Chapter 12 First Victory
1550 Words
Part 1
"Lin Xi, you only understand part of it. If time goes on, he will surely lose patience. But the women in the harem all flatter and fawn over him. If I just follow suit, he’ll lose interest in me within days. It’s like a child getting a clay doll—if his mother gives it to him right away, he’ll be bored with it after a few days. But if it’s something he waited a long time to get, won’t he cherish it more?"
Lin Xi added, "But I fear that if we refuse visitors, we’ll offend quite a few people."
Rongrong said, "If the emperor visits every day, those flatterers who had nothing to do with me before will start showing up daily. But those who truly care about me will keep their distance to avoid suspicion, perhaps only sending a maid to check in. This way, we’ll clearly see who’s genuine and who’s not."
Sure enough, the emperor came to Duanyang Palace the next day. Hearing that Rongrong was sick with a cold and couldn't see him, he left reluctantly, instructing Huang Changzheng to deliver a huge pile of ginseng supplements. The second and third days passed with Rongrong still refusing to see him. By the fourth and fifth days, it took two whole cups of tea before the emperor would leave.
While attending to her, Ling’er said, “If Your Ladyship doesn’t get better soon, this palace will be overflowing with ginseng and deer antler!”
Rongrong smiled and asked Lin Xi, "How have the other palaces reacted?"
Lin Xi replied, "The Empress came to visit you a few days ago, bringing along Consort Hui and Virtuous Concubine Jin. Since then, she sends someone daily. Consort En personally came the first two days, but now that the emperor comes daily, she only sends her maid Ruoyun. Talented Lady Yue naturally visits every day to take care of you. All other consorts have come daily in person—except for Beauty Li, who hasn’t visited or sent anyone at all."
Rongrong now had a good idea of things. "Has His Majesty grown impatient?"
“At first, he was very impatient and even scolded the imperial doctors for their incompetence. But lately, he doesn’t seem annoyed. In fact, he appears quite worried about you.”
Rongrong quickly thought through her options and said, "Tell Xiao Lizi and Xiao Dong to prepare. Before His Majesty comes tomorrow, have several buckets of boiling water ready and a piece of fine silk cloth with tight weaving."
Part 2
Rongrong quickly instructed, “Tell Xiao Lizi and Xiao Dong to have boiling water ready before the emperor comes tomorrow. Prepare a fine silk cloth—it must be tightly woven.”
“Yes,” the palace staff replied and left to carry out her orders.
The next morning, the maids boiled two large pots of water. Xiao Lizi and Xiao Dong brought the buckets into Rongrong’s room, while Ling’er and Xia Lan used the silk cloth to enclose her and the buckets. The steaming heat quickly drenched her in sweat. Lin Xi, while wiping her face, grew anxious and said, “Your Ladyship, if you can’t stand it, come out.”
Everyone urged her to come out, but Rongrong endured the sweltering heat, leaving only her eyes and nose exposed as she breathed lightly. Suddenly, they heard Xiao Lizi outside anxiously say, “Your Majesty, please wait! Her Ladyship is unwell and cannot receive guests now.” Then came the sound of him kowtowing frantically. But his words failed to stop the emperor, who pushed open the door and said before anyone could bow, “No need for formalities—be careful not to worsen her cold.”
Rongrong said, “Please forgive my discourtesy, Your Majesty. I am currently using steam therapy to expel the chill from my body. If I stop halfway, it may all be for nothing.”
He replied, “At a time like this, you still care about such formalities? Steam therapy may be fast, but it's dangerous. A slight mistake could make your condition worse. I feared you might faint.”
Rongrong felt inwardly pleased, but she replied humbly, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I heard from the maids that you’ve been worried about my health. It’s my unworthy body that failed me. If I don’t expel this cold, I don’t know when I’ll recover. I did this because I didn’t want to worry Your Majesty with our inability to meet daily. So I hastily resorted to this clumsy method. Once I sweat it out, I’ll bathe with the physician’s herbal remedies, and I should be fine.”
“You silly girl! Is your health worth so little, just to ease my mind?” the emperor said, filled with affection.
Rongrong chuckled foolishly, “I’m too dim-witted to think of another way.”
As expected, after her bath, Rongrong’s complexion turned rosy, and her energy returned. The emperor was overjoyed and ordered the palace kitchen to prepare light porridge and vegetarian dishes to eat with her.
Part 3
As expected, after her bath, Rongrong’s complexion turned rosy, and her spirits lifted. The emperor was delighted and asked the palace kitchen to prepare porridge and vegetarian dishes to share with her.
At the meal, Lin Xi was overjoyed and knelt to thank the emperor. “Your Majesty’s great fortune has brought our lady recovery. She hasn’t been able to eat anything these past few days—now it seems she’s truly recovering.”
In a great mood, the emperor rewarded everyone with three months of silver and instructed them to take extra care in serving Rongrong.
Her body gradually recovered, and her appetite improved. The emperor constantly found ways to amuse her and help her heal faster.
That day, as the snow melted, Rongrong was in excellent spirits. Enxi came to visit and invited Talented Lady Yue to join them in the imperial garden.
The group happily admired the flowers and drank tea. Suddenly, a shrill voice called out, “Oh? The sickly beauty dares come out and sunbathe?”
Dressed in vibrant colors with a beautiful face—it was Beauty Li.
The three women stood up and greeted her, “Greetings to Beauty Li.”
She sat leisurely in the pavilion, not allowing them to rise. “Just a few days ago, Sister Rong was too sick to get out of bed. And now, she has the strength to enjoy flowers?”
Enxi wanted to retort, but Rongrong tugged her sleeve and addressed Beauty Li, “Your Ladyship is correct. I truly was bedridden a few days ago. Thanks to His Majesty’s protection, I’ve begun to recover.”
“Calling yourself a servant? How amusing. Doesn’t the emperor mind that you call yourself that? That’s what concubines who haven’t yet shared the emperor’s bed call themselves. Yet the emperor comes to your palace daily and hasn’t… Oh, hahahaha...”
She burst into unrestrained laughter and clearly refused to let them rise.
Her words were so blunt that everyone’s face turned red with embarrassment. Talented Lady Yue couldn’t help but stand and say, “That’s because His Majesty truly cares for Sister Rong. Since you know she hasn’t shared the bed yet, but the emperor visits her daily, perhaps you shouldn’t pick on her like this. His Majesty wouldn’t be pleased if he knew.”
Rongrong and Enxi tried to stop her, but it was too late. Beauty Li’s face turned red and white with fury. “How dare you! Guards! Beat this insolent wretch—beat her hard!”
Part 4
Rongrong and Enxi tried to stop it, but it was too late. Beauty Li’s face twisted in rage. “How dare she! Come! Beat this impudent wench—beat her hard!”
Two eunuchs stepped forward and restrained Talented Lady Yue’s arms. Her maid trembled, afraid to act. Rongrong and Enxi were utterly panicked.
Beauty Li watched them with satisfaction. Seeing her maid hesitate, she spat, “Useless thing!”
Then she raised her hand and slapped Talented Lady Yue twice, hard. It’s said you shouldn’t slap someone in the face—but that’s what she did. Talented Lady Yue let out a sob, and Rongrong and Enxi were at a complete loss.
Beauty Li, however, wasn’t flustered in the least. She seemed to relish their expressions like precious treasures. She raised her delicate hand again, ready to strike Talented Lady Yue’s face once more. The girl was so scared she forgot even to cry.
“Since when has disciplining the younger consorts become Beauty Li’s responsibility?”
Everyone turned around. No one knew when Consort Hui had appeared. Beauty Li’s face turned pale, and everyone quickly knelt to greet her.
Consort Hui ignored Beauty Li. Her maid helped her to a seat, and she gently covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice.
Beauty Li quickly said, “Your Ladyship, this Talented Lady Yue was being extremely rude. If she dared to talk back to me, imagine if she did that to the Empress or to you. I only wanted to teach her a little lesson.”
Consort Hui replied calmly, “How diligent of you.”
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