Pampered Consort's Acting Awards - Chapter 11

“Ah Líng.”

 Qin Ling passed by the red sandalwood side seat inlaid with flower-patterned jade.
Her steps were very light as if walking on the wind.

At the same time, the sound of boiling tea echoed once again. A young eunuch bent his body towards the emperor to present him the tea.
Xiao Yu lowered his eyes to take it, then raised his hand to rub the space between his eyebrows, the idea to lift his eyes had never occurred even once.
The daughter of the grand scribe was not within the circle of people he had planned, just hearing the blessings would be enough.

Qin Ling stood in front of him with her head down, her line of sight happened to fell on the edge of the black dragon robe.
It was both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

Qin Ling gently said her blessings, her tone of speaking was just like that in the past: “Wishing the emperor boundless happiness, good luck, and a long life.”

The voice barely fell, the man’s hand that had been stroking the teacup paused, and his shoulders turned rigid.
He immediately looked after the voice—

The woman before him was wearing a rouge-colored long skirt with a golden wild rose pattern in the front, on her head was a golden flower buyao inlaid with red pearl. This buyao…
Was just like the one she used to love to wear. It was practically an exact copy.

The man’s expression had not changed, however, the teacup was nearly crushed in his hand.

“Raise your head.” His voice was low and neutral.

Qin Ling responded by lifting her eyes, the eyes and brows were smiling.

The man’s profound and unfathomable eyes became absent once they faced each other. The cup in his hand fell with a clang and broke into pieces.

The young eunuch quivered: “Your Majesty.”

The man’s breathing became disordered, his Adam’s apple moved slightly. He murmured in a low voice: “Ah Líng.”
Once finished, he felt the person before him might disappear, so he asked again: “Ah Líng?”

Ah Líng. Could also be heard like Ah Ling.
Qin Ling looked slightly distracted, scarlet blush quickly emerged on her cheeks. This blush made her even more attractive, however, her look was still composed and controlled.

She was aware that this look was very similar to her in the past.
But, the more she resembled her, the less likely it was her.

Everything was just right.

Qin Ling understood this clearly in her heart. Having this face was both a blessing and a curse.
Xiao Yu’s shock was inevitable. However, after the shock, she had never felt that this power-thirsty, fickle person would keep her just because of her face.

After all.
If he wanted to choose from high families, a daughter of a grand scribe was unworthy.
If he wanted to choose from humble families, he could choose the ones he liked.

The hundreds of flowers in front of this Jiangxue Pavilion were all beautiful, so why should he choose the one with an identical appearance as the daughter of a criminal?
He refused to see her 3 years ago, so how much did he want to see her today?
Si Yue once said that the men in this world had deeper feelings for their first wives than for other people, especially the ones who could never be seen again. For example, Qin Wang who could not forget Jiang Mingyue was considered as only natural.
However, the emperor was different from other men in this world. He had never talked about what was natural.

Therefore, the only way she could stay was to bet on his suspicions, betting on him thinking that the Qin family’s daughter was sent in deliberately.
This golden flower buyao inlaid with red pearl was precisely the key to stir things up.

Gonggong Sheng bowed and said: “Your Majesty, do we keep the nameplate?”
After speaking, he pointed at Qin Ling’s nameplate.

Xiao Yu frowned as he looked at the two words “Qin Ling”, and it took some time before his expression restored its calmness.

He answered in a low voice: “Keep it.”

Gonggong Sheng was stumped for words, but shortly after, he announced loudly: “Qin Ling. Daughter of Grand Scribe Qin Wang, keep the nameplate.”

Qin Ling withdrew her gaze, and paid her respects softly: “Thanking Your Majesty for his grace.”

After she left, Xiao Yu closed his eyes, raised his hand to press on his temple, and suddenly laughed at himself.

Gonggong Sheng spoke again: “Your Majesty, next one is Zuo Yao, the daughter of Zuo Zhengyu, the Minister of Rites.”

Then it was silent once again.

After a long time, Xiao Yu stood up and replied: “We are tired. Return to Yangxin Hall.”
Gonggong Sheng immediately replied: “This servant will prepare the carriage at once.”

[We (Zhèn): as in I and the Heaven. Only used by the emperor to address himself.]

The young eunuch pulled at Gonggong Sheng’s sleeve from behind, and spoke: “Gonggong, about the remaining candidates…”
Gonggong Sheng turned his head and gestured to him that it should end here.

The moment they left Jiangxue Pavilion, Xiao Yu immediately said: “Tell Marquis of Chunnan to meet Us at once. Also, assign some people to watch Qin shi.”
Gonggong Sheng replied: “This servant will see to it immediately.”

***

Inside Cining Palace, sweet fragrance permeating the whole place.
Empress Dowager Chu was looking at the list of the final candidate names, and she could not help frowning.
He Yuru. Daughter of He Chengmao, the Minister of Revenue, who had been bestowed the title of a fifth-ranked Shuyi.
Xu Lanzhi. Daughter of Xu Bowei, the chief officer of the Capital Procuratorate, who had been bestowed the title of a fifth-ranked Shuyi.
Qin Ling. Daughter of Grand Scribe Qin Wang, who had been bestowed the title of a sixth-ranked Meiren.

[Shuyi: Title. English term is Lady of Virtue]

[Meiren: Title. English term is Beauty]

Who could have imagined that from the palace draft that took almost half a year, only 3 people managed to enter the palace out of 5.000 people.

For the first two names who managed to enter, Empress Dowager Chu could roughly guess what the emperor had in his mind.
The emperor wanted to undertake a big project regarding irrigation works to benefit the common people. However, the influence of He Chengmao of the Ministry of Revenue and the He family was too great. They declined by any means and would not take bribes. The Mu family actively cooperated with them, and so, the Ministry of Works also turned passive. The influential families were attempting to contend against imperial power. Both He Yuru and Mu Wanqi were chosen, just as expected.
However, Xu Lanzhi was different from He Yuru. was personally promoted by the emperor. The Xu family was honest, noble, and produced many talented individuals. If she guessed it right, the emperor had the thoughts to support the Xu family.

However, this daughter of Grand Scribe Qin…
She had never heard about her.

While she was pondering over it, Gonggong Zhang bowed and whispered in Empress Dowager Chu’s ear.
“Similar? How similar?” Empress Dowager Chu said in disdain.
Gonggong Zhang smiled and answered: “This servant heard that yesterday after His Majesty saw this Meiren Qin, he directly returned to Yangxin Hall, even though at that time, there were still candidates in front of Jiangxue Pavilion who had not faced the emperor yet.”

Empress Dowager Chu turned silent.
However, after thinking things through, she thought it was probably an exaggeration made by other people. The similarity was probably around 70-80%, and so, she insisted that people were generally indifferent.

“Qin Ling, 16 years old. Hometown is Qian’an.” While looking at Qin Ling’s name, Empress Dowager Chu said while holding the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand: “Since Hanlin Academy’s position was raised, this grand scribe title has quickly turned into a position that exists in name only. Who could be behind a mere insignificant fifth-ranked official?”
Gonggong Zhang replied: “What the empress dowager thinking is, there is someone behind the screen who sent Meiren Qin into the palace on purpose?”
Empress Dowager Chu: “If not, how could there be such a coincidence in this harem? Whether she’s the real Qin family’s daughter is not certain.”
Gonggong Zhang answered: “Do you need this servant to investigate?”
Empress Dowager Chu raised her hand: “No need. Since the emperor is keeping her, then he has the intention to keep her. Besides, since he intends to guard against aijia, there’s no need for me to put myself in a more uncomfortable position. Regarding this general election, there are plenty of people who cannot sit still in this harem.”
Gonggong Zhang was suddenly enlightened: “The empress dowager is wise.”

[aijia 哀家 (Āi jiā): Only used by the empress dowager to address herself. Wook, why do you translate Zhen as We, but wouldn’t translate this? Well, I could translate it to “This mourning one?” but it’s too mouthful and we don’t want that]

Empress Dowager Chu closed the list of names and said: “After that day, the emperor has not stepped into the harem for many years. Now that this Meiren Qin is here, things should get interesting. Let us watch the excitement first.”

***

Three days after the draft ended, the selected candidates were moving out of Chuxiu Palace.

The supervisor eunuch, Wang Fusheng, was leading Qin Ling to the side hall of Jingren Palace, Shuyu Courtyard.
“We have arrived at Shuyu Courtyard.” Gonggong Wang squinted his eyes, and pointed at the two palace maids behind him: “These two are called Zhu Lan and Zhu Xin, who are first-class palace maids assigned by the Shanggong Bureau to Meiren.”

After that, Gonggong Wang also pointed at the two eunuchs by his side, ”These two are called Tong Kang and Tong Wen, who are first-class court eunuchs assigned by the Ministry of Rites. As for the remaining second-class palace maids and court eunuchs, you have to wait a few days.”

“Many thanks, Gonggong.” Qin Ling nodded and squeezed an embroidered pouch into the eunuch’s hand.
The embroidered pouch was filled with pearls.
Gonggong Wang’s eyes turned, recalling that there was a businessman eldest brother behind Meiren Qin, and the corner of his eyes could not help smiling.

Gonggong Wang fished out a list of items from his sleeve and said: “This is the list of every item within Meiren’s palace. Ever since the emperor ascended the throne, he immediately expelled extravagant lifestyles and has been encouraging frugality. I hope Meiren will keep this in mind.”
Qin Ling smiled and took it: “Many thanks, Gonggong, for the pointers.”
Gonggong Wang returned: “It is what this servant is supposed to do.”

After Gonggong Wang left, Qin Ling entered the Shuyu Courtyard.
Once she pushed the door open, Qin Ling’s heart could not help but cool down.
The room was separated by a wardrobe with rosewood gauze and a flowers cover. The original exquisite furnishing was covered with layers of dust at this moment. One would know with a single glance that nobody had lived in this place in a long time.
She sighed and called out to Zhu Lan and Zhu Xin to clean up.

However, when she turned around, she nearly fell on the spot.
Zhu Lan saw her staggering step and approached her at once: “Meiren, is there something wrong?”

A stifling smell rushed forth in an instant.

How could there be blood on… the curtain of this inner room?

Qin Ling said in anger: “What is this all about?”
Zhu Lan stammered at her side: “T-This servant hasn’t said before that… This servant will remove the curtain at once.”
Qin Ling directly said: “Said it clearly. What happened in this Shuyu Courtyard?”
Zhu Lan was forced to speak in a low voice: “Shuyu Courtyard was where Imperial Concubine Jing stayed during the late emperor’s era. Later on… she was confined by the empress dowager for bewitching the current emperor. Who would have imagined that she committed suicide before one year passed.”

Qin Ling’s expression changed slightly.

Bewitching the current emperor…
Was this his warning for her?

Qin Ling picked up the list of items that were given by Gonggong Wang earlier. She unfolded it, and looked at it from the beginning—
The sixth-ranked Meiren:
The annual salary is 200 silver taels; the household utensils are copper-made; the porcelain color is green; only the number of umbrellas, fans, and ice is halved…
Finally, her sight fell on the daily expense of candlelight.

One stick of white wax candle.
One stick of beeswax candle.
One stick of sheep’s fat candle.
Three sticks of candles in total.

During those days back then, Kunning Palace burnt up to 30 sticks of white wax candle every day, not to mention beeswax and sheep’s fat candles.

Qin Ling felt her qi and blood surged. She could not help but held her waist, raised her head, and gnashed her teeth in anger before expelled a breath.

Jingren Palace was spacious and empty, and there was only her alone in the side hall.
If there were only these 3 sticks of candle at night, one feared that they would not even be enough to hold on until dawn.

Qin Ling sat on the couch. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. The list of items was lying flat on the ground.

When they finished sweeping, it was already the period of youshi.
As the day approached its end, Zhu Lan and Zhu Xin fiddled with the three sticks of candle in their hands, deciding which one to light first.
Zhu Lan sighed and started: “Big Sis Zhu Xin, do you think Meiren is losing favor?”
Zhu Xin whispered in reply: “One hasn’t even gotten any favor, how could one be losing favor?”
Zhu Lan nodded and asked: “Also… Where do you think His Majesty will rest today?”
Zhu Xin answered: “Whoever it is, it won’t be our master’s place. There isn’t even a shadow of a person outside of Jingren Palace. Don’t forget what Gonggong Sheng said. We have to watch carefully at night.”

[youshi: 5-7 pm]

When the sun descended, the whole palace walls seemed as if they were sinking to the bottom of the sea.
Serene and hidden in depth.

Zhu Lan entered and said: “This servant has lighted two lamps for Meiren. Another one will be given to yóu after two shichens.”
Qin Ling opened her eyes and sat up. Her expression regained its tranquility, and she faintly replied: “From today onwards, don’t light the lamps before the period of haishi. Leave the white wax and beeswax candles for me, and you can bring the sheep’s fat candle with you.”
Zhu Lan immediately said: “H-How could this servant dares…”

[haishi: 7-9 pm]

Qin Ling’s eyes drooped: “That will do. You may leave.”

Zhu Lan bowed and complied.

***

On the other side, in Yangxin Hall—
The inner hall of Yangxin Hall was made of gold and bronze with white marble carvings. The inner walls were decorated with square wooden pillars which appeared like the Su styled color painting, while the outer walls were tiled with colored bricks.
The inside and the outside hall were brightly lit. As the wind blew, the lanterns swayed lightly, and the dark green roof tiles glowed brightly.

Xiao Yu was sitting on the throne made of red sandalwood inlaid with flowers and plants pattern made of yellow poplar wood, writing and revising the memorials.

Now that new faces had entered the palace, Gonggong Sheng was doing his job again.
Holding the nameplates of the roster, he walked over with a smile: “Your Majesty, do you want to…”

Xiao Yu raised his hand to block the tray, then raised his eyes and said: “Put it away. Marquis of Chunnan is coming tonight.”
Gonggong Sheng’s old face collapsed.
As far as imperial favor was concerned, Lu Ze, the little marquis of Chunnan, had it the most.

Gonggong Sheng was about to turn around when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the outside.
A voice with a hint of a smile came out: “This official pays his respect to the emperor.”

The hall’s door was wide open, and Lu Ze could see Gonggong Sheng’s displeased face almost immediately, together with the nameplates of the roster in his hands.

Lu Ze bowed at once: “This official is guilty. This official came at the wrong time.”

Xiao Yu leaned back, put the writing brush down, and said calmly: “So, what of the person I told you to investigate?”

The author has something to say:

00: Is he still a human? So abusive?

PS: The position of Meiren is adopted from the position of Guiren in the Qing Dynasty. However, Guiren originally has three sticks of sheep’s fat candle. I threw out the remaining two.

 Translator’s note: 

Here come the concubine titles aaaaaa my head. So many names! But, don’t worry, most of them won’t be mentioned again in the future.

As far as imperial favor was concerned, Lu Ze, the little marquis of Chunnan, had it the most. 🡪 This is some kind of a wordplay. The imperial favor here can refer to the favor given by the emperor to his, uh, beloved concubines. XD