Free Web NovelChapter 255: Chapter 255: Granting the Rank of Concubine? The Empress Enthronement Ceremony
At the Empress Dowager’s words, Ji Qingwu instantly stopped crying.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she said, "Empress Dowager, have you noticed something isn’t right? Ever since I entered the palace, the Emperor’s interest in me lasted a mere two days before he grew tired of me."
The Empress Dowager mulled over her words. She had ordered Ji Qingwu to appear before the Emperor daily, but it seemed to have backfired.
"Are you saying that I was too hasty?"
Ji Qingwu replied, "This matter cannot be rushed. We must approach it slowly and strategically."
The Empress Dowager said, "Tell me, then. What is your plan?"
Ji Qingwu glanced at Shixi and Fanghua, who were standing in the hall, and hesitated to speak.
The Empress Dowager said, "They have both served me for many years. There is no need to send them away."
Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together and said, "Empress Dowager, it’s not that I don’t trust them. It’s just... what I have to say is a little embarrassing..."
The Empress Dowager did not press her. "Very well. You two may leave us."
’Ji Qingwu didn’t want Fanghua to hear her plan, fearing she would relay it to Emperor Wu Su.’
The two women bowed and retreated from the hall. After the doors closed, the Empress Dowager spoke.
"Is this better? There is no one else here now. Go on."
Aside from the slight redness around her eyes, there was no longer any trace that Ji Qingwu had been crying.
She said, "Since His Majesty says he’s tired of me, I will stop going to see him."
’Not going anymore?’
The Empress Dowager disapproved of this idea, calling it nonsense.
Then, her brow furrowed deeply. "That will never do. If too much time passes, the Emperor will truly forget you. That would be like trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice you used as bait. You won’t even have a shoulder to cry on then."
Of course, Ji Qingwu had no real intention of staying away from Emperor Wu Su. Having entered the palace, she wasn’t going to give up so easily.
In the few days since entering the palace, she had come to a realization...
’Since the Empress Dowager wants something from me, I might as well use her to accomplish a few things of my own.’
Ji Qingwu called out, "Aunt."
It was the first time the Empress Dowager had heard her niece call her "Aunt." The soft, gentle address was quite pleasing to her ears.
When Ji Qingwu set her mind to winning someone over, she rarely failed.
She picked up the round silk fan from the table and, with a gentle flick of her porcelain-white wrist, began fanning the air behind the Empress Dowager.
However, most of the breeze fell on herself.
Ji Qingwu said, "I’m only just realizing today how unreliable men are. He wants to cast me aside with a single phrase: ’I’m tired of you.’"
Her sorrowful tone was that of a spurned wife, lamenting her fate in her lonely chambers.
Ji Qingwu sighed and continued, "I was so foolish before. I realize now that you are the one who truly treats me well, Aunt, and who has my long-term interests at heart."
The Empress Dowager was touched, and her expression softened considerably.
"Qingwu," she said, "I have been through these things myself. For those words alone, I will see to it that you attain the rank of a concubine. You mustn’t lose heart. Once you get through this difficult time, only good days will lie ahead."
Ji Qingwu said, "I am staying in the palace not for my own sake, but for you, Empress Dowager, and for the Ji Family."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "It’s wonderful that you think that way. You mentioned earlier that you have a plan to approach this slowly. What is it you intend to do?"
Ji Qingwu replied, "His Majesty said he doesn’t want to see me, so I won’t go see him. But, just as you said, Aunt, men crave novelty, and after a while, he’s bound to forget me. Therefore, I will do something here in the palace that His Majesty will find impossible to forget."
The Empress Dowager looked at her in surprise. "What are you planning to do?"
A glint appeared in Ji Qingwu’s eyes as she asked, "Aunt, do you know of any ways to compete for favor in the palace?"
The Empress Dowager was surprised. She had never expected Ji Qingwu, who usually shied away from conflict, to have such a bold idea about competing for favor.
"But you just said you wouldn’t go before the Emperor anymore. How do you intend to vie for his favor then?"
There were many ways to vie for favor. On a smaller scale, one could cater to his preferences—composing a song to play on the zither or showing off some scholarly talent. Or one could prepare a song and dance to display a graceful figure.
On a grander scale, there were the various schemes of palace intrigue, but since Ji Qingwu was not yet a concubine, she couldn’t use those for now.
Ji Qingwu moved to stand before the Empress Dowager and said indignantly, "By tonight, news that His Majesty rejected me in Zhaoyang Hall will have spread throughout the palace. If people here look down on me, they are looking down on the Ji Family, and by extension, they are looking down on you, Aunt."
The Empress Dowager agreed completely, saying with satisfaction, "Child, you’ve finally understood. We are a family whose fortunes rise and fall as one."
Ji Qingwu’s eyes lit up. "Exactly. So I must compete for favor for the entire palace to see. I will just need your help, Aunt."
The Empress Dowager beamed and nodded. "As long as you have the will, I will certainly help you."
Ji Qingwu gave the silk fan in her hand a deft twirl.
Her lips curved into a smile as she added, "But I have no intention of letting the Emperor see any of it."
The Empress Dowager understood her meaning.
"You’re a clever one."
The Empress Dowager moved quickly. The very next day, she had people prepare everything Ji Qingwu needed and even hired a special teacher from outside the palace to instruct her.
Ji Qingwu wasn’t skilled in music, but she had a great aptitude for other arts.
She spent her days busy with practice, but she would carve out some time after the evening meal to meet with Yuan Heng.
They met in Jiyin Hall, which was usually empty when there were no banquets being held in the palace.
They would find a corner to sit together, their arms pressed close, and talk about what they had done that day.
Ji Qingwu would also secretly wrap tasty pastries from the small kitchen in Cining Palace in a silk cloth to bring to Yuan Heng.
Yuan Heng could never bring himself to eat them. He would always take them back and store them in a treasure box.
Their affection for each other grew daily, and Ji Qingwu’s training progressed by leaps and bounds.
Amid the praise of her teacher, she successfully completed her training.
*
「These past few days」
Diligent Governance Hall was as still as stagnant water. The Emperor was sullen and silent, and Li Yuzong dared not make a sound.
Today, Emperor Wu Su had left the palace in disguise, not even taking Duan Mingfeng with him. He only returned at dinnertime, his face etched with obvious fatigue.
He sat at his large desk, a stack of memorials piled half a man’s height to his right.
Li Yuzong stood at the foot of the dais. "Your Majesty," he said, "the servants from the Imperial Kitchen have brought your evening meal. Allow this old servant to serve you."
Emperor Wu Su waved his hand. "Have them take it away."
Li Yuzong said, "Your Majesty, you’ve eaten so little these past few days. A man is not made of iron; how can you carry on without eating? This will all be written down in the Daily Life Record. If, down the line..."
Besides the Empress Dowager and the Empress, no one had the right to view the Emperor’s Daily Life Record.
But invoking the Empress Dowager’s name was completely ineffective at persuading the Emperor.
However, as the Chief of the Internal Affairs Office, Li Yuzong was well aware of what Emperor Wu Su had been busy with lately.
The Emperor had ordered him to begin preparing the auspicious robes and supplies for an Empress’s coronation ceremony, a task that would take at least half a year.
Li Yuzong said, "If the future Empress were to find out, she would surely reprimand this servant for not being diligent enough."
Emperor Wu Su scowled. "You talk too much."
But when Li Yuzong led the little eunuchs to set the meal on the round table in the side hall, the Emperor did not stop him.
All was quiet in Diligent Governance Hall, but a sound from outside drifted in.
It was the sound of drums. Listening closely, one could also make out the music of strings and flutes.
