Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 18
Facing a room full of imperial relatives and nobles, the Emperor finally showed a slight smile, greeting each of the high-ranking and respected figures, and also engaging in conversation with the younger ones. The Empress also guided the conversation from the side, and the atmosphere became lively again.
The Empress here ordered that a certain number of extra gifts be presented and then distributed to everyone at the banquet. Among them were several bushels of pearls from foreign merchants in Guangzhou, which were pure white, lustrous, and perfectly round. The pearls in each bushel were of different sizes, increasing in size as they were viewed in order, but the pearls in each bushel were all uniform in quality.
Everyone exclaimed in admiration, and several concubines couldn't help but pick up the pearls to admire them closely, reluctant to put them down.
Lady Zhang, feeling depressed, had been lying listlessly in her pavilion for over ten days. Tonight, she had only come out with difficulty, her complexion pale, her face gaunt, and her gait unsteady, reminiscent of Xi Shi clutching her heart. But upon seeing Pearl, a ripple stirred in her usually stagnant eyes, and she walked over lightly, her lotus-like steps lingering around Pearl.
Seeing the pearls illuminating her haggard face, the Emperor seemed somewhat saddened and immediately announced, "These few bushels of pearls are bestowed upon Consort Zhang."
When the banquet ended and all the nobles and relatives of the imperial family had left, leaving only the princess and a few close concubines by her side, the empress asked the emperor, "The lady who combs hair is Your Majesty's favorite, so why did Your Majesty list her as the first and send her out of the palace?"
The emperor replied, "This man advised me to refuse advice; how can I keep him by my side?"
The Empress smiled calmly and gave a slight bow: "Your Majesty is wise."
The other concubines also praised him, but Consort Miao then said with a smile, "But now that the Lady of the Hairdressing has been dismissed, the vacancy in the position of Director of Hairdressing is a minor matter, but it will trouble the Empress to think of someone else to style His Majesty's hair."
Yu Jieyu said, "Isn't there a Director Chen in the Bureau of Costumes?"
Miao Zhaorong shook her head and said, "Chen Sishi's makeup is well made, but it's a pity he doesn't know any guiding techniques, and his hairstyle isn't very good either."
“The maid who combed my hair is quite good,” Zhang Meiren, who had been silent, suddenly interjected. “She knows the art of guiding qi, combs hair well, and is light-footed. She doesn’t lose many strands of hair after combing it.”
Zhang Meiren glanced at the Emperor, seemingly casually, and added, "It's Xu Jingnu, whom Your Majesty has met before. She's sixteen years old this year."
"I do have someone in mind to recommend to Your Majesty," Consort Yu smiled at the Emperor, then turned to the Empress and said, "Your Majesty must make the final decision. Gu Cai'er, the head of the hairdressing department, is eighteen years old. She has been doing my hair recently, so her skills are beyond question. Most importantly, she is of good character, extremely steady, and her words and actions are never as frivolous as the hairdresser. It is good for Your Majesty to be beautiful, but the worst is to be beautiful but immoral."
"Heh." Zhang Meiren scoffed, giving Jieyu a cold glance with utter contempt.
Consort Miao gently waved her fan and spoke slowly, "I have also thought of someone. She is thoughtful, skilled, and extremely virtuous. The Emperor and the Empress both know her."
The Empress quickly understood what she meant: "Qiuhe?"
"Indeed." Consort Miao bowed to the Empress while holding a round fan and said, "Although Qiuhe is still young, she is proficient in guiding exercises. After she combs my hair in the morning, I feel refreshed all day long. She also often has ingenious ideas when combing my hair, and the hairstyles she creates are novel and unique. As for her, Your Majesty and Empress have seen it all, so I won't say more."
The Empress did not express her opinion, but turned to the Emperor and asked him, "What is Your Majesty's opinion?"
After some deliberation, the Emperor made the following decision: "Let these three men prepare, and for the next two months, they will continue to comb the ladies' hair. On the Qixi Festival, I will see who combs the ladies' hair best, and that person will be promoted to head of the hairdressing department and selected as the hairdressing lady."
(to be continued)
The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) When we met again, I had already taken note. 15. Stealing the Nephew
Chapter word count: 3693 Update time: 08-09-13 15:35
15. thieves nephew
Since reading the letters from the officials before the Dragon Boat Festival, I had been thinking of reading them all and selecting the best lines to copy and memorize. However, I was busy with other matters after the festival and it wasn't until the end of June that I finally found the time to go to the calligraphy bureau to find Zhang Chengzhao and ask him for the Dragon Boat Festival letters archived at the academy.
He quickly found it for me and even transcribed it with me. While I was copying, I casually asked him, "Has Scholar Ouyang produced any new works recently?"
“Ouyang Xiu?” Zhang Chengzhao said, “Isn’t his latest article the memorial that spoke up for Du Yan, Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi and others? This has stirred up a hornet’s nest and caused a lot of trouble. Not only will he lose his official position, but it’s also uncertain whether he can keep his head. I guess he will have no interest in composing poems or lyrics for the time being.”
I was quite surprised: "Everything was fine during the Dragon Boat Festival, so what's going on?"
“Where to begin? There are several threads to this story, let’s recount them one by one.” Zhang Chengzhao began to recount Ouyang Xiu’s story to me in detail.
In May, Ouyang Xiu had submitted a memorial arguing that Du Yan, Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, and others should not have been dismissed, saying, "These four men can be called the most impartial and virtuous. In their leisure time, they are too busy praising each other to think otherwise. When discussing matters of state, they speak frankly and debate in court without any selfishness. In this respect, I believe that Du Yan and others truly embody the 'loyal ministers who have the integrity to be discordant' described in the history of the Han Dynasty. However, the slander of them as forming a faction by petty men is a false accusation... If they are dismissed, it will allow the evil people to rejoice within the court and the barbarians to rejoice outside. This is why I regret it for Your Majesty."
They openly labeled the faction that ostracized the ministers of the Qingli New Deal as "petty people" and "evil people," and these very people were the current rulers, thus sowing the seeds of future disaster.
Ouyang Xiu's brother-in-law, Zhang Guizheng, died young without children, except for a daughter from his first marriage. Ouyang Xiu's sister took the girl back to her parents' home, where Ouyang Xiu helped raise her. At that time, the girl was seven years old. When she was about to reach marriageable age, Ouyang Xiu married her to his cousin's son, Ouyang Sheng. However, five or six years after her marriage, Zhang Guizheng had an affair with a servant named Chen Jian. Soon after, the affair was discovered, and she was imprisoned at the Right Military Circuit of Kaifeng Prefecture.
When Yang Riyan, the acting prefect, was serving as the governor of Yizhou, Ouyang Xiu had submitted a memorial criticizing his greed and arrogance. Yang harbored resentment and sought revenge. He ordered the prison guards to severely interrogate Zhang, trying to get her to mention Ouyang Xiu. Fearing punishment and in order to protect herself, Zhang recounted many of her past affairs with Ouyang Xiu before her marriage, including many unsavory details.
Based on this, Yang Riyan reported to the emperor, and the remonstrating official Qian Mingyi subsequently submitted a memorial impeaching Ouyang Xiu, accusing him of having an affair with his niece and defrauding the orphaned girl of her family fortune. Military inspector Sun Kui was ordered to re-examine the case. He felt that Zhang's account might not be true, and perhaps out of respect for Ouyang Xiu, he did not pursue the matter further, only investigating Zhang's affair with Chen Jian. This approach enraged the high-ranking officials, who ordered the Grand Master of Ceremonies Su Anshi to re-examine the case, intending to eliminate Ouyang Xiu in one fell swoop.
"Did Scholar Ouyang really have an affair with his niece?" I asked Zhang Chengzhao, finding the matter unbelievable. "Zhang's confession is strange. He said it was to protect himself, but the crime of adultery with one's uncle is even more serious than adultery with a servant. Not only does it not exonerate him, but it adds another serious crime to his record. Could it be that he was tortured into confessing?"
“Those who support Ouyang Xiu also say so, but…” Zhang Chengzhao then stood up and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll find another poem for you to see.”
He rummaged through a pile of documents and finally pulled out a sheet of paper containing a poem titled "Looking South of the Yangtze River," which he then handed to me.
I unfolded it and saw the poem: "Willows of Jiangnan, their leaves small and not yet providing shade, how can one bear to break them, so delicate as silk? Orioles pity the tender branches and cannot sing of them, let them remain until spring deepens. At fourteen or fifteen, I idly carried my pipa and searched for a time, tossing coins in the hall and walking around below. I had already taken note of them when we met then, let alone now."
Zhang Chengzhao explained to me, "This is an old work by Ouyang Xiu. After the story of his niece spread, it was unearthed by Qian Xie, a relative of Qian Mingyi, who jokingly pointed to the poem and said, 'When Zhang came to the Ouyang family, she was seven years old, just when her daughter was learning to toss coins.'"
“Qian Mingyi, Qian Xie…” I sensed something was off. “They’re surnamed Qian, could they be descendants of King Qian of Wuyue?”
Zhang Chengzhao nodded: "That's right. Ouyang Xiu was compiling the History of the Five Dynasties, and I heard that he used many derogatory words against the King of Wuyue. The descendants of the Qian family have long been dissatisfied with him."
I thought for a moment and then asked, "Did he really write 'Looking South of the Yangtze River'? Did he admit that it was an older work of his?"
Zhang Chengzhao replied, "He neither admitted nor denied it, so it should be considered an admission."
I was speechless, repeatedly looking at the poem in my hand, my gaze lingering on the last few lines: "The money is tossed in the hall, the people walk below; when we met then, I already took notice, let alone now..."
My heart skipped a beat. I remembered when I first entered the Princess's Pavilion, she was also tossing coins. I thought it was just a casual glance, but her innocent and charming appearance seemed to have been imprinted on my heart ever since, so much so that now, whenever I see the words "tossing coins," I think of her smiling face.
"Perhaps, Scholar Ouyang and Lady Zhang were simply in love without any ulterior motives," I sighed.
"Love without malice?" Zhang Chengzhao repeated, raising his voice with an inexplicable excitement, teasing me: "In the end, we're just lowly eunuchs who never get to touch a woman, how could you know what love is and what malice is?"
I felt as if I had been slapped twice across the face; my cheeks burned, and I lowered my eyes, speechless.
This prompted Zhang Chengzhao to clap his hands and laugh: "I thought that after you entered the inner province, saw the world, and were trained by the women, you should have made a lot of progress. I didn't expect you to still be so thin-skinned."