TPNCQ CHAPTER 37
Su Limo is trying to test
Su Limo was teasing Jingshun when she turned her head and saw Qianlong's gaze fixed on her. Meeting Qianlong's gaze, she looked back at him, her expression becoming increasingly gentle and compliant, a smile blooming on her face.
With this smile, Qianlong came to his senses, curled his lips and nodded in acknowledgment, then withdrew his gaze, picked up the wine cup in front of him, and drank the cold wine, instantly sobering up. He turned his head and signaled to Li Yu to begin the banquet.
The singing and dancing girls and the musical band from the Southern Mansion entered one after another, and the sound of silk and bamboo filled the air.
Xian Guifei and Su Limo sat side by side, one on the left and the other on the right. Seeing Su Limo's attire today, a smile grew on her lips. She raised her cup and nodded as a greeting. Seeing this, Su Limo also raised her cup, and the two of them clinked glasses and drank a cup together.
Sitting to Su Limo's right was Ling Pin. Seeing this, she also smiled and said, "Guifei niangniang's attire today is truly beautiful, even I am three points inferior."
"Today is Jingshun's first birthday, so it's festive to dress up a bit. Sister Ling Pin, you are beautiful, there is no need to belittle yourself." Su Limo smiled. Indeed, Ling Pin's makeup and hairdo today were exceptionally beautiful. A complete set of coral headpieces made her skin as white as snow, and the tear mole at the corner of her eye was charming and alluring, making her look pitiful and endearing, which perfectly matched her current status in the palace of being favored by the Emperor and leading the trend.
But then again, when has Ling Pin ever looked bad? To be favored by the Emperor, she must have extraordinary qualities.
"For Jingshun's birthday banquet, I don't have anything particularly valuable to offer, so I personally handcopied ten volumes of scriptures to pray for Jingshun's blessings," Ling Pin said, and her maidservant brought them over.
Su Limo took one volume and opened it to look. The small, neat characters were written in a flying style. She smiled warmly and said, "On behalf of Jingshun, I thank you. Sister Ling Pin, you are truly thoughtful. Copying scriptures with such small characters is the most time-consuming. Ten whole volumes, it's truly rare. I will definitely have someone place it in front of the Buddha when I return."
Ordinary people would choose precious objects as gifts, such as pearls, jade, and agate. Of course, Su Limo also loved pearls, jade, and agate, but the sincerity of Ling Pin personally crafting this gift, just for this effort alone, Su Limo couldn't help but give her a thumbs up in her heart. A few months ago, when she was suppressed by the Empress Dowager and helped Jia Fei gain face, she went to the Fahua Temple every day to pray for the Emperor's blessings until she fainted. The Emperor was also moved by her sincerity and personally gave her a volume of scriptures for her to recite daily in front of the Buddha. When the Seventh Prince third days celebration was celebrated, she gave a gift of ten volumes of handcopied scriptures, which was highly praised by the Emperor. Perhaps other people would have achieved what they wanted after doing this.
Ling Pin, however, was remarkable. Even now, she had heard that she was also reciting the scriptures given by the Emperor in front of the Buddha every day, and she would also handcopy scriptures in her spare time. Otherwise, where would she have gotten ten volumes of scriptures to pray for Jingshun today? She seemed to have made reciting scriptures and praying for the Emperor a daily routine. Moreover, she had recently asked people to teach her poetry and literature, and it was likely that in the not-too-distant future, there would be rumors in the palace about Ling Pin's collection of poems.
After singing, dancing, music and drinking, Empress Fucha had Jingshun brought froward to take a look.
“Greetings to Royal Mother, greetings to Royal Father,” Jingshun greeted in a childish voice.
“Jingshun is growing more and more adorable,” Empress Fucha said. She looked at the golden locket around Jingshun’s neck and found it familiar. She smiled and asked, “Chun Guifei, I find this golden locket familiar. Was it a gift from the Royal Mother?”
“Jingshun is lively and lovable, and Royal Mother gifted it to her some time ago. I remember it was a dowry of Royal Mother’s,” Qianlong picked up the golden locket and glanced at it, continuing Empress Fucha’s words.
“Yes, anything from Royal Mother must be extraordinary. I also had a golden locket made for Jingshun as a first birthday gift,” Empress Fucha said, raising her hand and gesturing to Saoqin who personally presented a brocade box to Su Limo.
“Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty. Jingshun is so fortunate to have the love of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and Your Majesty. I am truly grateful,” Su Limo said, her tone filled with gratitude and respect for the Empress.
With the Empress taking the lead, all the concubines began to present their gifts one by one, some as precious as pearls, jade, and gold, and others as delicate as bellybands and clothing. They flattered the Emperor and the Guifei, showering them with compliments and congratulations. Su Limo accepted them all on behalf of Jingshun, nodding with a gentle smile throughout, and received so many gifts that her hands were full.
Just as the atmosphere was at its peak, a young eunuch approached Li Yu and whispered something in his ear. Li Yu leaned towards Qianlong and conveyed, “Your Majesty, Jia Fei has been waiting outside for half an hour. She would like to see Your Majesty. The palace maids reported that she seems to have fainted from the cold.”
Standing below, Su Limo also heard this. After a moment of thought, she smiled warmly and said, “The weather outside is bitterly cold, and the north wind is blowing fiercely. It would be terrible if she catches a cold. Your Majesty, perhaps you could invite sister Jia Fei in for a cup of hot tea to warm herself up.”
Upon hearing this, Qianlong was silent for a moment, “Let her in. Pour her a cup of hot tea.”
The meaning behind the Emperor’s words was difficult to decipher, and Li Yu couldn’t figure it out for a moment. However, he had to hurry and invite Jia Fei in and have someone prepare hot tea for her.
It turned out that knowing there would be a birthday banquet for Jingshun in the Chunhua Pavilion today, the Emperor had only mentioned that she should rest and had not truly issued a confinement order, forbidding her from going anywhere. Therefore, Jia Fei had bribed someone and slipped out of the Chunxi Palace to wait outside Chunhua Pavilion. She didn’t believe that the Emperor would be so cold-hearted as to ignore her suffering from hunger and cold.
She had been waiting for half an hour, and the eunuchs guarding the gate didn’t dare to make a decision and enter to report, especially with the managing eunuch from Xian Guifei’s palace present. No one dared to easily let Jia Fei in.
Jia Fei also knew that it wouldn’t be so easy to get in, so she waited outside Chunhua Pavilion, letting the cold wind howl. However, even an iron body couldn’t withstand such torture. Seeing that the time was about right, Jia Fei fainted and collapsed into the arms of her senior maid, Lamei.
Seeing this, the guards were afraid that something serious would happen, and if the Emperor blamed them later, they had no choice but to send a young eunuch to ask Li Yu for instructions.
Seeing the door of the Chunhua Pavilion open, Li Yu personally came out to deliver a message. Jia Fei sneered, pointed at the eunuch waiting outside, and her eyes flashed with a hint of triumph and warning.
The Emperor still cared about her.
In the banquet hall, it was as warm as spring. As soon as Jia Fei entered, she was hit by a wave of hot air and sneezed twice in a row. Looking around, she didn't see a seat prepared for her, so she asked doubtfully, "Eunuch Li, where should I sit?"
Li Yu hesitated, "Your Majesty knows that niangniang is frozen, so he specially asked me to invite niangniang in for a cup of hot tea. He didn't mention preparing a seat for Your Highness..." Li Yu's voice trailed off.
Jia Fei held the hot tea and managed to steady her wrist before preventing it from spilling. After taking two sips, she handed the cup to the attending eunuch, glared at Li Yu, and walked directly from the entrance of the pavilion to the center of the banquet hall where she knelt down with a loud thud, "Chenqie greets the Emperor and Empress. May the Emperor and Empress live long and prosper."
The concubines were all gathered at the front, surrounding the Emperor and Empress, offering their congratulations. When they heard Jia Fei's voice, they turned to look, and the crowd involuntarily parted into two rows.
Su Limo looked at Jia Fei kneeling on the ground. She had only applied a light amount of makeup and wore a few simple hairpins, without any extravagant decorations. Her moon-white palace attire made her look even more delicate and pitiful.
Su Limo knew that Jia Fei was just temporarily in a difficult situation. Qianlong was angry with her and intended to punish her, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he vented his anger. But that day would eventually pass, and Jia Fei would still be a favored concubine.
Since Jia Fei had taken this initiative tonight, why not go along with it and see what Qianlong thought. Therefore, she spoke up and asked the Emperor to let her in.
"The ground is cold, get up," Qianlong said, his tone emotionless. When he saw Jia Fei, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.
"Chenqie thanks the Emperor for his compassion. Your servant knows she has committed a crime and has offended the Emperor and Empress. She has come to apologize in person, hoping that the Emperor and Empress will forgive her this time," Jia Fei said, her eyes welling up with tears, and a timely tear rolled down her cheek.
"Crying again, who are you crying for?" Qing Pin said unkindly from the side. She couldn't stand this kind of affected behavior. She had seen Jia Fei's arrogance and haughtiness in the past, but this kind of pretentiousness was rare and truly disgusting.
Qing Pin's words, though not loud, were heard by the Emperor and the nearby concubines. Qianlong glanced at her, and Qing Pin rolled her eyes and retreated two steps to stand behind the crowd, hiding her figure.
"The weather outside is bitterly cold. Stay in the Chunxi Palace and don't come out unless there's something important," Qianlong said indifferently. Seeing that Jia Fei was wearing thin clothes, he added, "Have the Internal Affairs Department pick out two good fur coats for you, don't catch a cold."
When she heard first sentence, Jia Fei felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't believe it. Even after humbling herself and apologizing so sincerely, the Emperor still wouldn't forgive her. However, the second part of his words warmed her heart. The Emperor still cared about her, seeing that she was thinly dressed, he reminded her to add more layers. She thought that the Emperor was still a good Emperor, and it must be those vile women who had poisoned his ear, causing him to punish her and refuse to forgive her for so long.
Jia Fei looked at Empress Fucha sitting beside the Emperor, and at Xian Guifei who always followed the Empress's lead, as well as the seductive Ling Pin. Her chest felt tight, as if a fire was burning in her heart.
Then looking at Su Limo, who was holding Jingshun and smiling sweetly, she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. Hadn't Su Limo been in poor health after giving birth and had a sallow complexion? Why did she now have skin as smooth as jade and eyes like apricots? And looking at Chen Guiren, who was standing not far from Su Limo, dressed elegantly and tastefully, Jia Fei felt the fire in her heart rage even more fiercely.
With great effort, Jia Fei managed to suppress her emotions and hide her intense hatred. She was about to make another plea, but the Emperor's gaze swept past her and fixed on Empress Fucha. He said something, but Jia Fei didn't hear a word. Seeing the seductive Ling Pin speaking sweetly and making the Emperor laugh, she felt even more irritated and had to swallow the words she was about to say. She turned and walked out.
Good, very good.
Before leaving the Chunhua Pavilion, Jia Fei turned back one last time. All the concubines were surrounding the Emperor and Empress like stars surrounding the moon, fawning over them, as if she didn't exist. She simply returned to the Chunxi Palace.
After talking for a while and watching two performances, it was getting late. Qianlong dismissed everyone.
Seeing that Jingshun had fallen asleep in the wet nurse's arms, Su Limo returned to the Jingren Palace first, followed by seven or eight palace maids and eunuchs carrying the gifts she had received today.
Back in the palace, Su Limo instructed the nanny and mama to take good care of Jingshun and personally watched as Jingshun was placed in her own small bed before returning to the main hall. She looked at the objects displayed on the table and asked Shuangjiang to bring two or three people to register and catalog everything, storing them in the small storeroom. The ten volumes of scriptures sent by Ling Pin were also placed on the Buddhist altar.
After finishing all this, Su Limo sat on the brocade couch and rubbed her cheeks to relax. She had been smiling all night, and her face felt stiff. Fortunately, such grand banquets in the palace didn't happen more than twice a month, otherwise, she would be exhausted.
"Bring some water for niangniang to wash up," Shuangjiang helped Su Limo remove her hairpins and bun while instructing Dong Xue to prepare hot water.
Dongxue had just finished helping Su Limo wash up when she heard a voice from outside announcing, "His Majesty has arrived."