Klares Wasser und wunderschöne Berge

Kapitel 25

Before he finished speaking, he drew a dagger and slashed his left arm.

Upon seeing the blood, the Emperor was greatly alarmed. He grabbed her arm, pinched the wound, and ordered someone to bandage it. However, Lady Zhang gently pushed him away, insisting that someone bring a cup and drip some blood into it before she would bandage the wound.

The Emperor was deeply moved and repeatedly comforted and praised her. Consort Zhang simply smiled and said, "As long as I can share Your Majesty's worries, what is a little blood and flesh of mine worth?" She then gently urged him to write a congratulatory message.

The final step of the ceremony was to summon the palace maids who had been released from the palace, thus demonstrating the Emperor's sincerity in accepting the advice to reduce the number of palace maids. After the head maid called out their names one by one and had them perform their farewell rites, Consort Zhang stood up shakily, bowed to the Emperor, and said, "This drought has lasted for an unprecedented length of time. If the palace maids released are merely dispensable, it will not be enough to show Your Majesty and the six palaces the sincerity of your prayers for rain. My adopted daughter, Xu, has always been dear to me, but now that this calamity has befallen us, I am willing to sever our mother-daughter bond and release Xu from the palace, hoping that this will move Heaven's will and bring rain to relieve the disaster for Your Majesty and the country."

As soon as she finished speaking, two more ladies who were close to her stepped forward and bowed, expressing their willingness to let their adopted daughters leave the palace. The Emperor pondered for a long time without uttering a word. The other concubines present, who all had adopted daughters, felt extremely uneasy. After a while, more ladies knelt down to echo her sentiments, and soon a large number of them knelt down, all expressing their willingness to give up their adopted daughters. Among them, there must have been more than half who did not have this intention, but in such a situation, if they did not join in expressing their opinion, they would appear unwilling to make any sacrifice, which would be tantamount to disloyalty to the Emperor and the country.

Seeing this, Consort Zhang smiled faintly, patted her chest and breathed slightly, and said to the Emperor, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Now that the six palaces are united and all are willing to give up their adopted daughters and leave the palace, Heaven will surely respond and send down timely rain." After speaking, she turned her head slowly to look at the Empress and asked softly, "Empress, am I not wrong?"

The Empress did not answer, but turned to the Emperor and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I only have one adopted daughter in the palace now. Whether she stays or goes is up to Your Majesty."

The Emperor stood silently with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky with a solemn expression. After a long while, he said, "I will discuss this with the Prime Minister tomorrow before making any further plans."

The outcome of the discussion with Minister Jia was predictable. With Jia Changchao's strong support and even encouragement, an imperial decree was issued to release more than a dozen girls, including the Empress's adopted daughter, Lady Fan, and Lady Zhang's adopted daughter, Lady Xu.

The final farewell ceremony was extremely somber. Several mothers and daughters embraced and wept uncontrollably. After paying her respects to the Emperor, Miss Fan rushed to the Empress's feet and prostrated herself, weeping, "Auntie, I was wrong..."

The Empress pulled her up, wiped away her tears, thought for a long time, hesitated to speak, and finally sighed, holding her in her arms with tears in her eyes.

When it was Miss Xu's turn to pay her respects, something unexpected happened. She knelt down blankly, and when Granny Jia saw that she didn't move, she reminded her to bid farewell to the Emperor. Unexpectedly, she suddenly became agitated, turned around, crawled a few steps on her knees, grabbed Zhang Meiren's skirt, and cried out, "Sister, why are you driving me out?"

Lady Zhang was startled, but after a moment's thought, she feigned sorrow and said, "I'm also reluctant to part with you, but if I can't bear to leave the palace with my loved ones, this rain..."

"No! My sister doesn't like me at all!" Miss Xu didn't want to listen to her at all, and cried and complained, "You still like Youwu the most... Ever since you gave birth to her, you've hardly ever looked at me properly... I thought that now that Youwu is gone, you should be nicer to me, but you still don't like me, you're even nicer to Sister Zhou than to me..."

“Youwu…” Zhang Meiren seemed stung by the name, muttering those two words softly. Suddenly, she gripped Xu’s arms tightly, almost pinching her hard, her eyes flashing with ferocity: “It’s you, it was you all along…”

Miss Xu screamed in pain and struggled desperately. Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Granny Jia quickly came over and pulled them apart. She held Miss Xu in her arms, covering her mouth with her hand while saying, "This child is too heartbroken and her mind is a little unclear. Let's skip the formalities for now." Then she kept giving Zhang Meiren meaningful glances.

Zhang Meiren was taken aback, but gradually calmed down and gave a slight smile. She said softly to Miss Xu, "Silly child, if I don't like you, who else could I like? Go back now, and I will come to see you again in the future."

At Zhang Meiren's behest, Granny Jia half-carried and half-dragged Miss Xu out. Miss Xu struggled and shook her head, making muffled noises through her covered mouth, but she couldn't utter a single word. Tears streamed down Granny Jia's face.

In contrast, Miss Fan and the others left peacefully, without resistance, but each of them covered their faces and wept. They rode out of the palace gate in a procession of more than ten imperial carriages, with billowing dust and mournful cries, and drove out of the imperial city in this way.

As I watched them walk away, I suddenly remembered that the women in the palace always left the capital in tears.

Or perhaps there are always exceptions. I think.

For example, Qiuhe will surely be overjoyed when she leaves the palace in the future, because the life she looks forward to is like a scroll painting that will slowly unfold before her, containing countless beautiful moments and delightful experiences, waiting for her to savor them one by one.

Take the princess, for example. She was born in the palace, but she won't spend her whole life there. One day, the Emperor will find her a husband and send her off in style... There are many learned and erudite scholars in this dynasty. The Emperor, sitting in the imperial court, sees nothing but outstanding talents every day. When he chooses a husband for his only daughter, who knows what exceptional man he will select... The princess must be overjoyed when she marries...

I was lost in thought, gazing into the distance, and didn't notice anyone approaching until she waved her hand in front of me a few times. When I looked closely, it was Qiu He.

"What are you thinking about, standing there blankly?" she asked with a gentle smile, her eyes still red from crying for Miss Fan earlier. "Why are you sighing?"

"Huh?" I asked blankly, "Did I sigh?"

Several days after Miss Fan and others left the palace, there was still no rain. In a fit of anger, the emperor dismissed Jia Changchao from his post as military governor of Wusheng, prefect of Daming, and pacification commissioner of Hebei, and banished him from the capital.

The day before the announcement of Jia Changchao's dismissal, Granny Jia toiled tirelessly between the inner and outer palaces, but ultimately returned empty-handed. However, details about Jia Changchao's dismissal were revealed by those who had been paying attention to her busy schedule.

It turned out that after the emperor released the palace women, he did not receive any rain. So he privately discussed the matter with Li Jianzhi, an official of the censorate. Li Jianzhi said, "Your Majesty has tried almost every method of praying for rain, except for the section on 'removing the three dukes' from the Han Dynasty's records of disasters and anomalies."

Because of the matter of Fan Guanyin, the current emperor was already quite annoyed with Jia Changchao. Hearing this, he became even more determined to dismiss him as prime minister. So he asked the censor-in-chief Gao Ruona for his opinion. Gao Ruona also said frankly: "The yin and yang are not in harmony, and the responsibility lies with the prime minister."

The remonstrating official Hong Fan seconded the motion, and mentioned that Jia Changchao had argued with Wu Yu many times in court, saying, "If ministers are not respectful, then the rain will not come on time."

The Emperor slammed his fist on the table and immediately ordered the Imperial Academy to draft an edict, and instructed the Hanlin Academy to write down the decree to dismiss the Chancellor.

When the Hanlin Academy needed to draft imperial edicts or handle other important matters, it would lock its gates to prevent leaks and ensure confidentiality; this was known as "locking the academy." Granny Jia had previously bribed one or two eunuchs serving the emperor. When these eunuchs saw the emperor summoning his ministers to discuss Jia Changchao's affairs, they immediately informed Granny Jia.

Granny Jia and Consort Zhang were extremely anxious and intended to contact Jia's faction, but the court had already adjourned, and all the officials had left the palace. Granny Jia then made an excuse to leave the palace, but was stopped by Mr. Zhang Maoze, who said it was too late and she could not leave before the palace gates closed. Granny Jia returned dejectedly and later went to the gates of the Hanlin Academy to look around, but was driven back by the guards. Finally, at dawn, she went to the Academy again, only to find the gates wide open. The Imperial Secretary, holding the imperial edict high, strode away before her very eyes and entered the Chui Gong Hall to meet the Emperor. About half an hour later, Jia Changchao, who had been dismissed from his post as Prime Minister, emerged from the hall dejectedly…

After he was dismissed from his post, it rained drizzly for several days.

The women described these events vividly, usually eliciting laughter from the listeners. However, the princess once asked wistfully, "Will Sister Fan ever come back?"

Miao Zhaorong did not answer, but summoned Jiaqingzi and Xiaoyan'er and asked them to accompany the princess to the courtyard to play on the swing.

"Those sent out under the guise of praying for rain, how could they possibly come back?" Consort Miao said after the princess left, addressing the ladies around her.

Yu Jieyu also sighed, "Thinking about Guanyin, she's a pitiful child. Who would dare marry a woman who has served an official? She can only become a nun in the future."

“Indeed.” Consort Miao casually moved the flowers in the vase beside her. “It’s like a perfectly good peach tree that had just bloomed its first flower this spring when someone cut it down and burned it for firewood.”

(to be continued)

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Unwittingly Misled by the East Wind 20. Cao Lang

Chapter word count: 6124 Update time: 08-08-21 16:05

20. Cao Lang

As Miss Gao's wedding day drew near, the princess's marriage became a major topic of conversation in the palace. She was ten years old this year, the age for marriage negotiations. In the past few days, the ladies who visited Consort Miao's chambers, after exchanging a few words about Miss Gao's dowry and entourage, almost invariably mentioned the princess, asking Consort Miao, "Which young master will His Majesty choose as his consort?"

Consort Miao simply shook her head: "I also want to know, but who can guess what the Emperor is thinking? Anyway, we can't expect him to choose a top scholar."

The customs of this dynasty differed from those of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Marriage was no longer based on social status, and intermarriage between scholars and commoners gradually became the norm. Because this dynasty placed great importance on scholars, the entire court was filled with officials who were scholars. Many high-ranking officials and powerful ministers came from humble backgrounds, but they could rise to the ranks of noble ministers through the imperial examinations. Therefore, from aristocratic families to wealthy gentry, everyone desired a son-in-law who had passed the imperial examinations. Even when the results were announced each year, families with daughters of marriageable age would wait outside the notice board, with the whole city vying for the young men in green robes.

In this dynasty, if a prime minister had a daughter, he would often choose a husband from among the young scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, or even marry his daughter to the top scholar. For example, Xue Kui, the former vice minister, married two of his daughters to Wang Gongchen, who had passed the imperial examinations in the same year as Wang Gongchen. His other son-in-law was Ouyang Xiu, who passed the imperial examinations in the same year as Wang Gongchen.

However, the emperor could not choose the top scholar (状元) or a Jinshi (进士) as his son-in-law. Because in previous dynasties, the maternal relatives of the emperor often interfered in politics, frequently leading to chaos and ruin, the ancestral laws of this dynasty treated them particularly strictly. They were not granted real power, but only given generous stipends and high ranks, without any opportunity for them to abuse their power. If, before a marriage alliance with the imperial family, a member of the maternal relative already held an official position with real power, they were usually dismissed before being granted a nominal title. The top scholar (状元) and Jinshi were future prime ministers, and naturally could not marry into the imperial family. The current emperor, facing a court full of talented young men, once jokingly said to his consorts, "Everyone says that the emperor's daughters have no trouble finding husbands, but I don't think so. If I were to choose a young man in green robes as my son-in-law, he would rather die than comply, and the censors would accuse me of ruining someone's future."