6 Redemption
“I didn’t!” Yin Zhen came down from the kang with a furrowed brow, feeling as if a huge black pot had suddenly fallen from the sky and covered him. The consort was about to bow and apologize, but the Virtuous Consort waved her hand to remove her armor, then took Yu Yan up with interest. “This child does resemble the Fourth Prince when he was young. Look at those peach blossom eyes; if the Fourth Prince smiled, he would surely be just as charming.”
Yu Yan laughed even more joyfully at this and sweetly grabbed the Virtuous Consort’s sleeve. “Greetings to Grandmother Ma.”
The Virtuous Consort stroked the child’s bare head, faintly seeing in her tender face a shadow of Yin Zhen from long ago. It is often said daughters resemble their fathers and sons resemble their mothers. While E Linzhu looked like Yin Zhen, Yin Zhen’s features mirrored this child’s perfectly.
Yet this child, who looked so much like her, now lived a rather cold and distant life with her because of palace rules.
The entire palace said she was cruel and indifferent toward her own son, but only she knew the truth: only by treating Yin Zhen so coldly could he be considered a somewhat legitimate heir, properly raised by the Filial and Virtuous Consort.
Though the future was uncertain, for now, the Emperor’s treatment of Yin Zhen was far better than that of his brothers of similar age.
Yin Zhen’s teeth ached from watching this. Seeing that everyone’s attention was on Yu Yan, he felt neglected and called out loudly, “Empress! I’m hungry!”
He had followed the Emperor to the front of the Taihe Hall for ancestral rites. The greasy cold meat was impossible for him to eat, but the ancestral rituals could not be ignored. So he pretended to take a bite, then secretly spat it into his sleeve when no one was looking. Now, he was truly starving.
“The time is nearly right. Our E Linzhu must be hungry too,” the Virtuous Consort smiled and looked toward the consort. “Did the wet nurse come along?”
The consort shook her head and smiled. “This girl has quite the picky palate. Ever since the Emperor allowed her to dine at the table, she refused to drink the wet nurse’s milk, insisting on eating meat and vegetables.”
“Even so, have the small kitchen prepare some easily digestible dishes for her.”
The Virtuous Consort was somewhat surprised to hear this but relaxed when she felt the solid flesh beneath Yu Yan’s hand. As long as the child could grow up healthy and safe, she could eat whatever she wished.
Meals, of course, could not be taken in the warm pavilion, but the dragon-shaped stove in the main room of Yonghe Palace was blazing hot. Yu Yan took advantage of this to insist on eating by herself.
Nanny Chen looked at the consort with some difficulty. A child of the Second Princess’s age usually needed to be fed by the wet nurse. If Yu Yan tried to hold the spoon herself and ended up making a mess, it would be most undignified.
Yet this Second Princess, though young, was resolute and refused to be fed by anyone.
“Let E Linzhu eat by herself, then,” the consort frowned, still pondering, but the Virtuous Consort laughed and said, “Go fetch a smaller silver spoon for the princess.”
Though Yu Yan had mentally prepared how to control her hands once she got the spoon, this was the first time her body attempted such a movement. She felt as if she were a newly evolved monkey struggling to tame her limbs.
Yin Zhen nearly laughed his food out, only to end up receiving two big white-eyed stares from Yu Yan.
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“Children always hold a spoon like that the first time,” the Virtuous Consort said, somewhat disdainfully wiping the food off her silly son’s face. “You held a spoon like that too, didn’t you? And you were six years old, about to go to the study, while your niece is only three.”
The implication was clear: you can’t even match a three-year-old baby, yet you have the nerve to laugh.
Yin Zhen: …Empress, am I really your son? Must you belittle me like this?
He dared not argue and lowered his head to continue eating, pretending not to hear Yu Yan’s mocking gaze.
He poked at the rice in his bowl, chewing the meat hard while thinking how both Fourth Brother and this niece were equally annoying!
After the meal, Yin Zhen could no longer linger in Yonghe Palace. At his age, he was considered grown and was to move early to the Southern Third Residence to live with his brothers. Being allowed to dine once with the Virtuous Consort in Yonghe Palace was already an extraordinary favor from the Emperor.
After Yin Zhen left, the Virtuous Consort’s spirits dimmed. She lazily reclined on the Arhat couch in silence. The consort, clearly understanding the subtle mood, rose with a smile. “E Linzhu looks a bit tired. I shall take the girl back first.”
“I find this little girl quite agreeable,” the Virtuous Consort straightened and said, “Bi Xing, go fetch the gold hoop earrings with eastern pearls from my dressing box for the princess.”
“She’s still too young for pierced ears. We’ll give them to her once she’s old enough,” the Virtuous Consort said softly. “These pearls nurture the ears. They were precious gifts my father brought from afar. Now that I am older, they don’t suit me, but they would be perfect for E Linzhu when she grows up.”
“Then I thank Your Highness on behalf of E Linzhu,” the consort smiled. “You truly care for our E Linzhu.”
The Virtuous Consort smiled faintly. It wasn’t about caring or not. All a grandparent’s kindness to grandchildren was to make up for what they lacked with their own children. She owed much to Yin Zhen and, as he grew older, found no way to make amends but to treat his daughter better.
The Golden Awards Festival had taken nearly a whole day. Back in the courtyard, the consort relaxed her tense body against soft pillows while Dongqing massaged her sore, swollen calves—standing all day was simply unbearable.
Though the wet nurse had prepared a soft pad stuffed with mugwort for her knees, standing from dusk till dawn, kneeling and standing again, left the consort in great discomfort.
“It’s fine, just a slight swelling. Let me massage it to disperse the bruising,” Dongqing said quietly.
The consort gave a light hum, then resumed flipping through the scriptures she had been copying recently.
Palace women often copied sutras when idle—partly out of boredom, partly to earn a reputation for filial piety and detachment from worldly desires.
Before the consort could turn many pages, Bai Su hurried in from outside, biting her lip and kneeling with repeated kowtows. “Consort, a great matter! The milk usually given to the Eldest Prince may be poisoned!”
Since the Eldest Prince’s earlier bout with smallpox, his attendants had been almost entirely replaced—except for the wet nurse Hong Shi, who remained. The others, including Wulana Shi, were carefully chosen by the Imperial Household Department and were of impeccable background. Yet, despite this, trouble had arisen.
“What?!” The consort was shocked, feeling as if the world spun and her vision darkened.
The Golden Awards Festival was not yet over, and Yin Zhen did not want to escalate matters within the household, but the safety of the eldest legitimate son was paramount. He decisively moved all the children to one place and sealed off the rooms of several princesses, including Li Shufu’s, forbidding anyone to enter or leave.
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Early the next morning, Yin Zhen ordered Su Peisheng to lead several junior eunuchs to search every room, not sparing even the one where Yu Yan stayed.
“I heard that the chopsticks changed color when testing the food,” Yue Tao whispered to Shan Zhi, unaware that Yu Yan was lying on the canopy bed feigning sleep and secretly listening.
Her brother was truly unfortunate—first smallpox, now poisoning. Yu Yan was one hundred percent convinced no one was innocent here.
Shan Zhi propped her hand on the thread and quietly asked, “Didn’t the Eldest Prince show any bad symptoms?”
“True, except he’s been sleeping more deeply, nothing else is apparent,” Yue Tao said, lowering her head to fiddle with the thread. “That’s why Aunt Hong and Sister Bai Su didn’t notice anything wrong for so long.”
“Perhaps the poison was administered in larger quantities this time and was detected,” Shan Zhi speculated.
“Let’s keep this between us. Don’t mention it in front of the princess when she wakes. She’s young but very sharp,” Yue Tao warned.
Shan Zhi chuckled softly. Yu Yan, nestling in her quilt, felt a bit embarrassed. Had her reputation really come to this? Was it fair?
In the consort’s courtyard, Yin Zhen frowned deeply, looking down at the trembling Su Peisheng. “No leads from the search?”
Su Peisheng bent over like a cooked shrimp, sweating in the cold but forced to answer. “I searched every room with the junior eunuchs and examined the records. Aside from the princess Song having taken a few prescriptions for pregnancy and calming tonics, nothing else was found.”
The consort was tearful but her heart grew stern. “Why would Lady Song need calming tonics?”
Su Peisheng replied, “She said she had trouble sleeping recently, so the imperial physician prescribed two doses to help.”
The consort felt something fleeting in her mind but couldn’t grasp it. Seeing Yin Zhen say nothing, she nodded silently, pushing aside doubts.
In fact, the calming tonic prescribed in the palace contained a small amount of mercury, causing drowsiness. It was not harmful for an adult like Lady Song to take occasionally, as long as she drank more warm water. But for a child like Hong Hui, long-term mercury intake, even in small amounts, would affect development.
However, the imperial physicians did not disclose this, and neither the consort nor the Fourth Prince realized the tonic’s toxicity.
As with the smallpox incident, the courtyard was thoroughly searched again but no mastermind was caught.
With no other recourse, the consort took Hong Hui back to her own chamber to care for him personally, refusing to entrust him to others. The usually lethargic child finally began to show signs of life.