Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 87: Visiting the Sick [Part 2]

   Seeing the person who had burst into the inner courtyard of Changchun Palace, Ming Yu hurriedly curtsied:

“This servant respectfully greets Your Majesty and wishes you well!”

Hongli did not pause in his steps:

“No need to follow. I wish to be alone with the Empress for a while.”

Ming Yu was shocked:

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

Li Yu closed the door of the sleeping chamber behind Hongli while grumbling:

“What’s with all the shouting?”

Ming Yu anxiously looked toward the inner chamber. Shouting? Of course she was shouting—because tonight was her night on duty, and she had just let a certain someone inside…

Inside the sleeping hall, Wei Yingluo was gently moving the Empress’s wrists and joints while speaking to her:

“Empress Niangniang, Physician Ye said you cannot remain lying like this forever—it will affect your future ability to walk and recover. Niangniang, Wei Yingluo misses you so much. I want to hear your voice—even if it’s to scold me, anything is fine. Please open your eyes, all right?”

The Empress lay peacefully, showing no sign of waking. Wei Yingluo’s heart ached with sorrow. Just then, she suddenly heard footsteps.

Hongli strode hurriedly into the sleeping chamber. The hall was empty save for the Empress lying on the bed.

Strange—he must have misheard. He had clearly heard voices inside and thought the Empress had awakened…

False hope. Hongli let out a soft sigh, slowly sat down beside the Empress, gazed at her quietly for a moment, and took her hand:

“Empress, I want to talk to someone, but in this vast Forbidden City, I can’t find a single person willing to listen to me. If only you were awake right now—how wonderful that would be.”

The Empress’s expression remained serene and gentle. Hongli sighed again:

“So many things have happened in the palace lately. Noble Consort Hui has passed away. She entered Prince Bao’s household at fourteen and accompanied me for twelve years. I know she longed desperately for care and love, but all I could give her was the title of Imperial Noble Consort. Her departure saddens me deeply, but if I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same choice.”

The Empress’s eyelashes trembled ever so slightly, as though she were on the verge of waking.

Hongli said in pleasant surprise: “Empress! Empress, you can hear me speaking, can’t you?”

After a long pause with no further response from the Empress, Hongli’s voice filled with disappointment: “Empress, even you think I’m cold-blooded and heartless, don’t you? I treated you poorly… and I treated Noble Consort poorly as well…”

As he spoke, Hongli suddenly noticed the bed curtain tremble slightly. He abruptly fell silent. A moment later, he continued as if nothing had happened: “Empress, I still have matters to attend to. I’ll come keep you company and talk tomorrow.”

Hongli stood up and turned to leave.

Wei Yingluo, covering her mouth, remained crouched under the bed. Even after the footsteps faded, she stayed frozen in place—until Ming Yu’s voice came from outside: “You can come out now.”

Only then did Wei Yingluo crawl out from under the bed. “Has that annoying ghost finally left?”

She froze.

Standing at the edge of the bed were two people: one was Ming Yu, looking extremely awkward, and the other was Hongli, his face dark with anger. He looked down at her from above and said coldly, “What do you think?”

Wei Yingluo shot a fierce glare at Ming Yu. Ming Yu mouthed silently: “I was forced!”

Hongli: “Get out!”

Wei Yingluo and Ming Yu both started walking out together. Halfway there, Hongli’s furious voice rang out behind her: “Wei Yingluo—you stay!”

Wei Yingluo had no choice but to stop.

Once Ming Yu had left, Hongli asked coldly: “Why were you hiding here?”

Wei Yingluo: “This servant came to visit the Empress Niangniang. When I heard footsteps, in a moment of panic I hid under the bed.”

Hongli: “Who gave you permission to sneak in here!”

Wei Yingluo said in a low voice: “Your Majesty, this servant missed the Empress Niangniang!”

Hongli was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected such directness from her. In the end he only scoffed with icy disdain: “You should indeed feel gratitude toward the Empress—and even deeper fear. Without her protection, I could have you killed at any moment!”

Wei Yingluo started in alarm, then suddenly cried out: “Your Majesty! The Empress Niangniang’s hand moved!”

Hongli’s face lit up with joy. He hurried forward: “Empress! Empress—”

He called for a long time, but the Empress remained exactly as before—not so much as a twitch of her hand, not even an eyebrow moved. Suddenly Hongli turned around—only to find the space behind him empty. Wei Yingluo had vanished without a trace!

“That little slippery rascal!” Hongli shouted in fury, but then couldn’t help shaking his head and chuckling helplessly.

After spending a little more time with the Empress, Hongli left the bedchamber. Ming Yu was already kneeling outside, full of anxiety: “Your Majesty, this servant will never again let Wei Yingluo in!”

Hongli said coldly: “Where is she?”

Ming Yu hesitated, opening and closing her mouth.

Hongli: “Do I need to ask again?”

Ming Yu stammered: “In… in the rear courtyard.”

In the rear courtyard of Changchun Palace, Wei Yingluo came out carrying a bowl of medicinal tea. She ran straight into Hongli and inwardly cursed—Ming Yu had sold her out again. She quickly dropped to her knees: “Your Majesty, this servant is guilty.”

Hongli casually sat down to one side: “What are you holding?”

Wei Yingluo: “It’s the prescription from Physician Ye. This servant wanted to do something for the Empress Niangniang, so I asked for this errand.”

Hongli smiled slightly. “You are truly loyal and devoted to the Empress!”

Wei Yingluo: “Your Majesty, the Empress also has a sincere heart toward you!”

Hongli: “In the end, what real difference is there between the women of the inner palace?”

Wei Yingluo: “Your Majesty, the Empress is different!”

Hongli: “I know—the Empress wants true affection. But why doesn’t she consider that the body of the sovereign is entrusted with the lives of millions upon millions of subjects? The ruler of all under Heaven—how could he possibly have the leisure for sentimental love affairs?”

Wei Yingluo: “Is Your Majesty saying that the consorts and concubines are shortsighted, that they fail to understand and show consideration?”

Hongli: “Am I wrong? Right now floods rage unchecked, countless refugees wander homeless. I have poured the strength of the entire nation into controlling the rivers, yet those river officials layer one false report upon another, lining their own pockets! The refugees outside the city are merely the tiniest fraction of the total! My heart burns with anxiety; I cannot sleep day or night. And what is the inner palace doing in the meantime?”

Wei Yingluo: “Your Majesty, from the moment a girl is born, she is confined to a single patch of sky. Even after marriage, she merely exchanges one cage for another. They are pampered orioles and mynas raised in luxury—how could they possibly have the broad vision and soaring freedom of an eagle sweeping across the four seas? Don’t forget: it is the men of the world who forged these cages with such painstaking care!”

Hongli said coldly: “Insolent!”

Wei Yingluo: “This servant has spoken out of turn. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”

Hongli was about to lose his temper, but he held it back. “I must be confused to discuss such things with an ignorant palace maid like you!”

Hongli turned to leave.

Wei Yingluo: “Silently listen to the distant palace water-clock tolling long; in quiet retreat, for a moment set aside the myriad affairs of state. Though no poem delights in this clear scene, happily the plum branches send their cold fragrance.”

Hongli spun around sharply. “You can recite my poetry?”

Wei Yingluo: “After the Empress finished teaching me the Four Books and Five Classics, she began teaching Your Majesty’s poems and writings. I kept protesting, but the Empress insisted on teaching them anyway! She told me that since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have governed with generosity and leniency: abolishing land reclamation taxes, halting miscellaneous levies, emphasizing agriculture and sericulture, redressing miscarriages of justice, and rescuing the people from flood and fire. Therefore, she says, you are a good emperor!”

Hongli: “The Empress really said that?”

Wei Yingluo nodded.

Hongli: “I want to be a wise ruler, but reality keeps telling me how difficult it truly is. This empire is like a great ship. I want to steer it well, yet I am repeatedly frustrated and veer off course.”

Wei Yingluo: “There was once a folk song in Wu: ‘Qianlong treasures, increase longevity; Qianlong coins, ten thousand years.’ I know the country is vast and affairs are many, but if Your Majesty handles them one by one—even if the results are not perfect—you will always be able to hold your head high with no shame before Heaven!”

Hongli gazed at her steadily, as though astonished and shaken. “No shame before Heaven… I will remember those four words!”

Seeing Hongli’s expression soften, Wei Yingluo quickly added: “Actually, the Empress can recite all of Your Majesty’s poems and writings backward from memory!”

Hongli: “Why?”

Wei Yingluo: “Not because Your Majesty’s talent is extraordinary, but because the Empress wants to understand Your Majesty’s thoughts and feelings. If Your Majesty would only share all your difficulties with the Empress, how could there be no kindred spirit in all the world?”

Hongli laughed despite himself. “You went to such great lengths just to speak up for the Empress—she certainly hasn’t favored you in vain! No—say that again!”

Wei Yingluo: “If Your Majesty would confide your troubles to the Empress, how could there be no one who truly understands you?”

Hongli: “Not that part! You said you kept protesting, and then said it wasn’t because of my poetic talent—what exactly did you mean?”

Wei Yingluo froze.

Hongli: “Wei Yingluo, you dare to look down on me—”

Wei Yingluo cried out urgently: “The Empress is still waiting! This servant begs leave first!”

Wei Yingluo hurried away. Hongli watched her retreating figure, pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile.

“Set off, return to the palace!”

After leaving Changchun Palace, the imperial palanquin carried Hongli back to Yangxin Hall.

The palanquin swayed gently for a moment before Hongli suddenly opened his eyes. “Li Yu.”

Li Yu: “This servant is here!”

Hongli hesitated for a moment. “Have I… been too harsh toward Wei Yingluo?”

Only now you realize? Li Yu rolled his eyes inwardly, but aloud he said, “Thunder and gentle rain are both the grace of the sovereign. No matter how you treat her, she must endure it.”

His flattery missed the mark. Hongli shook his head and said, “Thinking it over carefully, I have indeed been somewhat harsh toward Wei Yingluo. The Empress was right—she does have her redeeming qualities.”

Li Yu was stunned. “Your Majesty, this… are you planning to pardon her?”

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