Chapter 147: Filial Impiety

Chapter 147: Filial Impiety

Chu Nan understood her meaning; she had concerns due to her position. He nodded and said, "They have served Her Ladyship for many years and have always been favored by her. I will avoid mentioning it to Her Ladyship but will remind them to be more diligent. If their negligence causes Her Ladyship to fall ill again, even if she cherishes them, some punishment will have to be administered."

Fan Xueyao couldn't comment much on this matter and only said, "I will visit Her Ladyship more frequently in the next few days, and once she is feeling a bit better, I'll bring Xu'er to see her."

Chu Nan smiled and said, "That's excellent. Her Ladyship loves this child the most, and I'm sure seeing him will make her happy. Though it will be tiring for you, as you already have to take care of two young children and attend to Her Ladyship's medicine. In the next few days, let the nursemaid take care of the children more."

The two were lying side by side on the couch, trying to fall asleep, but Chu Nan suddenly brought up a topic, and the more he talked, the more awake he became.

"This isn't tiring in the least. Her Ladyship has always treated me with great kindness, as though I were her own daughter," Fan Xueyao shook her head. "Her Ladyship is not much older than my own mother, but she is infinitely more noble in status. Yet, her health is so poor that she can't even eat what she wants freely. It makes me very sad to see this."

Sometimes, Fan Xueyao would wonder, were she Empress Dowager Wei, would she be willing to live like that?

As the Empress Dowager, her son is the emperor, and he is very filial to her. But at the same time, she suffers from a stubborn illness that flares up occasionally, causing unbearable pain. Would she be willing?

She asked herself and concluded that she wouldn't be. What good is high status if, as she said, you can't eat freely or enjoy life, and you have to follow strict etiquette? What good is wealth in such a life?

Thinking this way, she couldn't help but feel great sympathy for Empress Dowager Wei.

"I don't have the ability to cure Her Ladyship's illness, nor can I share in her pain. All I can do is serve her attentively and try to make her happy, which might alleviate her suffering a little. It's the only way I can try to be filial."

Chu Nan gazed tenderly at Fan Xueyao's profile, wanting to thank her for being so devoted to Empress Dowager Wei. Even as her son, he couldn't be as meticulous as she was. But a thousand words welled up in his chest, and he didn't know how to express them. He just felt she was both admirable and lovely.

After talking for a while, they gradually became drowsy and soon fell asleep.

**

Upon hearing that Empress Dowager Wei had fallen ill, Princess Jinping hurried into the palace to visit her. Empress Dowager Wei immediately ordered someone to bring her in. After the mother and daughter exchanged pleasantries, Princess Jinping inquired about her mother's condition.

"There's no major issue. As soon as I fell ill, Yao Niang came to serve me, offering tea and water, boiling medicinal herbs, and attending to every detail. During meals, she always checks the temperature of the food to ensure it's suitable before serving it to me. She's afraid that if I'm unwell and my mood is depressed, so she even wrote stories to read to me every day."

Speaking of Fan Xueyao, a loving expression appeared on Empress Dowager Wei's face. "Today, she even brought my eldest grandson to keep me company. Seeing him made me feel better, and I felt a little improvement in my condition."

After hearing these words, Princess Jinping breathed a sigh of relief and said with a joyful expression, "No wonder you look well. Noble Consort is truly considerate; she's better than I, her own daughter."

"You're outside the palace and can't always be of service," Empress Dowager Wei shook her head. "Those people are watching you closely, and you're not free outside the palace either. They're waiting to catch your mistakes and impeach you. They resent the emperor treating you so favorably."

After returning to the capital, Chu Nan had a new princess residence built for Princess Jinping to ensure she was comfortable. The residence had just been completed, and Princess Jinping moved in. At the time, some ministers advised that this was too extravagant. But Chu Nan firmly rejected the memorial.

Initially, Chu Nan had dealt with Princess Jinping's heartless and ungrateful husband to avenge her wrongs, which stirred considerable controversy among the court ministers. However, Chu Nan had sound reasons for his actions, and the opposing opinions were dismissed. Later, with the issue of the princess residence, old grievances compounded with new ones, and everyone was watching Princess Jinping, hoping to impeach her to challenge the emperor.

"It's my fault for marrying from the palace. If there had already been a princess residence, I could have just moved in directly. It wouldn't have been necessary for the emperor to specially build one for me. Now they're not only criticizing me but also implicating the emperor in the criticism."

"How can this be blamed on you?" Empress Dowager Wei held her daughter's hand and felt heartache when she realized how dry and thin Jinping's hands were compared to her own fleshier ones. "You're just a princess. What does any of this have to do with you? It's just some disagreement between the ministers and your brother. The emperor will handle it on his own. You should take care of yourself. Look, you seem to have lost weight again. Why are your hands so thin and cool?"

Jinping quickly replied, "It was just that I couldn't tolerate the heat of summer and felt tired and weak, with no appetite. That's why I've lost some weight. But I'm much better now."

Empress Dowager Wei felt both distressed that her daughter had suffered and angry that she hadn't been informed about her illness. "Do you still have me as your mother? Why didn't you tell the palace when you were sick? Are you only telling me now? Does marrying out mean you no longer recognize your birth mother?"

"Please don't say that, Your Highness. I didn't want to trouble you over a minor illness. I was just feeling weak and had no appetite, but I was still eating. Once the weather cooled down, I ate more. I'm fine now, Mother, don't worry!"

Empress Dowager Wei scolded her severely, and Jinping, fearing that she might trigger another illness in her mother with her anger, immediately groveled and apologized repeatedly. It wasn't until she promised that she would inform her mother even if she sneezed a few times that Empress Dowager Wei finally relented.

Wiping the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief, Jinping looked around the room and suddenly thought of something. She asked, "You mentioned how attentively Noble Consort serves you, but why didn't you mention the Empress?"

Empress Dowager Wei waved for the attendants to prepare hot water for Jinping to wash her face and refresh herself, her expression indifferent as she said, "Why mention her? She hasn't shown her face here for days. There's nothing to say."

Princess Jinping was quite surprised.

She had married early and had never met Empress Xu, but she had heard that Empress Xu was dignified and virtuous. Moreover, Empress Dowager Wei and the emperor were on good terms, so she had assumed that Empress Xu would also serve her mother attentively. She was even grateful to Empress Xu for taking care of her mother in her absence.

When she returned to the capital, although Empress Xu was not particularly warm, even speaking coldly at times, Jinping only blamed herself. She thought Empress Xu was displeased because she was a divorced woman who had caused trouble for the emperor.

But now, with Empress Dowager Wei sick for several days, even Noble Consort comes daily to attend to her, yet Empress Xu hadn't shown her face?

Jinping cautiously asked, "Is there a reason why the Empress hasn't come to serve you?"

Empress Dowager Wei sneered, "What important matters could she possibly have? Is she so busy that she can't even spare a servant to ask after me? She's holding a grudge because we didn't help her cover up the incident where her servants slandered Noble Consort. Now that I'm sick, do you think she would come to see me? If she doesn’t wish for my quick death, that’s already charitable of her."

Empress Dowager Wei had long harbored grievances against Empress Xu, and the incident with the rumors had only deepened her resentment. Now that she was sick, and Empress Xu hadn't even sent a servant to inquire about her, Empress Dowager Wei's heart had grown cold.

As the Empress of the central palace, it was her duty to set an example and lead the palace women, to relieve the emperor of his worries. Yet Empress Xu, out of jealousy, had ordered her servants to fabricate rumors to slander the consort who bore the emperor's son. Such a petty and narrow-minded woman without virtue—Empress Dowager Wei should have reprimanded her. It was a mistake to have let the emperor marry her to avoid suspicion. Empress Xu was truly unfit to be Empress.

Upon hearing this, Princess Jinping understood how deep Empress Dowager Wei's resentment ran. She wanted to comfort her mother, but considering that as a daughter-in-law, Empress Xu had not even come to visit her sick mother-in-law, such filial impiety was inexcusable, especially when this mother-in-law was her own birth mother.

Princess Jinping had heard rumors about the slander against Noble Consort, and she had thought it was the doing of the Chief Attendant of the Changsun family. She hadn't expected Empress Xu to be involved as well, and judging by how angry Empress Dowager Wei was, her involvement must have been significant.

Jinping thought carefully and then advised Empress Dowager Wei, "Mother, your kindness and blessings are boundless, and the emperor obeys and respects you in all matters. If the Empress has any shortcomings, you should point them out and instruct her to correct them. It's wrong to curse yourself like that. If she dares to neglect you like this, the emperor will be the first to not let her off."

"How can I let His Majesty know about such matters? If rumors of the Empress's immorality were to spread, it would hardly be a good thing and would only implicate the emperor. Now, I don’t expect her to be virtuous and capable, or to serve him diligently to enhance his virtue. I only pray that she will behave herself and be a queen without causing trouble—no great merits, but also no mistakes."

Wei Taihou sighed, a trace of worry appearing on her face. Though she didn’t say it outright, she truly regretted choosing Xu Shi to be the crown princess. Even as a consort, Xu Shi lacked grace and moral integrity. When she was still crown princess, Wei Taihou had been there to support and guide her, ensuring nothing went wrong. Wei Taihou had thought that being of lower birth had its advantages—Xu Shi was at least obedient.

Who would have known that after becoming Empress, her flaws became increasingly apparent, and she repeatedly did foolish and muddled things that were quite contemptible.

Wei Taihou had given her many hints, both explicit and implicit. Even if the concubines below were deeply favored, she, as the Empress of the Central Palace, had nothing to fear even without a son. In every dynasty, how many Empresses have been without sons? As long as she behaved and fulfilled her duties, she would naturally be respected and honored. Even if the future emperor was not born from her, he would still respect her as Empress Dowager and care for her until the end of her days.

Unfortunately, no matter what she said, Xu Shi just couldn’t understand.

Wei Taihou had given up on Xu Shi. Given her illness and lack of energy, how could she have the strength to constantly admonish and oversee Xu Shi? Let Xu Shi scheme as she pleased. If she angered the emperor, she could wait for her deposition.

There had been Empresses without sons in every dynasty, and there had also been deposed Empresses.

Jinping stayed with Wei Taihou until late in the day. Before the evening meal, Fan Xueyao arrived to attend to Wei Taihou’s dinner. Before Jinping left, Fan Xueyao came to see her off, and the two shared some intimate words.

“The Empress has been quite unwise lately, doing things that anger even me. But I must advise you—at a time like this, it’s best to remain humble and forbearing. Now that you are the Noble Consort, there is no other consort more favored in the palace. With an older and a younger prince by your side, your position is secure. Ordinary matters won’t threaten you. But you are still young and lack seniority. The Empress holds the position of the Central Palace, so there’s no need to directly oppose her. Tolerance and respect are the duties of a consort… In time, your day will come.”

The words were gentle but clearly in Fan Xueyao’s favor, especially the last sentence, which made her stance evident. What could be the future of a consort, especially one who is a Noble Consort? It is obvious enough.

Fan Xueyao readily agreed, smiling apologetically. “Is it about those incidents from some time ago that the Princess has heard of? It’s really nothing significant. Those who know me would not believe the rumors. Those who don’t know me, if they misunderstand, so be it. Besides, both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor trust me. Even if thousands were to question me, what harm could it do?”

Jinping knew from these words that Fan Xueyao had her wits about her and smiled. “When the Empress Dowager falls ill again, I won’t be able to visit the palace frequently. I’m afraid the burden will fall on you, Noble Consort, to diligently attend to her.”

“Please rest assured, I will attend to the Empress Dowager carefully,” Fan Xueyao smiled. “You should also take care of yourself. Your health hasn’t fully recovered yet, and with the changing seasons, be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Jinping Long Princess bid farewell to Fan Xueyao and, surrounded by palace attendants, boarded the palanquin, leaving the palace before it got too late.

Fan Xueyao continued her daily visits, attending to Wei Taihou’s breakfast and dinner. After several days of proper rest, Wei Taihou’s condition improved, and the pain in her chest and back subsided. Once she could get out of bed and move around freely, Fan Xueyao no longer stayed in the Empress Dowager’s palace all day, only visiting in the morning, sometimes serving breakfast or staying for a chat before returning.

The Empress harbored resentment in her heart, so she turned a deaf ear to Wei Taihou’s illness. Even the female court officials who advised her could not persuade her.

The Empress thought, if the Empress Dowager treated me this way, why should I debase myself and go to her? It would only humiliate me. This isn’t the first time the Empress Dowager has fallen ill. She’s still alive and well. Since she likes Fan Shi so much, let Fan Shi attend to her. I won’t go out of my way to do so.

While Wei Taihou was ill, the Noble Consort attended to her daily, but the Empress remained indifferent, not even asking after her. The palace attendants felt that the Empress’s behavior was too unfilial, and the rumors of discord between the Empress Dowager and the Empress spread widely, eventually reaching outside the palace.

Chu Nan soon learned of this. He did not reprimand the Empress. With rumors already circulating outside the palace, if he were to scold her now, it would only add fuel to the fire and amplify the gossip.

He merely instructed Li Huairen to go to the Central Palace to convey his message, asking Empress Xu about Empress Dowager Wei's condition, how her health was progressing, what medications she was using, how many bowls of medicine she was taking each day, whether her condition had improved after taking the medicine, and if her appetite had increased or decreased, among other questions.

Li Huairen asked one question and waited for Empress Xu's answer, but how would Empress Xu know any of these details? She only knew that Empress Dowager Wei was sick and that Consort Fan was attending to her. How severe the illness was, where it hurt, what medicine was taken, how much food was eaten—these were things she had no knowledge of.

As Li Huairen continued asking questions one after another, Empress Xu stammered and struggled to respond, her face flushed red and white with embarrassment, while the female officials nearby were so anxious that they broke out in a sweat.

After Li Huairen left, the flush finally subsided from Empress Xu's face, leaving her pale.

She gasped for half a day, feeling ashamed and panicked that her neglect of her ailing mother-in-law had been discovered by her husband, and she was also angry and humiliated that her husband had sent an eunuch to embarrass her. But then again, with Empress Dowager Wei's illness, the emperor couldn't have only found out about it now to come and ask her. On the very first day of Empress Dowager Wei's illness, the emperor had gone to the empress dowager's palace to visit her, together with Consort Fan. Hearing this, she became even more furious.

The fact that the emperor still sent an eunuch to ask her these questions suggested that his intentions were not as simple as they appeared.

Reflecting on her actions, Empress Xu understood that the emperor was reminding and admonishing her.

Empress Xu felt a complex mix of emotions—resentful of Chu Nan's indifference, that he wouldn't even come to see her or support her in person when such a thing had happened, only sending an eunuch; but also relieved that Chu Nan hadn't completely turned against her due to her perceived filial impiety toward the empress dowager.

"...Prepare the carriage, I intend to pay respects to the empress dowager."

She suddenly understood. Even if she didn't go to attend to the empress dowager, the empress dowager wouldn't necessarily have wanted her to come. If the empress dowager so desired, with just a word, the entire harem would rush to show their filial respects and attend to her. Consort Fan had been fawning over her, playing clever tricks to amuse her and keep her happy.

And while she had indulged in a moment of defiance, she had only given others a reason to criticize her and earned a reputation for being unfilial. She had only put herself in a disadvantageous position and hadn't managed to get back at anyone. Likely, the emperor now thought of her as an unfilial and immoral, heartless person.

Empress Xu didn't want to go to pay respects to Empress Dowager Wei from the bottom of her heart. This wasn't a routine visit, but an act of atonement to make up for her failure to visit and care for the empress dowager. But since the empress dowager disliked her, the thought of having to put on a humble face, lower herself, and try to win the empress dowager's favor made her extremely unwilling.

Why should only Empress Dowager Wei be allowed to dislike her, favor a consort over her, the empress, and make her lose face, while she wasn't allowed to retaliate?

With resentment in her heart, Empress Xu suppressed her emotions and went to the empress dowager’s palace to pay her respects, expressing regret and remorse for her failure to attend to the empress dowager due to being occupied with palace affairs. Empress Dowager Wei had only agreed to see her to maintain Chu Nan's dignity.

But seeing Empress Xu's head full of gold-inlaid and jeweled hairpins and the false smile on her face, like a mask, a reluctant smile that didn't reach her eyes, Empress Dowager Wei felt as if she had swallowed a large piece of fatty meat—disgusted and infuriated.

She said coldly and indifferently, "I know you're busy with palace affairs. It's just a minor illness; there's no need for a special visit to attend to me." After saying a few of these formal words, she sent Empress Xu away.

Empress Dowager Wei watched coldly as Empress Xu, seemingly relieved from torment, hurriedly walked out. "If she comes again tomorrow, tell her I'm asleep and not receiving visitors," she ordered.

The old female official agreed, "Yes."

**

After this incident, Empress Xu perhaps realized that she had made a grave mistake and truly angered Chu Nan and Empress Dowager Wei. She became much more obedient. Empress Xu stopped causing trouble, and Consort Fan Xueyao could feel the difference the most. To say the least, she and the palace servants found many things much more convenient. No one was causing obstacles over trivial matters anymore.

There were still many palace servants who supported Empress Xu. They were closely connected with the Six Bureaus in the harem, and their clothing, food, housing, and transportation all depended on the Six Bureaus. The importance of the Bureau of Shang Gong, the Bureau of Shang Fu, and the Bureau of Shang Shi need not be mentioned, and the other three bureaus were also indispensable.

For example, the Department of Records under the Shang Gong Bureau was in charge of registering the names of palace servants and distributing their monthly rations, including the amount of rice, firewood and charcoal, and other daily necessities. The palace servants always tried to curry favor with them to ensure there were no manipulations in the numbers.

Another example is the Department of Keys, which managed the locks and keys of the inner palace gates, locking the palace gates every day. The three annexes in her hall were always kept locked, with the keys held by the Department of Keys. To open the annexes, they had to request the keys.

In the past, when her servants went to handle affairs and encountered people from Empress Xu's faction, though there were no major issues, they often ended up at a disadvantage.

For instance, when they went to collect their allotted supplies, there were no obvious mistakes like shortages, but they would use excuses such as insufficient stock, only having second-rate items, and give Puxiang Hall inferior goods.

Sometimes, when they went to deliver messages or send something, the supporters of Empress Xu would deliberately give them the cold shoulder, saying they were too busy and making them wait. It was not uncommon for them to wait for hours.

Occasionally, they would whisper among themselves, making snide remarks that were indirect insults, deliberately letting the maids hear them, causing frustration without any way to confront them. The sarcastic remarks were always clear enough to understand but vague enough to avoid direct accusations.

The maids would return, having endured such humiliation, and still put on a brave face, pretending everything was fine, afraid that Fan Xueyao would be upset if she found out. However, Fan Xueyao was good at reading people’s expressions, and even without using any special insight, she wouldn’t be fooled by their acting.

Now, things had improved. Empress Xu, realizing that she had truly angered both Empress Wei and the Emperor, became much more obedient in her actions. Her subordinates also became more restrained and didn’t dare to deliberately cause trouble for Puxiang Hall anymore. Life became much easier and more comfortable.

**

Time flew by, and winter gave way to early spring.

After staying indoors all winter, Fan Xueyao, noticing the beautiful and mild weather, instructed the maids to prepare for a trip to the imperial garden. Hua Ping went to the door to call Yuegu, who was replacing the soil for the flowers in the courtyard, and asked her to inform the kitchen to prepare some pastries, cakes, light snacks, and cooked meats suitable for outdoor dining. No wine was needed, as Fan Xueyao rarely drank alcohol unless it was necessary, a habit all her maids were well aware of.

Hua Ping, Qiao Qiao, Zhu Zhu, and several others led the maids in hurriedly tidying up the furnishings. They rolled up several brocade carpets and embroidery rugs, carried dusters, spittoons, charcoal, charcoal stoves, wind furnaces, copper pots, teapots, and ewers, opened the wardrobe, and took out a few warm cloaks and playing cards, along with various other small items. After bustling about for several rounds, they finally left the hall.

Fan Xueyao held her youngest son, who was not yet a year old. Chu Nan had not yet given him a formal name, so the maids only called him Third Brother. Fan Xueyao had thought of a nickname for him, Bao'er. The character "Bao" comes from "Sheng Min" in the "Great Odes," meaning "truly square and truly full." It describes the growth of young grain, and she hoped that Third Brother would grow up strong and healthy.

Chu Xu held Fan Xueyao's hand, walking steadily, occasionally turning his head to look around. He often left Spreading Fragrance Hall because Empress Dowager Wei liked him, and Fan Xueyao frequently went to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, taking him along. However, the path from Spreading Fragrance Hall to the West Garden was in the opposite direction of the path to the Empress Dowager's palace, so the scenery on this route was quite new to Chu Xu.

Hua Ping led a group of young palace maids ahead, walking quickly to ensure they could set everything up in the garden before Fan Xueyao and her entourage arrived.

Fan Xueyao walked leisurely with the two children. Chu Xu was at an age where he was very curious about the world, often pointing at flying wild birds and asking Fan Xueyao what kind of birds they were. If she recognized them, she would tell him their names; if not, she would say, "I don't know either." Chu Xu asked, "Why don't you know?"

Fan Xueyao replied, "Because I never asked my mother before."

"Why didn't you ask?"

Fan Xueyao explained, "I wasn't curious about these things before."

"Why weren't you curious?"

Chu Xu kept asking "why" repeatedly. Fan Xueyao answered each question with a gentle smile, never finding his endless questions bothersome. The maids nearby were amazed, thinking to themselves that it was no wonder the Empress was the first prince's mother—she was so patient.

Fortunately, before Chu Xu could say much more, he was distracted by something else. He saw a cluster of small flowers blooming by the path and exclaimed with excitement, "Mother, there are flowers!"

Fan Xueyao stopped and let him run wildly like an untamed horse, picking the small blue-purple wildflowers and coming back with them. It was the common bird's-eye speedwell.

Chu Xu picked one and ran back, holding it up, standing on his tiptoes. "Mother, put it in your hair, it's beautiful!" He wanted Fan Xueyao to wear the flower he had picked.

Fan Xueyao, holding Bao Ge'er in her arms, bent down. Chu Xu placed the small flower he had picked into her hair, beside the gold hairpin set with blood-red gems. The tiny flower looked small and insignificant, and Chu Xu, seeing it wasn't as beautiful as he had imagined, pouted, a little disappointed. "I’ll pick a bigger, prettier flower for you, Mother."

Fan Xueyao patted his head and smiled gently. "I think this flower is already beautiful. Flowers that are pinkish-blue with a hint of purple aren’t very common."

"Is that so?" Chu Xu tilted his head, looking somewhat confused.

He knew many colors and could recognize blue and purple. He could identify all the colors in his painting books, but he was a bit puzzled about pink-blue.

What exactly did pink-blue look like?

He glanced at the small flower in Fan Xueyao’s hair and decided he would later find a bigger, prettier flower to match it.

Fan Xueyao thought for a moment and lifted a corner of her pale blue pleated silk skirt. "This is pink-blue."

Unfamiliar palace attendants passed by them on official business, and seeing how fair, lovely, innocent, and lively the first prince was, they felt affection for him.