Qing Wang opened his drunken eyes and looked at her. âWhat are you doing here? Get out!â
âCousin, you canât be like this, it will harm your body. Let me help you up, donât lie on the ground.
âLeave! Get out, get out!â
âCousinâŚâ Side Consort Han cried out, sounding very pitiful. âEven if you hate me and donât want to see me, you shouldnât mess around with your body. Itâs so cold on the ground, how can you bear it? I know I was wrong, I shouldnât have lied to you. I didnât mean to do it, but youâve been ignoring me, and I was afraid that youâd forget me. I was afraid that youâd abandon me, so I lied to you that I was pregnantâŚ
âHere, I have no relatives, no friends, and no one to confide in⌠Every time I enter the palace, I donât dare to speak, for fear of eliciting disgust. Whenever I visit other households, those consorts and madames all seem to be smiling at me, but in reality, they donât put me in their eyes at all⌠I know itâs because Iâm from Goryeo, and not DaganâŚ
âSide Consort Su and I are both side consorts. Yet, Side Consort Su is favoured by both His Majesty and Her Majesty. The consort is also good to her. When others mention her, their voices are full of envy. When they mention me⌠No. No one mentions me. Theyâre not even willing to bring me upâŚâ
Qing Wang listened in a trance. Before, whenever he heard these words, his heart would always soften, but now, he only felt disgusted.
A lot of disgust.
Unwilling to listen any longer, heâd rather cover up his ears.
âStop talking, get out!â
âCousinâŚâ
âItâs all because of you! If it werenât for you, Jirou wouldnât have left!â Qing Wang suddenly grew agitated and started shouting indiscriminately, âI shouldnât have been soft-hearted towards you. I should have sent you away long ago. Jirou is right, Iâm a coward. I was stuck in the past, unable to get out. I should have sent you awayâŚâ
Side Consort Han looked as if she was struck by lightning. She never expected Qing Wang to have such thoughts. Full of grief, despair and anger, she couldnât restrain herself from trembling.
However, she still stepped forward, wanting to help Qing Wang up and earn his forgiveness. As the two struggled, something fell from Qing Wangâs pocket. Her eyes flashed and she reached out her hand to put it into her sleeve.
At this time, came the sound of footsteps. It was the head steward, Fu Xi.
When he saw Side Consort Han, he cried, âYour Highness Side Consort, why are you here? His Highness has been unhappy these past few days. Aiya, donât make trouble.â
Side Consort Han wanted to say something, but Fu Xi gave her a look, so she left without saying a word.
Once she was outside, she heard Qing Wang say to Fu Xi, âIn the future, donât let her in. I donât want to see her.â
Fu Xi said, âXiao Tianzi went to the washroom. Itâs this servantâs fault for not arranging the servants to keep watch properly. This kind of thing definitely wonât happen again in the futureâŚâ
Knowing that Consort Qing was doing well in her parentsâ home, Yaoniang felt more relieved.
But in the blink of an eye, another thing came to mind. There would be a palace banquet on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Now that Consort Qing and Qing Wang were in such a state, it was unlikely they would enter the palace for the banquet together. Fortunately, Jin Wang came back and said that this yearâs Lanter Festival banquet would be different from the past. It would be held with the people, so whether Consort Qing made an appearance or not, it doesnât matter.
To pull the wool over the publicâs eyes, Yaoniang decided to invite Consort Qing to accompany her. Consort Qing was reluctant to go out, but Yaoniang repeatedly sent people to invite her, so she could only agree.
When the day arrived, Jin Wang entered the palace first, while Yaoniang accompanied Consort Qing in the manor.
Consort Qing came to Jin Wang Manor in advance. Not only did Consort Qing come, but Yan Geâer and Zhuzhu also came.
Once again reunited with their friends, Yan Geâer and Zhuzhu finally showed some smiles. These past few days, Yan Geâer and Zhuzhu rarely showed smiles. Consort Qing noticed it and took it to heart, making her distressed.
Over these past few days, she also saw clearly her familyâs attitude. She understood that no matter what decision she makes, her family would support her and even try their best to help her.
But how could she put the safety of her family aside? If she really wanted to divorce, she would be fighting against imperial power. Even if she succeeds, wouldnât it incur His Majestyâs disgust? Would she implicate her father and brother? As for Yan Geâer and Zhuzhu, it was impossible for her to take them away. Even in an ordinary family, this was impossible, let alone the imperial family.
As long as she thought of this, Consort Qing felt suffocated as if she couldnât breathe.
But if she were to go back to that manor, she absolutely couldnât do it. Consort Qing had been struggling and anxious for the past few days, but she really couldnât think of a good solution. She could only do as her father said, talk about it after New Yearâs. If it can be delayed for one day, delay it for one day.
Consort Qing thought that Yaoniang would ask her about it. When Yaoniang didnât say a word about it from beginning to end, she couldnât help but feel relieved. With the children playing together, seeing the innocent happiness on the childrenâs faces, Consort Qing gradually forgot her troubles.
Lanterns were hung everywhere in Rongxi Courtyard, both large and small, some of them even colourful.
Yaoniang and Consort Qing played with the children for a while, before ordering the servants to take care of the children. Then they went out.
Emperor Hongjing was entertaining hundreds of officials at Wu Gate, and lanterns were set up all the way to Duan Gate. Every year, the other members of the nobility set up lanterns on Qipan Street, stretching all the way to Zhengyang Gate.
Night arrived. As soon as they left the manor, they could feel a kind of restlessness in the air, that seemed to belong to festivals.
Out on the street where the manor was located, there was a huge light mounted on the archway. This was ordered to be set up by Jin Wang. Looking out from the carriage, lamps and lanterns of various styles and colours were lined up in front of every street and alley. There were people everywhere, along with horses and carriages.
The carriage of Jin Wang Manor first went to Qipan Street. Even from a distance, they could see the five-clawed golden dragon lantern standing in front of the Gate of Uprightness with its fangs bared and claws brandished.
Yaoniang had never seen witnessed such a scene and was simply stunned. Consort Qing told her that every year, the Lantern Festival was the busiest time in the capital. Although there would always be a lantern stationed in front of the gate, the shape changed from year to year.
When the carriage could no longer continue forward, Yaoniang got out of the carriage and the guards escorted them for the rest of the way.
Further in, the area became restricted for the common people. Even if it was said to be held amongst the people, it was impossible for Emperor Hongjing to allow the commoners to mix with them freely without any scruples. If there happened to be an assassin, the consequences would be devastating. At worst, the country would be destabilized, while the minimum would be chaos amongst the crowd.
The place for Jin Wang Manor to admire lanterns was set in a relatively front position, facing where Emperor Hongjing would be sitting. The more Yaoniang walked, the more her eyes turned blurry from all the bright lanterns. The further one walked, the more beautiful the lanterns were. Yaoniang was already so old yet it was the first time for her to realize lanterns could be designed with such variety.
The banquet at the Wu Gate had just finished, and Yaoniang was already waiting there when Jin Wang arrived. Emperor Hongjing and Empress Wei had yet to arrive. Qing Wang Manorâs spot was located right next to Jin Wang Manorâs.
One could easily tell that the lanterns decorating Qing Wang Manorâs spot were not carefully prepared. The lanterns were plain, and it appeared that his status among the princes had fallen even lower.
Qing Wang looked pale and haggard and he seemed like he wanted to say something. He called out, âJirouâŚâ
Consort Qing glanced over there. Qing Wang seemed to be encouraged and wanted to walk over. But then under the light, he saw Consort Qingâs eyes suddenly turn cold and a sneer appear on the corner of her lips. Then she turned away and stopped looking in his direction. He turned his head and saw Side Consort Han with several guards and maids around her.
Anxious, he automatically asked, âWhy are you here?!â
Side Consort Han was extremely aggrieved, âYour Highness, why canât this concubine be here? There are female family members representing every household. If Qing Wang Manor doesnât have oneâŚâ
Hearing this, Qing Wang felt a stab of pain in his heart and scolded, âWho asked you to come? Who asked you to come? Didnât you say you donât like this kind of event before? So what are you doing out here?!â
Side Consort Han started crying. Wiping her tears one after another, she didnât speak.
Qing Wang immediately wanted someone to send Side Consort Han away, but then he reconsidered. Given the occasion, this might attract unwanted attention. He glanced at Consort Qingâs back again, full of despair. Without looking at Side Consort Han again, he sat down on the nearby chair.
Side Consort Han stood there, well behaved, but her hand hidden in her sleeve couldnât help touching a hard lump sitting in the pocket of her sleeve.
On the other side, Yaoniang glanced at Consort Qing hesitantly.
Consort Qing smiled at her and whispered, âIâm fine. You donât have to worry about me.â