The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 15: The Slap

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》Yanxi Gonglue

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 15: The Slap

   Wei Yingluo followed the sound.

   It was not she who shouted out but the woman who came in a hurry.

   Contrary to Noble Consort Hui's glamour, the woman was plain, with only a small magnolia flower pinned at her temples and at first glance one would have thought she was a lowly the Draft woman but the ceremonial drive that followed told everyone that she was of such high status that she was the only mistress of the harem-- the Empress.

   The Fucha Empress came in such a hurry that she did not even have time to change into formal clothes, wearing the clothes she usually wore when tending to the flowers and plants, with some fallen flowers and mud on the hem of her skirt. She then picked up Noble Lady Yu with her own hands and looked coldly at Noble Consort Hui: “Noble Consort Hui, what do you want to do to Noble Lady Yu?”

   Noble Consort Hui smiled slightly and said: “Noble Lady Yu is not well and I have asked the Royal Physician to attend to her.”

   “Oh?” the Fucha Empress questioned as her eyes dropped to the bowl of medicine held in the Royal Physician's hand “Is this really the cure?”

   “Or what?” Noble Consort Hui turned her attention to the Royal Physician and said, “The Royal Physician, tell the Empress what medicine this is.”

   “In reply to Her Highness, Noble Lady Yu's pulse is thin and sunken and stringent on the left side and slippery and strong on the right side, coupled with heat in the Liver Yang and phlegm and drinks stored in the lungs, she is suffering from a coughing disorder. In order to clear her lung heat, I have prescribed a prescription for clearing heat and promoting lung circulation.” The Royal Physician Bureau respectfully returned, “Both loquat ointment ...”

   “Nonsense!” Noble Lady Yu shouted, “I'm pregnant, it's not a cough! This is a bowl of poison, Her Highness Empress, Her Highness Empress, please help me, oooh ...

   The Fucha Empress' face sinks and her suspicious gaze turns to Noble Consort Hui saying, “Is this really loquat cream?”

   “Zhilan...” Noble Consort Hui with a slight smile.

   “I am here.” The palace maid who was supporting her bowed her head in response.

   Noble Consort Hui took the bowl of medicine from the Royal Physician Bureau, then turned her hand and handed it to Zhilan, ordering: “Drink it!”

   “Yes!” Zhilan took the bowl of medicine and drank it down in one go.

   Time passed, Noble Lady Yu's face grew white, the Fucha Empress's brow furrowed and across the room Zhilan still stood perfectly still.

   “Noble Lady Yu.” Noble Consort Hui looked over at Noble Lady Yu, her smile growing brighter and brighter, like a peony that feeds on malice and said, “Now I ask you again, is this poison?”

   “This, this ...” Noble Lady Yu said through clenched teeth, “Abortion pills only work on pregnant women and are naturally ineffective when used on regular people.”

   “Then let the people of the Royal Physician Bureau have a look at it.” Noble Consort Hui said good naturedly, “Zhilan, give them the medicine bowl and tell them to take it to the Royal Physician Bureau to have a good look and see what's in the bowl.”

   Emboldened by this, she made the Fucha Empress hesitate, could this bowl really contain loquat paste? However, the matter had come to this, so many pairs of eyes were watching, so many pairs of ears were listening, it was no longer possible to reveal it gently, the Fucha Empress could only say: “Someone, declare the Royal Physician Zhang Yuanpan to come here.”

   Zhang Yuanpan soon arrived and, in full view of everyone, he examined the residue of the medicine in the bowl two or three times before concluding: “Back to Her Highness, this medicine ... It is indeed loquat paste.”

   The Fucha Empress and Noble Lady Yu both flinched at the words.

   “Noble Lady Yu, for the sake of the dragon seed you are carrying, I will leave you alone for now.” Noble Consort Hui said with a seeming smile, “But there is one person you must give to me ... Her Highness Empress, who tipped you off that I was poisoning Noble Lady Yu?”

   The Fucha Empress blushed hard and swept behind her out of the corner of her eye--Concubine Yi.

…

   “Concubine Yi is going to have a bad luck.”

   On her return from the Chuxiu Palace, Jinxiu told everyone what had happened to her today and the little court ladies, who were bored with their day, now had something new to hear and gathered around her to listen with great interest.

   “Noble Lady Yu was pregnant with the dragon's seed, which was a good thing but she was suspicious and didn't report it and Noble Consort Hui kindly asked the Royal Physician to treat her but she bit back!” After the story was finished, she shook her head and commented, “And Concubine Yi, who was even more outrageous, saying that Noble Consort Hui was going to poison the royal heir! How dare a little Concubine slander the high Concubines and Consorts, this is a great disrespect! Now that she has been taken away by Noble Consort Hui, I reckon she won't die but I reckon she'll lose her skin!”

   Are things really as Jinxiu says?

   I'm only afraid it's not that simple.

   Everyone is now saying that Noble Consort Hui has been wronged but has she really been wronged? I don't think so. The fact that Noble Lady Yu is pregnant with the dragon's seed, which was a good thing, has now become a stain and everyone suspects her of using the child in her belly to falsely accuse Noble Consort Hui. Who would dare to inform on the Empress and who would dare to go to the Empress for help in the future?

   “As for Noble Lady Yu ...” Wei Yingluo thought to herself, “It's not that I'm not going to make her, I'm just going to make her later, after all, there's more than one way to get an abortion ...”

   A few days later, inside the Embroidery Workshop, Zhang Momo found Wei Yingluo and Jinxiu again.

   “Manager Wu has just ordered it down.” Zhang Momo speak to both of them, “Noble Lady Yu is pregnant and the Embroidery Workshop is going to sew her new clothes, you two come with me to the Yonghe Palace.”

   The day was cloudy, the clouds stretched for miles, not a ray of light could penetrate and the Yonghe Palace was like a huge coffin, with the door like an open lid waiting for the entrance of a fresh corpse.

   “SMACK!”

   Before Wei Yingluo could enter, she heard a faint bang from the door.

   “SMACK!”

   And when you got in the door and into the courtyard, pop, pop, pop, the sound got closer and louder.

   “SMACK!”

   In the courtyard, Concubine Yi was on her knees, both cheeks swollen and a line of blood stretched from the corner of her mouth, looking miserable, when the next moment a wooden slice struck her hard in the face.

   “Concubine Yi! I ask for Her Highness Noble Consort, why should I slap your mouth?”

   Concubine Yi gritted her teeth and said: “I slandered Noble Consort and committed the following offence.”

   Pop!

   The wood slice smote Concubine Yi's face once more and Zhilan said coldly: “Her Highness Noble Consort asks you, “Do you have a grievance in your heart?”

   “No complaint.” Concubine Yi swallowed the blood from her mouth and said, “I blame myself and no one else.”

   After a rare break in the woodchip, Zhilan, holding it in her hand, smiled and asked her, “Her Highness Noble Consort ask you again, remember to be careful what you say in the future?”

   Concubine Yi seemed relieved and said: “Remember ...”

   Pop!

   A tooth bounced from the direction of Concubine Yi and rolled to Wei Yingluo's feet, the snow-white tooth particularly bloody.

   “Louder!” Zhilan held up the wooden piece.

   Concubine Yi's shaking hand covered her mouth, blood seeping along her fingers and shivered for a long time before dropping her hand and saying, with blood on her lips, “I bear this in mind!”

   “No!” Concubine Yi could bear it but someone else could not bear it any longer, only to see Noble Lady Yu darting out of the house, jumping on Concubine Yi and crying at Zhilan, “No more beatings, no more beatings! Sister Concubine Yi is in the wrong because of me, Her Highness Noble Consort punish me if you want, hit me! Hit me!”

   “See what you say.” Zhilan sneered, “Noble Lady Yu, you are pregnant with a child and for the sake of the child in your womb, Her Highness Noble Consort will not condone your previous slander but Concubine Yi is a different matter ...”

   She slowly moved her gaze to Concubine Yi's face... shall we say, the same thing? As Her Highness Noble Consort's personal court maid, Zhilan's gaze was equally cold and malevolent, like that of a spitting green snake.

   “There are fifteen more strokes to go.” Zhilan laughed.

   “No!” Noble Lady Yu held Concubine Yi in a deadly embrace, as if to instantly transform into a box, locking her inside and all those who intended to harm her outside.

   “Noble Lady Yu, if you make such a fuss, we can't afford to suffer if you hurt the dragon's baby!” Zhilan said to the court maids, “You are all wooden, why don't you help Noble Lady back!”

   The court was so overwhelmed by her lust that they had to fly forward and pull Noble Lady Yu away with all their hands and feet.

   “No, let go of me! Let go of me, Sister Concubine Yi!”

   “SMACK!”

   The Wei Yingluo trio also took the opportunity to follow the palace people.

   While waiting for Noble Lady Yu to be summoned, Jinxiu, rubbing her chest, asked with trepidation: “Momo, what was ... That was ...”

   Zhang Momo said: “Concubine Yi slandered Noble Consort by slandering her, Her Highness Noble Consort punished her with a public slap on the mouth.”

   “Concubine Yi is the master of the first palace!” Jinxiu looked at Zhang Momo in disbelief and said, “How can a palace maid ...”

   “Stop it! What's a court maid?” Zhang Momo gave her a cool glance and said, “Only someone like you is called a court maid! Who is she? She is Noble Consort Hui's personal maid, Zhilan! She is a seventh ranking official in front of the Managers’ office and her status is higher than that of the lower concubines!”

   Knowing that she had said the wrong thing again, Jinxiu, in her haste, flicked her gaze towards Wei Yingluo and asked, “Yingluo, what are you looking at?”

   Wei Yingluo did not say a word all the way but turned back every now and then and looked at Concubine Yi, who was kneeling in the distance.

   “It is so outside the court, let alone inside it.” She murmured, “Now that Her Highness Noble Consort has done this, she has insulted Concubine Yi and disgraced herself. Can she still hold her own?”

   The back reflected in her pupils suddenly shook, then lurched to the right and planted itself weakly on the ground.

   “Douse her awake!” Zhilan's voice came from afar and coldly and mercilessly said, “And thirteen strikes to go!”

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS