Everyone Wants To Harm Me - Chapter 81

Brother Zhongshu hadn’t guessed right, and neither had I.

That year’s Qianqiu Festival… everything was kept simple. The celebration was not held and was hastily concluded.

A few days before the festival, an earthquake struck at the foot of Mount Taihang, and Huolu County, under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture, was nearly razed to the ground. The disaster was severe, and the Emperor ordered all the silver and silk intended for the festival to be redirected for disaster relief.

Princess Yongjia informed me that Yu Chongrui had gone to Zhending Prefecture in person to oversee the situation. In addition to providing relief, resettling victims, and preventing an epidemic, he also had to assist with the rebuilding efforts. He probably wouldn’t return until the end of the year. Yu Chongrui had once served as the governor of Yuanzhou in the southwest, where the mountains were steep and disasters frequent. His experience made him the right choice, so the Emperor specifically appointed him.

The Wu Empire spanned a vast territory with diverse terrain—from Bashu to the coasts, from Longxi to Lingnan—floods, droughts, landslides, tsunamis… countless disasters occurred every year. But this Mount Taihang earthquake was different. It stirred unrest within the court once again.

Emperor Gaozu, who had risen from Wuxing, conquered the world on horseback and named the country “Wu.” He had originally planned to make Suzhou or Jinling the capital. But Taichang had suggested that the dragon vein of the Shen family actually originated from Mount Taihang in the north and that the country could only be truly controlled by remaining in the Central Plains. As a result, the capital was moved to Luoyang, with Suzhou Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture serving as the eastern and northern secondary capitals. Every time an emperor ascended the throne or changed the reign, sacrifices were made at the top of Mount Taihang, at the head of the dragon vein.

For hundreds of years since the founding of the country, there had never been such a serious disaster at Mount Taihang. Opinions abounded. Someone even unearthed records from the Astronomical Bureau, claiming that an earthquake had struck Taihang the year before the previous emperor’s death. Though not severe, the ridge had cracked, supposedly breaking the dragon vein. This time, the earth dragon had turned over and squeezed the mountain, reconnecting the dragon vein—allegedly a blessing in disguise.

Emperor Gaozu, who had risen from Wuxing, conquered the world on horseback and named the country “Wu.” He had originally planned to make Suzhou or Jinling the capital. But Taichang had suggested that the dragon vein of the Shen family actually originated from Mount Taihang in the north and that the country could only be truly controlled by remaining in the Central Plains. As a result, the capital was moved to Luoyang, with Suzhou Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture serving as the eastern and northern secondary capitals. Every time an emperor ascended the throne or changed the reign, sacrifices were made at the top of Mount Taihang, at the head of the dragon vein.

For hundreds of years since the founding of the country, there had never been such a serious disaster at Mount Taihang. Opinions abounded. Someone even unearthed records from the Astronomical Bureau, claiming that an earthquake had struck Taihang the year before the previous emperor’s death. Though not severe, the ridge had cracked, supposedly breaking the dragon vein. This time, the earth dragon had turned over and squeezed the mountain, reconnecting the dragon vein—allegedly a blessing in disguise.

The Emperor believed someone had used the disaster to spread rumors. He summoned all the ministers to Ganlu Palace and ordered me to investigate who had spread the rumors and who had been swayed by them.

That summer had been unusually rainy. Many of the palace buildings, already in disrepair, began to leak. The rainy season finally passed without the Yellow River flooding, but by autumn, a dry and cold northwest wind blew in. The sudden shift in weather caused some of the wooden structures in the palace to warp and crack.

With all the ministers assembled in Ganlu Palace, the Emperor was only halfway through speaking when—bang!—a loud crack rang out. A roof beam split open, and tiles and debris began to fall.

The hall was crowded. In the chaos, many instinctively rushed for the exits, clogging the doorway. Only then did they remember the emperor was still inside and turn back, shouting, “Protect the Emperor!”—complete chaos ensued.

Fortunately, the beams had only cracked, not collapsed. One official from the Ministry of Personnel was struck on the head by a tile, and another, in his haste, tripped and injured his hand as others stepped on him. The rest escaped unharmed.

The Emperor, seeing that most ministers panicked and ran without thinking to protect him, became furious. He demoted and dismissed a group of the fastest fleeing officials.

The Department of Public Works was punished most severely—how could such a failure occur in Ganlu Palace? The supervising officials were stripped of their posts.

Since the palace could no longer be used, the Department of Public Works built a frame around the main hall, opened the roof, and replaced the beams. The Emperor demanded the repairs be finished before the year’s end.

As the story spread, a new theory took root. The palaces in the imperial city had all been built by the previous dynasty and used for centuries. Why had only Ganlu Palace’s beams cracked? What did it signify? Ganlu was the auxiliary hall to the Purple Palace and the imperial pole, favored by the Emperor. Though formal court sessions were held in the Purple Palace, most government affairs were conducted in Ganlu.

Thus arose whispers: the Purple Palace represented the late emperor and Emperor Fengtian’s legitimate line—untouched and intact. Ganlu represented the current emperor, a branch line acting as regent. Now that time was up, it was a sign to return power to the rightful heir.

Prophecies and omens—people could always find ways to twist signs and stories to serve their purposes.

Though the Emperor was angered, there was little he could do. He continued to investigate the rumors in secret. He had once claimed that he was only managing the country temporarily on behalf of Emperor Fengtian and would hand it over to his brother’s legitimate son one day.

If there were a medicine for regret, the Emperor would likely have wanted nothing more than to go back a dozen years and shut his own mouth.

Five days after the Qianqiu Festival came Dowager Consort De’s birthday.

Though the Emperor said her stipend wouldn’t be cut, he had already donated his own birthday tribute for disaster relief. How could she host a grand ceremony? She was fifty-one this year, having celebrated her fiftieth the year before last.

Only the younger generation was summoned to pay their respects at Shoukang Palace.

Prince Xin and Lan Yue had been married for just a month but came to the palace together to offer respects.

I hadn’t wanted to join the gathering, so to avoid suspicion, I prepared gifts and sent a female official to deliver them.

Unexpectedly, the official returned with Dowager Consort De’s words: “It’s rare for your cousin to enter the palace. Why didn’t the County Princess come and see her at least once?”

I guessed the Emperor had already left.

I went to my aunt’s memorial to pay respects, changed out of mourning into something slightly festive—so as not to provoke Dowager Consort De.

When I arrived at Shoukang Palace, the Emperor was indeed gone. But the concubines, their relatives, and other noblewomen who had come to pay respects hadn’t yet dispersed.

Because of Prince Yong’s rebellion, most of the Emperor’s children had died or were sent away. Now he had only three sons and two daughters, and not many consorts either. The palace population was smaller than that of our household.

If all the daughters in my family had survived, it would have been livelier still.

And yet among the two of us who remained, Lan Yue greeted me with an icy hostility the moment she saw me.

She was already a princess, her status higher than mine, and her origins were no secret. So why was she still so hostile?

That day, she wore a red-bottomed dress embroidered in colorful thread with a pattern of a hundred children. The color was festive, but her face was pale. The heavy pearls and jade in her hair made her cheeks look thinner, and her pointed chin made her appear even more delicate. She seemed thinner than when she’d lived at home.

I went up to pay respects to Dowager Consort De, but Lan Yue stood beside her, cold and silent.

It was Dowager Consort De who reminded her, “There is an order of seniority. Why don’t you greet your sister?”

Lan Yue thought: I am the princess, and she is just a County Princess. Why should I bow to her? But because Dowager Consort De spoke, she reluctantly bent her knees and said, “Greetings, Sister.”

I returned the courtesy. “Greetings, Princess Consort.”

But because Dowager Consort De spoke, she reluctantly bent her knees and said, “Greetings, Sister.”

I returned the courtesy. “Greetings, Princess Consort.”She hasn’t even become the Empress yet, but she’s already putting on airs! She doesn’t think about how to serve and assist her husband well. As soon as she got married, she competed for favors with the maids and concubines at home and caused trouble in the inner palace. With this kind of vision and tolerance, how can she be the mother of the country in the future?”

It seemed she didn’t hold much affection for the granddaughter-in-law she had chosen herself.

Nearby concubines gossiped: “First, he wanted to marry the elder sister and failed, so he married the younger one. In the future, they’ll be sisters-in-law. What a drama this’ll be!”

The Third Prince also arrived. Amid the crowd, he made exaggerated faces at me.

After I had paid respects and stepped aside, he came to my side and whispered, “I came early this morning and was planning to leave, but when I heard you were coming, I decided to wait for you!”

He stood tall, puffed out his chest like a bodyguard, and whispered with barely moving lips, “On the wedding day, her face was covered, and she was far away, so I couldn’t see. But now I got close enough—your sister isn’t as pretty as you. Prince Xin got the worse deal!” Then he cackled inwardly like a mischievous mouse: Lucky me!

I shot him a sidelong glance and muttered, “Don’t you still have assignments? Aren’t you meeting the Grand Tutor at the Imperial Academy later?”

He replied gloomily, “I’ll go after I finish the dowager consort’s pastries.”

There was no banquet this year. At noon, the chef presented longevity noodles, longevity peaches, and sweet dumplings, all arranged in bamboo trays decorated with evergreen and pine needles.

Everyone else received ordinary noodles, but Dowager Consort De’s bowl had a single five-foot strand. Halfway through, she shook her head, bit off the noodles, and said, “No, no, I can’t eat anymore.”

The concubines reminded her that longevity noodles must not be bitten off.

She sighed and said, “I was only thirty when the late emperor died, younger than some of you. When the late emperor and empress left, they took my soul with them. I’ve been a walking corpse ever since. If not for Yunqi, I would’ve joined them long ago.”

Prince Xin knelt before her. Everyone tried to persuade her to live long and well, saying there was still much happiness ahead and that she mustn’t speak such unlucky words.

After a long time, she finally finished the rest of the noodles.

That year, when I celebrated my birthday, Feng Yuan had also made longevity noodles for me. Her cooking was much better than the imperial chef’s. I still remembered the taste.

Or perhaps it was because… the person watching me eat was different.

I wondered how Yu Chongrui was doing in Zhending Prefecture. Had he taken Deng Zishe with him? After an earthquake, plague was the biggest fear. If Deng Zishe was there, I… I would feel more at ease.

I even hoped he had taken Feng Yuan. She was capable, quick, and attentive—she would take better care of him than anyone else.

After eating, Dowager Consort De said she was tired, and the women took their leave one by one.

She then said, “It’s rare for Princess Xin to visit the palace. The County Princess should stay and speak with your sister.”

It was obvious she had summoned me at Prince Xin’s request. They wouldn’t let me go so easily.

When the others had left, only Prince Xin, Lan Yue, and I remained.

Dowager Consort De said again, “Too many people give me a headache. Lan Yue, help me back to the bedroom to rest.”

Lan Yue, of course, was unwilling. They’re meeting in broad daylight, and even the Dowager helps them! What am I, chopped liver? But she said aloud, “Didn’t you ask Sister to stay and talk to me? I’m new here and have much to learn. I’d like her advice.”

Seeing she was being difficult, Dowager Consort De pulled a stern face and scolded, “What don’t you understand? I’ll teach you! Come with me, I have something to say to you!”

Lan Yue, seeing the Dowager was angry, got up reluctantly. “As you command.”

She helped the Dowager out of the flower hall, but before leaving, she didn’t forget to shoot me a resentful glare.

She seemed to have misunderstood the nature of my relationship with Prince Xin.