jdhmnovel Chapter 53 Useless stuff!
Chapter 53 Useless stuff!
Inside the Cining Palace, the sandalwood curtains swayed in the breeze. The Empress Dowager lay on an ebony lacquered bed inlaid with porcelain floral patterns. Even though she was getting on in years, her beautiful face had gained a more mature charm with the passage of time, exuding a languid and noble air.
As she gently twirled the jade prayer beads in her hand, she looked up at the Empress Wang standing before her, her gaze slightly somber.
"It's just that she's been granted residence in Feixue Palace, not that she's been promoted in rank. What's the big deal?" the Empress Dowager said in a deep voice, her tone slightly accusatory.
A hint of gloom suddenly appeared on Empress Wang's usually dignified face. She looked at the Empress Dowager with some grievance: "Empress Dowager, that is Feixue Palace! Even when Chu Qingyin wanted to move to that palace, she was not able to."
She took a deep breath, as if to calm herself down: "I thought His Majesty would give me some face, but I didn't expect that after Consort Chu left, Consort Qiao would come along. How can I not be angry?"
"Useless thing!"
As soon as Empress Wang finished speaking, she noticed a string of Buddhist prayer beads flying towards her. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and reached out to block it, otherwise the beads would have hit her in the face.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I misspoke."
Empress Wang immediately bent down to pick up the emerald green prayer beads from the ground and handed them back to the Empress Dowager. Her previous emotions vanished instantly, and she returned to her usual dignified and proper demeanor.
"I've advised you before not to get too caught up in love. Otherwise, how do you plan to spend the rest of your life?"
Empress Dowager Wang glanced at her sideways before taking the prayer beads: "Emperors are always heartless. You saw what happened to Consort Yang back then. I don't think this Qiao Qingyin will last long either. You should just be your empress. With the Wang family around, no one can compare to your honor."
Empress Wang hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but years of virtuous conduct and upbringing as an empress prevented her from speaking.
Even so, how could the Empress Dowager not see her resentment? But this was something she could only figure out herself; no one else could help her.
After sitting with the Empress Dowager for a while, Empress Wang withdrew.
After she left, Lin, the old nanny who was serving her, immediately stepped forward and helped the Empress Dowager to her feet: "Your Majesty, please don't be too harsh on the Empress. She is still young after all, and many things need to be taught slowly."
"She's still young? She's been Empress for three years? Does she think anyone can take this position? She's always dreaming of winning the Emperor's love, isn't that just wishful thinking!" The Empress Dowager's tone was solemn, with a hint of anger.
If Pei Yuanling were her own son, she might be able to help him! But he wasn't hers, so while she could speak up on important matters, she couldn't go against him on these trivial matters of the harem.
“This servant knows that the Empress Dowager has high hopes for the Empress,” Lin Mama sighed from the side.
Empress Dowager Wang glanced at her, then sighed, "Fine, tomorrow you should invite that Qiao Qingyin to my palace."
Knowing that the Empress Dowager intended to reprimand Consort Qiao, Lin Mama replied with a beaming smile, "Yes."
*
The following morning, Chu Qingyin had just finished paying her respects to the Empress at Fengyi Palace when she was summoned to Cining Palace.
"This concubine greets the Empress Dowager." Chu Qingyin respectfully bowed to the Empress Dowager.
Empress Dowager Wang lay on the soft couch, her gaze quietly fixed on her face, as if she were examining something, and did not ask her to get up.
Chu Qingyin dared not disobey the Empress Dowager, and could only force herself to maintain the posture of bowing despite her discomfort.
Back then, she was an absolute tyrant in the palace. Even though the Empress Dowager was dissatisfied with her in many ways, she dared not openly make things difficult for her.
I never imagined that in this second life, I would experience all the suffering I had never endured before.
Chu Qingyin mocked herself inwardly, when suddenly she heard the person on the bed finally speak, "There are quite a few people who look alike. But there are very few like you, who are similar in both appearance and spirit. Even I am a little dazed, so it is no wonder that His Majesty is so infatuated with you."
As she withdrew her gaze from her, Empress Dowager Wang raised her hand, gesturing for her to rise.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chu Qingyin finally breathed a sigh of relief, straightened her somewhat stiff body, tried her best to maintain a dignified demeanor, and walked to sit down on a wooden chair to the side.
Do you know why I've summoned you?
"This concubine is unaware," Chu Qingyin said respectfully, her head bowed.
The Empress Dowager was quite pleased with her appearance: "In this respect, you are unlike Consort Chu."
"Everyone in the palace says that I am possessed by Consort Chu, but I am a daughter of the Qiao family, with a father and mother. How could I become someone else's substitute? Others don't understand this feeling. Can't Your Majesty, a wise and insightful person, understand it?"
Chu Qingyin spoke with a sense of grievance, and a thoughtful look flashed in the eyes of the Empress Dowager.
He originally came to her to give her a warning, but unexpectedly she showed weakness to him instead.
"You don't need to be like this." The Empress Dowager coughed lightly. "I am not the kind of person who cannot distinguish right from wrong. As long as you behave yourself in the palace and do not do anything arrogant because of the Emperor's favor, I will not blame you too much."
Chu Qingyin hurriedly replied, "Even if you gave me eight hundred lives, I wouldn't dare."
Empress Dowager Wang was the victor in the previous palace intrigue, and her methods were undoubtedly shrewd. In the past, she relied on her connections and acted recklessly, which was tolerable. Having been given a second chance at life, Chu Qingyin didn't want any more trouble.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager saw that she was sensible and did not make things difficult for her. She only gave her a few words of advice in a stern voice and then let her leave.
As soon as Chu Qingyin stepped out of the palace, Xianglan came to greet her: "Your Majesty."
She first looked at Xianglan, whose face was full of concern, and then at Xiaohe, who was following beside her.
She hadn't planned to bring Xiaohe today, but coincidentally, Qiuzhu had gone to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine for her and hadn't returned yet. Xiaohe volunteered to come along, so she agreed.
As she was pondering, the two approached her. Before Xianglan could speak, Xiaohe asked first, "Your Majesty, what does the Empress Dowager want with you?"
A dark glint flashed in Chu Qingyin's eyes; this little girl's inquiries were far too blatant.
Xianglan had seen her sneaking into Mingyue Pavilion to meet with Qinglan several times.
Chu Qingyin was almost certain that Xiaohe was connected to the Lu family, but she was not yet sure who in the Lu family was behind Xiaohe.
She had originally intended to wait a little longer, but seeing how frequently she kept popping up was really annoying, so she decided not to wait any longer.
It's best to eliminate this potential threat as soon as possible.
That night, Chu Qingyin leaned against the couch, pondering how to make the most of Xiao He as a chess piece. Before she knew it, the night had grown deeper.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid His Majesty won't be coming today. Would you please rest?"
Qiu Zhu's soft question pulled Chu Qingyin back to reality, and she realized that it was already completely dark outside the window.
"Yes, let's rest."
She responded lazily, then gracefully rose and walked to the mirror.
She wasn't sure if Pei Yuanling believed her dream story from yesterday, but seeing that he hadn't come over today, he probably did.
Just as she removed a jade openwork hairpin, a palace servant's voice suddenly came from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived!"