refused to leave. Half of them circled around the cages in flight, while the other half actually crawled back inside.

The Empress Dowager, experienced and knowledgeable, was seeing such a peculiar sight for the first time. Supported by a palace maid’s arm, she walked closer and circled the birds in the cage several times. With curiosity, she asked, “Who is in charge of raising these birds?”

The crowd parted, and Wei Yingluo stepped out from within. She curtsied and said, “This humble servant pays respects to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress, and all the mistresses.”

The Empress Dowager: “Tell me, these birds were supposed to be set free to soar into the sky. Why did they suddenly turn back and refuse to leave?”

Wei Yingluo replied calmly and methodically: “On the day of the Empress Dowager’s birthday, the custom of releasing living creatures is observed. Heaven possesses a heart that cherishes life. Though animals are mere beasts, they too understand gratitude and repay kindness. The Empress Dowager’s compassionate heart has moved them; that is why the birds circle repeatedly, reluctant to depart. This must surely be Heaven’s reward for Your Ladyship’s benevolence, and an auspicious omen for your birthday celebration.”

The Empress Dowager burst out laughing with a “pfft,” and the others followed suit. Whether it was true or not, everyone loved hearing such auspicious and flattering words. Since the Empress Dowager was laughing, how could anyone else not join in?

Amid the wave of laughter, the sigh from Noble Consort Chun stood out particularly jarringly.

“Empress, you are merciful and forgiving toward everyone. Yet this palace maid, in order to win a reward, has fabricated an absurd excuse right before everyone’s eyes, deliberately making a fool of the Empress Dowager. This is nothing but sycophantic flattery.” Noble Consort Chun, supported by Yuhu’s arm, stepped forward and sighed. “If everyone in the palace imitates her, won’t it lead to utter chaos?”

Wei Yingluo turned to look at her: “This servant does not understand the Noble Consort’s meaning.”

“Empress Dowager.” Noble Consort Chun didn’t even glance at her, only smiled at the Empress Dowager. “Everyone says that trained birds will fly when told to fly and stop when told to stop—isn’t that the same principle as training horses? This palace maid must have secretly purchased a batch of carefully trained birds in advance, deliberately making them return after being released, all to please you and rush to claim her reward!”

Yuhu chimed in from the side: “Wei Yingluo, you have such audacity! You dared to falsely claim that the birds understand gratitude, deliberately deceiving the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Do you not know that this is the crime of deceiving the sovereign?!”

The Empress Dowager smiled without speaking—neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She merely cast a faint glance at Hongli, clearly leaving the decision to him.

Though they had not seen each other for years, it did not mean Hongli had forgotten Wei Yingluo. On the contrary, he recognized this damned palace maid at a single glance. The relationship between the two of them was peculiar: Hongli was usually a monarch who showed neither joy nor anger on his face, yet in front of her, for some reason, he was easily ignited… even without a spark, he would burn! His expression immediately darkened: “Drag Wei… drag this palace maid away!”

Wei Yingluo secretly shot him a glare, then quickly knelt down: “I beg the Empress Dowager to allow this servant to finish speaking!”

Two eunuchs had already stepped forward, one on each side, seizing her arms, but they made no further move—because the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke: “They all say you deliberately fooled me. How do you explain yourself?”

Wei Yingluo, still kneeling on the ground, slowly raised her head to look at her: “Empress Dowager, this servant has a way to prove my innocence.”

Noble Consort Chun smiled slightly: “Are you going to bring out more trained animals to release?”

Another consort spoke up—this time it was Naran Chuxue, who had formerly aligned herself with Noble Consort Hui: “Empress Dowager, please do not fall for her trick again. So many people being fooled by a mere palace maid—wouldn’t that be the greatest joke under Heaven? In my humble opinion, drag her out at once and give her eighty heavy strokes. Let’s see if she’ll tell the truth then!”

Wei Yingluo glanced at her. From the timing of her words and what she said, it was easy to guess that this one had likely switched allegiance to a new master—and that new master was none other than the seemingly otherworldly and ethereal Noble Consort Chun standing right there.

The other consorts either stayed aloof as the matter didn’t concern them, or gave face to Noble Consort Chun and joined in criticizing Wei Yingluo. Among so many people, only Lu Wanwan showed the slightest conscience and spoke up for her: “Empress Dowager, this palace maid only wanted to make you happy. This concubine boldly begs for leniency.”

Her temperament remained the same as back then. In those days, when she and Naran Chuxue had entered the palace together as selected maidens, they encountered an arrogant candidate bullying a newly arrived palace maid. Naran Chuxue had stood by and done nothing, while Lu Wanwan, unable to bear it, had stepped forward to say a word.

The outcome, too, was the same as back then: her disposition was weak, her status low, and the words she spoke sank without a trace, like a stone dropped into the sea.

Through the exchanges among the crowd, Wei Yingluo quietly took the pulse of the harem’s alliances. Only then did she speak: “This servant dares to ask one question: people often speak of training birds—but has anyone ever mentioned training fish?”

The crowd’s chatter paused. They looked at one another, and finally the Empress Dowager laughed: “I have lived so many years, and I have never heard of such a thing as training fish. Why do you ask?”

“There are many koi in the golden fish pond of the Yuanmingyuan. This servant boldly requests that the Empress Dowager use these koi to conduct a test.” Wei Yingluo said respectfully, “Let us see whether it is truly Heaven’s will, or whether this servant is lying.”

“Emperor.” The Empress Dowager was intrigued by her words and turned to Hongli. “This is the first time on my birthday that I’ve encountered such an amusing situation. I would like to try it. Let us see whether it is my benevolence that has moved Heaven, or whether this palace maid is deliberately deceiving me to obtain a reward.”

Hongli, however, did not immediately agree. He simply kept staring intently at Wei Yingluo.

“Wei Yingluo,” he suddenly called out. “Do you… truly have confidence?”

Earlier he had called her “this palace maid”; now he was addressing her as Wei Yingluo.

Wei Yingluo gave him a strange look. She found this man increasingly hard to understand. At times he seemed unusually resistant toward her, at other times worried about her—why such contradictions?

She shook her head inwardly, thinking she was still too young and simply didn’t understand the way men thought.

“Every word I has spoken is the truth. I would not dare deceive anyone.” Wei Yingluo bowed her head. “If there is even half a sentence of falsehood, I am willing to be thrown into the lake to feed the fish.”

She had nothing else to offer—she could only stake her own life.

From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Noble Consort Chun’s face and saw a flicker of eagerness. Wei Yingluo sneered coldly inside. She knew the consort wanted her dead, so she would no longer speak up to stop this.

But soon her peripheral vision shifted to Hongli’s face… Why did he look like that? Was he actually thinking of intervening?

“If Your Majesty truly wishes to test this, then treat it as a bit of amusement. However…” Noble Consort Chun thought it over and finally spoke. “However, the koi must not be chosen by her. Let me have someone select them instead. That way, it will be fair and just.”

Determined to take Wei Yingluo’s life, she personally selected a bucket of koi, which several eunuchs carried together back to the small pavilion.

The Empress Dowager walked to the edge of the wooden bucket, ran her hand along the rim as usual, and then said, “Release them!”

Splash after splash—thousands of koi poured over the rim into the lake, instantly dyeing the water in a riot of colors.

Everyone gathered at the lakeside, holding their breath, staring fixedly at the koi in the water.

Noble Consort Chun suddenly laughed. “They’ve all scattered.”

The koi swam off in every direction, and the multicolored lake gradually returned to its usual green-blue. Noble Consort Chun turned her head and said, “To think there are still people in this world bold enough to openly fool the Empress Dowager—not once, but twice! This is truly audacious and reckless. Your Majesty, such behavior must be severely punished. We cannot allow the practice of flattery to take root!”

Hongli furrowed his brows tightly and looked at Yingluo without saying a word.

Yingluo, however, kept her eyes fixed on the gradually calming ripples on the lake surface, completely focused and deaf to everything else.

Afraid Hongli might change his mind again, Noble Consort Chun quickly called out, “Come!”

Guards stepped forward and were about to take Wei Yingluo away when the Empress Dowager suddenly raised a finger from afar. “Wait… look.”

A rushing sound of water came closer and closer. From every direction, streaks of five-colored silk seemed to converge toward the small pavilion. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t silk at all—it was five-colored koi.

Amid the crowd’s gasps of astonishment, the koi suddenly aligned themselves neatly in a row and began repeatedly nodding their heads toward the pavilion, just like ministers kowtowing in gratitude to the Empress Dowager.

If the sight of a hundred birds paying homage was something unseen in a previous life, then a thousand fish bowing their heads was surely something one might never witness again in this lifetime.

Yingluo suddenly knelt down and proclaimed loudly, “On the day of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s Longevity Festival, the release of life has moved Heaven itself, causing birds to circle and fish to kowtow in this miraculous spectacle! This is Heaven’s reward for the Empress Dowager’s benevolent heart—a most auspicious omen on this day of longevity! The Empress Dowager is protected by Heaven and will surely enjoy immortal longevity and boundless blessings!”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to her and to the koi in the lake. No one noticed Hongli.

Hongli suddenly gave a subtle glance to Li Yu beside him. Understanding immediately, Li Yu signaled the nearby eunuchs and palace maids. In unison, the group knelt toward the Empress Dowager: “Auspicious signs descend from Heaven! Congratulations to the Empress Dowager! Felicitations to the Empress Dowager! Congratulations! Felicitations!”

In an instant, the garden was filled with cheers and congratulations.

The Empress Dowager couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter. “Good, good, good! On the day of my longevity celebration, Heaven sends down auspicious signs—proof that my years of devotion to Buddhism and accumulation of merit have not been in vain! You are a good child. What reward would you like?”

Wei Yingluo stammered for a long while before finally saying, “Empress Dowager, this servant greatly misses the Forbidden City… and wishes to return there…”

The Empress Dowager had assumed she would ask for something extraordinary after thinking for so long. Hearing it was such a small request, she was momentarily stunned. “Just… that?”

Wei Yingluo cautiously glanced at her: “By the Empress Dowager’s grace, which has moved Heaven itself, this humble servant is so bold as to request to go and serve you, Empress Dowager…”

Before she could finish, Hongli cut in decisively: “No!”

The Empress Dowager turned to Hongli: “This girl is clever and quick-witted. I like her very much and wish to have her serve here in Shoukang Palace. Why not?”

Hongli shot an angry glare at Wei Yingluo, suspecting she had cunningly devised a scheme to climb up by using the Empress Dowager: “Empress Dowager, this girl has a glib tongue and is extremely cunning.”

The Empress Dowager gave him a sidelong glance: “She’s coming to serve me, not you. Being eloquent and good at amusing people is exactly what I need—I find the days here far too dull!”

“I thank you; Empress Dowager for her grace…” Seeing that Wei Yingluo was about to kowtow in gratitude, Hongli felt a surge of anxiety.

Rather than letting this troublemaker stay by the Empress Dowager’s side, it would be better to keep her where he could watch her. Making up his mind in an instant, Hongli hurriedly spoke before she could: “Empress Dowager, it is not that I am unwilling, but… I intend to confer upon her the title of Attendant!”

The Empress Dowager: “Attendant?”

Hongli gritted his teeth: “Yes. She, Wei Yingluo, is merely a palace maid, a servant of the Internal Affairs Department by origin. To confer upon her the rank of Attendant is already an extraordinary elevation.”

The Empress Dowager looked at Hongli, then at Yingluo, and seemed to catch the undercurrent between them. Holding back a smile, she said: “This child went to such lengths during the Longevity Festival to please me—it came from true filial piety. In my opinion, conferring the title of Noble Lady would be just right!”

Before Hongli could speak, Yingluo had already kowtowed: “This servant thanks the Empress Dowager for her grace!”

Hongli ground his teeth as he watched Yingluo smoothly take advantage of the situation.

The Empress Dowager: “Noble Lady Wei, come here!”

Yingluo stepped forward. The Empress Dowager took her hand and, in one smooth motion, slipped the Buddhist prayer beads from her own wrist onto Yingluo’s: “You are a clever and capable child. In time, you will receive your blessings!”

Yingluo: “Yingluo ventures to make one more request.”

Hongli: “Wei Yingluo, don’t push your luck!”

Yingluo said nothing. Seeing her anxious and cautious expression, the Empress Dowager laughed softly: “No harm. Let her speak.”

Yingluo turned and bowed to Noble Consort Chun: “Your Ladyship Noble Consort, this servant and Ming Yu served together in Changchun Palace. Our bond is deep, and it is hard to part. I beg Your Ladyship Noble Consort’s kindness to allow Ming Yu to come and accompany me!”

Hongli, fearing she would make further demands, quickly spoke up: “She’s only a palace maid. If she wants her, give her to her!”

Though Noble Consort Chun was unwilling, with Hongli’s word spoken, she could only frown and say: “Very well.”

Yingluo smiled brightly: “This servant—no, this concubine thanks His Majesty for his grace.”

The celebration ended, and the crowd dispersed in high spirits. So many things had happened during the event that they would serve as gossip fodder for ten days or even months. Everyone hurried back to share the news with friends and family, and Yuanmingyuan quickly grew quiet and empty once more.

In the palace servants’ quarters, Ming Yu had already been reassigned as Wei Yingluo’s personal maid and naturally remained behind to help her pack.

“Yingluo,” she began hesitantly, “did you… do all this for me…”

Before she could finish, the door suddenly opened. A storm seemed to gather at the threshold as Yuan Chunwang stood there, his face dark and thunderous, like a raincloud sweeping into the room. He turned abruptly to Ming Yu: “Get out.”

Ming Yu glanced at Wei Yingluo. Wei Yingluo said, “Ming Yu, go outside for now.”

Looking from one to the other, Ming Yu set down the half-folded clothes in her hands, pushed open the door, stepped out, and gently closed it behind her.

The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Then Yuan Chunwang spoke, each word deliberate and accusatory: “Why?”

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