I Became the Older Brother of the Heroine in an Abusive Novel

With a month until the end of the year, tributes from the surrounding vassal states began to arrive in Chang’an one after another. At this time of year, Mingluan Palace was always in the limelight.

The steady flow of tributes sent to the imperial city were distributed to each palace by the Emperor. Among the recipients, Consort Shu had the greatest favor and was bestowed the greatest rewards. Every few days an imperial edit would arrive, bringing a stream of treasures. They were all things Great Yong rarely saw.

Consort Shu was in the harem for ten years. She had long become used to seeing such goods. When the treasures arrived, she randomly selected a few and gave all the ones she had no need for to the children. The circumstances were not so good in the other palaces. 

Yingcui Palace, where Yi Jieyu lived, could be considered lively these past two years.

The only achievement of note that Yi Jieyu had since entering the harem was giving birth to the Fourth Prince. In the years following, her accomplishments were lackluster. But recently, the Xu family leaped over some declining noble families to become the new court favorite. Yi Jieyu’s father became the right prime minister, a third rank duke. In addition, the Emperor became increasingly fond of Yi Jieyu’s gentle temperament, not fighting or bickering. Besides Consort Shu, she was the most favored now. 

The sun shone brightly one clear day. It was rare to have such good weather in winter. Several eunuchs bearing the Emperor’s gifts carried the chests to Yingcui Palace. Taozhi, Yi Jieyu’s senior maid, took inventory of the gifts before having someone carry them into the storeroom. She took the registry to the main hall to report.

The fragrance of tea wafted from the main hall of Yingcui Palace. Yi Jieyu and the Fourth Prince were sitting at the window brewing tea. There was a guqin by the window. The body of the qin was made of catalpa and parasol wood. It was a Jiuxiao Huanpei qin[1] in the Fuxi style, bestowed by the Emperor.

Taozhi came in and greeted them. Yi Jieyu was focused on brewing tea. Without raising her eyes and her hands flowing like water, she just asked indifferently, “Has it arrived?”

Taozhi nodded and replied, “Replying to My Lady, it’s all in the storehouse.”

Xue Yunhong looked up and asked, “What did Father bestow this time?”

At his question Taozhi looked aggrieved and said, “The precious coral tree from Tianzhu and the Guanyin statue carved out of ivory were all sent to Consort Shu! Even the Pu’er tea from a thousand year old heirloom tree was sent to them. Except for what the Emperor took for himself, all of it was given to Consort Shu, not even a few catty[2] leftover for us! We only got some jewelry and gold wares, nothing rare.”

Yi Jieyu’s hands paused. 

Taozhi complained again, “What do those people in Mingluan Palace know about tea? It’s an utter waste sending it there!”

“Taozhi, guard your tongue,” Yi Jieyu said calmly. Her hands continued to make tea. “Have you forgotten everything I taught you? You are so impatient, what would happen if you had a breach of etiquette in front of His Majesty in the future?”

Taozhi had no choice but to close her mouth, but she couldn’t hide the resentment on her face. Ever since Yi Jieyu became favored, which servant in the palace didn’t secretly compare themselves with Mingluan Palace? But their Madame was born with a non-combative temperament, so how could it not make people anxious!

 “Leave us,” Yi Jieyu ordered and leisurely poured out the tea.

Taozhi saluted and withdrew.

“Mother,” Xue Yunhong said anxiously when only mother and son remained in the hall. “Aren’t you[3] angry at all? What is the difference between Consort Shu and you, it’s just a bit of status! Her family is good for nothing and there is an evil star in her palace. For what reason is she still stepping on your head!”

Yi Jieyu looked up at him and said nothing. She put one cup of tea in front of him.

Xue Yunhong immediately understood what she meant. When you feel anxious, drink a cup of tea first before talking, this was a rule Yi Jieyu had taught him since childhood.

He slowly brought the cup of hot tea to his lips. His mouth was immediately filled with the fragrance of tea and the aftertaste lingered pleasantly. After drinking half of the cup, he put the tea back on the table and started to speak again, his emotions already calming down.

“… But Mother, your plan hasn’t had any effect until now,” he said.

“How can you say there’s no effect?” Yi Jieyu glanced at him and said calmly. “Although this one’s status is mediocre, has the Emperor treated the Xu family badly these past years? Now that the Second Prince is almost eighteen, has the Emperor allowed him to be an official? By contrast, the Emperor already asked me about you in private many times. He wants to find you a position in the Six Ministries.”[4]

Xue Yunhong’s eyes lit up. “Father really said that?”

Yi Jieyu nodded. “Ranks and rewards are all fake,” she said, looking out the window. There were many white plum trees planted in her courtyard. In winter, at first glance they blended in with the snow, but the subtle fragrance of the blossoms was very elegant.

“Of the women in the harem, who among them is not the Emperor’s plaything? High positions, gold and jade, it all depends on whether the Emperor is happy or not. Rather than grasping for those, it is better to grasp the Emperor’s heart,” Yi Jieyu said and smiled indifferently.

“Mother is right,” Xue Yunhong said. “But Mingluan Palace… we can’t let her continue being so arrogant.”

Yi Jieyu smiled lightly. Of course not. Their family had already submitted a letter stating that the Jun family had started to move recently and needed to be restrained. The imperial court was now surging like a gathering storm. The situation of every faction was about to change again.

The Xu family was a large and influential aristocratic family with deep roots. In recent years, many smaller officials paid allegiance to the Xu family’s faction; they all relied on the Fourth Prince. But the Empress came from the Jiang family, who also had many disciples and followers. When disciples from poor families enter the court, they like to rely on master-disciple relationships, shared hometowns, and so on to form cliques. The Jiang family was friendly with many officials from humble backgrounds. After a long time they also formed a faction.

Although these scholars did not meddle in affairs of succession, they still wanted to snatch power from the Xu family’s hands. They particularly liked fighting for reform and insisted on confronting the aristocratic families head-on. Thus the two factions fought for many years; they were as incompatible as fire and water.

In the past two years, the Jiang and Xu factions were evenly matched, while the Jun family always stood outside political factions. Duke Yongning of the Jun family held a low official post and did nothing, so the Xu family never cared about them.

But this year the two factions fought too fiercely, arousing the suspicion of the Emperor. He pragmatically gave Duke Yongning the vacant position of the head of the Imperial College and sent him to Jiangnan to take charge of the imperial examination.

What power that was! Although the Imperial College Head was only a fourth rank post, he had control over the foremost educational establishment in Great Yong. All the top talents came from there. And Jiangnan was an important place for preliminary examinations; future candidates from Jiangnan could be regarded as Duke Yongning’s disciples in name.

Duke Yongning only had to desire it, and those people would become his supporters. And those scholars had always belonged to the Jiang family. Naturally the Xu family now considered Duke Yongning part of the Jiang faction.

Thus the Jun family gained power and the original balance was broken. Yi Jieyu knew that the men in her family would definitely do something in the court so she didn’t need to worry about it. All she had to do was cause some trouble for the Jun family in the harem, to make the Emperor grow tired of the Jun family and bring that frustration to court.

After following the Emperor for so many years, she had already grasped that man’s temperament clearly.

“You need not worry about the affairs of concubines,” Yi Jieyu looked at him and said. “You are the son of the Emperor. Among the various princes, only you rise to the occasion. What you need to do is stand in front of your father and share his burdens. Your mother and your maternal family will handle everything else.”

Xue Yunhong nodded solemnly and replied, “This son understands. Rest assured, Mother, I will definitely not disappoint all of your expectations.”  

Only then did Yi Jieyu smile. She picked up the teapot and filled Xue Yunhong’s teacup.

“That heirloom pu’er, it doesn’t matter where it is sent. If the wrong method is used to brew it, even the best tea would be ruined,” she said meaningfully. Mother and son shared a smile.

Consort Shu frowned as she smelled the scent of tea permeating the hall.

“Why are you making such a bitter thing for?” She said, leaning on the couch warmed by the dilong. She waved her fan, trying to waft the scent of tea away from her nose.

Sitting in front of a small stove roasting tea was Jun Huailang. Upon hearing Consort Shu’s complaint, he smiled and said, “The Emperor’s favorite tea is pu’er, yet he still gave so much to you. If gumu doesn’t drink it, wouldn’t it be wasting his kindness?”

The items Consort Shu recently sent over to Jun Huailang had piled up impossibly high. Even this pu’er tea was dug out from the large pile gifted by Consort Shu. There was no alternative but to sort out the items himself. He put them all back in Consort Shu’s storehouse except for the toys meant for Jun Linghuan. After all, he was leaving at the beginning of the year. It was useless to take these valuables home, but placed here in Consort Shu’s palace, they could be displayed or used as rewards for other people.

Zheng Guangde specially told him that this pu’er tea was sent from Yunnan, grown from a thousand year old heirloom tree. Only ten catties were produced per year, it was extremely precious.

Jun Huailang took advantage of Consort Shu summoning him to the main hall for a chat. He brought the tea with him and prepared it for Consort Shu to drink. But she didn’t appreciate it at all. Consort Shu snorted delicately and said, “If His Majesty wants to drink it, he should just keep it for himself. Why bother sending this poison to me?”

This was the imperial favor that others desired but could not obtain. Jun Huailang smiled helplessly. While brewing he said, “Why don’t you[5] learn how to prepare it? Next time His Majesty comes to Mingluan Palace, you can brew some for him to drink.”

Consort Shu immediately flared up. “Sit in front of this small stove for more than half an hour? I can’t do it, stop trying to kill me.”

Jun Huailang laughed. “When I was showing you just now, you were able to do everything. Wouldn’t it be a waste to learn it but not use it?”

As he spoke, he lifted the brewed tea from the stove and slowly poured a cup.

“This tea is not as bitter as you expect,” Jun Huailang said, bringing the cup of tea to Consort Shu. The refreshing concoction in the white jade teacup had a surprisingly sweet fragrance. “I rinsed it several times before brewing. Gumu, try it?”

Consort Shu reluctantly accepted the tea being served to her.

Jun Huailang had been an expert at brewing tea in his previous life, he was very confident in his abilities now. He watched as Consort Shu frowned and took a sip. After a while, her brows relaxed and she said awkwardly, “It’s really not bad.” 

With a clean taste and a lingering sweetness, the tea was indeed delicious. 

Jun Huailang beamed. “Then do you want to learn? I’ll show you again,” he said.

Consort Shu raised her chin and reluctantly said, “Brew it again.”

Jun Huailang nodded and sat back at the tea table. Through the half open window, he could see the entrance of the west side hall, where Diancui was talking to Jinbao.

Jun Huailang could surmise from Diancui’s conduct since the beginning, that she was most likely being bribed by other concubines to throw Mingluan Palace into utter disarray using Xue Yan. Now that the year was ending, they wanted to do something in Xue Yan’s room and put on a big play for the Emperor to see.

In that case, Emperor Qingping must be present for the show to start. Since there was nothing to do right now, he might as well teach Consort Shu how to brew a pot of good tea for Emperor Qingping. His Majesty can drink tea to his heart’s content while watching the play.

Notes:

[1] 九霄环佩 guqin made by the famous Tang dynasty qin maker Lei Wei. There are 4 surviving guqin with this name today, all still playable afaik. Here’s an auction listing describing one of them: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/inscriptions-history-as-art-n09337/lot.123.html What it sounds like: https://youtu.be/OAfdbuCECxw[2] 斤 500 grams or 1.1 pounds.[3] 您 respectful form of you.[4] 六部 The Six Ministries formed the central government in imperial times. They consist of the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works.[5] 您 respectful form of you.