LF Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Failed Attempt to Steal a Chicken Only Loses the Rice

The rain-soaked night of early summer reflected the shimmering, interwoven glazed tiles of the imperial palace, a fleeting brilliance, a momentary glimmer.

Fame and fortune are like fleeting clouds, the ups and downs of life like rain falling upon dust.

Jiang Yinghua, confined to her mother’s palace, felt utterly bored and, for no reason at all, increasingly agitated by the affairs of the court.

In the silent rainy night, only the faint sound of the wind and the pattering rain reached her ears, offering a rare moment of tranquility.

Jiang Yinghua, like a little cat, with her cascade of dark hair flowing loosely, wrapped in a soft silk skirt, one shoulder bare, curled up in front of the latticed window, lost in thought.

She wondered what kind of punishment that bookworm had received this afternoon.

One scheme had failed, so she needed to quickly devise the next one; revenge should be swift.

The jumbled thoughts in her mind were impossible to shake off. She would delay the consideration of entering politics for as long as possible.

Tormenting others was her only current pleasure. Yan Wanzhi, blame it on the fact that we met at the wrong time, and that you had to provoke me. If it were in the past, I would have admired a scholar like you, so upright and proper.

Thinking this, Jiang Yinghua casually called for a palace attendant and asked, “Has there been any news from Your Majesty today?”

“What does Your Highness mean? This servant has not seen anyone from Her Majesty’s palace come over.”

She casually picked a bright red crabapple and tossed it into the little maid’s arms, saying languidly, “Understood, you may leave.”

Jiang Yinghua had been personally taught by her older sister since she was five years old, so she knew Your Majesty’s temperament very well.

Her older sister most detested those who didn’t follow the rules: lateness, early departures, improper behavior. The lightest offense would result in a beating with a board, the heaviest in kneeling punishment and confinement.

If anyone dared to slip away from important matters, it was no different from courting death.

The green bean powder in those pastries was enough to make someone look ridiculous. One couldn’t leave in the middle of a meeting, yet one couldn’t bear it either. By all accounts, it shouldn’t end well.

Imagining Yan Wanzhi, a frail and delicate scholar, being challenged by her older sister, Jiang Yinghua felt a sense of satisfaction, but also a feeling that she might have been too cruel.

The next morning, unusually, no one came to disturb her pleasant dreams, allowing her to sleep until she naturally woke up.

Her sleepy eyes, still bleary, looked out the window and saw that everything was still misty and shrouded in rain. No wonder she had slept so soundly last night. The sound of wind and rain beating against the banana leaves was perfect for resting.

Just as Jiang Yinghua was lost in the scenery, a young Inner Counselor hurried into the hall, his face panicked.

“What is it? Why so flustered?” Jiang Yinghua straightened her clothes, rose from her bed, and walked towards the dressing table.

“Your Highness, Her Majesty urgently summons you.”

She had thought that because of the rain today, her older sister would have kindly spared her, but she hadn’t expected that she was only excused from the morning court; what was coming couldn’t be avoided.

“Understood, I will go after I change and wash up.”

Jiang Yinghua turned and waved to the palace attendants who had been standing outside the hall for a long time, and the maids filed in.

The young Inner Counselor stubbornly stood there, refusing to leave.

“What else is there?” Jiang Yinghua asked, looking behind her through the bronze mirror in front of her.

“This servant is bold, but hopes that Your Highness will hurry. Her Majesty commanded you to enter the hall immediately. Forgive this servant’s impudence, but Her Majesty’s expression was not good,” the young Inner Counselor replied, his voice trembling.

Jiang Yinghua cursed inwardly, “If that’s the case, but no one informed me, then it’s not my fault that I woke up late. My older sister’s temper is getting worse and worse.”

Quickly getting dressed, Jiang Yinghua followed the Inner Counselor to Her Majesty’s study.

Entering the room, she saw that Yan Wanzhi’s place had been taken by an old man. Jiang Yinghua was puzzled; had he been punished and taken leave?

For no reason, she felt a little empty, as if she had lost a playmate to provoke and tease.

Moreover, looking at her older sister, she seemed calm and composed, no different from usual. This Inner Counselor who delivered the message was making a fuss over nothing.

It was nearly noon, and the court matters had been discussed to a close. Her Majesty dismissed the attending officials.

Jiang Yinghua diligently offered a cup of tea to her sister, saying, “Your Majesty, why haven’t I seen Scholar Yan today?”

Jiang Jingche lowered her eyes, took a sip of tea, and said, “Yesterday, she was fine, but suddenly broke out in a rash all over her body, had a high fever, and fainted in the hall. I gave her leave. Why? Are you concerned about her?”

“No, this younger sister just saw that the person opposite was different and was a little unaccustomed. Scholar Yan does seem a bit frail.”

Jiang Yinghua was puzzled. It was just some green bean powder, could it be that he couldn’t eat green beans? These symptoms seemed like someone had consumed something that was incompatible with their constitution. If that was really the case, she hoped it wouldn’t cause any major problems. After all, although the person had been at fault, it wasn’t a crime punishable by death.

Her mother had already given her the freedom to enter and leave the palace last night. Once Her Majesty gave the order to release her, she would take some tonics to his residence to see how he was doing.

She was lost in her own calculations and didn’t notice that the person in the seat of honor had already changed her expression, her pair of icy phoenix eyes scrutinizing her for a long time.

Jiang Jingche got up and walked out of the hall, whispering something to a palace attendant, then turned and ordered, “Hua’er, come here.”

Jiang Yinghua followed out in a daze. It was this time of day, and her older sister wasn’t going to eat; what else did she want her for?

Her Majesty led her directly to her bedchamber. The moment Jiang Yinghua stepped through the door and saw the objects placed inside, she froze on the spot, refusing to take another step forward.

Her Majesty sneered, “What, Prince Zhao, have you not seen these things for too long that you have thrown the rules out of your head and forgotten them all?”

Jiang Yinghua lowered her eyes, staring at the blue bricks on the floor, her hands tightly clenched in her sleeves, her mind quickly searching for what stupid thing she had done to provoke her older sister’s anger.

To say that the objects in front of her were anything special would be wrong; they were just a long bench and a rattan cane.

Jiang Yinghua had been “cared for” by these two items many times since she was a child.

But since their father passed away and her older sister had been too busy, she had not bothered to discipline her anymore.

“Hesitating? Don’t you want your skin anymore?” Her Majesty casually picked up the rattan cane and played with it in her hand.

Hearing this, Jiang Yinghua quickly took two steps forward, bowed her head, and knelt at her feet, timidly saying, “Older sister, calm your anger. This younger sister, this younger sister, where did I go wrong? Please tell me, and I will correct it.”

“I was just about to teach you. Stop talking nonsense, lie down, and remove your clothes,” Her Majesty said, pacing back and forth in front of her.

“This younger sister, this younger sister is not a child anymore. You, you are now the Supreme of the Ninety-Five, how can you do this?”

“Oh? Does Hua’er think I have become soft-hearted? Then how about a staff beating?” Her Majesty looked at her with a playful expression, speaking slowly.

Jiang Yinghua knew that she couldn’t escape this time. She closed her eyes, steeled herself, lay on the bench, took off her outer garments, and bit her arm directly.

After waiting for a long time, she didn’t see any action from Her Majesty. Jiang Yinghua boldly and cautiously looked up, and the moment she met her older sister’s eyes, she was ashamed and her face turned completely red.

“You still know shame? When you used such base tricks to humiliate others, why didn’t I see you feel remorse?” With that, she raised her hand and brought down the rattan cane, which carried a fierce gust of wind. The pain caused the little person’s features to twist together.

“When you made jokes and goofed off during court discussions, when you were distracted and lazy, why didn’t I see you feel remorse?” Without waiting for a response, Her Majesty raised her hand and brought down another strike.

“Knowing that I place high hopes on you, you deliberately play the fool, deceiving the Emperor, neglecting your duties, when didn’t I see you feel remorse?” The more Her Majesty spoke, the angrier she became, and the rattan cane fell as densely as raindrops.

At this moment, Jiang Yinghua’s face was covered in tears, which harmonized well with the 告告 sound of the rain outside, truly a fitting scene. Just now, she had still been thinking about that tattling villain; Jiang Yinghua felt that her heart was too soft and she had been too lenient, simply foolish.

She had just received a beating from her mother a few days ago, and now new wounds were piled on old ones. Jiang Yinghua really couldn’t bear it, and sobbed as she begged for mercy.

“Remember clearly, you are not allowed to arbitrarily touch the people around me,” Her Majesty sternly reprimanded.

“Yes, this subject remembers, and will never do it again,” Jiang Yinghua replied, her voice trembling.

“How have you been thinking about important matters? Are you willing to start in court as a Gentleman Attendant?” Her Majesty stopped her hand and asked.

Jiang Yinghua didn’t expect that she would be disciplined for tormenting a minor official. This person’s weight in her older sister’s heart was truly unusual. Since she couldn’t touch him and couldn’t afford to offend him, she could avoid him; stay away from him, stay away from her older sister and mother, and life would be better. The Gentleman Attendant was with her older sister every day, and she really couldn’t bear such affection.

“Your Majesty, this subject is young, with limited knowledge and shallow learning, and does not understand politics. The affairs of the Three Departments are complicated and cumbersome, and cannot be mastered in a short time. This subject asks herself that she does not have the knowledge and ability to be a suitable minister. The generals of the court are experiencing a shortage of successors, and this subject could perhaps try that.”

Her Majesty threw away the weapon in her hand, remained silent for a few breaths, and then coldly said:

“If you are intent on doing something, you will find every possible way to do it; if you are intent on refusing, you will blurt out excuses. With your status and knowledge, as long as you are willing, both roads are open. Age and experience are only shortcomings, not obstacles. Scholar Yan is only twenty-three years old this year, and his handling of court affairs is no less skilled than that of the old ministers. Hua’er, can you be more sensible?”

“This subject does not have Scholar Yan’s abilities. Now that you have obtained a talented person to assist in government, I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow this subject to enter the army to gain experience.” Jiang Yinghua laboriously raised her painful and pale face, choking with sobs as she looked at her older sister.

Her Majesty turned her head and picked up the discarded rattan cane again, saying, “I see that you are determined to run away.”

“This subject’s words are all from the bottom of my heart, and the decision is yours. Your Majesty, spare me,” Jiang Yinghua said, her body trembling several times at the sight.

“You are not allowed to be absent from court unless you have received an order. Get out.”

Seeing her pitiful, aggrieved appearance, Her Majesty ultimately relented and let her go.

Staggering back to the palace on the way, Jiang Yinghua made up her mind that she would never suffer a loss. She had stumbled twice because of Yan Wanzhi, and sooner or later, she would make him pay with his life.

Walking in the pouring rain, seeing that there was no one around, Jiang Yinghua leaned against a pillar outside the hall and bitterly laughed, murmuring: “Actually, it has nothing to do with you, but I just want to hate you, who told you to always interfere?

Yan Wanzhi, you are the executioner who forces my older sister to subdue me. How I envy you for being such a sharp knife in her hands.”