Chapter 36: 36

The Gilded Cage Chapter 36

Chill (2)

Meanwhile in the main house of the Palace of Eternal Spring, Xiao Yu finished reading the documents sent by officials from the Ministry of Works and sat dazedly on a chaise.

He was concerned about the Qi Clan’s plan of a marriage alliance with Xiao Kezhi.

Before this, he thought that the Empress Dowager brought Xiao Kezhi into Chang’an as an expedient measure. However, based on recent events, it seemed that the Empress Dowager and Xiao Kezhi had not formed a strong alliance between them.

But now that the Qi Clan was willing to concede and propose a marriage alliance, the situation would change.

This marriage alliance would be advantageous to Xiao Kezhi. It would allow him to gain control of the East Palace. It would also put the authority that the Qi Clan had garnered over so many years at his disposal. He could easily gain the support of courtiers with that. The marriage would also ensure his good relationship with the courtiers and make sure that his orders to the six ministries would all be carried out smoothly.

If Xiao Yu was in his place, he would never let go of this opportunity. Xiao Kezhi was a clever man, so Xiao Yu believed that he would accept the marriage alliance.

If that happens, Xiao Yu feared that he would lose his position as a Crown Prince and be killed.

“What should I do?” he thought.

……

He remembered Xu Rong’s advice.

His followers such as Wei Fujing and others still harbored the desire to ally their families with him through marriage. They were his trusted followers and depended on him for protection.

However, these followers would not be able to help him out of his dangerous predicament.

He needed someone more powerful

…

Chu Ning became ill the next day.

She handed the matters of the move back to the East Palace to Zhao Yanzhou. She went to rest in her carriage, wrapped in a thick blanket.

Cui He brought a Steward of Medicine to examine her. The Steward of Medicine diagnosed that she had caught a chill and advised her to keep warm, have plenty of rest, and take the medicine he prescribed.

She drank the bitter medicine and felt sleepy. When the carriage finally arrived at East Palace, she went straight to her room to rest.

The illness persisted for five days. She finally felt better on the sixth day.

It was noon. Cui He brought a bowl of ginseng soup and helped Chu Ning to sit up on her bed. “Madam, please drink this soup. You will be going to a banquet later. As you have just recovered, I can’t let you catch a chill again.”

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Chu Ning heard that the day before yesterday, Xiao Kezhi’s maternal uncle, Weishou, and his family were brought into Chang’an. Weishou was now made Duke of Lu.

Today, the Duke of Lu and his wife, Xu Shi, were coming to the palace to express their gratitude. As the Empress position remained vacant, the Empress Dowager shall be in charge of receiving them. She ordered the servants to prepare an autumn crab banquet at Ningyun Pavilion to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Lu. Many royal relatives in Chang’an were invited to the palace for this banquet, so Chu Ning was naturally included.

Chu Ning frowned at the yellowish ginseng soup and drank it without a word. Then, she went to the dressing table to get ready.

Most of the valuable nourishing herbs and food gifted by the Empress Dowager had been consumed by Chu Ning.

“The Empress Dowager usually looks down on those with a lowly background. But she’s behaving differently with the Duke and Duchess of Lu,” Cui He said as she helped Chu Ning into another layer of clothing over her upper garment. “I heard that the crabs were from Suzhou and had just arrived in Chang’an yesterday. Even the Empress Dowager had not tasted them yet.”

Chu Ning looked into the mirror. She smiled and shook her head, “She’s just acting nice to the Duke and Duchess of Lu because they are the Emperor’s maternal aunt and uncle.”

The Empress Dowager was born into a prestigious family. Like many others from prestigious families, she looked down on those with common and lowly backgrounds. So, it was not surprising that she looked down on the Wei family who were just farmers.

When Lady Wei was elevated, Weishou did not receive any reward. This was a deliberate neglect by the Empress Dowager.

One may think that serving those crabs at the banquet is good hospitality. In actuality, it was an act of malevolence.

Autumn crabs were big and rich. For families who had luxurious meals all year round, this was a delicacy to be eaten only in autumn. To make this seasonal delicacy worthy of their noble palate, they have the crab prepared in various intricate manners.

However, these crabs were something that a farmer’s wife could easily find among the paddy fields.

The Empress Dowager showed support for the Wei family and at the same time mocked them.

After getting ready, Chu Ning got into a carriage to go to Taiji Palace.

Many guests had arrived at Ningyun Pavilion. Even the Empress Dowager was there and was seated at the main table, chatting with a few elderly noble women. The unmarried ladies were admiring flowers and merry-making outside the pavilion. Only Qi Chenxiang stood dutifully beside the Empress Dowager. She seemed much more mature than the other unmarried ladies.

The palace attendant saw Chu Ning and announced her arrival, causing a few noble women to look in her direction.

Chu Ning stepped forward and curtsied with a smile. She pretended as if she did not notice their stares.

“Please stand,” the Empress Dowager gave a light wave. She looked at Chu Ning and said, “I heard that you were ill for many days. I was worried that you have caught a chill from kneeling too long on my palace floor.”

Although her tone sounded gentle, her words contained mockery. She was implying that Chu Ning was so frightened at her palace that day that she became ill.

Chu Ning stood up with a smile. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I went to Lingyan Pavilion to look at the scenery. It was windy there, so I caught a chill. I’ve recovered now.”

The other guests looked at them and did not dare to speak.

At this moment, the attendant looked at a group of people coming towards the pavilion and announced, “Duchess Lu has arrived.”

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