Female Consort Chapter 83: New Year’s Eve

The sound of firecrackers burst into the air.

Qiu Che buried herself in official memorials, but from the clutter of documents spread across the table, she finally lifted her gaze and looked out at the heavy snow swirling beyond the window.

Red lanterns hung high under the eaves, and in the courtyard, plum blossoms stood clear and crisp on their branches, decorated with many red ribbons, bright and festive, wishing for a lucky year ahead.

Servants moved quietly through the yard, their footsteps light but their joy unmistakable, most dressed in bright red new clothes.

This was Madam Wang’s doing, a New Year’s gift to them all.

Qiu Che pulled her cloak tighter, exhaling a cloud of white breath, murmuring, “It’s New Year’s already.”

Just then, Li Qingwu came in from outside, taking off her outer cloak and handing it to Fu Ling. She stamped her feet at the threshold, shaking off a fine dusting of snow.

Hearing Qiu Che’s words, she smiled and stepped forward to pick up the warming brazier by the table. “Looks like you’ve been too busy to even remember it’s New Year.”

Qiu Che rubbed her temples, giving a helpless smile. “The city guard has indeed been busy lately.”

Every day she went back and forth, drilling troops while also handling Ministry of Rites affairs. No wonder she was so overwhelmed.

Thankfully, the new law had just been enacted, things should ease up soon.

“Isn’t it said that no one is willing to accept female students these days?” Li Qingwu fell silent for a moment, then sat down beside her. “Even though the law changed, most schools still refuse to open their doors to girls.”

Centuries of old customs aren’t easily overturned by a single decree.

Perhaps because Qiu Che had done many deeds that earned praise from the common people, and had military merit from the northern campaign, the people respected and supported her.

But that didn’t mean they accepted other women the same way.

Qiu Che sighed. “That’s exactly what’s troubling me. I’ve been racking my brain for days but can’t find a good solution.”

“I might have an idea.”

Qiu Che looked at her, signaling her to speak.

Before Li Qingwu could say anything, Fu Ling appeared again at the door, whispering softly, “Your Highness, the Prince Consort and Eunuch Fu have arrived.”

The two exchanged a glance. Li Qingwu stood first and asked, “Where are they?”

When Li Qingwu returned, her expression was a little strange, deep in thought.

Qiu Che decided to rest and didn’t go to meet them. After all, if they’d brought an imperial edict, they would have said so, this probably wasn’t anything urgent.

Leaning lazily back in her chair, she asked, puzzled, “What’s with the look?”

Li Qingwu smiled slowly and sat down beside her again. “Nothing much. It’s just strange... Zhu Yan’s business has been running for over a year now. In that time, the palace has come asking for dividends, once every two months, and they’ve never missed a payment.”

Qiu Che straightened up slightly. “...They came asking you for dividends?”

This was the arrangement Li Qingwu had promised earlier to stabilize the Li family’s interests.

Li Qingwu nodded. “Actually, they invited us to the palace’s New Year banquet, but didn’t your mother say we were having dinner together tonight? So I declined.”

Qiu Che teased, “You calling her ‘mother’ is getting more and more natural.”

Since Qiu Che’s identity was revealed, Madam Wang hadn’t discussed changing how Li Qingwu addressed her. So the “mother” had just stuck, and by now, Madam Wang really treated her like her own daughter.

Li Qingwu gave her a sharp look, then lowered her voice a bit. “Enough joking... I forgot to tell you, over three months ago, after the palace announced the emperor was seriously ill, Eunuch Fu came once as well.”

Qiu Che pondered. “Was there anything unusual?”

“No, everything seemed normal.”

Li Shi recalled slowly, “I suspected the emperor might be imprisoned back then... I even tested his reactions, but he behaved completely normally.”

It was as if the emperor was just seriously ill and unable to see anyone.

That was strange.

According to their previous guesses, the emperor must be under house arrest by the Crown Prince, 

And from Qiu Che’s earlier test during the closure of the brothel, the Crown Prince was aware of the mastermind behind the scenes and didn’t think he was being manipulated.

When Qiu Che said the Crown Prince was making clothes for others, he looked angry and contemptuous.

This suggests the mastermind’s involvement in the emperor’s confinement was limited, maybe just a few hints, and the Crown Prince was acting on his own.

It could be inferred that this figure was currently lower in status than the Crown Prince and posed no obvious threat, 

But that left a huge gap. Apart from the emperor and empress dowager, no one outranked the Crown Prince.

Even if he doubted the story, Qiu Che’s words must have planted a seed of suspicion in his mind.

In the following two weeks, Qiu Che received no further covert sabotage.

Only the Crown Prince occasionally provoked her openly during court sessions, his intentions clear enough to make her not bother responding.

Anyway, back to the topic of the emperor’s confinement.

If their guess was right, the emperor’s movements were restricted, and Eunuch Fu, Li Shi’s most trusted senior eunuch, would do everything possible to send a message out if he had the chance.

Yet he remained silent, behaving as usual.

That left only two possibilities.

Qiu Che’s hair stood on end.

First: the emperor was not imprisoned, and they were all wrong.

This possibility was very slim.

Based on her knowledge of Li Shi and the political situation, Qiu Che favored the idea that the emperor was indeed being held captive.

Which left the second possibility: Eunuch Fu had betrayed them.

He was not truly loyal to the emperor.

But that was strange.

If Eunuch Fu really was a traitor, how could he have maintained such perfect obedience and loyalty to the emperor for so long?

Was he such a good actor, and for so long?

Or perhaps Eunuch Fu had always been loyal to someone else.

That thought was chilling.

Li Shi’s close circle wasn’t just Eunuch Fu, yet no one showed signs of the emperor’s captivity. Could all those around Li Shi be long-hidden traitors?

Were their superiors the Crown Prince?

No... the Crown Prince didn’t seem capable of such things.

They all leaned more toward the true mastermind behind it.

Li Qingwu suddenly said, “No... besides Eunuch Fu, there’s one other person, the one he trusts most.”

Cui Wenshen.

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had been loyal to the emperor for generations. Mysterious and elusive, rarely seen in public.

After the emperor fell ill, Cui Wenshen seemed to vanish without a trace.

Was he dead? Or had he been turned?

Or perhaps another traitor lying in wait?

Qiu Che thought for a moment, then pulled out a sheet of paper and quickly wrote a brief letter.

Their carrier pigeon hadn’t worked for a long time, spending days sleeping on the windowsill of their dormitory, freeloading food and growing plump.

It was originally found by Qiu Che on some street in northern Ling and was quite intelligent, but wary of humans. It only trusted Qiu Che and her close friends.

Plus, there was Yu Ming, who fed it regularly, no more handlers allowed.

Qiu Che snapped her fingers with a smile. The pigeon lazily ruffled its wings and flew over.

Li Qingwu glanced at the letter.

Qiu Che was asking Yang Qiu to investigate Cui Wenshen.

Now serving as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Yang had easier access to information. Although Yang was known for abiding by the law and wouldn’t normally abuse his power, these were exceptional times.

They trusted he would understand.

Even if not, Qiu Che had ways to persuade him, uh, rather, incentivize him to understand.

Li Qingwu’s expression barely changed, though she lifted her eyes with a hint of worry as she looked at the white dove. “Fei Fei hasn’t worked in so long… I hope it hasn’t forgotten how to deliver messages.”

Yes, the dove was called Fei Fei.

Judging by the name, it was obviously Qiu Che’s handiwork.

The white dove angrily grabbed the letter, flapped its wings, and took off, disappearing out the window.

Its actions spoke louder than words: it was definitely capable.

Li Qingwu pressed her lips into a small smile, watching it fly away, then sighed. “Do you think this will actually help?”

“I don’t know,” Qiu Che admitted honestly, “but it’s worth checking, just in case.”

Then she remembered something. “Let’s keep going. Before Eunuch Fu arrived, you said you had a way to solve the school situation…?”

“That’s exactly what we were just talking about,” Li Qingwu said seriously.

“Now that the name ‘Zhu Yan’ has become well-known, though we do have to give the palace a good share of the profits, the business is still quite lucrative.”

“That’s mainly because of the constant wars over the past year. Zhu Yan’s trade has only covered areas around the capital. Once peace returns and we expand beyond, the earnings will only grow.”

Qiu Che was already guessing what Li Qingwu was going to say but played along. “So?”

Li Qingwu’s eyes lit up. She instinctively licked her slightly dry lips. “So, I want to make Zhu Yan’s name even more famous.”

“To invest in opening a new school under the name of Zhu Yan.”

“Oh?” Qiu Che prompted, “Tell me more.”

“This school will be different, solving the current problem where schools won’t accept female students. So, we’ll do the opposite: only accept girls. Besides the classics, they can freely learn various skills, even martial arts.”

“From eighty-year-old grandmothers to five-year-old girls, no matter where they come from, all can enroll. The first group of students will have special privileges. If their families are truly poor and have no income, the school will provide financial aid.”

“Of course, the aid isn’t permanent or free. After graduating, students must repay the tuition within three years… By the way, the term ‘tuition aid’ was actually suggested by Yao Tai. It’s because of that idea that I’ve been wanting to start a school for quite a while…”

As she talked passionately, Qiu Che’s expression grew more and more surprised.

“So… what do you plan to call it?”

“Nüxué.”

Li Qingwu said firmly, “It will be called Nüxué.”

The room fell into silence for a long moment, only the fire crackling in the stove breaking the stillness.

Outside, the lively sounds of firecrackers had faded away at some unknown point. Inside, even the slightest noise could be heard.

Qiu Che stared at her, seemingly lost in thought. Li Qingwu grew a little nervous as no reply came.

She gripped the warm stove tightly, lowering her voice: “Maybe it sounds like a pipe dream, but with the assets and land deeds I currently have from running the shop, it’s enough to start such a school. The hardest part will be dealing with the government, and I’ll need your help to navigate that…”

“No, I think it’s great,” Qiu Che interrupted with a sigh. “I’ve had similar ideas, just not as detailed as you.”

When it came to new business ideas, Li Qingwu was definitely more experienced.

This would be a win-win for both education and business.

Li Qingwu relaxed a bit.

Then she couldn’t help but complain: “So why do you have to look at me like that?”

She thought Qiu Che was judging her naïve.

But with the current situation, wasn’t it exactly the time for new things to replace old traditions?

Qiu Che smiled softly.

She pushed back her chair and, before Li Qingwu could react, sat down beside her.

She cupped Li Qingwu’s face in her hands, meeting her bewildered gaze, then let her eyes slowly slide over her lush, red lips.

Qiu Che swallowed discreetly but kept her voice calm, with a hint of teasing: “I’m just stunned by you.”

“How are you so amazing, my Qingwu?”

Li Qingwu pursed her lips but couldn’t hide the proud smile at the corner of her mouth.

Qiu Che suddenly fixed her gaze on her, licking her own lips. “I really want to kiss you.”

Li Qingwu: “!”

“Can I?”

Li Qingwu: “…” Why even ask that?

Her face flamed red, and she stammered, unable to say a word for a long moment.

Qiu Che gently pinched her burning earlobe, her slender hand falling on Li Qingwu’s shoulder, then leaned in and kissed her.

Between their lips and teeth, she whispered, “Happy New Year.”

Li Qingwu grabbed her collar, breathing heavily, replying softly, “Happy New Year.”

How lucky they were, to still have each other after a whole year.

Outside the house, 

“Madam…” Fu Ling stood behind Madam Wang, hearing the faint noises from inside, cheeks burning red, unable to look at Madam Wang’s face, wishing she could disappear on the spot.

In her mind she screamed, Your Highness! Couldn’t you wait until nighttime to get so close?

Madam Wang stood quietly under the eaves for a while, dazed, then smiled.

She should have guessed this all along.

Those two kids, always inseparable and close, hadn’t mentioned divorce for over a year.

What else could it be?

Because they loved each other.

It was a kind of love she had once dreamed of before marriage.

Now, she no longer had the passion or energy to love anyone.

But there would always be those who were young, who would fall in love.

That was no longer her concern.

Fu Ling saw her smile and felt even more helpless, restless and at a loss for words.

Madam Wang, however, remained calm, glancing down at the batch of fresh flower cakes and the delicate wooden box she was holding.

The flower cakes were for Li Qingwu. Maybe she hadn’t even realized it herself, but Madam Wang knew she liked those bean-based pastries…

Perhaps because her mother had made them a few times in the past.

The little box was for Qiu Che.

She loved carving little trinkets. As her mother, Madam Wang once didn’t understand it, but now she respected it.

Giving her a box to keep her things organized was a good idea.

Thinking of this, Madam Wang sighed and looked up at the sky.

Then she said softly, “Looks like the New Year gifts will have to wait until tomorrow.”

After New Year’s Eve comes the first day of the lunar new year.

Spring was not far off.