Thirteen, Pearl Embryo

  By February, the days had gradually lengthened. With nothing to do, I would serve in the Empress Dowager's palace and copy Buddhist scriptures for her. The winter chill had not yet dissipated, and the branches of the trees outside the palace were still covered with a thick layer of residual snow, and one could often hear the faint sound of twigs snapping.

  The pale snow light passing through the window screen is a very faint blue color, like the thin glaze of high-quality Jun kiln porcelain, and also like the moonlight in mid-autumn. It's beautiful but imperfect.

  The clear snow light passes through the large window with Ming paper, and falls down a fifteen or sixteen moon-colored white mark, although it is a cold and quiet color, but it reflects the temple inside more than outside.

  Perhaps because of Xuan Ling's sake, the Empress Dowager is also very kind to me. She just always remains silent and doesn't like to talk. I accompany her by her side, but I don't dare to say more than half a sentence easily.

  Flowing light is always silent.

  Many times, the empress dowager would silently kneel in the inner palace reciting scriptures, and I would transcribe the Sanskrit texts that were actually uninteresting to me one character at a time behind her. The incense burner on the table was burning sandalwood, the smoke was quiet and faintly surrounded her, her expression was calm as if she was outside the realm, and the space between her eyebrows was like the light mist of the incense burner, vague and seemingly nonexistent.

  I softly said: "Does the Empress Dowager also like sandalwood?"

  She said: "People who like incense all use sandalwood, it's not about liking or disliking." She slightly raised her eyes to look at me, "The concubines in the harem rarely use this scent, how do you know it?"

  "Sometimes I'd rather sit quietly and calm my mind than take a nap."

  The empress dowager smiled: "Not bad. Life is bound to have unpleasant things, it's good that you know how to dispel them."

  The empress's eyes were not very good, the words on the Buddhist scriptures were fine and small, she often had a hard time reading them. So I wrote the characters in a larger font, which pleased her greatly.

  However, it was probably due to the empress's calm and composed nature that she only showed a faint liking. Occasionally, she would flip through my writings and smile faintly: "The characters are indeed elegant, but they still lack a bit of grandeur. However, they can be considered good, after all, you're still young." But with just a few light and casual words, my face turned red, and I felt extremely embarrassed. My handwriting has always been quite proud, having once collaborated with Xuan Ling on a verse of Qin Guan's "Magpie Bridge Immortal". His whispered breath brushed against my ear, making it feel both numb and ticklish: "Xianxian's characters are like a dancing flower girl, low-key and elegant; like a beautiful woman on stage, playing with shadows; like red lotus flowers reflected in the water, green mist floating on the surface." I turned my head away, giggling: "Where is it that good? The empress can write with both hands at the same time, Xianxian feels inferior to her."

  He faintly smiled and brushed it off, "The Empress's handwriting is good, but it's too proper and loses its charm."

  She smiled and said to the Empress Dowager: "The character of the empress is very good, it can be written with both hands."

  The empress only smiled faintly, quietly gazing at the solitary winter plum blossoming in the corner of the palace, her hands slowly turning a Buddhist rosary as she spoke: "The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold. Even the best calligraphy requires effort and slow practice to achieve, it's not something that can be accomplished overnight. The queen puts in quite some effort into practicing calligraphy every day."

  I suddenly remembered when I went to the Queen's Palace to pay my respects, her desk was piled high with thick stacks of written imperial paper. I was shocked: "So many, how long did the Queen take to finish writing?"

  Qiu Dao said: "Your Ladyship hasn't written much in these past few days. This is what you've managed to write in three days."

  I was secretly shocked and no longer spoke. The queen did not get the favor of Xuan Ling, it seemed that the long days were quiet, but only to practice calligraphy to pass the time.

  The Empress Dowager said, "Zhen Bijun's foundation is not bad." She slightly closed her eyes and opened them again, smiling ambiguously: "But since becoming a favorite, I'm afraid she hasn't written much anymore."

  I did not feel my face flush or my ears burn, my voice was low and husky, "Your servant is ashamed."

  The empress dowager smiled warmly, "When you were young, how could you have been calm and composed enough to write well? The emperor doted on you and naturally liked having you by his side; it's not a big deal if your writing was neglected. Whether the emperor likes or dislikes something has nothing to do with whether the writing is good or bad."

  The Empress Dowager treated me well, but after this conversation, I had even more reverence for the Empress Dowager. Sometimes when Xuan Ling came to my palace to stay overnight, I would choose an opportunity to tactfully advise him to visit the Empress more often, but he just burst out laughing, "My Huanhuan is so broad-minded."

  I had no choice but to say: "The empress is the mother of a nation, and even the emperor cannot be too cold towards her."

  The weather is gradually warming up, and people are no longer shrinking from laziness, willing to go out for a walk. On this day, I got up early to pay respects to the empress, and as soon as I entered the palace gate, I heard the sound of laughter and chatter in the hall, which seemed very lively and harmonious.

  The queen saw me coming in and smiled, beckoning with her hand: "You've also come, just when the conversation was getting lively."

  I smiled and said: "Indeed it is, sisters laughed happily, but they called me from afar."

  I saw the Empress Dowager sitting below, with Imperial Consort Hua on the east side and Consort Feng Shuyi on the west side. Each of them had a row of consorts seated beneath them. The Empress's appearance seemed to have grown even thinner, lost among the many resplendent and colorful consorts, completely unnoticeable. As I approached her, I asked with concern: "Lately your health hasn't been very good, do you feel somewhat better today?"

  Ling Rong said: "Thank you, sister, for your concern. I'm much better now..." Before she could finish speaking, she coughed twice and turned her face away to blow her nose. She smiled awkwardly and continued: "I've made a fool of myself in front of you, but it's just a cold that has dragged on for so long without getting any better." As she spoke, her nasal tone was quite heavy, and her voice was no longer as clear and pleasant as it used to be.

  Having contracted a cold, Ling Rong had not served Xuan Ling for nearly half a month. Instead, Chun'er, with her straightforward and simple nature, attracted quite a few of Xuan Ling's glances.

  Chun'er smiled and said: "Zhen sister only pays attention to An sister, and doesn't care about me, I'm also your younger sister!"

  I couldn't help but laugh and say, "Yes. You are naturally my sister, aren't all of you sisters here? Good little sister, forgive your elder sister this time." My words made everyone burst out laughing.

  Chun'er pulled up her sleeve to show me, saying: "I've gained weight again recently, sister, look, the clothes I made for New Year's are now tight at the cuffs."

  I suppressed my smile, counting on my fingers: "Yes. Breakfast was two bowls of red rice porridge and three crispy sugar buns; lunch was stewed to perfection fatty chicken and duck; not long after lunch, we had snacks again; at dinner time, if I hadn't pulled you back, that bowl of braised ham hock would have all gone into your belly, and even so, you were still yelling about being hungry, and then we had a midnight snack." I struggled to hold back my smile, which was making my cheeks ache, and said: "It's not that I'm afraid you can't afford it, it's just that your belly is getting rounder and rounder."

  Jun'er was still dazed at first, but when I listed out her food intake one by one, she finally came to her senses, blushed and stomped her foot, saying: "Sister is teasing me again." She lowered her head and looked at the crimson brocade with gold embroidery on her body, saying: "But sister is right, I really can't eat like this anymore. The emperor said that my clothes need to be remade every two months, either because they're too tight or too loose. I really envy An's sister's figure, always so slender."

  The queen smiled and said, "What's the big deal about being a bit chubby? The emperor likes you just the way you are. Your sister An is probably still envying you for being able to eat so much." She then looked at Ling Rong and said, "Being so thin isn't good for your health, you should pay attention to nourishing yourself with medicine and food."

  Just as the conversation was going on, a gentle noblewoman who had been listening with a smile on her face frowned and turned her head to cover her mouth with a handkerchief, suppressing a few dry heaves. Everyone was taken aback, and the Empress hastily asked: "What's wrong? Did you eat something unclean at breakfast? Or are you feeling uncomfortable?"

  The noble lady hastily stood up, her face flushing before she even spoke. The palace maid beside her smiled and replied, "It's not that the young master has eaten something bad, it's just that he's... with child..."

  Before she had finished speaking, Tian Gui Ren hastily said with a smile: "Don't talk nonsense!"

  My heart suddenly sank, and I was stunned. Upon hearing this sudden news, I turned back to look at the empress, who also looked surprised, but then smiled and said: "Good, good! This is a great joyous occasion, we should go congratulate the emperor."

  I was greatly shocked, but immediately calmed down and stood up with a smile, saying: "We also congratulate the Empress Dowager." Turning my head, I smiled at Concubine Er and said: "Sister Er is overjoyed."

  My words seemed to have awakened everyone, and they couldn't help but stand up and congratulate each other. However, amidst the sudden burst of laughter, each person couldn't help but think about their own thoughts.

  "Is it really true?" asked Empress Dowager Ci silently beside him, "Has the imperial physician examined her?"

  The noble lady trembled slightly, knowing it was because of the last time's incident at Mei Zhuang. She nodded with a hint of shyness and said: "Both doctors from the Imperial Hospital have come to examine me." After pausing for a moment, she smiled coldly and said: "My sister is not that kind of person who would resort to any means to fight for favor. If it's true, then it's true; if it's false, then it's false. How can the matter of the imperial heir be faked?" She turned her face towards me and asked: "Elder Sister Jie Yu, don't you think so?"

  I was greatly annoyed, knowing that she spoke sarcastically about Mei Zhuang. However, considering her pregnancy and current status being different from before, I could only endure it and smiled slightly: "Indeed. It's true that sister is blessed with good fortune, and there will be joyful news in three to five days."

  Those around Chun'er couldn't help but laugh at this, and others also realized that many people were jealous of Tan's pregnancy. After hearing this, everyone came to their senses - Xuan Ling's feelings for Tan were extremely shallow. Although she was favored by Xuan Ling when she first entered the palace, Tan had been overly demanding and had even quarreled with Liu Liangyuan multiple times, causing her to fall out of favor in just a month. Her position remained that of a Guiren, and since losing favor, Xuan Ling had only summoned her five or six times.

  But I felt a pang in my heart, she was pregnant five or six times like this, while I have received a lot of blessings, but till today there is no movement at all, it can't be said that I am not blessed and unlucky.

  Out of the temple, the clear and cold sunlight poured down from the sky, casting a layer of frost on the remaining snow on the ground, but it didn't melt it. Instead, it seemed to condense into a layer of crystal on the surface of the snow. Suddenly coming out of the warm temple, the cold wind hit me in the face, and it felt like being cut by a knife. The soft fur trim on my coat collar was blown by the wind, and the silver-gray long hair slightly brushed against my cheek. Normally, I would find it warm and soft, but today it only felt itchy and unbearable.

  As I was about to get into the soft sedan, Cao Jieyu smiled softly behind me, like the scorching sun in July, bright and yet subtly exuding a suffocating heat. "Sister is foolish, there's something she wants to ask her younger sister."

  I knew she wasn't going to say anything good, but I had no choice but to patiently say: "Sister, just ask."

  Cao Jieyu's body subtly exuded the scent of honey, her every move was elegant and refined. She asked in a soft voice: "Sister is truly worried about me, the Emperor dotes on me so much, I should be the one who receives the most favor, why hasn't there been any sign of pregnancy yet?" She lowered her eyebrows and spoke gently: "Now that Consort Heng is pregnant, the Emperor will likely pay more attention to her from now on. You should also take care of your body when you have time."

  I felt a chill in my chest and hatred in my heart. I turned to see the Empress Hua standing beside Cao Jieyu, with a mocking cold smile on her face, and was taken aback for a moment. Originally, I thought that there would be some discord between Empress Hua and Cao Jieyu because of Wen Yi Di Ji, but now it seems like they don't have any discord at all, which left me puzzled.

  Not having time to properly sort out the entanglement between them, already being stabbed in her self-esteem, she coldly said: "The Emperor's concern for Consort Tian is a matter of course. My sister will naturally take care of herself when she has the chance, and my sister should also take good care of the body of Princess Wei, after all, the precious body of the princess cannot have any mishaps." As she spoke, she turned to face Empress Cao and made a curtsy, respectfully saying: "Consort Wei just now spoke out of turn and offended Your Majesty, I, as her sister, apologize on her behalf, please don't take offense, Your Majesty."

  The Empress Hua was taken aback, "What?"

  I smiled and solemnly said: "Aunt Cao just said that the concubines who received the most rain and dew were not pregnant, isn't this statement damaging to Your Majesty by using my sister's matter? Over the years, among the concubines, it is still Your Majesty who has received the most rain and dew. I am guilty and beg for punishment from Your Majesty."

  Cao Jieyu was shocked and realized she had misspoken, glancing nervously at Empress Hua. She forced herself to calm down and smile. Empress Hua's expression changed slightly, but she endured in silence, only letting out a cold laugh, seemingly asking herself, yet also seeming to ask me, "Is it true that I am not pregnant?"

  Cao Jieyu heard the tone of Hua Fei was not good, stretched out her hand to pull her sleeve, Hua Fei used force to shake off her hand, loudly said: "Being pregnant or not being pregnant, what's the difference? If heaven favors me, I will definitely be granted a son. If heaven does not favor me, it will also be a daughter, better than nothing." As she spoke, her gaze swept fiercely across Cao Jieyu's face.

  Cao Jieyu's face turned red and white, but she didn't say another word.

  "I quietly said: 'The princess is right. With or without children, being favored is still being favored. Even if a mother relies on her child to gain status, it depends on whether the child meets the emperor's expectations.' After speaking, I didn't want to say more and left with a flick of my sleeve."

  The next day, Xuan Ling happily issued an edict to promote Du Shi, the noble and virtuous lady of Jin Tian, to a fifth-rank consort, and held a banquet in the palace to celebrate.

  Du Liang's pregnancy did not bring much auspiciousness to the palace. In early spring, a severe epidemic broke out in the palace, starting with the low-ranking palace maids and eunuchs who served miscellaneous duties. At first, it was just a headache and fever, followed by swelling of the neck and closure of the throat. One person's illness spread to one room, and one room's illness spread to the entire palace. The palace began to burn mugwort leaves to ward off the epidemic, and everyone was in danger.

  Annotation: (1) Tang Dynasty Wei Xiu's praise for Wei Zifu's letter