Chapter 23
That morning, Geng Shun stepped out of the house and came back with news that on the road, he had spotted the procession of Emperor Xuanning heading to the Li family to deliver an imperial edict — Li Yixin had been decreed the Princess Consort of Prince Duan.
Empress Dowager Li and Concubine Li Shu had served the palace for three generations, and the Li family had clung to this hope for so many years. Finally, through Li Yixin, they would be able to enter the palace through the main imperial gate. Before long, Emperor Xuanning would surely issue another edict to make Prince Duan the Crown Prince.
Cui Lanyin could not quite wrap her head around one thing. Prince Wei was the emperor's son who had not yet married at such a grown age, but Emperor Xuanning only asked the Yao family once to arrange a place for Prince Wei to meet potential ladies at their housewarming banquet. After that, he never followed up on the result, and the matter was left hanging with no further movement.
Granny Sun came in to report that Buyan had arrived.
She had gone out that afternoon earlier, so what was Buyan doing here now? Buyan was a palace eunuch, and someone she knew extremely well. Cui Lanyin did not go to the front hall to greet him, instead she asked Granny Sun to lead Buyan to the inner quarters.
"Greetings, Second Miss," Buyan said, bowing to her as soon as he stepped through the door.
"Did my Uncle have any instructions for you?"
Buyan nodded. "His Royal Highness Prince Wei told Second Miss that you don't need to come over to his residence this afternoon. He asked me to accompany you to the palace of Empress Dowager Chen."
If Empress Dowager Chen had summoned her, shouldn't Qian He have come to deliver the message?
"Do you know what this is about?"
Buyan shook his head honestly. "His Royal Highness only told me to pass on those words, and I didn't dare ask anything else."
"Wait for me a moment, then. I'll go change my clothes," Cui Lanyin said as she headed to the back room.
The weather was growing warmer by the day. Cui Lanyin put on a jade-colored Lu silk vest, paired with a goose-yellow pleated skirt. She was very fond of the pearl hair ornaments and earrings that Empress Dowager Chen had given her, so she wore that set again, and with her face simply made up, she headed to the imperial palace with Buyan.
The Palace of Peace and Fortune was as quiet as ever. The eunuchs and maids all moved with soft, careful steps, no one dared to laugh or chat loudly.
This time Qian He greeted Cui Lanyin and led her inside. "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is in the Buddhist hall with Aunt Xia and Aunt Gao. Please wait a moment, Second Miss Cui."
Walking past the front hall, she saw Qi An personally directing several eunuchs to replace the window screens on the back hall.
In proper households, people would replace the window screens with seasonal ones whenever the seasons changed. The Cui family used to do that back in Yancheng, but after they moved to Yingcheng, they could only change them once a year, and the ones on their windows now were still the ones they put up last spring.
Seeing Cui Lanyin, Qi An turned around and bowed to her. "Second Miss Cui, the last two times you visited I was away on errands, so I'm glad I finally get to meet you today."
Aunt Xia had mentioned in their conversations before that Qi An had gone to the temporary imperial palace to sort out Empress Dowager Chen's belongings and supplies, and had escorted them all to Yingcheng.
Cui Lanyin quickly stepped aside and curtsied back to him. "Have you finished all your errands, Chief Qi?"
Qi An smiled. "All done. Thank you for thinking of me, Second Miss Cui."
Since Empress Dowager Chen was not there, Cui Lanyin did not go into the inner room. "It's such a nice sunny day today. It's pleasant to stay outside and enjoy the sun."
There were brocade stools on the corridor. Buyan carried two of them over, and invited Cui Lanyin and Qian He to sit.
"This boy is quick-witted, no wonder he can serve by His Royal Highness's side," Qian He praised Buyan, then turned to Cui Lanyin. "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager always listens to what you say, Second Miss Cui. Why don't you persuade her to come out and get some sun once in a while?"
Hearing this, Qi An also walked over. "The imperial physicians have mentioned it many times. They say that at Her Majesty's age, she should get some sun from time to time. It rains so often in the south, sometimes you can't see the sun for ten days or half a month in a row. Even when sunny days come, there are only a few of them a month, but Her Majesty still refuses to step out to get some sunlight."
Qi An and Qian He had tried to persuade her many times to no avail. She had only met Empress Dowager Chen a couple of times, so how could she have the face to say such a thing? But it would not be good to turn them down outright, so Cui Lanyin said, "I noticed that my Uncle's residence all has glass windows."
Qi An gestured to the cyan window screens that were being replaced. "In spring, everyone changes to elegant, bright window screens, but Her Majesty the Empress Dowager still uses thick ones. She doesn't like bright places."
"Who is gossiping about me again?" A voice rang out, and Cui Lanyin saw Empress Dowager Chen being supported by Aunt Xia and Aunt Gao as they walked out from the back Buddhist hall.
Cui Lanyin quickly stood up and curtsied. "The two Chief Stewards are only concerned about your well-being."
Qi An and Qian He pretended to look wronged. "Thank goodness Second Miss Cui is here to speak for us, otherwise we would never be able to clear our names."
"Let the others get on with their work," Empress Dowager Chen waved for Cui Lanyin to follow her inside. "Don't stand out in the sun and get tanned for no reason. Come in with me."
She really hated getting sunlight that much, Cui Lanyin thought with a soft laugh as she followed behind Empress Dowager Chen into the side hall. She did not sit down on a brocade stool until Empress Dowager Chen had settled herself on the heated kang.
After sipping a cup of tea, Empress Dowager Chen got straight to the point. "About the marriage proposal from the Yao family, you can tell me whatever concerns you have."
Prince Wei had not brought the matter up again after that day, and Cui Lanyin had assumed he had realized there was something improper about the Yao family's marriage arrangement, and the whole matter had been dropped. She never thought he would ask Empress Dowager Chen to bring it up again.
But some words were still too hard to say to Empress Dowager Chen. She could only say, "I am not good enough for the young master of the Yao family."
Empress Dowager Chen huffed. "I thought you would always speak your mind honestly."
Cui Lanyin looked up at Empress Dowager Chen. Prince Wei did not understand the ways of women, so she could probably make up an excuse to fool him, but she could never hide the truth from Empress Dowager Chen. If Empress Dowager Chen realized she was holding something back, all the good impression she had built up over the past two visits would be gone. But if she told the whole truth, she might offend Empress Dowager Chen. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Empress Dowager Chen, sharp as she was, saw her dilemma at once. Her expression turned stern. "Is there anything that even I am not allowed to hear?"
Cui Lanyin's mind raced. Empress Dowager Chen, though firm and unyielding, was a very forthright person. Even if she got angry at what Cui Lanyin was about to say, at most she would just stop talking to her later, and would never bear a grudge against a young girl like her.
She could already come and go as she pleased at Prince Wei's residence now, so even if she did not visit Empress Dowager Chen's palace anymore, it would not make much difference to her. Though every time Empress Dowager Chen summoned her to the palace it was at Prince Wei's request, and from what Bailin had implied, Prince Wei always had to offer something of value in exchange for those audiences. But the fabrics and jewelry that Empress Dowager Chen had gifted her were all things she really needed. Cui Lanyin was truly grateful for the kindness Empress Dowager Chen had shown her, and she did not want to make the older woman grow to dislike her.
Well, she thought, back then even when her grandmother was furious at her, she could still coax her around. She would not believe she could not get through this now.
Cui Lanyin dragged her brocade stool right next to the kang, then leaned her head against Empress Dowager Chen's lap. "I'm going to tell you, but even if you want to scold me or hit me, you can't be truly angry with me."
She snuggled up to her like that, and Empress Dowager Chen froze with her hands half raised, not knowing whether to put them down or lift them.
Cui Lanyin whined and nuzzled gently against her. "You must have heard the rumors outside that I'm a sickly girl who can't bear children easily. The fourth branch of the Yao family has been a single line for two generations, and the Sixth Young Master Yao is the eldest son who is supposed to carry on the family line for the fourth branch. His family must be expecting him to have many children and grandchildren. If I marry into their family, I'll only be a burden to them." She paused for a moment, then got to the core of her thought. "I don't want to have any concubines' children for at least ten or eight years. The Yao family can't afford to wait that long. I don't want to make things difficult for my Uncle, but I also don't want to go against my own will."
"What if after you marry into another family, even after ten or eight years you still don't have children of your own?"
"Then I will have no reason to stop my husband from taking a child born of a concubine, but that child can never be raised under my care. If I'm going to put all that effort in, I'd rather raise a child of my own, that's the only thing that matters to me."
Aunt Gao, who had been giving instructions to a young eunuch just a moment before, fell silent. The whole hall became extremely quiet, only the slightly heavy breathing of Empress Dowager Chen could be heard.
Cui Lanyin clutched the corner of Empress Dowager Chen's robe, determined that even if the Empress Dowager pushed her away, she would not let go. She would not move until Empress Dowager Chen's anger faded away.
In the middle of the silence, the outburst she had braced for never came. Cui Lanyin cautiously lifted her head to take a look.
Empress Dowager Chen huffed coldly, "You really dare to say anything." She reached out to pull her away.
Seeing that Cui Lanyin was still clinging to her and wouldn't let go, she laughed angrily, "Where is the reserve that a proper young lady from a good family should have? You're clinging on like a little monkey. I tell you, I wouldn't even dare to marry you off to the Yao family if you kept acting like this, otherwise your uncle would just end up being ashamed on your behalf."
"Heheh... how is it that you understand me so well?" Cui Lanyin chuckled as she sat up, then flatteringly started kneading Empress Dowager Chen's legs. "So will you help me talk things through clearly with my uncle?"
Empress Dowager Chen put on a stern face. "I do not want to do any more thankless errands."
"Look how well I'm kneading your legs for you, just help me speak for me." Cui Lanyin acted playfully coquettish. "Let me make this clear first, I'm not making excuses after the fact. I came from a small, ordinary household. Even if I poured my whole heart out to serve a concubine-born son, I would never get any appreciation in return. In that case, I might as well just live for my own comfort. A young lady from a great noble family would never have such worries, and you of all people certainly wouldn't either, right?"
"You don't need to comfort me. If only I had been as resolute as you back then." Empress Dowager Chen did not want to dwell on the past any longer, and changed the subject to ask, "What does your family think about this? Isn't your little brother studying for the imperial examinations? If you marry into the Yao family, your little brother can enroll in the Yao clan's school, and even get private guidance from all those jinshi masters of the Yao family. That's an opportunity countless people would beg for, would your family really be willing to let that go?"
Cui Lanyin broke into a bright smile. "My family never counts on me marrying into a high-ranking household to lift the whole family up. This is all my own unwillingness to let go. Just the other day, my father even said he would study for the imperial exams together with my little brother. My father is turning forty next year, and he hates being bored more than anything else. If I made him stay cooped up in the study all day to study, he would get so stifled that he'd go half-crazy. But he's still willing to grind through all that just to build a reputation and official status to back me up. And my elder brother even said he wants to join the army."
Empress Dowager Chen somehow got so stirred up that she smacked the kang table hard with a loud thud. "This is exactly how a family should act for their own!"
She looked at Cui Lanyin with a serious expression and said, "Let me ask you a question. Suppose someone got wealth and status because of your help, but then later, just to hold onto that wealth and status, they sided with outsiders and stabbed you in the back. If they came to you later to admit they were wrong, what would you do?"
Cui Lanyin immediately thought of the incident where Prince Wei had asked Liu Heipi to block and yell insults at the Heir of Duke Ding, and for a moment she did not know how to answer.
Empress Dowager Chen pressed on in a strict tone. "Don't think about other people's business, just tell me what you would do in that situation!"
Cui Lanyin knew how important this answer was to Empress Dowager Chen, and she did not want to lie to her. She dropped her smile and replied earnestly, "Of course I would cut all ties with them and never have anything to do with them for the rest of my life."
"Even if that person is your own flesh and blood, a close family member!"
"The betrayal of a close family member hurts worse than having your skin ripped and your bones pulled out. There's no way I could accept that, even more so."
"Good! Good! Good!" Empress Dowager Chen exclaimed three "goods" in a row, laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks. "All these years, you're the only little girl whose words hit exactly what's in my heart. The betrayal of a close family member hurts worse than having your skin ripped and your bones pulled out— that pain has truly cut me to my core!"
She raised her hand and stroked the top of Cui Lanyin's head, then said resolutely, "I'll listen to you. Cut all ties with them, and never have anything to do with them for the rest of my life!"
Cui Lanyin twisted her fingers together, and had a strong feeling that something big was about to happen!
