The Empress Dowager is Terrifying
When Liao Yaoming went to the Directorate of Ceremonial to deliver the account books, he didn’t expect to run into Yao Xi at the entrance.
Liao Yaoming didn’t know every single one of the many eunuchs in the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, but he remembered this Yao Xi from the day he entered the palace. That was because someone had pulled strings to process Yao Xi’s entry into the Bureau. Although he didn’t know Yao Xi’s background, it was best to stay far away from people with such unclear origins.
He had long wanted to transfer this person to another department, but it was as if the other departments had caught wind of something; they avoided Yao Xi whenever possible. This made Liao Yaoming even more certain that Yao Xi’s background was anything but simple. Though he was the head of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, it was a peripheral department, so there was a lot of news that others knew but he did not.
“What are you doing here?” Liao Yaoming had already guessed that Yao Xi had come to the Directorate of Ceremonial to file a complaint. Even if the matter of the stolen items in his room was reported to the supervisor, the moment the supervisor thought of the spare key being in Liao Bing’s hands, he wouldn’t dare get involved on account of Liao Yaoming. He would surely offer a few perfunctory words and let it go. Having lost everything he owned, Yao Xi would naturally not be willing to let the matter rest and would certainly come to the Directorate of Ceremonial to seek justice from Eunuch Zheng.
Seeing that it was the head of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, Eunuch Liao, Yao Xi hurriedly bowed. “This little one has business with Eunuch Zheng. I will return as soon as it is finished.”
“Mm.” Liao Yaoming led his people into the Directorate of Ceremonial. He wasn’t too worried about Liao Bing. He was his nephew, after all. Eunuch Zheng probably wouldn’t make things difficult for him over a little favorite. They all worked for Eunuch Tang; they saw each other all the time.1
Zheng Dayun was feeling very melancholic. When it came to Yao Xi, he could neither spit him out nor swallow him down; it was a very difficult situation. He had just returned from the Weaving Bureau, and his godfather, Eunuch Tang, had given him two days off. With nothing to do, Zheng Dayun felt even more lonely and dispirited.
“Sigh…” He sat by the window, sighing endlessly.
“Zheng-dage?”
In a daze, Zheng Dayun heard Yao Xi’s sweet little voice calling him. He thought he must truly be too deeply infatuated with Yao Xi to be having auditory hallucinations.
“Zheng-dage? Are you there?” Yao Xi stood on tiptoe, peering into the room through the window.
Zheng Dayun saw a small figure outside the paper window. He reached out and pushed it open. Seeing that it was Yao Xi, his face, which had been miserable all day, finally turned from sorrow to joy. “You little brat, you’ve thought it through and are willing to be with me now?” After speaking, he beckoned for Yao Xi to push the door open and enter on his own.
Yao Xi entered the room and stood before Zheng Dayun, a deeply aggrieved look in her eyes. “Zheng-dage, I was at the Empress Dowager’s palace last night and didn’t return to the Bureau. When I went back this morning, I found my room had been robbed. The other things don’t matter, they aren’t important, but my heart aches for the things you gave me… I told the supervisor, but he ignored me…” As Yao Xi spoke, she even squeezed out two tears. “No one has ever been as good to me as Zheng-dage. It’s the first time in my life someone has given me a gift, and it was stolen.”
“I carried those things into the Bureau of Imperial Gardens with my own two hands, and someone dared to covet them? They must be tired of living.” Zheng Dayun took out a handkerchief, stood up to wipe Yao Xi’s tears, and wrapped an arm around Yao Xi’s shoulder, pulling her into his embrace to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. Leave this matter to me.”
Yao Xi tried to struggle out of Zheng Dayun’s arms, but just as he broke free a little, he was pressed back into the embrace. Fear couldn’t help but rise in her heart. Zheng Dayun wasn’t going to force himself on her, was he? Truth be told, even if Zheng Dayun really did do something to her, she would have nowhere to appeal for justice. Yao Xi’s gaze traveled down Zheng Dayun’s chest, finally stopping between his legs. She thought to herself: Would a eunuch who’s had his balls cut off still get a ball ache?
“I’ve told you before. In the palace, if you don’t have a lover to back you up, anyone can bully you.” Zheng Dayun’s arm was around Yao Xi’s small shoulders, and his mind began to wander.2 He lowered his head and whispered ambiguously in Yao Xi’s ear, “Have you figured it out yet?”
Yao Xi understood the logic. But she really had no interest in eunuchs! Besides, being lovers would inevitably require them to be naked with each other. If anyone found out she was a woman, death would be the only way out.
“I understand.” Yao Xi pushed Zheng Dayun away, lifted her small face, and gazed at him affectionately with tear-filled eyes. “My family died early, and I’ve been in the palace for some time now. You’re the only one who’s been so good to me. So, I really want to ask you to be my godfather!”
“You’re just trying to piss me off!” Zheng Dayun poked Yao Xi’s little head hard, then pushed her away and strode outside. “Hurry up and follow me. We’re going to sort out those sticky-fingered3 people in your department.”
“You got it, Godfather.” Yao Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as she followed closely behind Zheng Dayun.
Liao Bing had just supervised the storage of the fruits and vegetables purchased that morning and was taking out the daily stipends to be sent to the various palace masters according to the list when he saw Zheng Dayun arrive at the Bureau of Imperial Gardens’ storeroom with a group of junior eunuchs.
“Eunuch… Eunuch Zheng.” Liao Bing not only saw the furious Zheng Dayun, but also the small, fawningly smiling Yao Xi by his side.
“I hear you have the keys to all the rooms in the Bureau of Imperial Gardens here.” Zheng Dayun had heard from Yao Xi that the lock on her door wasn’t broken, so he guessed the matter was inseparable from the one in charge of the keys.
Liao Bing feigned ignorance. “Yes, yes. Is Eunuch Zheng here to pick something up or look for someone? There was no need to make the trip yourself; you could have just sent a subordinate to let me know.”
Zheng Dayun couldn’t be bothered with nonsense. He pointed at Yao Xi and said, “My little brother here had some things stolen from his room, and you’re the only one with the key.”
“I did open Yao Xi’s room.” Liao Bing tried his best to remain calm and offered an excuse. “Last night, the Empress Dowager ordered our department to find Yao Xi. Naturally, we had to check if he was in his room, so I opened the door. I must have forgotten to lock it properly afterward, and someone took advantage of the opportunity. What was stolen? It must have been some undiscerning person from our department. I’ll accompany you to search all the rooms; we might be able to find it.”
Zheng Dayun smiled. “Good. Then let’s start with your room, Eunuch!” Then he ordered the men he had brought, “You’ve all seen the things I brought back from Zhejiang. Search carefully for me!”
Liao Bing had thought his explanation would clear him of suspicion. His heart began to pound with panic. He blamed himself for not listening to his uncle’s advice. His uncle had told him to throw everything away, but seeing that they were all valuable, nice things, he couldn’t bear to part with all of them. He had kept a fist-sized jade carving and a pair of pure gold paperweights engraved with love poems.
Zheng Dayun made no attempt to be discreet. The commotion he caused was huge, and in an instant, the area around the storeroom was packed with onlookers. Liao Bing’s room was right next to the storeroom, and it didn’t take long for the items to be found.
“Sir. Found them. Take a look, are these them?” A junior eunuch held up the gold paperweights and presented them to Zheng Dayun.
Zheng Dayun took them, glanced at them, and stuffed them into the arms of Yao Xi beside him. Then he commanded, “Don’t just stand there. Cuff him and take him back for a slow interrogation. Don’t hold up the work of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens.” With that, he pulled Yao Xi tightly into his embrace, turned to the crowd, and announced, “If I find any other blind fool daring to bully Yao Xi, don’t blame me for not giving your Eunuch Liao face.”
Yao Xi looked up gratefully at Zheng Dayun, who at that moment had an aura of 2.8 meters,4 and said, “Thank you, Godfather.”
“Scram!” Zheng Dayun looked down at Yao Xi with a disgusted expression, but finally couldn’t help but break into a smile. “Are you still going to Ning’an Palace for night duty tonight?”
“No. The Empress Dowager has sent me to guard the Cold Palace.”
“You lucky brat. Don’t you dare be late again!”
“I know!” Yao Xi winked at Zheng Dayun.
Zheng Dayun’s heart leaped again, but he didn’t dare make any overly familiar moves, afraid of earning Yao Xi’s dislike. He settled for patting his head and said with concern, “Go back to your room and get some sleep. I will teach that thief a good lesson.” Zheng Dayun felt that Yao Xi would submit to him sooner or later. People’s hearts are made of flesh; as long as he was good enough to Yao Xi, that boy would see the light one day.
An hour had passed since her return from Ning’an Palace, but Empress Zhu was still hiccuping nonstop. As the dignified Empress of Daxing, the Mother of the Nation, this was most indecorous.
“All of you, get out. This palace is going to rest… hic… now.” Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, Empress Zhu ordered everyone to withdraw, wanting the freedom to hiccup in peace.
An unobservant palace maid not only failed to leave but took a step forward. “This slave-girl will assist Your Majesty in changing.”
“Scram… hic… out!” Empress Zhu was already in a foul mood. She roared at her servants, “This palace will count to three. Anyone who hasn’t scrammed will be beaten to death!” She knew Wan Bi had forced her to eat so much because she resented her for cutting Ning’an Palace’s budget.
She could have avoided cutting Ning’an Palace’s budget. Wan Bi was, after all, the reigning Empress Dowager. Her seniority was there, and leaving Ning’an Palace untouched would have made her seem respectful of her elders.
But Empress Zhu had done it on purpose. When she had entered the palace as the Crown Princess, Wan Bi was still running wild somewhere among the common folk. In terms of age, she was older than Wan Bi. In terms of entering the palace, she was earlier than Wan Bi. But she couldn’t compete with the fact that the woman had been doted on by the Late Emperor. Empress Zhu simply couldn’t stand Wan Bi’s lawless behavior.
And so, using the excuse that the Empress Dowager should be a model for everyone in the rear palace, she had viciously slashed Ning’an Palace’s budget.
She hadn’t intended to offend Wan Bi. She had assumed Wan Bi had a private treasury and wouldn’t care about the monthly stipend. She never imagined Wan Bi would actually get angry and even summon her to Ning’an Palace to screw her over. Her stomach was still terribly upset, and even after rinsing her mouth, it was still full of the scent of fresh grass.
Empress Zhu was not the type to suffer a loss in silence.5 After his midday meal, Emperor Ming Cheng was taking a walk in the Rear Garden to aid his digestion. Seeing that her hiccups had stopped, Empress Zhu went to find him there.
“Your Majesty~” Empress Zhu’s expression darkened when she saw Beauty Yu accompanying Emperor Ming Cheng.
“This subject-concubine6 greets Her Majesty the Empress.” Beauty Yu’s voice was so sweet it could make one tremble. Though she was ostensibly bowing to Empress Zhu, her eyes were restlessly darting toward Emperor Ming Cheng; she didn’t even look Empress Zhu in the eye.
“Why has the Empress come? I heard you went to Ning’an Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager for the midday meal?” Emperor Ming Cheng strolled leisurely under the shade of the trees. April was a fine month; it would start getting hot in a few more days.
Empress Zhu picked up on Emperor Ming Cheng’s conversational thread. “Yes, I accompanied Mother Empress for the meal, and I also have some good news to tell Your Majesty.”
“Oh?” Emperor Ming Cheng raised a brow. “Has Xin’er been reading some new books?”
“It concerns the National Treasury. Mother Empress heard that this subject-concubine was cutting the rear palace’s expenses to alleviate Your Majesty’s worries. She said that my intentions were excellent, but my methods were wrong. She also said a shortfall of over two million taels of silver is no big deal. This subject-concubine thinks Mother Empress is planning to use funds from her own private treasury to cover the National Treasury’s deficit.” Empress Zhu thought to herself that now she had laid it all out in front of the Emperor, it would be difficult for Wan Bi to avoid coughing up the money.
Emperor Ming Cheng frowned. “Did the Empress Dowager really say she would use her private funds to replenish the National Treasury?” Why did he find that so hard to believe? He was several years older than Wan Bi and had watched her enter the palace. He knew all too well what kind of person she was.
Empress Zhu smiled. “Well, not exactly. Mother Empress only said to leave the matter to her, and that this subject-concubine should watch and learn.”
“Er…” Emperor Ming Cheng’s frown deepened. No matter how he heard it, that statement sounded like it was hiding murderous intent. How did the Empress conclude that the Empress Dowager was going to sacrifice herself for the nation? Emperor Ming Cheng didn’t expect Wan Bi to be of any help in this matter. What worried him was, what kind of trouble7 was that little ancestor in Ning’an Palace planning to stir up now?
“The Empress didn’t say anything to anger the Empress Dowager, did she?” Emperor Ming Cheng looked at his empress with concern.
Empress Zhu’s expression froze for a moment, then she smiled. “How would this subject-concubine dare?”
Emperor Ming Cheng caught that momentary freeze in her expression and understood everything. The Empress had definitely offended Wan Bi. Not only would Wan Bi make a move, but it would certainly be aimed at the Empress. They had been husband and wife for over a decade, after all, and the Empress had even borne him a son who was not smart, not cute, and didn’t even look like him.
Emperor Ming Cheng decided to go to Ning’an Palace to plead on the Empress’s behalf, to persuade Wan Bi to let it go for his sake and not hold it against the Empress.
After finishing his walk, he didn’t return to Qianqing Palace but went directly to Ning’an Palace, only to find that Wan Bi wasn’t there.
“Where is the Empress Dowager?” Emperor Ming Cheng asked a servant of Ning’an Palace.
“Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has gone to the Cold Palace,” the palace maid answered.
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