东宫 Eastern Palace: Full of Roses with Fragrance Overflowing the Entire Courtyard (Part 3)

I felt very sad, and my illness was getting worse and worse. My mother and sister-in-law entered the palace to see me. I forced myself to talk and laugh with them. My mother dismissed the servants, and then quietly said to me, "You don't have to worry about Shan Niang. Which man does not like beautiful women? Besides, she is now a widow and an inauspicious person, so His Majesty would not have any affections for her. "

My body was weak and my clothes were soaked in sweat. I was too lazy to talk and my mother was talking nonstop, trying to advise me, but her voice seemed close yet far. Before, there was only a tree trunk outside, but now it has grown into a tree with peaches. I am very thirsty and I just wanted to drink a cup of ice water. Although there is ice in the palace, since I am sick, A'Mu forbids me to drink ice water. 

When I thought of A'Mu, I felt there was a fire burning my heart and internal organs, and it felt very uncomfortable. My mother noticed something was wrong, she reached out to hold my hand and was shocked, "What happened to you? Your face is so red; are you having a fever again?"

I just felt very annoyed, what does Shan Niang have to do with me? As soon as she came back, even my mother came to persuade me to be more open-minded. Everyone thinks that A'Mu likes Shan Niang, and even if I felt unhappy, I could only bear with it. I've been married to A'Mu for ten years, but I can't make up for the days that Shan Niang has been here.

I send off my mother and sister-in-law. The sun was going to set and every day at this time, I would have a high fever, so for dinner I had a light meal. After drinking a bowl of corn soup, and knowing that I have to drink a big bowl of bitter medicine afterwards, I felt even more sick. At this time Yao Niang came inside and her expression did not look good. I couldn't help but ask her, "What happened?"

Yao Niang had repeatedly said that nothing was wrong. I thought of my mother and sister-in-law who had came here today. I thought maybe they were trying to hide something from me, so I dismissed Yao Niang and called A'Chan to come in for questioning. A'Chan was timid so as soon as I asked her, she knelt down and sobbed while saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I don't dare to tell you. Yao Niang has said whoever dares to tell Your Highness, they will be beaten to death."

Although Yao Niang was very strict and all the palace maids were afraid of her, she would not say anything like beating someone to death. My heart leaped, but I pretended to be calm and asked, "Even if you don't tell me, do you think I won't beat you to death?"

I would never say such words. Through the copper mirror, I could see my own face. I've been ill for so long that my face was so thin and it was quite frightening. A'Chan was obviously afraid of me as she was stuttering.

It turns out that A'Mu took Yuan Shan to the Wangxian Palace that was outside the city. That palace was the closest temporary imperial residence to the city, so it was convenient for the royal family to go hunting. In the past, I used to go there with A'Mu. Right now it was already very late and he still hasn't come back yet. It was obvious that he was going to stay there for the night.

I didn't know how I felt about this, but I stood up and called out A'Yu in a loud voice. She didn't come in, but Yao Niang came instead. She quickly opened the curtain and bowed to me, "Your Highness, what do you need?"

Yao Niang doesn't usually address me this way and I could hear from her tone of voice that she was reminding me of my identity, but I could not bear this anymore. I said in a loud voice, "Bring my clothes, I am going out of the city."

Yao Niang raised her voice, "Your Highness, it's already late."

"I am the Empress." Even in extreme anger, I have not forgotten my privilege. "Bring the seal and send my order to General Chen to open the Jiade Gate."

Yao Niang still wanted to say something, but I called out to A'Yu, who was like a small bird bumping into the curtain as she entered while holding my clothes in her hands. Yao Niang fiercely glared at her. A'Yu was never afraid her because A'Yu was someone who would act willfully with me since childhood. She hurriedly helped me change my clothes. Yao Niang knelt down and tried to dissuade me. She cried as she talked, as if going out of the city at night would be a rebellious act. I clenched my teeth and ordered the palace maids beside me, "Look after Yao Niang and don't let her say anything she's not supposed to say."

The palace maids were already so scared that their complexions have changed. As soon as I said this, they immediately took Yao Niang away.

I took the seal out of my makeup box. As I held the cold seal in my hand, I could feel the golden carved words on the seal as if it was implanted on my palm. When I left my palace, there was a carriage already prepared below the stairs. Before I arrived at the Jiade Gate, General Chen had already rushed over. He bowed to me and I handed the seal to A'Yu, who passed it over to General Chen. He examined the seal, but hesitated for a moment, and said to me, "Why must Your Highness leave the palace at this time?"

I revealed a bright smile and said, "His Majesty is staying in Wangxian Palace today. I want to go there and surprise him."

General Chen was someone from my father's generation. Ever since A'Mu was a child, he was already the general of the army. He has watched A'Mu and I grow up so that is why he would hesitate for a moment when he saw this situation. Seeing that I had only brought a few palace maids, he said, "It is cold at night and it is a remote place. I shall send some people to escort Your Highness."

I knew he was not at ease. The position of general was only given to a cautious person. General Chen, who has been in this position for decades, was trusted by both the late Emperor and A'Mu. However, I am going there to catch an adulterous act, not plotting a rebellion, so how can I reject to this? I smiled and said, "Very well then."

General Chen sent Deputy General Guo to send me off. He set up two groups of army. The horses were very fast as if we are going to the Wangxian Palace at the speed of lightning. Not long after, we arrived at the Wangxian Palace gate. Because A'Mu was here, the army was stationed. Someone from the palace gate called out and General Guo was about to answer, but I raised my voice and asked, "Is the person speaking General Wei?"

When General Wei heard my voice, he was startled. He immediately ordered someone to light up the torches. The torches near me were bright and he could see me clearly from the palace gate. He hurriedly ordered people to open the palace gate and lead a group of people to greet me.

I said to him, "Don’t disturb His Majesty. I will go to his palace residence myself."

The large group of people stayed outside the palace gate. The deep palace was made of layers of walls. I passed by some palace residences and tall palace gates. Gradually, the noise outside the palace gate became more and more distant and quiet until only the sound of blowing wind and insects chirping in the grass could be heard.

I didn't get off my carriage until we arrived in front of the palace hall. A'Yu held my hand as I got off the carriage. I felt quite calm. This high platform surrounded by water was called Qingfeng Pavilion. All four sides have windows. A'Mu was afraid of heat and often lived here when he comes to the Wangxian Palace. I remember living here with him last autumn, back when the moon was like frost, and the reed flowers were like snow. When one or two fireflies flew into the pavilion, A'Mu caught them for me and put them in a glass bottle. Those little flying insects in the blue glass bottle were wonderful as their lights flickered inside and bumped into the bottle walls. But they could not fly out and eventually, they looked very pitiful. I blew out the candles, opened the lid, and released them inside the tent.

The lights of the fireflies were like shooting stars as some fell on the tent while some landed on A'Mu's shoulder. I put my head on his knee and watched the moonlight shining in the window. Some fireflies had landed on my sleeve, but I couldn't bear to catch them with my hands. I don't know why there were no fireflies in the palace. Some people say that the water of the Taiye Pond does not produce fireflies; others say that there were no fireflies because there was no grass; and some say that the late Emperor did not like these insects, so there were no fireflies within the palace.

At that time, I was still curious and asked A'Mu why there were no fireflies in the palace. As for today, I am only glad that it was the late spring and there were no fireflies by the water. If there were, I wouldn't know how I would be able to endure this.

 

I hesitated before turning around and saw that A'Yu had already led a group of people to block the eunuch, who was standing in front of the palace hall. I pointed at that eunuch and asked, "Is His Majesty sleeping?"

 
That eunuch didn't expect me to come here late at night, so he was very frightened and said, "His Majesty.....His Majesty..... " 

I saw that this eunuch was unable to say it, so I pointed to another eunuch and asked, "Where is Shan Niang? Where is she?"

That person could only kowtow and I suddenly felt a killing intent gushing from my chest. I walked up the steps and kicked the door open. The door slammed open as I walked inside. There were candlelights lit in the main hall, but no one was there. As I walked straight to the left, the curtain hung low. When the two servants of the palace saw me storming in, they were frightened and hurriedly knelt down to pay respect to me. I was so angry that I lifted the curtain and said in a loud voice, "Li Mu, you big liar!"

All the people at the table raised their heads and a few of the people looked at me curiously. I saw A’Mu sitting in the middle, surrounded by his close relatives of the royal family. A’Mu’s uncle, Princess Yong'an, Princess Tai'an, Prince Qi, Prince Qin, Prince Han and even my fourth brother, Pei Ji Chang, were all there. Yuan Shan was also there, but she was sitting beside Princess Tai'an and they whispering to each other.

My face seemed to be burning. A’Mu stood up and asked in surprise, "Why did you come here?" The rest of the people people bowed to me one after another. I didn't expect so many people would be here. I felt dizzy and didn't know what to do. 

This was too humiliating. I had brought a group of people to catch a couple committing adultery, but who knew it would turn out like this!

I saw A’Mu walk towards me, getting closer and closer. My forehead was covered with cold sweat and my heart was in a state of confusion. I didn't know how to explain the situation. As I saw him get closer and closer, I felt so anxious that I fainted and fell to the ground.

When I woke up, the silent wind blew the curtains in the palace hall. I don’t know where those people had went and the palace hall was very quiet. There was a candle burning in the distance, but there was no light nearby. The moonlight shined through the wide window, reflecting on the mat like a silver light. A’Mu knelt down beside me with one hand still holding onto my hand. I felt so angry after thinking about the embarrassing thing that I had just done. I just wanted to close my eyes and keep pretending to sleep. However, A’Mu whispered in a warm voice, calling me, “Shi Liu Niang.”

I felt so embarrassed that I did not want to see him, but he pulled me into his embrace. I wanted to push him away, but I couldn’t, so I just let him be. He put his chin on my head and I could feel his warm breath on my forehead. I was angry, but I heard him call me in a low voice, “Shi Liu Niang.”

"What are you doing?" I opened my eyes and asked him in a loud voice. This was a common move I used when I was a child. Seeing me act so straightforward and bold, my father would feel as if he had made a mistake or someone else had wronged his precious daughter. His anger would turn into self doubt, and I would have escaped from getting punished.

A’Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why are you speaking so loudly? It is not like I will eat you up."

I feel guilty, so I replied back, “Then what do you want to say, hurry and say it!"

A’Mu used another way of asking me, “When you left the city today, did General Chen ask you anything?”  

 

I could feel my face burning. The founder of the current dynasty had won this world on his horse's back. At that time, the Empress accompanied him in war for many years and helped him achieve the world. Many empresses of the current dynasty came from a general's family. Many years later, during a critical moment, it was Empress Shen who had lead the army and saved Emperor Shizong. From that time onwards, if the Emperor was not in the palace, then the Empress has the right to open the palace gate with the seal. It was only a hundred years ago that this rule was established. Although the Empress could nominally lead the armies from Kun'an, Qin'an and Sheng'an, she was only a remote leader and never interfered with the military affairs. Today, I left the palace late at night, which was a shocking thing to do.

I embarrassingly said, "I told General Chen that I wanted to see you."

"What a fool." A'Mu reached out and poked my forehead. "You have been ill and you came all the way here. You could have just sent someone to pass on the message, and I'll go back to see you."

I was too embarrassed to say that I came here to catch an act of adultery, so I could only lower my head and say nothing.

A'Mu was in a good mood and started talking to me about other things. "Shan Niang has some worries, do you know about that?"

As soon as I heard the two words "Shan Niang" I felt that I was going to have a fever again. I even felt a faint pain in my temples. I snorted a few times and tried to get along with it. A'Mu lifted my chin up as he gazed into my eyes and asked, "What do you think Shan Niang is worrying about?"

I was very angry. "She is such an elegant person, how can I guess her worries?"

A'Mu said with a smile, "It is hard to guess women's worries." 

I lowered my head and said nothing. A'Mu was a very kind person, and he was considerate to everyone. He was different from the late Emperor, who was stern and indifferent. Most of the ministers in court had been afraid of him. However, A'Mu was not the same as he was gentle to others. All the ministers praised him as a benevolent Emperor. He handles matters in an orderly manner, and the ministers did not dare to deceive him because of his kindness. 

Even I think it's hard to hide something from him at times, such as now.

I changed the topic and tried to talk about other things. A'Mu suddenly lowered his head and kissed me on the lips. I became foolish after being kissed by him. I felt dizzy and short of breath, I could hardly breathe. A'Mu suddenly let me go and whispered, "Breathe in!" 

I gasped for air, almost suffocating. A'Mu patted me on the back and said, "Shan Niang wants to remarry. Do you want to be her matchmaker?" 

I felt that I have not breathed. It took me a moment before I could understand what he had said. I could not help but feel sad. I pushed him aside and stood up as I said in a loud voice, "Although you are the Emperor, don't bully people too much!" The more I thought about it, the more sad and angry I felt. I kicked A'Mu, but he didn't avoid it. He was kicked on his leg by me. He frowned and I started to cry. As soon as he saw me crying, he said, "You are the sister-in-law of Prince Zhao and the sister-in-law of Prince Qi, how am I bullying you? In the past if Prince Qi offended you because he was not sensible, he was already punished. Why are you still remembering his fault?"

I stared at A’Mu with my eyes wide open. He was very funny as he told me, "Shan Niang wants to marry Prince Qi. If you don't want to be the matchmaker, I'll let my aunt go instead."

Prince Qi? I felt very embarrassed knowing that Prince Qi was there. I had fought with him when I was young, he even gave me a nickname called “Ye Qiang Wei." It was just that he has been in Yizhou for so many years and I have almost forgotten those grudges from the past.

I didn't know what to say for a moment. A’Mu rubbed his leg and murmured, "My grandfather said that it's not easy to marry a young lady because you have to wait for ten years for her to grow up. It's easy to grow up, but you still don’t know what she's thinking. This is true."

I was so angry that my ears were burning, embarrassed and anxious, I said, "Who taught you to marry!"

A’Mu chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, when my grandfather came to ask me, I made the choice to marry. My grandfather sighed and said that a devil will have its own devil, but he didn't refute my intention."

I was taken aback when I suddenly heard him say those words, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. A’Mu said with a gentle voice, "Shi Liu Niang, I've been waiting for ten years so you should at least give me an explanation."

I felt embarrassed and anxious, “What explanation?”

"What's on your mind?" A’Mu said, "Han Zhi has grown a beard, which is not good-looking at all. Look at me, I don't have a beard; do I look better than Prince Qi?"

A’Mu rarely asked me solemnly and I could only glance at him. I haven’t seen Prince Qi for many years. When he was at the palace hall, I didn't see what he looked like at all as I just recognized him as Prince Qi by his clothes. I don’t know what to say, so I just nodded.

A’Mu was anxious, "What does nodding mean? Is it me or Prince Qi?"

I became angry and asked, "What does this have to do with Prince Qi?"

A’Mu said in surprise, "Of course it does! After you beat him up on the street, didn't he send someone to propose the marriage to your father? As soon as I heard that, I immediately asked my father to appoint you as the Crown Princess!”

I don't know that something like this had happened. I didn't expect that I was snatched by A’Mu. However, what did A’Mu mean when he talked about harming Shan Niang? At this thought, I felt confused. A’Mu was still there pulling my sleeve. "Shi Liu Niang, if you don't say it today, I won't allow you to sleep!"

I felt very confused. When my eyes turned, I suddenly thought of a plan, so I said, "Go and catch a firefly, then I will tell you."

A’Mu began to worry, “In such a season, where can I find fireflies?"

I said happily, "Then I will tell you when you catch it." Anyways, from now till the seventh month, there is still a few months left. When it is around that time, maybe A’Mu will forget about this.

Hearing me say this, A’Mu choked as if he couldn’t believe it. At this time, the wind blew and a tiny light flickered outside the curtain. Suddenly, the light that resembled the stars floated into the room through the bottom of the curtain. It was a firefly, A’Mu was overjoyed, he reached out to catch the firefly and said, "Look! Firefly, now you have to say it.”

I looked at his hand in a hurry. It was indeed a firefly and I didn’t know how there would be fireflies so early. It was flapping its wings, its light flickering, and flying in his palms. I puffed my mouth toward the firefly, with a blow, it flew high and went through the curtain.

A’Mu was in a hurry as he stood up, wanting to catch the firefly. I grabbed his sleeve and refused to let him go. A’Mu suddenly turned around with a smile and flicked my earlobe, "Fool!"

I covered my ears with a smile and then ran to the corridor.

The long hallway faced the wind and the lake bloomed with lotus flowers, surrounded by the sound of frogs, fireflies flying across the body of water, the bright moon in the sky reflecting on the lake. A'Mu chased after me and grabbed my waist. The night wind blew on our clothes as A'Mu held me tight and I didn't feel cold. He said, "When there are fireflies in the seventh month, you'll have to say it again."

I felt confused as I clearly did not say anything, why did he say to repeat my words?

A'Mu was still smiling. There were fireflies flying in the distance, and I felt very anxious, but fortunately A'Mu didn't reach out to catch it. The waves moved in the lake and the scattered moonlight beamed from the sky. I was worried that he would catch another firefly and I hope he would never be able to catch a firefly ever again.

.................

Michelle: Finally a side story that has a happy ending. Even though this is the love story of Li Cheng Yin's son and Shi Liu Niang, but I feel like the author is trying to show what could have been Xiao Feng and Li Cheng Yin's love story if it weren't for the past events. There were suppose to be six side story in total, but one of the side story didn't end up being published. That side story is about Li Cheng Yin's ending, which is about him committing suicide by jumping off the same gate tower where Xiao Feng jumped off from. I also apologize for releasing this very late, but I have been losing sleep and it was kind of hard to balance both translations and real life things. Eastern Palace is my first translation project and it means a lot to me. It is a memorable story that leaves a deep impression to readers. I really want to thank Kri, Sharon and my former editor Nilla for their help. I wouldn't be able to finish it without their help. I also want to thank readers for your patience and support. I have read all your comments, and they were very encouraging. I will see you again in my second project, Heartwarming Decade, which I will update next month.

Kri: Even though it wasn't a happy story for Li Cheng Yin and Xiao Feng, I am glad that there was still a happy story tied to this drama. I still think about Eastern Palace and the drama, Goodbye My Princess, because it was so touching and sad for me and left me with many deep feelings. I would like to thank Michelle and everyone else on this team for allowing me to be a part of bring this story to you. Thank you for reading and for your support and patience!

Sharon: Although I only came about with helping edit this story near the end, it was quite enjoyable to read the last few chapters before the side stories. The novel's ending was especially sad but I personally liked the drama's ending more, which was both unique and epic, suitable to leave a lasting impression. In the drama's ending, Xiao Feng did more for her country in terms of helping to obtain the promise of peace between her country and the Central Plains country so that future battles would not ensue before suiciding. In the novel's ending, she simply jumped off from a high place again thinking "the love between them two were not meant to be" before ending up dead which had happened earlier before (the jumping off part, not dying) so it was like a repeat. There were times I wished Xiao Feng was a little more stronger in terms of her character, so that there would be less of the self-pity act which was consistent throughout. The author made her character quite weak, it didn't do her enough justice. I was more intrigued by the main story than I was by the extra side stories, which I felt frankly, were not as interesting. But to each reader their own opinions. Overall, it was a nice experience editing and I will try to continue to help out here and there!

<Side Story 5 Part 2