Chapter 1: Shou Ta Yi Bing "A Tale of Love and Loyalty"
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Shou Ta Yi Bing "A Tale of Love and Loyalty"
Chapter 1:
Letters
In the cold night, at the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM), heavy snow continued to fall outside the palace.
In Han Ning Palace, the charcoal fire had dimmed somewhat, making the entire room a bit chilly. The deep palace was silent as Pei Qing gently coaxed the child on the couch to sleep and looked at the maid Zhi Lan who had just entered.
The girl’s hands and face were red from the cold, with snow still on her hair.
“Your Majesty,” Zhi Lan whispered to her.
“It’s cold outside; you should warm yourself by the fire first.”
Zhi Lan’s heart warmed, “Yes.”
Pei Qing tucked the blanket around the child, looked at the peacefully sleeping Xiao Ji’an, and sighed softly before getting up.
After warming her hands, Zhi Lan carefully added more charcoal to the hand warmer and handed it to Pei Qing. “Your Majesty, you mustn’t catch cold.”
No matter how cold the hands were, they couldn’t be colder than the heart.
Pei Qing asked, “Has the letter been sent?”
Zhi Lan nodded, “I found a reliable eunuch. He’s hurriedly heading south with it. But… Your Majesty, do you think this letter will be of any use?”
Pei Qing shook her head, “I don’t know.”
She truly didn’t know, but it was all she could do. Zhi Lan then draped a thick cloak over Pei Qing and quietly withdrew. She knew that the Empress would spend another night like this.
After Zhi Lan left, the hall became even quieter. Empress Pei Qing sat in front of the not-so-warm charcoal fire, listening to the howling cold wind outside, wondering whether the letter of plea would successfully reach its intended recipient.
She had never imagined such a day would come.
Having married into the palace and taken her sister's place, raising her sister’s child and continuing the glory of the Pei family, she had become the wife of Emperor Xiao Jing, who was once her brother-in-law and was now her husband. However, in Pei Qing’s heart, she would have preferred to call him brother-in-law for the rest of her life.
He truly was a good brother-in-law. After her sister’s death, the position of empress had remained vacant for three whole years. Even though his health had been deteriorating and his only legitimate son, Xiao Ji’an, was still young, the ministers in the court quarreled endlessly over the succession. They submitted one memorial after another, but he remained unmoved.
Until her father, Pei Zhi Heng, suggested that the Pei family’s second daughter enter the palace as the secondary consort, so that the young prince would not be left without a mother’s care. Pei Qing, being the younger sister of the deceased Empress Pei Wan, was the least likely person to harm Xiao Ji’an.
The officials scolded Pei Zhi Heng, accusing him of seeking the Pei family’s status and glory, and of protecting his disreputable son Pei Cheng, who had been imprisoned for embezzlement and other crimes.
But Emperor Xiao Jing agreed without hesitation. When Pei Wan was alive, she had been most fond of this younger sister, and knowing that Pei Qing would care for her child was a great comfort. With an imperial edict, Pei Qing entered the palace.
No one asked her if she was willing. After all, the position of empress was a dream for many women, and she had obtained it effortlessly. Along with it, she had a beloved son of the emperor in her care, and when he ascended the throne in the future, Pei Qing would become the empress dowager.
After entering the palace, the emperor indeed treated her well and even with great courtesy. In private, hearing Pei Qing call him brother-in-law and recounting amusing stories from her sister's childhood, a faint smile appeared on Xiao Jing's usually expressionless face.
As a result, Pei Qing was favored above all others in the harem, and the Pei family also gained prominence. The imprisoned Pei Cheng was easily restored to his position as a young master in the Pei family.
The world envied her good fortune and her beauty.
Yet no one knew that the stunning face reflected in the mirror had rarely smiled since she entered the palace.
Her fate seemed good, but less than a year after entering the palace, Xiao Jing fell gravely ill and was bedridden. With the court and harem eyeing each other warily, and numerous relatives of the Xiao family, no one would accept a young child as the heir, especially one with a mother whose family held little power.
Outside the palace, preparations for conflict were underway, with no pretense of avoidance.
Here’s the translation of the passage:
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Pei Qing kept Xiao Ji’an by her side, not daring to be distracted for even a moment. But she knew that if the forces outside breached the palace, she wouldn’t be able to protect the child.
It didn’t matter if she died, but with Xiao Ji’an calling her "mother" repeatedly, how could she let go, and how could she bear to take this child to meet her sister in the afterlife?
No court officials were willing to speak with her, and no consorts were willing to stand by her side. Even the Pei family, her natal family that once saw her as their greatest honor, had only shrunk back, afraid of becoming the target of criticism.
Such is truly a fate of misfortune.
When Pei Qing wrote that letter of plea, she probably anticipated the scornful and disdainful look of the person who would read it.
If he receives the letter, or rather, if he receives it and is willing to open and read it.
Pei Qing closed her eyes, trying not to think of that wild and unruly face. She had prepared for the worst; she had done her best for herself and her sister.
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