Palace Intrigue?: I Make the Emperor Cry by Rewinding Time!-Chapter 122 - 111: Copying the Analects

The news of Concubine Xi being punished by the Emperor to copy texts quickly spread throughout the harem.

At first, everyone was gloating, thinking Concubine Xi finally met her match! However, the more meticulous ones asked, what exactly was the Emperor punishing her to copy? Was it "Women’s Precepts" or "Palace Rules"? The little eunuch who came to relay the message said neither: "The Emperor punished Concubine Xi to copy the ’Analects’."

This left everyone puzzled.

Was the Emperor really angry with her, or was this just another act in the Emperor and Empress’s play?

...

"Xue Ya, Gong Mei, stop just standing there, come help me copy a couple of pages."

"Master, that won’t do. It’s not that I don’t want to help, but the Emperor said it must be completed by you personally."

Xue Ya said in distress.

"Once the door is closed, even if we grind tofu in here, he won’t know."

Yun Jiao picked up the brush and started copying, finding it especially laborious.

No wonder the ancestors wrote so succinctly in classical Chinese; if it were like online novels today with daily updates of ten thousand words, with battles dragging over ten Chapters, the wrist would be the first to give out. Xue Ya quickly said, "Grinding tofu should be done in the small kitchen by the eunuchs, I don’t have the strength for that," she added, "Nothing in the palace escapes the Emperor’s eyes; it’s only what he doesn’t want to know that he doesn’t find out. Master, just treat it as calligraphy practice."

The reverence for imperial power among palace attendants is deeply ingrained.

Yun Jiao slumped over the table like a pancake.

Gong Mei laughed and said, "The Emperor cannot see what happens inside the room, but the handwriting is easily recognizable. Lady, your handwriting is excellent, neither Xue Ya nor I can imitate it."

Indeed, that was the case.

But Yun Jiao, like most office workers, appeared to be an adult on the outside, but was inwardly no different from a schoolchild reluctant to attend school, longing for some unexpected event to cancel classes and racking her brains to find a way to avoid doing homework.

Yun Jiao thought over and over, finally pressing her abdomen and saying, "Go call the Imperial Physician to check for a Peaceful Pulse."

If she were pregnant, she wouldn’t have to copy the texts anymore!

She was impressed by her own cleverness.

Seeing her master’s action, Xue Ya thought of something and immediately beamed: "Alright, alright, I’ll go right away!"

Before long, Doctor Zhang arrived at Xianfu Palace with a small medical kit, greeting her with a salute.

"Quickly, get up and check my pulse, see if there are any signs of pregnancy."

Doctor Zhang carefully checked her pulse for a while, solemnly stating that not only was she not pregnant, but her menstrual cycle was about to start.

Yun Jiao was skeptical, she reset twice, each time getting the same answer.

In reality, she wasn’t sure if resetting could spontaneously conjure an embryo, so she only tried twice before giving up.

She let out a hiss and said, "Then check my pulse again, see if there’s any ailment that prohibits exertion? Every time I pick up the brush, I get a headache, my hand hurts, and I feel the urge to relieve myself."

Doctor Zhang felt that these symptoms were akin to the laziness of a six-year-old child at home who didn’t want to go to school.

But the person in front of him was Concubine Xi!

So Doctor Zhang very carefully checked again and concluded that the lady’s body was the strongest he had ever seen: "Lady, you have an Innate Strong body, resistant to colds, possibly haven’t been sick since birth, and in the future, even carrying the Emperor’s heir, should result in a safe delivery."

He said some comforting words, yet saw Concubine Xi looking dejected.

Yun Jiao waved her hand: "Thank you, Doctor, you may go."

"Lady, it’s my duty."

On the way back to the Imperial Hospital, Doctor Zhang was stopped four times.

Each time, different eunuchs would approach him wearing smiles, stuffing hefty pouches into his hands and inquiring about the health of the one at Xianfu Palace.

"What are you doing?"

Doctor Zhang pushed their hands away, asserting righteously, "I am loyally devoted to Concubine Xi, and will absolutely never betray her!"

At that moment, the second pouch was presented.

This one was even heavier!

Doctor Zhang: "I have medical ethics."

When the third pouch was handed to him, he reasoned that there was nothing unspeakable about Concubine Xi’s pulse results, and so he said: "Concubine Xi’s pulse is steady, she just inquired if there were signs of pregnancy...Well, is there? Unfortunately, no. Ah, why force me into making the common mistake of all Imperial Physicians!"

When he returned to the Imperial Hospital, Doctor Zhang didn’t forget to send someone to Xianfu Palace to inform Concubine Xi of today’s events.

This was the long-term strategy.

Soon, a piece of paper was sent back, with four words written:

"Divide fifty-fifty."

...

The "Analects" had over sixteen thousand characters, and the Emperor punishing her to copy it meant it couldn’t be done haphazardly. Yun Jiao single-mindedly copied for six days before presenting it. In those six days, the Emperor deliberately avoided looking for her, engrossed in correcting documents, even when stepping into the harem, it was merely to fulfill routine duties, only visiting high-ranking concubines, and when visiting Princess Consort Jing’s residence, he intentionally avoided Yun Jiao’s presence.

Only in matters unrelated to her is he the Emperor.

Once it involves her, he reverts from Sovereign to a mere mortal.

"Your Majesty, this is the ’Analects’ copied by Concubine Xi."

"Take it away and burn it."

The Emperor instructed, without even a glance.

"Yes, your servant will do it at once."

Ying Lu replied, bowing his head.

The characters on the documents in front of him seemed to dance; he couldn’t absorb a single word. After watching for a while, the Emperor irritably tossed the scroll aside and called for Ying Lu.

The Chief Eunuch hurriedly stepped through the threshold: "Your servant awaits your command."

"Has Concubine Xi caused any more trouble?"

"The palace has been peaceful these days; no new incidents concerning Concubine Xi have been heard, except for one matter. Six days ago, she summoned Doctor Zhang for a pulse check, reportedly suspecting pregnancy symptoms, only to feel unwell afterward, ultimately determined to be a false alarm."

For the royal family, extending the lineage is the duty of concubines, yet the Emperor couldn’t visualize her as a mother.

Was it that deep down, she wanted to have a child with him too?

He remained silent, his long fingers slightly curling, a multitude of thoughts drifting through his mind:

"...Was the book copied by Concubine Xi burned completely?"

Ying Lu answered, "Your servant gave it to that boy Qin Laicai to burn. Your servant will go check at once."

He exited, finding Qin Laicai holding the stack of papers by the brazier. Upon seeing Ying Lu, he approached: "Ancestor, does His Majesty want it back?"

"Second-guessing the sovereign’s mind, how many heads do you think you have to lose?" Ying Lu scolded, noticing the untouched paper in his hand, and indifferently said, "Lightly toast the edges before bringing it back, be careful not to damage Concubine Xi’s writing."

If the paper showed no sign of being burned, then their presumption of the Emperor’s intention would be too blatant.

"Ancestor, your thinking is meticulous!"

Ying Lu crossed the threshold back to report.

"A servant accidentally extinguished the brazier, and in relighting it took some time, delaying His Majesty’s order, but fortunately, the lady’s work was preserved."

He offered it with both hands.

"Her writing is considered a masterpiece? Overpraising her." The Emperor sneered.

Despite this, Yun Jiao’s penmanship was excellent, earning his praise during the entrance exam at Chuxiu Palace, but due to a change in mindset, he found fault in her writing. The Emperor intentionally nitpicked, trying to find flaws in her work, yet she wrote with remarkable diligence. Reading it, an image of her copying at the desk emerged in his mind, making him miss her even more.

For these past six days, she hadn’t sought him once.

The Emperor felt indignant.

He called for Ying Lu once more, and when he came inside, he said:

"Store it well, ensure it doesn’t suffer the slightest damage."