Chapter 30: Untitled (无题)

Feng Jin accompanied Zhuang Laoyan for the whole morning, sharing the noon meal.

He noticed that Chongyi Zhao did not have much of an appetite, but because he had personally handed the bowl of soup to her, she seemed to force herself to drink it. His heart softened at the sight. He set down his pair of silver chopsticks. “If you don’t feel like eating, it’s fine. Today, have Shangshi Bureau prepare some vegetable dishes, fruits, and dimsum.” Then he had the young eunuch by his side pass on the message to said department.

“Your Majesty, this concubine is fine. It’s just that this concubine does not have much of an appetite. This concubine will recover soon.” Zhuang Laoyan worked hard to smile naturally. “Your Majesty has previously led 1,000 skilled soldiers to exterminate thousands of mountain bandits. Such soldiers were powerful and invincible. So how could this concubine be so scared and useless because of a small matter?”

“We are a man and must naturally protect the country and its civilians,” said Feng Jin with a smile. “For women to be a little frail and delicate is fine.”

“But this concubine is Your Majesty’s woman.” Zhuang Laoyan’s gaze proved serious. “Although this concubine does not need to fight to protect our country, this concubine at least does not wish to be a source of Your Majesty’s worry during busy court and state matters.” 

Laughter spilled from Feng Jin’s lips. Such a silly-to-the-point-of-adorable woman. In his opinion, the women of the imperial harem were only there to relax him. What did the imperial concubines being happy or sad had to do with him? However, when facing her earnest gaze, his heart and tone was gentle as he said, “We are truly happy that you are so thoughtful toward Us.” He noticed the smile on her face. And all of a sudden, he could not bear to see such sincere love aimed toward him.

Wearing a sweet-tempered smile, Zhuang Laoyan picked up some food with her chopsticks, placing it into the emperor’s bowl. “For Your Majesty to feel joy is this concubine’s good fortune.”

“You do not decline out of modesty at all.” Feng Jin picked up his chopsticks and ate the food that Zhuang Laoyan had given him. “For you to have said such words, are you waiting for Us to praise you?”

“As the saying goes, one word from the emperor is equivalent to nine large cauldrons¹. Thus, Your Majesty is sincere in praising this concubine. How could this concubine not accept it? Not to mention each word is from the heart. And also, what would the previously said words have meant otherwise?” Zhuang Laoyan tilted her head as she smiled at Feng Jin. The previously pale face was now vibrant.

Feng Jin took in the sight of her charming and pretty face and could not help but smile. He shook his head. “It’s such a rare event to not be able to praise and pamper a woman.”

“This concubine is your woman. If Your Majesty does not pamper, then no one else would.” Zhuang Laoyan retracted the hand that had been previously holding a bowl of soup. “If Your Majesty speaks of this concubine in such a manner, then this concubine will not accompany you in eating anymore. This concubine cannot be praised or pampered.”

“Now, even words cannot be spoken.” Feng Jin set down his chopsticks once more. Reached out and pulled the other party into his lap. He lightly slapped Zhuang Laoyan’s behind. “But you can still be hit.”

“Your Majesty!” Zhuang Laoyan turned her body, hugging Feng Jin’s waist. She pinched it, then proudly lifted her head to look at him.

Feng Jin’s gaze fell upon her. Although his waist somewhat hurt, he continued to keep her on his lap. He was in high spirits, a smile gracing his lips. “Today, We can be considered to have learned something. Beloved concubine cannot be provoked, yelled at, or hit, and can only be praised and pampered.”

Zhuang Laoyan snorted in her heart. This grandmother learned today you are the type who feels pleasure when pinched on the waist.

Standing in a corner, Gao Dezhong lowered his head. Once in a while, he would glance up and see that the dishes on the table were basically untouched. With a beauty in his arms, one did not need to eat to feel full. Whether he ate or not, the emperor would not be hungry today.

But had this Chongyi Zhao actually been scared into a fool? She had pinched the emperor, and it even seemed to have hurt. Who knew how the emperor was able to endure it?

They did not touch the meal much. However, in the end Feng Jin was lively and and satisfied. As he had left, he wore a large smile.

Watching as the emperor’s figure shrank into the distance, Zhuang Laoyan rubbed her belly. She drank two bowls of bitter medicine. Was there a person who could bear drinking a bowl of tonic after drinking this much already?

She dismissed the other servants. Lay down on a chaise lounge. Through narrowed eyes, Zhuang Laoyan gazed at the pot of water lilies upon the flower rack. Just who was scheming against her?

Consort Xian and the empress were in the same clique. They could even let things slide with Noble Imperial Concubine Yan, so they should be able to turn a blind eye to Zhuang Laoyan at present. A woman like Noble Consort Shu would most likely use an even more malicious tactic against her. Then there were Consort Ning, Zhaorong Xu, and Shurong Ye. But Zhuang Laoyan and those women did not have a conflict of interest, so they probably would not waste energy to deal with her out of the blue.

The empress dowager, that old fox, also did not need to use such tactics to deal with her. Furthermore, no matter how one looked at it, Zhuang Laoyan was not the empress dowager’s main target.

After thinking for so long, Zhuang Laoyan yawned. She called over some palace maids to fan her and took a lazy nap.

After Feng Jin returned to Qianzheng Palace, he did not immediately go over the memorials and proposals. Rather, he wrote down a few names of palaces that were currently empty. Finally, he placed a checkmark after the name of a well-ventilated and sunny palace.

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“Announce Our intention: Chongyi Zhao is currently of the third rank. For her to continue staying at Taoyu Pavilion is not suitable. Now, Xihe Palace will belong to Chongyi Zhao. The Housing Department shall choose an auspicious moving date.” Then Feng Jin let Gao Dezhong pass on this message.

Looked like the emperor truly was furious this time, to the point where he did not even inform the empress ahead of time of this. It seemed he was very unsatisfied that the deaths had even occurred.

“The emperor actually gave Xihe Palace to Chongyi Zhao?!” Consort Xian furrowed her brow. She shot the empress a careful look. “Your Majesty the empress, this Chongyi Zhao is too favored. Compared to all the palaces of the main masters, although Xihe Palace cannot be considered large, it is built in an extremely exquisite manner. Most importantly, it’s even closer to the emperor’s Qianzheng Palace than Taoyu Pavilion. The emperor favors Zhuang Laoyan too much.”

“How could this be truly considered His Majesty giving a palace to Chongyi Zhao?” The empress did not say aloud the second half of her thoughts. The emperor gave Chongyu Zhao a palace but did not inform her in advance. Wasn’t this to show his displeasure with her?

If a palace maid actually hung herself in Taoyu Pavilion, it would be good. But she just had to be killed by lightning. Now, the palace maids and eunuchs all said that the heavens were protecting Chongyi Zhao. The servants that had been struck down by lightning deserved their fates. If it were in the past, the empress would definitely not allow those rumors to occur. However, the emperor deliberately sent people to Zhonghua Temple, to donate money to thank the heavens for protecting Chongyi Zhao. “Because Chongyi Zhao suffered a fright, she can no longer live in Taoyu Pavilion. Moving to a different residence is reasonable.”

Consort Xian inferred most of the empress’ concerns and mood. She nodded and said, “That’s true. For such a huge thing to occur, helping her move to a different residence cannot be considered favoring her too much.”

The empress flashed a bitter smile. In the past, never had she thought Chongyi Zhao would become the most favored in the imperial harem. How could she advance so quickly in one day? The emperor was merely warning those with evil schemes. That the more they schemed against others, the more he would favor their target. The emperor had always had this kind of personality. So what could she even say?

“Xihe Palace. What a good Xihe Palace!” Jieyu Zhuang snapped her brush, dark ink freckling the white of her hand. She sucked in two deep breaths. “Bring in the water.”

Xieyu looked at Jieyu Zhuang, worry in her eyes. She cleaned up the things on top of the table and softly said, “Master, anger will harm the body.”

Jieyu Zhuang snorted coldly. “She just has such good luck.”

“Looks like… it was a coincidence.” Xieyu poured a cup of tea. Set it on the table. “Not to mention, it’s better to have Chongyi Zhao receive favor than your honored self’s enemies. At any rate, she will still consider your honored self due to the shared surname.”

“Surname? If she actually thought that was so important, she would not have done such muddleheaded things when first entering the palace.” Jieyu Zhuang lifted her teacup. As she thought back to those days, how could she stomach drinking some tea? “Presently, the emperor is only favoring her a little more than usual. Yet she acts like she has become an able and virtuous person.”

Seeing Jieyu Zhuang’s current appearance, Xieyu, who was a servant, no longer dared to advise her. She thought of the other masters in the palace, and could only sigh in her heart. After one entered this imperial harem, there were only enemies, no sisters.

Regarding the matter of Chongyi Zhao’s move, every master made not a sound. They only sent many gifts to her to decrease her fears. Even the empress dowager sent a 100-year ginseng, as if she had no opinion about her moving to Xihe Palace.

Zhuang Laoyan found it surprising. She had guessed the emperor would help her move to a new residence, but she never thought it would be to an actual palace. In fact, she was the master of that palace. Truly out of expectations. Just by its name, was evident that this Xihe Palace was very noble. The two words “Xihe” were extremely auspicious, and the palace was not far from Qianzheng Palace. Clearly precious.

That night, the emperor stayed at Taoyu Pavilion for one hour before rising and making for Qianzheng Palace. Zhuang Laoyan was very happy that he did not stay over. If he had gifted her a palace and also stayed the night, even if the empress was truly kind and virtuous, one would fear she would be unhappy.

On top the emperor’s personal sedan, Feng Jin played with the jade medallion in his hands. He watched as Gao Dezhong followed by the sedan’s side with his head lowered. He asked, “Gao Dezhong, who do you think I should let raise the third prince?”

How could Gao Dezhong dare to answer this question? He could only say, “Your Majesty, the third prince is still young and has an adorable appearance. Any of the masters would be happy to raise him.”

“Then let’s have Consort Xian take care of him first. We see that she has raised the eldest prince well.” Feng Jin lightly tapped the jade medallion with his knuckles. “Send the announcement tomorrow.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Gao Dezhong was not clear what the emperor was thinking. However, Consort Xian was a good choice for this task.

The next day, the imperial edict was announced. Consort Xian became the target of envy among the entire imperial harem. However, they all understood that her seniority and rank was high. So although they felt very unwilling, they could only congratulate her with a smile.

Zhuang Laoyan had no interest in raising other people’s children. Not to mention, the children would only be raised and not adopted. Once they matured, how would they not know who their birth mother was? Blood was thicker than water. With the birth mother around, there would exist a gap in the relationship between the surrogate mother and the child.

The empress did not make things difficult for Zhuang Laoyan as she paid respects. Zhuang Laoyan felt relieved but was also on alert. If during this period, the empress mocked her a little, she would just accept it. However, the empress still maintained a virtuous and able appearance. It seemed her thoughts were deep and she was able to endure a lot.

The more one could endure, the more malicious one’s schemes were. She did not want to become the target of the empress’ schemes. Moreover, she did not want to oppose the empress.

Originally, the empress held resentment in her heart, but after seeing Chongyi Zhao’s careful and frightened appearance, she felt her resentment decrease by a lot. Although this Chongyi Zhao was a little smart, she was only capable of doing this much. The empress did not want to waste any more energy on a pet.

She shifted her gaze to Noble Consort Shu and Consort Rou. The empress’ expression did not change. Now these two women were truly the ones that always held favor.

Not too sure what the chapter title (无题) is referring to here. Maybe the Third Prince, since rather than being adopted by a high-ranking imperial concubine (and gaining their status/title), he’s only getting raised by a high-ranking imperial concubine? There’s a nuance. Or maybe the title has to do with Zhuang Laoyan getting a whole palace to herself when she’s only a lesser third-rank chongyi. Hmmm…

Also, when ZL thinks this: This grandmother learned today you are the type who feels pleasure when pinched on the waist. LOL, she’s calling Feng Jin a masochist XD

For those still interested in Patreon advanced chapters, I highly recommend reading this post.