Chapter 55 - 54: Lantern Festival

Xia Ruqing was stunned. "Your... Your Majesty... Th-these are just remnants, not whole bolts of fabric!" Oh no, I’m in trouble now. The Emperor must think I’m too extravagant. He always values frugality and dislikes wastefulness. Although these silks weren’t whole bolts, most were half-bolts or smaller remnants. They couldn’t be used to make large, reward-worthy garments, but they were perfectly fine for other things. Thinking this, Xia Ruqing felt even more apprehensive. Frightened by Zhao Junyao’s expression, she immediately clamped her mouth shut, daring not to utter another word. Zhao Junyao’s face darkened further. "Our Imperial household isn’t so destitute that We’d have you patching together scraps just to make a lantern!" With that, he gave a direct order. "Li Shengan, go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and procure some top-quality lantern fabric. Get some of every color, lest she covets every little thing!" "Yes!" Li Shengan acknowledged the order and dispatched someone. Xia Ruqing stammered, "Ah...??" What... what was happening? Could it be that the Emperor found me too petty? That I made him lose face? It’s true, what man would want his woman to be so shabby and utterly lacking in worldly perspective! And Emperors, even more so, possess such fragile pride! The thought made Xia Ruqing even more troubled. Soon after, Little Zhuzi, Li Shengan’s apprentice, arrived from the Ministry of Internal Affairs with lantern fabric of various colors. This fabric was specially made—semi-transparent yet sturdy, heat-resistant, and wouldn’t burn easily. Due to the Lantern Festival, every palace needed lanterns, and the craftsmen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were working day and night to produce them. However, Xia Ruqing stared at the dozen or so bolts of lantern fabric, utterly dumbfounded. She wailed internally: I just wanted to make a few lanterns for fun! There was no need for such extravagance! "Your Majesty... this... this is a bit much!" "Besides, lantern fabric can only be used for lanterns; it can’t be used for anything else. It would be such a waste to throw it away..." Xia Ruqing offered a careful, apologetic smile. She thought, You should just take them back! I’m perfectly fine patching things together. Zhao Junyao then said, "If you wish to make other things, We shall have someone bring different materials..." He was about to order Li Shengan again. Xia Ruqing quickly stepped forward to stop him. "No... no need, Your Majesty! This is quite enough!" It’s absolutely enough! Enough to make a whole trainload of lanterns! Seriously, how much fabric does one lantern even need? "Are you sure you don’t need any more?" "Absolutely sure!" Zhao Junyao nodded in satisfaction. Only then did Xia Ruqing finally breathe a sigh of relief. Zhao Junyao sat for a while before leaving. After seeing the Emperor off, Xia Ruqing collapsed onto the kang, dabbing at her sweat with a handkerchief. He’s so hard to please. Finally, that great personage is gone. 「In Jiaofang Hall」 The Empress was copying Buddhist scriptures when Yu Lan entered and reported, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has returned to Zhaochen Palace. He did not stay overnight in Zhaohua Pavilion!" The Empress continued writing as if she hadn’t heard a thing. The only difference was that her brushstrokes were now much smoother, and the characters she penned possessed an even greater elegance. After finishing the last page, the Empress put down her brush and picked up the sheet. "Of all the pages, I am most satisfied with this one!" Yu Lan brought over a copper basin to help the Empress wash her hands, smiling as she said, "Your Majesty works so diligently copying scriptures every day. The Empress Dowager will surely be pleased when she learns of it!" The Empress smiled upon hearing this. "Whether the Empress Dowager is pleased, I do not know. But if the Emperor learns of it, he will surely be pleased!" The Empress Dowager was her mother-in-law; even if she disliked her, she had to curry favor. But the only one who could compel her to expend such effort was the Emperor! The Emperor was her husband, her sole hope! "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day. Ensure all palace preparations are thorough. No mistakes will be tolerated!" Yu Lan smiled again. "Your Majesty, rest assured! This servant is overseeing everything meticulously!" "Mmm!" 「The next day, the Lantern Festival.」 The main festivities were in the evening, with no activities scheduled during the day, so Xia Ruqing slept in. By the time she awoke, it was already noon. Xiao Xizi returned with lunch, happily announcing, "Today, Xiao Weizi gave us two extra bowls of sweet glutinous rice balls, saying they were for this servant and Sister Zi Yue to try!" Xia Ruqing was delighted to hear there were sweet glutinous rice balls. "What fillings do they have?" "The sweet ones have sesame, peanut, or candied fruit fillings. The savory ones contain shrimp, minced meat, or fish!" "This servant didn’t know Master’s preferences, so I requested a few of each variety!" With that, Zi Yue opened the food box and began to set out the meal. Xia Ruqing was somewhat surprised; it was her first time hearing that sweet glutinous rice balls could be savory. "I’ll... try one of each then!" "Yes!" Zi Yue lifted the lid from the porcelain tureen, revealing plump, round glutinous rice balls with variously colored fillings floating in a clear, white broth. "These are even bigger than the ones I ate as a child! The wrappers are semi-transparent; you can tell just by looking how thin the skin is and how generous the filling!" As she spoke, the sweet fragrance of glutinous rice wafted out. Zi Yue used a small soup spoon to select one of each colored filling, placing them into a small bowl and ladling some broth over them. "Master, please try some!" Xia Ruqing chose one with a candied fruit filling. After blowing on it to cool it, she took a bite. So it’s a sweet and sour pickled plum inside! The glutinous rice skin was soft and yielding, the plum sweet and tangy, and entirely pitless. One bite filled her mouth with its fragrant, sweet-and-sour taste! Xia Ruqing ate with a beaming smile. Truly worthy of the palace. This is infinitely better than the frozen packaged ones sold in twenty-first-century supermarkets. "You should all try some too!" Zi Yue laughed and said, "Xiao Weizi gave us plenty. Master can eat her fill, and it won’t be too late to reward us then!" Xia Ruqing considered this and didn’t insist further. There was plenty left anyway; she doubted the three of them could finish it all. If those out of favor in the palace didn’t receive such treats, how could mere servants expect them? This was the dignity afforded to Zhaohua Pavilion. 「That afternoon」 Just as Xia Ruqing was about to take a nap, Little Zhuzi came sneaking in. "Honored Lady, the Emperor has sent this servant to escort you!" Xia Ruqing looked at him, completely surprised. At this hour?? There’s the Lantern Festival banquet tonight! Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare appear with the Emperor. Besides, it would be against etiquette. Just thinking about the other consorts in the palace... they’d probably want to tear me apart! Therefore, Xia Ruqing was inwardly quite resistant. But Little Zhuzi couldn’t wait and urged her again, "Honored Lady, please hurry. The Emperor is waiting!" "Waiting?" Xia Ruqing was momentarily confused. "Did he say what for? Why the sudden rush?!" Little Zhuzi scratched his head, not daring to reveal much, and only said vaguely, "The Honored Lady will understand upon arrival!" Xia Ruqing didn’t press further. Zi Yue dared not delay. She quickly helped her master wash her face again and hurried her out the door. Zhaohua Pavilion was in a secluded location, and Little Zhuzi was merely a junior eunuch. With so many people coming and going in the palace, their passage went largely unnoticed. Instead of taking the main palace paths, Xia Ruqing led Little Zhuzi through the Imperial Garden, traversing it from north to south. Bypassing the East Gate, they soon arrived at a rear side-gate of Zhaochen Palace.