Chapter 116

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Li Huairou sat up from the bed, looked at the environment she was in, and sighed helplessly. This was the Qing Dynasty, but it was an overheard Qing Dynasty. The so-called “overheard” was because it only used the name; the character and the story direction had nothing to do with history.

What gave Li Huairou the biggest headache was that, this time, she was dressed as a slave. The only fortunate thing was that the master she served would be the crown prince in the future, who would finally ascend the throne and become the emperor. As a palace maid who had been by his side since childhood, as long as Li Huairou didn’t do anything to get herself killed, she wouldn’t need to worry about glory and wealth in this life. But the problem was that her little master was still in the cold palace, and there were still three years before the female lead would take him out of there.

How would she survive these three years?

“Sister Rou! A-Li is cold!”

Li Huairou hurriedly got out of the quilt and hugged the little master into her arms without any hesitation. In winter, they had no charcoal fire, and their only heating tool was a soup pot. In the cold winter, the master and servant could only spread the only two quilts and huddle together to warm each other.

Li Huairou was thinking that there were still a few trees in the yard—she could cut them down tomorrow and make a fire to keep warm. It was impossible to go on like this; today’s winter was extraordinarily cold. It was fine for her, but A-Li was still young. If he got sick, the cold palace was a place where heaven and earth couldn’t help them, so how could it be a good thing?

[Tian bu ying jiao di bu ling (天不应叫地不灵) describes a difficult situation in which there is no way to call for help]

In fact, those trees should have been cut down a long time ago, but they’d been planted by A-Li’s mother. The original owner had been a faithful servant. If the trees had been planted by the master, she couldn’t cut them no matter what, and they could leave a memento for the little master.

Oh god, Li Huairou couldn’t understand the original owner’s brain circuits. Everyone was freezing to death—what kind of memento would it make?! She’d cut them tomorrow.

But the next day, although Li Huairou rummaged through the entire palace, she couldn’t find an axe. She could only find a kitchen knife for chopping vegetables. There was really no other way—Li Huairou had no choice but to use a kitchen knife.

It was cold, so Li Huairou didn’t let A-Li get out of bed. She wrapped him in the quilt, refilled the soup in the soup pot, and took out a book and let him flip through it.

A-Li’s concubine mother was a Han person. When the emperor went to the south of the Yangtze River, he fell in love at first sight, changed her name to a Manchu one, and brought her into the palace. The emperor loved her very much—otherwise, there would have been no A-Li. Having favor also meant having grievances. Concubine Shu was so favored that she was framed by the other concubines, who plotted for her to sleep with a guard, and she was discovered by the emperor.

The emperor was furious and demoted Concubine Shu to a commoner, and the Huanyin Palace where she lived became a cold palace. Even if Concubine Shu had given birth to A-Li, she could not get out of the cold palace, and she finally died in depression.

A-Li was born in a cold palace and had no name. The nickname of A-Li was given by Concubine Shu before she died. It had not been put on a jade plate so far, and it was not even known whether the emperor knew about the existence of this son.

During the time when Concubine Shu was favored, there were many palace servants in Huanyin Palace. But after Concubine Shu fell out of favor, everyone else was transferred away. Only Li Huairou and an old momo were left. Both of them had received great kindness from Concubine Shu, so they stayed and brought up little A-Li with hard work. But the old momo was old and didn’t make it through last winter. Only Li Huairou and little A-Li were left.

Speaking of which, the two were able to persevere in the cold palace thanks to Li Huairou’s sister, Jiang Man. The two were from the same hometown and had entered the palace in the same year. They’d become sworn sisters. When Concubine Shu was favored, she’d thought about transferring Jiang Man to her own service. In the end, before anything happened, Concubine Shu had fallen out of favor.

Jiang Man had tried to persuade the original owner to get out, but the original owner refused. Jiang Man couldn’t do anything, so she had to send some things every once in a while. It was for the sake of saving her sworn sister from freezing and starving to death inside. That soup pot had been sent in by Jiang Man.

To be honest, if there had been no Jiang Man, there was a problem as to whether the original owner and A-Li could have survived until the appearance of the female lead.

Because of this kindness, after the female lead—Wei Qingxue—took A-Li and his servant out of Huanyin Palace, she also moved Jiang Man to her side to serve the fifteenth prince.

But Jiang Man was enraptured by wealth, and she delusionally wanted to climb into the dragon bed.

Wei Qingxue was a woman with clear friends and enemies. She’d originally entered the palace to avenge her sister and take care of her sister’s children. At the beginning, her sister had been betrayed by the people around her, and she’d suffered this disaster. Therefore, what she hated the most was betrayal from those around her. Jiang Man had tried to seduce the emperor, and it was a big taboo for her.

Wei Qingxue planned to dispose of Jiang Man, but the original owner stood up and pleaded for Jiang Man. Jiang Man was saved from death, but she was given a dumbing medicine and was driven out of the palace. The original owner, who’d also angered Wei Qingxue because of this incident, was kicked out of the palace together.

When the incident had happened, the fifteenth prince was not there, and when he found out, the two had already been kicked out of the palace. Wei Qingxue took this opportunity to teach the fifteenth prince that those who achieve great things must not be soft-hearted. “Your mother was just too kind, so others will take advantage. I know that you trust Li Huairou, but if she stays by your side, she’ll definitely become your weakness and a pawn for others to attack you. It would be better to take this opportunity to send her out of the palace, and give more money to her family. In the future, when you are on the throne of the crown prince, if she is doing well, be gracious to her children. And if she is not doing well, take her back to the palace.”

The fifteenth prince thought about it carefully, and he acquiesced to the arrangement of his aunt and adoptive mother.

The harem fights went on all the time. Wei Qingxue was a decisive person. She’d entered the palace because of her sister and to support the fifteenth prince on the throne. She did not love the emperor, nor did she want to give birth for the emperor. For this, she thought of an excellent method. She deliberately leaked the news that she was pregnant and attracted everyone to take action. In the end, they took the bait and gave her a strong abortion medicine. The child was gone, and she could no longer bear children.

The emperor was furious and dealt with Concubine Qing, who had given the medicine. He demoted the suspected Noble Consort Chun and Noble Consort Jia, and he named Wei Qingxue as Noble Consort Ling to appease her.

Two noble consorts were now knocked down, and the empress was next.

Wei Qingxue was not in a hurry. She knew that the empress had a direct son and that her position was stable.

So she patiently hibernated for a few years so that she could raise the fifteenth prince.

It was not until three years later that the emperor went to Jiangnan again. Before leaving, the empress dowager fell ill. Wei Qingxue took the initiative to stay to take care of the empress dowager, and the emperor felt her heart and agreed.

When the emperor was at the south of the Yangtze River, he took a fancy to a woman and wanted to repeat what he’d done with the former Concubine Shu, so he changed her name and surname to bring her back to the palace. The empress did not object at that time; she only said that it was a big matter, and she asked the emperor to be careful. She also asked the people around her to investigate the woman’s identity, but found out that the woman was a firework woman.

[In ancient times, women who were in brothels, or women who behaved dissolutely, were called firework women]

How could the empress bear this? Concubine Shu had been born to a scholarly family, and her family background was innocent. That was all.

The empress strongly opposed it and quarreled with the emperor. In the words of the emperor, it was said that the empress was jealous and not as good as Empress Yuan.

The empress was so sad and angry that she took up scissors and cut off her hair to show her grief and anger. The Manchu attached great importance to their hair, and they must not cut their hair unless they were in a period of national mourning. The empress’s move was intended to curse the emperor.

The emperor was furious, saying that the empress was crazy, and he ordered her to be sent back to the Forbidden City for custody. The emperor also decreed that Noble Consort Ling was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Ling and was to observe the six palaces. He also lost the mood and rushed back to the capital.

On the night that the empress returned to the palace, Wei Qingxue went to Yikun Palace. Yikun Palace was no longer as lively as it used to be—it was cold and desolate, and most of the palace maids had been dismissed, leaving only a few.

The empress sat with an expressionless face, and when she saw Wei Qingxue, her eyes filled with anger. “It’s you! You’re the one who harmed me!”

Wei Qingxue smiled slightly. “Where does this come from? When Her Majesty fell ill, this concubine was serving the empress dowager in the capital, thousands of miles away. Forget it—the empress is in a bad mood, so this concubine won’t come to bother. You all serve Her Majesty. The empress is still the empress. You can’t be neglected; you have to serve well.”

When she turned to leave, Wei Qingxue had a strange smile on her face. She had already bought the maid beside the empress and ordered her to add a spice to the empress’s usual food seasonings that could make a person lose her mind and go mad. It took three years for the empress to have a seizure, and by then, it was already too late.

However, it had worked.

The empress’s madness was hidden from the empress dowager, but the empress dowager still knew about it, so she called Wei Qingxue over and scolded her, saying that she had held ulterior motives.

It happened that the emperor came, and saw Wei Qingxue kneeling on the ground, weak and pitiful. After listening to the empress dowager’s scolding words, he was suddenly displeased and stepped forward to help Wei Qingxue. “Empress Mother, this matter has nothing to do with the imperial noble consort. When that person went mad, the imperial noble consort was serving Empress Mother. She received no credit, but it was still hard work. It was fine if Empress Mother does not appreciate it, but how could Empress Mother insult the imperial noble consort like this?”

The empress dowager did not expect the emperor to come in at this time. Knowing this incident had been seen by the emperor, she said, “Emperor, your mother has eaten more rice than you have ever eaten. It’s impossible for me to read someone incorrectly—this Wei-shi is not a good person!”

[Shi (氏) means “clan name”. Women, upon marriage, are identified by their surnames, and it is very rare that their personal name is recorded]

“Empress Mother, Wei-shi is an imperial noble consort. I had decreed to carry the Wei family under the Bordered Yellow Banner. If it weren’t for the imperial noble consort’s resignation, I would have already demoted the empress and established the imperial noble consort as the empress.” The emperor had been the emperor for many years, and he was very dissatisfied with the empress dowager’s speaking to him in this tone.

[The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Late Jin and Qing Dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three “upper” banner armies, under the direct command of the emperor himself]

In the end, the emperor took Wei Qingxue and left.

Wei Qingxue became the uncrowned king of the harem.

Two years later, the empress died of illness, and the emperor decreed that she would be buried as an imperial noble consort. One month later, the emperor issued a decree to establish the imperial noble consort as the empress, and, in the same month, the fifteenth prince was named the crown prince.

A year later, the empress dowager passed away. And, three months later, the emperor also died.

The crown prince succeeded to the throne, and the year was Jiaqing. Wei Qingxue became the empress dowager, and she lived in the Shoukang Palace, where she could take care of herself in her old age.

After Emperor Jiaqing came to the throne, he immediately ordered for people to investigate Li Huairou’s whereabouts. However, he learned that not long after she’d left the palace, Li Huairou and Jiang Man had died. Over the years, even their burial sites could not be found.

When Emperor Jiaqing heard the news, he knew that his aunt had lied to him back then. But he remembered how his aunt had raised him carefully for so many years and tried her best to support him. She was afraid that his father emperor would be in power for too long and that he would lose his spirit, even to the point of risking her life. There had been poison in the lotus seed soup she and Father Emperor took every night before going to bed. Although his aunt took the antidote, it had taken an impact on her life. And when he thought that his aunt was dedicated to him, she didn’t even have her own children.

Emperor Jiaqing couldn’t bear to say anything, so he could only order someone to set up a tomb for the two of them to express their feelings.

After Li Huairou learned about the plot, she had to admire Wei Qingxue. This was the real female lead. She didn’t talk about love; she concentrated on her career. After she retired, she was not greedy for power and enjoyed honor. In her whole life, she was a noble lady for three months, Concubine Ling for one year, Consort Ling for three years, Noble Consort Ling for three years, and Imperial Noble Consort Ling for two years. Empress for one year, empress dowager for thirty years, and the great empress dowager for fifteen years! Amazing!

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