HMAM CH 61 Scheme
On the eighth day of the fifth month, it was an auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
The emperor was to enter the ancestral temple before noon to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, ancestors, and deities. Following that, he would return to the Taihe Hall where music would be played, songs sung, and officials would come to pay their respects.
With cups clinking and dance and song continuing, the festivities persisted until nightfall, when the thick red candles illuminated the Changle Palace as brightly as day.
Lin Min sat quietly on the wedding bed draped in red silk, only able to see the exquisite cloud-and-baby pattern embroidered on the bridal veil and the hands twisting the embroidered handkerchief in her lap.
A palace maid standing nearby softly said, “Niangniang, it’s almost time.” (TN: honorific for the emperor's wives)
Lin Min opened her eyes a bit wider and stiffened her back, the flowing cloud patterns before her slightly swayed.
Just as the palace maid had said, before she could finish a cup of tea, a voice called out from outside, “His Majesty has arrived—”
Lin Min tightened her grip on the handkerchief, her red fingernails digging into her palm, but she had no time to think about it.
Footsteps passed through the beaded curtains and stopped not far away.
Aside from the rustling of silk garments, there was complete silence. A moment later, she heard the voice of the Master of Ceremonies declare, “The ceremony is complete; rise—”
Then someone stood up and walked toward the wedding bed, taking hold of the ceremonial scale and slowly drawing back the veil that obscured her view.
Lin Min bit her lip and raised her head. The first thing that met her eyes was a robe embroidered with a coiling dragon in gold thread on a black background, bordered in red satin, then the clear and bright features of the person in front of her, with phoenix eyes that glistened softly in the candlelight.
Lin Min felt slightly reassured but then thought of something that made her cheeks flush slightly.
Jing Ye had been so busy throughout the day that he hadn't even had time to rest or drink tea. He took the cup of wedding wine presented by the palace maid and said, “Empress.”
With the palace maid's assistance, Lin Min stood up and accepted the wine cup, saying, “Your Majesty.”
Jing Ye nodded and drank it all in one go.
Lin Min did the same, smiling as she said, “This consort….”
But Jing Ye spoke first, saying, “The empress is also tired today; let the palace staff help you rest well. Zhen still has to make a trip to Fengyang Palace.”
Lin Min’s smile faltered slightly, but Jing Ye had already placed the wine cup back on the tray held by the palace maid.
Once this was over, he could go back to his sleeping quarters and catch some much-needed rest, while also asking Lu Baizang to prepare something to soothe his rumbling stomach.
Jing Ye turned and walked out, with Ye Mao before him pulling aside the curtains. As Lin Min watched the emperor leave, she instinctively opened her mouth to call him back, but the palace maid beside her stopped her, saying:
“Niangniang, His Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Not to mention the Wuhuan princess who has already been made a consort, but even the several gongzi who have accompanied him for years, it is common for him to have many in the harem. Even if niangniang can keep His Majesty here tonight, how many days in the future would niangniang be able to do so?”
Lin Min turned to look at her, and the palace maid’s calm gaze seemed to see through her every thought.
With her eyes downcast, she placed the wine cup back into the tray after finishing the wedding wine and sat back down on the wedding bed.
The palace maid waited silently with her head lowered, ready for Lin Min’s next instruction.
After a long pause, Lin Min seemed to have resigned herself and nodded.
The palace maid spoke to the other palace attendants present, “Why aren’t you coming to help niangniang change her clothes? You two, come here and help niangniang take off her phoenix crown.”
Then she comforted Lin Min, saying, “Niangniang need not be too sorrowful. His Majesty cares for you very much; this servant heard from the little eunuch that because he sympathizes with you, being far from your family and unable to return home, His Majesty has decreed that the Fucui Pavilion be granted to Madam Lin for her temporary stay. Once your three day visit home ends, she can then return to Jiangnan. If she wishes to visit you in the palace in the future, she’ll still be welcomed at the Fucui Pavilion.”
Lin Min smiled in response.
The palace maids brought a silver basin and mouthwash for her, helping her cleanse her face. One maid reached out to remove her crown, but Lin Min stopped her, saying, “Wait a moment.”
Lin Min gently brushed her fingers over the royal phoenix crown, which was adorned with pearls and emeralds, and the grand scarlet robe she wore, before retracting her hand and saying, “Go ahead.”
Just as they were about to loosen her garments, suddenly a commotion erupted at the pearl curtain, and a little eunuch hurried in and knelt, saying, “Niangniang… niangniang!”
The palace maid asked, “What are you in such a hurry about? Don't you see niangniang changing her clothes?”
The little eunuch replied, “His Majesty has been attacked in the Imperial Garden! The Black Guards are currently sending people to search all the palace quarters to capture the traitor tonight!”
“What?” Lin Min stood up immediately. As the maids were helping her take off her crown, she bumped into one of them, causing the crown to fall to the ground, its smooth pearls trembling incessantly.
In the following hour, the situation developed in a way that completely caught Lin Min off guard.
The emperor had been attacked, and the Black Guards swiftly joined forces with the Imperial Guard to search the various palaces, capturing the assassin and also apprehending her mother.
It was because they caught the traitor who had brought the assassin into the palace in Lady Feng's quarters at Fucui Pavilion.
Lin Min recognized this traitor, who was none other than the eldest Mr. Lin, who had returned to the Lin family after years of wandering outside. He was her uncle who had lost his inheritance due to his impotence.
It was too absurd, too ridiculous.
The change was so sudden that Lin Min felt at a loss, hurriedly having the maids help her change into her normal clothes, and she rushed to the emperor's personal quarters.
The emperor was being treated by the imperial physician within his personal quarters, while Lin Xiaosheng was the one to meet her in the front hall.
Lin Min stood in the great hall, gazing at Lin Xiaosheng, who silently sipped tea. She managed to force out, “Elder Brother.”
It was indeed strange; although she was now formally recognized as the empress, the mother of a nation, with a status much higher than Lin Xiaosheng, who was just a sycophantic male pet, she still felt fearful.
Lin Xiaosheng lifted the lid of the tea set and glanced up at her, saying, “His Majesty cannot meet with you due to his injuries. If you have something to say, you can do so here.”
His Majesty has been injured; it should be her, his empress, who is by his side! This was what Lin Min wanted to say but could not bring herself to voice.
Instead, she said, “I… this empress believes that the matter of the assassin is absolutely unrelated to my mother. I ask that you please inform His Majesty to release her as soon as possible.”
Lin Xiaosheng took a sip of tea and said, “As long as it is confirmed she is innocent, she will indeed be released. But, she was found lying on the same bed as the traitor in plain sight. If we say that this is unrelated to the case, it will be hard to silence the public’s gossip.”
Lin Min’s eyes widened; she was not foolish. The tone and expression of Lin Xiaosheng suddenly made her think of another possibility.
She was gasping for breath, nearly shouting, “It was you! You set this up!”
Lin Xiaosheng met her gaze directly, saying, “You and your mother look very alike.”
Lin Min trembled all over, “You dared to plot against His Majesty under the guise of framing my mother! How audacious! I… step aside! This empress must report this to His Majesty!”
Lin Xiaosheng looked at her, saying nonchalantly, “It’s a pity your brains didn’t inherit from her.”
He stood up from his seat, ignoring Lin Min, who was filled with anger and panic, and returned to the sleeping quarters.
By the next day, the morning court was temporarily canceled due to the emperor's injury. The entire court knew that the Lin family and Lady Feng were embroiled in the plot against the emperor by the Zhao faction, but what spread even more widely was that this widow of the Lin family, the current empress’s mother, was caught lying in the bed of her own traitor brother-in-law.
Such rumors always delighted people, and with some scheming individuals fanning the flames, by evening, most of the people in the capital had heard about it. It would not be long before the Jiangnan Lin family would catch wind of the news.
How could a woman who violated her integrity and betrayed her husband be seen again? Moreover, she was also entangled in the assassination plot against the emperor, a prisoner today would become a ghost under the blade tomorrow, and it wouldn't be long before the position of the head of the Lin family would change.
The dim light seeped through the window, and Lin Xiaosheng passed through the dark and damp corridor, following the lead of a prison guard who stopped him, saying, “Gongzi, we’ve arrived.”
Lin Xiaosheng saw a woman in the cell, huddled against the wall, and said, “Mother.”
Lady Feng opened her eyes; she had never felt so disheveled in her life. She had been pulled from her sleep, barely able to put on her embroidered robe and pin up her hair before being thrown into the Lateral Courts. (TN: housing concubines and administrative offices)
“It was you who did this,” Lady Feng said fiercely, clutching her clothes tightly. “You dared to let someone attempt to assassinate His Majesty…! No, wait, it was you, and the emperor…”
“Guessing so quickly?” Lin Xiaosheng replied. “No wonder she lost to you.”
Lady Feng suddenly realized how self-assured she had been. She thought Lin Xiaosheng would confront her with full force, but she hadn’t expected him merely to raise a finger and put her underfoot.
“A battle for power is nothing like the petty games women play in the inner chambers,” Lin Xiaosheng stroked the waistband at his side. “Although she gave birth to me and then abandoned me, she has some maternal kindness remaining. You have ruined her reputation, and now I'll ruin yours too.”
Lady Feng’s fingers trembled.
“I want you to give back what you have taken from her… that should be enough.”
Today, His Majesty did not need to attend morning court and was in a good mood, aside from feeling some soreness in his waist and legs after being overly indulgent last night.
Lu Baizang had prepared a bowl of lotus seed soup for him, and Jing Ye found it tasty, drinking a full bowl. He looked up to see Lu Baizang watching him, and said, “It tastes good. Want to try some?”
Lu Baizang leaned over and licked his lips, “After it passes through Your Majesty’s mouth, it tastes even better.”
Jing Ye: “…”
Just then, a eunuch entered and announced, “Your Majesty, the Noble Consort seeks an audience.”
Before Jing Ye could respond, Lu Baizang said first, “Your Majesty is still injured; let her be dismissed.”
The little eunuch looked eagerly at the emperor, and Jing Ye nodded, instructing him to follow Lu Baizang’s suggestion.
Once the eunuch left, Jing Ye took a few more sips of his soup but noticed Lu Baizang still staring at him with a serious expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Baizang said, “I heard that those who excel at the Zhezhi dance have impressive waist strength. I wonder which of us Your Majesty likes more when compared with the Noble Consort.”
Jing Ye threw a lotus seed at Lu Baizang’s face.