Your Majesty is Poisonous – Chapter 21
by Little PandaVIP Chapter (3-in-1)
Emperor Ming Cheng had just returned from Concubine Kang’s palace. After going back from Ning’an Palace, he had spent a night in passionate battle and woken up a little late. He was gradually getting older; he couldn’t compare to how he was at twenty.
Much of the time, Emperor Ming Cheng felt quite helpless. Whether they were marquises, generals, ministers, or commoners, people would try a thousand and one ways to send their daughters into the palace for all sorts of reasons. There were truly more than enough women in the palace, so many that just thinking about it was exhausting.
Very few had ever actually served him. The vast majority he had never even met.
He wasn’t a man of debauchery and excess. He was so overwhelmed with state affairs that when he finally found a spare moment, he preferred to go to the Imperial Study to read. When he was in a foul mood, he would go to Ning’an Palace to chat with Wan Bi for a while. The times he actually wanted a woman to sleep with were not that frequent. Assigning ranks to the women who entered the palace wasn’t something he could do according to his own whims, either. There were many things to weigh, mainly their family background. If a woman’s father or brother had recently earned his favor, Emperor Ming Cheng would also use the promotion of her rank to give that family a boost.
When you thought it through, it was really just a transaction of power for sex.
The problem was, those people’s desire for power was infinite, while his desire in that area was quite limited. The women who entered the palace carried immense pressure. The moment they had a chance, they would try to please and seduce him, their ultimate goal being to conceive an imperial offspring. If he weren’t afraid of gaining a reputation for being impotent, he really wanted to tell all the little beauties: We have limited energy, so please don’t waste your efforts.
He envied the Late Emperor, who, after reaching his forties, had devoted himself wholeheartedly to Wan Bi, even though Wan Bi never responded in the slightest. Perhaps no one would believe it if he said it, but Wan Bi had been in the palace for over a decade and had never once served in bed. Emperor Ming Cheng had only found this out one day on a whim when he looked through the records of the Jingshi Room.1 The Late Emperor had died without ever winning Wan Bi’s heart; at most, he had earned her gratitude.
It wasn’t that Emperor Ming Cheng had never had a woman he was truly moved by, but alas, his fate was even more bitter than the Late Emperor’s.
Upon returning to Qianqing Palace, Emperor Ming Cheng saw from a distance the servants of Ning’an Palace carrying box after box inside.
“Sent over by the Empress Dowager?” Emperor Ming Cheng stepped down from his dragon palanquin and casually grabbed someone to ask. He assumed these were the physical evidence Wan Bi had mentioned last night.
The commotion in Qianqing Palace was so great that Empress Zhu had also rushed over. Emperor Ming Cheng was just ordering people to open the boxes to see what was inside when he saw the Empress’s sudden arrival and wanted to order them closed again. He hadn’t expected her to come so early in the morning. Wan Bi had instructed him to pretend he didn’t know about the State Uncle’s sordid affairs. He and Wan Bi had always played good cop, bad cop;2 if the Empress knew he had a handle on the State Uncle, his role as the ‘good cop’ would be hard to play.
Unfortunately, the servants were extremely quick. The boxes had already been opened. Gleaming gold and brilliant silver were stacked neatly inside, dazzling the eyes. Another half-sized box was filled entirely with silver notes…
Emperor Ming Cheng hadn’t expected Wan Bi to succeed so quickly. It was truly a waste of her talents for her to be in the palace; even among the common folk, she could have been a master thief who dominated a region. But at least he could relax—it was a good thing the boxes weren’t filled with evidence of the State Uncle’s crimes.
Zhu-shi stepped forward and curtsied to Emperor Ming Cheng. Staring dumbfounded at the mountain of gold and silver before her, she couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “Mother Empress is so concerned for the world, to actually use her private treasury to fill the deficit in the National Treasury.” Zhu-shi was even more amazed that the Late Emperor’s title as the great romantic of the Daxing dynasty was well-deserved. Just how much silver had he left for Wan Bi! A single glance suggested it had to be at least a million taels. If her private treasury weren’t so deep, Wan Bi would never have been willing to part with so much!
Zhu-shi suddenly felt a touch of schadenfreude. Perhaps Wan Bi wasn’t willing, but was forced to give it up? She had mentioned to His Majesty that Wan Bi wanted to use her private treasury to help him in his time of need, putting Wan Bi in a predicament where she was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off,3 forcing her to spit out the silver. In the end, she was the reason His Majesty could solve his urgent crisis. The only pity was that she could only be an unsung hero, unable to claim credit from the Emperor.
It wasn’t that Emperor Ming Cheng didn’t feel some anger toward the Empress. Didn’t Zhu Xiangchang dare to run amok precisely because he was banking on his daughter being the Empress and his grandson being the Second Prince? Although the First Prince had died young, the position of Heir Apparent would never go to Feng Xin. And while a mother never finds her child ugly, and he was Feng Xin’s father and shouldn’t dislike his son, it was plain for anyone with eyes to see that Feng Xin was naturally dull-witted and unteachable. Not to mention he had such an audacious and troublesome maternal grandfather.
Seeing the Empress assume this money was from Wan Bi’s private treasury, he felt a sliver of pity for her. The Empress wasn’t particularly intelligent, but she was sufficiently naive.
“The Empress Dowager is benevolent and naturally cares for the people,” Emperor Ming Cheng ordered his men to have the silver taken to the treasury. Later, during the morning court session, he would also say this silver came from Wan Bi herself. Emperor Ming Cheng couldn’t help but look forward to the State Uncle’s reaction. The silver was his, but the credit would go to Wan Bi. He wondered just how angry the man would be.
“Kneel!” Beauty Yu, supported by her maids, swayed her hips and sat down on the box containing the pagoda. Slapping Yao Xi once was, of course, not enough to vent her anger. Killing this slave outright would be letting him off too easy, so she decided to sit and slowly deal with this eunuch who deserved a thousand deaths.
Beauty Yu would punish servants for the most trivial of matters. When other masters wanted to punish a servant, they would never do it themselves, always ordering their subordinates to carry it out. Not Beauty Yu. She loved to do it herself, whether it was slapping mouths, slapping faces, caning, or flogging, and she never seemed to find it tiring. In front of the Emperor, she was a delicate thing who looked like she barely had the strength to speak, but when it came to beating people, she could swing a punishment cane weighing over ten catties as if it were as light as a feather duster.
Torturing people gave Beauty Yu a kind of pathological pleasure that she found impossible to resist. If a servant made a mistake, she would beat them. If they didn’t, she would find bones in an egg4 just to have a reason to beat them. Indeed, Yixiu Palace and Ning’an Palace were the two places that eunuchs and palace maids avoided like the plague.
In Ning’an Palace, many people died.
In Yixiu Palace, people died miserably.
Today, someone had finally fallen into her hands, and Beauty Yu wanted to properly satisfy her craving. This little eunuch was good-looking, which made beating him all the more satisfying. A single slap left a bright red five-fingered print on his fair skin, so clear you could even see the knuckles. Torturing this eunuch gave her the ultimate thrill of slowly tearing apart something beautiful.
At first, Yao Xi tried to argue a few times, but she soon realized that with those two palace maids framing her with one accusation after another, it was impossible for her to prove her innocence. She couldn’t even be bothered to argue anymore. This was what you’d call a disaster that flies in from nowhere!5 A person stands by the road, and disaster falls from the sky.
Yao Xi did not kneel. The top of her foot was still aching; kneeling would only make it hurt more. Since this Beauty Yu wouldn’t let her go no matter what, why should she debase herself further? If you want to kill me, then kill me. You want to humiliate me? Not a chance.
A eunuch came over, trying to force Yao Xi to her knees, and barked, “Our Beauty told you to kneel! Are you deaf?”
Yao Xi resisted the force the eunuch applied to her shoulders, standing ramrod straight as she said to Beauty Yu, “With a master like you who can’t distinguish right from wrong, it’s no wonder you have such servants under you.” Upon hearing Yao Xi’s words, the two frame-up maids’ faces changed instantly, and they didn’t dare to look at Yao Xi.
Wan Bi had already arrived nearby. She raised a hand, signaling the people behind her to be quiet. She loved watching Beauty Yu tremble with rage at Yao Xi’s words. She just hadn’t expected the little castrated donkey to have some backbone, unlike how pathetic he was in Jingling Palace.
“I think you don’t want to live anymore!” Beauty Yu roared, raising her hand to strike Yao Xi again.
“As if I could live just because I wanted to!” Yao Xi shouted back, craning her neck without so much as blinking.
She felt incredibly wronged. In this goddamn society, why were the lives of people like them not considered lives? Why was it that Liao Bing stole her things, Zheng Dayun crippled Liao Bing’s leg, but in the end, she was the one forced into a dead end? Why was it that when she encountered sexual harassment at work, there was nowhere to even file a complaint, and her only options were to die or run? Why was it that she did her job conscientiously and lived her life honestly, yet all the bad luck seemed to find its way to her?
From a beloved only daughter doted on by her parents, to an orphan sold off by her brother and sister-in-law.
From a sunny young woman who grew up strong under socialism and supported herself, to a lowly eunuch confined in the deep palace of a feudal society.
Sorry, but her ability to accept all this wasn’t that strong. Other transmigrators were either rich or noble. Even those with pitiful origins had at least one ‘flower’s protector’ to watch over them. What did she have since coming to this hellhole? A gambling-addicted brother, a greedy sister-in-law, a lecherous and impotent workplace superior, and a whole world of people who could take her life whenever the mood struck them.
The more Yao Xi thought, the more wronged she felt. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
“Bring me a knife! Hamstring this slave!” Beauty Yu ordered with a cold smile. “You’re so full of backbone. Let’s see if you can still stand without kneeling after your tendons are cut!”
“Stop!” Wan Bi, who had been hiding to the side enjoying the show for quite some time, finally spoke.
Beauty Yu was startled at first. Turning to see it was Wan Bi, she quickly rose and knelt in salute. “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager.” Everyone from Yixiu Palace knelt, leaving only Yao Xi standing straight.
Wan Bi glanced at Yao Xi. The little castrated donkey’s skin was quite tender. A red handprint was stamped on his face by a palm, a literal case of ‘rosy within the white.’ She didn’t make an issue of Yao Xi not kneeling to salute her, merely asking Beauty Yu, “Tell me! What is all this so early in the morning?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. This eunuch broke this subject-concubine’s possession. I was just teaching him a lesson!” Beauty Yu knelt on the ground, replying with lowered brows and submissive eyes. Her voice was so gentle it was as if she were a completely different person from the one who had just been berating Yao Xi. She dared to rely on the Emperor’s favor to disregard every other woman in the rear palace, including the Empress, but she had to fear the Empress Dowager. She had personally seen the Emperor’s attitude toward the Empress Dowager—it was one of utmost reverence and complete obedience.
Yao Xi could endure hardship and exhaustion, but she could not endure being wronged. “I didn’t do it.”
I? Wan Bi thought. This little castrated donkey has really thrown caution to the wind and doesn’t want his life. But for someone who is willing to give up even his life to insist he was wronged, he probably was wronged.
“Your Majesty, do you hear that? How can such an ill-mannered slave be allowed to remain?” At this moment, Beauty Yu just wanted to kill this eunuch quickly and be done with it. She hadn’t expected the Empress Dowager to suddenly pass by. Ever since she knelt to salute, the Empress Dowager hadn’t told her to rise, and her knees were aching. Being uncomfortable herself, she could no longer be bothered with the pleasure of torturing the eunuch.
“You say this eunuch did it. Do you have proof?” Wan Bi ignored Yao Xi’s impudence.
Beauty Yu shot a look at the two young palace maids and ordered, “Qin’er! Hurry and tell Her Majesty the Empress Dowager!”
That Qin’er was already feeling guilty. She was fine when she was making up lies in front of Beauty Yu; in order to survive while serving in Yixiu Palace, she had deceived her master more than a few times. But in front of Wan Bi, she couldn’t help but show her fear. One sharp glare from Wan Bi, and Qin’er started to stammer.
“Re… Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager… This eunuch wasn’t watching where he was going. We were carrying something past here, and he suddenly crashed into us…” As Qin’er spoke, she secretly peeked at Wan Bi, completely lacking in confidence.
“Ahh~ So you even have a witness. It seems it’s true, then.” Wan Bi nodded at Qin’er in approval.
Yao Xi hadn’t been expecting much to happen just because the Empress Dowager arrived. After her previous dealings with Her Majesty, Yao Xi felt that the Empress Dowager wasn’t as perverse and tyrannical as the rumors claimed. But she also didn’t believe the Empress Dowager would stand up for her; after all, she had offended Her Majesty before.
I have to face the death I courted with my own abilities!
Wan Bi smiled at Beauty Yu. “Rise!”
Beauty Yu’s legs had long gone numb from kneeling. She quickly stood up. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Wan Bi then crooked a finger at Beauty Yu. “Come here.”
Puzzled, Beauty Yu walked over to Wan Bi. Just as she was about to ask what Her Majesty’s command was, Wan Bi raised her hand and slapped her across the face. After hitting her, she shook her hand in pain. She didn’t often hit people and hadn’t realized how much it would hurt. It was truly a case of killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of her own.6
The slap was incredibly loud! Everyone was stunned. Yao Xi, too, was dumbfounded by the scene. What just happened? Did she zone out and miss something?
Having been slapped in public, Beauty Yu covered her face in shame and indignation. She didn’t understand why the Empress Dowager had suddenly hit her, so she asked cautiously, “This subject-concubine does not know what I have done wrong. I implore Your Majesty to enlighten me.”
“You spoke insolently and were greatly disrespectful to this bereaved one. You publicly insulted this bereaved one,” Wan Bi said.
“Your Majesty, this subject-concubine has been wronged!” Beauty Yu felt she had been wronged to death. She had cursed the Empress Dowager, it was true, but only in her heart!
“Yuanqian.” Wan Bi looked at Yuanqian.
Having served Wan Bi for many years, Yuanqian understood her master’s meaning with a single glance. “Replying to Your Majesty, this slave-girl personally heard Beauty Yu speak insolently of Your Majesty.”
Wan Bi raised her hand and slapped Beauty Yu again. “Now there’s a witness. Could this bereaved one possibly be wronging you?”
“Your Majesty!” Beauty Yu had been slapped on both her left and right cheeks and for a moment didn’t know which side to cover. She knew the Empress Dowager was implying that she had wrongly accused that eunuch. “This subject-concubine was wronged, but this slave was not!”
“The people from your palace are testifying for you; this bereaved one cannot trust them. And taking a step back, even if this slave truly did commit some mistake, a slave from this bereaved one’s palace is not for you to punish.” Wan Bi glanced at Yao Xi, expecting the little castrated donkey to kneel and thank her with tears of gratitude.
Mm, as expected, I was thinking too much. No matter how many losses the little castrated donkey suffered, he still looked as dense as ever. Wan Bi felt that only someone as beautiful and kind-hearted as herself would spare the little castrated donkey’s life. If it were someone like Beauty Yu, the crimes that slave had committed would be enough to get him reincarnated eighty times over.
A thought suddenly occurred to Wan Bi. She should take this little castrated donkey back with her. The little castrated donkey was stupid, clumsy, and clueless. He would definitely not survive out here.
Yao Xi had long been staring dumbly from the side, so how could she remember to offer any thanks? What kind of bizarre maneuver was this? When did she become a person of Ning’an Palace?
Beauty Yu was also stupefied. She never would have imagined that a slave she was casually disciplining was from Ning’an Palace. If she had known earlier, she would have swallowed her pride even if she had to grit her teeth and bear it!
“Open the box. This bereaved one wants to see just what precious item made the Beauty so angry.” Wan Bi ordered someone to open the box on the ground. She stepped forward to look. Inside was a small stone pagoda. A thumb-sized, conical piece of stone at the top had broken off. On closer inspection, there was a layer of something white at the break.
“What is that white stuff?” Wan Bi asked Yuanqian.
Yuanqian knelt and scraped it with her fingernail. “Replying to Your Majesty. It is white wax.”
The faces of the two palace maids turned ashen.
Even if Yao Xi hadn’t been framed, Wan Bi had wanted to give Beauty Yu a warning. But since he really had been framed, just a warning seemed insufficient.
“Beauty Yu is demoted to Shuren and moved out of Yixiu Palace. Drag her away and give her twenty strokes of the cane. All servants of Yixiu Palace are to be given forty strokes of the cane and have their salaries docked for half a year.” After giving her orders, Wan Bi finally looked back at Yao Xi. “It seems our Eunuch Yao of unyielding iron bones would rather die than bow to this bereaved one.”
“This slave… thanks Her Majesty the Empress Dowager for upholding justice and allowing this slave’s grievance to be redressed.” How could Yao Xi be a person of unyielding iron bones? She had simply seen that Beauty Yu wouldn’t let her go and couldn’t be bothered to bow and scrape just to prolong her miserable life. The Empress Dowager had shown her the kindness of giving her medicine and had now saved her from dire straits. What was kneeling in salute compared to that?
Yao Xi didn’t think much of it, but Wan Bi was very pleased. The person who had just refused to bend a knee to Beauty Yu even in the face of death was now prostrating himself at her feet in sincere submission. She couldn’t help but feel a little smug. Between a slave who knelt to everyone he met and a slave who submitted only to her, Wan Bi much preferred the latter. “Rise and speak! But from now on, you are only permitted to perform the kneeling salute to this bereaved one.”
The warmth that had just returned to Yao Xi’s heart turned cold again. She didn’t dare disobey the Empress Dowager’s decree, but not being allowed to kneel… forget the Emperor, just with all the masters in the palace, if she wanted to stay alive, she couldn’t afford to offend them!
“…” Yao Xi’s face was a mask of confusion.
“The people of Ning’an Palace are only permitted to recognize this bereaved one as their master.” After saying this, Wan Bi suddenly felt a little insecure. She had just told Beauty Yu that this little castrated donkey was from Ning’an Palace and had also intended to take this slave to her side. But this little castrated donkey had refused her before… Thinking of this, Wan Bi regretted it, afraid that this slave would be an ungrateful fool and bash his head in rather than serve in Ning’an Palace. Then she would truly become a laughingstock.
Wan Bi’s gaze toward Yao Xi turned cold. If this little castrated donkey dared to be ungrateful, then she would kill him!
Yao Xi had scrambled into the palace early this morning hoping to latch onto some master’s thigh. Otherwise, she couldn’t go back to the Twenty-Four Offices, and if she couldn’t find a master to serve, her only option would be to find a tree and hang herself. Now, the thickest thigh in the entire palace was extending an olive branch to her. Yao Xi wanted nothing more than to hug it tight and never let go. How could she bear to refuse?
“This slave was born a person of Ning’an Palace and will die a ghost of Ning’an Palace. I will certainly give my all for Your Majesty until my dying day.”
Flattered by the little castrated donkey, Wan Bi felt increasingly pleased. Just as she was about to lead her people back to Ning’an Palace, a palace maid suddenly ran out from Zhongling Palace, opposite Yixiu Palace.
Hanqiu knew Yao Xi was looking for her, but she had to attend to Beauty Xu’s morning toilette, which was why she had kept Yao Xi waiting for so long. As soon as she finished her duties, she rushed out and saw a large group of people standing outside the palace gate. She looked them over one by one… Heavens!
“This slave-girl greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.” Hanqiu served the out-of-favor Beauty Xu, and the main resident of Zhongling Palace, Concubine Li, had also been out of favor for many years. Normally, they could catch a glimpse of the Emperor thanks to their neighbor, Beauty Yu, but they rarely saw the Empress Dowager. Even paying respects at Ning’an Palace required a certain status, and as favored as Beauty Yu was, she was not qualified to set foot in Ning’an Palace.
Yao Xi sucked in a sharp breath. Hanqiu’s peripheral vision also caught sight of Yao Xi standing beside the Empress Dowager.
Hanqiu secretly used her eyes to ask Yao Xi: What’s the situation? She had heard Yao Xi was looking for her and thought he had something to tell her. The sight of the Empress Dowager had completely confused her.
Yao Xi answered Hanqiu with a series of blinks and twitches.
Their exchange of glances was taken in by Wan Bi… Wan Bi had been wondering why Yao Xi wasn’t on duty at the Bureau of Imperial Gardens and had run over to the entrance of Zhongling Palace so early in the morning. So, it was to meet his sweetheart. Wan Bi remembered Yuanqian saying that the little castrated donkey had a sweetheart. When the Imperial Physician went to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, he hadn’t found him because the little castrated donkey had gone off to talk with his sweetheart.
She couldn’t help but glance at Hanqiu. She was pretty enough, but she looked older than even herself. That made sense. Palace maids in the prime of their lives all hoped to one day become a minor master; how could they possibly be interested in a little castrated donkey? Besides, this palace maid was pretty at first glance, but after a few more looks, she became a bit tiresome. In terms of looks, she was a far cry from the little castrated donkey.
“Why are you running?” Wan Bi lowered her eyes to look at the kneeling palace maid, her mood suddenly souring.
“Replying to Your Majesty. This slave-girl heard someone was looking for me, so I came out to see.” Hanqiu was so scared her forehead was pressed tightly to the ground.
“This bereaved one is asking you, why were you running? Can’t you walk properly?” Wan Bi frowned.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager was angry, Yao Xi quickly spoke up to explain for Hanqiu. “It was this slave who had business with Maiden Hanqiu. She was afraid I had been waiting for a long time, so her steps were a bit hurried.”
“Are you a roundworm in her belly? How do you know what she’s thinking?”7 Wan Bi was inexplicably annoyed. This little castrated donkey was quite protective of his own. She looked at Yao Xi, and seeing him made her even more annoyed. The little castrated donkey’s red, slapped face was scrunched into a ball, worry written all over his features. What was this? Afraid this bereaved one will punish your sweetheart? “If you have something to say, say it quickly. After you’re done, follow this bereaved one back to the palace.”
Yao Xi had originally wanted to ask Hanqiu if the vacant position by Beauty Xu’s side had been filled. If so, were there any other masters in the palace who needed people? Now that she had been taken in by the Empress Dowager, there was naturally no need to ask anymore. So she replied to the Empress Dowager, “It’s nothing anymore. This slave will attend to Your Majesty’s return to the palace now.”
“Hold on!” Wan Bi said mockingly. “Is it inconvenient because this bereaved one is here?” Wan Bi guessed the little castrated donkey must have wanted to say some sweet nothings to this palace maid. She had no other hobbies, except for watching drama. The little castrated donkey thought she was in the way? Well, she was going to insist on getting in the way of these two’s business.
“This slave wouldn’t dare!” Yao Xi had just witnessed the Empress Dowager frame Beauty Yu out of thin air and was so frightened she hastily explained.
“Since there’s nothing that can’t be seen, then say it in front of this bereaved one! Say whatever you were planning to say before. Don’t take this bereaved one for a fool and try to fob me off with some other topic.”
Wan Bi gracefully sat down on Beauty Yu’s half-man-high redwood box, positioning herself between Yao Xi and Hanqiu. She said to Hanqiu, “You, rise. You two just chat about whatever you were going to, be open about it.” Then she said to Yuanqian, “Go to Yixiu Palace and fetch this bereaved one some hot tea and snacks. We’ll eat and drink while we enjoy watching Eunuch Yao chat.”
What the hell? Yao Xi’s face was a picture of misery.
This scene was truly too bizarre. A group of people standing in the middle of a palace path, all staring at her and Hanqiu chatting? Did the Empress Dowager think this was a theater? In that case, should she and Hanqiu perform a two-person crosstalk routine?8 Should she be the straight man or the funny man? Should she start with an opening poem?9
The Empress Dowager’s decree, no matter how incomprehensible, had to be obeyed.
Hanqiu was even more clueless than Yao Xi. But since Her Majesty had ordered her to talk to Yao Xi, then talk she would?
“The weather today… is nice?” Hanqiu began awkwardly. “Have you had breakfast?”
“I didn’t have time.” Yao Xi had actually figured it out. The Empress Dowager was the type to enjoy watching drama and didn’t mind if things escalated. She definitely wasn’t sitting here because she wanted to hear her and Hanqiu chat about the weather and food. A wicked idea sprouted in her own mind, and she spoke naturally to Hanqiu, “I came into the palace to see you, Maiden, and to ask if the position in Beauty Xu’s palace has been filled?”
Yao Xi used her usual tone, and Hanqiu, influenced by her, also became much more natural. “The Directorate of Palace Attendants assigned someone over yesterday. It’s strange, actually. We waited for so long with no news, and then suddenly someone arrived yesterday.” With the person from the Directorate assigned, Hanqiu was also a little disappointed. She had been hoping Yao Xi could bribe the people there and get transferred over.
It really was a conspiracy. Yao Xi felt that the Directorate of Palace Attendants suddenly sending someone to Beauty Xu must have something to do with Zheng Dayun. However, Yao Xi didn’t want to say too much about Zheng Dayun in front of the Empress Dowager. She didn’t actually hate Zheng Dayun. With his power and methods, it would have been easy for him to force himself on her, but he hadn’t. She believed that what happened this morning was just a momentary lapse in his composure.
She was more interested in talking about Liao Bing.
Yao Xi deliberately limped as she shifted her position.
As expected, Hanqiu asked with concern, “What’s wrong with your leg?”
Wan Bi also frowned. When did the little castrated donkey become crippled? Could it be from the fall in Jingling Palace? The thought made her feel guilty; she had only meant to scare him a little. Sigh! When they got back to the palace, she’d have Imperial Physician Fu take a look at the little castrated donkey. If it couldn’t be cured, she would just have to support him in Ning’an Palace for the rest of his life.
“Someone smashed it.” Yao Xi deliberately said it lightly, then added, “My leg is the least of it. Last night, I almost lost my life…”
Hearing that it wasn’t her fault, Wan Bi felt relieved.
Smashed by someone? By whom? Almost lost his life last night? Jingling Palace was the night before last. What happened last night?
Wan Bi sipped her tea and listened to the pair in front of her chat. She hadn’t expected the content to be far more exciting than she had anticipated. She was at times happy, worried, angry, and sighed in turn. It was even more engrossing than listening to a storyteller.
Any palace maids and eunuchs who needed to pass by saw the Empress Dowager sitting in the middle of the road and didn’t dare to approach, all taking a wide detour from a distance.
Footnotes
- Lit. ‘Room of Reverent Service.’ A department within the palace, run by eunuchs, that was responsible for managing and recording the emperor’s sexual activities with his consorts.
- Original idiom: ‘one sings the red face, one sings the white face.’ This comes from Chinese opera, where a red-painted face often signifies a heroic character and a white-painted face a villainous one. It refers to two people coordinating, with one playing the ‘bad guy’ and the other the ‘good guy’ to achieve a goal.
- An idiom (骑虎难下, qí hǔ nán xià) describing a difficult situation that is impossible to abandon halfway through.
- An idiom (鸡蛋里挑骨头, jīdàn lǐ tiāo gǔtou) meaning to be deliberately fault-finding or nitpicky.
- An idiom (飞来横祸, fēiláihènghuò) for a sudden and unexpected misfortune.
- A proverb (杀敌一千，自损八百, shā dí yīqiān, zì sǔn bābǎi) meaning to achieve a victory that comes at a great personal cost.
- A colloquial phrase for someone who seems to know another person’s thoughts, as if they were a roundworm (蛔虫, huíchóng) living inside them.
- Crosstalk (对口相声, duìkǒu xiàngsheng) is a traditional Chinese comedic performance, typically featuring two performers engaging in witty banter.
- An opening poem (定场诗, dìngchǎngshī) is a short verse recited by a performer in traditional Chinese arts like opera or storytelling to capture the audience’s attention before the main act.
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