Chapter 19: Transformation

On the occasion of the Empress’s birthday, all noblewomen of the court were required to attend the celebrations at the Fengzao Palace.

Empress Zhang sat upright upon the main throne, dressed in her full ceremonial robes. Although Jinghu was kneeling at a distance, as she lifted her head, she could not help but notice how haggard the Empress appeared, sitting there with a solemn expression.

Jinghu had been born late; by the time she was old enough to remember the Empress, the woman had already passed the prime of her youth. Years of chronic illness, compounded by the Emperor’s blatant favoritism toward other women, had ruthlessly stolen the vitality from her. The loss of her only daughter, Princess Zhenhui, had further eroded her spirit, consuming her bit by bit.

The Empress should have been roughly the same age as Jinghu’s own mother. Yet, although her mother was only a secondary consort, she possessed the Prince’s affection, had her eldest brother, and had Jinghu—a daughter who, while occasionally mischievous, was generally obedient. Consequently, her mother had few gray hairs, and in her smiles and expressions, one could still catch glimpses of the radiance of her youth.

Jinghu had seen portraits of the late Empress Yuanli, and of course, she had met Lady Xu, the secondary consort in the Eastern Palace. Of the three prominent women surnamed Xu, it was truly her own mother who had aged the most gracefully.

Seeing the thin, graying hair beneath the Empress’s heavy phoenix crown, Jinghu could not help but feel that if the Empress were to bow her head even slightly, her hair would surely fail to support the weight of the crown, and the pearl-encrusted ornament would come crashing to the floor.

But the women favored by the Emperor never seemed to grow old.

Jinghu glanced toward the front of the kneeling assembly of noblewomen, where Lady Bai, the Emperor’s Zhaoyi, was positioned. Since the tenth year of Zhaoyong, when the virtuous Consort Xu and the disgraced Consort Qi had passed away, the Emperor had not appointed any new high-ranking consorts. The positions of the Four Consorts had remained vacant for seven or eight years; no one had managed to ascend to them. She wondered if Lady Bai—a woman of humble origins as a songstress, who appeared entirely unremarkable yet held the greatest favor in the six palaces—would eventually become the next virtuous Consort Xu.

There were so many other women, each one bright and fresh-faced. For a young girl of Jinghu’s age, such rituals were, in the end, terribly tedious.

Once the ceremonies concluded, the visiting noblewomen went their separate ways—some to visit the palaces of relatives who were imperial consorts, others to pay respects to the Dowager Consorts. Jinghu usually sought out Princess Zhenning. Since she had a sister-in-law to accompany her into the palace, she did not need to wait upon the Princess Consort. Ke Mingbi was obedient and clever before her mother-in-law, but when it came to a battle of wits, she was more than capable of holding her own against the Princess Consort, so Jinghu felt no guilt in leaving her behind.

"Jinghu."

Just as Jinghu was about to leave the Fengzao Palace with Princess Zhenning, someone called out to her. Turning around, she saw Princess Zhenjing and the Crown Princess, Lady Jiang. She and Zhenning hurried over to offer their respects.

Princess Zhenjing was not a stunning beauty; like Lady Bai, she possessed a rather plain appearance. However, having been doted upon by the Emperor since childhood, she carried a natural, inviolable air of nobility. In this regard, she was quite similar to her third brother, Jingxun. Since they were related on both sides of the family, she had always been quite courteous toward Jinghu.

Princess Zhenjing favored flamboyant attire. She wore a honey-colored satin gown embroidered with silver-red peonies and woven with gold thread. A peony-shaped hairpin set with various jewels shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight. In contrast, Princess Zhenning, who stood beside Jinghu, appeared far more modest in a moon-white satin gown embroidered with bamboo, her hair adorned only by a pair of gold pins carved into the shapes of lilies and lilacs. Princess Zhenning’s birth mother had been a mere noble lady who was only elevated to the rank of concubine after giving birth; she had never held much favor.

The Crown Princess reached out to gently assist them, then said to Jinghu, "Your mother is currently speaking with the Empress. Since I rarely see you, why not join your sister Zhenjing and me at the Eastern Palace for a while?"

The Princess Consort was at odds with both Jinghu’s mother and her father. Her father was close to the Crown Prince, yet the Princess Consort insisted on befriending the Empress—the foster mother of the Third Prince, who was the Crown Prince’s rival. She then turned to Princess Zhenning with a smile. "Zhenning, I haven't seen you in a long time either. You should visit the Eastern Palace more often. If you have nothing else to attend to, come sit with me at the Chunhe Hall."

Jinghu had not seen the Crown Princess in a long time. The woman was beautiful, but she had rarely smiled in the past; whenever they met, Jinghu felt as if she were encountering a block of ice. For some reason, today she seemed like a different person, smiling and speaking with them as if transformed.

Jinghu and Princess Zhenning exchanged a glance. Honestly, she wanted to visit the Eastern Palace. On the way in, Ke Mingbi had mentioned that her brother often visited the Eastern Palace; perhaps they might run into him today. If they went to Zhenning’s hall instead, she would certainly never encounter him. Besides, with just the two of them, it would be quite dull—nothing to do but sit around, trade gossip, and wait for the evening banquet to begin.

Zhenning did not seem accustomed to interacting with Princess Zhenjing and the Crown Princess; noticing Zhenjing’s gaze, she looked slightly flustered. Fearing Zhenning might refuse, Jinghu hesitated, but Zhenning merely smiled. "It has been my fault for failing to visit the Crown Princess and my little nephew for so long. I would be honored to accompany you and see him today."

The Crown Princess smiled, and even Princess Zhenjing’s brow smoothed. Jinghu understood why Zhenjing had been displeased; although they did not share the same mother, they were both princesses of the Zhaoyong era, and Zhenjing disliked Zhenning’s timid, shrinking manner. Yet, she never considered whether she would be any different if their positions were reversed. Then again, it was difficult to expect someone like Princess Zhenjing, who had never faced a single setback in her life, to possess such empathy.

Regardless, Jinghu thought Zhenning was quite wonderful. From childhood, she had received almost no attention from the Emperor, yet she remained optimistic and cheerful. Living in a small palace hall with her mother, she was always at ease and content.

Setting her thoughts aside, Jinghu took Zhenning’s hand and headed happily toward the Eastern Palace.

The Eastern Palace was some distance from the Fengzao Palace. Since Princess Zhenjing and the Crown Princess were walking behind them and had not summoned their sedan chairs, the two younger girls could not do so either. Jinghu hadn't seen Zhenning for over a month; she was naturally talkative, and with her heart full of anticipation, she couldn't stop chattering. By the end, Princess Zhenning jokingly wanted to cover her ears.

Jinghu, seeing this, teased her further, circling around her and playfully chasing her for a few steps. The laughter of the two young girls echoed far down the palace corridor. As she chased Zhenning toward the Eastern Palace, the princess eventually grew tired and stopped to catch her breath. Jinghu, still teasing, turned around and began walking backward, urging her to chase her in return.

At a sharp turn, she let her guard down and collided directly into someone. The person smelled of fresh pine and cypress, mingled with a faint, familiar scent of *duruo* flowers.