eurekapd Chapter 374 Do you regret it?
Chapter 374 Do you regret it?
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the palace finally sent a message to the Marquis's residence, summoning the younger sister to the palace to see the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager has kept the palace gates closed for half a year. No noblewomen outside the palace can see her, and even the emperor and his concubines inside the palace cannot see her.
The younger sister was quite pleased to receive the news. She had someone give a reward to the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, and then asked, "Was that day a court assembly?"
The eunuch said, "It's just a small court assembly, nothing to worry about."
A small court assembly was held every three days, and only officials of the third rank and above, as well as those who had urgent matters to report, were required to enter the palace. A large court assembly was held every nine days, and unless there were special circumstances, all civil and military officials were required to enter the palace for an audience.
The eunuch thought that the younger sister was worried that if there were too many carriages and horses at the palace gates on the day of the grand court assembly, it would be inconvenient to enter the palace, which was why she asked the question.
The young woman nodded: "Thank you, sir. But the weather is cold today, so please tell the Empress Dowager to rest more, and I will enter the palace later."
She was meticulous and considerate, and was also the Empress Dowager's darling, so the eunuchs naturally treated her well.
"The county princess is right."
On the day she entered the palace, the younger sister got up early in the morning, washed, changed, and dressed herself meticulously. Underneath, she wore a long, colorful dress made of various silk threads, covered with a bright red cloak, and her headdress was also exceptionally exquisite.
Her appearance was already outstanding, and with this attire, she truly resembled a celestial maiden descending to earth.
Madam Tian hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Miss, I've heard that His Majesty prefers simplicity."
The younger sister smiled slightly: "Even the things you like will get boring after a while."
With so many concubines, each one looked beautiful whether heavily or lightly made up. Who wouldn't appreciate beauty when entering and leaving the palace? But in order to gain favor, they all catered to the emperor's wishes.
The emperor preferred simplicity, so they tried their best to dress in a simple style. It was a real dilemma to try to be both simple and beautiful.
But she insisted on doing the opposite.
The young lady was making such a grand entrance when she ran into Si Muyan, who had just returned home.
Si Muyan got up early today because Shao Qin had been much more awake these past two days and insisted on going to the morning market, so Si Muyan went with her.
When the younger sister saw Si Muyan, she stopped in her tracks, a little intimidated, but then smiled and asked, "Big sister, do I look good today?"
With her striking appearance, who could possibly fail to notice her?
Si Muyan said, "Weren't you going to the palace to see the Empress Dowager?"
“Yes, we’re getting ready to go out now,” the younger sister said. “I was thinking that the Empress Dowager has been staying in the palace for so long and hasn’t seen anyone, so it must be rather boring. And I also think that older people like their younger generations to be dressed up nicely, so…”
Si Muyan glanced at her: "It's getting late, go ahead."
The younger sister felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly left.
Si Muyan watched her retreating figure, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "When the eunuch came to deliver the Empress Dowager's decree, did anything else happen?"
Chuntao quickly found out and told Si Muyan about her younger sister's question to the eunuch about the court assembly that day.
“Miss, the Third Miss is probably asking because she’s worried about traffic congestion.”
Si Muyan chuckled: "What do the officials' carriages have to do with her? She's not worried about traffic jams; she's calculating what time to enter the palace."
"what?"
After entering the palace, the younger sister followed the palace maids slowly down the corridor, asking them about the Empress Dowager's condition over the past few months.
The palace maids answered one by one.
The younger sister laughed again: "It's been quite a while since I've been to the palace. The scenery inside is just as it always has been. Even in winter, it doesn't feel desolate or lonely."
Every part of the palace is well-maintained by dedicated staff, so desolation and loneliness are certainly not an issue.
Passing by the Thousand Carp Pond, the younger sister stopped on the bridge to look, then shook her head and said, "Auntie, I was wrong. The koi in the Thousand Carp Pond are all gone in winter."
The palace maid smiled and said, "Princess, the Thousand Carp Pond is a pond, and the water needs to be changed manually every month. In winter, there is no water flow, so it freezes. The koi are delicate, so they are all moved to other places in winter."
The younger sister leaned against the bridge railing, somewhat excited: "It's frozen? Maybe there are pedestrians? I used to live in Lingnan, but I've never seen a frozen pond before."
Lingnan has abundant water, and it gets cold in winter, but there's only a thin layer of ice that melts instantly when you step on it.
"Is there no ice in Lingnan during winter?"
A deep, middle-aged man's voice came from behind.
The younger sister turned around and saw that it was the Emperor. She immediately smiled and replied, "There is ice, but there are no icicles under the eaves, and the ice in the water is not this thick."
Then he bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
She was already young and beautiful, and now she is so stunning that people can't help but hold their breath, as if it would be a desecration of her beauty.
And yet she is so charming and lovely.
The Emperor was overjoyed and told her to get up, pointing to the water in the pool: "Although there is ice, you can't step on it, it's easy to get into an accident."
The younger sister nodded, couldn't resist going down the bridge and then down the steps, wanting to touch the ice.
But the steps were icy and slippery, so the palace maids were busy supporting her from behind. The younger sister couldn't stand steadily and kept swaying, always having to bend down to touch the ice.
Then she raised her head and looked at the Emperor with surprise: "This ice is very thick, even I... I can't press it down."
The Emperor watched her playful antics with a smile, but when he heard her change her address from "I" to "this commoner," he felt a pang of sadness.
He said gently, "You don't need to be reserved in front of me."
The fact that the emperor did not refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen) shows that he truly loved his younger sister at that moment.
The younger sister lowered her brows, stood up, and went back to the bridge to bow before the Emperor, saying, "This humble woman cannot be presumptuous. I have not yet expressed my gratitude to Your Majesty for allowing my sister and me to marry as we see fit. With this, my second sister can rest assured."
The emperor was taken aback, then remembered why he had allowed them to marry as they pleased; it was all because of his second son, who was such a troublemaker.
He asked slowly, "Have you already made your decision?"
The younger sister pursed her lips and shook her head after a long while: "I need to wait until my two elder sisters are settled. I... plan to leave Kyoto."
"Why? Don't you like Kyoto?"
"I like it," the younger sister said, "but leaving will help me forget many things."
What is it that you wish to forget?
The younger sister lowered her eyes, neither looking at him nor saying a word.
Meanwhile, another eunuch arrived from the Empress Dowager's side. After bowing and paying his respects, he said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has been waiting for the County Princess for a long time, so she sent this servant to look for her."
The young woman quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this humble woman will first pay her respects to the Empress Dowager."
She was holding up her skirt, seemingly disregarding her image, and anxious to escape. Yet, her actions were strangely captivating.
The Empress Dowager looked at her younger sister's outfit and laughed: "Young people should be so pretty. When the Empress was still alive, she was very virtuous and taught the harem to be frugal. The concubines were all dressed plainly. Even the princesses were very plain."
The younger sister said coquettishly, "Grandma, this is all Wan'er can do. I just hope it can make you smile."
The Empress Dowager looked at her with affection, and after a long while asked, "Wan'er, will you... regret it?"
They didn't say it, but they all knew it perfectly well.
The younger sister looked up at the Empress Dowager and asked earnestly, "Your Majesty, did you ever have any regrets back then?"
The Empress Dowager stroked her long hair and said, "I have no regrets. Back then, I single-handedly helped the Feng family achieve their goals."