The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 9

After returning to Shengjing¹, Zong Zheng Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He believed that as long as he left Qingzhou, the place that made him feel awkward, he would quickly regain his usual meticulous personality and composure. He also believed that he would no longer be troubled by guilt and the strange emotions he had been feeling.

And as expected, over the next few days, Zong Zheng Lin’s mind calmed down and he was able to collect himself. He became even stricter with himself and believed that his improper thoughts had led to those absurdities and disturbance of his mind. Therefore, Zong Zheng Lin grew more fond of practicing drawing and calligraphy in his spare time, as it contributed to the cultivation of one’s moral character and temperament.

The mood of Her Ladyship, Consort Shu, was completely different. Unlike Zong Zheng Lin’s serenity, she was extremely anxious. Tian Fu Shan has reported to her that her younger son’s temperament had become even colder since returning to the capital. As a result, Consort Shu went all out with pillow-talking to the emperor.

This time, Yuancheng Emperor took Consort Shu’s soft pleas to heart and secretly investigated the situation of his sons’ inner yard. He found out that Zong Zheng Lin was not the only one with problems!

The First Prince, Zong Zheng Chun, neglected his principal wife and favored a concubine of merchant birth, gracing her for three consecutive months. The Crown Prince was even more contemptible! He actually kept male prostitutes! The Fourth Prince and his Princess Consort had a harmonious relationship, yet the Fourth Prince didn’t flourish with offspring. Up to now, he had only one son and one daughter. The Fifth Prince, Zhong Zheng Ming, had two sons and one daughter, but he doted too much on his shufei², to the point where he let her gain the upper hand over two cefeis who were acknowledged by the imperial lineage. What a scandal! Since the Sixth Prince had not yet married, his harem lacked such misconducted people. But on the other hand, his inner yard was so desolate that it was not far from turning into a temple!

Yuancheng Emperor rarely showed interest in his sons’ inner yard affairs as he was occupied with state matters and his free time was spent in the company of beautiful ladies. But now that he did, he was so angry that he threw the teacup on the spot. He paced back and forth in the imperial study for quite a while before issuing an imperial edict to Zhuzhou.

The following day, he summoned his sons to the imperial study and reprimanded them severely, ordering them to manage their inner yards properly and take good care of their offspring’s upbringing. His attitude was uncompromising. He dismissed everyone except for the Crown Prince, only to throw yet another tantrum.

As a result, when Zong Zheng Lin returned to his private quarters, his expression was naturally not good.

Under the orders of Yuancheng Emperor, Zong Zheng Lin, for the first time ever, summoned Lady Kong and Lady Wu to speak with them. When the two arrived, he looked at them silently for a moment before coldly instructing, “From today onward, you must observe decorum, be cautious in your words and actions, and not cause any trouble.” After he finished speaking, he turned and left. This content belongs to thehlifestyle.com, if you see this translation elsewhere, it’s been stolen!

Lady Kong and Lady Wu were both perplexed by His Highness’s reprimand and could not understand the hidden meaning no matter how carefully they pondered it.

Tian Fu Shan, who was listening to His Highness’s chiding, was directly dumbfounded.

Zong Zheng Lin received the imperial edict from Yuancheng Emperor, and without much thought, he automatically focused on the proper management of the inner yard. As for the part about paying attention to the upbringing of offspring, he only listened to it as a matter of convenience.

Upon hearing from his secret guard that the Sixth Prince had gone to reprimand his concubines after returning, Yuancheng Emperor felt extremely helpless.

This son of his was way too disciplined, and his actions were completely contrary to his original intention. Did he have to summon him once more to the imperial study, and point at his nose, saying, “Your old man wants you to bed a woman!” for him to understand? Yuancheng Emperor couldn’t bring himself to do so.

Fortunately, the imperial edict for the coming Selection had been sent to each prefecture. When the time comes, he would select maidens with outstanding character, appearance, and family background for his sixth son. This should suffice. He didn’t forget to blame Consort Shu for misjudging people and choosing two unsuitable concubines for his son. Henceforth, Yuancheng Emperor became extremely disgusted with those two concubines of his son.

The next day, when Zong Zheng Lin learnt that the Selection would proceed ahead of time, a slightly surprised expression appeared on his face. When he went to pay respects to Consort Shu, she informed him that Yuancheng Emperor would personally select virtuous and beautiful maidens for him at the selection. Zong Zheng Lin felt impatience growing inside him.

Unfortunately, one mustn’t disobey imperial orders, but Consort Shu was eager for it. Zong Zheng Lin saw it as simply providing for a few more mouths to feed, so he didn’t brush off Consort Shu’s wishes for these “small matters” and complied with a deep voice.

—–

In the third month of Zhanghe’s eleventh year, Mu Xi Yao bid farewell to her parents and Mu Xi Cheng. Taking her shu sister, Mu Xi Ting, with her, they climbed into a carriage that headed to Shengjing.

After a journey of over a month, they finally arrived in Shengjing. Mu Xi Yao instructed Zhao Qing to drive their carriage directly to her maternal grandparent’s home, and also told Hui Lan and Mo Lan to prepare gifts for everyone.

Before retirement, Mu Xi Yao’s maternal grandfather served as a Chief Minister of the third rank in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Her maternal grandmother had passed away early in her life. Both of her maternal uncles held posts in Shengjing, with the first uncle serving as the Vice Minister of the fourth rank in the Court of Judicial Review and the second uncle as the adviser of the fifth rank in the Office of Transmission. Her two older male cousins were currently attending school, preparing for the spring exam³ next year. Only one unmarried cousin remained, who was just eight months older than Mu Xi Yao and like her, was going to participate in the Selection.

Mu Xi Yao took Mu Xi Ting to pay respects to her maternal grandparents’ family. She also ordered Mo Lan to give everyone gifts along with the local products of Qingzhou that Lady Yu had prepared. The whole family enjoyed a happy and harmonious meal together, engaged in small talk, and then returned to their respective quarters. With only half a month left before the Primary Selection, the Mu sisters temporarily settled in the same courtyard to avoid unnecessary stress. Next door was the private courtyard of Mu Xi Yao’s older female cousin.

In the following days, the girls became familiar with each other and they often chatted and drank tea together. 

A few days later, Mu Xi Yao received an unexpected letter which made her very happy. Di Wu Yu Ying heard that she had come to Shenjing and invited her to the flower fair the next day. This flower fair was widely acclaimed. As it was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, it was the perfect time to view flowers. Xi Yao immediately accepted her invitation and was quite pleased with herself as she learnt that Di Wu Yi Zhao had become the Sixth Prince Zhong Zheng Lin’s advisor. She felt that her efforts had not been in vain.

The next day, Di Wu Yu Ying and her servant girls arrived early at the appointed pavilion. When Mu Xi Yao’s sedan chair reached the destination, she made a light chuckle as she saw Di Wu Yu Ying craning her neck over there and looking around for her. She ordered Zhao Qing to bring along all the guards and wait for her in the teahouse.

After introducing everyone, Mu Xi Yao teased Di Wu Yu Yin for getting more beautiful every time they met. The four of them chatted and laughed, enjoying the lively atmosphere. The garden was filled with colorful flowers. It did not lack any rare or uncommon specimen. All the flowers looked vivid and cheerful, making people feel delighted. As it was the time of Selection, they saw several groups of young maidens, in pairs or threes, passing by and whispering something to each other. It was as if they embodied the phrase ‘flower-like maidens’.

They enjoyed their time sightseeing and later, as they parted with Di Wu Yu Ying, Mu Xi Yao suggested that they stop by Tiao Xiang Boutique to purchase incense. Thus, the three cousins sat on their sedan chairs and set off.

Mu Xi Yao wasn’t very fond of fragrances. The only reason she purchased ‘Ting Zhi’ was to mask the scent her body naturally produced after consuming spiritual pills. After all, there were some pleasures that were only meant to be enjoyed by men in the private of lady’s chamber and men absolutely loathed sharing such joy with others. Mu Xi Yao had always been always careful with these details and had already thought of ways to deal with them.

Approximately one stick of incense later, they arrived at the entrance of Tiao Xiang Boutique. Upon stepping out of the carriage, Mu Xi Yao lifted her head and saw Tiao Xiang Boutique in the Shengjing consisting of four interconnected storefronts. Even its exterior appeared grander than its branch in Qingzhou. Many of the coming and going people were actually young women. It seemed that their business was booming as it was busy inside and even the clerks at the doorway were engrossed in entertaining the guests. The shopkeeper was very thoughtful as he arranged a spacious shed equipped with tables and seats at the rear of the boutique, specially designed for guards brought by female customers to rest or park their sedan chairs. 

The women entered the shop and each chose their favorite scents. After their purchases, the shopkeeper personally escorted them to the doors and called for their sedan chairs.

Suddenly, the neighing of the galloping horse and the cries of a crowd came from the street corner. Mu Xi Yao’s senses were sharper than those of ordinary people thus she immediately turned around, only to see a crazed horse dashing out from the corner of the street and charging toward the female visitors standing at Tiao Xiang Boutique’s doorway.

Mu Xi Ting and her maidservant stood at the forefront and would be the first to bear the brunt of the collision.

“Xi Ting!” Mu Xi Yao cried out in alarm.

Mu Xi Ting was already stunned and her legs went weak with fright. Her maid was also pale and had no reaction. Ignoring everything else, Mu Xi Yao quickly run over, pulling each of them by the hand and rushing towards the shop. As she ran, she called out to the other women to enter the shop and take cover.

Once they were inside, Mu Xi Ting and her maid collapsed on the ground, gasping for air and unable to get up due to the fright. At this time, a startled cry from Mu Xi Yao’s elder cousin came from the outside. It turned out that the panicked crowd had caused chaos on the street, scattering in all directions and trampling on people. Mu Xi Yao’s elder cousin had been pushed to the ground with someone on top of her. She couldn’t get up.

Seeing that the crazed horse drawing closer, Mu Xi Yao let go of Mu Xi Ting and her maid, and rushed out of the shop again. However, she was blocked by the people swarming inside the shop which delayed her actions. She only had time to push the maid off of her cousin and saw the startled horse coming towards her. She couldn’t escape safely in time. In the midst of her anxiety, she saw Zhao Qing emerging from the backyard, bypassing the crowd, and sprinting toward her.

Mu Xi Yao struggled to help her elder cousin up and turned her head to shout out a command: “Zhao Qing, kill the horse!”

Following her orders, Zhao Qing drew out his sword, charged forward, and slashed the sprinting horse’s leg with full force. An arrow shot from behind, hitting the horse’s head directly in the center. The startled horse collapsed with a loud thud, and blood splattered everywhere, staining Mu Xi Yao’s skirt hem red. The whole scene was a dreadful sight to behold.

The danger has passed. Before Mu Xi Yao could relax, she saw her elder cousin faint from the scare. In a frenzy, she went over to help her up and leaned her body onto herself.

At this time, tearful Mo Lan and Hui Lan, who had been separated by the crowd, found Mu Xi Yao and began to reprimand her: “Miss, how could you leave us behind and rush out to save people?!” They were so frightened that they even ignored their servant status.

Mu Xi Yao calmed down the two distressed orchids and ordered them to quickly help her elder cousin into the sedan chair. She then searched for Mu Xi Ting. It took her another round of soothing to coax Mu Xi Ting so she was willing to leave the boutique and return home.

The people on the street had also calmed down. Nobody dared to approach the spot where the horse had fallen, as the area reeked of blood. 

Mu Xi Yao was worried about her elder cousin’s situation, so she had people quickly send her back. She also ordered Zhao Qing to look for the owner of the arrow, thank him properly, and tell him not to take their lack of manners to heart as everything had happened too suddenly. They would undoubtedly pay him a visit to express their gratitude.

After everything was said, she hurried to leave with her people and head back home.

It was busy after their return. By the time things were settled and it was time for Mu Xi Yao to rest, the moon was already shining high in the sky. She was so exhausted that she immediately fell asleep. 

—–

Meanwhile, the owner of the arrow, the Fifth Prince Zong Zheng Ming, had spent the evening investigating the incident with the crazed horse and then went to the Ministry of Revenue to handle the aftermath. He arrived back at his residence late at night and finally had some free time to recall the events of the day and that maiden. She was indeed outstanding.

Based on her age and attire, he assumed that she was one of xiunus⁴. There was some distance between them, so he couldn’t get a clear view of her. He wondered what this brave and resolute woman looked like and felt a little regretful. But then again, didn’t she say that she would visit him later to thank him? That suited Zong Zheng Ming’s tastes perfectly. He just wasn’t sure when this ‘later’ would be.

This pic is how I imagined MXY in that situation. Confident , resolute and brave – all in one package

Translator’s notes: 

[1] Shengjing refers the capital city of Great Wei.
[2] Shufei is refers to a title given to the tertiary consort of imperial princes (one rank below cefei). Although their rank is higher than those of ordinary concubines, they were still inferior to cefeis as their name was not recognized by imperial lineage.

[3] Spring exam refers to the metropolitan examination that is held a year later than the provincial ones. It takes place in the second lunar month every three years in the capital city.
[4] Xiunu (lit. Beautiful/Elegant woman) refers to daughters of officials and noblemen, who were selected to be wives or concubines for members of the imperial family.

List of TBIC Character

Relationship Diagram  (by Sith Kazar)