CH 53

T/N: This chapter gives so much more depth to Su Guifei’s character and talks of the plight of women which she tries to single-handedly alleviate, even if it costs her a lot. I just love her more and more T^T

Stepping out of the Zhangliu Palace, the further west one went, the more secluded it became. The wind passed through the alleys with an eerie sound, revealing its presence. 

Covering the trembling cat with his sleeve, Chen Wang turned to Jiuzhu and asked: “Xiaozhu, are you cold?”

Jiuzhu shook her head. “The cloak that niangniang prepared for me is very warm. Your Highness, this place looks so desolate.”

Xiangjuan gugu had never brought her here when she was leading her around the Palace.

“The concubines of the late Emperor reside here.” Chen Wang said, slowing down his pace. “Most of them are childless and have low ranks. They entered the Palace at a young age but have rarely seen face throughout their lives.”

He vaguely remembered that when he was very young, a palace maid who was only fifteen years old was found dead in a well three days after being favored by the late Emperor.

“According to ancestral rules, these childless concubines should have been sent to the nunnery in Chong’an Province to pray for the late emperor until their death.” Chen Wang pointed to the high wall separating the consort dowagers’ Palace from the others. “In reality, the life these old consort dowagers have in the nunnery is worse than that of ordinary people. They have no children, no favor, and no family to support them.”

“Do the people who send them there not know about this?” Jiuzhu tightened the cloak around her.

“What difference does it make if they know?” Chen Wang lowered his head and glanced at the kitty in his arms. “No one cares.”

“Then why do these consort dowagers stay in the Palace now?” Jiuzhu asked with curiosity, feeling happy for these concubines.

“It was Mother Consort’s decision to keep them here. She even had a high wall built to separate this Palace from the imperial harem to avoid rumors.” Saying this, he suddenly smiled. “Do you know the reason why Mother Consort was first called a Demon Consort by the officials?”

Jiuzhu shook her head.

“It was because of this.” Chen Wang’s smile turned sarcastic. “Some ministers believed that keeping these concubines contradicted ancestral customs. So Mother Consort, who did not adhere to ancestral rules, was considered a Demon Consort causing chaos in the imperial harem.”

“But niangniang was just helping these consort dowagers.”

Chong’an Province was hundreds of kilometers away from the capital city. Even if these old women were mistreated in the nunnery, no one would know.

Those ministers who opposed niangniang only had ancestral rules in their eyes. While on the other hand, niangniang realized that those women had no control over their own lives.

“Actually, there is no provision in the imperial Yun family’s familial precepts that explicitly states that concubines of an emperor must be sent to the nunnery after his demise.” He lifted his chin proudly. “That year, after Father Emperor, Mother Consort and I went through the family precepts three times and discovered nothing of that sort, those ministers had no choice but to accept it, albeit reluctantly. They even praised Father Emperor for his filial piety.”

Those ministers who lost, did not dare to criticize his Father Emperor anymore and could only accuse Su Guifei of leading the Emperor astray and so on behind his back. 

“Wow.” Jiuzhu looked at him with admiration. “Your Highness, niangniang, and His Majesty are all so amazing.”

“That…” She turned her head and glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs following them. Then, she moved closer to him and asked in a low voice: “My family… did they cause trouble too?”

“Why do you think those ministers had to suck up and praise Father Emperor for being filial?” Chen Wang guessed what she was thinking and smiled. “The credit for that goes to the three lords of the Ming family.”

“Tell me about it quickly, tell me about it quickly.” Upon learning that her family was on the same side as Chen Wang, Jiuzhu became energetic. “What did my daddy and uncles do?”

“The three lords made a list of officials who were praised for their filial piety and also the ones kind to their concubine mothers.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “Especially your second Uncle. His glib tongue and unparalleled talent in debate left the opposing officials so speechless that they almost burst into tears.”

“Second Uncle is so incredible ah.” Jiuzhu had heard her mother mention that he was the current governor of Huaizhou so his entire family had moved there. The letters he sent were witty, humorous and genial. She couldn’t imagine how such a person could chew out the other officials to tears.

“Here it is.” Chen Wang pointed to a closed vermilion door. “Going through this door will take us to Jing’an Palace, where the consort dowagers reside.”

“Your Highness, please wait with Xianzhu.” A young eunuch stepped forward to knock on the door, and soon someone came to open it. The person who opened the door was an elderly eunuch. When he saw the young eunuch, he bowed slightly with caution and asked: “What brings you here, little gonggong?”

“Gonggong, this lowly one works in the Zhangliu Palace and now serves His Highness Chen Wang. He heard that an old consort dowager lost her cat, so he personally brought it over.”

“His Highness Chen Wang?” Hearing Chen Wang’s name, the elder eunuch’s expression changed. He quickly came forward and greeted: “This old slave didn’t know it was Your Highness Chen Wang who personally came here. Apologies for not welcoming you properly, Your Highness.”

“Gonggong need not be too polite.” Jiuzhu helped the elderly eunuch up gently. “Please lead us to the old consort dowager.”

“This is Ming Xianzhu, the daughter of Assistant Minister Ming.” The young eunuch reminded in a low voice: “She is also the one His Majesty selected for His Highness Chen Wang.”

“Lord Ming’s daughter…” The elderly eunuch murmured in a low voice, looking at Jiuzhu with his cloudy eyes. “Please come in and follow this slave there.”

Going through the red lacquered wooden door, they saw a large garden, with a palace hall built on each side. The gray-haired consort dowagers sat together in groups of twos and threes. Some were chatting while one held embroidery needles, leisurely sewed a few stitches and leaned in to hear what the other older women were saying.

The younger-looking ones were sitting around a table and arguing over calligraphy paintings. When they noticed outsiders coming in, their expressions immediately tensed up.

“Are they from the Department of the Palace?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Could they be here to send us to… send us to Chong’an Province?”

“Don’t scare yourself. Look at their attire, they clearly seem to be a prince and his…” The speaking consort dowager paused. “Strange ah, why is her hair combed like an unmarried maiden’s?”

Is she an unmarried little guniang? 

“Don’t guess randomly, I can see the prince holding a cat in his hands. Didn’t Jing’an Palace’s Zhao jiejie lose her cat? I think ah, they came to bring her the cat.”

“The cat has been found?” One consort dowager breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great. I couldn’t sleep well yesterday because that one surnamed Zhao cried all night.”

“Let’s not speak too much. I think that prince looks familiar, like His Highness Chen Wang from back then.” The consort dowager doing embroidery work wasn’t entirely sure. It had been so many years so the child must also look different now.

“His Highness Chen Wang ah…”

The chattering concubines all quieted down. They all knew that without Su Guifei niangniang, they wouldn’t have had their current peaceful lives now.

“There are three palaces here: Jing’an Palace, Ningkang Palace, and Fushou Palace.” Chen Wang whispered to Jiuzhu: “The consort dowagers live in Jing’an Palace, while the other two palaces house lower-ranking old imperial concubines.”

Jiuzhu noticed cloth tigers, rabbits, and other such items hanging from the trees in the courtyard. The stitches weren’t very neat, probably because these elderly women didn’t have good eyesight, causing their sewing to be a bit crooked.

But they were dressed neatly and their rosy complexions indicated that they led a healthy and good life.

She stood on her tiptoes and curiously touched the cloth tiger hanging from a tree branch.

“Does guniang like it?” An old voice sounded behind her.

Jiuzhu withdrew her hand and turned to look at the elderly lady, who bowed to her respectfully.

“If guniang likes it, you take it with you.” She walked up to Jiuzhu, her gray hair perfectly arranged. “This old one made all of these when she had nothing to do and was bored.”

“Many thanks.” Jiuzhu wanted to refuse, but seeing the anticipation in the old woman’s eyes, she took the cat from Chen Wang’s arms. “Your Highness, can you help me take it off?”

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jiuzhu, who only reached his chin. He stretched out his hand to take the little tiger.

“Meow.” The kitty nestled in Jiuzhu’s arms meowed softly.

“Aiyo, this little thing.” The old lady suddenly smiled upon seeing the cat. “I had people searching for it all night, and finally, it’s found.”

The cat heard its owner’s voice and lazily flicked its tail, turning its head toward her.

“So it’s your cat, Consort Dowager.” Jiuzhu stroked its fluffy head and returned it to the concubine. “Its legs are injured. The imperial physician has already checked it.”

A eunuch of Zhangliu Palace held out the medicine. “This is the medicine the imperial physician prescribed for it. Switch it once in the morning and the evening.”

“Thank you, guniang and Your Highness.” The consort dowager hugged the cat and pressed her face against its head. “You little thing, I told you not to run around all over the place. You didn’t listen and got yourself injured. Let’s see if you dare to do it again. And if you do, I won’t care about you anymore.”

Although the old consort dowager said she wouldn’t care, her actions were extremely gentle, not touching any of the cat’s wounds.

“It must have been tough for Your Highness and guniang to bring this mischievous little thing back.” The old consort dowager looked at the two of them gratefully. “Please come inside and have some refreshments before you leave.”

Her tone carried a hint of pleading, as if she was afraid that they would refuse. Not agreeing immediately, Jiuzhu turned to look at Chen Wang.

“In that case, Ben Wang will trouble you.” Chen Wang placed the little tiger he had taken off in Jiuzhu’s hand and put his hand behind his back. He awkwardly supported the consort dowager’s arm with his other hand. “Let’s go.”

The old consort dowager looked at the young hand on her arm and smiled, her eyes turning into crescent moons. “Besides the palace maids and eunuchs, there have not been any young people here for a long time.”

As they walked into the inner hall, Jiuzhu caught a faint scent of medicine.

“Is someone sick?” Chen Wang helped the old woman sit down and looked around.

“Everyone is getting older, so it’s normal to have some headaches and fevers.” The consort dowager spoke with gratitude: “Fortunately, Guifei niangniang arranged for the imperial hospital to send an imperial physician every five days to check our pulses. That’s why we don’t have any major illnesses.”

As she spoke, a nanny in her forties or fifties brought in some refreshments. She glanced at Chen Wang, bowed even lower, and placed the refreshments on the table.

“If this old one is not mistaken, Your Highness should be Yun Duqing, Guifei niangniang’s child?” The old consort dowager pointed to a plate of pastries on the table. “These taste good, try them.”

“Thank you, Consort Dowager.” Jiuzhu grabbed a piece of pastry set before Chen Wang and broke it in half. After taking a few bites, she smiled and nodded. “Really delicious.”

Between words and laughter, she put the other half in Chen Wang’s hand.

He ate the piece of pastry. While it wasn’t particularly good or bad, it suited an old person’s taste.

“Your Highness has a good name, you are a blessed person1T/N: Chen Wang’s name ‘Duqing’ (渡卿) is a combination of two Chinese characters. 渡 (dù) means ‘to cross’ or ‘to ferry’ while 卿 (qīng) is an honorific term used to address someone of high social status, often translated as ‘lord’ or ‘sir’. Therefore, his name can mean ‘the noble one who guides or accompanies others across’ or ‘the noble guide’. It carries a sense of guidance, support, and respect..” The old woman affectionately stroked the cat’s head, and the little cat purred softly before falling asleep.

Jiuzhu looked at the pair of person and cat and smiled as she ate the pastry.

“What are you smiling for?” Chen Wang smiled as he looked at her.

“I just think that Your Highness and niangniang are amazing.” Jiuzhu looked at him, her eyes forming crescent moons from her smile.

How could there be such a good, such a good person in the world?

Chen Wang raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Em, you have a good eye for that.”

“Your Highness, I will be going home tomorrow.” Jiuzhu’s smile faded slightly. “Mother wrote a letter saying that the day after tomorrow, the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, is an auspicious day. And that’s why, eldest Uncle has arranged for someone to go to the Zhou family to propose marriage for Sixth Brother Fu.”

“Well, I will ask Mother Consort to send someone to pick you up after the lunar New Year’s Eve.”

Consort Dowager Zhao looked at the two young people whose heads were almost touching each other’s, and a kind smile appeared on her face.

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