Concubine of the Eastern Palace (Qing Dynasty Time Travel)

Before long, it was the end of April. The weather in the capital had warmed up day by day, and the Imperial Household Department had started to make summer clothes. Cheng Wanyun, along with the seamstresses from the Embroidery Department, had her measurements taken and, after that, had nothing else to do.

Bitao was admiring how Qingxing was noting down her measurements in a small booklet. Since Bitao couldn’t read, she was especially impressed by Qingxing’s ability to write a few characters. Whenever Cheng Wanyun wrote something, Bitao would rush to help her with the ink and brush, but when Cheng Wanyun offered to teach her, she quickly waved her hand, saying, “I’m just a servant, I can’t trouble the Miss.”

After Qingxing finished writing, she brought over a tea bowl. “Miss, you’ve grown quite a bit recently. For your undergarments in the future, we’ll need to make the sleeves a little longer.”

Cheng Wanyun nodded; she had noticed she had grown taller recently.

By modern standards, she was still a high school student, so it was normal for her to be going through a growth spurt.

Although Cheng Wanyun woke up late every day, before bed, she would lower the bed curtains to practice yoga. Whether it was stretching and breathing exercises or meditative sitting, she did this when the Crown Prince wasn’t around, as she preferred to keep it private. She also believed it helped her grow taller.

After lunch, she checked the hatching tray where she had previously placed the fish eggs. The eggs at the bottom of the tray had started to develop small black spots, which was a sign of successful fertilization. She squatted down, picking out the bad eggs, and then returned to make socks with Qingxing. Suddenly, she didn’t know what else to do.

Seeing she was getting bored, Bitao suggested, “Not long ago, Mama Jin said that a batch of golden lotuses was cultivated in the flower room at Fengchen Courtyard. A few pots were given to the Crown Prince as a gift, and they were placed in the greenhouse in the south garden. Would you like to go take a look?”

Cheng Wanyun had heard that golden lotuses mostly grew on the high mountains in the Northeast and Inner Mongolia. Being from the south in both of her lifetimes, she had never seen them before. So, she eagerly decided to go see the flowers, taking Qingxing and Bitao along with her.

The South Garden of Yuqing Palace was actually not large, but it was beautifully maintained. Before, Cheng Wanyun rarely wandered around on her own. Other than occasionally visiting Side Concubine Li to pay her respects and make small talk, she usually spent her time in her own private room, keeping to herself. It wasn’t that she was reclusive, but as a newcomer, she didn’t dare to wander around freely. The reason the Crown Prince liked her, perhaps, was partly because she knew how to conduct herself and never overstepped her boundaries.

When she was in Zhongcui Palace, the head nurse had once said, “In the palace, speak less and do less.”

Cheng Wanyun understood that well.

Thus, after more than a month in the Eastern Palace, it was her first time leaving the “newcomer’s village” and exploring a new area—the South Garden.

The South Garden was not far from where she stayed. Following the colorful stone path and passing through the stone arch covered with vines, she could already smell the fresh, earthy scent of the plants. She gazed at the small but exquisite garden before her and couldn’t help but sincerely admire its beauty.

The trees before her were lush and vibrant, with evergreens like pines and cypress planted around flowerbeds, rockeries, and pavilions. There were also climbing vines, ginkgo trees, plum blossoms, begonia, and crabapple trees—both flowering and deciduous plants. In the distance, there was a fish pond, its surface covered in lotus leaves, though it was not yet the season for the flowers to bloom.

The garden also housed several cranes, which were leisurely strolling by the water’s edge.

Cheng Wanyun was so enchanted by the scene that she could hardly take it all in.

The warm house was in another direction. As they walked toward the flower sheds, they encountered more young eunuchs, who were responsible for watering the plants, caring for the trees, and feeding the fish. Some of them were kneeling on the rockery to pull weeds, others were standing in the water, cleaning the silt, and some were pushing carts filled with manure from the Upper Stable.

The warm house had dedicated eunuchs managing it. When they saw Cheng Wanyun and her group approaching from afar, they immediately put down their tools and hurriedly bowed, greeting her: “Greetings, Miss Cheng. Wishing you good fortune.”

Cheng Wanyun returned the greeting, and the eunuch smiled even more broadly. “Is Miss Cheng here to admire the flowers?”

Tianjin proudly raised her chest and said, “Miss Cheng has come to admire the golden lotuses.”

“Oh, just this morning, I was saying how the golden lotuses have bloomed again, with three or four new flowers. How festive! It must be meant to bloom for you!” The eunuch, speaking sweetly, led Cheng Wanyun inside. “Miss, please watch your step…”

Once inside, Cheng Wanyun realized that the flower house was quite large, divided into several sections. There were flower caves for jasmine, peonies, and orchids, as well as spaces for pomegranates, oleanders, peach trees, and pines. Each flower cave was equipped with an iron brazier, filled with ten pounds of coal, providing continuous heat for twelve hours a day.

The golden lotuses were placed at the farthest end, with only three pots, and just a few yellow flowers had bloomed. Cheng Wanyun felt a little disappointed upon seeing them. They weren’t particularly beautiful flowers, resembling those planted in urban green spaces in her past life.

The eunuch in charge, however, proudly said, “His Majesty greatly values these golden lotuses. He’s written many imperial poems about them, calling them ‘green leaves and yellow blossoms, fresh and lovely.’ He even had a large number of golden lotuses transplanted from Mount Wutai to the Summer Palace and Xiangshan for planting! Now, only our Yuqing Palace in the imperial palace has these few pots, no one else has them!”

Cheng Wanyun almost blurted out, “They’re not as pretty as narcissus,” but she quickly swallowed her words, nodding repeatedly. “They’re truly beautiful.”

As Master Kang said, if it’s good, then it must be good!

Although somewhat disappointed, Cheng Wanyun didn’t leave empty-handed. She exchanged quite a bit of gardening advice with the eunuch in charge of flower care, discussing how to deal with pests on roses, how to fertilize, and how to prune the branches. She also requested several pots of pomegranate flowers and peony plants.

The eunuch eagerly accepted his reward and then went around the flower house, finding the largest and healthiest plants for Cheng Wanyun. He even took her to the storeroom to pick out flowerpots. Once they finished, Cheng Wanyun still wanted to explore the garden a little more, so the eunuch immediately sent eight eunuchs with two carts to transport the flowers back for her.

She wandered over to the lotus pond and unexpectedly encountered Yang Gege, who was frowning as she sat in a pavilion, watching a few young palace maids pick lotus leaves.

It was a classic case of “enemies meeting on a narrow road.” Since they had already crossed paths, it would have been rude to pretend not to see each other. Cheng Wanyun had no choice but to step forward and greet her: “Good day, Sister Yang.”

Yang Gege, who clearly didn’t want to talk to anyone, stood up and casually nodded, then sat back down on the stone bench without exchanging pleasantries with Cheng Wanyun.

Cheng Wanyun was a little surprised. The last few times they had met, Yang Gege had always been sarcastic, but today she was strangely quiet.

However, she also noticed that Yang Gege had probably not expected to meet anyone, as she hadn’t bothered to dress up. Moreover, while her hair was styled in the traditional “flag head” fashion, most of it seemed to be fake hairpieces, and her own hair was barely enough to cover the fake hair. Her complexion also looked much worse than usual.

As Cheng Wanyun was quietly observing her, Yang Gege couldn’t hold back and coldly turned her face to ask, “What are you looking at, Sister Cheng?”

“Sister Yang seems to have lost some weight,” Cheng Wanyun said with an awkward smile.

Yang Gege gave her an expression that seemed to say, “Mind your own business,” snorted, and turned her face away. After a while, as if still annoyed, she sarcastically added, “Sister Cheng seems to have gained a little roundness. Unlike me, I don’t have the kitchen constantly flattering and sending gifts. One day it’s a box of pastries, the next day a jar of pear soup.”

Cheng Wanyun raised an eyebrow slightly at her words. It was true that the kitchen had sent her two jars of rock candy pear soup yesterday, which had been requested by Qingxing, who noticed that she was a little overheated. But how did Yang Gege find out about it?

Her courtyard was small and tightly managed, so it must have been the kitchen leaking the information.

Cheng Wanyun’s heart suddenly rang with alarm. She had planned to take her time, slowly strengthening her defenses and carefully choosing who to rely on. She didn’t want to buy loyalty or bribe anyone, as true loyalty wasn’t something that could be bought with silver. But it seemed that Yang Gege had already infiltrated the kitchen, and if she didn’t have someone in there, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.

There’s a saying that you can only prevent thieves from stealing, but not from being thieves—over time, there would always be moments of negligence.

After a moment of thought, Cheng Wanyun didn’t want to stay and make things awkward. She made an excuse that she had something to attend to and left with Qingxing. However, as she walked away, she noticed that Yang Gege was staring intently at her retreating figure.

Today, Cheng Gege was dressed casually, without even wearing her flag headpiece. Her hair was styled in two small buns, with a long, thick braid hanging down, tied with a satin ribbon, swaying behind her as she walked.

Yang Gege looked at Cheng Wanyun’s long black braid with envy, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

In the past few days, she wasn’t sure which deity she had offended. First, she broke out in a rash, and then Doctor Zhou said it was likely due to keeping a cat. She had to get rid of the cat, and after using medicine for a few days, the rash faded. But then she started experiencing itching and hair loss. Even though the eunuch, Kong, brewed black rice and black sesame water for her to wash her hair, it didn’t help.

She had been very anxious lately, but the more anxious she became, the worse things got. A few days ago, she called for the doctor again, the same Doctor Zhou. After feeling her pulse, he said her liver fire was high, and her kidney energy was weak. So, she had been drinking fresh lotus leaf and purple rice porridge every day and washing her hair with a concoction he prescribed to help with hair growth. But still, every time she combed her hair, large clumps fell out, making her even more distressed.

Cheng Wanyun, however, had no idea that Yang Gege was troubled. On her way back, she came up with an idea.

Today, the only people accompanying her on her stroll were Qingxing and Bitao, with two young eunuchs following behind to run errands for her. They were both similarly sized and looked alike, so at first glance, she had trouble telling them apart.

One of them was particularly attentive. As soon as he noticed her gaze, he immediately bent forward and asked, “This servant, Tianfu, what can I do for you, Gege?”

“I want to have a pot of porridge for dinner,” Cheng Wanyun instructed. “Go tell Eunuch Zheng, he knows what I like. Just have it delivered on time.”

The young eunuch acknowledged with a “Yes” and quickly ran off to deliver the message.

Once she had given the instruction, Cheng Wanyun stopped thinking about it and continued strolling slowly, admiring the flowers and greenery. She ended up walking even more slowly, but then, suddenly, a torrential downpour began. She quickly took shelter under a large tree ahead, while the young eunuchs had already sprinted back to fetch an umbrella.

As Cheng Wanyun jogged, she stumbled and nearly fell face-first onto the ground. Fortunately, Qingxing immediately pulled her up.

However, as she was about to fall, her hand instinctively reached out to steady herself, but instead of hitting the ground, she touched something warm and soft amidst the thick bushes. Startled, she screamed, and was quickly pulled up and into Qingxing’s arms.

Qingxing was still shaken, gently patting her back to calm her down, “Gege, don’t be afraid, you almost didn’t fall…”

But Cheng Wanyun had already seen what was lying in the thick foliage — a cat, weak and on the verge of death.