The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 88

(2039 words)

Over the years, Madam Yang had been bothered by Po's humble origins. Now, after hearing the Empress's words, she didn't say anything more, only smiling awkwardly and nodding in resignation.

The Empress continued, “His Majesty has always doted on the Princess, treating her like a precious gem. In the past twenty years, he has never even spoken harshly to her, which has fostered in her a nature that responds better to gentle persuasion than harsh treatment. Therefore, if she has any faults, please ask the Empress Dowager’s wife to patiently advise her. As for her relationship with the Prince Consort, I hope that the Prince Consort and the Empress Dowager’s wife will be more tolerant and give her more time. In daily interactions, show her more care and concern, so that she can gradually feel the goodwill of the Prince Consort and her mother-in-law. Like the Empress Dowager’s wife, I also hope that the Princess and the Prince Consort will soon have a son, so that we can enjoy the joy of having a grandchild. However, this matter cannot be rushed. It must be the Princess’s own willingness. We must not let her feel forced, otherwise, if things don’t go as planned in the future, it will be difficult to handle the situation.”

Lady Yang readily agreed, then remarked on how much she cared for the princess. The Empress, taking the opportunity to praise her, bestowed upon her some gifts as usual. Lady Yang was overjoyed and thanked her repeatedly. The Empress then ordered someone to escort her to Consort Miao's residence for a chat, and then said to me, "Huaiji, I have several paintings in my pavilion. I wonder if they are genuine Tang dynasty works. Could you go and take a look?"

I agreed and followed her back to Rouyi Palace. Upon entering the Empress's Pavilion, she dismissed the crowd before saying to me, "Don't take what I said to the Empress Dowager just now to heart. You had to shut her up immediately; you had to say it that way. Otherwise, with so many palace servants around, who knows how many unpleasant things she might have said."

I nodded: "Your Majesty understands. What Your Majesty says is good for both me and the princess..."

Besides, she wasn't wrong. I lowered my eyes, took a slow, deep breath, and quietly suppressed the bittersweet feeling that finally spread from my heart to the tip of my nose.

“However, Huaiji,” the Queen looked at me gently and spoke to me in a tone as if I were her son, “even so, you and the princess should always be careful in your interactions and keep a proper distance to avoid giving others cause for gossip and creating unnecessary trouble.”

She paused, then emphasized slightly, "You are, after all, a boy."

Upon hearing this, I was unsure whether to be happy or sad. From being "treated as a girl" to "after all, he's a boy," my ambiguous gender provided the possibility for an instantaneous shift between these two interpretations, even though both statements came from the Queen's good intentions.

I nodded and forced a smile.

After a brief silence, the Empress continued, "What is crooked will become whole, what is low will be filled, what is little will be gained, what is much will be confused. I'm sure you understand this principle. It's better to have a steady, continuous flow than to hold onto something that's overflowing. Getting too close now could easily sow the seeds of estrangement. Besides, you're a smart child, and you should know that there are some taboos that can never be crossed; and some mistakes, once made, will lead to irreversible consequences."

I could naturally sense what she meant, and she went on to say, "Don't go to the princess's chambers at night. Sometimes, you should learn to back off and refuse when the princess gets close."

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I strictly followed the Empress's instructions, refraining from entering the Princess's bedchamber after dinner time, and no longer accompanying her on summer evenings when she sought refuge from the heat. She gradually noticed this and became quite unhappy, asking me why. I simply claimed that household affairs were plentiful and quiet at night, making them easier to handle. Sometimes she would come to my residence at night, but I wouldn't allow Xiaobai to open the door for her, which angered her, and I would find various excuses to brush her off. Later, she was forced to accept my decision, no longer insisting that I accompany her at night, but preventing me from leaving her sight during the day and restricting my outings, trying to maximize the time we spent together.

In mid-July, Consort Zhou gave birth to another princess. After delivering the gifts that had already been prepared within three days, I had to start preparing the full-month celebration gifts for the twelfth princess. I selected some textiles, porcelain, and jewelry styles suitable for children, and ordered people to purchase them, but the items that were brought back were not satisfactory, so I decided to go out and select some more myself.

There were several places to go, and it would probably take a whole day. To avoid the princess stopping me, I didn't tell her and secretly had horses prepared so I could sneak out. But she found out quickly and immediately chased after me to the gate.

I had already mounted my horse, but hadn't yet cracked the whip and started riding. She came galloping up angrily, snatched the whip from my hand, and wouldn't give it back no matter how much the eunuch beside her tried to persuade her.

I dismounted with a smile, bowed deeply to her, and gently asked her to return the riding whip. She pouted, gripped both ends of the whip tightly with both hands, and turned away angrily, ignoring me. I smiled again and turned to the side she was facing, bowing and pleading once more. She resolutely turned her head to the other side again, refusing to give it to me. Her coquettish appearance made the palace maids watching laugh, but she didn't care at all.

I thought for a moment, then pointed to the waiting steed and gestured to Xiaobai. Xiaobai understood, went over and pulled on the reins, and the horse immediately neighed. Xiaobai then called out to the princess, "Mr. Liang is gone!"

The princess was startled and turned to look. Taking advantage of her distraction, I snatched the riding whip from her hand and strode away amidst the laughter of the crowd, preparing to mount my horse. Unexpectedly, the princess suddenly burst into tears.

That childlike crying was rarely seen in her now that she was older. I was at a loss for what to do. I rushed back and bowed and apologized repeatedly. She finally stopped crying after I promised not to go out today. With my company, she gently wiped away her tears with her delicate hands and slowly returned to her room.

My eyes welled up with tears, my fingertips trembled slightly as I held the orange, and my defenses crumbled completely. I heard the sound of a dam bursting, and I barely managed to suppress the urge to hug her. In the end, I deliberately ignored her response, simply smiled at her, then rubbed some salt on a peeled slice of orange and offered it to her.

News of the princess stealing the whip quickly reached the ears of the prince consort and his mother. Within half a day, Zhang Chengzhao had brought me news of their affair: "Upon hearing this, the prince consort remained silent with a gloomy face, while his mother angrily pointed at him and cursed: 'What sins did I commit in my past life to give birth to such a worthless thing like you? You can't even touch your wife, and you just let her...'"

At this point, Zhang Chengzhao hesitated and swallowed the rest of his words.

"Say it all," I commanded him.

“Well, if you want to hear it, I will. But this is all her story; I didn't add a single word!” Zhang Chengzhao declared first, then lowered his voice to finish the sentence: “...and let her...behave lewdly in front of some androgynous guy…”

He carefully observed my expression, and seeing that I did not show any anger, he continued, "She also said that the prince consort is useless. If the princess had seen what a real man is like earlier, she wouldn't have to suffer such filth."

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) The wine is finished, leaving only a sorrowful female Taoist priest with furrowed brows.

Chapter word count: 4584 Update time: 09-07-05 10:36

Women's Crown

(This chapter contains 4207 words)

To avoid upsetting the princess, I forbade the palace maids and servants to relay Yang's words to the princess. In the future, whenever I saw the princess and her husband, I would pretend to know nothing about it and not show any emotion. Although they were cold to me, they would not say such harsh things to my face. The following days passed by seemingly peacefully.

Later, Madam Yang sent someone to tell me that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the death of the Imperial Brother-in-law, and she wanted to find some Taoist priests to perform a ritual for him at the residence. I naturally had no objection, and after replying to the princess, I allocated a sum of money to her, asking her to make the arrangements herself.

Two days later, the Taoist priests she had invited moved into the house. Zhang Chengzhao went to see them and came back exclaiming in astonishment, "Unbelievable! Guess what kind of Taoist priests she invited?... The leaders are three flamboyant female Taoist priests! One is named Yuqing, wearing a white jade lotus crown with a fine comb almost a foot long inserted in the back, inlaid with gold, silver, pearls and shells, and a bright green jade flower on her forehead. Even the headdresses used by prostitutes in brothels are not so flashy; another is named Zhuyun, wearing a Taoist robe made in the style of an open-front jacket, without a belt, and the bodice underneath is so low that you can see the cleavage of her chest; and the third is named Fuyue, whose Taoist robe style is fine, but it is made of gauze, and the pale yellow painted trousers she is wearing are clearly visible!"

At this moment, Han was asking for leave to go home and prepare for her son's wedding. After listening to Zhang Chengzhao's words, she said, "Nowadays, most of the female Taoist priests who go from house to house are actually prostitutes. It's not surprising that they dress like this."

Zhang Chengzhao shook his head and said, "But, my lady, they were invited by the Empress Dowager to perform a ritual for the Empress Dowager! Everyone who saw them was secretly laughing, saying that they never knew the Empress Dowager was so virtuous, that she would specially allow the Empress Dowager in the afterlife to enjoy such a wonderful life."

After thinking for a moment, Madam Han asked, "Could these female Taoist priests have been brought in by the Empress Dowager under the guise of holding a Taoist ceremony, and sent to serve the Prince Consort?"

Zhang Chengzhao nodded repeatedly: "I guessed that was the case. The prince consort doesn't usually get close to women, so the maternal uncle's wife found these sluts to train him."

I glanced at him because of his vulgarity. He immediately raised his hand and lightly slapped his cheek, then stepped forward and asked with a fawning smile, "It's really an eyesore to let them come and go from the princess's residence. Why don't I take a few people and drive them out?"

After thinking it over, I said, "No need. Since they were invited by the Empress Dowager, if you force them to leave, it will only damage the harmony. Besides, the princess doesn't object to the prince consort being close to other women. The wedding ceremony will only last a few days, so let them be."

However, after the ritual ended, these female Taoist priests did not leave. They remained in the house, spending their days in boisterous laughter and merriment, attracting the attention of onlookers. Supervisor Liang also disapproved of this and tactfully asked Madam Yang when she would like them to leave. Madam Yang replied that the驸马's birthday was in two days, and it would not be too late for them to leave after they had celebrated his birthday.

On the day of the prince consort's birthday, the princess, out of courtesy, attended the birthday banquet at her home in the evening. After drinking three cups of wine and offering auspicious words to the prince consort, she took her leave. At this moment, the female Taoist priest named Yuqing stood up, came over, and bowed to the princess, saying, "My sister and I have been chatting at the princess's residence for the past few days without paying our respects. We had prepared a few songs to present to the princess at the birthday banquet. We hope that the princess will do us the honor of staying a little longer so that we can listen to them before we leave."

The princess hesitated and did not respond for a moment. Madam Yang then smiled and said, "They have been practicing for several days to perform for the princess. Even if the princess is not interested, please give them the honor of performing for my son and me."

Since she said so, the princess could not refuse openly, so she sat down again. Yuqing thanked the princess, gestured to Zhuyun and Fuyue to play music, and then took a carved blue wine cup from her table and poured wine into the princess's agate cup, saying, "This wine is brewed by us and is called Taoyuan Chun. It is different from other wines. The princess may wish to try it."

The wine vessel was exquisitely crafted, with an elegant glaze. The wine flowing from it was amber in color, shimmering and sparkling under the light, making it quite beautiful. The princess raised her cup, took a sip, and nodded slightly, indicating that it tasted good.

At this moment, Zhu Yun played the sheng (a type of reed pipe instrument), and Fu Yue played the pipa (a type of lute), singing a song called "Bodhisattva's Charm": "I urge you to get drunk tonight, don't talk about tomorrow's affairs before the wine cup, cherish the host's heart, the deeper the wine, the deeper the affection. Don't worry about the short spring night, don't complain about the full golden cup, when you meet wine, just laugh heartily, how long can life be?"

The princess remained silent after hearing this, and did not even look at Li Wei, who was silently watching her. She simply smiled, tilted her head back, and drank the wine in her cup in one gulp.

Yuqing clapped her hands and cheered, then immediately came over and poured the princess another full cup, saying with a smile, "The last cup was my toast, and this cup is Fuyue's toast to the princess. If the princess thinks she sang well just now, then drink this cup."