The Prime Minister's White Moonlight - Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Liuniang
It was July once again. Outside the Zhaoyue Hall in the palace, pomegranate blossoms were in full bloom. The brilliant red flowers flared like fire, almost bending the branches, with a few even leaning low to peek into the window.
In the afternoon, Han Bi rested her cheek on one hand, gazing at the pomegranate blossoms outside the window. The shifting shadows of the flowers danced, and a tear mole at her eye corner was even redder than the blossoms.
“Liuniang,” she heard someone call her. Logically, anyone who knew that name should be long gone. It was a male voice, sounding warm and elegant, refreshing like a spring rain.
Yet, the person’s face was obscured by the pomegranate branches. She looked around—no, this was not the Zhaoyue Hall she was familiar with. Every pavilion, terrace, and object was deeply familiar: this was the Cui family estate, the place where she grew up.
The hand she intended to use to push aside the branches trembled slightly, though she already knew who that person was. Instantly, the dream shattered, and the person behind the flowers vanished like smoke.
Han Bi woke up. Smoke slowly drifted from the mouth of the Suanni incense burner in the hall. The maid Hua Wu, dressed in cyan, heard the movement and lifted the crystal curtain, asking, “Is Your Ladyship Zhaoyi awake?”
Han Bi nodded slightly, rubbing her already somewhat stiff hand. She asked Hua Wu, “What time is it?” Hua Wu respectfully lowered her head and replied, “Reporting to Your Ladyship, it is now the hour of Shen (3 PM to 5 PM).”
The time for the evening banquet was approaching. Han Bi wasn’t inclined to ponder the meaning of the dream and simply said, “Have Ning Zhi come to dress my hair and makeup.”
Hua Wu responded respectfully and went to call Ning Zhi. Both of them were palace servants specifically assigned by the Emperor to serve Cui Zhaoyi closely. Ning Zhi knew that Cui Zhaoyi was currently highly favored, so she was extremely careful and cautious, daring no transgression.
Ning Zhi quickly arrived at Zhaoyue Hall. Han Bi sat before the dressing table, looking at herself in the bronze mirror. Ning Zhi asked, “May I ask what hairstyle Your Ladyship would like for the banquet today?”
Han Bi thought for a moment, “A spiral bun.” After a pause, she added, “Use that set of ruby hair ornaments.” Ning Zhi nodded and picked up a jade comb to begin styling Han Bi’s hair.
Ning Zhi’s skill was naturally excellent, or the Emperor would not have assigned her to serve Han Bi. Han Bi looked at herself in the mirror, feeling that the mole at her eye corner added a touch of allure.
Han Bi then chose a rouge-colored, auspicious-patterned large-sleeved shirt, layered with a bright yellow gauze robe, and draped an apricot-colored shawl around her wrist.
Once fully dressed, Hua Wu and Ning Zhi carefully adjusted her robes before she proceeded to the Penglai Palace for the banquet.
Penglai Palace was already brightly lit, with candles as thick as a child’s arm burning quietly. Shen Zhuo also sat in his assigned spot, radiating the elegance of a spring willow. Beside him were colleagues he knew well. Some peeked at him secretly, but Shen Zhuo acted as if he didn’t notice.
This was the first palace banquet he had attended since returning to the capital. He once had an engagement, but now the Cui family was gone, so the engagement was naturally void. Thus, the noble ladies who secretly admired Shen Zhuo began to stir again.
“The Emperor has arrived,” an inner attendant announced. Everyone in the hall immediately knelt to pay respects. Shen Zhuo saw the crowned monarch and the palace concubine subtly positioned to his right. From this angle, he could mostly only glimpse a pair of embroidered shoes adorned with tassels and bright pearls.
Once the Emperor reached the carved dragon throne above the dais, the young Emperor spoke with considerable majesty, “Dispense with the formalities.” Everyone rose, but the next moment, the expression on Shen Zhuo’s face changed.
He looked up and saw the concubine’s appearance: a lotus-like face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and a small mole at the corner of her eye. If not Han Bi, then who?
Noticing his daze, a colleague quietly informed him, “That is Zhaoyi Niangniang, whom His Majesty took in a few months ago. Her beauty is peerless, but unfortunately…” The colleague shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished. Shen Zhuo understood the unspoken meaning: Cui Zhaoyi’s maternal family was gone, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been merely given the title of Zhaoyi upon entering the palace.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhuo clenched the thin porcelain wine cup in his hand. Above, Cui Zhaoyi was smiling sweetly, holding a dragon-carved wine pot with her delicate hand, pouring wine for the Emperor, her eyes brimming with affection.
When the banquet dispersed, the outside was pitch black. Palace servants led the way with lanterns. A colleague who wasn’t done enjoying himself invited Shen Zhuo to his residence for more drinks. “I still need to go back and pay my respects to my mother,” Shen Zhuo refused. The colleague then spoke a few words about Shen Zhuo’s filial piety before leaving.
Shen Zhuo remained standing alone, his face solemn. The palace servant lighting the way noticed his pause and kindly reminded him in a soft voice, “Lord Shen?”
Shen Zhuo glanced at the now silent area in front of Penglai Palace. The young concubine was being helped by palace servants into the Emperor’s carriage, her jade-like countenance reflected in the dim palace lanterns. “It’s nothing,” Shen Zhuo said, then walked forward without looking back.
Inside the Fucui Pavilion of the Shen Residence, Madam Shen was sitting on a couch. She had just finished taking some herbal medicine with the help of her maidservant and was feeling drowsy when someone reported, “The Eldest Young Master has returned.”
Hearing footsteps, the maidservants quickly drew the curtains. Shen Zhuo’s face was slightly flushed from the wine, but he did not salute Madam Shen as usual.
Madam Shen waved her hand, “All of you, step outside first.” The maidservants in the room quietly filed out. Shen Zhuo’s voice was heavy as he said, “Mother, did you know I saw Han Bi today?” Hearing this, Madam Shen raised her eyelids, “And what of it?”
Shen Zhuo couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart. When he first returned home, he heard the news about the Cui family: men exiled, women relegated to the Jiaofang Division. Later, Madam Shen told him Han Bi had died. At the time, he was filled with mixed emotions, feeling he had failed Han Bi, unable to protect the woman he was engaged to.
“Did Mother know all along?” Seeing her look entirely unsurprised, Shen Zhuo questioned her. Madam Shen looked at him and then said, “Yes. I hid it from you because she is now the Emperor’s concubine, and I was afraid you’d act foolishly out of rashness.”
Shen Zhuo was a good man in all respects—dutiful and obedient—but he was inexplicably deeply in love with Cui Han Bi. At the time, Madam Shen thought the Cui family was a suitable match. After discussing it with Lord Shen, she sent a matchmaker to propose to the Cui family.
Thinking of this, Madam Shen sighed regretfully, “Perhaps I should not have agreed to that marriage in the first place.” When the Cui family met with disaster, Lord Shen had gone to great lengths to disassociate the Shen family from them. When people pleaded for the Cui family, Lord Shen remained silent.
Looking at Madam Shen in this state, Shen Zhuo felt alienated. He remembered when his marriage with Han Bi was first settled, she had summoned him and earnestly instructed him to treat Han Bi well and never betray her.
Now, only four years later, she said she perhaps should not have agreed to the marriage. The maidservants waiting outside saw the Young Master, usually gentle and refined, leave Fucui Pavilion with a gloomy face, not uttering a word.
When Yun Li entered, she saw Madam Shen sitting on the couch, looking lost. “Madam,” Yun Li greeted first. Seeing her trusted maidservant, Madam Shen said, “Have the kitchen send over a bowl of ginseng soup.”
“Yes.” Yun Li complied and gracefully left.
Han Bi was in front of the dressing table removing her hairpins and bracelets. As she pulled out the last hairpin, her thick, black hair fell loose, contrasting against her snow-white skin. Hua Wu, who served her closely, was momentarily stunned.
“Your Ladyship was truly favored tonight. His Majesty personally escorted you into the hall.” Hua Wu intended to compliment her beauty, but Han Bi forced a bitter laugh, saying, “I’m afraid tomorrow there will be memorials impeaching me submitted to the Imperial Desk.”
“How so?” Ning Zhi, putting the jewelry into the box, also sounded confused. Han Bi shook her head. She was originally the former Emperor’s concubine. The new Emperor’s determination to bring her into the palace was due to her beauty, but also another reason: the current Empress was deeply entangled with the aristocratic families. The new Emperor needed a useful pawn to resist the Grand Commandant, thus displaying his favor towards her.
“Favor is the most ethereal thing. How ridiculous that Consort Shu and the Empress still long for it,” Han Bi laughed again, this time with a hint of contempt.
Hua Wu naturally knew who Consort Shu was—the most beautiful woman in the palace before Han Bi entered. Moreover, it was rumored that Consort Shu had been deeply in love with the Emperor since before he was the Crown Prince.
Hua Wu naturally dared not respond to this. Han Bi only revealed glimpses of her true self within the Zhaoyue Hall late at night.
The Emperor’s exclusive favor for Han Bi, and his neglect of Consort Shu and the Empress, was an act of resistance against the Grand Commandant. This ensured that Consort Shu and the Empress would dislike her, forcing Han Bi to rely even more on the new Emperor. It was indeed a clever move.
But for now, Han Bi could only comply, adopting the affectionate demeanor she displayed at Penglai Palace. However, she thought, such days would not last too long.
Han Bi also thought of Shen Zhuo, whom she encountered in the hall today. She had actually noticed his gaze, but she no longer cared about those past events. Yet, Shen Zhuo might also prove to be a useful pawn. With this thought, Han Bi allowed Hua Wu and Ning Zhi to undress her, lay down on the mother-of-pearl-inlaid bed in Zhaoyue Hall, and drift into sleep.
Taiji Palace, located at the highest point of Longshouyuan and in the center of the Forbidden City, was also the Empress’s residence.
The Empress woke up slightly early today. She looked out the ornate window at the sprawling lotuses, with gulls and egrets fluttering over the water. Then, Tao Zhi brought a copper basin, and the Empress cleansed her face and sat before the dressing table to select her jewelry.
Han Mei, who arrived a little early, smoothed some Osmanthus hair oil into her hair and slowly began to comb it. As if remembering something, the Empress asked Tao Zhi, “Were there any memorials submitted today?”
Tao Zhi lowered her head and respectfully replied, “There were, naturally. Someone from the Imperial Censorate criticized Cui Zhaoyi for disregarding propriety at the Penglai Palace banquet yesterday, forcing His Majesty to personally escort her into the hall. They also claimed that His Majesty only brought Cui Zhaoyi, neglecting to invite Your Ladyship and Consort Shu, and that Cui Zhaoyi is truly a seductive fox corrupting the sovereign.”
The Empress said faintly, “Oh? And what did His Majesty say?” Tao Zhi hesitated before replying, “His Majesty said nothing.” What Tao Zhi didn’t say was that the Emperor had held back the memorial, and the Censor who submitted it was likely to face consequences.
The Empress’s usually calm face was covered with a layer of frost, “If I hadn’t gone to Jing’an Temple to offer incense and seen her seemingly honest and modest demeanor, I wouldn’t have been inclined to let her enter the palace to serve His Majesty. I never thought I’d raise a tiger to invite disaster.”
Tao Zhi lowered her head even further at her words, while Han Mei continued to wordlessly style the Empress’s hair. The atmosphere was terrifyingly tense for a while.
“Tao Zhi, take my token out of the palace and deliver a letter to the Grand Commandant,” the Empress commanded. Tao Zhi naturally did not dare to disobey. Han Mei’s hairdo was also finished. Han Mei put down the jade comb, turned, saluted, and then left.
The moment Han Mei stepped out of Taiji Palace, her subservient posture vanished. Since she kept her head down, the Empress couldn’t see the expression on her face.
Before leaving, Han Mei glanced at the lavishly decorated Taiji Palace. It had been personally renovated by the Emperor for the Imperial wedding, resulting in the current blue-tiled, vermilion-eaved appearance, with even the roof tiles made of glazed material, looking both opulent and cold. Yet, no one could truly see what she was thinking inside.