Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 40
by Little PandaVolume 2: Power Over Court and Country
The Deposed Empress 15
Covering The Heaven With One Hand
As expected, the rain continued until evening, showing no signs of stopping.
The sky outside was like spilled ink, making it impossible to see anything.
Since there was nothing to do anyway, Xin Lan decided to go to bed early.
Qu Zhi’an lit a lamp in the room and covered it with a lampshade.
Perhaps because it was autumn, the downpour brought only coldness without stuffiness. Xin Lan lay on the bed, watching Qu Zhi’an who was holding and reading a book.
Qu Zhi’an read intently, the candlelight’s silhouette cast upon her face, making her appear especially gentle.
“Yanyan, what are you reading?”
“A poetry collection.”
“Oh,” Xin Lan turned over, lying on her side facing Qu Zhi’an, “read it to me.”
“Alright.”
[The following is a famous Song Dynasty poem “Butterfly Loves Flowers” by Ouyang Xiu]:
“Flowers shed their crimson, small green apricots appear. When swallows fly, green waters encircle homes. Willow cotton blown from branches grows sparse, where in the world are there no fragrant grasses? Inside the wall a swing, outside the wall a path. Outside the wall passersby, inside the wall a beauty smiles. The smile gradually fades to silence, the passionate one is troubled by the indifferent one.”
Qu Zhi’an read each word carefully, and upon reaching the last line, felt an inexplicable melancholy.
She looked at Xin Lan lying on the bed, waiting for her response.
“Good poem. Another day we can read it to Qingqing,” Xin Lan replied after a moment of silence.
Qu Zhi’an knew who Qingqing was, after all, when Xin Lan didn’t have enough money to manage, the silver to redeem Qingqing was borrowed from Qu Zhi’an.
Qu Zhi’an also knew that Qingqing went to help at Xin Lan’s place.
“Is it to tell her ‘where in the world are there no fragrant grasses’?” [suggesting there are other opportunities in life]
Qu Zhi’an said with a smile, she didn’t know if Qingqing had gotten over the doctor from the medical hall, but from what Xin Lan said, she must still be alone.
“No, I want to tell her, ‘the passionate one is troubled by the indifferent one.’ She’s in love with that doctor, but the doctor only sees her as a passerby. A few days ago, he came out with his family and met Qingqing, and just politely greeted her.”
What’s most feared isn’t avoiding each other when meeting again, but rather the calmness, as if from beginning to end, it was just one person’s unrequited feelings.
In that poem “Butterfly Loves Flowers”, how would the beauty inside the door know there’s still a passerby outside? This is just self-mockery of one-sided love.
Of course, this was just Xin Lan’s own interpretation. She closed her eyes, letting Qu Zhi’an continue reading.
“Since ancient times, being passionate only leaves regret; good dreams have always been easy to wake from. How can picking flowers lead to liberation? Pitiful floating catkins scatter too freely. The fragrant nest newly forms a mandarin duck society, new sentences still write on the jade screen. Not yet separated but already heartbroken, tear stains fill the old blue clothes.”
After reading this poem, even Qu Zhi’an frowned.
“The opening lines of this poem are very good, but the latter part is rough.”
Xin Lan laughed lightly, wanting to ask why all the poems in this collection were so sad, but then thought there was no point in asking.
“‘Since ancient times, being passionate only leaves regret; good dreams have always been easy to wake from,’ then let’s continue sleeping and have another good dream.”
Xin Lan recited the first two lines playfully, turned over to lie flat, let out a sigh, and said in a lazy voice.
“Makes sense.”
Qu Zhi’an also laughed along. Originally feeling somewhat sad, but after Xin Lan’s words, she couldn’t maintain the sadness anymore.
That’s true indeed – if good dreams are easy to wake from, then just have another one.
Qu Zhi’an continued reading poems, her voice gentle, the poems she read were soft too. Xin Lan listened until she unconsciously fell asleep.
Seeing that Xin Lan seemed to be in deep sleep, Qu Zhi’an fell silent.
Originally she wasn’t sleepy at all, but seeing the person in the midst of a good dream, she too began feeling drowsy, wanting to sleep well in the blankets.
The next day the weather cleared up, everywhere in the mansion was wet, and there was standing water on the paths.
Xin Lan didn’t return to the palace, but had breakfast at Qu Zhi’an’s mansion.
Qu Zhi’an was now a high official [zhong chen], so her mansion should have had many servants, but she didn’t like having many people around. Moreover, her identity couldn’t be exposed, so she only hired a few servants to maintain the mansion’s operations. These servants were from her own family and absolutely knew what should and shouldn’t be said.
Qu Zhi’an didn’t originally intend to let her family know what she was doing, but when carrier pigeons brought letters from home asking if she was well and wanting to visit, she happened to be short on silver. When she withdrew money from the bank, the news reached her parents and elder brother, so the whole family came to check on her.
Regarding a woman dressing as a man and becoming an official, Qu Zhi’an’s mother almost fainted from shock, as this would be a capital offense [beheading] if discovered. However, Qu Zhi’an’s father wasn’t worried at all, instead patting her shoulder and saying she was promising.
Because he had once wanted to be an official himself, but wasn’t cut out for studying, and his son didn’t like studying either. Having a daughter who could bring honor to the family and ancestors made him overjoyed. He left Qu Zhi’an a large sum of money for expenses, told her to get more from the bank if needed, left a few family servants, and departed with the family.
After finishing breakfast and lunch, Xin Lan returned to the palace in the afternoon.
As soon as she returned, Sitong came up secretively to tell her some news.
“There’s such a thing?”
“Indeed there is. The servants from Noble Consort’s palace said it themselves. It’s so funny it could make one die laughing.”
Xin Lan also found it quite amusing. She had Ling Jiu watch a certain official last night, so hadn’t asked her to check on the emperor’s situation. Unexpectedly, in just one night such a big joke emerged.
The Noble Consort had fallen from grace, brought about by her own actions, and was now under house arrest in the Chaolian Palace [Morning Lotus Palace], awaiting the emperor’s judgment.
Compared to others, she was truly adorably stupid, and had unknowingly helped Xin Lan.
Because a group of palace candidates had entered the palace, the Noble Consort felt threatened.
Although she was still young, not even twenty, compared to those inexperienced fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls, she wasn’t fresh enough. The emperor spent nights at the newcomers’ or Consort Xi’s places, rarely visiting her palace, making her extremely anxious.
She couldn’t understand why Consort Xi could keep the emperor’s attention, so she sent maids to investigate.
The investigation actually revealed something – it turned out Consort Xi had secretly used that kind of thing [euphemism for aphrodisiac].
The Noble Consort had a personality that couldn’t stand losing, and was very impatient. After hearing about this method, she immediately had someone procure the medicine.
The emperor only visited her palace once or twice a month, very different from before. Wanting to keep him, she gritted her teeth and used a large dose. The emperor nearly died on top of her.
This wasn’t a figure of speech, but a statement of fact.
The emperor ended up rolling his eyes back, almost dying, and the Noble Consort hurriedly called for the imperial physician.
The emperor already had some trauma there, and this time the injury was severe. It would probably take proper care to recover. The emperor not only left immediately in anger but also put the Noble Consort under house arrest, awaiting his punishment.
This was a serious crime, and truly disgraceful.
The emperor still had no offspring, and there were many women hoping to receive his favor. Hearing that the emperor was injured in his vital essence, they were furious, jointly cursing the Noble Consort. Many who had just begun to gain favor lost their chances [literally: sprouting signs], and were crying in their own palaces.
After hearing Sitong’s vivid description, Xin Lan almost cried from laughter.
It seemed this emperor wasn’t completely useless, at least he could provide her with some amusement at this time.
Because this matter wasn’t very private, within a few days, everyone knew the emperor had become kidney deficient from the Noble Consort’s tiger-wolf medicine [powerful aphrodisiac], and had to see the imperial physician.
This involved not just a man’s face, but the emperor’s face. No one dared mention this matter before the emperor or express joy, since the emperor still wore a cold expression. Who among the subordinates would dare laugh? But what people thought in their hearts, the emperor couldn’t control.
Wu Yanqing went back and flew into a great rage over this matter. He had already been worried about the matter of offspring, and now these women in the back palace were causing him trouble.
He felt Qu Zhi’an must also know about this matter. During morning court and in the imperial study, he felt too embarrassed to look at Qu Zhi’an, fearing Qu Zhi’an would look at him with mocking eyes.
However, when he did meet Qu Zhi’an’s eyes, there was no mockery in them, only comfort, like a cool breeze soothing the wounds in Wu Yanqing’s heart.
Moreover, Qu Zhi’an had always been extremely respectful toward him, which helped repair his damaged self-esteem.
Wu Yanqing was deeply moved. He planned that once things settled down and he had power firmly in his grasp, he would marry Qu Zhi’an as his empress, making her the most noble woman in the world.
How could Qu Zhi’an not mock him? Upon hearing this news, she laughed until her cheeks hurt, even had to massage them for a while, and had the cook make something delicious to celebrate. In her heart, she praised the Noble Consort for doing something that made people happy.
But appearances had to be maintained. Before Wu Yanqing, Qu Zhi’an was that considerate official, always supporting him before the saddle and after the horse [serving diligently], respectfully obedient, though actually changing face [showing true colors] as soon as leaving the palace.
The results of her actions were very impressive. Wu Yanqing had been numbed by her. Actually, many power bases were in Qu Zhi’an’s hands, not Wu Yanqing’s, but Wu Yanqing believed that having them in Qu Zhi’an’s hands was the same as having them in his own. He even wanted to promote Qu Zhi’an’s rank and title.
In court, the conflict between Qu Zhi’an and the Left Prime Minister had reached a white-hot [extremely intense] stage.
Wu Yanqing told Qu Zhi’an he was planning an assassination.
Of course, the assassination would be fake, but the frame-up would be real.
Qu Zhi’an verbally praised the emperor’s wisdom, then turned around and told Xin Lan about this matter.
This frame-up certainly wouldn’t be against Xin Lan, but against the Left Prime Minister.
Xin Lan had been waiting for the emperor’s final excuse, thinking he would frame the Left Prime Minister for showing favoritism or taking bribes, but unexpectedly it turned out like this.
However, this was also the most convenient method – having someone assassinate himself (Wu Yanqing), then pretending to be injured, catching the so-called assassin, who under torture would say they were sent by the Left Prime Minister. Then throw them in prison, investigate for ten to fifteen days without yielding, and the Left Prime Minister’s downfall would be certain.
“Yanyan, tell me, if my father is removed, who will be the new Left Prime Minister?”
Qu Zhi’an pointed to herself, and Xin Lan clapped and laughed.
“Who else but you? I’m afraid Wu Yanqing doesn’t understand he’s presenting me an opportunity with both hands.”
Xin Lan laughed heartily. If Wu Yanqing wanted to fake an assassination, she would simply make it real.
Either way the Left Prime Minister would be removed. Whether the assassination was real or fake wouldn’t matter to the outside world, but for Wu Yanqing, it would matter greatly.
Xin Lan cracked her knuckles, she couldn’t wait to show her skills during the autumn hunt. How interesting would Wu Yanqing’s expression be when he discovered he was truly injured?
And she would let him know that what he would face and lose was far more than just that.
LP: Re-translated on January 02, 2025
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