Imperial Favor Chapter 7
Wang Yi
Translation: JuniperBlue
The color of Zhong Yuxi’s face went red and white in turns unceasingly. Then, she plucked up the nerve to grit her teeth to say, “Your Highness, this concubine’s elder brother handled affairs preposterously and entangled His Highness as well as the Mighty General* with trouble. This concubine is deeply panicked with fear and pleads with Your Highness for a chance at survival.”
*** This is an actual title, equivalent to the western use of adjectives in, let’s say, ‘Alexander the Great’.
She won’t believe for a second that if the name Wang Yi was mentioned before Tang Zhuo Zhuo- would she remain so calm and collected?
She only needed to see His Highness just once and carefully bring up this incident with the news that Wang Yi had a hand in it behind the scenes. From His Highness’ loathing aversion of Wang Yi, her elder brother would gain some room to breathe and the chance for the Eastern Mountain to rise again* would not be an issue.
***东山再起- ‘for the Eastern mountain to rise again’, East is where the sun rises again each day, therefore meaning the chance to make a comeback.
The smile Tang Zhuo Zhuo wore throughout this now dropped from her face completely. Even her emotive, apricot eyes were suffused with a wintry gleam. Though her lips held a softness to it, her every word was like a piercing sword. “Zhong Liangdi, His Highness is busy with government affairs, we best not go and be a disturbance. What do you say?”
Zhong Yuxi swiftly lifed her head to look her in the eye, unable to hide her astonished expression. After a while though, all she could do was grit her teeth and swallow blood* to offer a ‘yes’ before being promptly sent out.
***打落牙齿和血吞- a saying that translates ‘to swallow teeth and blood’, meaning that even when someone slaps you hard enough to break teeth and draw blood, you can only swallow all of that in silence despite frustrated anger.
Outside, the light of the sun was at its peak. Zhong Yuxi could only stagger with the wind if not for the palace maid steadying her at her side. She dug her pointed, manicured nails into the flesh of her palms and looked towards Yiqiu Palace with eyes full of incomparable hostility. She no longer had the tranquil countenance of a celestial from earlier.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo was only reliant on her title as the Crown Princess, just one rank above her own, to lord it over her head. Now that she is often quarreling with His Highness, over time, His Highness will surely know who truly cares for him.
These women- the days are yet long!
As for within Yiqiu Palace, a few palace maids silently entered to replace the ice basins, while the chamber was filled with the fragrance of a fruity sweet incense. Tang Zhuo Zhuo did not favor it, but it was an incense that Wang Yi had always liked to smell.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s slender fingers stroked the vibrant green jade bracelet. Her voice still held the quality of a lackadaisical smile without taking Zhong Yuxi’s request to heart.
Each and every person somehow treated her like some magnanimous person. To want to use her as cannon fodder, did they think she was that easy?
“An Zhi, have the incense in the chambers replaced.”
She paused shortly and through the curtain of pearls, it seemed as if she could smell the clear, crisp smell of mint leaves that would waft from Huo Qiu’s body.
“Change it to the mint incense from the Department of Perfumery.”
The smile on An Zhi’s face froze and with hesitation spoke, “My lady, this incense is one you instructed us to light every day…”
“Do my words fall on deaf ears now?” Tang Zhuo Zhuo felt bitterly disappointed, her voice akin to days old ice that often formed under the eaves.
An Zhi hurried to kneel and said, “I beg pardon of my lady, this lowly servant will change it immediately.”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo propped her head on her hand and closed her eyes exhaustedly. When she finally opened her eyes again, they were filled with an endless emptiness as she opened her mouth to speak. “An Zhi, you need not wait upon me in Yiqiu Palace any longer.”
Those words were akin to sinking a boulder into the heart of a lake as An Zhi prostrated herself fully. “My lady, this lowly servant knows her wrongdoing now…. This lowly- this lowly servant won’t dare disobey my lady’s words anymore. My lady, please don’t chase this lowly servant away.”
She cried quite miserably. Tang Zhuo Zhuo looked upon the maid who had served her since young. She wasn’t sure whether it was due to old time’s sake but she rose from her arhat bed and slowly approached to stand before An Zhi. Then, she tilted her face up with a finger under her chin and gazed into her petrified eyes.
“An Zhi, I’m sure you know what kind of end is given to servants who betray their master.”
An Zhi’s pupils shrank in that instant and upon coming round, frantically tried to explain herself. She could still feel the icy feeling of Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s finger under her chin; it was a chill that dug painfully into her bones.
It was only at this time that An Xia finally reacted. Her eyes widened seemingly in disbelief and could only mutter haltingly. Then, with dismay and anger, “An Zhi, what have you done?!”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo, with a great deal of strength, pressed her fingers into An Zhi’s chin until it bloomed red and said coldly, “For the fact that you had followed me for such a long time- for it’s sake- I will grace you with a point of honor*.”
***脸面- again, ‘saving face’, so here, she is giving An Zhi some leeway.
“In a moment, you’ll be given two hundred taels of silver to leave the palace or go and wait upon Yuxi at her palace, what have you. Don’t you show yourself before me again.”
An Zhi had been holding onto hope in her bosom still. But the moment she said Yuxi’s palace, the excuses she had became nothing but ashes that she was forced to swallow into her stomach.
She lowered her head in a confounded manner, as she performed an extremely low bow towards Tang Zhuo Zhuo and took her leave.
The whole chamber fell into a deathly silence until An Xia finally opened her mouth to speak. “My lady, An Zhi, she… she sought Zhong Liangdi’s patronage?”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo gave her a glance with a false smile on her face, then nodded lightly. “Perhaps, I have not treated her well enough.”
“What is she seriously thinking? Absolutely heartless and ungrateful*!” An Xia was indignant to the point of stamping her feet and her eyes were red with anger.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo smiled comfortingly as she absentmindedly picked up a piece of jade dew cake sent in from the kitchens. The fragrant sweet taste was seemingly able to dilute the astringent and bitter feeling lingering in the depths of her heart. She seemed to have thought of something, for she suddenly spoke, “These pastries are satisfactory; have some sent to the Main Palace later.”
An Xia was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately responded affirmatively.
Seeing that the relationship between her mistress and His Highness seemed to be taking a turn for the better, no one could be more happy than she.
In this East Palace after all, her master had to rely on His Highness in order to live.
After noon, upon hearing that two people had entered Huo Qiu’s study, Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s eyes lit up and became lively, believing the two to be Han Suanzi and Liu Hanjiang.
She can finally catch them.
She changed into a dress with silver-thread embroidered narcissus flowers, and then called An Xia to bring forth the boxes of pastries from the kitchens. And with her people, set off for the Main Palace.
Yiqiu Palace and the Main Palace were not far apart, but they were not immune to the day’s heat. After having walked the time it took to burn one incense stick, Tang Zhuo Zhuo’s white forehead began to perspire with sweat.
Observing from within the study was Zhang Desheng, who saw her approaching. He immediately went out to perform a greeting, his facial expression becoming quite strange at times.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo took the boxed pastries from An Xia and said, “I have come to bring some pastries to His Highness, would you go and announce this?”
Zhang Desheng dabbed at the sweat rolling down his brow as he was suddenly trapped in a dilemma.
To go in meant angering his master half to death, yet, he wouldn’t be able to explain to the Crown Princess why he wouldn’t enter.
Just who was it that informed this personage of the Mighty General’s arrival to apologize to His Highness?
However, no matter the unspoken criticism in his heart, Zhang Desheng still braced himself, turned to open the door and entered. When he returned to give Tang Zhuo Zhuo a reply, his face was a fair shade paler as he gestured inside. “Your Highness, His Highness permits you entrance.”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo adjusted her sleeves to ready herself, but when she thought about those deep, intense eyes of Huo Qiu, it was hard for her not to feel fear in her heart. Her steps faltered before stepping through the doors.
As soon as she entered, she saw Huo Qiu standing besides the table in an imposing manner and his eyes were surging with fury for reasons Tang Zhuo Zhuo was not sure of. Seeing that the corner of his lips were tightening, she bowed low, “Greetings to His Highness.”
It wasn’t until she righted herself again that she saw the other two people in the study and was startled.
The person on the left was dressed in a brocade robe of silvery white, lending an air of a scholar. His smile brought out two faint dimples and his voice held a tranquil coldness like moonlight. “Greetings to the Crown Princess.”
The person was, outrageously, Wang Yi.
For a short moment, Tang Zhuo Zhuo held her breath, her body stiffening to the point where she could even hear the blood pounding in her veins and every breath she took in was chillingly cold. Once she gathered her wits about her, she realized that her nails were digging quite deep into her flesh, till the fingers were horribly white.
Why was it him again?
The unbearable memories of her previous life flashed by and Tang Zhuo Zhuo frowned in disgust before moving her gaze to another person without a sound.
The person on the right was one she was unfamiliar with. He was a burly and homely man. And as if he stood there to set a contrast against Wang Yi’s clear and melodious voice, he spoke to her with a voice like muffled thunder, “This subject greets the Crown Princess.”
Tang Zhuo Zhuo noticed that his eyes held quite the resemblance to Zhong Yuxi’s, and came to a relative conclusion on his identity. She restrained her facial expression even more.
Tang Zhuo Zhuo felt a pair of eyes and their scorching gaze from behind her, and her heart began to thrum like a drum. The palms of her hands became clammy and she did her best to keep her usual facial expression on as she turned her body around. Sure enough, she was met with Huo Qiu’s stern looking eyes which were filled with a deep fiery anger and coldness.
“Your Highness, the kitchens prepared some new types of pastries so this consort brought this for you to try.”
Huo Qiu observed her delicate and small frame huddled slightly before him. Within her clear, crisp voice held a sweet hint of flattery. While her facial expression didn’t change all too much after seeing Wang Yi, he still caught onto that bit of unnaturalness in her complexion when he looked deep into those clear eyes.
She sure was impatient.
To hurry over to send over pastries the moment she heard Wang Yi was here, why hadn’t he seen her be so considerate before?
At that thought, Huo Qiu’s heart began to throb with even more hatred as his whole body felt dazed with numbness.
Should she even glimpse at that person one more time, every inch of his body would tremble in its clamouring for war.
He was jealous enough to die!
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