Rebirth of the Treacherous Official’s Madam

In the several days after, the interesting matters of the capital increasingly rose one after another.

Firstly, as the number of liangyuan in Wu Wang Manor and Wei Wang Manor gradually reduced, someone once again submitted a memorandum, feeling that having all the selected candidates aside from the main consort all conferred into liangyuan, and then wait for the first to give birth before promoting as the side consort, this method, wasn’t too appropriate.

This method appeared as if fair, but in reality, it was still intentionally trying to cover up the problems and confusion brought about by the inappropriateness of the imperial selection banquet. To put it bluntly, it was just the central palace’s incompetence that brought disaster to the official young ladies.

This kind of matter, if it were to happen in an ordinary upper class family, the madam of the house inviting other families’ young ladies over to look over, yet an unexpected accident occurred, resulting in many official young ladies falling into the water, then the way to handle this matter will certainly be focused on compensating the young ladies, and not dishonoring them.

Although serving the imperial family is the subject’s duty, and becoming a prince’s side consort was also one of the possible fate that these young ladies originally might face, but entering to serve as a liangyuan, and waiting to give birth in order to have the opportunity to become a side consort, this path sounded more like the path of a concubine or even tongfang in noble or official families. It truly can’t be said to be that glorious.

To put it even more bluntly, this memorandum practically can be considered as the Imperial Censorate’s veiled accusation of misconduct, stating that during the imperial selection, Empress Wen made careless mistakes, causing disorder, resulting in the official young ladies getting startled and getting injured first, then afterwards, Xuan Emperor’s way of handling the matter was inappropriate, sacrificing the official young ladies’ future just for the sake of covering up the empress’s incompetence.

That very night this memorandum was put forward by the Imperial Censorate, Empress Wen in Zhaoyang Hall just had a relapse, headaching, heartaching, feeling weak all over. Half of the Imperial Physicians Court examined for several days yet still weren’t able to come to a verdict, only able to ask Empress Wen to properly rest.

Upon the imperial court, Xuan Emperor was extremely embarrassed. The wording of this memorandum of advisal, although appeared reserved, the actual meaning was even more serious than the meaning previously, when the Prime Minister, the Ying Duke, mentioned that he has overly favored Li Consort, to the extent that it has caused disharmony between the wife and concubine.

After all, regardless of how disharmonious the wife and concubine were, it ultimately was still just matters of the imperial harem. To put it bluntly, it was just his Majesty’s own household affairs. It was just that with the incident of the white blade entering and the red blade exiting, with Changchun Palace’s life and death hanging on the line, as well as blood spilling three feet in Zhaoyang Hall, the cabinet ministers truly were unable to keep watching, thus persuading a little.

But, the matter at present, with the princes’ marriage arrangements and the official daughters suffering a disaster, it didn’t just involve his own wife, concubines, and children, but also those young ladies of high officials and even noble families. Even if Xuan Emperor and Empress Wen were the most esteemed couple in the world, they still can’t completely disregard their reputation in life and after death.

Of course, there were also those that supported Xuan Emperor, on one hand questioning why the Imperial Censorate didn’t raise this memorandum earlier, only mentioning these now when the wedding date has already been set, and the Shangwu Bureau has begun making the documents. And on the other hand, they also expressed that although this situation isn’t favorable, it has already been brought about. For the emperor and empress to handle it in this way, it’s already benevolent and fair, and considering for those young ladies’ reputation.

The two sides fiercely disputed for two days, memorandum after memorandum, arguing endlessly during court discussions, from the conferment problem of Wu Wang’s and Wei Wang’s liangyuan going back all the way to the source, arguing back to why was the imperial selection method used to pick consorts for the princes in the first place, as well as why suddenly need to arrange marriages for all the princes, then back to whether or not they should discuss about establishing the crown prince, as well as the relationship between the wife and concubines in Xuan Emperor’s own imperial harem.

At this time now, the inner cabinet also needed to express their stance, although it was very much trying to smooth things over as usual. Aside from expressing that although conferring a large batch of liangyuan was indeed inappropriate, his Majesty also has his difficulties——the old foxes of the cabinet still standing on neutral grounds——-they also slightly mentioned the matter about establishing the crown prince, as well as the difference between the di and shu.

The meaning implied in trying to calm the dispute was just, in any case, the side consort and liangyuan were all concubines, so for the young ladies that were willing to be a side consort, they actually don’t need to insist on complaining about the liangyuan status. But, the imperial selection this time causing this many concubines to be selected all of sudden indeed was due to the incompetence of Xuan Emperor’s current di wife. This bit cannot be denied. It can be seen, although the order of superiority between the di and shu was important, the matter of abilities sometimes have nothing to do with status.

The meaning in the former half actually gave Xuan Emperor a bit of a relief, but the latter half’s blatant criticism made Zhaoyang Hall nearly call for the Imperial Physicians Court again.

In the following next day, right when all levels of society from top to bottom were still enthusiastically discussing, when the families of those soon-to-be wangfei and soon-to-be side consorts and liangyuan were all busily running around, amidst the empress’s repeated fainting in Zhaoyang Hall, and the Imperial Physicians Court from top to bottom all trembling in fear, waiting to be called on, not knowing whether or not they will once again work overtime through the night, the old Jin Duke that was over seventy years old, along with his son, the Jin Duke heir Ming Yunji, that held an idle post, attended court and submitted a memorandum.

The contents of the memorandum were very direct, asking Xuan Emperor to retract the decree that had Ming Jinrou bestowed in marriage to Qin Wang. The reason was that Empress Wen had directly humiliated Ming Jinrou, lifting up her own maiden family’s niece, Wen Ruoyao. At present, the wedding rites still haven’t been carried out, yet Empress Wen can already disregard the ranks like this, letting the concubines and main wife receive the bestowments together in the palace. In the future, after marrying, Ming Jinrou’s dignity as the main wife won’t have any guarantee, thus asking Xuan Emperor to look on behalf of the Ming family’s sacrifices for the country and take pity, granting a favor, letting Ming Jinrou go, and not disgrace a Ming clan daughter like this.

TN: All translations outside of are stolen and reposted without permission!

The Wen’an Marquis Xun Nanheng also followed up with a memorandum at the same time, expressing that his own madam and daughter-in-law were both present that day at the imperial selection banquet, witnessing the empress’s inability to adapt to changes, and also witnessed on the fifth of the ninth month, how Ming Jinrou received no honor in Zhaoyang Hall. Although still having reverence for the empress, they are still worried about the harmony of the imperial descendants’ back manor in the future.

Xuan Emperor was just angered to the point of changing face on the spot. The day Ming Jinrou entered the palace, he had also added to her dowry. At the time, Qin Wang and Xun Che just happened to be before him, discussing about the defenses, mentioning Ming Jincheng’s recent training of the army, also casually mentioning in passing how Ming Jinrou had entered the palace and so on. But, Xuan Emperor merely just mentioned adding to her dowry randomly and didn’t ask in detail about the womenfolk on Empress Wen’s side, thinking that it was merely just a formality of adding honor, so what problems can there be?

Especially afterwards, when Qin Wang personally brought Ming Jinrou over, the two of them were both proper and orderly in front of him, deferentially abiding by etiquette, not saying a single excessive word. Xuan Emperor at the time was still entirely thinking about the defenses, so just randomly gave a few jade artifacts for his future eldest daughter-in-law’s dowry before letting her go.

How could he have thought that even something like this, Empress Wen can also mess up to the point of making the Jin Duke Manor and Wen’an Marquis Manor simultaneously submit memorandums accusing of misconduct. At once, he immediately just ordered someone to go to the inner palace to reprimand the empress. At the same time, he also pacified the Jin Duke father and son pair with good words, promising that Ming Jinrou’s position and honor as Qin Wangfei will certainly be unwaverable.

After all, among the three princes, Qin Wang’s marriage arrangement was already, relatively speaking, the most stable and without changes. The situation on Wu Wang’s and Wei Wang’s side now were already like riding a tiger, unable to get off halfway, already making Xuan Emperor, as the father, feel too ashamed to face the ancestors. If Qin Wang’s marriage were to have any other major changes too, the imperial family really won’t have any face left.

Thus, on the tenth of the ninth month, after the imperial court went through several days of chaotic battles and all kinds of debates, the Jin Duke Manor held the hairpin ceremony for Ming Jinrou, whose wedding was near at hand, with the Prime Minister Ying Duke’s wife, Madam Lou, as the guest of honor, and Duanyi Xianzhu, Cheng Yanling, as the hairpin bearer. Xuan Emperor personally selected sixteen gifts to bestow and add honor. Grand Elder Princess Zhaoning personally showed up in attendance, and the rest of the noble guests and gifts were also like running water. It can be said that Ming Jinrou’s hairpin ceremony was grand and ceremonious, surpassing all the noble daughters of the same generation in the capital. Even the daughters of the imperial clan were also somewhat unable to compare.

In comparison, Wen Ruoyao and Deng Zizhi who similarly will marry into Qin Wang Manor together with Ming Jinrou on the fifteenth of the ninth month, their hairpin ceremony was just a hundred times more simple. The Deng family was still a little better. After all, entering the palace and whatnot, it was all just following imperial orders. Although there were also inappropriate areas, there was still leeway to shift the blame, so they were merely just a bit more cautious and careful. Amidst their increasingly intense envy and resentment towards the Ming family, they invited the Chang’de Countess as the guest of honor and Qi Pei as the hairpin bearer, simply carrying out the ceremony for Deng Zizhi during a family banquet.

But, for the Wen family, it was just very unpleasant. Empress Wen was already once again unable to lift her head before Xuan Emperor because of the disputes regarding Wu Wang’s and Wei Wang’s liangyuans. By the time the Ming family and Xun family passed up memorandums at the same time to stand up for Ming Jinrou, Zhaoyang Hall was just like as if suffering a bolt from the blue.

Previously, where it was just partially pretending to be sick in bed, instantly just turned into genuinely falling ill. When listening to Xuan Emperor’s oral decree reprimanding her, Empress Wen was practically shaking the whole time, unable to even cry.

On one hand, she instinctively felt that the skies were changing again in the palace, and on the other hand, she completely didn’t understand. Didn’t she just let two side consorts enter the palace to talk and bestow some things? This kind of matter, it’s not like the previous dynasties didn’t have before. Which main consort didn’t just quietly endure, which family would dare to ask the emperor in court to take back the marriage decree?

Moreover, the Ming family and Xun family becoming hostile like this, could it be that they don’t know that Zhaoyang Hall and Qin Wang were as one? If she, this Central Palace Empress, were to collapse, Qin Wang will certainly hate Ming Jinrou to death. Could it be that the Ming family would rather have face than care for their daughter’s days in the future? Besides, if Zhaoyang Hall falls, Changchun Palace certainly will be pleased. If Li Consort, along with Wu Wang and Wei Wang, were to rise in power, what kind of good end can the Ming family and Xun family have?!

All in all, these thoughts disorderly tangled into a lump in Empress Wen’s mind, to the extent that when she was listening to Xuan Emperor’s oral decree that followed-up afterwards, wanting Zhaoyang Hall to suspend the central palace’s duties, and additionally have Wen Ruoyao demoted from a side consort to a liangyuan, she was somewhat unable to think clearly, just getting supported by the palace maids amidst the waves of dizziness to get examined by the imperial physicians that were destined to work overtime.

But, the people of the Wen family were able to understand these decrees that came one after another. Wen Ruoqiong was originally just weak to begin with. Towards becoming Wei Wangfei, she also didn’t have any joy. After getting startled at that imperial selection banquet, she has been recuperating this whole time, finally recovering a little in the ninth month, yet just heard Empress Wen getting reprimanded again, becoming even more scared inside, not knowing what her path will be like in the future as Wei Wangfei.

As for Wen Ruoyao, after hearing that she got demoted before even marrying, she just buried her head and cried for three days straight before gradually settling down. The Wen family at this time already didn’t have the jubilation of preparing to marry off their two daughters. If not for the Ministry of Rites and Zongjing Bureau rushing them, even this hairpin ceremony that must be held prior to the wedding, they were all too lazy to hold. But, the ceremonial rites ultimately have rules. The Wen family dragged out until the twelfth of the ninth month before simply holding it for Wen Ruoyao.

And at this time, the wedding preparations on the Ming family’s side were also more or less done. Because Ming Jinrou’s mother was already deceased, these preparations couldn’t be done without Ming Huayue and Yu Lingxin’s help.

In the ten or so days from front to back, they were running back and forth between the Jin Duke Manor and Wen’an Marquis Manor. Ming Huayue has practiced martial arts since childhood, her body’s foundation being much better, so still able to hold up.

But Yu Lingxin was just a bit weaker in comparison. Especially, while helping Ming Jinrou prepare for the wedding arrangements, she also needed to balance the Wen’an Marquis Manor’s own internal affairs, even having the old madam’s side at the Jade Peak Villa causing a bit of trouble from time to time. No matter how capable Yu Lingxin was, it was inevitable for her to be tired.

Especially considering that her period was in the middle of the month to begin with, yet on the thirteenth of the ninth month, this day, it nevertheless came early. All of a sudden, her stomach ached as if it was twisted into a knot, her forehead filled with cold sweat. Originally, she was thinking of enduring until she finished instructing a few urgent matters before returning to Qingyu Pavilion to rest, but the moment she walked out of Yuli Hall, everything before her eyes suddenly went dark, completely passing out………….

T/N: This author is very good at storytelling, but their grammar is such a mess. A lot of times, it gives me so much word constipation when translating.