According to the palace rules, all Primary Consorts at the rank of Pinwei or above were permitted to establish their own small kitchens within their palaces. Thanks to the Original Host’s high rank, Tong Jiaying now had her own private kitchen.
For the past few days, Tong Jiaying had not ordered any meals, leaving the eunuchs in charge of the kitchen feeling dejected and listless. Noble Consort Tong had fallen ill, and it was said she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for several days. If this continued… none of them dared to think further.
Noble Consort Tong was not a difficult person to serve. On the contrary, she was quite easy to please. Her emotions were always written on her face, making it clear where one had fallen short. If mistakes were corrected promptly, she would even reward them. Thus, although Noble Consort Tong had many demands, everyone in Chengqian Palace considered her a good master to serve.
No one wanted to be transferred elsewhere.
When Shuangyu came to place the meal order, the eunuchs breathed a collective sigh of relief and immediately sprang into action, bustling around the stoves.
Tong Jiaying remained reclined on the kang. As the sun gradually set, the room began to darken. Feiyu lifted the satin door curtain embroidered with the motif of “Peace and Prosperity” and entered quietly. She carefully removed the glass lampshade, lit the lamp, and replaced the shade.
Although the candlelight of this era could not compare to the electric lights of later times, the room brightened considerably, filled with a warm, relaxing glow that soothed the spirit.
“Master, this afternoon, Steward Gu from His Majesty’s side came by, saying he was here on behalf of The Emperor to inquire after you. Seeing that you were resting, I took the liberty of having Feng Yuan invite Steward Gu to the West Side Hall for tea and refreshments.” Feiyu was Noble Consort Tong’s senior palace maid. Unlike Shuangyu, who was the personal senior maid, Feiyu served as the chief stewardess of Chengqian Palace.
She usually worked alongside the head matron, handling matters of reception, social engagements, and communication for Chengqian Palace.
Tong Jiaying gave a soft “Hmm” to acknowledge the information. It was now the twenty-ninth day of the third lunar month in the seventeenth year of Kangxi’s reign. On the first day of the third month, Wu Sangui had declared himself emperor in Hengyang, Hunan. Kangxi himself was overwhelmed by the chaos of “Withdrawing the Three Feudatories,” yet he still found time to send his chief eunuch, Gu Wen Xing, to visit her. This showed how much he cared for his cousin.
Seeing Tong Jiaying’s indifferent expression, Feiyu continued, “The Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager also sent their respective matrons to inquire after you.” As for the other Imperial Consorts in the palace, Feiyu simply skipped over them. However, she added, “Consort Wu from Chongcui Palace sent a snow-blue satin forehead band she embroidered herself.”
Her master’s recent intentions were clear: Consort Wu was pregnant. If her master could have a prince of her own, her bargaining power would undoubtedly increase, making her bid for that position more assured.
“Do not mention Consort Wu’s affairs again in the future,” Tong Jiaying said, sitting up straight. She looked directly into Feiyu’s eyes. “Feiyu, what I said earlier—that I had walked through the gates of death and now understood everything clearly—was not a lie to any of you.”
“Now that the Successor Empress’s coffin has just been sent to Gonghua City, if I were to start scheming here, what do you think The Emperor would feel if he knew? Would the Grand Empress Dowager be pleased?” The Original Host had taken her aunt as a role model, aspiring wholeheartedly to become Empress.
After her first setback, she had nearly resigned herself to the fate of never attaining the position of Empress. Who would have thought the Successor Empress would die young, reigniting her ambitions?
But the Successor Empress had been raised to her position by the Grand Empress Dowager herself, and the Grand Empress Dowager was still in good health, likely to live another decade or more.
Tong Jiaying felt that having merely read a few palace intrigue and household conflict novels, she was nothing more than an armchair strategist with superficial knowledge. How could she possibly compare to the Grand Empress Dowager, who had weathered decades of turbulence in both the Imperial Harem and the imperial court, and had supported two generations of emperors, Shunzhi and Kangxi?
Though it might seem like she was undermining her own confidence, the truth was, with her amateurish skills, how many rounds could she last against a martial arts master?
Above all else, staying alive was what mattered most.
Seeing Tong Jiaying speak with such solemnity, Feiyu finally relaxed the last tense string in her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes as she grasped Tong Jiaying’s hands. “It’s good that Mistress has come to her senses. This servant will no longer worry.” Previously, the mistress had been so anxious, and no matter how much they tried to persuade her, it was futile. Everyone had been carrying a heavy stone in their hearts, waiting for it to drop on their own feet.
For a moment, Tong Jiaying was puzzled. It turned out that the people around the Original Host were not as she remembered—not all of them were wholeheartedly dedicated to pushing her onto the throne of Empress.
Noticing Tong Jiaying’s slight confusion, Feiyu immediately explained, “Mistress, forgive this servant for speaking out of turn, but Madam Tong only cares about her sons and thinks only of the benefits you would gain as Empress. She never considered the hardships you would face in the palace.”
Tong Jiaying recalled that the Original Host’s mother, Madam Tong, had often instilled in her the idea that she resembled her aunt. After the Original Host’s elder sister failed in her competition with the First Empress, Madam Tong began grooming her instead. This time, Madam Tong had succeeded in getting her into the palace.
However, she did not become Empress as hoped. Seeing that the Successor Empress had passed away, Madam Tong took advantage of the opportunity to enter the palace for mourning and began hinting to the Original Host once again.
The Original Host already had ambitions, and under Madam Tong’s encouragement, those ambitions quickly grew from a small sprout into a towering tree, deeply rooted in her heart.
Tong Jiying had carefully analyzed and pondered this: Why couldn’t Noble Consort Tong become Empress while she was still healthy? Was it really because Kangxi believed he brought misfortune to his wives? It was certainly because Kangxi was unwilling, and the Grand Empress Dowager was unwilling. With the two most powerful figures in the palace opposed, the more she tried to prove herself, the more they would find her detestable.
Could someone who openly defied their superiors have a bright future?
“Don’t worry, I won’t strive for anything from now on,” Tong Jiaying said sincerely.
Feiyu: “…” There was no need to go that far. But she was afraid that if she said a few words of persuasion, the mistress might take them seriously and become ambitious again, which would not be good.
“It’s good that Mistress has come to her senses,” Feiyu added. “As for Madam Tong, this servant spoke out of turn. I hope Mistress won’t be angry with me.” Madam Tong was the mistress’s biological mother, while Feiyu was merely the chief palace maid assigned to her after she entered the palace, having served her for less than two years. The difference in importance was clear without needing to be said.
Tong Jiaying had no fondness for Madam Tong. How could someone who encouraged her own daughter to seek death be expected to genuinely care for her? She immediately said, “I know you truly have my best interests at heart. It was my own foolishness, fitting the saying, ‘I fail to see the true face of Mount Lu, only because I am standing on the mountain itself.’ I didn’t see things as clearly as you outsiders did.”
Thanks to the palace rules, all Imperial Consorts who entered the palace were forbidden from bringing their own maids from home. The few palace maids around the Original Host were all assigned by the Neiwufu when she entered the palace in the fifteenth year of Kangxi’s reign.
Otherwise, Tong Jiaying might have been recognized a few days earlier and burned as a monster.
Suddenly, Feiyu’s scalding tears fell onto Tong Jiaying’s arm. She immediately took out a plain white handkerchief and handed it to her.
Why was she crying? She hadn’t said anything, had she?
Feiyu turned her face away, somewhat embarrassed. Why had she cried?
Fortunately, Shuangyu entered at that moment with several young palace maids carrying food boxes. Tong Jiying shifted her position to make room, allowing them to set up a fine-toothed sandalwood table on the kang, so she could eat while seated there.
In addition to the fish and chicken leg Tong Jiaying had requested, the small kitchen had also prepared fresh shrimp balls, duck stewed with radish, and a few light stir-fried dishes.
When she hadn’t seen the food, it hadn’t mattered, but as soon as the steaming, thick green japonica rice porridge with its fragrant aroma was placed before her, Tong Jiaying immediately felt her mouth water and a pang of hunger in her stomach.
She sat cross-legged before the table, picked up the spoon from the blue-and-white glazed bowl, and was about to start eating when the sound of the imperial whip crackled outside. The porcelain-white spoon returned to the bowl just like that.
“Master, The Emperor has arrived!” Feiyu reminded her.