Chapter 70

Chapter 70

In the first few years after Emperor Xingwu ascended the throne, he would still spend the night at Consort Li's Xianfu Palace. Gradually, it became more common for him to summon Consort Li to Qianyuan Palace instead.

Actually, Emperor Xingwu would have preferred Consort Li to reside permanently with him in Qianyuan Palace, but Consort Li was unwilling. She preferred to wait each day for Emperor Xingwu to send for her. If he forgot due to busyness, or if the weather was too poor to trouble her, or if Consort Li was on her period, she could then remain in Xianfu Palace with a clear conscience.

That evening, Consort Li still came to Qianyuan Palace to keep him company.

During the meal, Consort Li subtly sensed that the Emperor seemed dispirited. He didn't touch the wine on the table and rarely served himself food.

An emperor managing so many state affairs—how could he manage if he didn't eat his fill?

Consort Li proactively began serving him, making sure to pick his favorite dishes.

Though seemingly an ordinary gesture, it was something Consort Li rarely did. Emperor Xingwu seldom had a poor appetite unless he was angry, and when he was angry, Consort Li was too afraid of him to even glance his way.

Thus, Emperor Xingwu greatly enjoyed Consort Li’s proactive attention and cooperatively ate everything she served. As they ate, he casually brought up a topic: "Did you see Lin'er today?"

Consort Li: "No, she had classes all day today. She was busy in the morning, and after her martial arts class in the afternoon, she was probably tired."

Emperor Xingwu recalled what Mr. Wu had said—that his daughter had gotten quite upset during archery practice. Because such behavior was highly uncharacteristic of her, Mr. Wu was worried.

After much thought, Emperor Xingwu concluded that the only person in the palace who could make his daughter unhappy yet force her to suppress her feelings was himself—because the golden waist token he had given her had expired.

Although Zhang Su had already managed to soothe her, Emperor Xingwu was still preoccupied with the matter. He said to Consort Li, "Tomorrow is the eighteenth. In the past, it would have been her day to go to the front court. Now that the waist token is no longer usable, Lin'er might suddenly find herself with a free afternoon and feel unaccustomed to it. Think of a way to keep her company and help her have an enjoyable afternoon."

Consort Li agreed. Lin'er was her daughter, after all, and she wished even more than Emperor Xingwu for her daughter to be happy.

As for how to help her daughter fill her free time, Consort Li had already prepared!

.

"Sister, how about you join us for martial arts this afternoon?"

Around noon, on their way from Chongwen Pavilion to the residential palaces, Qin Ren asked his sister, concerned. The previous afternoon, she hadn't hit a single target. Qin Ren hadn’t thought about the golden waist token at the time, but today was different. Her dejection was clearly visible, and Qin Ren could easily guess what was troubling her.

Qingyang listlessly shook her head. Three martial arts sessions every ten days were already sufficient for her. She simply hadn’t figured out what to do with the three extra afternoons.

Qin Ren looked back at Zhang Su, who was walking behind them.

Zhang Su avoided the third prince’s gaze. The little princess knew her own mind, and there was nothing he could do to help.

As they turned a corner, Qin Ren’s Chengming Palace came into view. However, the three of them first noticed Consort Li standing at the entrance of the more eastern Jiuhua Palace.

Qingyang exclaimed in surprise, "Mother?"

Consort Li stood there with a bright smile and called out, "I missed you. I know studying is hard on you, and I didn’t want you to make the long trip to my place, so I came here to find you instead."

Seeing her mother looking so gentle and beautiful, Qingyang temporarily set aside her unhappiness and happily ran over to hug her, resting her face against her mother’s shoulder.

Consort Li nuzzled her daughter’s head, smiled at Zhang Su, and then prepared to take her daughter inside.

Qin Ren: "...Mother, what about me?"

He lived so close to his sister—didn’t his mother want to invite him to join them for lunch?

Consort Li: "You can eat with Su Geer. Rest early after your meal, and don’t slack off in martial arts this afternoon."

Without another glance at her son, mother and daughter entered Jiuhua Palace chatting and laughing.

Qin Ren sighed and said to Zhang Su, "Even now, while I still live in the palace, Mother hardly pays any attention to me. Once I move out of the palace next year, she might even forget she has a son."

Zhang Su: "...Your Highness can frequently come to the palace to visit Her Ladyship."

Qin Ren: "I certainly will. Even if Mother doesn’t miss me, there’s still my sister. Ah, when Second Brother left the palace, Sister even cried. When we leave, she’ll surely cry even harder."

Zhang Su remained silent.

Next door in Jiuhua Palace, Consort Li ate lunch with her daughter and chatted about a dance she had recently learned. After the emperor learned of her love for dancing, he specially arranged for a female official from Yichun Pavilion—one who taught dancing girls—to teach her. Because the noble consort also enjoyed watching her dance, Consort Li learned without any hesitation.

Qingyang: "I want to see it."

Consort Li smiled: "After we finish eating and rest a while, I’ll dance for you."

Qingyang had Qin Fang and the others move the tables, chairs, and screens in the inner room to the side in advance so her mother would have enough space to perform.

After resting for two *ke* (about 30 minutes), Qingyang sat on the bed and watched her mother dance a long segment while humming to herself. The tune was pleasant, and her mother’s dance was even more captivating. After watching the entire performance, Qingyang wished it hadn't ended, but she couldn’t bear to ask her mother to dance again for fear of tiring her out.

The autumn weather was cool, and Consort Li did not break a sweat. She lay on the bed to take a nap with her daughter.

The little princess soon fell asleep beside her mother.

After sleeping for about half a *shichen* (about an hour), Qingyang was awakened by her mother moving around as she got up. She then called for Qin Fang and others to come in and attend to them.

Consort Li finished dressing first and sat nearby watching Qin Fang do her daughter’s hair. Since her daughter didn’t need to move, Consort Li took out her handkerchief and showed it to her.

It was a silk handkerchief with a pale yellow background, embroidered with peonies and two very lively colorful butterflies.

Consort Li said softly, "Meng Yao gave this to me. Look how beautifully she embroidered it."

Qingyang nodded appreciatively. Due to the mourning period, Meng Yao spent most of her time after entering the palace in the noble consort’s Changchun Palace. The noble consort had hired several female tutors to teach her in rotation, one of whom specialized in needlework.

Qingyang had once secretly asked Meng Yao if she truly wanted to learn these things. Meng Yao said she didn’t particularly like musical instruments or calligraphy, but since she couldn’t go out much these two years, learning something to pass the time was fine. Meng Yao actually enjoyed needlework because she often watched her mother make clothes and socks for her father. Doing needlework gave her a sense of peace, as if her mother were by her side.

Meng Yao often gave her handkerchiefs too.

Consort Li: "Does Lin'er want to learn?"

Qingyang looked at her mother in confusion.

Consort Li smiled: "For girls, needlework is something that should be learned. Your eldest sister, and all those well-bred young ladies in the capital, started learning around seven or eight years old. Previously, your studies were too demanding, and I never found a good time to bring it up."

Qingyang understood her mother’s true purpose for visiting. She wasn’t very pleased, but she knew her mother meant well. So Qingyang simply asked seriously, "Why must girls learn needlework?"

Consort Li explained: "Because women always marry eventually. After marriage, they must manage household affairs. The clothing for the entire family, young and old, falls to the daughter-in-law. If a daughter-in-law’s needlework is subpar, she will surely be mocked by her in-laws. Of course, this applies to wives in common households. Ladies of prestigious families, and princesses like you, can afford embroiderers. But needlework is also a measure of a woman’s talent and virtue, just like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Having an additional skill is always beneficial."

Qingyang put down the handkerchief and said to her mother, "I learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting because these four arts cultivate character and bring me joy during the process. As for needlework, I have no interest whatsoever and do not wish to learn it."

Consort Li coaxed her daughter: "If you don’t want to learn now, when you’re older and have an Imperial Son-in-law you fancy, if you know needlework yourself, occasionally embroidering a handkerchief or making clothes for him would be a gesture of affection. He would surely be delighted to receive it. Just like the first time I made clothes for your father—he couldn’t wait to wear them and smiled so much he didn’t seem like a prince at all."

Qingyang could sense her mother’s sweetness in reminiscing, but she still found it somewhat absurd: "Father likes you, Mother. So if you give him clothes, he likes it. If you gave him a book instead, he would still like it. When I have an Imperial Son-in-law, if I want to make him happy, I’ll have countless ways to do so. Why must I personally make clothes for him?"

Consort Li finally realized that her daughter genuinely had no desire to learn needlework.

"Alright, alright, if you don’t want to learn, then don’t. I brought this up hoping to cheer you up. Since Lin'er doesn’t like the idea, let’s forget it." Consort Li promptly put away the handkerchief Meng Yao had given her and looked at her daughter with a hint of caution.

Qingyang: "..."

After Qin Fang finished styling her hair, Qingyang hugged her mother and gently reassured her: "I know you mean well for me, Mother. Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s alright if I can’t go to the front court to play."

Consort Li nearly teared up: "Really? Lin'er, don’t blame me. For anything else, I would beg your father to allow it. But you’re growing up, and the front court truly isn’t a place for a princess."

Qingyang smiled, "I know. Mother, come here, let me draw a portrait of you. My teacher has praised my recent progress."

Consort Li let her daughter pull her to choose a spot.

It took the entire afternoon for Qingyang to complete a simple portrait of her mother. Qingyang was not satisfied with the result, but Consort Li kept praising it.

Qingyang said, "Mother, just wait. When I master this skill, I will give you a much better portrait, one that will surely please you more than a few pieces of clothing."

"What's so special about embroidery?" she thought. "The royal family certainly doesn’t lack skilled embroiderers."

After sitting together a while longer, Consort Li left with the portrait. On her way, she was stopped by a eunuch sent from the Qianyuan Palace and escorted to Qianyuan Palace.

In front of Emperor Xingwu, Consort Li could no longer hide her disappointment. She lowered her head and said, "Lín’er doesn’t want to learn embroidery. If I weren’t her mother, and if it were some other attendant trying to persuade her, she would surely scold them."

Emperor Xingwu looked at the portrait his daughter had drawn—still childish, but something he himself couldn’t have produced—and pulled Consort Li onto his lap to comfort her. "If she doesn’t want to learn, then she doesn’t have to. My princess has no use for such skills anyway."

Consort Li said resentfully, "It’s all Your Majesty’s fault. If you hadn’t spoiled Lín’er when she was little, she wouldn’t have developed the habit of going to the front court."

Emperor Xingwu, who was being openly blamed by Consort Li for the first time: "..."

Because there was an early court session the next day, Emperor Xingwu was not too rough with Consort Li that night. The following day, before dawn, he left the bedchamber alone and went to the main hall.

Unexpectedly, his daughter, who always arrived early on court days to have breakfast with him, was late that day.

Emperor Xingwu had He Yuanjing clear away the meal first and waited for his daughter while reading petitions.

A quarter of an hour before court was to begin, He Yuanjing entered and said to the emperor, who was looking behind him, "Your Majesty, I sent someone to check the Jiuhua Palace. The young princess isn’t up yet."

Emperor Xingwu frowned. Was his daughter truly not coming, or did she think that after the golden waist token expired, he, as her father, would no longer allow her to secretly listen in on court sessions?

It couldn’t be the former. If it were the latter, how upset she must be!

The mere thought pained Emperor Xingwu. He gave He Yuanjing a couple of instructions.

Not long after, the young princess, who had been lying in bed sulking, was "awakened" by Jie Yu: "Your Highness, His Majesty says he has gone to court first and asks that you come as soon as you wake up. He also says that because he waited for you, he missed breakfast, and you must not be late again in the future."

After a moment of stunned silence, Qingyang stashed the golden waist token under her pillow and got up.