Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 100
I lowered my head slightly and silently bit my tongue, trying to suppress the pain and reduce the sensation in another part of my body, until I could taste the sweet, metallic flavor of blood.
Hearing this, Lady Miao became even more distressed and knelt down, pleading with the Emperor to summon her back. The Emperor sighed repeatedly, deeply troubled. After comforting Lady Miao and her daughter, he went to see Lady Dong and told her that he intended to promote her to the rank of Consort. Lady Dong had given birth three times in three years, and suffered a difficult childbirth with the Thirteenth Princess, leaving her extremely weak and bedridden. Upon hearing the Emperor's words, she immediately rose, knelt before him, and vehemently declined the promotion, asking if the Emperor could turn this reward into a promise to fulfill a wish. The Emperor asked what her wish was, and she replied that she hoped the Emperor would pardon her and summon her back to see the Princess.
Alas, Qiuhe… She had her own wishes, but she used every opportunity to fulfill them to help others. I am filled with gratitude for her, but faced with Deng Duzhi's narration, I remained silent, for I could not find any suitable words to express the emotion that her kindness evoked in me.
"After hearing what Madam Dong said, the Emperor still hasn't made a statement, but he must be considering summoning you back. And in the end, it was someone else who made him decide. You'll never guess who that person is," Deng Duzhi added.
I looked up at him with a questioning gaze, and he didn't keep me in suspense, giving me the answer directly: "It's the Imperial Son-in-Law, Li Wei."
Under my astonished gaze, he continued, "After hearing about the princess's drowning, Commandant Li went to the palace to request an audience with the Emperor, kneeling before him and kowtowing. The Emperor, thinking he had come to beg for forgiveness again, impatiently said, 'This matter is none of your concern; go back.' Commandant Li stammered and said that he had something he wished the Emperor to grant. The Emperor asked what it was, and he said:"
'Please recall Mr. Liang.'
At this point, Deng Duzhi paused, looking at me as if waiting for me to say something. I was completely speechless, and we remained silent for a long time before I finally asked, "Did he explain why he requested to be summoned back?"
Deng knew: "No. The Emperor asked him, but he couldn't explain why. He just kept kowtowing and repeatedly begged the Emperor to summon you back."
Deng Duzhi and I rushed back to Tokyo without stopping. By the time we reached the vicinity of the city gates, it was already dark. Deng Duzhi had initially thought that the time for closing the city gates had passed and that we might not be able to enter the city. However, when we arrived at the city gates, we found that they were still wide open and not closed. Deng Duzhi was very surprised and asked the gate guards. The guards replied, "The Third Princess is being buried today. The Emperor has ordered that the palace gates and city gates be left open until the funeral procession returns."
The Thirteenth Princess died young? I turned to look at Chief Deng, who nodded and said in a low voice, "The Thirteenth Princess's condition was never good after she was born, and she was already critically ill when I left the capital."
Counting the days, this little princess only lived for two months. My heart sank, and I dared not imagine how heartbroken Qiuhe must have been.
Deng Duzhi led me into the city. When the gatekeeper inquired about my identity, he concealed the fact that I was an inner court official returning to the capital to report on matters.
Once we entered the city, he quietly told me, "The Emperor doesn't want anyone to know about your return to the capital, especially the Censors. That's why he sent me to deliver a secret decree. He also instructed me not to mention your identity to anyone along the way. Otherwise, if the Censors find out you've returned, they'll definitely have something to say."
I lowered my eyes, recalling the accusations the censors had made against me. Chief Censor Deng remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to me and said, “You probably haven’t heard yet, have you? In mid-June of this year, the Emperor accepted the advice of his ministers and promoted Sima Guang to the position of Imperial Diarist and Co-Director of the Censorate… In just two months, Sima Guang has been impeached more than a dozen or twenty times, becoming the current censor who has offered the most advice.”
The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) A Pearl Cast Aside from Rubble Zhu Zhu
Chapter word count: 3823 Update time: 09-07-05 10:39
6. Zhu Zhu
(3514 words)
After entering the palace, the first person I met was the Empress.
"Bringing you back doesn't mean you'll return to the princess's side as if nothing happened, and you'll continue to serve as her servants." She said bluntly, "You will remain in the palace, and when the princess enters the palace, you can meet briefly to let her know you are safe and sound, but that's all. The way you were before can never happen again."
I lowered my head and remained silent, accepting her cold, scrutinizing gaze. After a long while, I heard her sigh: "Neither of you can control your temper, so we have no choice but to change the way you interact."
I raised my hand to my forehead and bowed to express my gratitude to Ruyi: "Your Majesty and Your Highness thank you for your wise decision."
She added, "You can no longer return to Lady Miao's residence. I'll have Chief Clerk Deng find you another place to live. As for what to do in the future, I'll think about it some more. But to avoid attracting the attention of the Censors, you can no longer obtain a high-ranking position."
That's not what I'm most concerned about. "Then, Princess..." I hesitated, only wanting to ask when I could see the princess.
The Empress understood and replied, "His Majesty has promised the Princess that he will summon you back and sent her back to her residence. As for when you will meet, we will discuss it further."
I thanked her again. She then ordered Deng Duzhi to take me out. As I retreated to the door and was about to turn around, she called me back and instructed, "Qiuhe also helped a lot to get you back this time. Go see her first tomorrow."
When I saw Qiuhe, I was secretly shocked by her appearance. A year had passed, and she could only be described as emaciated. A black velvet bandage was tied around her forehead as she leaned against her sickbed. Her face, devoid of makeup, even her lips were pale and bluish. She was as thin as a paper doll, completely lacking the plumpness of a woman who had just given birth. Moreover, there were heavy dark circles around her eyes, and her once clear and beautiful eyes were dull and lifeless, like dried-up springs—probably due to poor sleep and frequent tears.
That day, Lady Gao, the Lady of Jingzhao County, came to the palace to pay her respects and also to visit Qiu He. When I entered to visit Qiu He, the two were chatting casually. Upon seeing me, Qiu He seemed very surprised and delighted. She struggled to sit up and repeatedly called to her maid to invite me to sit. She also ordered Zhao Jichong, the supervisor of her department, to serve me tea. She did not treat me as a lowly eunuch at all, but rather as a distinguished guest who had come from afar.
This made me somewhat uneasy. I bowed and thanked her repeatedly, but I dared not sit down in front of her as she suggested. Qiuhe urged me to sit down again, and finally, the Lady of Jingzhao also advised with a smile: "We have known Mr. Liang for many years, and this is not in public. There is no need for such formality. Please sit down and talk slowly."
I then sat down and exchanged pleasantries with them. With the Lady of Jingzhao present, we talked mostly about life in Xijing and my travel experiences. Our conversation was so relaxed that it was as if I had only been ordered to go to Xijing for a year of temporary assignment. They didn't mention the details of my demotion or the princess.
A moment later, the sound of a baby crying came from outside, and then a wet nurse brought in a little girl who was a little over two years old, and said to Qiu He, "Madam, the Eleventh Princess has woken up again."
The girl was Zhihe's second daughter, Princess Yongshou, the eleventh princess. I immediately stood up and bowed to Princess Yongshou. Qiuhe smiled and said, "She's still a child who doesn't understand things, why be so polite?" While smiling, she took Princess Yongshou from the wet nurse's arms and said to her softly with a smile, "Zhuzhu, you woke up several times last night and only fell asleep at dawn. Why are you awake again? Do you know that a distinguished guest is coming?"
She smiled and pointed at me. Princess Yongshou turned her head to look at me upon hearing this. Her skin was inherited from Qiuhe, making her look crystal clear, like a little figure carved from Hetian jade. Her beautiful eyes, which resembled Qiuhe's, were still wet with tears. When she saw me looking at her, she immediately buried her head in her mother's arms. Her delicate and timid appearance made people feel sorry for her.
When I left the capital, the current emperor had not yet given her a maiden name. Everyone in the palace called her "Master" in accordance with the empress's way of addressing her. Now Qiuhe calls her "Zhu Zhu," so this must be Princess Yongshou's name.
“The Eleventh Princess’s given name is very beautiful,” I said with a smile.
"Is that so?" Qiuhe and the Lady of Jingzhao exchanged a smile, and then she explained to me, "Speaking of which, this name was actually given by the fourth brother of the Lady of Jingzhao's family."
This "Fourth Brother" refers to Zhongke, the fourth son of the Lady of Jingzhao and the Thirteenth Militia. The Lady of Jingzhao immediately smiled and said to me, "My son is disrespectful and doesn't know his place. He calls his aunt so casually. Fortunately, the Emperor and Madam Dong are magnanimous and don't hold it against him."
Seeing my confusion, Qiuhe explained in detail: "Last early winter, the Eleventh Princess was very ill. The Prince of Jingzhao brought several young men and women to visit her. Zhongke heard the Empress call the princess 'Master,' and misunderstood. He happily pointed to his pig-head shoes and kept calling 'Pig, Pig.' Strangely enough, the Eleventh Princess, who had been in a deep sleep, opened her eyes upon hearing him call her that, and gradually recovered. The Emperor was very pleased and said that it was common for ordinary families to give their children humble names in hopes of making them easier to raise, and it seemed to make sense. He suggested calling the Eleventh Princess 'Pig.' The Empress laughed and said that although the name 'Pig' sounded very affectionate, it wasn't quite suitable as a girl's name. She suggested keeping the sound but changing the character to 'Zhu,' which is still the same character, but written as 'Zhu,' which would be auspicious. The Emperor readily accepted, and from then on, we called the Eleventh Princess 'Zhu Zhu,' and the Emperor also granted Zhongke permission to call her Zhu Zhu..."
Before she finished speaking, a boy of about five or six years old rushed in from outside as if riding on wheels of fire. Most of his hair was shaved off, leaving only a small tuft on his forehead. He was wearing a silk outfit, with a knee-length blouse underneath and a long-sleeved short shirt on top. The sleeves were bulging, and he had pinched the cuffs behind his back, making them look like two large bags. It was unknown what was hidden inside.
Upon seeing this, the Lady of Jingzhao scolded, "Fourth Brother, why are you running around so recklessly! Don't startle Lady Dong and the Eleventh Princess."
Zhongke stopped in front of Qiuhe and Princess Yongshou, turned to his mother and said, "I went to play with Sister Wan earlier and saw that she had just steamed a box of incense, saying it was for use in the tent and that smelling it would help me sleep well. Didn't you say that Zhu Zhu has been waking up frequently at night lately? So I asked Sister Wan to light a censer and let me fill my sleeves with the incense to bring to Zhu Zhu. I was afraid the incense would dissipate over time, so I had to run fast!"
The "Sister Wan" he mentioned refers to Feng Wan'er, the granddaughter of Feng Zheng, a high-ranking official during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, who was adopted by the Empress a few years ago. This girl was intelligent and kind, and like Qiu Zhi, she enjoyed making cosmetics and perfumes.
After Zhong Ke finished explaining, he stopped listening to his mother's scolding and opened his sleeves towards Princess Yongshou, waving his arms vigorously in an effort to let the princess smell as much of the fragrance he had brought as possible.
The fragrance has the elegance of agarwood, yet it also carries a sweet fruity scent, which truly soothes the mind and brings a sense of pleasure.
"Hmm, this fragrance is nice. It's made by steaming pear juice and agarwood." Qiuhe quickly recognized it and smiled at Zhongke, saying, "Fourth Brother, thank you."
Zhong Ke shook his head: "No need to thank me, as long as Zhu Zhu likes it." Then he asked Princess Yongshou with great concern, "Does it smell good?"
Princess Yongshou smiled slightly and nodded gently.
"So, do you want to sleep now?" Zhong Ke's eyes widened, eager to confirm the miraculous effects of the spice.
The adults in the room laughed. The Prince of Jingzhao slapped his bald head and chuckled, "Trying to put someone to sleep with just a sniff? You think this is a sleeping potion?!"