MCSCPM -Chapter 39 Displaying Her Talents

At this moment, Yin Qingyue also emerged from the dark chamber. Behind her followed the palace maids brought by Nanny Lai, and at the very end came Nanny Wang and Nanny Wu. Both of them were pale-faced, looking utterly at a loss.

Nangong Chen carefully surveyed the people in the room and could not help letting out another cold snort. Nanny Lai really had been sent by the Empress to sabotage him—those palace maids following her were all attendants from the Empress’s side!

Yin Qingyue curled her lips into a faint, dark smile, her gaze fixed on the Third Prince who had been making things difficult for her all along. Serves you right for playing dirty—you’ve ruined it yourself.

Just moments ago, when she had opened her eyes, she had been startled. Before she closed her eyes, there had only been the two old matrons in the dark chamber preparing for the inspection. When she opened them again, she saw an even older matron leading a group of palace maids who had already subdued those two matrons, which had shocked her on the spot.

At first, Yin Qingyue thought that this old matron had come to do her harm, so she immediately assumed a guarded stance, thinking to herself that in the palace people really did strike without warning. Then she saw the old matron smiling kindly as she approached and asked who she was and why she was being subjected to a body inspection here.

Yin Qingyue rolled her eyes. Was this old matron here to joke around? She had restrained people without knowing anything? Still, she answered honestly,
“I am a woman from the Falling Dust Courtyard. It seems someone slandered me before His Majesty, saying that I was unchaste, so His Majesty sent people to inspect me.”

The old matron nodded with understanding, then turned to scrutinize the two matrons more closely. An older palace maid leaned in and whispered a few words into the old matron’s ear. Yin Qingyue could not hear clearly, but vaguely caught words like Empress, Third Prince, Consort De, and bribed.

After hearing this, the old matron nodded and strode over to the two inspection matrons, her face instantly turning cold.
“You two really have some nerve! You would even do something so utterly lacking in conscience! A young lady’s chastity—is that something you can destroy at will? Working in the palace doing body inspections, and you don’t even understand this basic rule?”

The two matrons flushed red with shame and lowered their heads.

Seeing that they had been cowed, the old matron nodded, then returned to Yin Qingyue and smiled gently. “Miss, don’t be afraid. These two heartless ones intended to do harm; this old servant has already disciplined them. I am an old servant who once attended the Empress Dowager. During the late emperor’s selection of consorts, I also handled body inspections. If Miss trusts this old servant, please move down to the floor and allow me to conduct the inspection.”

Yin Qingyue was momentarily stunned and looked at the two matrons holding tools with some suspicion. “It doesn’t matter to me who inspects me, but does an inspection really require changing both the place and the method?”

The old matron covered her mouth and chuckled. “Miss is an unmarried young lady and doesn’t understand this. A maiden has a maiden’s method of inspection; an older woman has an older woman’s method. Those two heartless ones wanted Miss to lie on the bed—they intended to use the method for older women. That method has no lightness or restraint; with just a slip of the hand, it could ruin Miss’s chastity. They were deliberately trying to harm you.”

Yin Qingyue’s expression immediately changed, flushing and paling by turns. The flush came from her ignorance of these ancient, messy customs and having such private matters explained to her; the pallor came from realizing that her lack of knowledge had almost gotten her inexplicably harmed.

She let out a long breath and coldly stared at the two inspection matrons. “I’ll remember this debt.”

The old matron smiled again. “Of course this old servant would not inspect Miss in such a manner. Miss, do you see that sheet of paper on the floor? There is a layer of grass ash on it. In a moment, Miss need only squat over that paper. I will use some cotton to tickle Miss into sneezing. If one has lost her chastity, the ash will rise; if not, the ash will remain still. This is the method used to inspect maiden candidates. Miss need not worry that this old servant will do anything improper.”

Though she had her doubts, Yin Qingyue still followed the old matron’s instructions. The result, of course, was obvious—she was still pure.

At this moment, Nangong Chen was seething with hatred. If Nangong Lin had not been present, he would have personally flayed this ugly girl alive! She had actually dared to make him lose so much face before Nangong Lin!

Nangong Lin let out a long breath and nodded in satisfaction. “As I expected, the heavens are all-knowing. How could they choose a woman who had lost her chastity to enter the Falling Dust Courtyard?”

Hearing this, Nangong Xiao’s expression darkened somewhat. Although his pulling back this time had allowed Yin Qingyue to escape disaster, it had also made Nangong Lin believe even more deeply in mysticism. Whether this outcome was good or bad was hard to say.

At this moment, to everyone’s surprise, Yin Qingyue suddenly stepped forward and knelt before Nangong Lin. She first kowtowed once, then spoke slowly and calmly,
“Your Majesty, since Qingyue’s innocence has now been proven, Qingyue is an innocent, blameless woman. Since that is the case, may Qingyue, in her capacity as a prayer woman of the Falling Dust Courtyard, ask that Your Majesty listen to a few words from me?”

As she spoke, her eyes flickered faintly toward Nangong Chen.

Yin Qingyue was no fool. Today she had caused Nangong Chen to suffer such a heavy loss of face; he was unlikely to let her go easily. Moreover, the Falling Dust Courtyard was full of hidden dangers—if she returned now, Nanny Zhao would certainly not spare her.

If she wanted to protect herself, the best way was to find a way to remain in the palace, right under the emperor’s watchful eye. Anyone wanting to make a move would have to think twice.

To do that, she first had to win Nangong Lin’s goodwill and approval. After all, the one whose word carried the most weight in the palace was this superstitious old emperor.

“Speak,” Nangong Lin said. He was fairly indulgent toward this sensible ugly girl now. After all, she had been wronged earlier; if she harbored resentment and it somehow reached the heavens, it might even lead to a natural disaster.

“Qingyue knows that Your Majesty firmly believes in mystic arts. Qingyue does not think mystic arts should not be believed—otherwise, I would not have willingly entered the Falling Dust Courtyard. However, Qingyue feels that Your Majesty relying solely on mystic arts—is that not somewhat inappropriate?” Yin Qingyue narrowed her eyes and spoke each word distinctly.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Nangong Lin frowned and said coldly, “You think that my conduct in believing in mystic arts is improper?”

Nangong Xiao was stunned. What was Yin Qingyue trying to do? She actually dared to say such things before the emperor? Was she not afraid of provoking imperial wrath and losing her life?

Nangong Chen, on the other hand, felt a hint of delight. This ugly girl might have a sharp tongue, but she was brainless! If things continued like this, he would not even need to act—Nangong Lin’s volatile temper would take care of her!

Yin Qingyue shook her head. “There is nothing wrong with Your Majesty believing in mystic arts. The impropriety lies in believing only in mystic arts, while neglecting some other things that are equally important.”

Nangong Lin frowned. His expression eased slightly, though it was still grim. “Then tell me—what exactly have I neglected?”

Instead of answering directly, Yin Qingyue posed another question. “If there are two people who both firmly believe in mystic arts: one works tirelessly every day but does not take care of himself, ending up in poor health; the other works hard yet also knows how to cherish himself, remaining in good physical and mental condition—may I ask, Your Majesty, which of the two do you think the gods would bless more?”

Nangong Lin was taken aback. He felt that Yin Qingyue’s words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, but he could not grasp it immediately.

Nangong Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he spoke, “Father Emperor, in this son’s humble opinion, even if the gods were to bless someone, it would be the second person. The first does not even cherish himself—how could the gods cherish him?”

Nangong Chen frowned, looking at Yin Qingyue with a probing expression, unable to understand what this ugly girl was up to.

Yin Qingyue smiled and nodded toward Nangong Xiao, then turned back to Nangong Lin.
“Your Majesty, Qingyue believes the Crown Prince speaks very well. What Qingyue wishes to say is this: while believing in mystic arts, should Your Majesty not also cherish yourself a little more?”

By now, Nangong Lin’s expression had softened considerably. He looked at Yin Qingyue thoughtfully. “You mean to say that I do not take sufficient care of myself?”

As he spoke, Nangong Lin suddenly broke into a coughing fit. The eunuch at his side quickly offered him a bowl of snow-pear soup. Nangong Lin took a sip, caught his breath, and asked, “And what makes you say that?”

Yin Qingyue smiled lightly. “Let us take this cough as an example. Your Majesty, do you drink snow-pear soup to relieve your coughing?”

Nangong Lin was startled and glanced at the rock-sugar snow-pear soup. “And if I do? Is there something improper about this soup?”

Nanny Lai, who was listening nearby, looked somewhat displeased. The Empress had gone to such lengths to help this ugly girl—yet this girl was now causing trouble for the Empress instead!

Yin Qingyue shook her head and smiled gently, a glint of wisdom shining in her eyes. “In reply to Your Majesty, snow-pear soup is indeed effective in relieving cough, but it treats only the symptoms, not the root. It can ease the cough temporarily, but it cannot completely cure Your Majesty’s chronic ailment.”

Recalling Nangong Lin’s symptoms, she spoke earnestly, “Qingyue just observed Your Majesty’s condition. Although Your Majesty coughs frequently, you rarely produce phlegm. Each time you cough, you like to take a sip of snow-pear soup, and you seem to experience some heat, dryness in the throat, and thirst. This is not a yin-deficiency dry cough. Snow pear is therefore not the appropriate remedy. That is why the soup can alleviate Your Majesty’s cough but cannot cure it completely.”

She raised her head and looked at the astonished members of the Nangong family, pursed her lips in a smile, and continued, “Your Majesty’s cough should be a phlegm-heat cough. You should take Ermu Ning Sou Pills, prepared from fritillaria (chuan bei mu), anemarrhena (zhi mu), gypsum, gardenia, scutellaria, mulberry bark, trichosanthes seeds, poria, aged tangerine peel, bitter orange, schisandra, and honey-fried licorice. You should also avoid spicy foods. Only then can the illness be fully cured.”

After speaking, Yin Qingyue could not help narrowing her eyes with satisfaction. A mere phlegm-heat cough—could it possibly stump someone like her, who came from a modern family steeped in medicine?

Nangong Lin looked at Yin Qingyue and unconsciously cleared his throat. “Taking that… what was it, those pills—can they really cure my chronic illness?”