Fu Xinghe clenched her fists. Since the peony had indeed been altered from a pig brain flower, she lacked a bit of confidence, but in the end she had unquestionably embroidered a dignified and luxurious peony. Yet the Tyrant Emperor dared to slander her like this.
Feeling both aggrieved and guilty, Fu Xinghe had a breath lodged in her throat, unable to swallow or exhale. Her gaze darted around as she searched for water.
Meng Dongting insisted on making things clear. He ordered Fu Gonggong to fetch the garment so he could explain properly whether he had wronged her or not.
Fu Gonggong did not dare say that His Majesty was insisting on competing with the Consort and was being extremely childish. If he won the argument and lost the wife, who would suffer more?
He retrieved the neatly folded casual robe from the wardrobe and handed it to His Majesty with both hands.
Meng Dongting snatched it over and flipped to the chest area. A peony thicker than armor immediately came into view.
“This is the peony you embroidered.” Meng Dongting pointed at a large floor vase with a round mouth in the corner, painted with several blooming peonies. “And you still won’t admit it? Should I have Fu Gonggong fetch an actual pig brain from the Imperial Kitchen so we can see whether this looks more like a peony or pig brain flowers?”
Fu Xinghe glanced at her embroidery from the corner of her eye. For some reason, the more she looked, the more it resembled that thing… a pig brain. The Tyrant Emperor kept chattering beside her ear, pig brain, pig brain flowers, real pig brain flowers from the Imperial Kitchen…
Fu Xinghe felt suffocated. It was as if she could smell the fishy stench of pig brain flowers. Unable to hold back, she gagged and vomited.
Meng Dongting’s voice cut off abruptly. He looked like a child who had accidentally set the woodshed on fire.
Fu Gonggong gaped. He had said it was a bad idea to argue. His Majesty had made the Consort vomit blood!
No vomit!
“Call the imperial physician, quickly!”
Fu Xinghe covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes reddening. She wiped her chin with her sleeve. “I’m sorry… no need to call the physician. I’ll be fine after resting.”
“I will return to Wenhua Hall to change clothes.” After saying that, she left without waiting for Meng Dongting’s response.
Meng Dongting reacted a beat too late and asked Fu Gonggong, “What’s wrong with the Consort?”
“Perhaps when Your Majesty mentioned bringing real pig brain flowers, it frightened her into vomiting.” Fu Gonggong did not dare say she was angered by it and spoke tactfully. “Her Ladyship was raised delicately and is unlike Your Majesty, who has experienced the battlefield and seen all manner of bloodshed.”
Meng Dongting frowned. Did Fu Xinghe really have such a delicate side? Vomiting just from hearing about pig brain?
“So it has nothing to do with me?” he asked.
Fu Gonggong silently rubbed his forehead. Some things really needed to be explained clearly to His Majesty. “Xia Mian said that Her Ladyship made Your Majesty’s clothing first and only afterward made the Empress Dowager’s. That shows she placed Your Majesty first. It was also the first garment she ever made in her life. It is normal for the embroidery to be poor…”
Meng Dongting interrupted, “First time?”
Fu Gonggong nodded. “Before marriage, Her Ladyship never touched needlework.”
Meng Dongting grew thoughtful.
Fu Gonggong continued his analysis. “When peonies bloom, they move the capital. Women often liken themselves to flowers. The peony represents the Consort, hidden against Your Majesty’s chest. No matter how ugly it is, it cannot be called a pig brain. Wouldn’t that be equivalent to saying the Consort herself is ”
Meng Dongting stared at the garment. An itch stirred in his chest, like a bubble rising through water, entangled with weeds named guilt and lightheadedness. It drifted chaotically before popping.
He looked at Fu Gonggong as if he were an idiot. “What misunderstanding do you have about the Consort?”
Fu Gonggong lowered his head in shame. Naturally, he did not understand as well as His Majesty.
Carefully, he asked, “Then how does Your Majesty plan to deal with this garment?”
Now the peony was not only ugly but had also been soiled by the Consort’s vomit. It truly looked like a mess of that thing and could not possibly be kept.
Meng Dongting felt Fu Gonggong’s thinking had been led astray by the Consort. Why even ask such a question?
“Do you expect me to wash it myself?”
Fu Gonggong pondered. That meant it would not be thrown away.
Preparations for the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet proceeded at full speed. A fiftieth birthday warranted any level of extravagance.
Cui Xian knew her son had never consummated relations with any consort and rarely even spared them a glance, so she devised a rare scheme.
She divided all matters of the birthday banquet into seven portions: clothing, venue, opera performances, dishes, and so on and assigned one portion to each consort. This allowed her to assess who was most capable.
If a task was handled well, she could promote that consort. Even the Emperor would have no objections.
Afterward, she claimed illness and refused to see anyone. Anyone unable to make a decision who came to consult her would be turned away and told to ask His Majesty instead.
Yu Feng and the others immediately understood that the Empress Dowager was giving them a chance to perform before the Emperor. They seized the opportunity to interact with him more, hoping that before her fiftieth birthday, a true daughter-in-law might emerge.
With seven people involved, responsibilities inevitably overlapped. Everyone wanted to shine, so arguments broke out over trivial matters.
If Meng Dongting handled it well, he would endure it and cultivate feelings with the consorts. If he grew annoyed, he could follow the Empress Dowager’s wishes and quickly elevate one consort to manage the inner palace.
Either outcome pleased Cui Xian.
Meng Dongting never imagined that a single birthday banquet could be so troublesome. In just one day, he decided he would never celebrate his own birthday again.
The Empress Dowager was clearly in robust health, yet she shut herself away. All the chaotic inner palace matters were brought to him.
Some things could be pushed aside, but others he had to handle personally as Cui Xian’s only son.
When Yu Feng and Yan Pianpian came to him in tears for the second time, asking him to judge seating arrangements for noblewomen, Meng Dongting finally snapped.
The veins throbbing on his forehead all day suddenly calmed. He said evenly, “I am very busy. Go ask the Consort to judge.”
Yu Feng’s heart sank. Her carefully drawn tearful makeup stiffened instantly.
She had a strong feeling she was losing both the lady and the soldiers.
Wenhua Hall.
Fu Xinghe stared at the phoenix seal placed before her, her eyelids twitching.
She had merely been upset over the peony incident and casually offered the Empress Dowager a small suggestion to give Meng Dongting some mild trouble.
Instead, Meng Dongting dumped all that trouble onto her, along with the heavy phoenix seal.
“How could I possibly be worthy of acting as custodian of the phoenix seal?” Fu Xinghe lowered her lashes. “Fu Gonggong should take it back. I dare not accept it.”
Fu Gonggong racked his brain and tried repeatedly to persuade her, but the Consort remained unmoved. Since the founding of the dynasty, when has a phoenix seal ever failed to be delivered?
Fu Xinghe learned from the Empress Dowager and simply feigned illness. “Recently, I often feel lacking in energy. Please have His Majesty appoint someone else.”
Meng Dongting was not surprised at her reaction. In the vast inner palace, only Fu Xinghe would refuse to exploit power and parade around before him daily.
He said coldly, “Tell her to stop pretending. State her conditions.”
Fu Gonggong trembled. “Her Ladyship提出 three conditions.”
“Speak.”
“First, Her Ladyship says that since she will manage the consorts, whether they live or die is her responsibility, and there can be no accountability afterward.”
“Approved.”
“Second, Her Ladyship says she must be free to move throughout the inner palace to gather information. Also, if she wishes to return to her natal home, Your Majesty may not stop her.”
Meng Dongting ground his teeth. “Freedom and returning home. How many conditions are there?”
Fu Gonggong whispered, “They both count as the second.”
Meng Dongting endured it. “She must report to me before leaving the palace.”
Fu Gonggong’s voice dropped further. “Third, Her Ladyship says that as long as she does nothing harmful to the state or disloyal to Your Majesty, Xia Mian and Wu Qi may not report to Your Majesty.”
Meng Dongting was furious. She dared to openly remove his informants!
Not only did they remove them Wu Qi and Xia Mian had to serve her and conceal things for her.
Meng Dongting closed his eyes. “The third condition ”
Fu Gonggong added, “Her Ladyship said it is non-negotiable.”
Meng Dongting fell silent.
Fu Gonggong was truly suffering. It would be better if His Majesty and the Consort confronted each other directly. Let them argue. If one vomited, so be it.
“Fine.” Meng Dongting ground his molars and sneered. “The Consort has a grand background. Ordinary furnishings are unworthy of Wenhua Hall. Within one day, fill Wenhua Hall with peonies.”
Fu Gonggong was alarmed. One day was not enough to mobilize resources. Wouldn’t they have to uproot all the peonies from the Imperial Garden and Imperial Study?
Meng Dongting lifted his eyes coolly. “Can’t be done?”
Fu Gonggong bowed. “It can.”
On the seventeenth of the eighth month, under clear autumn skies, Fu Xinghe stood at the entrance of Wenhua Hall, her eyes bright.
By sheer luck, she was free.
Blue sky and white clouds, red walls and golden tiles, green pines and ginkgo trees. Fu Xinghe admired the Tyrant Emperor’s forbidden palace, her mood light and her expansive vision.
Suddenly, a formation of guards appeared, two by two carrying pots of withered branches and dead leaves straight toward Wenhua Hall.
Fu Xinghe was confused. “What is this?”
Was the Tyrant Emperor turning Wenhua Hall into a greenhouse? These plants had no leaves at all.
Was this retaliation for her excessive demands?
No one liked seeing a patch of yellow decay in their courtyard. Fu Xinghe admitted she felt slightly retaliated against.
Was he hinting that flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, warning her not to be too arrogant?
She suddenly recalled the lychee incident. She could not casually speculate about the Tyrant Emperor. His mind was quite straightforward. He would not mock her with metaphors.
“What kind of flower is this?”
The guard replied honestly, “Your Ladyship, it’s peonies.”
Fu Xinghe reflexively felt like vomiting.
She rubbed her stomach and walked far away in a daze before pinching her philtrum.
Meng Dongting did not beat around the bush. He was directly trying to disgust her.
She quickly recited several poems praising peonies in her heart, suppressing the unpleasant associations.
After a while, she was finally able to look at the peonies directly.
Meng Dongting handed the phoenix seal to her, and all inner palace affairs were naturally transferred into her hands.
With the birthday banquet approaching, Fu Xinghe could not take over everything. She still let Yu Feng and the others each handle a portion while she coordinated and oversaw quality.
She had managed hotels that hosted various banquets. It was not as though she lacked experience.
After sending one person away, Yu Feng entered reluctantly. “Your Ladyship, the Empress Dowager is dissatisfied with all these pieces.”
She referred to the background music during the banquet meal. The Empress Dowager rejected one piece after another. Since the Consort would take responsibility anyway, Yu Feng simply dumped the task on her.
Fu Xinghe thought for a moment. “You focus on the troupe. Leave the music to me.”
The Empress Dowager’s scheme ultimately benefited Fu Xinghe. Anyone would suspect they had been set up by her.
Regardless of her original intent, now she had to appease the Empress Dowager and ensure the banquet went smoothly.
She opened the program list and reviewed it carefully. Many pieces were unfamiliar, making it hard to judge or understand the Empress Dowager’s preferences.
She might as well compose a new one.
An idea immediately formed in Fu Xinghe’s mind.
Back in university, she had joined the music club. She could not play instruments herself, but senior students had enthusiastically bent the rules and made her the conductor because she was patient, gentle, and good at coordinating rehearsals.
Once, the orchestra rehearsed classic film and television music and selected the background music from Journey to the West for the Queen Mother of the West’s Peach Banquet. After a month of rehearsal, she still remembered the score perfectly.
A celestial Peach Banquet, peaceful atmosphere, ethereal melody. It suited the Empress Dowager’s birthday well.
Fu Xinghe spent time transcribing the score and gathered people to rehearse.
Guzheng, pipa, erhu—strings and winds assembled. She also found a singer with the right vocal quality to chant the celestial melody.
With an extra task added, her schedule became even tighter. She handled affairs during the day and supervised rehearsals at night.
The evening before the birthday banquet, as Fu Xinghe conducted the final rehearsal, Yu Feng arrived with a look of anticipation and sat leisurely to the side.
Hmph. The Empress Dowager seemed indifferent to music, but her standards were actually high.
Yu Feng picked up a pear and ate while watching. She had heard Fu Xinghe composed the piece herself. Ridiculous. Could Fu Xinghe even read sheet music?
As the silk and bamboo sounds rose, Yu Feng froze mid-bite. She looked down in a daze, confirming she was eating a pear, not a peach.
Where did Fu Xinghe find such celestial music?
Yu Feng suddenly understood the phrase “this music exists only in heaven.” When a clear, ethereal female harmony joined the ensemble, the experience ascended further.
Fu Xinghe lowered her hands, emphasized a few key points, and asked them to rehearse several more times without a conductor.
She turned and saw Yu Feng’s dazed expression. A golden idea burst forth.
“Consort Yu, what do you think of selling this orchestra?”
Yu Feng stared blankly. “Selling whom?”
Fu Xinghe smiled. “Whoever pays gets to be credited for this piece before the Empress Dowager.”
Early-stage business investments burned money. Fu Xinghe had given her funds to Ming Feng, but now Ming Feng had become an uncertain variable. If Ming Feng regained her memories and turned out to be the Tyrant Emperor’s loyal subordinate, wouldn’t all her money be taken and her exposed?
She needed to save another sum for emergencies.
Yu Feng’s eyes lit up. “Your Ladyship means I can buy this credit with money?”
Fu Xinghe nodded. Yu Feng’s maternal family dealt in jade and was extremely wealthy.
Yu Feng was overjoyed. “I’ll buy it. Name your price.”
Fu Xinghe raised one finger.
“One thousand taels?” Yu Feng nodded. “A Cui, go fetch the banknotes.”
Fu Xinghe swallowed the words “one hundred taels,” smiled sincerely, and handed over the original score. “Study it carefully. Don’t give yourself away.”
Fu Xinghe left happily with the banknotes. Appeasing the Empress Dowager was nowhere near as important as making money.
The Tyrant Emperor’s wives were all rich. She needed to seriously develop this new line of business.
Xia Mian witnessed the private transaction, her expression complicated.
So this was what Her Ladyship meant by not harming the state and not being disloyal to His Majestyamassing private wealth in the inner palace?
She was puzzled. When the Emperor and Empress Dowager were pleased, weren’t the rewards far greater than a thousand taels?
Fu Xinghe earnestly educated Xia Mian. “Private money only counts as private when no one knows about it.”
The next day, the birthday banquet began on schedule.
Palace maids and eunuchs arranged fruit baskets in orderly fashion. Celestial music drifted through the air, refreshing the spirit.
At the sound of silk and bamboo, everyone instinctively searched for its source and drew closer.
Noblewomen arrived together to offer congratulations. The atmosphere was lively but not noisy.
Meng Dongting supported the Empress Dowager to the main seat and remarked, “The music is good.”
He had elevated Fu Xinghe against expectations. He knew of the Empress Dowager’s dissatisfaction, but he did not care. Once the banquet concluded, Fu Xinghe’s ability would silence objections.
At first listen, even Meng Dongting was surprised. Calling it a Peach Banquet was not an exaggeration.
Cui Xian glanced at him. “Didn’t you say you can’t tell good from bad?”
Meng Dongting picked up the opera booklet, pretending not to hear.
Despite any dissatisfaction, Cui Xian was extremely pleased with the banquet. Everything suited her status as Empress Dowager.
“What is this piece called? Since His Majesty praises it, there shall be a generous reward.”
Yu Feng spoke modestly. “It was newly composed by someone I found. Time was short, so there are flaws. As long as the Empress Dowager likes it, I dare not ask for rewards.”
Fu Xinghe smiled without speaking, mirroring the Empress Dowager’s expression.
Cui Xian looked to Meng Dongting, her gaze pressuring him. Yu Feng was so capable. Granting a reward or promoting her to Zhaoyi would not be excessive.
Meng Dongting carefully examined the booklet.
After listening for a while, it was merely average.
He said, “Didn’t you recently obtain a batch of South Sea pearls? You found individual pearls too heavy. Why not reward those instead?”
The Empress Dowager fell silent.