TPNCQ CHAPTER 17
Good at finding ways to make things difficult
However with Xiu Guiren was still suffering in the palace, Lianhua was naturally unwilling to give up. She pounded on the door even harder, "Thump, thump, thump" determined to get the emperor to intervene on behalf of the Guiren. Then she would see if those villains dared to humiliate her mistress again.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I'm from Yanxi Palace. The Xiu Guiren is unwell and needs a physician. Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Lianhua shouted at the top of her lungs, pounding on the door.
Lianhua had always had a loud voice. If she continued to shout like this, she might wake up the master. The gatekeeper eunuch, had no choice and forced to open the door again, summoned two young eunuchs. They carried Lianhua away and throw her out. "I am warning you," the gatekeeper eunuch said, "if you dare to howl outside Changchun Palace again and disturb the Empress and the Emperor, don't blame me for being impolite."
Lianhua was thrown out and landed hard on her bottom which caused her pain. However, seeing that the door to Changchun Palace had been opened, she struggled to her feet and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, Empress, please save our Xiu Guiren! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Empress...."
"You, what are you all standing there for? Make her shut up and don't disturb the Empress's sleep. The Empress has been having trouble sleeping recently and has just fallen asleep. If you wake her up, none of you can afford the consequences. Beat her!" The gatekeeper eunuch ordered the two young eunuchs.
Lianhua saw the two eunuchs coming towards her and realized she was about to be beaten. She wasn't afraid of being beaten, but she was afraid that if she was injured, who else could go and ask someone to help the Guiren? Thinking of this, Lianhua quickly got up, stumbled away from Changchun Palace, and hesitated for a moment before knocking on Xian Gufei's door.
Lianhua's loud voice woke up the gatekeeper eunuch at Xian Gufei's door. Upon hearing that Xiu Guiren from Yanxi Palace was in trouble, he quickly had a palace maid inform Xian Gufei. When Xian Gufei heard the palace maid's report, she realized it must be a serious matter. Even if it was another false alarm, it wouldn't hurt to check it out. What if something really had happened to Xiu Guiren while she was in charge of the six palaces....
Moreover, with the strong wind, heavy rain, and loud thunder outside, if nothing serious had happened, Xiu Guiren's maid wouldn't have been so anxious to barge in.
Xian Gufei had her senior maid, Hupo, accompany Lianhua to the Imperial Medical Bureau. Seeing that a chief maid from Xian Gufei's palace was personally involved, the people at the Imperial Medical Bureau dared not be careless and immediately sent the physician on duty to the eastern side hall of Yanxi Palace.
The noise had naturally awakened Ling Pin. She got dressed quickly and went to the eastern side hall to wait for news. Upon seeing Xian Gufei was also there, she came forward to greet her.
Shortly after, the physician came out and reported to Xian Gufei, "Replying to Xian Gufei Niangniang, the Xiu Guiren is weak and has been restless at night, unable to sleep. She has a lot of internal heat and her liver is inflamed. Her body is weak and fetus is also not developing well. Moreover, Guiren also shows the signs of slight bleeding..."
"Who wants to hear you spout medical jargon? Just tell us if it's serious or not," Xian Gufei's chief maid, Hupo, asked.
"No, it's not serious. However, from now on, the Guiren needs to rest in bed and should not get out of bed easily unless it's absolutely necessary. She should also avoid worrying too much. As long as she can get through the first three months, everything should be fine." The imperial physician said nervously, "I will personally prescribe and prepare the medicine."
"Go ahead," Xian Gufei waved her hand, slightly relieved. She rubbed her temples and went over to instruct Xiu Guiren to take good care of her pregnancy. She also gave a few words of advice to Ling Pin before returning to her palace.
Xian Gufei was well aware of how the people in the palace treated those in Yanxi Palace, but she didn't expect Xiu Guiren to be so weak and her energy was not put in the right place. Fortunately, the imperial physician had arrived in time to examine and treat her. Otherwise, she didn't know what would have happened.
Having learned from Lianhua about what had happened outside Changchun Palace, Xian Gufei decided to let it be for now. She would just wait until dawn and have Hupo instruct the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen not to mistreat Xiu Guiren. They were not to skimp on her due provisions she was entitled to get.
After Xian Gufei and Ling Pin left, the bedroom finally became quiet. Lianhua, the chief maid, personally attended to the Xiu Guiren, feeding her the prenatal medicine and helping her to rest. It wasn't until the afternoon that Xiu Guiren woke up again.
Upon waking, she placed her right hand on her belly and asked nervously, "Is my child still there?"
Hearing Lianhua's affirmative answer, Xiu Guiren relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Has the Emperor been here?" she asked, clutching Lianhua's hand. When she saw Lianhua shake her head, she almost bit her lower lip in frustration.
Lianhua told Xiu Guiren what had happened outside Changchun Palace yesterday. She didn't want to say it, but if she didn't, she was afraid that the Xiu Guiren would resent the emperor, and she didn't know what would happen then.
"The Empress palace is too bullying. If I can survive this, so be it. Otherwise, I won't let her get away with it,"
Xiu Guiren said angrily, pounding the bed with her fist. Lianhua quickly stopped her. "Guiren, my good Guiren, the physician said you must rest in bed. Please don't overthink things. If you can safely give birth to your child, everything will be fine in the future."
"Yes, as long as I can safely give birth to a little prince, everything will be fine..." Xiu Guiren murmured. Because her father had made contributions to the court, she entered the palace as a Daying and was promoted to the rank of Guiren after three months, given a title. As the daughter of a meritorious official, her starting point was higher than many others. She was sure she could achieve great things. Now that she was pregnant, she had to seize this opportunity.
She had been foolish before, losing her temper. After this incident, she would never be like that again. Others bullied her because they wanted her to be so angry that something would happen to her... She would never let them get their way. She would protect her fetus and give birth safely.
With Xian Gufei's care, Xiu Guiren received the treatment she deserved for her diet and daily routines. Her meals were prepared with care, with a balanced diet of meat and vegetables, and she was given everything she was entitled to according to her rank.
The Empress Fucha also learned about what happened outside Changchun Palace that night. She punished the eunuch who was guarding the gate, but since nothing serious had actually happened, and the White Moonlight (Bai yueguang) Empress was always kind and couldn't bear to see people being beaten, the eunuch was only sent to the Department of Punishments to do hard labor, and was not executed with a staff.
Xiu Guiren was dissatisfied, but that was all she could do about it.
*
As the saying goes, "If you think of something often, it will eventually happen." Ling Pin's many days of hard work finally paid off, and she caught the Emperor's eye, her card was flipped.
That night, on the quiet corridor, the Fengluan Chunen's carriage drove by, the bells on either side of the carriage tinkling merrily.
In Chunxi Palace, Jia Fei stood at the entrance of the main hall, leaning against the door frame, looking in the direction of the Yangxin Palace. Her eyes were filled with sadness as she murmured, "She nevertheless went there."
*
In the eastern side hall, Chen Guiren closed her book and blew out a candle, leaving only one. She instructed Yingchun to fetch water for her to wash up and go to bed.
"It's already the end of March, and the weather is gradually warming up. We don't need to use a charcoal brazier indoors anymore, which saves a lot of trouble. And thanks to the cloak that Chun Gufei Niangniang sent over a few days ago, we can wear it when we go out during the day, and cover ourself with it at night when it gets cold. It's much warmer." Yingchun served Chen Guiren water for her to wash up and chattered as she worked.
"I good to know. Don't mention these things casually; it can cause unnecessary trouble," Chen Guiren advised, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Tomorrow morning, tell everyone in the palace to be careful and don't conflict with the people in the main hall. Avoid trouble whenever possible."
"Don't worry, Guiren. Nubi understand. They know the temper of the people in the main hall and are usually very careful." Yingchun replied. It's hard being a Guiren, and she doesn't know when these days will end, but she will definitely stay with the Guiren.
*
On the 27th of the third month, it was the day to distribute monthly allowances and spring clothing.
After serving Su Limo her breakfast, Dong Xue took three young palace maids and three young eunuchs to the Imperial Household Department to collect their allowances.
As soon as they reached the gate of the Imperial Household Department, they heard a commotion inside. It turned out that Lianhua, the chief maid of Xiu Guiren from Yanxi Palace, was causing a scene. She had a naturally loud voice, and with a few shouts, it was probably audible for several streets nearby.
Dong Xue led everyone to stand at the gate, not going inside. Guifei Niangniang often said not to get involved in trouble. She naturally wanted to stay out of the muddy waters of Yanxi Palace.
After about two cups of tea time, Lianhua came out with two young palace maids, looking very angry as she carried the items back to the palace.
Seeing that there was no one else in the courtyard, Dong Xue went inside to collect the allowances. In addition to the monthly allowance, there were also six sets of spring clothing for Guifei Niangniang, four bolts of various colored brocade, and a new set of spring clothing for each palace maid. The head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department also gave an extra two bolts of plain silk as a tribute.
Just as she finished checking the items and was about to leave, she saw Yingchun, the senior maid of Chen Guiren, come with a young palace maid and a young eunuch to collect their allowances.
In a moment, she heard Yingchun arguing politely for a few words, and the head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department sneered and said, "A little Guiren expects two sets of new spring clothing? One set is enough. As for the brocade, your rank is too low and you're not favored, so don't blame me. Be grateful you can take this much. If you say anything more, don't blame me for being rude."
Yingchun face turned ugly but didn't dare say anything more. She simply took the monthly allowance and the items and walked out. When she passed Dong Xue, she didn't dare to look up and walked out with her head lowered.
Dong Xue glanced at them. They had only received the monthly allowance and one set of new palace clothing for Chen Guiren. The palace maids had also received a set of spring clothing each, but Chen Guiren's share had been deducted by one set of new palace clothing and one bolt of plain silk.
Upon returning to Jingren Palace, Dong Xue reported everything she had seen at the Imperial Household Department to Su Limo.
Su Limo was drinking red date and snow clam congee. Upon hearing this, she looked at the allowances on the table and pointed to the batch of light gray plain silk. "Send it to Chen Guiren through the side door tonight. There's no need for her to come and thank me." This gray silk was simple and inconspicuous, enough to make a new set of palace clothing. Chen Guiren was skilled with her hands. If she embroidered some patterns on the collar and cuffs, it would probably look good and suit her.
"Understood, Niangniang." Dong Xue replied, putting away the other clothes and fabrics.
Su Limo had been lazing around in Jingren Palace for nearly a month. Apart from visiting the Prince Residence twice and Cining Palace once in the past month, she had not stepped out of Jingren Palace.
Now that Empress Fucha was full-term, Jia Fei was nearly seven months pregnant, and Xiu Guiren was more than two months pregnant, if she didn't hide, one day, if she was not careful, someone might miscarry, and the blame would be on her.
Seeing that Jia Fei and Ling Pin were fighting fiercely, and Xiu Guiren had spotted blood and was on bed rest, she was afraid that something else might happen. Although Xian Gufei had spoken to the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen, they dared not treat Xiu Guiren too harshly, and she received all the allowances she was entitled to. However, these people were good at finding ways to make things difficult. They would either be rude in their words or substitute inferior goods for good ones. Otherwise, Xiu Guiren's chief maid, Lianhua, would not have had to argue at the Imperial Household Department.
Daying - Second class attendant.
Nubi - Slave servant's ways to address themself.