#ying chong

[fraactals]

starting 媵宠 ying chong by 假面的盛宴 mask feast -- reading the ongoing translation instead of the completed one cuz i really like the translator !!

the mother of the ML of feng xing dies as empress dowager (basically after the plot of feng xing) and gets sent back to when she was a 瘦马, age 15. baaically, she is given a do-over that she never asked for, having already lived what she thought was the best possible life

it looks to be much more aligned to the romance palace-intrigue novels than feng xing which was like 20% explaining trade, salt, and taxation lol

im excited!

[wangsejabin]

Chapter 64

Su Fengyi was pregnant!

With twins no less!

The Crown Prince brought back two cooks from Jiangnan because Su Fengyi is from Yangzhou and likes Huaiyang cuisine!

Since her return, Su Fengyi has not gone to the Hall of Virtue to pay her respects even once!

Naturally, no one dares to say such things to people's faces, but how many of those who can stay in the palace are fools, everyone has eyes clear as water, who couldn't see that much.

On the day Su Fengyi returned, it took the servants a whole afternoon to help carry in the chests. It was said that the chests were so heavy that two people couldn't lift it, so four people were needed.

Many people wanted to get through to him to serve Su Fengyi, because it was clear that when Su Fengyi finished giving birth, the young master would need someone to serve beside him. This is a path to heaven. When the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne, the young master will be a prince at worst when he grows up, and if he can serve by his side from a young age, he will be a great eunuch of the royal family.

The young master might even be lucky enough to go further, and the thought of it made people shiver with excitement. In the Hall of Virtue, the morale that had been lifted with much difficulty was shattered again. The Prince Consort went through anger, panic, anger again, and then numbness. No, to put it bluntly, it was still panic that prevailed.

If we say that before the discovery of Liu Chenghui's incident, the Crown Princess still had a trace of the Prince's goodwill, but since that incident, the Prince has not given her the same face as before. She was busy raising her baby, and then the Crown Prince went on a tour of the south, giving a period of reprieve to the relationship between the two.

With the birth of Duo, she sent many letters to the Prince out of apprehension, in which the couple talked about the child and seemed to be back to their old ways. She thought that it had passed, but turns out it actually hadn't passed at all, but had gotten worse.

From that evening when the Crown Prince only sat in the Hall of Virtue and then went to Su Fengyi's, the Crown Princess sensed it. She thought it was because she had given Su Fengyi a hard time outside the gates of the Eastern Palace earlier and the Crown Prince was displeased with her that she had done so.

She even regretted that she had not been able to keep her composure and had planned to bow down to the Crown Prince tomorrow and talk about Duo'er's affairs, so that she might be able to ease up. But when she met the Prince, he told her that Su Fengyi was too pregnant and that she should be excused from paying her respects.

After that, one case after another, even if it was a small matter, the Prince Consort's heart ached like a sore spot. Sister Chen had not allowed anyone to report it, but she ordered them to do so. Then as she listened, she calmed down. This could not go on. The Crown Princess said to herself that if she went on like this, she would lose, and while it didn't matter if she lost, what about the Second Princess and Duo'er? While she was thinking about this, the Crown Princess was in the Grand Duke's room.

The Second Princess was very fond of her brother and visited him every day. In the year since the Prince left, the Crown Princess had been busy with her son's affairs, but she had not forgotten the Second Princess. Knowing that the Prince does not like her treating the Second Princess too delicately, she had to harden her heart and forced the child to walk and learn the rules.

Now the Second Princess was learning to walk in the same way that the First Princess did when she was less than four years old. In fact, if you look at it seriously, you will understand why the Prince liked the First Princess, but was indifferent to the Second Princess.

One has to go through some trials to see oneself more clearly, and the Crown Princess feels that she is going through them right now.

That's why she was calm as never before. Sister Chen and the others were afraid that she would do something again in a moment of confusion, but she was calm and collected. So when she heard that the Empress had summoned Su Fengyi to Kunning Palace to speak, she did not get angry, but ordered that few more servants to wait on her, so that nothing would happen.

Sister Chen was surprised, the Crown Princess looked fine, but smiled bitterly in her heart.

--

Pan'er was carried in a soft sedan chair all the way to Kunning Palace.

In her previous life, she had ridden in the Forbidden City on a palanquin and even in Emperor Jianping's dragon carriage, but this time she was a bit frightened to ride in such a sedan chair. It was not only the Empress who wanted to see her, but also the Crown Princess.

She was surprised that the Crown Princess was not angry, but even ordered to bring more people with her so that there would not be any problems on the way. To be honest, Pan'er was surprised, but more than that, she was subconsciously defensive. Okay, she was a bit of a villain, but perversity is a demon. Not only did she bring along Xiang Pu and Qing Dai, but she also brought along Bai Jue and Xiao Dezi.

If there were more people in the courtyard, she wouldn't have minded bringing a few more of her own, but unfortunately, there were only a few people under her, so she was already out in full force. The journey was quiet, nothing happened and they arrived at Kunning Palace.

Nianci was waiting outside with her people, and when Pan'er got off the sedan chair, she was busy welcoming her.

Not that Pan'er, a little Fengyi, was usually worthy of her attention, but Pan'er's belly was so big that even Nianci was a little surprised at first sight. It was a blessing that the Empress had summoned Su Fengyi to speak, but it must not turn out to be a bad thing. Empress Fu included, and when Pan'er entered, she was surprised and hurriedly ordered someone to give her a seat.

"This palace knows that you are pregnant with twins, but did not expect your belly to be so big? What did the Imperial Doctor say, is this safe?"

"Your Majesty thinks that my belly is big because this one is thin. Ever since the doctor diagnosed the twin pregnancy, this one has not dared to eat too much, and the doctor said that the baby should not be too big, otherwise it would be easy to risk premature delivery."

"So that's how it is."

When Empress Fu was still a bit worried, Nianci smiled and said, "Your Majesty, since the doctor said it, it must be correct. Although the doctor said that there is a high chance of premature birth, there are so many doctors in the palace, Su Fengyi will be able to give birth to your grandson safely."

Empress Fu nodded and looked at Pan'er and said, "I don't want anything else now, I just want you to give birth to your child safely and raise a healthy grandson. At this time of the year, you are still pregnant with twins, so I should not have called you here, but I would have worried if I would not have been able to see you. Now that this palace has seen that you are well, this palace is much more relieved. Since the doctor does not allow you to eat much, then eat something that suits your taste."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I will not restrain myself." Pan'er said respectfully.

Empress Fu was pleased with her attitude: "I have previously thought that you are a well-behaved and understanding woman, and the Crown Prince has also told me that you are an intelligent woman, so I will make an exception, if you can help the Crown Prince give birth to a healthy grandson this time, I will personally give you the title of Liangdi."

This time Pan'er could not contain herself and looked up at Empress Fu in surprise. She had thought that when the child was born, the Crown Prince might promote her, but she had never thought that the matter would be brought up by Empress Fu, or that it would be the position of Liangdi.

She knew that the Crown Prince could only appoint two liangdi, and since the Crown Prince had no rank of cefei, so liangdi was considered a side consort. The so-called three wives and four concubines did not only refer to men having many wives and concubines, but was a long-established practice in ancient rites.

For example, in the Han dynasty, it is recorded that in addition to the main wife, men also had a partial wife and a concubine, and in the Northern History, it is written that in ancient times, nobles married nine women, and soldiers had one wife and two concubines. The ancient rites have changed from polygamy to monogamy and concubinage, meaning that a husband could only have one wife and the others were all concubines.

But there were always exceptions to this rule, so where else would the side concubines and ordinary concubines have come from, and the two-headedness of some merchant families was just a gimmick that some people created to distinguish the higher status women from their concubines, which was not recognised by the court law itself, but was recognised by society.

Pan'er did not look deeper into these matters, she only knew that if she could become a Liangdi, she would be able to go on the Jade Tablet.

Yes, although there were many concubines in the Eastern Palace, only Fei and Liangdi had official positions. They were allowed to be listed on the Jade Tablet, even though they were only listed as a concubine, but if they had an heir, the name of the heir would be listed under their name. For the others, unless they had given birth to a child of merit, a small entry was made under the name of the child born to a certain family. It may seem like a single entry, but in fact it is very significant.

In the palace, it was always said that 'the mother was honoured by the son' and 'the son was honoured by the mother', both seemingly similar, but in fact having very different meanings. To use the simplest analogy, can a child born of a third-rank consort be compared to a child born of a fifth rank noble lady? Even if a noble lady has been promoted to a higher rank because of her meritorious childbirth, she is still two steps down from her counterpart.

Empress Fu's words were clearly a promise that Pan'er would be given the position of a Liangdi first, as it would take a year or even a few years for a royal child to be listed on the Jade Tablet. This had to do with the fact that children were prone to die early, so we will not go into details here. All these thoughts happened in a flash of lightning and immediately Pan'er was duly surprised and made to kneel down to thank her. Empress Fu stopped her.

"All right, you don't need to be polite, you should keep what this palace has said in your heart, and don't spread it around, this palace is waiting for you to establish a merit for the Eastern Palace." Empress Fu had always been self-controlled in front of people, to be able to say these words was proof that those gossips about the prince's eldest son's weakness were not without impact on the middle palace family, but probably had a great impact, which was why Empress Fu had lost her composure today.

Pan'er's eyes were half-lidded in silent thought, but her face only nodded in response, after which Empress Fu ordered someone to send her out of Kunning Palace without mentioning it. After Pan'er was sent away, Nianqiu, who had not said anything, said with some concern, "Your Majesty has made such a promise to her, if she is an unstable person, I am afraid that something will happen again."

Empress Fu said, "Do you also think that this palace was rushed? But, indeed, I am in a hurry. Those two hussies have ordered people to spread the word that the crown prince's eldest son is weak, and that the crown prince is over twenty-five years old, but his heirs are very meagre, and they have even implicated the crown prince's infirmity at an early age, saying that this infirmity may have taken root."

"Now there are even ignorant ministers in the court, saying that for the sake of the country, the crown prince's matter should be discussed separately." She slapped the armrest angrily, and the more she said, the heavier her face became: "If Chen isn't smart enough to understand the importance of this situation, I don't care if she wants to blame me, as my daughter-in-law has been blaming me for a lot anyway. She knows how much she has sinned, and if it wasn't for her, how could the Prince's heirs be so few and far between? I am already giving her face by allowing her to continue to sit in the position of Crown Princess." Empress Fu had already said this, so naturally Nian Qiu could not say more.

To put it bluntly, as Empress Fu's confidant palace maid, she was not without grievances towards the Crown Princess. Although this had something to do with the Grand Duke's frailty, since he had survived the hundredth day, he was not as serious as outsiders might think. It is true that he is weak, but not so weak as to be unbearable, but the Prince Consort takes the child too seriously.

Of course, this is true. But Empress Fu has implicitly and explicitly hinted to the Crown Princess to bring the child to herself, but the Crown Princess just ignored it. But at the very least, it showed one thing: she doesn't take Empress Fu seriously. When Empress Fu was unable to see her grandson, she had no choice but to go there herself.

The Crown Princess also seems to be complaining and has not come to Kunning Palace to pay her respects for a long time. The reason for this is to take care of the eldest son, but who knows why.

The world is full of people who are unscrupulous because others are good-tempered, so they have to let her suffer a loss before she can be sensible. This is Nianci's original words, Nianqiu actually feel quite reasonable at this time.

[wangsejabin]

Yingchong 32

 Why is the large characters mentioned again??

Pan'er rolled her eyes surreptitiously and rubbed her face on him, and did not say a word, extraordinarily well-behaved, and at first glance, she was intimidated.

   The prince smiled, "Tomorrow I will ask Fu Lu to change your courtyard, and move it to the third courtyard on the east side."

   Change of courtyard?

   Pan'er sat up at once: "How did Your Highness think of changing my courtyard?"

   The prince gave her a look and said, "Your wing faces the west sun and is hot in summer, I told you long ago, what? don't want to?"

"That's not the case." She lay back down again, grabbing the corners of his bedclothes and rubbing them together, but her mind was racing and on other things.

   Thinking about that recent fuss outside, how did he know when he came and said she wasn't eating properly, that she hadn't had a good appetite lately?

Either she had the Prince's people mixed in with her own, or the kitchen had reported it to him.

Pan'er didn't think she had the Prince's people with her, so it was the kitchen?

When she thought that he had come to accompany her to the meal because he knew her appetite was not good lately, and that he had to change the courtyard for her, did he think she was frightened? Pan'er's heart burst with sweetness, but at the same time she thought of the Crown Princess.

   "Didn't you say there was more to wait? Your Highness, aren't you afraid that the Crown Princess will be displeased when she finds out?"

   In fact, Pan'er did not want to say this, but this issue could not be avoided, the Crown Princess had made a big move, it was about the first son, whether the Crown Prince wanted to or not, face had to be given.

   If Pan'er is correct, he should be busy with the matter of joining the court, which happened in his previous life, she is not sure about the details, only that Emperor Cheng'an has always been reluctant to interfere with the court affairs, but somehow the prince has done it.

   The Chen family must be involved in the court's affairs, so if she is brought out at this time, will it cause any trouble again?

   When he heard this, the prince's subconscious reaction was to frown, but in a flash he understood that Pan'er's words meant literally what they said.

   He also did not think that she, a woman from the backyard, could know about the affairs of the court, and since it was not the court, it was the Crown Princess. Any man would have been unhappy to hear such words, promising something to a concubine for fear that the main wife would be unhappy, but the Crown Prince, with his view of the big picture, could not help but think a little more.

   It was true that the Chen family was useful, but when it came to such important matters, the Chen family and the Crown Princess were separate. The Chen family has the Chen family's approach to the world, and helping him is not only for the sake of the Crown Princess, but also for the sake of the Chen family's long-term stability.

   "Don't worry about this, since it says you will be given a change, you will be given a change."

   Pan'er also knew that these words had upset his heart, and could not help but press up again, reaching out to wrap her arms around his waist. Of course, she also made some small gestures, snapping her fingertips at the hem of his bedclothes.

   When he saw how she was behaving, the Prince couldn't help himself: "Go to sleep, you have to get up early in the morning."

   She mumbled softly and closed her eyes against him, and slept surprisingly soundly that night.

   The next morning, the Prince left early, not staying for breakfast, but before he left, he told her to eat well and practise her writing, and that he would come to inspect her in a few days.

   The matter of practising her writing was instinctively ignored by Pan'er.

   As for how the meal would be checked, she touched her waist and accidentally blushed.

   --

   What the Prince had ordered was done quickly.

   When Pan'er returned from the Hall of Virtue, people had already arrived, led by Zhang Laishun with more than ten young eunuchs, to help Pan'er move.

They packed and boxed up Pan'er's belongings, which were not too difficult to handle as they were just moved across the street and Pan'er did not have too many things.

   In fact, Pan'er's belongings were quite few, as she had only brought a few bags with her when she entered the Eastern Palace. The inner office sent things to her these days, the Crown Princess rewarded a few items, and the Crown Prince rewarded a few things, as well as the books, so the eunuchs were busy until after lunchtime.

   Aunt Qing, Xiang Pu and others are all full of joy, at last they don't have to cross paths with Zhao Fengyi and her people across the courtyard.

   One was pleased and the other was not. Whether they were pleased or not, they were not happy to be facing each other every day. As Pan'er became more and more favoured, the opposite side did not dare to openly pick a fight, especially with Zhao Xi Yue's illness, but this was only on the surface, there were still some conflicts in private.

   These contradictions are reflected in the servants, pure children, Xiang'er and Xiao Liuzi, they are just as well, they are the servants from the internal affairs department, they know how to advance and retreat and know what is important, in addition to serve Zhao Xiyue for a short period of time, it is not considered loyal.

But Yuping, Yuxia and Zhao-mama are different. They are the senior members of Zhao Xiyue's side, and their positions are fundamentally opposed to each other. They had seen how shabby Pan'er was and how weak she was when Zhao Xiyue taunted her, not daring to even say a word.

   Now that such a person has climbed above their master, even if Zhao Xiyue is convinced, they are not convinced.

   The servants in the west wing have been instructed by Pan'er not to take issue with the east wing, but living in the same courtyard, there is inevitably some social interaction.

   For example, the kitchenette used to boil hot water, as the east and west wards were for the lower-ranking concubines, there was no separate kitchenette, only a small kitchenette that was shared by both sides.

The kitchenette was not used just a few times during the week, and the food came from the kitchen, which was usually used by the servants below to heat up the food and boil hot water. The rules in the Forbidden City are strict and there is no water well in the courtyard, so you have to collect your own water and charcoal every day.

   The charcoal can be used for a long time, but the water has to be picked up every day.

   So every day, a little eunuch would bring the water to the courtyard, and only one jar of water would be delivered. As the kitchenette was shared by both sides, the water in the tanks was divided between two places. If it was for food and drink, it would not be much for all of us combined, but as the master bathes and washes frequently, they consume a lot of water.

Since Pan'er has gained favour, there is no need for Xiao Dezi and Xiaotianzi to collect their own water, just go and tell them and someone will bring it to them. But the east wing is not favoured and the servants want to save time.

   The water jar was unattended anyway, so they borrowed some.

   Of course, in order not to be noticed, the servants in the east wing were more restrained, and even if the west wing knew about it, they turned a blind eye to it, seeing that it was not excessive. But after Zhao Xiyue failed to stop the prince on that occasion, she lost face and fell ill because of her anxiety.

   This is a big conflict, on the surface the east wing is extraordinarily low-key, but in private several times Xiang Pu found dirty things in the water tank of the west wing.

   The water jar was covered and never opened when not in use, and the servants were usually careful not to soil their masters things, so how could something dirty have fallen in.

   It was the East Wing's people who did it to get revenge and disgust people.

   She was not afraid of Zhao Xiyue, she just didn't want to cause trouble, and she also thought that if she hadn't intervened, maybe Zhao Xiyue wouldn't have entered the palace, and she wouldn't have gone through all this.

   This is an unsolved mystery, perhaps even if Pan'er hadn't stirred things up, Zhao Xiyue would have been in the Eastern Palace in this life as well, but Pan'er is a bit stubborn because of her previous life. The first time it happened, she told Xiang Pu and the girls to find another place to put the water tank, so that the people in the East Chamber would not have access to it.

   It was a lot of work for the girls, so I won't go into details, but all in all it was over. When the East Wing saw that the West Wing was on the defensive, they didn't do anything else.

   It's no wonder they're so happy now that they don't have to see the East Wing day in and day out.

The house was also bigger than before, and one supposes it was because the Prince had told him to, that Zhang Laishun had put Pan'er in the main room instead of either the east and west wings.

   Because of this, Pan'er felt a bit bad and hesitated for a while before calling Zhang Laishun to ask him about it.

   Zhang Laishun, Fu Lu's godson, was serving beside the prince and recieved lot of respect in the Eastern Palace. Usually, he did not look at people with his nose in the air, nor was he that kind, but now he was full of smiles, the smiles were almost coming out of his eyes, and he was half-bending to talk back to Pan'er.

   "In reply to mistress fengyi's words, this is what Eunuch Fu personally ordered, saying that you have a lot of books and I'm afraid that the siderooms won't be able to accommodate them. Besides, the prince often comes to your place, so it will be more comfortable for him if you have a spacious room. It just so happens that Eunuch Fu can still make some decisions on this matter, so he took care of it."

   Pan'er didn't believe him, if the Crown Prince hadn't given the word, Eunuch Fu Lu would have been cautious and not dared to do so. But since the Prince had arranged everything, she didn't dwell on it.

   "The furnishings in this room were all placed by the servants in the past few days. If Su Fengyi feels that they are not good, it is fine to change them. You see here ...... this curtain is what the prince personally picked, and this vase ......"

   Zhang Laishun led Pan'er on a tour of all the rooms.

   The main room is still three rooms with two side rooms, but because it is two rooms deep, it is larger than the previous west wing.

The east room was still used as a study, but a sitting area was also built outside, separated by a ceiling and a flower screen, with a kang bed at the window and several chairs and a flower table beside the kang bed.

In the west room, there is a side room, as well as a second room for sitting, and in the inside is a bedroom with a black lacquer inlaid bed with flowers and birds, a dressing table, a desk and a wardrobe, all inlaid with black lacquer and inlaid with shells and decorated with flowers, all of which are elegant and noble.

   Before the door and the bed, there is a screen, inlaid with black lacquer and embroidered with flowers of the four seasons, which does not block the light but prevents people from seeing the bed directly.

The inner room was divided into two small compartments on the right side, one for the bath and the other for the bathroom, and also space for storing things.

   Zhang Laishun waited for Pan'er to say that she was satisfied, after all, she  not atechnically did not have the rank to afford to live in such a room with such rare things.

When Zhang Laishun was leaving, she asked Bai Jue to give him a gift of twenty taels of silver.

   When all the irrelevant people had left, Xiang Pu was finally able to show her joy.

   Every now and then she could be heard exclaiming her joy as she was looking around the house and yard, and every now and then she would return to tell Pan'er that the back room was bigger than before, and that there was a special place for storage. There was also a small kitchen where they could probably make some food in the future.

   Pan'er, who was used to even more lusxury, was in a surprisingly good mood.

   Thinking about what he said last night, she wondered if the prince was just coaxing her.

   On the other hand, Zhang Laishun went back to the prince and told him that Su Fengyi liked the new house and had given him a reward of 20 taels of silver.

   This was a very generous reward for the palace.

   The prince thought that she really liked the new house, but he also thought that, as a fengyi, she only received a few dozen taels of silver a year. After thinking about it, he asked Zhang Laishun to send a small box of gold and silver ingots to her, with special instructions not to make a big fuss about it.

   The house had just been changed, and now the silver was sent to her, so she was very happy that Pan'er was not short of silver.

   Aunt Qing and the others saw her touching the box of gold and silver ingots and couldn't let go of them, so they all knew that their master was happy at the moment, and they were all smiling.

   Xiang Pu was a naughty girl, so she came over to Pan Er and asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch.

   Pan'er ordered a few dishes and graciously grabbed a handful of silver ingots from the box and handed them to her, asking her to take them to share among the others and use the rest for ordering food from the kitchens.

[wangsejabin]

Yingchong chapter 30

He must be getting back at her!

   Pan'er was angry in her heart, but was a bit abashed when she thought of the soup she had given him earlier. Since he hadn't said anything and had just told her to practise her writing, so be it. Maybe if he was happy and forgot what she had done, wouldn't she have managed to clear the hurdle?

   Although Pan'er had been quite firm when she had asked for the soup to be delivered, she was more or less afraid that he would be angry with her, but now that he had taken it lightly, Pan'er was willing to go along with it.

   After writing a few large letters, it was getting late.

The prince read them, but did not say anything, although he had a few criticisms. Today, Pan'er was surprisingly honest and attentive, and when the prince washed up, she was busy, just about doing it herself.

The two of them changed into their bedclothes and went up to the bed.

   Pan'er lay quietly, extraordinarily well-behaved.

   The Prince was amused by her and sat up to look at her, "Why are you so honest today?"

   She blinked and said shyly, "I have always been a good girl."

   "Honest?" The Prince murmured, pulling her over.

Pan'er's bedclothes were newly made, with a waist-hugging blouse on top and a pair of thin silk, wide-legged trousers underneath. It was nice and cool, but when it was cold, it was inevitably chilly. The waist of the trousers was so low that they hung precariously over the hips, revealing a small waist, which made the small breasts bulge and the small buttocks stand out.

The Prince smacked his hand smoothly on the buttocks, "And what was the meaning of that soup you brought me today?"

   Here it comes.

It wasn't as if Pan'er didn't have a way of responding, blinking innocently, "What's wrong with that soup? It is said to be most nourishing and good for men in particular."

   "Good for men?" The prince murmured, exasperated, and struck again.

Pan covered her buttocks with a look of grievance.

He rubbed his hand smoothly over it and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Aren't you saying that I've been suffering a loss by not coming to your courtyard these past few days, with the meat cistanche and the lamb loin, what do you intend to do?"

   Well, that was what Pan'er meant.

   But she didn't dare to say that, she just hung her head and didn't say anything.

   The prince had no choice but to pull her to him and said softly, "Didn't you say you didn't want to be a target?"

Yes, she said so and thought so in her heart, but in her heart she did not want to feel that way, so she was being reckless. In her previous life she had never been so reckless, but also when she saw that he treated her differently, she also just wanted to be a little reckless ......

   "I won't dare to do it again."

The prince had the intention of pursuing punishment, but when he saw her delicate and timid appearance, he thought to himself that such a young girl, who was not yet mature, did not have the willfulness and recklessness expected of her age, and that she actually understood things very well.

   The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are doing.

   "Really?"

   She asked, suddenly energized and wrapped her arms around his neck.

   "Would I lie to you?"

       "Really?"

   She asked, suddenly energized and wrapped her arms around his neck.

   "Could I have lied to you?"

Pan'er was delighted, knowing what the Prince's words meant, and she couldn't help but smile when she was happy. Pressing her cheek lovingly against his, she pouted, "Then what if I miss you every day?"

   This really stumped the Prince.

   When Pan'er saw that he didn't say anything, he knew the logic of taking what he could get.

   "Actually, I don't want Master to come and spend the night with me every day, it's just that I occasionally think of Master during the day. Okay, okay, then I won't think about it every day, can I think about it every two days?"

Such a small, delicate, soft and charming girl said she wanted to think of him, but was afraid of embarrassing herself by saying that she would not think of him every day, but once every two days. The prince's heart was stirred, aching and happy, all in all, it was very complicated.

In response to this remark, Pan'er really acted as a real tease afterwards.

Although the Prince had made great progress, he was still no match for her. The two of them tossed and turned until midnight, when they rested.

   It seemed that the stewed lamb's loin with cistanches was indeed a great tonic, and it had made His Highness's virility flourish.

If the prince knew that the young brat dared to think so, he would have kicked the brat into the sea.

   ---

   A man who had not intended to come, came.

   A man who didn't want to say anything, but did.

   Something seemed to be different, and the next morning when he woke up, Pan'er was extra clingy. This was evident in the way she hooked onto the Prince's belt, unable to let go of it for half a day, her watery eyes looking at him, wanting to say something.

When the prince said he would stay for breakfast, Pan'er burst into smiles and went in and out to arrange for the breakfast to be prepared.

After the meal was finished, it was getting late and even if the Prince didn't leave, Pan'er had to go to Jidetang to pay her respects.

   "Well, I'll come over at noon to dine with you." Rubbing her hand, the Crown Prince said.

With this promise, Pan'er finally stopped tugging and holding onto him, and after sending the Crown Prince away, she busied herself with dressing up to go to Jidetang.

When she arrived, there were already people standing outside the door, He Liangyuan, and Liu Chenghui and Ma Chenghui. Xu Liangyuan was not there, but her personal palace maid, Jinping, was standing outside. Only later did Pan'er learn that the Crown Princess had vomited so much early in the morning that Xu Liangyuan had gone in to serve her in the morning.

   The palace maids and eunuchs went in and out, and there was no one to greet them, so several of them could only continue to stand.

The first time she came out, she went in again, carrying a basin of hot water and a handkerchief.

   But the Crown Princess is unusual in the first three months of pregnancy, so maybe it's delayed?

He Liangyuan seemed a bit annoyed during this period, looking inside from time to time, and then at Pan'er and Liu and Ma, but mostly at Pan'er, seemingly condemning her for being able to stand still.

Pan'er smiled bitterly in her heart. Whether the Crown Princess was really pregnant or faking it, or whether she was deliberately trying to hang her out to dry, this was no justification for her to throw her face away and leave.

She didn't have that kind of status either. Just a little low-ranked fengyi.

   At that moment, Fuqiu walked out with Xu Liangyuan.

Xu Liangyuan's face was a little pale, and she seemed to be very tired, He Liangyuan sneered at her but didn't say anything.

Fu Qiu said, "The Crown Princess is not feeling well, so I will not keep you all today." With that, she nodded to Xu Liangyuan and walked back inside.

   On the way back, Pan'er was still thinking, could it be that the Crown Princess was really not feeling well?

   Soon Xiao De Zi brought the latest news that Jidetang had invited the Imperial Doctor.

It seemed that she was really not well.

   --

There was an air of depression in the Hall of Virtue.

It wasn't really the vomiting that was serious for the Crown Princess, but the blood she had seen the other day. The day the Prince turned his head and went to Pan'er's courtyard, the Crown Princess didn't say anything at the time, but in the middle of the night she started to bleed.

Chen-mama said she wanted to call the Imperial physician.

The next day, the bleeding stopped, and the Crown Princess did not feel any pain, so the matter of asking for a doctor was dropped.

The Crown Princess is very proud, so how could she reveal her weakness in front of everyone? What would it be if word got out? One feared that the Crown Prince would not believe it, but would think that the Crown Princess had done it deliberately.

Chen-mama was so distressed that she wanted to eat Pan'er's flesh and blood, so it appeared to Pan'er that the Crown Princess had been leaving them to sit on the chairs in the reception hall for a while on purpose, but in fact the Crown Princess was in bed to nurse her baby.

But the weather is already hot, the Crown Princess has a poor appetite and was vomiting, so this pregnancy is not well, and instead the Crown Princess is getting worse and worse. The two times she bled, she had a night of tossing and turning last night, and she couldn't take it anymore, so she called the doctor.

   But all this was not known to Pan'er, she only heard Xiao Dezi say that Jidetang seemed to have burned moxa, and was in shock.

   In her previous life, nothing like this had happened, the Crown Princess had been safe and sound until she went into labour.

   Because of this, the Crown Prince had promised to come over for dinner, and Pan'er didn't think much of it. The Prince Consort was in such a state, how could the Prince be so preoccupied with his concubine and not with his wife?

In his mind, Pan'er thought that after this incident, the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess could not go on, and in any case, the Crown Princess was the Crown Prince's wife.

   In the Hall of Virtue, the Crown Princess is lying on a couch with a pale face.

   The room was filled with the strong smell of mugwort leaves, which did not smell good and could even be said to be smoky.

   The prince sat in front of the couch, his eyes deep in thought as he looked at her.

   How could this be the case when they were supposed to be husband and wife? The prince thought and thought, but could not come up with an answer.

   The Crown Princess at this moment was undoubtedly vulnerable, having shed her usual mask, she was in fact nothing more than a pale and haggard woman.

   "Your Highness, I don't know what I have done wrong, if I have done wrong, will you tell me? Instead of this ......" said the Crown Princess, somewhat agitated.

   The crown prince held her down and patted her arm, "Don't think too much, take care of your body."

   "But ......"

"You heard what the doctor said, if you continue like this, it is likely that this baby cannot be kept. Don't think too much, take care of your health, I will visit you when I have time."

   It seemed that this last sentence soothed the Crown Princess and she finally calmed down and lay back down again. She seemed extremely tired, and her half-closed eyes gradually closed as she went to sleep.

   Chen-mama wiped her tears at her side, and the Prince sat there with a frown on his face for a while, then got up and left.

   In the west courtyard, Hu Liangdi, who is pregnant, is tending to a pot of gardenias.

   The leaves are green and densely packed in one place, dotted with a few flower buds, and although they are only in bud, they already have a fresh fragrance.

   Hu Liangdi was holding a pair of sharp scissors, cutting the excess green leaves with a click, and after hearing the report from the people below, she snorted, her red lips slightly hooked: "What a bargain for her."

   "No, let the servant say that the Crown Princess is pretending, this is because she cannot find a step to step down and is finding a step for herself, showing weakness to the Crown Prince in different ways." The palace maid Ruyan said, seemingly quite unashamed of commenting on the Crown Princess's matters.

Hu Liangdi only laughed and did not say anything, her eyes were dark and one could not tell what she was thinking.

   In a short time, the pot of flowers was trimmed, Hu Liangdi moved her feet and looked around, seeing the symmetry of the flower branches, the gardenia that was not elegant was trimmed by her to create a taste of elegance, so she nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, whether she's faking it or is truly really not well, it is all smoked up and obviously making a lot of noise. If that's the case, what's the chance," she said, plucking a bud from the slender fingers of her burning cardamom and resting it on the tip of her nose to sniff it. Hu Liangdi's eyes twinkled and she smiled, "Go and ask Liu Chenghui to tell her that she gave the Third Princess that set of clothes last time and that the Third Princess liked it very much.

   "Yes."

[fraactals]

ying chong ch 90

Actually, there was one more thing that struck at the heart of the matter.

Pan’er did not want to say it. Because those words were far too outrageous.

All you had to do was stop loving him.

As long as you did not love him, you could fulfill everything expected of your position. You could calmly compete for his favor, employ whatever methods were necessary, and make him like you even more because you were sensible and considerate.

Some voice seemed to roar in her ear.

It was the final thing Empress Chen had said in her previous life before being imprisoned in the Cold Palace, “…You think he truly dotes on you? You’re wrong. In his heart there is only his empire—only the realm under Heaven¹. He favors you only for the sake of that empire and realm. Do you think you’ve really won? You’re wrong! I’ll wait. I’ll live to see you lose just as completely as I have. I’ll keep watching… forever…”

it's both right and wrong, which is what makes it so hard. i'm convinced in this life one reason he loves her more than he did in the past life is because from the beginning he could detect some aspect of sincerity of how she thought about him, some feeling of affection for him she brought over from the previous life. (in her past life she was so foolish i think that that foolishness could be regarded as form of sincerity which also made him desire to protect her a little. she didn't really move into his heart until much later, though)

but while sincerity is important, she does have to care less, too, that's what makes it so hard. she has to pretend not to know, and to do that she often prefers not to know, or lies to herself. the genuine feelings are constantly being renegotiated, suppressed, hampered by the reality around them

i'm all caught up again and waiting on tenterhooks because apparently the crown prince overheard and is now very angry!

[fraactals]

ying chong ch 74 one of the things i find beautiful about this story is that it explores all the crevices of her previous life and casts new understanding particularly on her beloved in this case, the understanding is for the reader. until now, we too have regarded her survival as being mostly a matter of luck and her own cleverness. but she herself, turns out, has a different assessment:

In her previous life, outsiders who had nothing to do with her would mention the Empress Dowager and always assume that anyone who could rise to such a position must be a woman of deep schemes and ruthless methods. Many people would tremble before they had even met her, and after meeting her, naturally, they behaved even more obediently, like quails.

But if Pan’er honestly examined herself, she did not think she was particularly formidable. Her ability to make it all the way to the end might have been because she was lucky; perhaps she understood very well how to stay alive by keeping a low profile. But another part of it was Emperor Jianping’s intentional or unintentional protection.

She had not been able to sense it at the time. But later, when she occasionally looked quietly back over those several decades, she realized that without his protection, she might have disappeared long ago. As for remaining in the palace all those years, believing she had been hiding quietly in a corner, living cautiously and blooming silently while attracting the appreciation of those who loved flowers…

That was all a joke.

Looking back at the methods she had used to preserve her life back then, they were actually so clumsy that one could hardly bear to look at them. During those final ten years, Pan’er had often wanted to ask him what he had thought of how foolish she had been when she was young. Unfortunately, she had never managed to ask that question from beginning to end.

what did he see in her then, before he even favored her? did he treat her coldly precisely to help preserve her life and her son's? we will never know but we can speculate anew and will pan'er and emperor jianping ever get to a place where she would ask him such blunt questions, in this blessed reborn life? i don't know! i doubt he will ever be less of a traditionalist (unlike his son, who married a woman he regarded as an equal). but he is also clearly already not the same man as before

[fraactals]

ying chong ch 71 As for why she was examining them so carefully, it was because she desperately wanted to see whether there were any traces of her eldest son, Zong Yue, from her previous life in the little boy.

Perhaps being given a second life was simply too fantastical. Pan’er was always somewhat uncertain about things that had not happened in her previous life, especially those events that had diverged from their original trajectory. Ever since she had been pregnant, she had secretly been afraid: what would she do if she failed to give birth to Yue’er? i am delighted the story actually went here, especially since she's giving birth to her son years early (though i'm pretty sure the author will not be cruel enough to deny us zong yue since this was written as a 'prequel' to his book!)

[fraactals]

ying chong ch 36

so as usual i actually read on my phone, but i specifically went back to find this passage (and ended up making those other posts). finally found it!

When the Crown Prince departed, he had glanced at her once. Outside the gates of Jide Hall, he stood some distance away, gazing up at the moon overhead. The moonlight remained hazy.

Yet when Pan’er looked at him now, all the fear she had felt earlier had vanished. Only heartache remained.

Not for herself.

For the Crown Prince.

At this point, he was still not the Emperor Jianping of the future. He was only a man in his twenties. He had not yet grown into the sovereign who would later command every situation with flawless imperial calculation.

In her previous life, whenever Pan’er watched Emperor Jianping handle affairs, she had always thought him too calm, too cold-blooded.

She often wondered how he had become that sort of man.

Had he simply been born that way?

Soon she realised how naïve that thought had been.

No one was born like that. Such composure could only have been forged through countless years and countless experiences.

In her previous life, she had never had the chance to witness that process.

When facing Emperor Jianping, she had sincerely admired him, deliberately acted before him, intentionally sought to please him—yet beneath all that…she had also feared him.

Even during their later years together, when they had lived much like an ordinary married couple and he had cherished her deeply, the impression formed over those previous decades had left a fear rooted deep within her bones.

She feared his imperial statecraft. She feared he might suddenly turn against her. She feared everything might merely be another move in some grand design. She feared that one day, without warning, he would simply cast her aside.

Yet now…

By the cruel whim of fate, she had returned several decades into the past. Standing beneath this same sky, looking at the young Crown Prince before her, all she felt was heartache.

So: when he was young, even he could be troubled by such seemingly small matters.

He could quarrel with his wife out of pride. He could feel helpless. He could grieve over the tragic suicide of one of his concubines.

And yet, for the sake of the greater picture, he could only endure it all in silence.

!!! it's so romantic. with the wisdom of her previous life, she sees him more clearly than she could without it. it was cruel of fate to return her here, but it's also beautiful because she finally gets to see the layers underneath the polish he carried in his previous life, to understand him in ways she didn't get to back then because she herself was too fearful and young