The carriage was luxurious and cozy. Even the cushions were embroidered with dark and intricate patterns of branches with blossoms. JiuZhu reached out and brushed it, the sensation was soft as if she was touching the clouds.
She lifted a corner of the window curtain and immediately, the bustling scene of the capital appeared before her eyes.
The sound of horses’ hooves came from the distance. The closer it got to the carriage, the slower it became. The rider must have slowed down the horse.
“Whose carriage is that ahead?”
“Replying to Your Highness, it seems to be someone from MingYue Palace.”
JiuZhu had a good hearing ability from a young age. She poked her head out to look at the person who asked the question.
The man on horseback, dressed in a brocade robe, also raised his eyes and met her gaze.
JiuZhu nodded subtly at him. After that, she lowered the curtain and sat back properly, not forgetting to touch the phoenix-tailed hairpin at the side of her temple.
Sensing that the golden hairpin was in its place, she let out a sigh of relief. It was worth a lot of money.
When the carriage reached the Palace gate, discovering that the person inside the carriage was the future Chen Wangfei, the Imperial guards let it pass through directly; they did not dare to inspect it too thoroughly.
After going forward for a while more, JiuZhu descended from the carriage. The people of MingYue Palace had already prepared a sedan for her.
Almost none of the daughters of any court official dared to ride a sedan inside the Palace but JiuZhu, who had just returned to the capital, did not understand these things. Her family regarded her as the beloved treasure that was regained with great difficulty; they could never bear to let her suffer an iota of grievance, always treating her as a venerable being.
Seeing that the niangniang in the Palace had prepared a sedan for her, she sat on it obediently, complimenting the beautiful carvings on the armrests of the sedan.
The female official smiled kindly: “Niangniang also likes this pattern. She said that this kind of flower looks lively and prosperous, pleasing anyone who sees it.”
JiuZhu thought to herself: She is indeed His Majesty’s favorite Guifei niangniang. Her tastes are so exceptional.
Her own tastes were also as good as niangniang’s, which naturally indicated that she was also a person with great judgement.
Initially, she was still a little apprehensive in her heart but now, she straightened her waist, brimming with endless confidence.
Meanwhile, in the Ming family’s residence, ChunFen was awfully worried about her Young Miss, who had already entered the Palace.
“Madam, the Young Miss doesn’t understand the rules of the Palace. What should we do if she offends Guifei niangniang?”
“Don’t panic.” Shen-shi looked over the entries in the account book of the treasury: “JiuZhu is the only daughter of me and my husband. If she really does anything inappropriate, the Palace will turn a blind eye. If the Guifei doesn’t like her, she doesn’t like her.”
That’d be very good. If the two sides dislike each other, there might still be room for turning around the wedding.
In the MingYue Palace. An incense burner faintly let out smoke as Su Guifei leaned on the carved soft chair languidly. When she looked at the door, her gaze was neither happy nor angry, making one wonder what exactly she was thinking.
When footsteps sounded outside the door, she sat up straight and stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist.
“Niangniang, Ming guniang1Guniang [姑娘] – Means girl / young lady. is here.”
Su Guifei raised her eyelids and looked at the girl who entered through the door. And with this single glance, it became hard to move her eyes elsewhere.
This kind of beauty was the hardest to come by. It could not only make men want to pamper her but also make the woman appear friendly.
Unexpectedly, an inflexible civilian court official like Ming JingZhou had such a rare beauty of a daughter.
“Chennu2Chennu [臣女] – Means “this servant girl” or “this subject/official’s daughter”. pays her respects to Guifei niangniang.” After JiuZhu saw Su Guifei’s face, she smiled till her eyes became two crescent moons.
This niangniang, she had seen her before.
“No need to be so polite. Just sit down and talk.” Su Guifei motioned to the female official to help her up. After JiuZhu was seated, she asked, “I heard your health was not good when you were young, so you have been fostered in a Daoist temple. Now that you are back in the capital, are you able to get used to living here yet?”
This was precisely what the Ming family stated to the outside world; only the current Emperor knew the truth. Actually, the three brothers of the Ming family were exiled to the bitter cold lands for the sake of His Majesty himself, so this matter had been kept under wraps tightly. No one knew about it except the current monarch and the people of the Ming family.
“I’m quite well.” JiuZhu thought for a while: “Mother and Father treat me like an invaluable pearl, Uncles and Aunts are also always concerned about me…”
As she spoke about what happened after returning to the capital, JiuZhu’s eyes were filled with happiness: “It’s just…”
Her eyes dimmed slightly: “I miss my two Masters a little bit.”
Seeing those bright eyes clouding over, Su Guifei couldn’t help but start to think of ways to get those two Masters to come here and see for themselves how much they had saddened this child.
“If you miss them, Ben Gong3Ben Gong [本宫] – The Empress, high-ranking consorts and the princesses used to use this to address themselves while talking to a person of lower station. They (the high-ranking women in the harem) used to own a whole freaking Palace so naturally, it carries the meaning of ‘in the name of(the owner of) this palace’ or simply ‘this palace’. will help you bring them into the capital.”
“Thank you, niangniang, but they prefer to live in LingZhou.”
In fact, the actual words of her two Masters were: “The capital city is crowded with people and soldiers riding horses. That severely impure air is not at all suitable for maintaining one’s good health.”
Naturally, JiuZhu would not say that her two masters disliked the feng shui of the capital for not nurturing people well; as resourceful a girl as she was, she surely knew what to say and what not to say: “Both my Masters devoted themselves to spirituality. Chennu is reluctant to impose too much on them.”
“LingZhou…” Su Guifei recalled that she had accompanied His Majesty to this place a few years ago. There, the landscape was spectacular, and the air over the rivers were filled with cloud and mist in the morning: “It’s certainly a nice place.”
“Niangniang.” JiuZhu looked curiously at Su Guifei, saying, “I heard that you obtained a precious painting. I wonder if chennu will be honored enough to have the privilege of taking a look at it?”
Till now, she didn’t know what a ‘precious painting’ looked like. JiuZhu was a little expectant in her heart.
Su Guifei’s hand holding the tea paused for a while. Appreciating a painting had always been just an excuse for inviting people into the Palace. Who would take it seriously?
Furthermore, who didn’t not know that she didn’t even have the least bit of interest in poetry, calligraphy and painting?
But looking at JiuZhu’s expectant eyes, she slowly turned her head to look at her personal maid beside her: “Go to Ben Gong’s private warehouse and fetch that famous painting.”
After two sticks of incense4TL/N: This is a way used to refer to the time taken for two incense sticks to burn completely., the maid brought the scroll and carefully unfolded it in front of JiuZhu.
JiuZhu stared at the painting carefully, trying her best to admire the charm of the famous painting.
What was in this picture?
It was true that plum blossoms bloom fully in the frigid twelfth lunar month but how come there were butterflies flying around it?
On such a cold day, how could a cat sleep on the snow? Were cats not afraid of the cold?
But this was a famous painting. It would definitely not make such a mistake. The only mistake must be that she didn’t appreciate it properly.
JiuZhu looked at the painting, and discreetly glanced at the Guifei niangniang who was admiring the painting with her. She pondered over what to say and how, so as to not lose face in front of such a beautiful niangniang.
“This cat is adorable. It also seems very quick-witted.” JiuZhu began speaking, bracing herself.
“Indeed.” Su Guifei leaned closer to the painting, “It’s eyeballs are also drawn quite round.”
The female officer also took a closer look at the painting. The round black spots were not eyes, but lumps of hair on the cat’s face.
“Plum blossoms are painted rather well. From how it can attract butterflies regardless of the cold winter season, the painter’s assertive brushwork can also be clearly seen.”
“En, you’re right. The bamboo shoots drawn under the plum tree look very tender; they must taste quite good.”
“And this snow.” Seeing Guifei niangniang agree with all her statements, JiuZhu suddenly realized that this was the so-called innate talent. Although she knew nothing about this painting, she was still able to describe its essence and even hit the nail on the head.
What did this mean?
This indicated that she was a rarely seen genius in the world of painting.
“What’s wrong with this snow?” Su Guifei asked in curiosity.
“As the saying goes, a timely snow foretells a prosperous year with bountiful harvest.” JiuZhu ascertained with full confidence: “This painting is clearly implying that the coming year will be a good one. Niangniang is truly as benevolent and beautiful as a fairy; even the paintings you collect all look forward to the prosperity of the coming years.”
Su Guifei chuckled softly and said, “What fairy, Ming guniang is joking.”
Privately, the officials of the court liked to call her the demon concubine who bewitched His Majesty. It was the first time someone praised as a beautiful and benevolent fairy.
“Niangniang, chennu is not joking.” JiuZhu repeated it seriously: “Niangniang is a good person like a fairy, your child is also a fairy boy.”
“He’s already so old. Is it appropriate to call him a fairy boy?” Su Guifei chuckled, looking at JiuZhu with tenderness: “I heard that your given name is JiuZhu, how about I call you JiuZhu?”
“Niangniang can call me as you wish.” JiuZhu nodded: “Chennu is fine with all.”
“The character ‘Zhu’ is nice.” Su Guifei pulled JiuZhu’s hand: “Quite fortunate. It may be assumed that your parents adore you like pearl and care for you like jade and that’s why they chose this name.”
The officials at the capital city had always been fond of sophistication, so when they named their family’s children, they mostly preferred to quote the classics. Tacky or unsophisticated names were a complete no-no for them.
JiuZhu’s name was both graceful and proper. It showed the parents’ expectation and joy at the arrival of this child.
“Niangniang is amazing.” JiuZhu looked at Su Guifei with admiration. Just from her name, she could discern how much her parents cherished her.
The two masters said that when they picked her up in the wilderness, her swaddling clothing was made by sewing together different types of fabrics. They were good in some places while bad in other, but every one of the stitches were done exquisitely.
They often told her that her parents were looking forward to her birth but fate played a cruel joke and separated them.
At that time, the Imperial Court was surging like a gathering storm. Countless officials and military leaders were involved or implicated in conspiracy and tricks due to the struggle between the then princes. Some families were ruined and exiled, some were torn apart, and some even had each and everyone of its members executed after having their property confiscated, implicating the whole clan.
The masters were soft-hearted. Seeing that there were no announcements seeking a baby girl were posted in the city, they decided to take her in.
There was also a strip of cloth sewn in the swaddling clothes that mentioned her entire birth data5Birth data [生辰八字] – It means the data needed for astrological purposes. It combines year, month, day, hour, heavenly trunk and earthly branch.. They told her, “Presumably, your parent entrusted you to others in a moment of desperation. They might have been afraid that the person would not remember your name and birth date so they specially prepared this.”
So she knew from a young age that she was brought into this world by love, not as an unwanted additional person.
In the Imperial study, Ming JingZhou stood respectfully, even though His Majesty looked at him with a particularly amiable expression today, it did not make him feel good.
“Official Ming ah.” The Emperor stretched his words: “You are the backbone of the court. The children you raised are all young talents. I believe that your daughter is also as outstanding as you and your famed wife.”
“Your Majesty, my daughter grew up in the mountains. She doesn’t know the proper etiquettes to be a part of the Imperial family.”
“What a coincidence! Our family’s Xiaowu6Xiaowu [小五] – Just the pinyin for ‘little five/fifth’. Kept it like that coz it sounds nicer than the English translation lol. is also an unrestrained person who doesn’t follow etiquette properly.” The Emperor’s smile became more and more obvious: “I can see that they are a perfect match.”
Ming JingZhou: “……”
Is this a curse ah, who wanted to be a perfect match with Chen Wang?
“Official Ming need not be modest. Zhen7Zhen [朕] – Used by the Emperors to address themselves instead of ‘I’, usually translated as the Imperial We/Us. ah, merely acknowledged your family’s girl as Zhen’s daughter-in-law.” Emperor LongFeng put down his brush and walked over to Ming JingZhou, patting his shoulder lightly: “If you act so humble again, Zhen would think that you are looking down on the Yun family’s bloodline.”
“This small official dare not.” Ming JingZhou stooped down slowly and bowed, his face deathly pale.
Emperor LongFeng laughed loudly: “Zhen was just joking. Beloved Official doesn’t need to get so nervous. We are going to be in-laws, there is no need to be reserved in private.”
Ming JingZhou inwardly wished to greet the eighteen generations of ancestors of the Yun family, but he dared not speak.
He knew that if he went on anymore, he would only irritate the monarch. So, Ming JingZhou could only choose to be excused.
After ordering an Eunuch to personally escort Ming JingZhou out of the Palace, Emperor LongFeng turned his head and asked the Chief Eunuch, who was standing beside him: “Did MingYue Palace send someone here a moment ago?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, just now, Guifei niangniang sent someone to borrow a painting. You were busy discussing matters with Lord Ming, so this slave took the initiative to select one scroll for the niangniang.”
Emperor LongFeng was not angry. On the contrary, he sighed in pleasure. “It seems that Zhen’s Beloved Consort is very satisfied with this betrothal. In order to get along well with her future daughter-in-law, she even took the initiative to appreciate painting.”
“Which painting did you choose?”
“«Absurdities of the Four Seasons» a work by a great expert of the previous dynasty.”
“En.” Emperor LongFeng nodded in satisfaction. That painting was meant to mock some painters who did not know the significance of the changes of the four seasons when painting and put Zhang’s hat on Li’s head8Zhang’s hat on Li’s head [张冠李戴] – It means to confuse one thing with another.. The painting was easy to understand, weird and also amusing. It was quite suitable for beginners to marvel at.
“Very good.”
Thanks for reading ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶! If you found any typos or want to suggest some corrections, feel free to do so in the comment section or in our discord server. And if you like my translations, please consider rating it on NU and supporting me on:
![When the Sand Sculpture Protagonist Enters the World of Crematorium [Quick Transmigration]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/photo_2023-12-20_21-58-42.jpg "When the Sand Sculpture Protagonist Enters the World of Crematorium [Quick Transmigration]")
