Concubine of the Eastern Palace (Qing Dynasty Time Travel)

The only regret was that neither the cat-and-dog house nor the livestock department had the unique turtles from Huizhou. The eunuchs had caught two small turtles with gold-threaded carapaces and a tank of koi for her, which she accepted with a smile.

A few of the rough eunuchs grunted as they set up large bronze tubs carved with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum designs on the open ground in front of her door. In the clear water, three red-and-white koi swam happily.

Cheng Wanyun leaned over and watched them for quite a while.

Sunlight filtered through the maple tree’s branches, scattering in delicate patterns across the water’s surface, making the scales on the fish glisten.

She thought carefully about how to spend her days in the Eastern Palace.

Maintaining a superficial friendliness with Side Concubine Li and Yang Gege was enough, just like in the workplace where one shouldn’t expect to become close friends with colleagues—it’s the same principle.

As for the Crown Prince…

Cheng Wanyun didn’t want to turn her life into a game focused on winning over men. She still hoped that the main focus of her life should be living for ‘herself’.

To retain her sense of self in such a feudal society, she could either hold power herself (which was a dream too far), or the one with power would need to have a relatively tolerant heart.

From her current interactions with the Crown Prince, he seemed to be a man who treated his women fairly well—he didn’t have the big-male ego typical of his subordinates, nor did he put on the airs of a “Crown Prince.”

Basic conditions met √

Cheng Wanyun couldn’t help but recall how the Crown Prince seemed especially empathetic when he learned about her childhood experiences. Maybe he felt some connection to his own childhood? But… he was the Crown Prince, known as the “Prince of Qianqing Palace.” From the moment he was born, he was sheltered like a chick under Kangxi’s wing. Who would dare to bully him?

But upon further thought, he lost his mother shortly after birth, and the palace was full of other people’s mothers. Kangxi was so busy with affairs like fighting Oboi, pacifying the Three Feudatories, and conquering Taiwan that the love he could give him must have been limited.

While the other princes were cuddling with their mothers, he might have only had the palace eunuchs to play hide and seek with.

Except for the Tenth Prince, who was born to the noble Consort Niu Hulukui (the younger sister of Empress Xiao Zhao), the other brothers’ backgrounds were far removed from his. It must have been their mothers who taught them to keep their distance from this “Crown Prince second brother.”

His brothers respected him as half a monarch, never daring to play or speak frankly with him. The eunuchs and palace maids, fearing for their lives, could only flatter and serve him carefully. Growing up in such an environment, Cheng Wanyun thought, he had to be pitiful, and that he managed to stay sane until his forties without going mad—he must have had exceptional resilience.

No wonder the Crown Prince never got angry or looked down on her, even when she made a fool of herself or acted foolishly. He was willing to talk to her about his childhood and cared about whether she would be bullied by her half-siblings. Perhaps it was because her background was low enough, and her connections in the capital were non-existent, making her someone he could trust and keep by his side.

For him, perhaps a truly simple and genuine person was the most rare and valuable.

Cheng Wanyun felt that the timing of her arrival at Yuqing Palace was perfect. Currently, there were very few consorts in the East Palace, and Side Concubine Li only had managerial authority but no real power to punish the Concubines. At least before the Crown Prince’s wedding, Cheng Wanyun didn’t have to excessively flatter anyone. While effectively integrating into this world, she could still retain a little bit of that rare, interesting soul from hundreds of years in the future.

She reminded herself not to forget her origins: as long as it wasn’t inappropriate, she would do the things she liked and try to live her life happily. If she had the opportunity to help the Crown Prince and prevent him from going mad or being driven to despair, that would also be a good thing.

Cheng Wanyun felt that this was enough. She had been just an ordinary person in her past life, and because of her dysfunctional family, she had not been as content as she was now. So, the life of an ordinary person in a historical setting was probably this simple and plain.

Having set the tone for her life, she began to try and let go of the subconscious anxieties she had carried and began living with a normal mindset.

Using next month’s gathering as an excuse, she asked Side Concubine Li for permission. After receiving a positive response, she called for Tianyin and instructed him to take several taels of silver to the Crafting Bureau to ask the artisans to build a small brick oven outside her back room’s small tea room.

This type of oven was made from earth bricks, built into a kiln with a chimney. Such ovens were actually very common in ancient times and could be found everywhere. As long as the fire path was well-designed, it was very simple for the Crafting Bureau to make.

Therefore, Cheng Wanyun’s request was not particularly unusual. Most requests from women in the palace were for things like adding potted plants or setting up swings. Asking for an oven was a first.

The Crown Prince was also curious about what she wanted to do with it. Cheng Wanyun then explained that she was planning to gather the three of them next month for a small gathering to make tea by the stove, enjoy the moon, and have a meal.

“Why didn’t you invite me?” the Crown Prince asked, intrigued. “What big feast are you planning to prepare?”

“Inviting you? If we did, wouldn’t it just turn into a competition for flattery and favor?” Cheng Wanyun thought to herself. “Without you, Side Concubine Li and Yang Gege’s moods will stay more stable.”

Cheng Wanyun couldn’t help but internally complain, but on the surface, she pretended to warmly welcome him and teased a bit, “As for what it is, you’ll find out when the time comes. It’s my exclusive recipe. I haven’t even told Side Concubine Li, so don’t ask.”

The Crown Prince chuckled and playfully tapped her nose. “Oh, quite rare.”

“I guarantee it will be the first time you’ve had it,” Cheng Wanyun said confidently. She was sure of herself in this regard. In her previous life, she had spent several years learning Western-style baking and had always dreamed of opening her own bakery. But in the end, she had to work for a few silver coins and for three meals a day, becoming just another office worker. However, she hadn’t abandoned her skills, even with the 996 work schedule.

The first month in Yuqing Palace passed by like this, with occasional bedchambers duties and checking on whether the bread oven was drying properly.

Then, one day, when Bitao was directing the little maid to change the thick brocade curtain and replace it with a rattan one, she unintentionally muttered, “The Crown Prince hasn’t come to see our Gege for three or four days now.”

Cheng Wanyun, who was kneading tapioca flour to make pearls at the time, suddenly realized that the Crown Prince really seemed to visit her quite often.

Even when he didn’t stay for the night, he still liked to drop by to have a meal and chat.

No wonder Yang Gege had been so sour lately, always throwing passive-aggressive remarks her way.

Side concubine Li, whether due to lack of energy or other plans, had never made things difficult for her. However, her health had never been very good since miscarriage, and she had never had many bedchamber duties.

A few days ago, she seemed to be feeling unwell again and had sent over two bottles of newly obtained hair oil through Jin Mama, specifically telling Cheng Wanyun and Yang Gege not to come to pay their respects for the next few days. In the middle of the night, she had even sent an emergency token to call for the Imperial physician. From a distance, one could already smell the bitter medicinal scent coming from her room.

Cheng Wanyun had never liked putting oil in her hair. She already had oily hair, and adding more seemed unnecessary. Washing her hair in the Qing Dynasty was a real hassle—one had to choose a sunny day and even consult the almanac!

Moreover, she had a sensitive intuition that Side Concubine Li was not an ordinary person, so she decided to put away any unnecessary thoughts.

To Cheng Wanyun’s surprise, today the sun seemed to have risen in the west—Yang Gege suddenly came over for a visit. As soon as she entered, she caught a whiff of the head oil’s fragrance, which smelled faintly of flowers, and was quite pleasant.

Cheng Wanyun also noticed that Yang Gege had changed her hairstyle, making her look charming and delicate. The ends of her hair were styled into a smaller, more curled version of the usual swallow-tail, with the two locks of hair gently turning upward. She wore tassel hairpins adorned with small pearls that swayed gracefully as she moved, which suited her very well.

As usual, Yang Gege proudly wore a full head of pearls and jewels, lightly brushing her hair: “This is a new hairstyle I specifically asked a head-shaving eunuch to do for me. He’s very skilled.”

“It really looks good on you, it suits you perfectly,” Cheng Wanyun sincerely complimented. Yang Gege was indeed beautiful, and Cheng Wanyun personally liked her type of beauty—graceful and bright, the kind of typical northern beauty.

Sometimes when Cheng Wanyun looked into the mirror, she felt like she resembled one of those evil female characters with a “white lotus” face.

“If you like it, you can send someone to the Neiwufu to ask for the eunuch in charge of the etiquette department. His name is Kang Haizhu; he’s done the same hairstyle for Concubine Hui as well,” Yang Gege glanced at Cheng Wanyun and, with an expression of real disdain, pressed her lips together and said, “You’re really not particular, though. Even when you’re at home, you should at least do your hair properly and change into a decent outfit, right?”

Cheng Wanyun looked down at herself. When there were no outsiders around, she liked to wear loose, casual clothes, and she hadn’t even done her hair properly. She had just loosely tied it up into a bun at the back of her head with a hairpin and hadn’t applied any lip balm. She actually had several fine outfits given by the Crown Prince, one of which was embroidered with exquisite Manchu-style silk embroidery. In the future, this would have been on par with a high-end Chanel couture piece, at least! But she couldn’t bring herself to wear it, almost wanting to preserve it. She thought, if the Crown Prince were ever deposed and she had to live frugally, she might even sell the clothes for some money.

But hearing Yang Gege’s words, Cheng Wanyun understood why she always acted so conspicuously—she had someone in the palace, after all.

“I’m not like you, Yang Gege. I don’t need someone who’s worked on Concubine Hui’s hair,” Cheng Wanyun smiled.

Yang Gege realized she had misspoken and quickly changed the topic, “What tea are you brewing? It smells really fragrant.”

“Qingxing, bring the pastries and milk tea I just made for Yang Gege to try,” Cheng Wanyun said.

Qingxing brought over two cups of freshly brewed improved milk tea and a plate of cookies.

Yang Gege looked at it with a critical eye.

Cheng Wanyun introduced, “This is called Jasmine Milk Green Tea. Try it. It’s different from the milk tea in the tea room.”

The milk tea in the Qing dynasty was made with meat, salt, and roasted rice, which gave it a unique flavor, but it could become a bit greasy if you drank too much. Cheng Wanyun missed the milk tea from her previous life.

To satisfy her cravings, she had not only used the Crown Prince’s best Longjing and fragrant tea but also personally made a batch of pearls and taro balls. As for the cookies, they were the first batch of test products from the bread oven, made after it had dried. Without cranberries, she had substituted them with raisins, and so far, the result seemed quite good—crisp and sweet.

Seeing Cheng Wanyun happily eating, Yang Gege picked up the lidded bowl and took a small sip.

The refreshing taste of tea blended with the rich milk, and she discreetly took another sip before placing the cup down gracefully. “Not bad.”

Cheng Wanyun noticed that Yang Gege wasn’t eating, and there didn’t seem to be anything on her mind. She asked curiously, “Yang Gege, you’re always so busy. What brings you here today?”

Yang Gege felt a little awkward. She was about to say something when He Baozhong hurriedly entered, bowing at the curtain. “Please, Cheng Gege, Yang Gege, be at ease. His Royal Highness specifically sent this servant to deliver a message—he’ll be here shortly.”

Cheng Wanyun immediately had a flash of insight and turned to give Yang Gege a sharp look.

So that’s why! She must have known in advance that the Crown Prince was coming, acting all kind and attentive.

Yang Gege, seeing Cheng Wanyun’s gaze, was embarrassed and angry. She quickly turned her head away, saying, “Hmph, keep your eyes to yourself! I told you to tidy yourself up as soon as I came in. You didn’t listen to me!”

She could really turn things around on her!

Cheng Wanyun looked down at her bare face, then glanced at Yang Gege’s meticulously made-up face.

She was so annoyed!

“You… you better spit out my milk tea!”