The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

74. Accept Life the Way It Is

Translator: Iris Guo

A humble maid like A’Chou would never know such an imperial secret, so she got stunned and confused: “Even if the late Empress died in labor, His Majesty shouldn’t have blamed that on you. It had nothing to do with you.”

“As you said, they were deeply in love, and she died because of me. How could he not hate me?” Zhong Mingwei looked at A’Chou and raised his eyebrows slightly. Although there was a teasing smile on his face, his lips were compressed.

“But if he really resented you, he would have never made you Crown Prince in the first place!”

“Well, you see where I am now” Zhong Mingwei compressed his lips indifferently. “Exactly, my dear father made me Crown Prince, and he also deposed me and exiled me to NingGuTa.”

The more Zhong Mingwei shared with A’Chou, the sorrier she felt for him. She whispered while massaging his shoulder gently: “It’s all right. We…are fine now. You can move both of your hands. The muscles on your waist and back are not that stiff and will definitely recover. Perhaps you will be able to walk the next year. Everything is such a mess in the capital, so it may not be a bad idea that we stay away. We will neither enjoy the great wealth nor suffer from the political fights.”

“You’re right.” Zhong Mingwei smiled faintly while turning to A’Chou. “When I can walk again, we’ll reclaim several mu[1] of wasteland and plant enough crops. Accept life the way it is. Although we are poor, we feel at ease.”

[1] Note: Mu, Chinese unit of land measurement that varies with location but is commonly 806.65 square yards

“Really?” A’Chou got choked, “You meant it?”

“Yes.” Zhong Mingwei nodded and sighed slightly: “I only hope that the Empress Dowager can live too 100. His Majesty always respects and listens to her. As long as she lives, I’ll have a peaceful life.”

“Surely she will.” said A’Chou hurriedly. She wiped her teary eyes secretly and spared no efforts to massage him. “Since you like red bean porridge, we’ll plant a lot of red beans.”

“Okay, and we’ll plant some shepherd’s purse too, so you can always make me stuffed steamed buns,” said Zhong Mingwei with a gentle smile, “or dumplings.”

“No need to plant shepherd’s purse!” A’Chou was amused by Zhong Mingwei. She nipped his nose and laughed: “It is all around the mountain road. Silly man!”

“What about fungi?” Zhong Mingwei didn’t get embarrassed but continued to ask with modesty. He understood perfectly that he used to be the elite in a certain area, but for other things, he could be more ignorant than children.

“The same. You could find them outside after the rain.” said A’Chou with a smile. “You could just run to the rotten wood, where fungi mostly grow, and sometimes you could even pick a basin of them from a single piece of wood. By the way, they also grow on good wood. Ah! Enough about the fungi for today. I’ll teach you how to find them later.”

“Sure, teach me then.” said Zhong Mingwei while squinting his eyes. “So you won’t have to get wet in the rain.”

Day: The thirtieth day of the sixth lunar month, the 32nd year of Jiasheng Reign

Location: The Yanxi Palace

Since Imperial Concubine Zhao returned to her Yanxi Palace from the Baohua Temple, she had been keeping a straight face, and so had her son, Prince III Zhong Mingzheng. Both of them made their displeasure obvious.

“All of you, withdraw.” Zhong Mingzheng followed Imperial Concubine Zhao into the main hall and spoke to the maids in a sulk.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The maids hastened to bow and leave.

“Mother, what did father mean?” Zhong Mingzheng couldn’t help asking with great anger, “He plans to ennoble me and Prince II at the same time? How could he be so biased? Zhong Ming’e’s mother is Imperial Consort Shu, a humble bitch, who has nothing on you. You are the most beloved Imperial Concubine and the head of father’s harem, far more privileged than her. How could Zhong Ming’e be on par with me?”