The Perilous Palace Dream - Chapter 53
(T/N: Sorrrrrrrrryyyyy…. for not updating regularly…huhu…These past few weeks feel like a “hot potato weeks.” So many things are going on that I’ve started juggling between translating, doing “acrobatics,” and of course, turning into a working mode zombie to complete all my tasks….Huhu… Anyway, now I’m back on track. I will try to translate as many chapters as possible to complete this novel within the next two months…)
Chapter 53
It was already getting late,it is time to thank the host and take their leave.
Ge Yun’er and the other young ladies accompanied the princess as they exited the small garden.
Just then, they bumped into a little boy coming toward them.
He had been playing with glass marbles in the corridor, but upon seeing people approach, he immediately stepped aside and respectfully asked, “Elder sister, this sister looks unfamiliar. Which household is she from?”
Ge Yun’er laughed and said, “Princess, this is my younger brother. His name is Ge Jingzong. Zong’er, this is Her Highness Princess Yong’an, the Emperor’s own younger sister. Why aren’t you paying your respects?”
As soon as the little boy heard this, he immediately bowed to the princess with utmost respect.
His every movement was proper and precise and he really did seem like a miniature version of Ge Qingyuan.
Nie Qinglin, knowing this must be Ge Qingyuan’s younger brother, smiled and said, “No need for courtesy. You do resemble your sister more than your brother in looks, but your manners and upbringing certainly bear a resemblance to your elder brother.”
Her gaze fell upon the glass marbles in the child’s hand, and Nie Qinglin couldn’t help recalling the time when she and this child’s elder brother used to play with the same glass marbles during their childhood.
Back then, she was still a little rascal, somewhat rough around the edges, while Ge Qingyuan was always the well-behaved one.
He liked to tease her, but in the end, he’d always go easy and deliberately let her win, letting her snatch up many marbles for nothing.
Laughing and chatting along the way, they finally arrived at the entrance.
Ge Qingyuan was already waiting there.
His deep eyes silently followed the princess as she approached.
When she was just in front of him, he bowed at the proper time with perfect decorum.
As Princess Yong’an was escorted onto her carriage, she smiled and said to Ge Yun’er, “Today, I’ve received your kindness. Next time, it should be this princess’s turn to play host. I hope all of you sisters will come to the palace for a gathering.”
Ge Yun’er and the other young ladies smiled and agreed.
When she returned to the palace, Nie Qinglin had assumed the Grand Tutor would’ve already finished his official business and returned home.
But unexpectedly, he was waiting for her in Fengchu Palace.
After exchanging greetings with him, she stepped behind the screen in the inner chamber to change out of her formal attire and into more comfortable casual wear.
When she came out, she saw Nanny Shan just emerging from the study next door.
Nie Qinglin knew right away.
Nanny Shan must’ve already reported every last detail of what had happened at the Ge household to the Grand Tutor, no matter how minor.
Nanny Shan had always taken her duties seriously, and the person she was truly loyal to was the Grand Tutor, not her—the stand-in master.
So Nie Qinglin merely gave a faint smile and sat down on the soft couch, ordering the attending maid to prepare hot water for her to soak her feet.
At that moment, a newly assigned palace maid came forward with a small, flat silver box on a lacquer tray and said gently, “Princess, this is a rose-tinted dye balm newly presented by the Bureau of Inner Service. It’s a new formula developed by the Rouge House of Jiangnan, much better than the crushed balsam juice we used to use. Would Your Highness like to try it?”
Nie Qinglin had always had a soft spot for all things related to women’s adornments.
Because she sometimes had to go sit on that dragon throne, she couldn’t grow her fingernails properly, so she could only focus her efforts on beautifying her pair of jade-like feet.
Naturally, she gave her permission.
The young maid was indeed sharp and skillful.
She even had some fresh tricks when it came to hairstyling and dressing up.
Her deft hands far surpassed that village blacksmith’s daughter from Huaxi Village.
This girl had been handpicked by Eunuch Ruan to serve the princess.
That old fox Ruan was no fool, he could see perfectly well who currently held the most favor in the palace.
Ever since this Princess Yong’an entered the palace, he could tell the Grand Tutor’s tastes had shifted once again.
Perhaps he’d grown tired of young men, and now was putting all his attention on this princess who bore a strong resemblance to His Majesty.
This fearless appetite, regardless of male or female, brother or sister, all devoured alike was so audacious that even Eunuch Ruan, who had seen all kinds of absurdities in the palace, couldn’t help clicking his tongue in secret.
Truly, a worthy heir to the late emperor’s legacy!
After clicking his tongue, he got serious about his work.
Anything sent to Fengchu Palace—be it goods or servants—was always of the finest quality.
This little maid was a perfect example.
Her skills were top-notch.
With a single hand, she held a finely crafted crab-claw brush, dipping it into the fragrant flower-dye balm.
In no time, she had evenly coated all ten of the princess’s plump, round toenails in a striking crimson red.
As Nie Qinglin lifted one foot slightly to admire the result, the Grand Tutor happened to walk out of the study.
The moment he entered the inner chamber, he saw the lifted foot with its brilliantly red nails, the vivid color making her foot appear even more fair and luminous, so alluring it made one want to pull that foot into his arms and knead it hard.
He waved his hand, dismissing all the servants.
The Grand Tutor stepped to the couch, reached out and took hold of that jade foot, then brought it close to his nose and inhaled deeply.
Nie Qinglin’s cheeks flushed red, as if dyed with the flower balm herself.
She quickly tried to pull her foot back.
“Grand Tutor, why are you being so indecent again? What’s there to smell about a foot?!”
Wei Lenghou, however, was in no mood to let go.
His thin lips pressed a deep kiss onto the arch of her foot, and only then did he speak, unhurried and composed:
“They say a true beauty’s feet are like frost atop her clogs, never hidden beneath black-silk socks. Some are so enamored with a woman’s feet that even after taking a concubine, all their pleasure lies just in her pair of jade feet, some have even lost their yuan yang that way. I never understood the reason before… but after tasting the flavor of the princess’s jade feet today, I feel a bit enlightened…”
(T/N: Yuan Yang refers to a man’s vital yang energy, which in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist belief, is the core of male vitality, especially sexual and life force energy.)
Nie Qinglin was stunned at the remark.
Truly, by the Grand Tutor’s side, there was no end to the knowledge one could gain!
She thought the Grand Tutor was about to imitate one of those eccentric foot-fetish fiends, and shyly said,
“I just applied some floral balm… Grand Tutor, don’t dirty it…”
Which only made the Grand Tutor burst out laughing.
He pinned the little Guo’er and kept teasingly asking what it was that could possibly dirty the princess’s feet.
They were still messing about when the Grand Tutor suddenly, as if in passing, asked:
“Was the screen wall at the Ge residence nice to look at?”
Nie Qinglin’s smile didn’t falter, but she responded with slight confusion,
“What?”
Wei Lenghou raised a hand to his ear, his eyes still smiling, but that handsome face of his had taken on a faint chill.
“I asked: was that screen wall nice to look at?”
Nie Qinglin kept her expression calm and gave another soft “Hmm?”but inside, she was already berating herself for being careless today.
She really shouldn’t have let herself get carried away in front of Nanny Shan…
“If it weren’t for the screen wall being so attractive, why would the princess have stood there chatting with Ge Qingyuan about literary philosophy for so long? Or was it perhaps Lord Ge’s good looks that caught the princess’s fancy?”
The Grand Tutor’s face was cold as garlic as he spoke.
Under the Grand Tutor’s gaze, which was like a torch burning through her, Nie Qinglin blinked innocently but her heart gradually settled.
So he hadn’t discovered the secret messages being passed under the table after all…
“It was just that the calligraphy on the screen wall looked nice, and I said so casually… Grand Tutor knows I’ve been playing the role of a man for years, and I believe I carry myself properly. But the moment I enter the Grand Tutor’s eyes, everything I do becomes wrong. If the Grand Tutor insists I’m some fickle, watery-hearted woman, then go ahead and cast me aside! Find someone who turns mute the moment she sees a man!”
With that, she turned away in a huff and buried her face in the bedding, trying to calm the heart that had nearly been scared stiff by the Grand Tutor’s sudden change of face.
Good heavens… she’d thought General Shan was actually a hidden female zhuangyuan in disguise!
(T/N: A legendary woman who secretly passes the imperial exam disguised as a man, earning top honors.)
From now on, she really couldn’t dare pull stunts like that right under the Grand Tutor’s nose.
If she were exposed, even a swift death would be considered a mercy.
Everyone knew the Grand Tutor had a thousand and one ways to torment someone and she wouldn’t be able to endure even one of them.
But the Grand Tutor, seeing that his little dragon pearl was still angry, eased off his jealous heart.
The cold frost on his face melted away, and he started teasing the little Guo’er again with a chuckle…
By the time the Grand Tutor had finally had his fun and withdrew his hand, he had thoroughly dirtied the beautifully lacquered toes that had been painted with nail polish.
A few days later, it happened to be the early-month Grand Court Assembly.
Nie Qinglin, donning her dragon robe, sat upon the throne in the main hall.
Minister Wu, who had been ordered by the Grand Tutor to stay home behind closed doors, suddenly attended court.
He brought along the Hanlin Academy’s scholars and submitted a flowery, ten-thousand-character memorial, begging His Majesty to show mercy and allow the Sixth Prince to enter the Ancestral Temple on behalf of Elder Shen and fulfill his filial duties.
It turned out that before his passing, Elder Shen had compiled and annotated a Confucian classic, offering original insights.
Once printed, the book had spread rapidly through academies across the empire.
His fame soared, and for a time, he even seemed to stand just beneath the sages Confucius and Mencius in stature.
Elder Shen had been a staunch imperial loyalist.
While serving in court, he and Grand Tutor Wei were like fire and water.
After the coup in the palace, Shen sighed that the tide couldn’t be turned.
Considering the plight of his daughter and grandson in the palace, he abided by the words of the sages:
“If one achieves his ambition, he helps the world follow him; if not, he walks his own path alone.”
Thus, he retired early from public life.
Fortunately, though Wei Lenghou was cold-hearted and unyielding even to blood relatives, he still spared those who were both virtuous and wise enough to recognize the times.
He allowed Shen to pass away at home, beside the couch where his wife kept him company.
But the Sixth Prince was a different matter.
With such a renowned grandfather and being a royal son, who knew whether a single spark might one day set the prairie ablaze?
The Sixth Prince’s death had been just what the Grand Tutor hoped for.
But this move from Minister Wu today—what was it supposed to mean?
As it turned out, Elder Shen had only one child, a daughter, who became the Sixth Prince’s mother in the palace.
He and his wife had shared a lifelong bond of mutual respect and harmony, never taking a concubine.
The wife had wanted to adopt a son for the family line, but Shen Gongliang, though a firm believer in Confucian ideals, was not a stick-in-the-mud.
He didn’t care too much about having a male heir.
He had assumed that with a grandson in the palace, there’d be no future threat of his family home being seized.
But the palace coup had come overnight.
Elder Shen fell ill from grief and passed away suddenly.
The collateral relatives of Elder Shen, seeing that Shen Gongliang’s household had suffered a great misfortune, somehow got stirred up—no one knew by whom—and actually used the excuse that the Shen family had no male heirs to start playing dirty tricks, trying to seize their estate.
Madam Shen watched helplessly as her household was about to lose its very roof.
With no other recourse, she had to pull strings everywhere, and in the end, it was Grand Secretary Wu who agreed to help.
He personally stepped forward to petition His Majesty, pleading for the Sixth Prince to return and help his maternal grandmother secure her home’s peace.
Throughout the entire court session, the Grand Tutor wore a thundercloud on his face, but in the end, his brows finally relaxed a bit.
He said, “That the Shen family is without sons is something written in their fate. However, the Grand Scholar’s name stands shoulder to shoulder with the two Sages, so I believe His Majesty will consider it with discretion. Still, to have a maternal grandson of a different surname stand for justice in the Shen household, it doesn’t quite sit right. If the Sixth Prince is willing to cast off his imperial surname and return to the Shen family’s ancestral records, then it would follow the natural order of things, and the worry of having no male heirs would be resolved.”
Grand Secretary Wu nearly blew his beard out when he heard that, but before he could retort, the Grand Tutor gave a wave of his hand.
The formidable palace guards grabbed the elderly official and cheerfully hauled him out through the Meridian Gate.
The Grand Tutor’s meaning couldn’t be clearer: You bookish pedants better know when to quit while you’re ahead. I’ve already given you what you asked for, the road has been laid out, walk it or not, that’s your own choice.
Sitting atop the Dragon Throne, Nie Qinglin exhaled quietly.
From beginning to end, Ge Qingyuan hadn’t said a single word.
But she knew, it must have all been arranged by that man who stood silently among the court officials, calm as still water.
A ruler does not betray those entrusted to him… but whether he is truly a gentleman remains to be seen.
And me? I went and carelessly nudged a hidden gem, what sort of remarkable talent have I stirred up this time?
H
Hot potato!! Wkwkwk, thank you for the updates! Delulu Wei is consistent.