Your Majesty is Poisonous – Chapter 126
by Little PandaThe Empress Dowager Refuses
Wan Bi held Yao Xi and talked with her for a bit longer when her stomach suddenly let out a loud croak. Those two pastries hadn’t satisfied her at all; she was hungry again.
Yao Xi thought she heard a frog. Looking around the main hall with an innocent smile, she said, “Did Your Highness hear that? It sounds like a frog from the back garden pond has hopped into the hall. It just let out a croak.”
Wan Bi shot Yao Xi a glare. Silly wench, you’re the frog! Your whole family are frogs!
“Go to Longyi’s place and tell Jieyu Lan about Yao Xian’s matter,” Wan Bi said. She was starving, so she’d decided to seize the opportunity of Yao Xi’s absence to have a proper meal. “Once you’re there, tell Jieyu Lan to restrain her grief. Tell her this bereaved one will still help her with the Yao family’s case, and urge her to think more of her parents who are about to return to the capital.”
So Her Highness is actually investigating the Yao family’s case? Yao Xi had assumed the Empress Dowager disliked Jieyu Lan. As it turned out, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law truly was a mercurial thing, shifting in the blink of an eye.
“Mhm, mhm.” Yao Xi nodded obediently. Then, with some hesitation, she asked, “In that case, can I tell Jieyu Lan that I’m actually a girl? I’m worried she’ll be too devastated to believe what I say.”
“Up to you. With this bereaved one here, no one will dare use this matter to make things difficult for you.” Wan Bi pushed Yao Xi out of her embrace and urged her along. “Stay there and comfort Jieyu Lan. There’s no need to rush back.”
Yao Xi wanted to ask Her Highness a few more things, but when she turned around, she found herself already ruthlessly pushed out by the Empress Dowager.
Feeling apprehensive, she made her way toward Princess Longyi’s place, mentally drafting her words along the way. She tried to think of how to explain everything to Jieyu Lan as tactfully as possible.
In truth, she wasn’t entirely certain whether Yao Xian was dead or alive; it was all merely speculation. Therefore, she only needed to tell Jieyu Lan that she wasn’t Young Master Yao. Rather than making Jieyu Lan believe her brother was dead, it would be far better to let her think he was simply missing.
Yao Xi thought about a great many things, but when she arrived at Princess Longyi’s palace, only the Eldest Princess was there. Her Highness was sitting before a stone table in the courtyard, painting a folding fan.
“Is Jieyu Lan not here?” Yao Xi sat down on a stone stool. She picked up a blank fan, opening and closing it restlessly.
Dismissing the palace maids waiting on her, Longyi smiled at Yao Xi and said, “You’ve come at a bad time. Your jiejie and Dali just left. Dali went to Qianqing Palace for an imperial audience, and your jiejie accompanied her to discuss matters with Eunuch Tang.”
“Oh.” Yao Xi actually let out a sigh of relief.
She suddenly found herself unsure of whether she could bring herself to confess everything in front of Jieyu Lan. She feared the Jieyu’s grief, and she feared her own sense of loss. Jieyu Lan was the only person who had loved and treated her like family since she’d transmigrated, even if that affection had been built on a lie from the very beginning. She truly wished she could have a jiejie like Jieyu Lan, rather than a gege like Sun Ergou whose conscience had been devoured by dogs.
“Do you have something on your mind?” Longyi paused her brush and looked up at Yao Xi.
“No, nothing at all.” Yao Xi was a bit distracted. “Please go on with your work, Your Highness. I’ll head back to serve Her Highness.”
“Sit for a while,” Longyi urged, trying to persuade her to stay. “They might be back in a moment. Dali is always complaining that since she entered the palace, she hasn’t even had a chance to say a word to you.”
“No, I’d better not. If I return too late, Her Highness will worry.” Yao Xi insisted on leaving. She suddenly realized she wasn’t yet ready to face Jieyu Lan.
This was truly the first time Wan Bi had wished Yao Xi would take her time returning.
She had ordered her meal and was sitting in the dining hall, being served by the palace maids waiting on her, when Yao Xi actually walked in.
So soon? Did she just take a quick turn around Longyi’s palace? It was already too late to order the servants to clear the dishes, and stopping Yao Xi from entering would only look stranger. Wan Bi decided to just let things slide. Once she’d cast off her psychological burden, her appetite actually became even better.
“Didn’t Your Highness just have your midday meal?” Failing to see the Empress Dowager in the main hall, Yao Xi had followed the sounds coming from the dining hall and turned the corner inside.
Wan Bi was temporarily at a loss for words. After a moment of thought, she braced herself and stubbornly retorted, “This bereaved one’s hungry again. Is that not allowed?”
Sun Yan was summoned to Qianqing Palace by an imperial decree from Emperor Ming Cheng.
She’d actually expected that her days staying in the palace wouldn’t be peaceful, and that the Emperor would surely pester her again. She just hadn’t anticipated it would be this frequent.
The Emperor had already summoned her once the previous night. Fearing he might harbor improper intentions, she’d dragged along her elder female cousin Longyi and Yao-jiejie to Qianqing Palace, staging a picture-perfect scene of family harmony.
Yet today, the Emperor wanted to see her again…
Sun Yan was annoyed, and she was angry.
She’d decided to employ a drastic measure to make the Emperor give up on her completely, which was why she hadn’t allowed Longyi to accompany her this time. Yao-jiejie had indeed come with her to Qianqing Palace, but while Sun Yan entered the hall to face the Emperor, Yao-jiejie went straight to Eunuch Tang’s courtyard. Conveniently, the Emperor didn’t require any attendants during her audience, allowing Yao-jiejie to seize the opportunity to ask Eunuch Tang about a few more matters.
“This commoner girl pays her respects to Your Majesty,” Sun Yan said, bowing with a cool expression.
Emperor Ming Cheng was delighted to see that Sun Yan had come alone. When he’d summoned her the night before, he’d wanted to speak with her in private and chat about the operas they’d watched during the day. Instead, Sun Yan had brought Longyi and Jieyu Lan along. Longyi was easy enough to handle, but the key issue was Jieyu Lan; in her presence, he always felt a lingering sense of guilt, which made him incredibly stiff and formal.
“Sit, quickly,” Emperor Ming Cheng greeted her warmly, gesturing for Sun Yan to sit opposite him.
Without waiting for Emperor Ming Cheng to speak, Sun Yan sat down and asked, “I heard from my elder female cousin that Your Majesty truly intends to bring this commoner girl into the palace as a consort?”
“We know you’re currently unwilling,” Emperor Ming Cheng said. “That’s why We asked Longyi to keep you in the palace for a few more days, hoping to give you a chance to understand Us better…” He thought to himself that this wench Sun Yan was incredibly direct. He liked it!
“This commoner girl has a terrible temper and lacks manners,” Sun Yan said, offering Emperor Ming Cheng a sweet smile and batting her eyelashes cutely. “There are so many rules in the palace, and Your Majesty has such a grand temper. You hold the power over life and death. With a personality like mine, wouldn’t entering the palace be no different from seeking my own death?”
Emperor Ming Cheng’s heart nearly melted. This was the first time Sun Yan had ever shown him a warm countenance. “You saved Our life when you were a child, and you’re Longyi’s younger female cousin. We promise you right now: you don’t have to follow any of the palace rules, We’ll never lose Our temper with you, and We’ll never harm you in the slightest.”
“Then, can Your Majesty grant this commoner girl a Death-Exemption Gold Plaque1?” Sun Yan asked in a coquettish voice. “Otherwise, this girl won’t dare speak her true mind to Your Majesty, out of fear of offending her superior…”
“What’s so difficult about that!” Emperor Ming Cheng was overjoyed. He completely understood Sun Yan’s anxiety; serving a ruler was like keeping company with a tiger. By asking him for a Death-Exemption Gold Plaque, the wench was clearly indicating her intention to spend the rest of her life with him, only harboring some lingering concerns because she didn’t know him well yet.
Wasting no time, Emperor Ming Cheng quickly stood up and stepped out for a moment. When he returned, he held not only a gleaming, palm-sized Death-Exemption Gold Plaque, but also an edict written in his own imperial hand.
Sun Yan’s heart skipped a beat the instant she saw the edict. Yao-jiejie had been lured into the palace in just such a manner. Surely this damned Emperor wasn’t trying to use the same trick on her, was he? She asked uneasily, “Your Majesty, it’s fine if you’re giving me a Death-Exemption Gold Plaque, but what is this edict for?”
Emperor Ming Cheng smiled and said, “The Late Emperor once left behind an imperial edict to ensure the Empress Dowager remains unharmed. Today, We’re also drawing up an edict of Our own. While We’re alive, We’ll naturally protect you. Even if We’re no longer here, with Our handwritten edict, no one else will dare touch a single hair on your head.” Having said this, he solemnly placed the items into Sun Yan’s hands.
To be honest, for a fleeting moment, Sun Yan was actually a tiny bit touched.
But that feeling was short-lived. She slipped the gold plaque and the edict into her sleeve with a smile. The innocent, lovely expression she’d used to trick the Emperor out of the Death-Exemption Gold Plaque vanished completely, replaced by a wicked grin.
“Excellent! This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Since Your Majesty is so generous, this little woman won’t stand on ceremony. This commoner girl’s always had some thoughts she wanted to share with Your Majesty, but I was afraid you’d be angry…”
“Speak freely. We promise We absolutely won’t be angry.” The smile on Emperor Ming Cheng’s face never wavered. Sun Yan was finally willing to bare her heart to him; how wonderful.
“It’s like this—” Sun Yan sat demurely, quietly setting up a mental machine gun and aiming it straight at Emperor Ming Cheng. Ready! Aim! Fire at will! “The palace already has so many consorts and ladies. Does Your Majesty still think it’s not enough? Besides, you’re so much older than me. If you’d married early, wouldn’t your children be about my age by now? Why would a young, beautiful girl from a good family like me, who could find any young gentleman she wants outside, enter the palace to fight over a single man with so many other women? Not to mention that imperial consorts are rarely allowed to leave the palace. Once inside, it’s no different from being in prison…”
“Your Majesty, now tell me, what’s so good about you that warrants such a massive sacrifice from me?” Sun Yan’s expression turned dead serious. She truly couldn’t think of a single redeeming quality the Emperor possessed. She’d held in these words for a very long time, wanting to say them at the palace gates the day before, but she’d held them back then to preserve her life.
Ever since he’d been named Heir Apparent, Emperor Ming Cheng had never been shut down like this… and yet, why did it feel inexplicably satisfying?
But Sun Yan had truly left him stumped.
What did he have that was so good? There were plenty of men in this world who were far more handsome, far more learned, and far younger and stronger than he was. Aside from being born into the imperial family and by some fluke ascending the throne as Emperor, what did he have that could possibly make a girl sacrifice her freedom to devote her entire life to him?
The consorts in the palace all carried the expectations of their clans; in the end, none of them had entered the palace for his sake as a man. But Sun Yan didn’t need any of that. She was the younger female cousin of the Eldest Princess of Daxing, fully capable of spending the rest of her life free of any worries.
“We indeed have nothing particularly good about Us,” Emperor Ming Cheng said. “But We love you. In the past, We mistook Shuanglan for you, and We tried very hard to love her. But it was only when you appeared that We finally understood. Our feelings for her were gratitude, appreciation, and pity—but they were truly not love.”
He didn’t know how to explain that subtle sensation. When it came to affection, he’d been lacking it from childhood to adulthood. He had no fatherly love, no motherly love (the affection Wan Bi gave him was also just kinship), no one to treat him as a friend, and certainly no one who had ever loved him.
“Love me?” Sun Yan inhaled deeply in exasperation. Gathering her strength, she brought her palm slamming down, shattering the table between her and Emperor Ming Cheng into a pile of wood splinters. “What about now? Still love me?”
Emperor Ming Cheng was shocked into absolute silence by the bizarre scene before his eyes.
“Your Majesty, if I were to act a little cute, you might actually drop dead, did you know that?” Sun Yan brushed the wood dust from her palms with satisfaction. Surely the Emperor would be terrified now, wouldn’t he?
“Does your hand hurt?” Regaining his composure, Emperor Ming Cheng hastily fetched a jade ruyi2 and handed it to Sun Yan, his face filled with deep concern. “Quickly, cool your hand with this. Should We summon an Imperial Physician?”
“No need…” Sun Yan’s heart sank slightly. Most people she encountered were afraid of being hurt by her, but someone who was afraid of her getting hurt… Sun Yan stared blankly at Emperor Ming Cheng, her emotions suddenly becoming rather complicated.
Just as the atmosphere grew awkward, a little eunuch called out from beyond the doors, “Your Majesty, Commander Cao seeks an audience.”
“I’ll leave Your Majesty to your duties! This commoner girl takes her leave.” Sun Yan hastily stood up and walked out. It was only when she stepped outside the hall that she realized she was still clutching the jade ruyi Emperor Ming Cheng had given her. She wanted to return it, but Cao Yue of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already gone inside to report, leaving her with no choice but to let the matter rest.
“What’s the matter!” Emperor Ming Cheng glanced at Cao Yue, his tone worse than it had ever been. This fellow Cao Yue had to show up at this exact moment, of all times, just when the atmosphere between him and Sun Yan was turning favorable. Dammit!
“It’s about the case in Zhennan County…” Seeing that the Emperor was in a foul mood, Cao Yue finished his report with trepidation, wishing only to make a swift exit.
Suddenly, Emperor Ming Cheng called out, “Stop.”
“Does Your Majesty have further instructions?” Cao Yue bowed.
“Regarding the property confiscation of the Zhu family, We’ve already reviewed the ledger sent over by the Directorate of Ceremonial. Take it back to Zheng Dayun for Us. Tang Huaili’s fallen ill recently, so tell your Zheng Dayun to put more effort into the affairs of the Directorate of Ceremonial.” Emperor Ming Cheng handed the ledger to Cao Yue with a cold face.
“Your Majesty, this humble official and Zheng Dayun truly have nothing going on between us!” Cao Yue was completely unable to clear his name. Just because of that decree from the Empress Dowager, people congratulated him wherever he went, saying he and Zheng Dayun were a match made in heaven.
A match made in heaven, my ass!
Emperor Ming Cheng rolled his eyes at Cao Yue, looking like someone who understood everything perfectly. “We already know all about it. What’s so shameful about mutual affection? Just don’t fool around in the offices next time. If you must cause a scene, do it at home!”
Heavens above! Cao Yue truly wanted to die.
Footnotes
- A death-exemption gold plaque (免死金牌, miansijinpai) was an imperial token historically bestowed by Chinese emperors upon highly meritorious officials or favored subjects, granting them and sometimes their descendants immunity from capital punishment.
- A ruyi (如意, literally 'as one wishes') is a traditional curved, scepter-like Chinese decorative object that serves as a ceremonial symbol of power, peace, and good fortune.
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