After the Chen hour (7-9 AM), Yang Wan walked out alone from behind the gates of the Banana Garden.
The Bureau of Ceremonies personnel were preparing to receive someone, but seeing no sign of Consort Ning, they were all somewhat startled.
Jiang Min said, “Everyone is quiet.”
Then she went up to Yang Wan and asked, “Why are you coming out alone?”
Yang Wan turned back to the palace servants at the door, “Close the gates.”
Jiang Min followed Yang Wan’s gaze, watching as the door gap closed.
A wave of plum blossom fragrance rushed out toward everyone’s faces, its coldness making them shiver.
“The Consort won’t leave the garden?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Yang Wan didn’t answer immediately.
Jiang Min said, “I can refrain from asking, but we must report back to the Empress Dowager.”
Yang Wan turned and coughed several times, pressing her chest to calm herself before saying to Jiang Min, “I will personally report to the Empress Dowager.”
Jiang Min looked at her and said, “This matter isn’t so simple. How will you report it?”
Yang Wan unconsciously twisted the sash at her waist, saying softly, “Lady of Ceremonies, there’s something I’m not entirely sure about. Would you help me think it through?”
Jiang Min looked at Yang Wan’s fingers.
“Do you have concerns?”
“Yes.”
“If you have concerns, don’t do it.”
Yang Wan smiled slightly, “You know I’m not a cautious person.”
“Indeed.”
Jiang Min also gave a small laugh, “Then tell me.”
Yang Wan walked a few steps forward, and when she reached the base of the palace wall, she spoke, “I want to take the Consort out of the palace, but she is after all an Imperial Consort. I’m afraid that if I take this step, it will become a dead end with the Empress Dowager.”
After listening, Jiang Min was silent for a while, then suddenly said, “Then don’t make the move yourself. Give me the chess piece.”
“Lady of Ceremonies…”
Jiang Min raised her hand to signal her not to speak, continuing in an even voice, “You’re already quite clever to consider the consequences. In the Great Ming’s sixty-plus years since its founding, though officially no Imperial Consort has ever left the imperial city alive not every consort has died within the city walls. The Empress Dowager doesn’t want Consort Ning to receive a title, but considering His Majesty, she also doesn’t dare to have her killed. For the Empress Dowager, the best outcome is to imprison Consort Ning for life. However, His Majesty will eventually grow up, and as long as Consort Ning is willing to accept a title, the Empress Dowager ultimately won’t be able to stop His Majesty.”
Yang Wan nodded, “I thought the same, that’s why I wanted to try.”
Jiang Min shook her head, “You wanting to take Consort Ning out of the palace is a good thing. But your position is wrong.”
Yang Wan responded, “Yes, I know.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to give me the chess piece. If you propose this matter, the Empress Dowager will see it as having ulterior motives, but if I propose it, it becomes helping her resolve a worry. What you should do is think carefully about how to convince His Majesty to never see his mother again.”
“Yes.”
Yang Wan couldn’t help but sigh.
“But this way… His Majesty is truly pitiful.”
Yang Wan said, “You never say such things.”
Hearing this, Jiang Min just shook her head without answering.
Yang Wan pursued, “You also never used to do things beyond your station.”
Jiang Min smiled slightly, “I…”
Her voice carried a hint of resignation: “Yang Wan, being cold in one’s dealings is to avoid making mistakes in front of others and implicating the women in my charge. But I’m not truly a cold-hearted person.”
She turned to look at Yang Wan, “I always used to warn you not to get involved in the inner court’s struggles, but you didn’t listen and still entered Chengqian Palace. So later I kept blocking Yun Qing, not letting her get too close to you. I thought if she stayed away from you, she’d stay away from trouble. But until Chen Hua told me that if it weren’t for you, Yun Qing would be lying on the ground like Li Yu. Only then did I realize that you were the one who ultimately saved Yun Qing. Yang Wan, I’ve lived in the palace for decades, and I still don’t think I was wrong, but… at this point, I can no longer criticize you in any way. I even want to try walking the path you’ve walked.”
“Thank you.”
After speaking, Yang Wan took Jiang Min’s arm, looking down at the stone path as they slowly walked back together.
The plum fragrance on the palace path gradually grew subtle, the wind stirring their clothes and disheveling loose strands of hair.
Yang Wan spoke into the wind, “I remember you once told me that when you entered the palace, you were protected by the Ceremonial Office, so later you hoped to provide shelter for the women in the palace. Lady of Ceremonies, in my view, the Ceremonial Office’s protection is an illusion, but what the Bureau of Ceremonies gives everyone is a stable place to belong. And I…”
She laughed self-mockingly, “I’m an anomaly in the inner court, unable to give most people peace, so I must leave.”
Jiang Min stopped walking, “You needn’t say that. If you can leave safely, I will also chant a round of Buddhist prayers for you. But after you leave, how will you make a living? Can the Yang household… still accommodate you?”
Yang Wan shook her head, “I won’t return to the Yang household. I will go with Yun Qing, and we’ll rely on the skills you taught us to make our way.”
“What did I teach you?”
“Reading and writing.”
Jiang Min sighed, “For women, that’s nothing.”
“That’s not true. What you taught women is the most precious thing under heaven.”