That’s not it at all!
Qingping Zhenren was highly renowned in talismans, feng shui, physiognomy, and the principles of Yin-Yang and the five elements. Moreover, he was extremely smooth in dealing with people and skilled in managing his affairs. In her previous life, he had nearly been appointed as State Preceptor.
Xie Danling nudged her with her elbow and whispered, “You’ve heard of him?”
Yes! Gu Zhizhuo said, “Qingping Zhenren came to stay at Taiqing Temple about a year ago. I think it was around this time last year that the Old Marchioness Pingyang was suffering badly from the nightmares, so the Marquis Pingyang went to Taiqing Temple to ask for a calming talisman for his mother. As a result, he met Qingping Zhenren. Qingping Zhenren took one look and immediately asserted that the Old Marquis’s tomb had been disturbed.”
“The Marquis Pingyang heir made a special trip back to the clan’s ancestral land, and it turned out to be true. An unfilial descendant of the clan, after losing money gambling, had secretly taken a few offerings from the coffin and pawned them to pay off his debt. After that, the Old Marchioness Pingyang’s nightmares stopped.”
From then on, Qingping Zhenren’s reputation soared.
Xie Danling listened with amazement, finding it all fascinating: “Next time I’m out of the palace, let’s go together and see if he can figure out who I am!”
In the Da Qi dynasty, the restrictions on women were far less strict than in the previous dynasty, where women were not allowed to show their faces in public. If Xie Danling wanted to go out of the palace to have fun, she only needed Consort Shu’s permission.
Consort Shu watched them leaning their heads together, whispering, and then said, “Go on.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Eunuch Zheng bowed his head and continued, “After sending Miss Ji away, Her Majesty the Empress took the Third Prince to the front hall.”
Consort Shu, with a half smile, said, “The Empress really does know how to pick things up and put them down[mfn]meaning she can let go easily/is decisive and adaptable[/mfn].”
Gu Zhizhuo’s eyelashes trembled slightly; she understood.
What Xie Jing had done was truly disgraceful. There was no need to wait for the palace banquet to end; most of the court would know about it.
The Empress had promised to give her an explanation. Now that she could no longer use Ji Nanke as a shield, she had no choice but to act decisively. The Empress must have taken the Third Prince to proactively apologize.
“Imperial Physician Chen,” Gu Zhizhuo pointed at the small medicine jar, “please present this to the Emperor and also repeat what you just told Aunt to him.”
“No need to make a special trip—just casually ‘run into’ the Emperor before the palace banquet begins.”
Consort Shu nodded, signaling Chen Baishu to do as she said.
Imperial Physician Chen bowed and withdrew.
Xie Danling couldn’t sit still for a moment. As soon as she had free time, she thought about changing Gu Zhizhuo’s veil.
Just now she had quarreled with her cousin and grabbed one at random without choosing carefully. Now that they have made up, she wants to pick the best-looking one!
With a wave of her hand, she had people bring all her treasured veils and spread them all over the table, pulling Gu Zhizhuo to pick and choose. In the end, she hesitated between a veil adorned with pearls and one embroidered with a kingfisher, her little face scrunched up in frustration.
“Oh right, I just got a new plum blossom hairpin…” Xie Danling was about to have someone fetch the plum blossom hairpin to match with the kingfisher veil when a palace maid came in ahead of her to report, “Your Highness, Eunuch Li is here.”
Li Deshun was the chief palace eunuch by the Emperor’s side, a prominent figure in the Imperial Palace.
“Invite him in.”
So, Li Deshun walked in with a smile, flicking his horsetail whisk. He wasn’t very old, about forty years old, with a fair face without a beard, a medium build, and a round face that looked very amiable.
“Ah!”
Gu Zhizhuo let out an exaggerated gasp and quickly picked up a veil from the pile on the table to put it on.
She didn’t turn her back, so Li Deshun clearly saw her red and swollen cheek. His gaze lingered for a moment, and he saw that her eyes were red, as if she had just cried.
Li Deshun, having risen from a low-ranking eunuch to serve directly by the Emperor’s side, was no fool. He instantly understood that Consort Shu was deliberately letting him see the injury on Eldest Young Miss Gu’s face so he could report back.
He made a full, respectful bow and solemnly announced, “The Emperor’s decree.”
Everyone in Chonghua Palace immediately knelt with a rustle.
“The Third Prince has behaved improperly and was arrogant and lawless in conduct. He is ordered to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to reflect on his mistakes.”
“The Emperor said Eldest Young Miss Gu has been wronged.”
With these words, the matter was officially settled.
Li Deshun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
When the Empress brought the Third Prince to apologize, at first the Emperor only scolded a few angry words, but when it came time to go to the front hall, he still brought the Third Prince along.
Having served at the Emperor’s side for years, Li Deshun understood well that the Emperor had high hopes for his only legitimate son, the Third Prince. In the Emperor’s heart, only the Third Prince was truly a “son,” and the others were merely “princes.”
It was thought that this matter would be quietly brushed aside, but unexpectedly, on the way, the Emperor happened to run into Chen Baishu, who was returning to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Chen Baishu said he had gone to examine Eldest Miss Gu, so the Emperor asked a few more questions—and then flew into a thunderous rage.
Back then, the deposed crown prince colluded with the Imperial Medical Bureau’s envoy to poison the late emperor’s medicinal meals—little by little each day, day after day, until no cure was possible. When the late emperor passed away, the Emperor was attending at his bedside.
What the Emperor loathed the most was anyone in the inner palace getting close to the imperial physicians.
When the Third Prince came to admit his mistake, he only said that he’d had a quarrel with Eldest Miss Gu and, in a fit of anger, wanted to make Eldest Miss Gu suffer a little. Everyone could tell he was downplaying it, but since the Emperor didn’t press further, that became the “truth.”
Who would have thought that not only did Imperial Physician Chen explain what kind of poison had been used, but he also described Eldest Miss Gu’s injuries in full detail after presenting the medicine for the Emperor to see? He especially emphasized that “if this poison were accidentally ingested, it would cause intestinal perforation and stomach rupture,” and so on.
This is simply a blatant reminder to the Emperor over and over again that the Third Prince had colluded with an imperial physician to secretly poison someone!
Right then, the Emperor berated the Third Prince mercilessly; every word was so severe that he didn’t even dare to listen, let alone think about it.
Right now, the Third Prince was still kneeling in front of Shuntian Gate.
Alas, this time the Third Prince will surely miss his chance at becoming crown prince. Who would have thought that such a sure thing would go awry? Now that he missed this chance, it’s unclear who will take charge of the Eastern Palace in the future. Not to mention the Eldest Prince and Second Prince, even the Fourth Prince has grown up. And if Young Master Chen returns to the capital alive, it’ll be even harder to say.
Li Deshun’s heart trembled a little; he felt fortunate that he hadn’t been dazzled and had treated all the princes equally.
With a smile on his face, he said, “Eldest Miss Gu, the Emperor has rewards for you.”
He lightly clapped his hands a few times, and six eunuchs holding trays walked in in two lines.
The rewards were extremely generous: a red pomegranate bonsai in a jadeite pot, a mutton-fat white jade brush washer, a gem-inlaid gilded incense ball… Each item was precious, especially that butterflies-playing-among-twin-flowers gilded hairpin with dangling pearls—the eastern pearl[mfn]东珠 (dōng zhū) refers to Eastern pearls, also known as Manchurian pearls or Northeast pearls.
Historically, these pearls were:
– Freshwater pearls are harvested mainly from the Songhua River and other waters in Northeast China (Manchuria).
– Highly prized during the Qing dynasty and earlier, often used in imperial regalia and decorations.
– Considered among the finest natural pearls in ancient China, especially valued by the Manchu rulers.[/mfn] on it was as big as a pigeon’s egg, with a smooth luster and an exceptionally dazzling brilliance.
Li Deshun listed the rewards one by one.
“This servant girl[mfn]臣女 (chén nǚ) – “Your servant girl” (a humble way a woman refers to herself when speaking to the emperor or a superior)[/mfn] thanks His Majesty, for the grace.”
Gu Zhizhuo once again bowed deeply. Li Deshun helped her up with both hands and said, “Eldest Miss Gu, Imperial Physician Liu has been taken to the Eastern Depot’s imperial prison. The Emperor will not let you suffer any grievances.”
Gu Zhizhuo curtsied to express her thanks. Li Deshun smiled like Maitreya Buddha and comforted her with a few more words before taking his leave. Before leaving, he specifically told Gu Zhizhuo that she didn’t need to attend the palace banquet and should rest well in Chonghua Palace.
As soon as Li Deshun left, Xie Danling beckoned with her finger, ordering the palace maids to bring over all the rewards and placing them with her pile of veils. She looked through them one by one and raised her hands to pick up the pearl hairpin.
“This one looks the best!”
Xie Danling compared it against Gu Zhizhuo’s hair and then personally put it on her.
“All right, let me take a look.”
Xie Danling motioned for her to lean back a bit.
The twin butterflies perched on Gu Zhizhuo’s hair bun, and the pearls in her hair gently swayed with her movements. The lustrous glow of the pearls cast over her cheeks made her look soft and captivating.
“I told you this one looks the best!”
No need to hesitate more now! Xie Danling personally helped her put on the veil adorned with pearls and smiled contentedly.
Gu Zhizhuo picked up a cherry and popped it into her mouth.
So sweet! Xie Danling narrowed her eyes in delight.
Gu Zhizhuo was granted special permission not to attend the palace banquet, and Consort Shu simply used the excuse of needing to care for her “injured” niece to avoid attending as well. She reclined with a smile on the chaise lounge, watching the two girls bicker, make up, and then start chasing each other around the hall again.
When a palace maid came to report that the banquet had ended, Consort Shu beckoned Gu Zhizhuo over, pulled her to sit in front of her, and said, “Just now, the imperial censors at the front jointly impeached, and the Emperor issued an edict to reprimand the Empress and ordered Fengluan Palace to be closed for half a month. You just need to know this in your heart. The Emperor punished both the Third Prince and the Empress in quick succession just to reassure the Gu family. He won’t allow you to break off the engagement anytime soon.”
“There’s no need for you to rush, especially since you mustn’t take the blame for this mistake. And your stepmother, she’s used to saying one thing and meaning another, so you must be on guard around her…”
Gu Zhizhuo solemnly agreed to everything.
As long as the Gu family still holds value, the engagement is meant to maintain the military’s morale. Such a simple and convenient method—there’s no way the Emperor would abandon it easily.
Being tied to Xie Jing was truly annoying. Gu Zhizhuo quietly pondered ways to sabotage the engagement as she left Chonghua Palace.
The carriages from each household were waiting outside the palace gates. Gu Zhizhuo first located her own family’s carriage, and after a short while, Old Madam Gu came out supported by Lady Ji. At the sight of Gu Zhizhuo, Lady Ji’s tears began to fall before she even spoke.
“Zhuo jie’er.” Lady Ji’s eyes were red at the corners; her gentle and beautiful face was full of sadness. “Does your face still hurt… Seeing you injured like this is like having my own flesh cut. Come here quickly and let me take a look.”
Gu Zhizhuo saluted respectfully and called out, “Grandmother, Mother.”
Lady Ji was extremely beautiful, not tall, slim but not bony, with a naturally charming temperament between her brows and eyes, as if she had something to say but held it back.
Her father has been stationed at the northern border for many years, rarely returning to the capital even once a year.
After her mother passed away, she and her older brother were still young and had no one to care for them. The late emperor and her grandfather had been comrades-in-arms in their youth, sharing a bond of life-and-death friendship. Later they got along well as a ruler and subject, so he arranged a marriage for her father and married Lady Ji as his secondary wife.
After marrying into the family, Lady Ji treated them very well, asking about their health and well-being and being extremely considerate and attentive to every detail. Gu Zhizhuo had been frequently ill since childhood, and it was Lady Ji who took care of her without sleeping and resting, even wearing herself out and giving birth prematurely to her younger brother, Gu Yan.
Later…
The entire Gu family was found guilty, but the Emperor showed mercy and didn’t confiscate their titles. Instead, he issued a decree for the then barely six-year-old Gu Yan to inherit the title of Duke Zhenguo and the family estate.
As Gu Yan’s biological mother, Lady Ji was also pardoned.
In the end, only Lady Ji and Gu Yan were not implicated in the downfall of the Gu family, and even Ji Nanke was allowed to remain in the Duke Zhenguo manor, continuing to enjoy wealth and privilege.
As for others, her uncle was beheaded, and her aunts, cousins, and even her infant cousin, An Ge’er, couldn’t escape the calamity. They all perished in the public morgue, dying from illness.
