Chapter 574 - 352: Courting Humiliation
Qin Xiyue had lost a lot of weight recently. Her waist was so slender you could wrap your hand around it, and standing in the hall, she looked as if a gust of wind could knock her over. Her face was deathly pale with dark circles under her eyes. After curtseying, she stood to the side with her head bowed, looking as if she wouldn’t dare utter a word until the Empress Dowager spoke.
The Empress Dowager was displeased seeing Qin Xiyue like this. ’She recalled how eagerly Qin Xiyue had tried to curry favor when she first returned to the palace. Look at her now.’
’And that Grand Tutor Qin was just a useless paper tiger. I thought he had some real power, but he retired to his hometown before long.’
"I summoned you because I have a task for you."
Hearing the Empress Dowager speak, Qin Xiyue’s face grew a shade paler. She said, "I wonder what Your Highness commands? I fear this concubine is of too humble a station to be of service to Your Highness."
Qin Xiyue’s words made the Empress Dowager’s face darken. She said, "Ming Fei has opened a shop. I am worried that she is young and reckless. You have a steady and composed temperament. Go and lend her a hand."
Qin Xiyue...
’Am I not on bad terms with Song Yunzhao? Doesn’t the Empress Dowager know that?’
’If I go over there now, would Song Yunzhao possibly treat me well?’
’Besides, Song Yunzhao is already wary enough of me. If I go, I’ll only be humiliating myself.’
’The Empress Dowager doesn’t care about my dignity at all. She just wants me to go and be embarrassed, to let Song Yunzhao humiliate me.’
Qin Xiyue’s life was already difficult. Ever since Song Yunzhao gave birth to the Eldest Prince, the attitudes of others in the palace toward her had become very delicate. Before, she could still gather with others to play cards and drink tea to pass the time, but now everyone avoided her like the plague. Only one or two people still associated with her.
Song Yunzhao was like the sun at high noon in this palace; who would dare to offend her? Knowing of Qin Xiyue’s enmity with Song Yunzhao, they avoided her as if she were a harbinger of disaster, all while trying to curry favor with Song Yunzhao.
To the victor go the spoils. Qin Xiyue accepted this.
But she wouldn’t accept it forever. She was determined to make a comeback, but she didn’t want to be a stepping stone for the Empress Dowager right now.
Qin Xiyue kept her head bowed, not looking at the Empress Dowager, and spoke slowly. "Your Highness, this concubine does wish to ease your burdens. It’s just that I have offended Lady Ming in the past. If I approach her now, how could she possibly accept me? It’s not that I’m afraid of losing face, but I worry that if I go rashly, Ming Fei might misunderstand and think I am acting under someone’s orders. If that were to implicate you, Your Highness, what would we do?"
The Empress Dowager was unmoved by Qin Xiyue’s clever words. She said coldly, "I am only asking you to advise Ming Fei, not to do anything else. What, can Qin Wan Yi not even handle a small matter like this?"
"If it were anyone else, this concubine would naturally be willing to help. But..." Qin Xiyue let out a faint sigh. "There is something Your Highness may not know. Ming Fei despises this concubine. If I go to advise her, I’m afraid it will only backfire. If Your Highness still insists on entrusting me with this important task, I am willing to go. However, I fear this trip will not achieve the results you expect. To disappoint Your Highness... even death would not be enough to atone for my failure."
No matter what Qin Xiyue said, the core message was that the task would fail, that Song Yunzhao might see through her and realize she was acting on orders, and that the Empress Dowager would definitely be implicated.
If the Empress Dowager didn’t mind that, then she was willing to go.
Of course the Empress Dowager minded. She was using Qin Xiyue as a pawn precisely so she wouldn’t have to lose face herself.
"Useless trash! Get out!" The Empress Dowager was furious. She understood the subtext of Qin Xiyue’s words. She never imagined that Qin Xiyue would dare to disobey her now.
This was exactly what Qin Xiyue had hoped for. Even while being scolded by the Empress Dowager, she simply bowed her head in acceptance, curtsied, and withdrew.
Once they had left Shouci Palace, Hua Ying’s tears began to fall. She followed her mistress with her head bowed. When would these days ever end?
"What are you crying for?" Qin Xiyue said softly.
Hua Ying quickly wiped her tears. "I’m not crying. Some sand just got in my eyes."
Qin Xiyue walked forward with a grim expression, gazing into the distance as she spoke slowly, "I’m not even crying, so you shouldn’t either. What’s a few insults from the Empress Dowager? It’s much better than going to Yaohua Palace to be humiliated."
Hua Ying sucked in a breath, her tone tinged with indignation. "Has the Empress Dowager forgotten that she was the one who asked you to help Miss An? If it weren’t for helping Miss An, how would you have ended up with such deep enmity with Ming Fei? The Empress Dowager knows that perfectly well, yet she still wants you to go to Yaohua Palace. She’s clearly..."
Hua Ying couldn’t continue.
Qin Xiyue thought to herself that helping An Shutong back then wasn’t necessarily the real reason she had fallen out with Song Yunzhao. ’She and Song Yunzhao were like two parallel lines, destined never to intersect.’
’They both wanted the same thing; conflict was inevitable.’
’So it was no surprise they were now like fire and water. The only pity was that Song Yunzhao’s star was rising meteorically while she was treading water. Moreover, her family’s fortunes had plummeted, leaving her with no support. Staging a comeback would be more than just difficult.’
Qin Xiyue had been very intelligent since childhood. She had a calm temperament, acted with propriety, knew what she wanted, and would do everything in her power to get it.
But this time, she was clearly no match for Song Yunzhao.
Later, she carefully considered what she had done wrong to make the Emperor despise her so much. It wasn’t until her father retired to his hometown that she began to understand.
’The Emperor didn’t necessarily despise *her*, but he definitely disliked her father’s actions.’
’The Emperor’s anger was simply redirected at her.’
’If I just keep my head down and behave for a few years, I might have a chance to make a comeback. After all, my father has already fallen from power, and I have no one to protect me. A weak woman trapped in such a predicament might just arouse the Emperor’s pity.’
’But now is definitely not the time. I have to wait patiently for the right opportunity.’
That was why she could not do what the Empress Dowager had asked of her.
’If I did it, and the Emperor found out, I could forget about any chance of pity.’
She even had some regrets now. She had been too eager for a quick victory, which was why she had joined forces with the Empress Dowager, only to earn the Emperor’s disgust and redirected anger.
’How could I fall into the same trap twice?’
Even if the Empress Dowager was unhappy, she couldn’t get involved in this mess.
She even thought it would be best if the Empress Dowager punished her—punished her severely, made her suffer. When word of it reached the Emperor, perhaps his dislike for his own birth mother would transform into pity for her.
Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager did not do so.
Qin Xiyue sneered internally. ’The Empress Dowager is truly patient when it comes to An Shutong. To pave the way for her, she didn’t even punish me for my refusal today.’
’What a pity.’
’I wanted to use the situation to my advantage, but the Empress Dowager didn’t take the bait.’
Hua Ying watched her mistress’s expression flicker and change. After a moment’s thought, she lowered her voice and asked, "Your Grace, about Ming Fei’s Baozhuang Building... are you really going to get involved?"
"Why would Ming Fei let me get involved?" Qin Xiyue said. "Besides, for her to be so ostentatious, she must have the Emperor’s permission."
Under these circumstances, there was of course nothing she could do. Even if she were to make a move, now was not the time.
She had always been a patient person. She could afford to wait.
Besides, this time Song Yunzhao had acted out of spite against the Empress Dowager, leaving only the most stunningly beautiful concubines from Zhichun Palace. She refused to believe that once these beauties entered the palace, they wouldn’t be able to capture at least some of the Emperor’s attention.
Just you wait.