Pampered Consort's Acting Awards - Chapter 24

Is this my aunt?

Xiao Yu opened his eyes and stared at the burning candle beside the couch absent-mindedly.

These old dreams seemed to pull him back directly to six years ago.

He remembered that six years ago, they had a big fight after she finished copying those inner teachings.

She said: “Qie has no talent nor virtue, truly unsuitable for this princess consort position. Since both sides loathe each other, we might as well…”

It was raining at that time. Her unfinished words were interrupted by the roar of thunder, while the night wind made him sober.

He kept his anger under control and didn’t say anything. He simply walked out of her courtyard.

After that, their relationship seemed to return to rigidness at the beginning.

He never thought that he was the reason she had a dispute with others outside.

What’s with all these dreams…?

As dawn light spilled into the curtain, Xiao Yu was thinking about the past, but Qin Ling was thinking about the present.

Naturally there was another realistic way of seeing these dreams.

As far as Qin Ling’s current situation was concerned, there was no time to take care of those old dreams in the past life.

One did not know until when the consort dowager’s body could hold up.

The custody of the eldest prince was coveted by the entire harem.

If she could not obtain the emperor’s permission, she would not be able to raise the prince with just her identity.

Just as the consort dowager said, in this deep palace, if she wants to raise the prince, she has to be favored.

Qin Ling took a deep breath, turned sideways, and said to the man with knitted eyebrows beside her: “The sun is almost up, chenqie will help Your Majesty in changing clothes.” Her tone was light and soft, the total opposite of the one in the dream.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu returned to his senses. He stared at Qin Ling and suddenly sat up: “Have you learned <Records of Honorable Women>, <Inside Teachings>, and <Female Commandments>?

Qin Ling’s eyes slightly shook when his voice just barely fell, and it felt like her heart jumped up to the throat.

Why did he mention these three books?

Was it a coincidence;

or did he also dream last night…

XIao Yu watched her intently.

Qin Ling couldn’t help clenching her fists, “Father had taught chenqie from a young age that a woman should not learn only etiquette, but also how to manage the household. Chenqie has long been familiar with the three books His Majesty mentioned.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Yu’s gaze travelled down slowly towards the slightly bulging blue vein on her wrist.

He said in a low voice: “Then let Us test you.”

Shortly after, Gonggong Sheng brought in a brush and ink, some papers, and an inkstone along with the three books mentioned before. Xiao Yu rummaged through the book and finally chose the main ritual chapter of <Inside Teachings> for her to write.

The moment their eyes met, Qin Ling’s suspicion was cleared—The two of them experienced those three dreams together.

She herself had returned from the gates of death, therefore, she wasn’t too panicked upon experiencing these kinds of odd things.

Qin Ling sat down and slowly pulled her sleeve before dipping the brush in the ink.

The moment she wrote, the man’s eyes resembled a cluster of fire that had ignited in the deep night. However, it quickly went out.

Because Qin Ling’s handwriting, no matter the font or the stroke, was completely different from the dream.

***

Xiao Yu left Jinlan Courtyard and headed for the morning court. His black dragon-patterned robe was impressively majestic against the vermillion wall at the back.

At this moment, an eunuch hurried over.

Gonggong Sheng wanted to scold him, but after he squinted his eyes to look, he discovered that the eunuch was Consort Dowager Sun’s person, Kang Lian.

Kang Lian was already an old man who survived the two dynasties, if nothing happened, he would never have acted so recklessly.

Sure enough, as Gonggong Sheng guessed.

Kang Lian said tremblingly: “Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Highness the consort dowager has fainted.”

Xiao Yu’s eyebrows were furrowed: “How could that be?”

Kang Lian: “Her Highness has been having trouble sleeping, and she couldn’t stop vomiting this morning, then she fainted. Us servants quickly boiled four bowls of decoction, however, even though her pulse is stable for now, strong medicine hurts the body. Physician Ning said…”

With that, Kang Lian knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: “If there is another time, perhaps it will be hopeless…”

If there is another time.

Who would dare to say ‘it will be hopeless if there is another time’ when it concerns the consort dowager’s body?

Xiao Yu took a deep breath: “Sheng Kanghai.”

Gonggong Sheng stepped forward: “This servant is present.”

“Send a letter to Changning. Tell her the truth and tell her to return immediately.”

Gonggong Sheng nodded: “This servant understands.”

After a while, Xiao Yu then said: “Spread Our verbal decree. Meiren Qin abides by the rules and is well-mannered. She is calm and conducts herself properly, and has done a great merit by serving the consort dowager in her sickness. We bestow her the title of fourth-ranked Jieyu. Select an auspicious date to let her move to the main hall of Jingyang Palace.”

[Jieyu: something like ‘dignified’ and ‘fair’]

A sixth-ranked Meiren was promoted directly into a fourth-ranked Jieyu. This… This was bypassing a whole rank ah.

Gonggong Sheng was so startled, then he thought about the combination of these two orders, and immediately understood the meaning of it.

The Ministry of Rites had filed the record, and Gonggong Sheng sent the canonized Imperial decree to Jinlan Courtyard.

Soon after, the supervisor eunuch, Wang Fusheng, visited again.

This time, the smile on Gonggong Wang’s face was much more flattering than when Qin Ling first entered the palace.

[T/N: Wang Fusheng from Chapter 11]

“Aiyo, this servant pays respect to Jieyu.” Gonggong Wang bowed and continued: “Congratulations to Jieyu for entering Jingyang Palace.”

Gonggong Sheng then stood straight, took a list of items from the silver tray, and presented it with both hands: “This is the list of items in Jingyang Palace, if there’s anything lacking, just tell this servant, and it will be delivered immediately.”

“Gonggong is courteous.”

“As it should be, as it should be.” Then he said again: “Is my lady satisfied with the female officials and eunuchs that were assigned to you last time? If not, this servant will send in replacements in the afternoon.”

Qin Ling: “I’m satisfied, no need to bother Gonggong.”

The news that Meiren Qin had become Jieyu Qin was similar to a smoke signal indicating the presence of hostile forces in a battlefield. Once the smoke was released, the eyes of each palace immediately changed.

The harem was just like this. Whoever loses favor and whoever makes a mistake will be a laughingstock.

However, it is different once someone is favored.

All palaces knew about Consort Dowager Sun’s physical condition. She often called Qin Ling to Shou’an Palace to take care of her illness, and the emperor sometimes followed her there. This obviously meant that he was preparing to hand over the eldest prince to Qin Ling’s care.

The eldest prince was the only seedling in the whole harem, so this was not a trivial matter.

Consort Xue patted the table with her palm and sternly said: “Didn’t you say that His Majesty is tired of her? What’s with this promotion then?”

“Your Highness please quell your anger.” Chang Ge bowed and said: “This servant is also confused. It is true that His Majesty was angry two days ago, so this servant doesn’t know what caused this change today.”

“You don’t know what caused this change?” Consort Xue replied with a smile.

Chang Ge immediately knelt, “This servant deserves death.”

“What’s the use of your death for bengong!”

Consort Xue took a deep breath, turned her head, and said to Qing Yue: “Send someone to my big brother immediately. Let him help me to investigate the Qin family.”

***

The inner palace was shrouded with a gloomy atmosphere for a few days, and just when everyone thought that Shou’an Palace would start preparing for a funeral, Consort Dowager Sun held the eldest prince’s hand and attended the Longevity Family Banquet.

The commander of the Imperial Guards, Lu Ze, led people to guard every side of the main hall where the banquet was held.

Everyone from the Six Palaces came to participate today.

With one person on one mat, everyone sat on the floor. According to her rank, Qin Ling sat next to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan looked at her with a smile in her eyes, and said softly, “Congratulations to Jieyu Qin.”

Qin Ling replied, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Two days ago, she was just a meiren. Today, she turned into a jieyu. If one asks who is the most uncomfortable, it is not the three consorts in the palace, but the charming and compelling Shuyi He and Shuyi Xu.

These two people came from distinguished families, and their appearance was excellent. To put it bluntly, the two of them didn’t even put Qin Ling in their eyes at all since the very beginning.

Xu Lanzhi in particular. Her father had told her that the emperor had the intention to promote families of humble origin, and that he cared about the Xu family. She entered the palace exactly for this reason; if she could earn the right to raise the eldest prince, then their Xu family would probably have an empress.

Empress, empress.

She had entered the palace for so long. Not to mention the eldest prince, the number of her encounters with the emperor could be counted in one hand. How could she strive for the empress position?

Shuyi Xu bowed her head and looked at the peach pink low-neck and wide-sleeved long dress she was wearing today, and couldn’t help clenching her fists.

Everyone knows this—Relationships based on intimacy do not last long. If even the flesh can no longer attract the person, what else is there to talk about for the future?

Don’t get overwhelmed by a daughter of a fifth-ranked grand scribe .

Thinking of this, Shuyi Xu glanced at Qin Ling again before turning around.

Young people are just like this, thinking they have hidden their unwillingness well. However, her unwillingness had been noticed by the empress dowager and the consort dowager, even though they did not make it obvious.

The ritual music sounded, and the palace people came over with wine and meat.

Exuberant lamb shanks, mandarin fish, fruit, dimsum, all in one plate.

The empress dowager spoke: “I heard from the Shangyi Bureau that Shuyi Xu has prepared a dance from the Western region for His Majesty?”

Shuyi Xu blushed and stood up, “Chenqie’s dance skills are not good, I’m afraid of embarrassing myself.”

The empress dowager smiled and said: “It is just a family banquet, everyone doesn’t need to be so restrained. If anyone dares to make fun of you, aijia will call the shots for you.”

“Chenqie could not bear to receive Your Highness’ deep love.”

As Shuyi Xu went to the center of the hall, cheerful music rang, and she seemed to turn into a completely different person.

Although Shuyi Xu’s wide-sleeved robe was made of satin, the waist part was made of thin muslin. Her mind was like a string, and her hands were like drum beats. Every gesture was seductive, making her really look like someone from the Western region.

The beautiful black, bead-like pupils were trying to hook the emperor in.

With this kind of appearance, it was inevitable that she would earn favor no matter from which emperor.

On the contrary, Xiao Yu would look at Qin Ling from time to time. To be precise, at the fish on her table.

Qin Ling knew what he was thinking, but others didn’t.

As a result, Xiao Yu’s inquiring gaze that was seen by the others made everyone frown.

Even the empress dowager sensed that something was wrong.

Could it be that the emperor likes this face that much? Couldn’t help but keep seeing that face?

At the end of the song, everyone saw that the emperor was only interested in Jieyu Qin and not the dancing. They looked at Shuyi Xu with sarcasm.

Consort Liu spoke slowly: “Younger Sister Xu’s dance skills are not exquisite enough. It is still too modest.”

Shuyi Xu’s ears reddened, and her chest rose and fell due to her whirling dance steps, making her look even more eye-catching, “It’s only been two years since I started learning, so it is far from perfect.”

Consort Liu let out an “oh” and said with a fake smile: “Only two years… Then Shuyi Xu is truly intelligent. What a great talent.”

Even though Consort Liu’s appearance could only be said as mediocre, she was the daughter of the cabinet’s first assistant. Her family was prominent, so she always spoke in a straightforward manner.

Shuyi Xu opened her mouth and didn’t know what to say.

After a while, she replied, “Many thanks to Your Highness for the compliments.”

The empress dowager mediated between them: “Aijia thinks that Shuyi Xu dances well. What does His Majesty think?”

At this moment, Xiao Yu seemed to have returned to his usual self. He smiled in reply: “We also think it is good. Reward.”

When the man opened his mouth, Shuyi Xu’s eyes immediately gleamed, and she quickly responded: “Chenqie thanks His Majesty.”

After Shuyi Xu returned to her seat, the empress dowager looked at Qin Ling, “I wonder what gift Jieyu Qin has prepared?”

Qin Ling stood and replied softly: “Chenqie has prepared a painting.”

Empress Dowager: “Then quickly let us take a look.”

Qin Ling handed the painting to the two young eunuchs.

The picture scroll slowly unfolded, revealing a proper scenic painting of Jiangnan.

The empress dowager tilted her head and said to the consort dowager: “What does the consort dowager think of this painting?”

The consort dowager said weakly: “The strokes are dexterous and elegant, it is a beautiful landscape.”

After that, the consort dowager coughed.

Everyone couldn’t help but feel worried.

At this moment, the gatekeeper suddenly reported, “Your Majesty, Princess Changning has arrived!”

Xiao Yu replied: “Announce it.”

Everyone immediately casted their eyes to the entrance of the hall.

The woman, who was wearing a turquoise and gold satin coat with branches pattern and a white dress. Walked towards the center of the hall. She looked like she had lost some weight, but that pair of large eyes was still as bright as pearls.

That person is Xiao Lianyu, the Grand Princess Changning.

The only daughter of the late emperor.

“Changning wishes the emperor good health.” Princess Changning bowed in respect.

“You still know to come back,” Xiao Yu finally smiled at the corner of his mouth.

Nobody expected that Grand Princess Changning would be present tonight. When everyone was still shocked, the little prince in the consort dowager’s arms suddenly whispered: “Is this my aunt?”