Concubine of the Eastern Palace (Qing Dynasty Time Travel) - Chapter 26

“Miss, I heard that Yang Gege is sick.”

Bitao brought over a cup of cool tea and placed it on the small low table beside her. She leaned in and whispered mysteriously, “I heard she has a serious facial condition. Mama Ling personally arranged for a highly skilled old doctor to see her and prescribe medicine.”

Recently, the weather had been getting hotter each day, and the room felt like a steam room. Even with three or four ice fans and basins, it wasn’t enough to cool things down. So, she had someone bring in a bamboo lounge chair and placed it under the grapevine pergola. She lay down there, fanning herself with a banana leaf fan to cool off.

“Is it a serious illness?” Cheng Wanyun asked in surprise, casually placing the cat, Mi Mi, who had jumped onto her lap, back on the ground. In this scorching heat, even dogs were panting, and Mi Mi’s thick fur made her quite uncomfortable.

But this clingy cat still loved to stick to people, rubbing against their legs, jumping onto their laps for petting, or even waiting on the bed, lying on your head as though pretending to be a big fur hat while you slept.

“I don’t know exactly what the illness is,” Bitao said, offering a small dried fish to Mi Mi, who immediately stopped trying to climb onto Cheng Wanyun. Instead, she circled around Bitao, eager for the treat. “I heard that the doctor who treated Yang Gege before, Doctor Zhou, had prescribed herbs for liver soothing and relieving stagnation. I don’t know if it’s a new illness now, or if the liver condition is still lingering…”

After hearing this, Cheng Wanyun guessed that perhaps Yang Gege had been feeling frustrated because all the repentance letters she had written had gone unanswered, and the frustration had built up inside her. When Bitao went out to visit someone, she brought back news that Yang Gege had even cut her finger and written in blood. But with Mama Ling involved, it all came to nothing.

How much pain must that have caused?

Why did Yang Gege always seem to walk from one dead end to another? Even when the path was blocked, she didn’t give up. If it was her… she would have given up long ago.

Cheng Wanyun actually felt a little sympathy for her, but then, she realized she was also part of the “disfavored” group herself. Still, she found herself having the energy to worry about someone else.

She still lived a comfortable life, aside from not being able to eat much due to the heat.

There had been some unrest among the people in her courtyard before, but she called them all together for a motivational meeting. The “art of selling promises” she had mastered in her past life when leading a team proved just as effective for calming people’s nerves. She took the lead in reviewing and summarizing the past, delved into analyzing her own issues, and encouraged the team to fantasize about the future. They brainstormed and concluded that she hadn’t really lost favor, and the final verdict was, “Everyone should work together to get through this tough time.”

By soothing their hearts and boosting morale, everyone resumed their duties with renewed diligence, and they even had an inexplicable confidence in her.

Hongying praised her for keeping her composure.

Cheng Wanyun chuckled to herself. She was merely well-versed in the art of workplace deception.

The First Rule of the Workplace: As long as the promises are well-drawn, the team can be led well.

After waking up from her nap at noon, Bitao brought back an ice bowl from the kitchen, filled with chopped watermelon, cantaloupe, longan, soft and sticky mung beans, red beans, grass jelly, silver ear mushrooms, and about ten other small ingredients. Then, she poured honey and crushed ice over it. Cheng Wanyun took a bite and immediately squinted her eyes in pleasure.

The fruit ice dessert from the Qing Dynasty had a style reminiscent of later times, with even more abundant and refined ingredients. It was truly delicious.

It was as blissful as being an immortal.

Qingying, standing beside her, advised, “Miss, don’t eat so much, or you won’t be able to eat your proper meal later.”

“This one bowl won’t be a problem, don’t worry!” Cheng Wanyun wasn’t willing to listen. She continued eating while listening to Bitao gossip.

“Today, Miss Tang also invited the Imperial Doctor,” Bitao tried to suppress her laughter, but couldn’t help it. Her face twisted in amusement. “After Miss Wang was diagnosed as pregnant, she started dancing even more frequently in the garden. But for several days, the Crown Prince came back at noon, and you know, who can stand the midday sun?”

Cheng Wanyun chuckled, “One can’t exactly make up stories about the master when outside.”

“I know,” Bitao replied. She loved to gossip but had never revealed any secrets of the inner chambers. “Recently, Side Concubine Li has been treating Miss Wang very well, sending her supplements every day. I heard that quite a few of them came from her own private stash. The Crown Prince also rewarded her with a lot of things, and Miss Wang’s meals have been supplemented so much that she’s even had to have her clothes remade.”

“Pregnancy does make one gain weight,” Cheng Wanyun finished the last bite and set the bowl aside. “The congratulatory gift we sent earlier shouldn’t be considered impolite, right?”

Miss Wang had been pregnant for just over a month and was said to have a very healthy and strong pulse, which was great news for Yuqing Palace. Side Concubine Li had invested a lot, sending her several types of medicinal herbs like ganoderma and red ginseng, and had ordered the kitchen to give her extra meals. Miss Tang had sent hand-made baby clothes, and the Crown Prince’s gifts were even more extravagant—silks, jewels, and jade items. Cheng Wanyun had opened her own storerooms to look for a suitable gift, but she still didn’t know what to send.

Moreover, two-thirds of the items in her storerooms were gifts from the Crown Prince. Not that the Crown Prince had given her an abundance, but she had brought very few items into the palace herself, making it difficult to pass them on as gifts.

In the end, she followed Hongying’s suggestion. “In the palace, there’s a saying, ‘Men send bows, women send belts.’ How about sending Miss Wang a small bow made of red gold, wishing her a smooth childbirth? She would surely be pleased.”

So, Cheng Wanyun took the gold she had been saving and sent it to the artisans in the palace to have it melted down and recast. The tassels were made by Cheng Wanyun and Qingying, who used five-color silk threads to tie them into safety and good luck knots.

“Miss Wang was absolutely delighted and even hung it up on her bed canopy herself.” Bitao had been the one to deliver it, and she smiled with squinted eyes. “She even gave me a generous reward.”

Cheng Wanyun felt reassured. In her past life, she had seen many palace drama series, and giving gifts always seemed to be a potential pitfall. Therefore, gold, silver, and jade items seemed to be the safest choice. However, these gifts also had to be meaningful and unique, which was not easy.

She felt that the gift she had given this time was at least passable.

That night, suddenly thunder rumbled, and a heavy rain poured down. Cheng Wanyun was woken from her sleep by the deafening thunder. She sensed that things outside seemed chaotic as well. In the downpour, there were countless hurried footsteps, and she felt an inexplicable sense of unease. She sat up, pulled aside the green gauze bed curtain, and called softly, “Qingying, Qingying?”

“I’m here, Miss,” Qingying, who happened to be on late-night duty, had been sleeping in the outer room. Hearing the sound, she hurriedly put on a robe and came in, holding a lamp. “The thunder is really loud. Did it wake you up?”

The window was banging in the wind. Cheng Wanyun said, “Go outside and see if something has happened.”

Qingying nodded and was about to go out when she encountered Bitao, who was rushing in.

“Miss… it’s… Miss Yang… she’s gone.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a lightning bolt suddenly split the sky. The window was blown open with a loud crash, and wind and rain poured in, chilling Cheng Wanyun to the bone. “But she was fine during the day… How…?”

“I don’t know either,” Bitao’s face turned pale, and her voice trembled. “I heard she started feeling dizzy and short of breath, and by midnight, she was vomiting and having diarrhea. By the time the Imperial Doctor arrived in the middle of the night, it was already too late.” Her voice quivered further. “When they carried her out, the young eunuch said her face was blue and her lips were black…”

Upon hearing this, Qingying, who was closing the window, also changed her expression. No one spoke further.

Cheng Wanyun couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

Outside, the constant sound of rain and thunder merged into a single overwhelming noise. Unconsciously, she reached up to wipe her face, only to realize that her cheeks were wet with tears. She couldn’t even tell whether the tears were for Yang Gege or for the small, insignificant self she had become. She had tried so hard to adapt to this era, but every now and then, she couldn’t help but be reminded that she didn’t belong here.

In fact, she wasn’t truly dissatisfied with her current life; it was just that women’s lives in the Qing Dynasty were as fragile as weeds, which made her feel uneasy.

Yang Gege had been too close to her, and hearing about her sudden death was something she couldn’t accept.

When she was young, she had once witnessed a death in Huizhou County. A wealthy gentleman named Wang had gathered his whole family to tie his daughter-in-law up and drown her in a pond. She had been bought as a bride at only sixteen, but her life had been miserable from the start. She had been treated like a widow, constantly scolded and beaten by her mother-in-law. Unable to bear it anymore, she had planned to elope with a servant but was caught in the act.

She was stripped of her outer clothes, placed in a pig cage, and paraded through the streets, before ultimately being drowned. The servant, only seventeen or eighteen years old, was immediately handed over to the authorities by Old Master Wang, and Cheng Wanyun’s father, Master Cheng, sentenced him to forty lashes. By the time they had taken him out of the city, he had already died.

During the street parade, the Wang family had drums and gongs beaten to warn their relatives about the consequences of having illicit affairs. Cheng Wanyun was out buying books at the time, and her sedan chair happened to be parked by the roadside. Surrounded by her maidservants and elderly women, she was sitting at the innermost part of the chair. Her nanny wouldn’t let her peek outside, but taking advantage of the moment when the nanny wasn’t paying attention, Cheng Wanyun lifted the curtain slightly with her fingertips to take a look. Through the small gap, she saw the pig cage, inside of which was a pair of legs, bent abnormally and covered with whip marks, blood congealed in the wounds.

The woman’s legs had been broken, but the person inside the pig cage made no sound.

When she returned home, Cheng Wanyun was dispirited and withdrew into her room, refusing to speak. All the maidservants and elderly women who had accompanied her out were punished with lashes. She feared that the people around her would be unjustly implicated and sold off, and while she cried, she forced herself to say, “It’s alright.”

From that moment on, her perspective as an observer from another world completely changed. She finally realized that she was already a part of the game. The remaining sense of luck and novelty disappeared completely. Aside from tinkering with food and drinks, she no longer did anything out of line. If there were court selections, she would participate; if there was embroidery to be done, she would do it. She tried to enjoy life as much as she could, and her “lazy” attitude became even more pronounced.

Once she entered the palace, she understood what she was afraid of.

In this strictly hierarchical feudal society, the daughter-in-law who had been drowned was just a commoner, but now, Yang Gege, who had died mysteriously, was the daughter of a third-rank official! Yang Gege must have done something to offend someone, but how was Cheng Wanyun any different?

She didn’t even know why Yang Gege had to die, or who had made the decision…

Cheng Wanyun didn’t know how to avoid such a fate! All she could do was guess based on Yang Gege’s usual behavior. Could it have been because of the cat? But clearly, the Crown Prince had already scolded her about it, and he didn’t want her to “die from illness.” Otherwise, Yang Gege wouldn’t have tried to send letters every day afterward.

The next morning, Yang Gege was officially announced as having “passed away from illness.” Time passed quickly, and Yuqing Palace didn’t seem to change much because of the loss of one of the concubines. Sanbao still came to talk to her as usual. Qingying and Bitao were more accepting of the situation, and privately they had only muttered, “The feng shui of the West Wing is so bad. First, it was Miss Lin, and now…”, before they fell silent.

Perhaps such things happened too often in the palace; they had grown used to it.

Cheng Wanyun still couldn’t quite get used to it. Even though she had lived here for more than ten years, the palace was truly different from the outside world. She didn’t know if she could survive until the end, perhaps one day quietly “passing away” just like this, without any explanation.

Perhaps it was because Yang Gege had once been part of her life. Cheng Wanyun couldn’t quite explain what she felt. The already hot summer made her lose her appetite even more. Her meals were almost always presented the same way, and then returned untouched, which scared Qingying and Bitao. They hesitantly asked if she wanted to call for the Imperial Doctor. She shook her head vigorously. Just seeing the words “Imperial Doctor” made her feel afraid.

After all, Yang Gege had seen the Imperial Doctor before she died…

Earlier, Bitao had mentioned how Mama Ling had personally called for an old Imperial Doctor to see a young concubine, speaking with some envy, as if she thought Yang Gege’s good days were coming soon. Now, Cheng Wanyun understood why!

In this life, it seemed like she hadn’t been given any special advantages, but perhaps she had received the “buff” of a salted fish god—retreating to her room, she didn’t even waste two days before beginning to motivate herself again.

After all, this life was something she had been given by chance… Cheng Wanyun lay flat on her bed, hands folded on her stomach, thinking lazily. Every day she managed to survive felt like a gain.

Why worry? With her identity, status, and intellect, she couldn’t possibly fight against imperial power!

And then she thought of the Crown Prince!

Even the Crown Prince himself was destined to be deposed after more than twenty years. Once wasn’t enough, he had to be deposed twice. In the end, whether he was truly mad or just pretending to be, he only managed to live into his fifties. If even a proper Crown Prince could have such a miserable fate, what was there for her to fear about not having a good end?

Hmm, she might as well enjoy her current life.

By comparing her misfortune to others, Cheng Wanyun managed to lift her spirits and even drank a couple more sips of porridge.

If the Crown Prince knew that Cheng Wanyun was comforting herself in this way, he certainly wouldn’t have been so worried or anxious.

“Is Cheng Gege unwell?”

The summer sun was scorching, and Yinreng had just come out of the study when he overheard He Baozhong whispering about Cheng Gege’s condition. It was reported that the inner quarters had been serving only plain congee for the past few days, with no snacks served at all. Zheng Taijian had been so bored that he almost cut his finger while chopping chicken yesterday.

Cheng Gege hadn’t left her room for several days.

This was strange! Since Cheng Gege entered Yuqing Palace half a year ago, she had never missed a meal or snack; this was the first time.

He Baozhong didn’t inquire on his own; rather, it was because after the arrival of Concubine Wang and Concubine Tang, the Crown Prince specifically instructed that all matters regarding Cheng Gege be reported to him.

At first, the Crown Prince’s instructions had left He Baozhong and the young eunuchs worried, because Cheng Gege was the type of person who could spend the whole day watching the sky with her cat, or sit by the fish pond all day, or take an afternoon nap that lasted until dark. Even if she did nothing all day, He Baozhong still had to report something, right? If not, what was he supposed to do, wait for the Crown Prince to ask on his own? He might as well resign. So, the best content to report every day was what Cheng Gege ate.

And the Crown Prince truly seemed to care about this.

So when the weather got hot and Cheng Gege lost her appetite, He Baozhong was worried enough to lose his hair. But luckily, Cheng Gege still enjoyed snacks and fruits, changing up the variety every day. When she was in a good mood, she would even bake some steamed buns herself.

The Crown Prince sometimes even raised an eyebrow and commented, “How can you eat these things with no nutritional value every day? Next time, ask Aunt Hongying to talk to her and advise her properly.”

When He Baozhong went to pass on the message, he really wanted to roll his eyes. How could a servant like him persuade the master? If you were really so concerned, Your Highness, why not go and see Cheng Gege for yourself?

Now that Wang Gege was pregnant, the Crown Prince seemed to have completed the task assigned to him by his master. Wang Gege was left in the care of Mama Ling, while, as for Tang Gege, whether she had caught a summer chill from her dancing or was persistently trying to present soup and water to see him, the Crown Prince refused to go. Instead, he spent all his time in the study—either reading, writing, playing chess with himself, or staring blankly at the chubby wooden tiger sculpture on the windowsill. His only leisure was to listen to reports about “Cheng Gege’s daily life.”

But he stubbornly refused to visit the inner quarters, and He Baozhong really couldn’t understand why.

Unexpectedly, these past few days, Cheng Gege had stopped eating fruit, drinking tea, and watching fish. She locked herself in her room and no one knew what she was doing. The little eunuchs couldn’t figure out anything, and they came to He Baozhong with worried faces, bowing and apologizing.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince had been busy with the imperial exams over the past few days and hadn’t had the time to inquire.

As soon as the exam was over today, He Baozhong quickly reported the situation.

When Yinreng heard this, he immediately understood that she was probably too ill to admit it. His brow furrowed, and he immediately ordered the sedan to move faster.

He Baozhong, panting and sweating profusely, followed closely behind. But when they arrived at Yuqing Palace, there was no time to rest. The Crown Prince didn’t even change his clothes and headed straight for the inner quarters, walking faster and faster.

He Baozhong was drenched in sweat and didn’t even have time to wipe his face. He silently prayed, “Amitabha Buddha, may the Crown Prince finally come out of his stubbornness and visit Cheng Gege. Maybe this inquiry job of mine will finally be done.”

By the time He Baozhong had figured it out, Cheng Wanyun was already feeling much better. She just wasn’t ready to eat cold food or go outside to get some fresh air. According to Qingxing, it was because she had eaten too many icy things and liked to nap in the yard, causing some discomfort.

Unable to go out for a breeze, she decided to occupy herself with something indoors. The checkers set she had ordered from the imperial workshop had arrived long ago. She had already painted it, so she gathered Qingxing, Bitao, Hongying, Tianjin, and Tianyin to play together. There were just the right number of six people. After agreeing on the rules, they rolled the dice to decide who would go first.

Cheng Wanyun wasn’t particularly good at checkers, but since she started playing, she hadn’t lost a single game. At first, everyone was unfamiliar with the rules, so she had an advantage. Later, the games became more balanced, especially against Tianyin. Not only did he have good moves, but he also knew how to control her, quickly knocking her pieces off the board.

Cheng Wanyun thought to herself, ‘…Ah, back in the day, I used to pretend to mess up my golf swing while playing with clients!’

Tianyin was truly impressive. Didn’t you see how Tianjin kept giving Tianyin pointed looks? His eyes were almost twitching!

But that was Tianyin’s personality; if it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have been assigned to handle the rough work in the first place.

Over time, Cheng Wanyun found herself enjoying playing checkers with Tianyin more and more. It made the game interesting—winning against him once in a while made her incredibly happy. Gradually, her appetite returned, and today she was ready to roll up her sleeves and order something delicious yet light to make up for her lost appetite.

She hadn’t had much of an appetite before, so she’d only been able to drink some porridge. Recently, however, she felt like she had eaten so much porridge that her face was nearly turning green.

She touched her slightly hollowed-out cheek, resolving to regain her weight.

At that moment, a little eunuch tumbled down the steps and startled Cheng Wanyun. Hongying quickly stood up and scolded him, “You blind fool! What are you panicking about?”

The little eunuch scrambled to his feet, his face flushed as he hurriedly said, “This servant deserves to die! The Crown Prince is coming here!”

Everyone in the room was delighted. Some scrambled to open trunks and take out newly made clothes to wear, others opened their makeup boxes to apply powder and draw eyebrows, and some began to comb her hair. Cheng Wanyun, who was being pressed down on the chair, couldn’t express her feelings. She was actually a bit happy, but not because of the Crown Prince’s attention. It was more of a relief—this meant she probably hadn’t fallen out of favor, right?

She could hang on for a few more days!

For the first time, Cheng Wanyun was being carefully groomed and dressed. She put on a new peach-red gauze embroidered with branch flowers, topped with a satin butterfly-patterned vest, and wore an elegant white satin skirt with subtle floral patterns. On her head, she wore a turquoise and ruby flower ornament and a silver-gilt dragonfly hairpin with pearl tassels—both gifts from the Crown Prince.

The sun was high behind her. Yinreng, who had walked quickly and was sweating lightly, ignored the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling on the floor. His gaze fell directly on Cheng Wanyun, who was lowering her body to greet him.

She had lost weight, but thankfully, her complexion still looked good.

Not long after Wang and Tang had arrived, He Baozhong had told him that she had been so worried she couldn’t eat, and had lost a great deal of weight. Yinreng had resisted the urge to see her, since he had to heed the Emperor’s wishes and distance himself for a while.

Now, with Wang Gege’s pregnancy at the perfect timing, it seemed like the Emperor’s orders had been fulfilled. Wang Gege wasn’t a Han Chinese; she was from the Imperial Household Department, just like the Empress and the other concubines from that background. Empress Hui, in fact, had borne the Crown Prince’s eldest son.

It had been over a month since he’d seen her. Yinreng stepped forward, gently helped her up, and sat her down on a small couch. He examined her closely, and Cheng Wanyun felt her face slowly turn red under his gaze. He Baozhong, seeing this, quickly waved his hand and ordered all the servants to leave, then silently closed the door behind him.

Once Yinreng heard the door softly close, he relaxed his shoulders and pulled Cheng Wanyun into his embrace.

Leaning against his shoulder, Cheng Wanyun quietly hugged him back.

It seemed like the Crown Prince had lost some weight too.

Her palm lightly caressed his back. His summer clothes were thin, and she could easily feel the protruding butterfly bones along his spine.

“How did you lose so much weight? You’re not sick, are you?” Yinreng murmured, his nose gently brushing her ear as he lowered his head to inhale deeply near her neck. “I haven’t come to see you in so long, do you resent me?”

“No,” Cheng Wanyun wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face to look at him. “Aside from the heat making me lose my appetite… mostly, I’ve just missed you.”

Workplace Principle #1: Flattery must be loud and clear.

She originally had large, almond-shaped eyes, but now, having lost a little weight, her eyes had become even rounder, resembling a clear pool of water. As she stared at him steadily, her gaze was even more captivating.

Yinreng’s chest tightened, and he lowered his head to kiss her forehead, slowly moving down to her nose, and finally, his lips found hers.

“I missed you too,” he murmured, pulling her tightly into his arms, his voice hoarse. “I think about you every day.”

In the time he hadn’t seen her, he had dreamed of her many times.

Only then did he realize how much he had missed her.

The summer window paper was thin. He Baozhong stood outside, constantly wiping sweat from his sleeves. Suddenly, he heard a “thud” from inside, as if something had been knocked over, and the shadow on the window seemed to fall as well. The two clumsy palace maids beside Cheng Wanyun panicked and tried to rush inside.

“Hey!” He Baozhong quickly stopped them, pushing them a few steps back. “Go, go, don’t crowd around.”

Moments later, another muffled, soft sound came from inside. He Baozhong dared not eavesdrop at the door anymore. He hurriedly led several palace maids and eunuchs to the tea room, where they drank some cool tea, ate slices of watermelon, and chatted aimlessly for about fifteen minutes. Once he thought enough time had passed, he returned to the door to wait.

Inside, Cheng Wanyun was lazily lying on the Crown Prince, playfully toying with his fingers.

Yinreng looked down at her. Her eyes still glistened with moisture, and the redness on her face hadn’t faded. When he thought back to how she had trembled as she sat on him earlier, he blushed, realizing only then that his own face had turned red as well.

The courtyard was tranquil, with only the faint sounds of cicadas chirping from somewhere in the distance. A gentle breeze blew, casting the shadow of the maple leaves on the ground, and the light that filtered through the leaves scattered over the two of them, covering them with tiny specks of light. In this quiet atmosphere, it felt as if even the flutter of a bird’s wings landing on the window sill was crystal clear. Yinreng couldn’t help but feel drowsy. He pulled over the silk blanket, which had already been tangled from earlier, and held the sleeping woman in his arms, slowly closing his eyes as well.

When they awoke, the sun had already begun to set, and the evening light was deepening.

Cheng Wanyun woke up earlier than Yinreng. She was truly awoken by hunger.

Once the Crown Prince arrived, she felt at ease. The way he held her, and his frantic heartbeat, which only grew more intense despite doing nothing, gave her a sense of relief. At least she didn’t need to worry anymore. This kind of instinctive reaction from his body spoke louder than any words could.

As she thought about it, she raised her head and kissed the corner of Yinreng’s lips.

Yinreng was effectively awakened by her kiss.

“Why do you act like a little dog?” He turned over and pinned her down, smiling. “Isn’t it enough, A Wan?”

Cheng Wanyun snorted, “After so much time without you, one or two times doesn’t even begin to make up for it.”

Yinreng raised an eyebrow at her words, leaned down, and slowly began to kiss her again. But Cheng Wanyun, only seeking a bit of relief, soon found herself trembling, out of breath, pleading, “Second Master… I was wrong… Second Master… please spare me…”

When He Baozhong heard the sound asking for water, his legs were numb from standing.

The two of them got cleaned up, and by now, it was completely dark. Cheng Wanyun was so hungry that her stomach was pressing against her back.

Her usual reluctance to eat in the heat had been completely cured. Now, even if a feast were served, she felt she could manage to eat it all. She ordered loofah soup, steamed zucchini egg, cold lotus root with wood ear mushrooms, and for the main dish, she wanted five-color fried rice. The Crown Prince added a portion of steamed bass, and as soon as San Bao heard this, he hurried off.

Once the meal was served, the Crown Prince ate half a fish and two bowls of rice. Cheng Wanyun finished a big bowl of soup with rice, feeling quite satisfied.

Though it was already time to go to bed, they had slept so long in the afternoon that neither of them could fall asleep immediately. Cheng Wanyun pulled out a fan ornament that she had half-woven from the small cabinet by the bed and continued weaving while chatting with Yinreng.

Yinreng, feeling restless, told He Baozhong to go fetch a book. Not long after, He Baozhong returned with a thick letter rolled up in his sleeve. He kneeled at the side of the bed and reported softly:

“Master, we have received a letter from the northern border.”