Concubine of the Eastern Palace (Qing Dynasty Time Travel)

Cheng Wanyun always felt that the Forbidden City in the deep winter was the most beautiful.

The golden tiles and red walls, the silent falling snow, and the palace with intricately carved beams and painted rafters instantly transformed into silver palaces.

In the morning, during the frosty season, Cheng Wanyun stood under the corridor in her cloak, watching the snow. A few rays of the golden winter sun leapt onto the golden roofs and red walls, casting a slanted light through the diamond-shaped windows. The animal rings on the red gates of the East Warm Pavilion were illuminated by the sunlight.

Thus, the cold winter day warmed up under the soft sunlight.

Cheng Wanyun had specifically instructed the eunuchs not to be too diligent about sweeping the snow, so the ridge beasts on the eaves were all wearing snow-white hats. Looking at them gave a sense of endearing clumsiness.

Interestingly, the persimmon tree in her courtyard had shed all its leaves, leaving only bare branches and the persimmons at the very top of the tree, which were unreachable. Now, covered in frost and snow, they looked like long icicles hanging down, resembling an old man’s beard, and the thin branches were bent under the weight.

In winter, most of the potted plants in the palace were replaced with various types of plum blossoms, because Kangxi loved plum blossoms. He called them the “Five Blessings Flower,” symbolizing elegance and noble spirit, with a defiant beauty that could withstand the cold.

As a result, many plum trees were planted in the palace, and numerous large plum bonsais were given to each court. Cheng Wanyun had also followed the trend and requested many large plum bonsais for her courtyard. They were arranged along the colorful stone walkway: there were golden plum, red plum, jade butterfly plum, and water-reflecting plum. The most special one was the cinnabar plum, whose branches were straight and extended out, unlike the usual bent ones. This plum blossom, with its cinnabar-red color, appeared particularly beautiful against the white snow.

This morning, Jin came back from the Laundry Bureau with the winter furs and peacock feather cloaks. He reported that the Imperial River Bridge was completely covered with snow, and the Golden Water River had frozen. Many of the children in the palace had put on ice skates and gone out to play on the ice.

As soon as E Linzhu heard this, she couldn’t sit still and shouted that she wanted to go ice skating too.

The Crown Prince stopped her, saying they were preparing to vaccinate her with cowpox, and she couldn’t risk catching a cold at such a crucial moment.

The Crown Prince explained that the cowpox vaccine had first been tested on criminals for a year with great success, then tested on eunuchs for another year, with no one dying from it. Finally, it had been tested on rough palace maids for another year. Previously, cowpox was passed through humans by using the method of cow-to-human transmission, but now it was stored in small ceramic vials, frozen in ice cellars. When it was time to vaccinate, a needle would be used to extract a small amount of the scab and inject it under the skin of the arm. Generally, a fever would start the next day, but the symptoms were mild, and the pox would scab and fade within ten days. The fever would subside in two or three days, and the pox would appear only in small numbers.

It was much safer than the smallpox vaccination.

Kangxi attached great importance to this. After it proved effective on criminals, he had listened to daily reports from the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau and had instructed them to set up a special room for vaccinations, training three officials specifically for administering the vaccine.

This time, not only would the Crown Prince’s children be vaccinated, but Kangxi planned to have all princes and grandsons over the age of five vaccinated as well.

Cheng Wanyun also planned to get the vaccine, as she had never been vaccinated before.

Many people were deeply worried about this matter. The emperor claimed that after three years of testing cowpox, no one had died, but who would believe that? Previously, when testing smallpox, countless bodies were carried out of the pox house every day!

Why was it that when smallpox was directly contracted by humans, it was so deadly, but when cows first contracted it and then transmitted it to humans, it was somehow different? This is because the cowpox virus is actually not the same as the human smallpox virus. People often believe that cows contract smallpox from humans (and even Cheng Wanyun thought so), but it can actually be understood that cowpox and human smallpox share the same ancestor virus. They are related (meaning they have the same antigenic properties) but are two separate viruses.

So, the Crown Prince and the Imperial doctors had previously thought of putting people infected with smallpox and cows together in hopes of obtaining cowpox in large quantities. However, they discovered that cows were not easily infected by humans, and if cows were forcibly vaccinated with human smallpox, they would die. This is when they realized that the missionary in A Wan’s story could survive by using cowpox purely by chance.

Eventually, after many trial-and-error missteps, the Imperial doctors discovered that cowpox and human smallpox were quite different, with cowpox having mild symptoms. If humans contracted it, they would experience only mild discomfort but could still develop immunity to the human smallpox virus!

Thus, the Imperial Medical Bureau worked hard to obtain and preserve cowpox, since it was so difficult to find! The doctors took pox scabs from a cow brought back by E Chu and inoculated them onto criminal A. Before criminal A recovered, they quickly harvested more pox scabs from him and inoculated them onto criminal B… and this cycle had to continue without interruption.

Fortunately, later, an Imperial doctor discovered that during the cold winter months, the pox scabs could be preserved for a long time. This started the method of storing the vaccine at low temperatures, and they no longer had to worry about preserving and continuing the supply of cowpox.

However, these details couldn’t be explained to everyone. Many people were still skeptical, and some were difficult to convince.

There were also those who thought that since the emperor was willing to vaccinate the Crown Prince’s eldest son and daughter, it must mean that cowpox was a good thing.

There was much debate in the palace about the vaccination, but the emperor was in high spirits. The Crown Prince’s residence set a good example, and even the Mongolian young prince volunteered to be vaccinated as well.

As a result, no one dared to openly oppose the decision. However, there were gradually more and more mysterious rumors being spread. Some said that cowpox, taken from cows, could potentially spread other diseases from cows. Some even spread stories that were like the brainwashing packages you might find in modern WeChat groups. For example, someone firmly claimed, “My master/apprentice/godson was a eunuch who had been vaccinated, and the palace gave them each twenty taels of silver to keep it quiet. But now he has developed strange behaviors—he likes to eat grass, makes cow-like sounds, and even has two lumps on his head that look like horns!”

Cheng Wanyun: “…” How vivid is their imagination!

As for the supposed “hush money,” did Master Kang really need to use silver for that? Didn’t they just kill those who were inconvenient?

Thus, E Linzhu, who was supposed to get vaccinated in the next few days, was now confined to her room and not allowed to go outside. She had to wait for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to pick an auspicious date. This was the Crown Prince’s idea—“Using magic to defeat magic.”

After the lucky day was selected, the Crown Prince also planned to invite a shaman to perform a proper ritual to honor the “Cowpox Goddess” before the vaccination could begin.

The Crown Prince even carefully designed a whole set of ceremonial processes and announced that anyone who sincerely worshipped the Cowpox Goddess would not develop cow-like horns, nor would they start mooing or eating grass.

The Cowpox Goddess would protect every devoted person being vaccinated.

This tactic, though utterly absurd in Cheng Wanyun’s eyes, was highly effective against the rumors.

Now, every palace had specifically designated a room to enshrine both the Smallpox Goddess and the newly introduced Cowpox Goddess. They burned incense three times a day, offered fruits and pastries, and worshipped devoutly.

There was also such a room in Yuqing Palace, and Cheng Wanyun had even brought a few children there to pay their respects.

Thus, E Linzhu, who couldn’t go outside, was in a very low mood. She was impatient with her breakfast, sitting in a chair, and poked at the grain pancake in front of her with chopsticks, clearly not in the mood to eat.

E Linzhu used to love grain pancakes, especially the crispy pieces and the sweet sauce spread on top.

Cheng Wanyun thought for a moment and suggested, “How about this—I’ll take you to make a snowman later, alright? We can wrap up warmly and play in our own yard without leaving the house. Then we can have Tianjin set up a small stove, and we’ll make milk tea, roast some persimmons and tangerines, and eat them by the snowman. How does that sound? What kind of snowman do you want to make?”

E Linzhu’s eyes immediately brightened. “I want to make a big one with big ‘Mi Mis’!”

Cheng Wanyun: “…” That wasn’t very polite.

Suddenly, she realized that perhaps giving such names was a bit inappropriate. Even though no one around her had noticed anything wrong with those three words, she still felt a little guilty about potentially teaching the child bad things.

She should say “Mi Mi” and not “big Mi Mi,” after all—let’s keep it civilized.

At that moment, the Crown Prince, wearing a mink fur coat, walked in with large strides. He laughed and said, “Aha, I see what’s going on. Your mother is planning to let you have some fun behind my back. I’ve been wondering why no one has been sweeping the snow these past few days! So it’s all for today!”

Since cowpox had been proven effective and could now be used to vaccinate humans, Yinreng had been in a great mood these days. His steps were lighter, and he was friendly with everyone, making Yuqing Palace feel like it was still celebrating the New Year or had already entered spring.

The Crown Prince’s smile was even warmer than the winter sun. How could it possibly scare E Linzhu, who was fearless? She immediately asked her wet nurse to pick her up from the chair. A few steps later, she threw herself into her father’s arms, her eyes curved in a smile. “Father, will you make a snowman and roast persimmons with us? The persimmons we sun-dried at the summer palace were so delicious, and mother says the roasted ones are just as tasty!”

The sun-dried persimmons from the summer palace hadn’t been finished, so Cheng Wanyun had packed some to bring back.

She also remembered one time before bed when the Crown Prince mysteriously handed her a small jar. When she opened it, it contained a small dried persimmon, similar to the fire-crystal persimmons from later times, but shaped like a cute, plump heart. It was quite charming.

“Where did this come from?” Cheng Wanyun hesitated before she could bring herself to eat it.

The Crown Prince hugged her, smiling proudly. “Of course, I took your advice and dried them myself after learning from you. It was my first time trying it, and I actually succeeded. Do you see? Doesn’t it look like a heart? It’s for you!”

“A red heart facing the sun?” Cheng Wanyun laughed at his teasing. “How can you have the nerve to give me just one persimmon?”

“The more precious something is, the more it’s given,” the Crown Prince said as he gently turned her to face him. Slowly and seriously, he began combing her hair with a fine-toothed comb, speaking in a soft and earnest tone. “I always feel like I owe you a great deal. The things I wish to give you, I still can’t. This persimmon is my true heart. In the future… if that day ever comes, I will never make you suffer again.”

Cheng Wanyun fell silent. How could she not feel the same? The passing of the late Yang Gege, the death of Wang Gege during childbirth, Side Concubine Li who seemed as if she had died, and the two invisible Gege—these women who came and went were all a warning to her.

This was the feudal society that Xun Ge’er had described as “man-eating,” and the Qing Dynasty, where even writing a poem could send you to prison. It was not the equal society of men and women that would come later. She had to be cautious and mindful, to fear for her life. She had no choice but to understand her position. Aside from using some modern advantages in terms of food that wouldn’t draw criticism, she was unable to help the Crown Prince in other matters.

If she spoke of feeling wronged, in truth, she did not feel wronged.

Were the men in later times any better? Though bound by law and unable to openly have multiple wives, did that mean there were no affairs, domestic violence, or even wives being killed? Not to mention the later times—if she hadn’t entered the palace and had been chosen in the selection, would her life have been better than it was now? She wasn’t sure, and the odds were that it wouldn’t have been better. She still remembered the woman immersed in a pig cage, the leg full of bruises and twisted. She also remembered the street vendor in Huizhou, whose stall had been destroyed just for stealing business by creating a new dish.

In this world, power and influence were everything—there was no room for luck.

Perhaps, being able to enter the East Palace was already Heaven showing mercy on this foolish child.

Thus, Cheng Wanyun shook her head. “Second Master, I am not wronged.”

Then she noticed a hint of sadness in the Crown Prince’s eyes again. He held her gently and, in a barely audible voice, said, “You said the same thing back then. You always said you were doing fine.”

Cheng Wanyun couldn’t recall when she had told the Crown Prince that she was doing fine.

But clearly, the Crown Prince didn’t want to continue that topic. Instead, he coaxed her to eat the persimmon. Cheng Wanyun smiled and resealed the persimmon in the jar. “This was dried by Second Master himself, I have to keep it as a family treasure.”

The Crown Prince laughed. “Stop making jokes.”

Cheng Wanyun insisted on keeping it and placed the jar on top of the cabinet.

Even after the New Year, it was still there. Thinking of the persimmons, she smiled and said, “Roasted persimmons and persimmon cakes have a different taste. The ones still on the tree haven’t been picked yet. We can pick some, roast them, or even eat the frozen ones. They have their own special flavor.”

Yinreng carried E Linzhu to the yard to pick persimmons.

“Mother, I want to make a snowman too,” Hongxi also said, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he came out of his room. Last night, he had been busy playing with his Lego, and after a month, he had finally finished building the “Yuqing Palace” model from the Imperial Workshop.

A couple of days ago, Hongxi had a slight cough, so Cheng Wanyun didn’t want him to go out and play in the snow. Instead, she lifted him onto her lap and said, “You’re feeling better, so how about you stay inside and I teach you how to make frozen bubbles?”

Hongxi, as usual, asked, “What are frozen bubbles?”

Cheng Wanyun asked Tianjin to bring over some fragrant soap. The palace already had soap, and there were many different scents to choose from. However, the method was quite different from modern practices. The soap was mostly made from bath beans, soap pods, herbs, medicinal ingredients, egg whites, and lard. Not only did it smell good, but it also had beautifying effects!

Tianjin eagerly went to the bathroom and brought over the soap that Cheng Wanyun often used. This soap was infused with ingredients like white poria, white perilla, white angelica, lo han guo, and jasmine flowers. White poria could help remove spots and whiten skin, white perilla had moisturizing effects, white angelica and lo han guo could help clear back acne, and jasmine was added for fragrance. Nearly every concubine in the palace had one.

However, the soap at that time was shaped into small balls, quite different from the block-shaped soaps in later times.

When Cheng Wanyun had first arrived at the East Palace and saw this soap, she gave up the idea of making handmade soap herself.

They made it so much better—plus, it could nourish the skin and smelled wonderful!

But now, the most important thing was to use the fragrant soap to create bubbles. Tianjin quickly used warm water to create many bubbles. Cheng Wanyun then carried Hongxi to a sheltered spot in the corridor, out of the wind, and had Tianjin blow the bubbles into the snow.

It had been very cold these past few days, so even Wang Cai was reluctant to go outside to relieve himself. As soon as he urinated, it froze immediately—let alone these delicate bubbles.

The bubbles froze almost instantly once they were blown into the air. Not only did they land on the snow without breaking, but their surfaces also formed ice crystals that sparkled and gleamed like big pearls.

Hongxi’s eyes immediately lit up. “Wow! Mother, the bubbles really froze!”

Cheng Wanyun had plenty of little experiments like this to amuse children. She smiled and said, “Mother can also fish for ice blocks. Would you like to see?”

Of course, Hongxi said yes. So Tianjin hurriedly went to the eaves and knocked down two icicles. Under Cheng Wanyun’s instructions, they placed the icicles into a wooden basin filled with water. Then, they stretched a thin cotton thread across both sides of the basin, making sure the cotton thread was close to the icicles. They poured salt on the cotton thread where it touched the icicles, and after waiting a while, they pulled the string up. The heavy icicles were firmly “fished” up!

“I got it! Mother! Why can we fish the ice blocks up?” He squatted by the basin, his eyes sparkling as if an idea had clicked. “If we don’t put salt, we can’t fish it up. Why is that?”

“Why do the bubbles freeze? And why does the ice block stick to the cotton thread when we put salt on it?” Hongxi cradled his little head, thinking deeply, then looked at Cheng Wanyun expectantly. “Mother, why?”

Cheng Wanyun: “…” How should she explain that the bubbles freeze because the temperature outside is lower than the freezing point of the soap solution, and that when the soap solution comes into contact with the ice and snow, which are colder and contain more water vapor, the soap rapidly crystallizes into ice? How should she explain that the reason the string can “fish” the ice block is that salt lowers the local freezing point of the ice, and when it melts, the freezing point rises again when it refreezes…

“Hongxi, look, these are natural principles of the world, you need to think about them yourself. When you encounter difficulties and problems, you can’t always expect others to give you the answers. You should think first, and only ask when you truly can’t figure it out, alright?” Cheng Wanyun decided to brush it off for now. “You’re so smart and quick-witted. You could already tell that ants have different appearances on your own. I believe you can figure out the principles behind bubbles and ice blocks too.”

Hongxi nodded seriously after hearing this. “Alright, Mother.”

He then moved the basin of water and the icicles back to his room. It was so interesting; he wanted to closely observe how the string could “fish” the ice blocks up. He stopped talking about going outside to build a snowman with his sister.

Cheng Wanyun was pleased with the result, so she stood up, put on the hood of her cloak, and went into the yard to prepare for the meal by the stove while watching the snow. She thought: Maybe I should ask Zheng Taijian to skewer some lamb and chives to grill? I remember there’s a greenhouse in the palace where vegetables are grown, and not long ago, they even sent in some chive-filled dumplings.

What she didn’t know was that, while she was only trying to entertain the child with a little experiment—something almost everyone in the later generations would know—her actions unintentionally sparked Hongxi’s interest in science, opening a path for him towards the advancement of scientific education in the country.

E Linzhu sat on the Crown Prince’s shoulders, picking off several hard, frozen persimmons. Her face was red from the cold, yet she was smiling so widely that her teeth were showing but her eyes weren’t. Cheng Wanyun immediately called them over. “You say I’m causing trouble, but you two can’t stop either! E Linzhu, close your mouth, or you’ll end up with a stomachache from the cold wind later! The milk tea is ready, come and warm up!”

The grapevine had already been buried for the winter. It didn’t look good to leave just the grapevine trellis standing, so Cheng Wanyun had ordered it to be covered with woven rattan mats, held down with stones and tiles. Now it served as a windbreak pavilion.

Yinreng carried E Linzhu into the pavilion, with He Baozhong following behind, carrying a bundle of frozen persimmons wrapped in clothing.

A small red clay stove was heating the teapot, and the milk tea inside was boiling, sending up swirling white steam.

The charcoal and firewood crackled, and as soon as Yinreng entered, the warmth enveloped him. He set E Linzhu down, sat next to Cheng Wanyun, and habitually took the wooden spoon to stir the milk tea in the pot. He waited for the milk skin to form before adding honey beans and taro paste.

Having spent so much time with A Wan, even he had learned many cooking and tea-making skills.

Cheng Wanyun was dividing the bowls and spoons when she asked, “Should we invite Hongxuan over to eat?”

“Hongxuan might be too busy,” Yinreng shook his head. “Today, the Crown Princess has called people from the Internal Affairs Bureau to help choose the eunuchs and palace maids who will attend him. After the New Year, he will be going to the study room, and he’ll need to have his own people around. He’ll need to learn how to manage his servants.”

Yinreng was also helping Hongxuan in selection. Hongxuan was supposed to have eight of them by his side. Yinreng planned to choose four from the Shi family and four from the Hesheri clan. At the moment, neither side had finalized their candidates yet.

He couldn’t help but start to think about the few matters that needed to be settled before his southern tour. The first and most urgent was E Linzhu and Hongxuan’s smallpox vaccination. Hongxi was still young, so they could wait another two years. The second matter was who would serve beside Hongxuan, which was crucial. Choosing well meant a lifelong alliance, but choosing poorly could cause trouble. Changing personnel midway would not be good for Hongxuan.

The third matter… As this thought crossed Yinreng’s mind, he heard the doorman hurriedly come in with a report: “The Fourth Prince and Thirteenth Prince have come to pay their respects to the Crown Prince and Lady Cheng.”

Yinreng’s hand, which had been stirring the milk tea, paused slightly. He knew that the issue with the Ministry of Revenue was probably close to being resolved.

He had quietly instructed the Fourth Prince to secretly investigate the empty treasury of the Ministry of Revenue after they had just returned from Rehe last year. It hadn’t been a waste of time to have the Fourth Prince placed there. At that time, he had felt that the Ministry of Revenue was the most important of the six ministries and needed to be entrusted to a trusted brother. He couldn’t let that position fall into the hands of the Eldest Prince’s faction, so he had let the Fourth Prince train in the position for a whole year.

Unexpectedly, things had worked out well. With the southern tour’s shortage of funds, Yinreng likely knew the situation better than anyone. He also recalled that his father, aside from issuing the imperial edict for the southern tour, had not given him any other advice. He hadn’t even consulted him about who should accompany him or which states and counties they would pass through. Now, as the New Year approached, it seemed as if he were still suspended in midair, with no clear answers.

Yinreng was planning to discuss things in detail with the Fourth Prince, and once he had clarity, he would go to his father to get the matter of the southern tour finalized. Several things required his father’s approval, especially since he wanted to take A Wan along, ideally detouring through Huizhou…

Of course, there was also the issue of money.

Yinreng thought for a moment and said, “Let the Fourth Prince and Thirteenth Prince wait for me in the study. I’ll be there shortly.”

After speaking, he glanced apologetically at Cheng Wanyun. “A Wan, I have to leave now. I can’t stay to roast meat and drink tea with you.”

E Linzhu looked a bit disappointed, but Cheng Wanyun wasn’t. She understood that the Crown Prince had important matters to attend to, so she stood up, adjusted the cloak on his shoulders, brushed off the snowflakes still sticking to his collar, and whispered in his ear, “You go ahead. We’ll roast another batch tonight, and maybe…”

The child was right there! Yinreng glared at her, but his ears turned red. He nodded absentmindedly and rushed off.

Cheng Wanyun smiled, her lips curving into a slight grin.

Meanwhile, in the study, Yinzhen was pacing restlessly.