Chapter Thirty-Two

  "Is that okay?"

  The well-maintained ruby nail guards on the fingers of the owner shone with different lusters as they moved up and down. The Empress's relaxed smile revealed the not-so-many wrinkles on her face: "It's just to share the Emperor's worries, what's wrong with that? What's important is finding out who caused the trouble, so as to restore peace in the harem."

  Ruan Yu's eyes drooped slightly, her thick and curled eyelashes resembling a quiet flying bird: "Since the empress dowager has said so, I'll go back and tell our father about it. He's been busy for the past two days, and it really shouldn't be necessary to trouble him with my affairs."

  The empress let out a gentle sigh and reached out to grasp the hand of Quan Pei: "A woman should be like you, able to not trouble men, this is true virtue."

  "The Empress Dowager taught."

  Yongzheng followed Kangxi into the Western Warm Pavilion, a large basin of emerald green evergreen revealing vitality that didn't belong to winter days. Kangxi stood behind his hands in front of the Mongolian map for a while before sitting on the kang, Li Dequan hurried forward to take off Kangxi's boots.

  "I've heard about your wife's situation, is she all right?"

  "It's just a shock, the person is not seriously injured."

  A flash of distrust passed through Kangxi's mind: "Have you mentioned this to the Imperial Household Department?"

  "It's all been said, the Imperial Household Department says they must thoroughly investigate this matter."

  Kangxi paused for a moment: "I will let Li Dequan pass on the message, asking him to investigate as soon as possible. With the expedition about to depart, the harem cannot afford to have any disturbances."

  "Thank you, Mother."

  Kangxi nodded slightly and said a few more words about Guo Shilong to Yinreng before dismissing him.

  As soon as Guan walked away, Yang Qing hastily came in and whispered to the Empress Dowager, who was leisurely drinking tea. The Empress Dowager's expression changed: "What? Summon Li Dequan to convey a message to the Imperial Household Department?"

  "No, just hurry up and investigate clearly."

  The empress dowager heavily placed the official kiln's celadon tea bowl on the table: "How could it be..."

  Just persuaded Quan Yu, thought things would be easier to handle, didn't expect to have alarmed the Emperor, the Emperor spoke up, the Imperial Household Department will dig out some matters even if there's nothing, the Empress Dowager frowned and instructed: "Tell the lower officials, plug up any holes that can be plugged, don't let the Imperial Household Department really find out something, if it's really implicated, don't blame me for not reminding you early!"

  "Yes, I'll go and make arrangements now."

  Yang Qing's hurried footsteps gradually faded away, and the Empress Dowager furrowed her brow slightly on the couch, why was it so unsmooth...

  It was cold outside, and snowflakes were falling. The Ninth Princess didn't feel like going out for a walk, so she lay on the imperial couch, reading a book for a while, but found it boring. She thought of making some pastries: "Tell the chefs in the Imperial Kitchen to think up a few new types of pastry; I'll take them to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager another day."

  Dà gōng nǚ bàn yuè dā yīng le yī shēng, què chí huì le bàn xiǎng dōu méi yǒu zǒu dòng. Jiǔ gōng zhǔ bù dà nài fán de zuò zhí le shēn zi: "zěn me huí shì?"

  Translation:

  The palace maid responded with a yes, but hesitated for half a moment without moving. The Ninth Princess sat up straight, somewhat impatiently: "What's going on?"

  The half-month-old slave took a step forward and stopped again: "I heard something, I don't know if I should tell the princess or not."

  The Ninth Princess paused for a moment: "What words?"

  "The maid said, don't be angry, Princess. The pastries like Guifei Hong and Cherry Biro that were made in the Imperial Kitchen were actually made by the personal maids of Empress Dowager Cixi herself, who went to the Imperial Kitchen to make them. The chefs in the Imperial Kitchen learned from her and then said they came up with it themselves to curry favor with the Princess..."

  The sound of the half-moon grew smaller and smaller due to the increasingly ugly expression on Ninth Princess's face, until it was almost inaudible. The originally small figure was pierced by Ninth Princess's gaze, shrinking by nearly half: "Don't be angry..."

  The ninth princess withdrew her gaze and coldly laughed: "Who told you?"

  "The little girl in front of Wu Fu Jin said that she had seen her with Wu Fu Jin at Si Fu Jin's place before."

  The ninth princess lowered her eyes and said faintly: "You are doing this for my own good, I know."

  The half-month forced a smile: "I don't dare."

  The ninth princess waved her hand impatiently, and her tone became even more sinister: "The cooks in the imperial kitchen are really detestable. They made me lose face so badly in front of others and still don't know their own mistakes. Go tell Yang Qing to change them immediately, and let him deal with the aftermath as he sees fit!"

  Half a month busy responded with a sound, seeing the Ninth Princess not speaking, she herself stood quietly aside. After half a moment, she heard the Ninth Princess muttering to herself: ".... Fourth Aunt clearly knew, but deliberately didn't tell me, was it to mock me? When this matter spreads everywhere later, what face will I have left? Little girl can say it to you, can't she say it to others, or is my own aunt...?"

  Half a month's head hung even lower, not daring to say a word. In the end, it was the Ninth Princess who was greedy for vanity and the kitchen staff had an opportunity to take advantage of her. Now that something like this has happened, it seems like it's all become Fourth Mistress's fault...

  Quan Pei was blending fragrances, her face calm and serene. The room was filled with elegant scents. Yin Zhen walked in, bringing a chill and snowflakes with him. Seeing Quan Pei like this, he slowed down his movements. A maid helped Yin Zhen brush off the snow from his clothes, took off his cloak, and changed into warm and soft garments. As he stepped out from behind the screen, Quan Pei had already put away the fragrances and was washing her hands. Yin Zhen sat down beside her: "How do you feel today?"

  "It's pretty good," said Quan Pei, turning her head to look at Yongzheng: "What good thing did you encounter?"

  Kwon Bo asked, and Yongzheng seemed eager to share with Kwon Bo: "There are two good things! One is the case of Guo Shilong, and the other is yours."

  The maid servant waits on Quan Pei wearing embroidered shoes with cotton soles.

  A gentle smile appeared on Quan Pei's face: "I'm guessing, isn't Guo Shilong's case already closed?"

  "How did you guess it right?"

  "My father naturally handles things faster than others, so I can naturally guess this."

  A faint sense of pride and amusement flickered between Yu Yan's eyebrows: "The case is closed, Guo Shilong has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to exile."

  "What about his wife?"

  "The crime does not extend to married-out daughters; those who have been married out are naturally unaffected, and the rest of the female relatives have all been made official slaves."

  It was as if she had experienced it before. When her father got into trouble, the women in the family could not escape either, and at the age of five, she became a slave.

  She lowered her eyelids and let out a faint sigh: "Nothing is easy..."

  Yongzheng heard the sorrow in her words and the smile on his face faded a little: "What, sympathizing with those people?"

  "It's not all fun and games, having enjoyed the glory and wealth brought by Guo Shilong, one must also bear the consequences."

  Yin Zhen felt that Quan Pei didn't want to mention these things, so he changed the subject: "The Emperor asked about your matter today and has already instructed the Imperial Household Department to investigate thoroughly." He saw that when Quan Pei heard this, her eyebrows and eyes seemed to relax a bit, and his heart finally felt a little more at ease.

  His Majesty has asked about it, so the Empress Dowager is probably not at ease...

  The Empress Dowager had been "ill" for two days, and the imperial consorts hadn't gone to the Cining Palace to pay their respects for two days. The sky was clear, but it was bitterly cold, with a wind that cut like a knife, making one's face ache. Third Lady Fu, who was heavily pregnant, sat on the heated kang in Rongpei's neighboring room, snacking on melon seeds with Fifth Lady Fu and Rongpei, wrapped in a thick blanket. The atmosphere inside and outside was starkly contrasting, warm as spring.

  "The empress dowager doesn't seem to be ill with anything serious. Probably it's just because of the winter season, people don't feel well when they get older." Wu Fu Jin said casually.

  Ruan Pei peeled the melon seeds for Bai Chui and put them on a plate. San Fu Jin picked some up and ate them: "The Emperor has gone several times, but it's still to pay respects to Empress Dowager."

  Wu Fu Jin suddenly let out a light snort: "The Imperial Household Department has been investigating eunuchs everywhere recently, and unexpectedly, something happened in front of the Empress Dowager. A small eunuch stole many things from the palace of the Noble Consort. Think about what happened to the Empress Dowager in the past? This time, even if it's a small matter, the Emperor will know about it. Why did the Emperor look at the Empress Dowager several times? Isn't it because he wants to deal with that little eunuch? The Empress Dowager is not comfortable, and the Emperor accompanies her in front of everyone, speaking kindly to give the Empress Dowager enough face!"

  San Fu Jin suddenly stuck out her tongue: "And this thing!"

  Wu Fu Jin was proud of knowing such a secret and slightly raised her face: "There's still more that you don't know!"

  San Fu Jin raised an eyebrow but was still curious and asked: "What else? Tell us, let's hear it!"

  Wu Fu Jin, however, only peeled the melon seeds. San Fu Jin waited for half a moment without seeing Wu Fu Jin speak, and with a bad temper, she rolled her eyes at Wu Fu Jin and nudged Quan Pei: "Why are you silent?"

  What's there to say, she knew all about it. That little eunuch was found out because of her efforts behind the scenes. The stories about the eunuchs were just too many, and they had to find a scapegoat. They were delighted to see someone else become the laughing stock. She pointed at the melon seeds in the plate: "Weren't you in a hurry to peel them for me?"

  San Fu Jin covered her mouth and smiled: "You're still good to me!"

  Wu Fu Jin was also unhappy and pinched a handful of melon seeds: "It's good for me too!"

  Quan Pei couldn't help but laugh: "Forget it, Xiao Rong you come and peel, I'm not serving the two of you!"

  Three people burst out laughing at the same time and became a heap.

  The empress dowager lay in bed, her complexion not very good. The ninth princess was originally serving in front of her, but when Yang Qing came in, the empress dowager told her to go and rest.

  Yang Qing whispered beside the bed: "...... said that things were originally hidden, but when someone came to check, they were turned out again in their original state..."

  "You fool!" The empress's rare outburst of anger: "Can't even handle such a small matter, should have been executed by lingchi long ago! Causing me to lose face so greatly! Fourth Madame encountered nothing but a thief, who knows what the emperor is thinking in his heart! Now it's all over, if we get a false confession, what will become of me!"

  Yang Qing became more and more afraid to speak, half a moment later, waiting for the empress's breath to calm down before asking: "Do you want me to secretly arrange for someone to......"

  The Empress Dowager sat up straight, facing Yang Qing and scolded: "Foolish thing! Now that you've taken him in, it's likely to make others suspect even more. Go tell the Imperial Household Department to severely punish him without leniency!"

  Yang Qing had never been so humiliated in front of the Empress Dowager before, her face flushing red and green with shame, and she didn't dare to slow down: "I'll go take care of it right away!"

  Tong Guifei had something stolen from her without realizing it, and after investigating, she didn't look good on the surface either. Moreover, it was someone from the Empress Dowager's palace who did it. When she saw the Empress Dowager, she felt like she didn't know how to interact with her, only feeling more and more embarrassed. So she also took a few days off due to illness, avoiding the situation.

  No need to greet in the morning, Guan Pei has arrived and will rest for a while. Several gege (imperial sisters) have just finished serving Guan Pei breakfast and gone out. A maid from outside came in and said: "The Ninth Princess has arrived."

  Wei Zifu's face revealed a look of sudden realization, Ninth Princess...