Cui Xingzhou understood Mian Tang’s meaning. Yesterday, Imperial Concubine Yun’s outing violated the usual protocol for palace concubines leaving the palace. It seemed as if she had received last-minute news of Mian Tang’s plans to go out and deliberately left the palace to cause trouble.
Perhaps fearing repercussions and the enmity of the Prince of Huaiyang’s household, one or two of the noble ladies who had accompanied Imperial Concubine Yun yesterday sent people to inquire about Cui Fu’s health. They tactfully explained that they had just happened to be in the palace accompanying Imperial Concubine Yun to watch a performance. When she decided to go out on a whim, they were invited along.
Mian Tang listened with raised eyebrows and asked Cui Xingzhou, “Can palace concubines summon officials’ wives at will?”
Cui Xingzhou removed the golden crown from his head and replied calmly, “Of course not. However, recently Empress Shi’s health has been declining, so she entrusted palace affairs to Imperial Concubine Yun…”
Mian Tang found this interesting. Empress Shi must be quite trusting to hand over power to someone like Sun Yunniang.
Now that Imperial Concubine Yun was wielding power in the palace, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had extended her reach outside the palace. Sun Yunniang must have planted spies in their household.
Mian Tang felt she couldn’t rest easy until these hidden threats were rooted out.
Cui Xingzhou looked at her and said softly, “It’s not just our household. Every mansion in the capital has palace spies. During the previous emperor’s reign, there was the Imperial Surveillance Bureau, with agents planted in every corner of the capital’s offices and residences. They served as the emperor’s eyes and ears, allowing him to hear from all quarters and consolidate imperial power. Even though the throne has changed hands several times, the Imperial Surveillance Bureau still exists. They report on the daily comings and goings of vehicles and horses from our mansion to the palace. Imperial Concubine Yun’s father currently oversees the Bureau, so it would be simple for her to obtain information about your outings.”
Mian Tang took a deep breath. If these were people planted by the Imperial Surveillance Bureau, she couldn’t remove them even if she knew who they were. Doing so would be seen as harboring ill intentions and plotting against the throne.
“…This damn place called the capital…” Mian Tang couldn’t help but curse under her breath.
Cui Xingzhou hugged her shoulders, amused, and said, “Do you think we were so carefree and at ease when we were in Zhen Prefecture? Local and central officials each have their difficulties. Now that we’re here, we must make the best of it. The Imperial Surveillance Bureau is meant for the emperor to monitor his officials’ misconduct, yet some are using it to trouble two pregnant women. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this rare opportunity to clean up the household. At the very least, those spies can be limited to the outer courtyard.”
If nothing else, the Prince of Huaiyang certainly didn’t want their intimate conversations to reach Liu Yu’s ears through the Bureau’s hidden agents. If Cui Xingzhou’s guess was correct, Liu Yu was probably inquiring about Mian Tang’s daily activities.
He wondered what Liu Yu was thinking. If he couldn’t bear to part with her, why did he let Mian Tang leave the mountain in the first place? Unfortunately, once the opportunity was missed, it was gone forever. Even though he now held the supreme position as emperor, he was destined to never have certain people.
The incident of Imperial Concubine Yun obstructing commoners caused quite a stir. Eventually, some of the more upright court censors could no longer contain themselves and wrote memorials to the throne.
Liu Yu had already learned about Mian Tang being harassed at the foot of Wangfeng Temple and questioned Imperial Concubine Yun about the incident.
Because of Liu Yu’s harsh tone, Imperial Concubine Yun shed tears of grievance and said, “If Your Majesty believes it was my fault, I’ll accept it. However, many ladies were present at the time. You can ask them if it was I who troubled the Princess of Huaiyang, or if it was the Duchess of Qingguo who troubled her daughter-in-law. I tried my best to mediate, but the Duchess of Qingguo and her daughter-in-law had deep-seated grievances, and she wouldn’t listen to reason. Could it be… that I’m so despicable in your heart that even when the Qingguo Ducal Mansion’s daughter-in-law miscarries due to her mother-in-law’s mistreatment, it’s still my fault?”
At this point, Yun Niang raised her tear-filled eyes and said, “Since entering the palace, I’ve been alone in my chambers almost every day, not daring to disturb Your Majesty in the slightest. I only hope to have my child soon, to find some comfort in the palace. Today, hearing other ladies speak of the efficacy of the Bodhisattva at Wangfeng Temple, I made a sudden decision to go and pay respects. I only hoped to make a wish early, for it to be granted early… I never expected such a mishap to occur…”
Liu Yu took a deep breath. Since Yun Niang had entered the palace, he had indeed been cold towards her. At the root of it all, he had always felt that Mian Tang’s departure was due to a misunderstanding about Yun Niang, so he harbored resentment towards her.
Seeing Yun Niang cry so pitifully now, he felt that he had been too harsh on a fragile woman. Moreover, things were true as Yun Niang said; it was the Duchess of Qingguo who had been berating Cui Fu at the time.
The order that obstructed the commoners wasn’t given by Yun Niang either. But even though it was unintentional, the impact was too great and ultimately damaged the imperial family’s reputation.
So Liu Yu paced with a gloomy face, then asked Empress Shi, who was sitting beside him, “This is a matter of the inner palace. How do you think it should be handled?”
Empress Shi frowned in difficulty and said, “Imperial Concubine Yun has indeed been implicated. The emperor and I both know you are good, but now with continuous memorials from the court, His Majesty is also in a difficult position. If no punishment is given, it will be hard to appease the resentment… You left the palace without following proper procedures and blocked off the mountain, obstructing the common people, which was indeed wrong… You shall kneel in the ancestral temple for three days, and your palace maids and eunuchs will also be punished with beatings, to be handled by the Office of Palace Attendants…”
Imperial Concubine Yun suddenly raised her head, staring at Empress Shi in shock. The first half of her speech had been so kind, that she thought she would be let off lightly, but she never expected Empress Shi to pronounce such a heavy punishment!
Yet she couldn’t beg for mercy, or she would be seen as lacking in understanding and unwilling to share the burden of pressure from the court officials for the emperor.
Yun Niang clenched her fists in hatred, but when she raised her head again, her face was full of submission. She only thanked the Empress and rose to go to the ancestral temple to kneel and accept her punishment.
After Liu Yu left, Granny Shen, who was by Empress Shi’s side, whispered, “Your Majesty, with such a heavy punishment, how can Imperial Concubine Yun be content in her heart?”
Empress Shi’s round, plump face no longer wore its usual carefree smile. With cold eyes, she said, “Do you think if I didn’t punish her, she would appreciate my kindness? Back when she was so close to me, calling me sister, I thought she was good. It wasn’t until later that I discovered how deep this woman’s scheming goes. She set traps for me several times, did she think I didn’t know? When I was giving birth to my eldest son, if you hadn’t been quick-witted enough, we would have fallen for her trick.
So I delegated power to her, letting her be smug for a while. When people get complacent, they tend to slip up. Look, hasn’t she made a mistake now in her show of cleverness? In these few days, I’m about to give birth, and it’s hard to guard against what that woman might do. Now that her father is overseeing the Imperial Surveillance Bureau, I have to be wary of both open and hidden threats. By punishing her heavily now and having her close associates beaten, we can at least prevent them from colluding internally and externally to do some unsavory things. As for the Imperial Surveillance Bureau…”
Granny Shen said in a low voice, “This old servant has already had the Head Eunuch inform His Majesty that the Imperial Surveillance Bureau extracted notes about the Prince of Huaiyang’s household’s carriage movements and gave them to Imperial Concubine Yun’s side…”
Empress Shi smiled, “The affairs of the inner palace are under my jurisdiction. As for matters outside the palace, naturally, it’s up to His Majesty to decide. I’m afraid Imperial Concubine Yun has touched His Majesty’s sore spot this time, and her father will suffer the consequences.”
Granny Shen smiled slightly, “That would be for the best. Your Majesty can give birth with peace of mind, without worrying about the Sun family making any more moves…”
Empress Shi sighed softly, “The palace is so large, with hearts as hidden as demons lurking in a dark pond. I feel as if I’m constantly standing at the edge of an abyss, not daring to let my guard down…”
Granny Shen understood Empress Shi’s meaning. She had witnessed how her young mistress had progressed step by step from a concubine’s daughter in the Shi family to become the Empress of the nation. Her mistress’s path hadn’t been easy; she not only had to guard against the Sun father and daughter but also be wary of the Empress Dowager’s faction. Therefore, she could only pretend to be foolish and simple-minded, treating the consorts and concubines pushed in by the Empress Dowager’s side with kindness and smiles.
During these days when Empress Shi had delegated power, Sun Yunniang had dealt with many consorts and also won over quite a few. With Imperial Concubine Yun being punished this time, the hidden struggles in the palace would surely become more intense.
“Your Majesty, you are wise and intelligent. Why else would His Majesty respect you so much? You and His Majesty will surely get through this period. After the extreme comes the return,” Granny Shen said, seeing the weariness on Empress Shi’s face when they were alone, and trying to comfort her.
Empress Shi shook her head and sighed, “Truly intelligent women would never marry into these high palace walls in the first place. That Princess of Huaiyang is a truly intelligent and open-minded woman!”
Granny Shen agreed with this point and said softly, “The matter of the Imperial Surveillance Bureau leaking notes to Imperial Concubine Yun was uncovered by the Prince of Huaiyang’s people. I heard that his household conducted interrogations through the night a few days ago and rooted out quite a few people. Why did he have to use Your Majesty’s hand to pass the message to His Majesty?”
Empress Shi smiled slightly, “The Prince of Huaiyang was invited by His Majesty to help balance against the Sun family. But now there’s been trouble in the inner court, causing his sister to miscarry. This was done by people from the Imperial Surveillance Bureau colluding with Imperial Concubine Yun. Given the Prince of Huaiyang’s temperament, how could he tolerate this? By going through me, he’s hinting that this shouldn’t happen again, and neither the inner palace nor His Majesty should try to plant spies in his household. And His Majesty has no choice but to deal with the Sun family to give him an explanation… This way of shaking the mountain to startle the tiger is indeed efficient. Liu Mian Tang didn’t marry the wrong man.”
She had also fallen in love at first sight with Prince Ziyu back then, willingly marrying him, not knowing that one wrong step leads to a series of missteps. Her husband’s heart harbored another person, leaving no room for a second.
So, she settled for second best, not seeking harmony in love, but determined to be on equal footing. Therefore, she advised and strategized for His Majesty, sharing his burdens and becoming his capable inner helper.
The difference between Empress Shi and Yun Niang was that she didn’t hate Liu Mian Tang.
That girl was extremely intelligent. Just look at how she resolutely left Yangshan; it showed she was someone who could make decisions and let go when necessary. And seeing the Prince of Huaiyang’s love for her, it was clear that their marital affection left no room for a third person.
Even if His Majesty loved Liu Mian Tang in his heart, they were destined to be apart in this life.
Thinking of this, Empress Shi suddenly felt a sense of melancholy. She just wanted to lie down and rest for a while. Closing her eyes, she lazily instructed, “The ancestral temple is an important place, be cautious with fire. There’s no need to deliberately add braziers at night, be careful with candles…”
These past few days, the weather had turned cold at night, especially in the imperial ancestral temple, which was gloomy and damp. It seemed that after these days of punishment kneeling, Imperial Concubine Yun might fall seriously ill…