Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 193: No Longer as Before

Fuheng could only say: “Your Majesty, this servant believes Fourth Prince is telling the truth. He did indeed sabotage Fifth Prince’s old blunderbuss, but he never touched the new one borrowed from the Green Standard Army. Perhaps Fifth Prince’s injury truly was an accident.”

“No cause, no effect. Yongcheng may not have intended to kill, but he is narrow-minded, vicious in his methods, and has become a sharp weapon in someone else’s hand.” Hongli scoffed with icy disdain. “With one move, this schemer has ruined two of my sons. What skill, what scheming!”

How could a living, breathing person like Jinzhong simply vanish without reason? This was the biggest flaw, and it meant there had to be a mastermind behind it. Who was that person—Step-Empress, or someone else? Hongli naturally grew suspicious. He suspected Step-Empress, and he suspected everyone.

After returning from Yangxin Hall, Step-Empress began claiming illness and refused to appear in public.

Others assumed she was temporarily lying low to avoid the storm because of the matter concerning Fourth Prince. In reality, she was genuinely suffering from headaches and fever, unable to rise from her bed.

“Wait.” Yuan Chunwang called out to stop a palace maid who was about to enter. “The Empress is in a bad mood. Dressed so plainly like that—are you trying to furrow Her Ladyship’s brow?”

The maid’s name was Yunxiang. Newly arrived in the palace and still in the bloom of youth, her face was delicate and lovely. She turned back to look at him and said timidly, “Then what should I do, sir?”

Yuan Chunwang glanced left and right. Outside the long corridor, peach blossoms blazed in full splendor. One branch stretched out horizontally toward them. He reached up, plucked a single peach blossom, and tucked it into her hair beside her temple. “The flower is blooming so vividly and beautifully. When Her Ladyship sees it, her illness will improve that much faster.”

His gaze was so focused, his voice so gentle—no one could tell whether he was praising the flower or the person.

Yunxiang’s face flushed with embarrassment. She looked around nervously for a moment, then whispered, “Be careful—don’t let Aunt Zhener see, or I’ll get scolded.”

Yuan Chunwang was so strikingly handsome, like ten li of peach blossoms in radiant bloom. Which palace maid didn’t secretly adore him? Zhener had remained single all these years because of him, turning into an unwanted old maid—and as a result, she watched him even more closely. Any maid who dared look at him too long would later be harshly reprimanded by Zhener.

Yunxiang carefully adjusted the peach blossom in her hair, then went inside to deliver the medicine.

Step-Empress lay there looking wan and haggard. She asked Zhener beside her: “When will His Majesty come?”

“Soon,” Zhener replied. “His Majesty has the grand morning court assembly today. Once he finishes his duties, he will certainly come to visit you.”

Step-Empress nodded. “Bring the mirror. I want to do my hair and makeup.”

Even Zhener was somewhat reluctant. In recent years, every time Step-Empress looked in the mirror, her mood would sour. Lately it had grown even worse—she would stare until she flew into a rage.

“Here…” Sure enough, Step-Empress touched her neck and said, “Haven’t many more wrinkles appeared?”

Before Zhener could answer, her hand moved upward along her neck to the corner of her eye.

“And here.” Her voice carried a trace of fear and panic. “Has another line appeared? Look quickly—look!”

Zhener hurriedly said, “Your Ladyship, no—truly, there isn’t!”

“You’re lying to me!” Step-Empress suddenly flew into a fury. “Even you are deceiving me now! It’s right there—look! Right here!”

Zhener sighed. “Your Ladyship, this is a sickness of the heart. Your face is clearly as beautiful as ever!”

Women of the rear palace, when well cared for, naturally aged more slowly than others. Step-Empress in particular was extremely attentive to such matters and took even greater care than the other consorts. Her face remained smooth and radiant; though there were wrinkles, they were few and faint—unless one looked very closely, they were invisible.

Just as Zhener had said, this was a sickness of the heart…

At that very moment, Yunxiang entered. “Your Ladyship, it is time for your medicine.”

The moment Step-Empress caught sight of the peach blossom blooming brightly in the girl’s hair, the corner of her eye twitched. Without thinking, she lashed out with a sharp slap, sending the girl sprawling to the floor. In an icy voice she said:

“Who are you putting on such a seductive display for?”

Her long, manicured nails raked a long bloody scratch across Yunxiang’s face. The girl wanted to cover it but didn’t dare; wanted to explain but didn’t dare—afraid that any explanation would only provoke Zhener’s jealousy. She could only kowtow and beg for mercy:

“Your Ladyship the Empress, this servant will never dare again—this servant will never dare again!”

The Step-Empress had originally intended to make her kneel longer and kowtow a few more times so she could vent some of her anger. But unexpectedly, Hongli walked in. He glanced at the shattered porcelain and the incense sticks on the floor, frowned, and said, “Empress, what did that servant do to anger you so?”

The Step-Empress hurriedly rose to curtsy, but he pressed her back onto the bed. “Aren’t you ill? Rest.”

If she were truly so gravely ill, where would she find the strength to lash out at the servants? Thinking of this, the Step-Empress felt even greater hatred toward Yunxiang. Not only had the girl painted herself with heavy makeup in an attempt to seduce Hongli, but she had also caused the Empress to be suspected by him. The more she looked at her, the more irritated she became. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed her, then took Hongli’s hand and said, “Your Majesty, don’t you understand why I have fallen so ill?”

Hongli remained silent.

“This is a sickness of the heart.” The Step-Empress pressed a hand to her chest and spoke in a mournful tone. “You may not say it aloud, but in your heart you suspect me—suspect that I plotted against the Fifth Prince and framed Yongcheng, don’t you?”

Hongli neither confirmed nor denied it.

Such an attitude only confirmed that suspicion lingered in his mind.

The Step-Empress’s face twisted with bitterness as she lamented, “From childhood to now, whenever Yongcheng had even the slightest headache or fever, was there ever a time I didn’t stay up all night by his side? Every time he recovered, I would fall ill myself. I poured so much care and effort into him, yet all I receive in return is resentment. I can only blame human hearts for being insatiable. I don’t care if others misunderstand me—but Your Majesty, you must believe me!”

Though she did not scream or wail, her sharp fingernails had already dug into Hongli’s flesh. Looking at the haggard woman before him, Hongli said, “Empress, you are seriously ill… Someone, summon the imperial physician!”

“I’m not ill!” The Step-Empress tried to cling to him, but he shook her off. As he stood to leave, he called out, “Li Yu, summon the imperial physicians for a joint consultation with the Empress—at once!”

Watching Hongli leave without so much as a backward glance, the Step-Empress’s expression gradually turned icy. She suddenly turned to Zhener and ordered, “Drag that lowly maid away and give her thirty lashes.”

Zhener was shocked. “Your Ladyship…”

The Step-Empress snapped harshly, “Palace maids are forbidden from wearing heavy makeup and competing in beauty. She broke the rules. If I do not punish her, who will obey the rules in the future?”

But deep down she knew perfectly well that “rules” were merely an excuse—she was simply taking out her anger on someone else.

Zhener understood this too, yet servants existed precisely to bear the burdens and relieve the frustrations of their masters. If a beating could ease the Step-Empress’s mood even a little, then so be it. She soon went out, gave the order, and had Yunxiang severely whipped thirty times before returning to report to the Step-Empress.

By then, however, the Step-Empress had already stopped thinking about the unfortunate girl. Leaning against the bed, she stared blankly into space for a long while before letting out a deep sigh. “In the end, His Majesty still refuses to believe me! Zhener, I may not have treated Yongcheng as well as Yongji, but my feelings toward him were utterly sincere. Why would he turn around and bite the hand that fed him… There’s something strange about all this. I need to think. I need to think carefully…”

She was truly exhausted. Days of relentless anxiety had made her headaches worse—especially at her temples, which throbbed painfully whenever she tried to think. So as she pondered, she gradually drifted off to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Perhaps because she had slept well the night before, her headache had eased considerably. While Zhener applied a face mask for her, she said, “Empress, this pig’s trotter gelatin has been simmered for a long time into a thick paste. Apply it evenly to the face every night, then wash it off with fermented rice water in the morning. The fine lines on your face will disappear—take a look.”

She handed over a mirror. The Step-Empress took it and examined herself. Before she could find any fault in her reflection, a burst of birdsong suddenly came from outside. Looking up, she saw Yuan Chunwang entering with a birdcage in hand. Inside was a vibrant emerald-green parrot, its feathers bright and glossy, its eyes lively and intelligent.

“Empress, Prince He has sent a parrot into the palace,” Yuan Chunwang said, offering the cage. “Look—isn’t it exactly the same as the one you had before?”

The Step-Empress reached out to take it, studied it for a moment, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her face. “Exactly the same. Good—my good fortune has returned!”

But the smile did not last long. Suddenly a eunuch rushed in from outside. “Empress! Yunxiang has thrown herself down a well and killed herself!”

The Step-Empress turned to him. “What did you say?”

The eunuch replied cautiously, “Chief Steward Li sent people to search for the whereabouts of the eunuch Jinzhong. They didn’t find Jinzhong, but beside the well in the Western Palace, they discovered a pair of embroidered shoes. So they had people dredge the well—and they pulled up the body of Yunxiang.”

He left one thing unsaid, and didn’t dare say it: Yunxiang’s corpse was covered in wounds, a horrifying sight, clearly having suffered extreme torture while still alive. As for who had inflicted that torture… the people standing around the well exchanged glances with one another, but no one spoke a word.

The Step-Empress’s chest heaved for a moment before she asked, “Does the Emperor already know?”

The eunuch: “…Yes.”

“Cheap whore!” In a sudden fury, the Step-Empress swung her hand and smashed the birdcage. It crashed to the ground; the parrot inside flapped wildly in panic, its shrill cries mingling with flying feathers that scattered from the broken cage.

What she had once regarded as a blessing now looked like nothing more than a mess of chicken feathers on the floor.

   “Ha, self-deception!” The Step-Empress laughed mockingly, half sneering. “A parrot that’s gone is gone. The one that comes back is never the same! Get out—all of you, get out!!”

Including Zhener, the whole group was driven out of the bedchamber. From inside came the continuous sound of things being smashed and thrown, spurring everyone to hurry their steps even more.

Yuan Chunwang walked at the very rear, his slender fingers still holding the birdcage. With leisurely grace, he reached in to tease the frightened parrot for a moment. Suddenly a hand reached out from behind and pulled him back.

He turned around and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

Zhener glared at him fiercely. “You’re still hiding things from me. How did Yunxiang really die?”

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