Leaving the Changmen Palace - LTCP 01: Golden Palace

Chen Jiao suddenly awoke.

It had not been an hour since she had fallen asleep. The lights were still on outside, and she could hear faint whispers from the servants.

“They will collect copper coins to redeem you after the winter solstice,” one of them whispered.

Another added, “You are not a member, so being sold might be good. If the grand princess is pleased, she may let you go, making it a family matter.”

These murmurs only served to annoy Chen Jiao further. She rolled over and attempted to muffle the sounds with the brocade quilt.

They seemed to notice her discomfort. One of them lifted a corner of the canopy, knelt beside her, tucked in the quilt, and gently caressed her hair.

She shut her eyes, determined to stay in her peaceful state. The servant observed her closely before getting out of bed slowly.

“What an unusual child,” they whispered.

After confirming that she had fallen into a deep sleep, they started murmuring about their master’s personal matters.

“She doesn’t resemble Young Master Chen at all, and she is very quiet. She looks like the grand princess, but her behavior is entirely different.”

“Is there anyone in the Chen family like her?” Their soft chuckles reached Chen Jiao’s ears through the drape like a whisper in a reverie.

She scrunched her brows, gradually drifting into the mist that felt like a reverie.

“Do not wed.” An urgent female voice resonated her head once more, mixed emotions accompanying it that she couldn’t quite discern.

“Do not wed. Do not wed.”

“Do not wed?” She questioned tentatively, “Who am I supposed to marry? You have been saying this for so long. Who am I meant to marry?”

She couldn’t recall a time when it hadn’t appeared in her dreams, casting a subtle shade over her carefree childhood.

She once cautiously brought up the words from her dreams to her mother, the grand princess, who responded with a lavish ritual. After that, she realized that the ambiguity in her dreams would lead her to a luxurious life—one where she would spend more than the average person does in a lifetime—but it was futile.

She questioned it in her dreams, “What sets us apart from ordinary people? Wasn’t my great-grandfather once an ordinary person before becoming wealthy?”

It remained silent, and she never brought up the mysterious aspects of her dreams again.

She comprehended that there were some issues the grand princess couldn’t assist with.

It was possibly just conveying the message, “Do not marry.”

Nevertheless, each time she inquired about who she would marry, it remained silent.

Tonight, the urgency in its tone caught Chen Jiao’s attention amidst her confusion.

She tried to make sense of it: “You’ve been speaking for a while now. Has it been a year? Two years? Who are you?”

Instead of a response, there was only a deep sigh followed by the same request, “A’ Jiao, don’t marry him. Marry someone else.”

Confused, she rubbed her eyes, “Who is he? I am tired. I am young. I do not need to marry. I… I am going to sleep.”

It went silent, and she drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

Since then, she had this tendency to avoid laughter, making her a somber child. She seldom laughed sincerely, not even with her grandmother, the most significant figure in her life.

She could only manage a faint smile, “How are you, grandmother?”

Her grandmother returned the smile warmly, embracing her, “Well, A’ Jiao. How many words have you learned?”

Nestled in her grandmother’s arms, she whispered, “I study ten words each day, and now I know about a hundred. I can read them and grasp their general meanings.”

Her grandmother inquired lovingly, “What are these words? Can you share them with grandmother?”

Chen Jiao used her fingers to count while quietly uttering words that appeared to be both profound and simple, such as “Etiquette, rites, goodness, and benevolence.”

A servant nearby informed the empress dowager, “Your Majesty, the first prince has arrived to pay his respects.”

Chen Jiao’s grandmother adjusted her position slightly and spoke slowly, “A’ Jiao, your cousin is here.”

She showed more respect towards the first prince compared to Chen Jiao, sitting upright and instructing her granddaughter to move aside so she wouldn’t accompany her to greet the first prince.

After the first prince greeted the empress dowager and exchanged pleasantries with the grand princess, Chen Jiao stepped forward to do the same.

She felt a sense of lightness as the first prince embraced her, smiling, “A’ Jiao, you’ve grown taller once again.”

Despite being cousins, the first prince was over ten years older and was set to marry that year. Chen Jiao did not view him as a brother, as she could already differentiate between her actual brothers and the first prince. While her brothers argued with her, the first prince always showed her affection.

“Cousin,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and inquiring in a playful manner. “Where’s the little guy beside you? Why can’t I see him?”

“What are you looking for that little guy for, A’ Jiao?” The empress dowager inquired with a smile.

Chen Jiao felt a bit embarrassed and responded, “He’s really skilled with spinning tops!”

The first prince, empress dowager, and grand princess all chuckled.

The first prince mentioned, grinning, “He’s out working. I’ll bring him to your place in two days to play for you.”

He then sat down with her in his lap and conversed with the empress dowager and grand princess about inconsequential matters. The empress dowager summoned Chen Jiao and requested her to recite some words she had recently learned. Eventually, the first prince stood up, bid farewell, and departed to his palace.

She also began feeling drowsy. She nestled in the arms of the empress dowager, drifting off into sleep.

She faintly heard the grand princess, “Take A’ Jiao to the back.”

The empress dowager promptly embraced her tightly, “Let the child sleep here.”

“Your legs are aching from the pressure.”

“What is it that troubles you? She is my own granddaughter! I will not experience any pain!” She gently brushed Chen Jiao’s hair until she fell asleep quickly.

The conversations between the empress dowager and the grand princess slipped into her dreams gradually.

“He may not be very bright, but he is honest and dutiful.”

The empress dowager sighed deeply, “How can I judge without comparison? No matter how good he is, it means nothing to his birth mother.”

“It ultimately depends on what A’ Qi desires…” The grand princess’ voice contained a subtle undercurrent of emotion that touched Chen Jiao’s heart.

After all, she was too young to comprehend it.

“I heard she was quite disrespectful to you the last time you met,” the empress dowager implied more with her words. “Hehe… It’s not surprising. Even to me, an old lady, she feigns politeness. She may not truly be respectful. How could she genuinely show respect to you, her sister-in-law, deep down?”

“A’ Qi’s behavior in matters of state is always challenging, and there are many unresolved issues in the past,” remarked the grand princess as she attempted to set herself apart from someone else.

She confessed, “I kept this information from you earlier because I was afraid it might cause you concern.”

Despite the empress dowager’s tone turning cold, she maintained a gentle touch while running her fingers through Chen Jiao’s hair, and reminisced, “Our family journeyed from the imperial capital to Dai Guo and back, supporting each other all along. Now, A’ Wu has departed for Liang Guo, a distant place. Your brother might not express it, but he esteems you as his elder sister. Are you unaware? If she doesn’t get along well with you, A’ Qi will harbor more disdain for her than if she mistreats the less fortunate in the imperial harem. She fails to comprehend this basic truth. It’s no wonder her offspring isn’t bright.”

Softly continuing after a brief pause, she added, “Madam Wang is more perceptive than she is. Look at her. Hasn’t she been striving to cultivate a friendship with you?”

“Alas…” sighed the grand princess despondently. “I am just a sister. Can I criticize A’ Qi’s actions? I lack that rank. Uttering such words involves matters as significant as dethronement and enthronement. Mother… I am now married into the Chen family.”

The complex and unclear conversation troubled Chen Jiao. She thought about speaking up to end it, but it continued until she went to bed that night.

A couple of days later, the grand princess took her to the palace to meet her uncle once more, and her second cousin also came to pay his respects.

The atmosphere brightened up upon his arrival. Chen Jiao and her second cousin were similar in age, with their birthdays close together. However, he was more intelligent than her and had already begun learning to read, while she only knew a few hundred words.

“I was told by my mother,” her second cousin said to her. “Aunt is thinking of arranging your marriage to the first prince as a concubine.”

This was the first time Chen Jiao had heard about it.

After all, Lady Li and the grand princess had been avoiding each other for a couple of months. Each time she walked in or out of the palace, she would catch snippets of gossip.

There was a rumor going around that Lady Li disapproved of the grand princess’ habit of presenting beautiful women to her uncle. The two women had an argument on that particular day, but Chen Jiao was preoccupied playing with Xiao Zhongren and was not directly informed about it.

Xiao Zhongren, engrossed in playing with a spinning top, confided in her about the disagreement.

Chen Jiao remained silent and appeared confused, while her cousin remained quiet as well. Instead, he dashed off and gathered numerous seasonal flowers from the empress dowager’s garden. He assembled them in a corner of the tiny flowerbed and threw them in her direction.

“Here, these are for you!” He seemed somewhat upset.

Chen Jiao was fond of flowers. She lifted her dress to accept the vibrant bouquet and smiled.

The grand princess and Madam Wang observed the entire exchange.

Madam Wang was the mother of her second cousin, and Chen Jiao preferred her company over Lady Li’s, although she was cautious.

One evening, she had a dream where it warned her about Madam Wang being deceptive and dangerous. It advised her not to be deceived by her friendly demeanor, as she would ultimately cause harm. This warning was unusually clear and detailed.

Despite being spoken only once, it lingered in her mind. Whenever she saw Madam Wang, she felt increasingly bitter.

Madam Wang grinned at the grand princess, “A’ Jiao and A’ Che always get along well.”

The grand princess smiled back and beckoned Liu Che, “Would you be interested in getting married?”

Her tone was moderate as she gestured towards the little palace attendants standing near Madam Wang.

The entire palace fell into silence as Chen Jiao stood still and turned to gaze at the grand princess, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

Amidst her confusion, she heard it cry out, “Do not build a golden house! Do not marry Liu Che! Do not wed him! Do not marry!”

Puzzled, she remained standing there as Liu Che emphatically declared, “No.”

The grand princess embraced him, placing him gently on her lap. Chen Jiao considered leaving, but Madam Wang signaled her to approach.

She advanced slowly towards her, each step measured. Despite the gentle smile, she detected a glint of mischief in Madam Wang’s eyes and raised eyebrows. Madam Wang gestured towards all the palace servants before focusing on her.

“How about A’ Jiao?” She inquired while looking at her son.

Liu Che exclaimed loudly, “If I marry A’ Jiao, I will build her a palace of gold!”

His dissatisfaction was evident in his tone.

Without waiting for his mother’s response, he continued, “A’ Jiao should be my princess! The first prince is much older than her. How could you expect them to make a good match?”

Madam Wang and the grand princess exchanged knowing smiles, with the former laughing while the latter’s laughter reverberated throughout the palace.

Unintentionally, Chen Jiao dropped the flowers she was holding, scattering them across the floor. Suddenly, she felt a desire to apologize to it that spoke those words.

Throughout the conversation, she never had the opportunity to decline the offer of the golden palace.

…

T/N

Do you know? I only chose to translate this novel because of a one-shot story I read a few years ago. I still read it once or twice every year when I need to let out my emotions.

It was based on Empress Chen, too. It made an impact on me, so much that even when I haven’t read this novel, and not knowing whether it’s abuse (let’s hope not) or not, I still took the risk to translate it.

“Lament at the Changmen Palace” is the title of the one-shot story, in case you’re interested.