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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