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Chapter 61
In short, it was a win-win: the Empress Dowager preserved the status of the three consorts, and in exchange, Yixing’s promotion to the rank of Consort went through without a hitch.
In truth, her journey had been far too smooth. Though she had suffered briefly under the discipline of the Bureau of Ceremonies due to Consort Gong’s meddling, she had been on a meteoric rise ever since she met "Physician Xia."
She entered the palace for the selection in the second month, was promoted to Daying in the sixth month, then to Concubine that same month, and now, in the seventh month, she was a Consort. Such pace of promotion was unprecedented since the founding of the Great Ying dynasty. Of course, all of it was thanks to the Son of Heaven. He was a sentimental Emperor; simply because someone had caught him in an "indecent act," he had remained as stubbornly fixated on her as a chaste widow protecting her virtue.
Sometimes Yixing felt lucky that it was she who had stumbled upon him, forging this ill-fated bond. Had it been anyone else, he likely would have been obsessing over promoting them instead, and this stroke of luck wouldn't have fallen to her. Regardless, now that she was in the palace, her only goal was to advance as far as possible toward the highest rank. As long as the Emperor’s obsession remained, she had the chance to soar. However, if he were to ever show mercy and grant a full pardon to her eldest brother and eldest niece, she would be more than happy to give up everything in the palace and return to the common life.
Officials from the Grand Secretariat arrived bearing the edict. As usual, it was issued by the decree of the Empress Dowager, stating that Concubine Chun was of distinguished virtue and gentle character, and was hereby promoted to Consort Chun. All necessary arrangements were to be carried out by the relevant departments according to precedent.
The final line of the edict indicated that this investiture ceremony would not be simplified like her previous promotion to Concubine; it required a full, formal grand ceremony to make it legitimate.
Within the Everlasting Longevity Palace, everyone waited for the Imperial Observatory to select an auspicious day, which was finally set for the second day of the seventh month. Early that morning, Han zhen and Yinzhu began dressing the Old Auntie. For an investiture, one had to wear festive dress. The attire sent from the Department of Imperial Attire had changed from the incense-brown of a Concubine to the golden-yellow of a Consort.
Yinzhu fastened the ceremonial collar around her neck and placed the gilded coral necklet on her, murmuring as she bent to adjust the hanging tassels at her back, "Following you, Mistress, has truly opened my eyes. Truly, of all the maids in the palace, most never get the chance to serve a high-ranking mistress for even a single day. But I’ve experienced the poverty of a Dáyìng and seen the wealth of a Consort. Even when I leave the palace, this will be enough to brag about for a lifetime."
It was the truth. The saying "When one man finds the Way, even his dogs and chickens ascend to heaven" found its most literal proof within these high-walled halls.
Previously, who had ever taken Jiao Yinzhu seriously? Senior maids could order her around for this or that, making her do the hardest work and eat the worst food. Now, when she stepped out, who dared not call her "Auntie"? The status others spent three to five years of bitter toil to achieve, she had reached in six months by following the Old Auntie. "Third Daughter," who had been unloved by her own family, had now gained immense face. It was only because her home was far from the Imperial Palace; if it were at the foot of the wall, she would have climbed the corner tower just to shout the news to the world.
Han Zhen, more refined and reserved than Yinzhu, didn't have as many outbursts of emotion. She simply carefully reminded her mistress of the things to watch for during the ceremony, then placed the turquoise-inlaid court hat on the Old Auntie’s head.
Once everything was settled, they pushed her in front of the large bronze floor mirror. Though the Old Auntie looked young, she truly possessed an aura that surpassed everyone else in the harem.
Yixing felt quite beautiful herself. She straightened her back and felt the court beads crisscrossing her chest like a harness. It certainly looked grand, but the heat was also very real.
Being invested in the height of midsummer was a grueling ordeal, especially since the ceremony took place in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Had she known it would be such a struggle, she would have preferred to delay it by two months.
Alas, the auspicious hour was set, so she had no choice but to brace herself and board the palanquin. The procession wound its way through the Rear Right Gate and Middle Right Gate, reaching the marble terrace of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This court dress was incredibly heavy; as Yixing climbed the steps, she felt as if she were encased in a hard shell. The court hat was also heavy, making her feel as though her neck were being compressed.
After finally entering the hall, a set of tables for the imperial insignia and incense were placed in the center of the vast, boundless space. The Grand Secretary and the Senior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites served as the primary and secondary envoys. After a long series of complex rituals, they placed the patent and seal on the table.
The female official then called out the rites, leading the newly promoted Consort Chun through the ceremony of six bows, three kneelings, and three kowtows. Yixing finally breathed a sigh of relief; the great drama of the Outer Court investiture was finally over.
The rituals upon returning to the Inner Palace were not as tedious. The Empress Dowager took her seat in the main hall of the Palace of Benevolent Peace. Yixing paid her respects according to protocol, and the Empress Dowager gifted her a sandalwood and jade Ruyi scepter. "From this day on, you are ranked among the four Consorts," she said. "In the future, you must be even more cautious and diligent in your conduct."
Yixing replied, "Your servant thanks the Empress Dowager for her grace."
The Empress Dowager nodded and had her helped up. "The position of Empress is currently vacant, so you need only go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to pay your respects. It’s a scorching day; dressing up like this must be stifling. Go on then!"
Yixing complied, withdrew from the Palace of Benevolent Peace, and boarded her palanquin again, heading toward the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Because of the investiture ceremony, the Emperor had taken his seat in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The female attendant led the Old Auntie into the hall. The Emperor sat at the head, his face solemn, exuding the magnificent majesty of the Son of Heaven.
Yixing knelt on the cushion and performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. After the ritual, the Emperor said "Rise" and gave a formal lecture. "Although the Empress Dowager and I both approved your promotion, your rise has been rapid compared to others in the harem, which will surely invite gossip. You must avoid arrogance and rashness, and never use your favor to stir up trouble. Show filial piety to the Empress Dowager, be of one heart with me, and bring an heir to the state as soon as possible."
Kneeling below, Yixing was in a daze as she said "Yes." Only after answering did she snap out of it—what on earth was the Emperor saying? Words like "bring an heir as soon as possible" sounded natural coming from the Empress Dowager, but why was the Emperor saying them himself? And "be of one heart with me"—the man was truly shameless.
She gave him a strange look, and only then did the Emperor realize he had accidentally let his inner thoughts slip. He felt a moment of awkwardness. But in such a formal setting, he couldn't take back his words. He cleared his throat to maintain his composure and said coolly, "The ceremony is complete. You’ve had a long day; go back and rest."
Yixing thanked him, stood up, and bowed again. Just as she was about to exit the Hall of Union, she heard the Emperor say "Wait." He spoke in that same majestic tone, tossing out a sentence like an extra reward: "I will go to your palace for dinner tonight."
Such a thing? Yixing thought. Isn't today my promotion day? He didn't give me a single gift, and now he wants to come to my place to scrounge a meal?
Of course, she kept her complaints to herself. A flat refusal was out of the question, so she said, "It is an honor for Your Majesty to dine at the Everlasting Longevity Palace. However, the chef in my small kitchen is quite ordinary. I fear the hospitality will be lacking; I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The Emperor said, "I don't mind. They are all my palace chefs; their skills won't be that bad. I know."
Sigh. If the Emperor had even half the warmth he’d had during his "Physician Xia" phase, he wouldn't be so blunt as to leave her speechless. Yixing muttered to herself but had no choice. She forced a smile, acting as if she were overwhelmed by his favor, and left joyfully to prepare.
The Emperor let out a relaxed sigh. Because of this formal event today, he had stayed up all night to finish his state business. He had nothing to do for the rest of the morning and was just waiting to go to the Everlasting Longevity Palace for lunch. He calculated that his afternoon was also free; it would be best if he could take a nap there. Even if they couldn't "do anything" for now, talking and bickering would be fine.
But the wait was too long. He couldn't exactly follow her immediately after she left, so he paced around the hall several times. When he checked the Western clock again, only fifteen minutes had passed.
Huaien, a veteran of the Imperial presence, saw the Emperor like this and offered a suggestion. "Today is the auspicious day of Consort Chun’s formal investiture. If Your Majesty is going to the Everlasting Longevity Palace for dinner, have you prepared a congratulatory gift?"
The Emperor hesitated. "A gift is needed just for a meal?"
Huaien smiled and said, "Of course. Even among commoners, when people get married or celebrate a birthday, friends and family don't visit for a meal empty-handed. Though the Lady's rank was granted by you, she manages her own household now. If you go to her palace, you should have something ready. 'No one blames a person for having too many gifts.' If the Lady sees you brought something, she will treat you with more kindness. That way, both sides are happy. Why not?"
The Emperor heard this and agreed. Being born into the Imperial family, he had few chances to build personal relationships and naturally didn't understand common social etiquette. Since a gift could buy him a better mood from the Old Auntie, why hesitate? He ordered Huaien to prepare something, then thought for a moment and added, "I’ll pick it out myself. Find a few decent pieces and bring them to the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
Huaien answered "Yes" and personally ran to the Department of Imperial Attire under the scorching sun. When he entered, sweat was dripping from the brim of his hat. Yao Xiaoba saw him and hurried from behind his desk to salute him, taking his cool hat with a smile. "What wind blew the head Eunuch here today?"
A young eunuch brought a damp towel. Huaien took it and wiped his face, sitting down in an official’s chair. "The investiture for Consort Chun is being held, and His Majesty wants to gift her some jewelry. I was afraid the subordinates wouldn't handle it properly, so I had to come myself. Go and bring out a few of the best sets; I need to take them back for His Majesty to choose from personally."
Yao Xiaoba gasped. "He’s choosing them personally?"
"What do you think?" Huaien took a gulp of cold tea. "Consort Chun enjoys great favor. Naturally, the things she gets must be the best."
Yao Xiaoba complied and sent people to fetch the jewelry, but he looked hesitant. He leaned toward Huaien and said, "Head Eunuch, may I ask you something? Is the current Consort Chun truly the 'Old Auntie' of the former Empress’s family? Is that correct?"
Huaien said yes. "How many Old Aunties could the Shang family have? It’s her, no mistake."
This time, Yao Xiaoba rubbed his hands together and stammered, "I have to ask a favor... To tell you the truth, back when Consort Chun was a lowly maid in the Bureau of Ceremonies, she came here for embroidery patterns, and I deliberately made things difficult for her. Now that she’s risen so high, I don't know if she holds a grudge. You see, I’m not a bad person, just a bit of a jerk sometimes. I was truly blind not to recognize 'Mount Tai.' If the Lady ever decides to make things hard for me, please, for the sake of us carrying brooms together since we were kids, you must help me out."
Huaien looked back at him in surprise. "You two had such a run-in?" He shook his head. "You... How many times have I told you? Don't look down on the young and poor. You just wouldn't listen. But Consort Chun isn't that petty; she’s likely forgotten you already. Put your heart at ease; nothing big will happen."
Yao Xiaoba nodded repeatedly. When his subordinates brought the jewelry boxes, he bowed and handed them to Huaien, entrusting him with the request several more times before seeing him out of the courtyard.
Huaien hurried back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and had the maids line up the jewelry boxes. He opened the lids and bowed. "These are all the latest designs from the Department of Imperial Attire. Please have a look, Your Majesty."
The Emperor looked through them box by box. Women’s jewelry was so varied—dangling hairpins, kingfisher feathers, jade—it made his head ache. Finally, he stepped away with his hands behind his back and frowned. " I can't tell the good from the bad. Just take them all."
Huaien complied and quickly closed the boxes one by one. Seeing that it was about time, he attended the Emperor as he exited the Phoenix Radiance Gate and headed straight for the Everlasting Longevity Palace.
In the Everlasting Longevity Palace, they were frantically preparing for the Emperor’s visit.
Yixing stood in the hall giving orders. "Move that elm-wood wine table to the west side; it’s cooler there..."
She turned around and saw the Emperor had already reached the palace gate. He was walking in front, followed by several eunuchs carrying boxes. Initially, Yixing wasn't very welcoming, but seeing that he had brought gifts, she had to pull herself together to receive him.
"It’s so hot outside, and Your Majesty is walking under the sun..." She stepped forward to greet him and turned to tell Yinzhu, "Prepare some cold jasmine tea."
Following Huaien’s advice, the Emperor also said a few kind words. "Today is your auspicious day. I’ve come to congratulate you and have prepared a few small items. I hope you will accept them."
The Old Auntie looked at the boxes, and sure enough, she smiled like a blooming flower. While saying "Oh, you shouldn't have," she welcomed him into the western side room.
"Sit for a moment, Your Majesty. Dinner will be served shortly." Yixing dutifully offered him tea and had the boxes taken into the bedroom.
"My, the weather is getting hotter," she said, trying to fill the silence. "Had I known, it would have been better to hold the investiture ceremony later."
The Emperor sat upright with his hands on his knees. "The reason for the haste is because we are leaving for Chengde in a couple of days. This trip was originally planned for last year, but the frequent wars in the North delayed it until now. Now that the stalemate is broken, it’s the perfect time to accompany the Empress Dowager there to escape the heat. We’ll be gone for at least two or three months. If your promotion wasn't handled now, it would have to wait until we returned to the capital. I was afraid you’d be impatient."
Yixing’s eyes lit up immediately. "Going to Chengde? The Chengde of the Eight Outlying Temples?"
The Emperor glanced at her, knowing what she was thinking, and said coldly, "While the summer palace is near the mountains and water, the rules there are just as strict as in the palace. Consorts are not allowed to leave without reason. Do not think of testing the law."
Yixing said she understood. "I’m just a bit happy, that’s all." She paused and then asked, "Your Majesty, can we bring family members when we go there?"
She was still thinking about the Old Lady at home. After Zhiyuan was deposed, she was said to be practicing at one of the outlying temples. Her eldest brother had met with misfortune, and her other two brothers were stationed far away on business; they were too far and too involved in their own troubles to care for her eldest niece. The Old Lady talked about Zhiyuan every day, only lamenting that she couldn't rush to Chengde because of government surveillance. Since they were going there openly for the summer, if she could bring the Old Lady to see Zhiyuan, it would set the Old Lady's mind at ease.
The Emperor was quite displeased by her words. "Bring family? Who is your family? Once you enter the palace, you are someone else's family. How can you bring family?"
Yixing was not happy with that. "Now that I’m in the palace, am I to abandon my relatives at home? By family, I naturally mean my mother."
The Emperor said no. "There is no precedent for concubines bringing their families along. The rules cannot be broken for you." Of course, being too harsh would damage their relationship, so he compromised slightly. "How about this: to celebrate your promotion, I will grant your mother five hundred taels of silver for household expenses. She shouldn't go to Chengde; after all, it would be awkward for her to meet the Empress Dowager. The generational ranks are a mess; it would be hard to know how to address each other."
Regarding generations, it was indeed a mess. Aunt and niece had both entered the palace. The Emperor was likely starting to doubt his own understanding of who belonged to which generation. Yixing wasn't an unreasonable person. She planned to be as respectful as possible toward the Emperor. After all the misunderstandings between them—and though she had once had feelings for "Physician Xia," those feelings had withered once his true identity was revealed—it was best to keep to her place when facing the Emperor.
She pouted slightly. "You are far too generous. If I can't bring her, then I won't. Why give silver?"
The Emperor nodded. "I don't have to give it then..."
The smile on her face immediately bloomed even brighter. "But if I don't accept it, it would seem ungrateful. Then I shall thank Your Majesty on my mother’s behalf."
So, one had to talk in circles with her. If you followed her lead and answered her directly, everything would fall apart.
With this realization, the Emperor felt refreshed. The road ahead seemed clear. So when the Old Auntie said lunch was ready, the Emperor claimed he wasn't hungry yet and wanted to sit a while longer to share some "intimate words."
Yixing had been busy with her investiture all morning and had only had a few bites for breakfast; she wasn't full and was counting on a good lunch. But the Emperor was in no hurry, so she had to endure her hunger and sit dutifully by his side.
"Well then, Your Majesty, what 'intimate words' do you want to hear? I can make some up on the spot." This earned her a roll of the eyes from the Emperor.
The Emperor thought for a moment and said, "Today, following the Empress Dowager’s wishes, I pardoned the Noble Consort and the others. Do you think I should let them join the retinue to Chengde?"
Yixing was distracted. "Since they’ve been pardoned, why shouldn't they go?"
The Emperor pondered this and slowly nodded. "Although the Empress Dowager and I are moving to Chengde, there are many trivial matters in the palace, and the concubines staying behind need someone to look after them. It might be better if they stay." He paused and then asked, "In your opinion, how should their green tags be handled? Should they be kept or removed?"
As he asked this, his eyes burned as he looked at her, as if her opinion were vital. Yixing suddenly felt the weight of responsibility. She thought carefully and said, "Since their ranks have been restored, it means Your Majesty has moved past the past. Once the Imperial word is spoken, it cannot be taken back. You should let their tags return to your presence according to the old rules, so as not to disappoint the Empress Dowager’s good intentions."
Surely this was "magnanimous" enough? Didn't the Imperial family love this kind of high-sounding talk? However, just as Yixing was convinced the Emperor would take the easy way out, he gave her a look that held a hint of shyness.
"I see. I will never flip their tags again, so they know that offending the Emperor’s majesty is unforgivable. If this matter were brushed aside so easily, the concubines would become arrogant. Everyone would think they could set traps and schemes. Over time, the harem would lose all order and discipline!"
Yixing was stunned. She looked at him in bewilderment. "Whatever I say, you argue against. Why even ask me then?"
The Emperor acted as if he hadn't heard her. He slowly turned the thumb ring on his hand and said, "Enough of that. Let me ask you one more thing: do you think I should flip your tag every night to create a false impression of 'exclusive favor' for you?"
This time, Yixing didn't even think. She said decisively, "Yes! Since we’ve already gone along with this mistake, I think we should take it to the end. Anyway, Your Majesty hasn't flipped anyone’s tag for months. To be honest, I think you must have some... 'difficulty.' Since that’s the case, please flip my tag every night. I will dedicate myself to my master and never tell a lie."
It was another statement for the "greater good," even more thorough than the last. Sure enough, the Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Are you serious?"
Yixing said firmly, "When the Old Auntie gives her word, four horses cannot pull it back."
The Emperor let out a mocking smirk. "You truly are a woman who craves hollow prestige."
Yixing nodded repeatedly. Regardless, she didn't want him to actually flip her tag for real; if they really spent every night playing Mahjong and comparing points, that would be too boring. She had once suspected the Emperor was having an affair with Physician Xia, only to find out they were the same person. Now, why the Emperor didn't flip any tags at all had become a mystery; perhaps he really did have some unspeakable secret.
She thought he would surely argue back this time as she had taken the opposite path, but she was completely wrong.
The Emperor showed a calculating smile. "I’ve thought it over. Since you are so sincere, I will reluctantly grant your request."
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