J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 19

I forced a smile, hoping to steer the conversation away from myself: "And what about the Emperor? What does he think of Ouyang Xiu's matter?"

"I heard from the scholars that the Emperor is also furious. Originally, he greatly admired Ouyang Xiu's talent, not only appointing him as an advisor but also specifically instructing us to present him with any new works by Scholar Ouyang, regardless of whether they were imperial edicts. Now that this has happened, the Emperor is naturally enraged. It is said that when he first heard about this in court, his face darkened instantly, and he remained silent for a long time." At this point, Zhang Chengzhao asked me, "You've had many opportunities to see the Emperor, so why didn't he mention it?"

I shook my head and said, "I serve by the princess's side. How could His Majesty mention such things to the princess?"

"Didn't you mention it to the ladies?" Zhang Chengzhao suddenly became interested again. "Have you heard that Zhang's wife might also throw a stone into Ouyang Xiu's well?"

"Madam Zhang?" I asked in surprise. "It shouldn't be. After the incident with the hairdresser, the Empress specifically warned all the ladies not to get involved in politics. Besides, Madam Zhang and Ouyang Xiu shouldn't have any grudges, right?"

Zhang Chengzhao chuckled and asked me, "Do you remember when Lady Zhang gave birth to the Eighth Princess, Ouyang Xiu submitted a memorial entitled 'On the Need to Reduce the Favoritism Towards Lady Zhang'?"

He reminded me that this was indeed true. At that time, the Eighth Princess, Youwu, was born, and the Emperor ordered 8,000 bolts of silk and brocade to be retrieved from the Left Treasury. It was the dead of winter, and the artisans in the dyeing workshop, to fulfill the imperial order, had to break through the ice in the bitter cold and heavy snow to fetch water for dyeing. Upon learning of this, Ouyang Xiu immediately submitted a memorial, not only condemning the matter but also pointing out that the frequent bestowal of favors upon the relatives of Consort Zhang was "a defilement of the Emperor's virtue" and "difficult to escape divine retribution," hoping the Emperor would nip it in the bud and take swift action.

Given Consort Zhang's character, it's not impossible that she would hold a grudge about this. I asked Zhang Chengzhao, "Even so, Consort Zhang is in the inner palace, and if she were to interfere in this matter, the Emperor would certainly be wary of her. How could she possibly intervene?"

“Don’t you know?” Zhang Chengzhao pointed in the direction of the Secretariat, “Master Jia has recognized Lady Zhang’s adoptive mother as his aunt.”

Zhang Meiren's adoptive mother was named Jia Cheng, who also lived in the palace. Relying on Zhang Meiren's favor with the emperor, she acted arrogantly and was known in the palace as "Grandma Jia." The prime minister, Jia Changchao, shared the same surname and recognized her as his aunt, with whom he had frequent interactions. I knew about this, but I hadn't connected it to Ouyang Xiu's story.

“If Madam Zhang wanted to do something so small, she didn’t need to do it herself. She could have just informed Master Jia through Granny Jia,” Zhang Chengzhao said. “Master Jia was so ruthless towards Ouyang Xiu this time. Perhaps it was at Madam Zhang’s behest? I heard that Master Jia is now asking the Emperor to send Wang Zhaoming to jointly try Ouyang Xiu’s case with Su Anshi. I’m afraid that this idea was also Madam Zhang’s idea.”

Wang Zhaoming? I sighed inwardly. Scholar Ouyang was truly having one misfortune after another. He used to be a proud and aloof person, which offended many people. Now that he was in trouble, those potential opportunists quickly surfaced.

Previously, when Ouyang Xiu served as the Provincial Transport Commissioner of Hebei, the current emperor wanted to send his close attendant Wang Zhaoming along to jointly supervise the water conservancy and grain transport in Hebei. Ouyang Xiu firmly refused, saying that it was unprecedented for an imperial attendant to accompany a court official on a diplomatic mission, and that he felt "truly ashamed." The current emperor granted his request and did not send Wang Zhaoming. This was clearly an embarrassing situation for Wang Zhaoming. Now, Jia Changchao's request to send him to handle the case was clearly intended to allow him to settle a personal score and bring Ouyang Xiu to ruin.

I asked Zhang Chengzhao, "Will the Emperor allow Mr. Wang to go?"

Zhang Chengzhao laughed and said, "You're asking me? I'd like to ask you the same thing! Look at you, how did you even qualify for the Imperial Examination? You don't even know anything about things in your own province, yet you come all the way to the front province to ask me!"

I smiled sheepishly, realizing how slow I was to grasp these things. The political landscape in the palace was constantly shifting, yet I was so oblivious, somehow managing to climb the ranks to the highest level – quite an anomaly indeed.

After copying the Dragon Boat Festival greetings, I bid farewell to Zhang Chengzhao and prepared to return to Yifeng Pavilion. He insisted on seeing me off, escorting me all the way to the Inner East Gate. Since I was transferred to the Rear Secretariat, every time I visited him, I felt that his attitude towards me was even friendlier than before, with a subtle kind of attentiveness. I couldn't help but think that he was truly a person well-suited to survive in the palace.

We ran into Granny Jia, whom we mentioned earlier, near the Inner East Gate. She had just returned from outside and alighted from her sedan chair in front of the Inner East Gate. A young eunuch who had been following her came over to help her, but he was a bit clumsy when he lifted the curtain, and his hand accidentally touched Granny Jia's heavy crown. Granny Jia immediately slapped him hard across the face: "You little rascal! Did your mother not wrap your hands properly when you were born, giving birth to a wretched hand like you with epilepsy!"

The young eunuch dared not argue and immediately knelt down to apologize. Granny Jia, however, was still not satisfied. She continued to curse and swear, while reaching out with her long, two-inch-long fingernails to pinch the young eunuch's ear. The young eunuch craned his neck, winced, and grimaced in pain, but still forced a smile, saying, "It was my fault, Granny. Please allow me to slap myself, but don't break your fingernails."

When he looked up, I was taken aback and recognized him as the eunuch who had asked me to deliver the glass lamp.

Granny Jia finally let go, but the young eunuch remained kneeling and began slapping himself repeatedly. Granny Jia ignored him and walked towards the inner palace. As she passed by me, she glanced at me. I bowed slightly to her, and she smiled nonchalantly, saying, "Oh, it's Liang Gaoban... paying respects to Princess Fukang on my behalf."

She swayed her bulky body and walked away. After she was out of sight, I walked up to the eunuch who was still kneeling and slapping himself, and said, "She's gone, you can go back now."

He looked up at me, was immediately terrified, scrambled to his feet, and ran away as fast as he could.

Seeing this, Zhang Chengzhao asked me the reason. I then told him that this person was the one who gave me the glass cup. Zhang Chengzhao sighed and said, "Fortunately, you have a good master now. You have the princess protecting you, and the princess has the official protecting her, so they will let you go... For the sake of our brotherhood, if there are any jobs in the princess's palace in the future, please recommend me to go there. Staying in this former province is really getting more and more boring."

(to be continued)

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Unwittingly Misled by the East Wind 16. Flower Crown

Chapter word count: 4672 Update time: 08-08-21 16:04

16. Corolla

The so-called affair of Ouyang Xiu "stealing his nephew" was treated as a scandalous affair and gradually spread to the palace, becoming a topic of casual conversation among the palace ladies. Once, Consort Miao brought it up with great interest to the Emperor, asking if he would allow Wang Zhaoming to handle the case. Unexpectedly, the Emperor's expression changed drastically, his smile vanished, and he remained silent. Consort Miao dared not ask further. I observed carefully, but heard nothing further, so I suppose the Emperor is still hesitant.

With the Qixi Festival approaching, the ladies of the court, who recommend ornaments to the Emperor, are paying increasing attention to their hair ornaments and makeup. Women of the dynasty love to wear floral crowns. On ordinary days, their hair is simply styled in a bun, but the crowns they wear must be dazzling and eye-catching, especially during festivals. They are often adorned with flowers, hairpins, willow branches, and gold threads, their heads adorned with pearls and jade, vying for attention.

One day, after Qiuhe finished dressing up Consort Miao, Consort Yu happened to come over. Consort Yu looked Consort Miao up and down and said with a smile, "Sister, please forgive my bluntness. Qiuhe's hairstyle is naturally good, but the crown she paired with it is a bit plain and lacks any eye-catching jewelry."

Consort Miao also looked at Consort Yu's headdress and sighed, "I'm also having a problem. I don't know what kind of jewelry to use for the headdress. I think the beads on your headdress are quite nice, but if that lady from Xiangluan Pavilion uses the beads from the foreign merchants bestowed by the Shangguan family, I'm afraid she will steal the limelight."

Consort Yu said, “Don’t even mention it. Ever since the Emperor bestowed pearls upon her last time, all the concubines in the palace have asked the people in the Inner Palace to buy them from outside. When the wealthy and powerful families in the capital saw them, they all rushed to buy them. As a result, the price of pearls increased tenfold within a month. These few broken pearls on my head are actually worth a thousand strings of cash.”

Consort Miao covered her mouth with her fan and exclaimed in surprise, "A thousand strings of cash? Have you gone mad?!"

"That's really the price now." Yu Jieyu pouted and said, "If a thousand strings of cash could buy a good one, that would be fine. But unfortunately, even though I paid a high price, the quality of the beads I bought is still not as good as hers. When Qixi Festival comes, what will I have to compare with her?"

Consort Miao lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then said to Consort Jieyu, "I'm afraid we can't compete with her in terms of beads. Why don't we find some better ones, such as jade, tortoiseshell, or ivory? We can have the Imperial Household Department find the best quality ones and buy them. When we make them into a crown and wear it, it might not be inferior to her beaded crown."

Yu Jieyu nodded and said, "Sister is right. It doesn't matter if we spend more money this time. If we're going to buy something, we have to choose the best. We can't lose to that person. Otherwise, we can only watch helplessly as she plants a vixen by the Emperor's side again."

Miao Zhaorong wholeheartedly agreed, and with a smile, turned to ask Qiu He, "Qiu He, in your opinion, what kind of jewelry would best suit me for a crown? How about jade?"

Qiuhe did not answer, but lowered his head and knelt down in front of Zhaorong, saying, "I hope that you will think it over and not ask to buy expensive jewelry as adornment."

Consort Miao asked in surprise, "Why is that? Please get up and tell me slowly."

Qiu He remained kneeling and said, “In the capital, from the wealthy to the common people, everyone considers taking from the palace to be fashionable. Whenever they hear that a member of the palace wants to buy something, they rush to buy it, causing prices to soar. Lady Zhang loves to eat Jiangxi kumquats, and when this news spread among the people, the price of kumquats immediately skyrocketed. I heard that now one pound of kumquats can buy eight pounds of mutton. If Lady Miao were to purchase jewelry at an even higher price, whether it be jade, tortoiseshell, or ivory, the price of such items throughout the country would surely rise. This would go against the emperor's wishes and harm the people's livelihood, so it is absolutely unacceptable. I hope Lady Miao will rescind her order.”

Consort Miao thought for a moment, then smiled at Consort Yu and said, "What this child said makes some sense. The Emperor always tells us to be frugal. If he knew that our jewelry cost a lot of money, he probably wouldn't be happy."

Yu Jieyu had no objection, but then frowned and said, "But on Qixi Festival, Madam Zhang will definitely adorn herself with beads from foreign merchants. Even if we find the best jewelry we have, it will inevitably be inferior to hers."

Qiuhe replied, “The purpose of the Qixi Festival test is to select those who are good at combing hair. Ladies do not necessarily need to use expensive jewelry. The official’s hairstyle is different from that of the ladies, so there is no need to wear fancy crowns. Qiuhe thinks that it is enough to comb the ladies’ hair at that time. As for the crown, it is just an ornament. Choose some silk or brocade flowers, or even fresh flowers at that time. If you use priceless treasures, it will be the opposite of the main purpose.”

The two ladies nodded repeatedly. Consort Yu personally helped Qiu He up, smiling as she said, "Good girl, thank you for reminding me. You said these things without even trying to hide them from me, which shows you have a very open and honest heart."

Qiu He bowed in gratitude, but was then deeply embarrassed, unsure how to respond. Consort Miao, however, chuckled and said, "We're all family. It doesn't matter who recommended the lady-in-waiting; why should we be wary of you?"

The next day, Consort Miao had Qiuhe style her hair into a small bun without a crown or wig. Qiuhe stood behind her with a diamond-shaped mirror in her hand, letting her look at it first and then. Consort Miao was still not satisfied, so she called me over and said, "You are a boy, so please take a look and see if this hairstyle is good for me."

Her casual remark of "boy" warmed my heart, and I felt a lump in my throat.

I carefully examined her hairstyle and bowed, saying, "This hairstyle is quite novel; I've never seen anyone in the palace wear it before. His Majesty will surely praise it."