Chapter Nineteen: The Distant Cousin

“Miss Feng, you are a clever woman, so I won’t beat around the bush,” the Empress Dowager said, her face wreathed in a smile as she gazed at Feng Qiuji. “Your father has always been a trusted aide of mine. Though the Emperor is not especially attentive to you during your time in the palace, he has treated you decently enough. If you are willing to cooperate with me, I assure you, you will reap many benefits.”

“Cooperate in what way?” Feng Qiuji asked in confusion. She had no desire to meddle in palace affairs; all she wanted was to live joyfully and freely here. But it was clear such a wish was impossible.

“I can promise you, when the day comes that I hold power, your status will be second to none. At that time, no matter how much gold and silver you desire, nor how many handsome companions you wish to keep, as long as you like it, it will be yours,” the Empress Dowager said slowly, her eyes shining with confidence in the future.

Feng Qiuji felt goosebumps rise all over her arms. Gold and silver? Handsome companions? That sounded rather tempting. Studying the Empress Dowager suspiciously, she thought to herself—this old lady must fancy herself a Wu Zetian or a Cixi. Judging by her manner, she had probably kept quite a few pretty young men around, yet it seemed that even that could not fill her lonely heart.

Seeing Feng Qiuji’s silence, the Empress Dowager made her intentions even plainer. She was an ambitious woman, and though she had heard that the Prime Minister’s daughter was rather timid, she could no longer afford to hesitate. Besides, the girl’s character did not strike her as weak. If she could win her over as an ally, it would certainly be advantageous. “I entered the palace as a consort at a tender age, when the late Emperor was already old. I bore him no children. If you agree, I will adopt you as my daughter right now. From today onward, we shall share this empire as mother and daughter. What do you say?”

These words left Feng Qiuji even more stunned, as if she had suddenly turned to stone. No, no, this temptation was simply too great. The empire! Even a frail woman could hardly resist such an offer. Glancing at the Empress Dowager’s expression, Feng Qiuji comforted herself: if she did not agree today, she might not walk out of Changxin Palace alive. A wise hero does not risk immediate danger; since that was the case, why not go along with her for now?

With this thought, she felt much better. Quickly, she mustered a broad smile and dropped to her knees. “Qiuji pays respects to Mother.”

The Empress Dowager, pleased with her astuteness, rewarded her with a trove of gold, silver, and jewels, and sent her back to her quarters.

Feng Qiuji, delighted with her bounty, planned to return to the Cold Palace and calculate its worth, but unexpectedly collided with someone at a corner. Looking up and seeing who it was, she hastily knelt. “Your Majesty.”

Ling Zetian glanced at Feng Qiuji. He had just heard she’d been summoned by the Empress Dowager, and, fearing harm might come to her, had hurried to her rescue. But looking at the cunning smile on her face now, it was clear the Empress Dowager had done her no harm.

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh, these are gifts from the Empress Dowager,” Feng Qiuji said, swinging the pearl necklace with a cheerful grin.

“What good are gifts from her?” Ling Zetian frowned at her answer. “Has what I’ve given you not been enough?”

“What?” Feng Qiuji was instantly annoyed. She retorted in a mocking tone, “Gifts from Your Majesty? I suspect those were given to your other consorts. I, for one, haven’t received a single thing.” With that, she picked up her treasures and turned to head back to the Cold Palace.

“Stop!” Ling Zetian grabbed her arm. “Since the Empress has said as much, then you should move back to Chaoyun Palace. Everything you want is there for you.”

“That won’t be necessary, Your Majesty’s generosity is more than I deserve. I’ve grown used to the Cold Palace and have no wish to leave.”

Feng Qiuji had no idea how infuriating her attitude was at the moment.

The veins on Ling Zetian’s forehead pulsed repeatedly, though he forced himself to restrain his anger. How dare she speak to him in such a tone? “So, the Empress is unwilling to return to Chaoyun Palace?”

Sensing the suppressed fury in his voice, Feng Qiuji remembered exactly who she was speaking to. The Emperor was not someone to be treated like an ordinary person. She quickly changed her expression. “Since Your Majesty has so commanded, how could I not be overjoyed? Thank you for your boundless grace!” With those words, she darted away, fearing if she lingered under the Emperor’s gaze, he might explode, and then she would be the one to suffer.

Back at the Cold Palace, she instructed Xiao Hui to quickly pack her things, and set off for Chaoyun Palace.

Ordinarily, the Empress moving back to Chaoyun Palace would not be a big event, but somehow the news spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone in the palace, from the highest to the lowest, knew that the Cold Palace Empress was finally returning. Suddenly, the palace was abuzz with excitement.

Just as Feng Qiuji, carrying her bundle and accompanied by Xiao Hui, stepped out of the Cold Palace, she found crowds gathered outside, all staring and pointing at her.

A scene flashed through her mind: she felt like a performing monkey at a bustling marketplace, suddenly appearing and causing quite a stir, drawing everyone’s attention and whispers.

No matter, let them be. Feng Qiuji walked on, feigning indifference, ignoring the stares and whispers as she made her way back to Chaoyun Palace.

Honestly, Ling Zetian had gone too far! Someone of her rank should be conveyed in a phoenix sedan wherever she went in the palace. She’d been told to move, yet not a single person had been sent to escort her—what a lack of sincerity.

As Feng Qiuji instructed Xiao Hui to fetch her some water and sat down by a flowerbed to massage her aching legs, she suddenly heard voices arguing nearby.

“You promised you wouldn’t bother me again.” That voice sounded familiar. Looking around, Feng Qiuji spotted a man and a woman behind the rockery.

The woman, dressed in a bright yellow ruqun, could only be Consort Lian. The man, clad in purple robes, was pulling at her, the picture of a dissolute young rake.

At this sight, Feng Qiuji’s eyes lit up. She had just been bored, and now here was a show unfolding before her eyes. The palace truly was a den of intrigue—an imperial consort and a dashing young noble, tangled together. She wondered, would they go any further right here?

Speaking of going further… Feng Qiuji reminded herself that as a respectable maiden, she ought to keep her thoughts pure. She didn’t know what “going further” meant, and any young readers under eighteen should not be curious either.

“Ying’er, what’s this? Have you forgotten your old lover now that you’re an imperial consort?” The man in purple gave her a lecherous grin and pulled her into his arms.

“Let me go, let me go…” Consort Lian struggled in his grip, desperate to break free. If anyone saw her entangled with a man, the consequences would be dire.

“It’s not that I want to pester you, but my father keeps complaining I’m useless. I was hoping you could put in a good word for me with the Emperor, so he might grant me a position…”

“I don’t know you, let me go!” Consort Lian was on the verge of tears as she struggled futilely.

“Wang Lianying, if you’re so heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless,” the man’s patience snapped, and he threatened her coldly. “If you don’t help me, I’ll memorialize the Emperor and tell him all about our past… Well, well, imagine what he would do to his beloved consort if he knew you’d been consorting with another man…”

Feng Qiuji felt a strong urge to leap out and right this wrong. As a woman who despised cads above all else, she could not stand by while one tormented Consort Lian—even though she hardly liked Lian herself, and it really had nothing to do with her. But since she had witnessed it, she had to intervene.

Rolling up her sleeves and pant legs, Feng Qiuji was about to rush in when someone called her name.

Turning, she found it was Xiao Hui, who had just returned.

“Miss, what are you doing?” Xiao Hui asked, baffled.

Meanwhile, Wang Lianying, hearing voices, summoned all her strength and pushed the man in purple away. Looking around quickly, she spotted Feng Qiuji not far off—the Empress herself!

She wanted to flee, but on second thought, that would only make her look guilty and invite suspicion. Better to approach and probe the Empress’s intentions, to see if she had any inkling of what had transpired.

“Well, if it isn’t Her Majesty the Empress!” Feng Qiuji had just turned to speak with Xiao Hui when Consort Lian’s coy voice rang out behind her.

What a brazen woman!

Caught in a tryst with another man, yet she had the gall to greet the Empress with such confidence. Clearly, Feng Qiuji’s status as Empress meant nothing—no one in the palace took her seriously.

“Oh my, I had no idea Consort Lian was here as well,” Feng Qiuji replied in the same saccharine tone, then deliberately glanced at the man in purple. “And who might this elegant gentleman be? Which minister’s son, I wonder?”

“Ahem…” Consort Lian coughed and was about to concoct an excuse when the man in purple stepped forward and bowed. “You must be Her Majesty the Empress. Forgive me—I'm Consort Lian’s distant cousin. I traveled from afar only yesterday and came today to visit a relative I haven’t seen in years.”

“Oh—” Feng Qiuji drew out the word, eyeing the man up and down. “If a distant cousin has come, then of course we must show proper hospitality. Consort Lian and I have always been close; today I ought to host a banquet for our guest.” Inwardly, she snickered, eager to see how Consort Lian would respond.

As expected, Consort Lian grew anxious. “That’s really not necessary, Your Majesty. I’ll take my cousin elsewhere for a stroll.” With that, she hurriedly dragged the man in purple away.

--- Author’s Note: Another hiatus, and this chapter is a bit off the rails. ---