Concubine of the Eastern Palace (Qing Dynasty Time Travel)

The winter days grow dark early, the red sun sinks in the west, like a ball of fire falling into the water, slowly extinguishing.

The fishing lights on the river resemble stars. Inside the stilted house, the eldest son was running up and down, tidying the house. He was the boy who had carried firewood earlier. The crown prince had already said that he would stay at their house, offering half a silver coin a day. The boy was overjoyed, his face flushed red, and he led his younger siblings to clean the already tidy house once more. Then, they carefully changed the bedding that E Chu had bought from Tongzhou.

E Chu couldn’t stop the crown prince from staying in this thatched house. He was feeling dejected as he arranged things. The main house was for the crown prince and his side concubine to stay, the room next door was for the palace maid Bitao, and further down, the Shi brothers and Second Brother Cheng were to squeeze in together.

Cheng Wanyun and the crown prince sat by the fire pit on the first floor, listening attentively. The stairs kept creaking as the boy carried a few bundles of tattered bedding, as tall as a small mountain, down. His three younger sisters were shouting, “Slow down, slow down, you’re going to drop it!” while following him, helping to steady the bundles. The youngest brother, just over two years old, was dragging a torn mat behind him like a tail.

The crown prince gave a signal, and E Chu resignedly went over to help the children carry the bedding. He asked, “Where should I move them?”

The Eldest Brother (Da Zhu) replied, “We’ll sleep on the fishing boat with Mother.” Their father had left them an old fishing boat, but since he was still young and his mother wouldn’t let him go out to fish, they rented it out. However, no one used it at night, so they could sleep there.

When Cheng Wanyun heard him mention his mother, her gaze involuntarily shifted to the small, dark corner on the first floor. When E Chu had brought them back, a thin, bony woman had emerged from there, groping along the wall. Her eyes were covered with a layer of white film. After E Chu explained their intentions, the woman knelt down and cried as she kowtowed to them.

After she was helped up, she took out the only two chairs in the house that were still intact. One was the one she sat on when spinning thread. After giving it to Cheng Wanyun to sit on, she continued to kneel in the room, spinning thread. Because her eyes were blind, her movements were slow, and she had to feel her way through the thread, her hands covered in scars from the silk thread.

But she dared not stop, as there were so many mouths to feed at home.

Since Yinreng entered this village and this household, he had become much quieter. The bustling city of Tongzhou now seemed like a dream to him.

Once the eldest brother had arranged the bedding and clothes, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his younger siblings’ faces and hands, then went into the room to assist his mother. He wanted to settle her on the boat first before coming back to get the others.

After he left, the children were without guidance, sitting by the door, waiting.

E Chu had already bought rice, flour, and oil from outside, and had also bought four or five three-pound bass from the fishmonger. It was a mystery what this large family normally ate, as the rice bin on the second-floor stove room was empty, and even the iron pots, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were all absent. He had no choice but to spend money to buy them, yet the crown prince had ordered him to buy even more.

They would only stay here for a day or two at most. Wasn’t all this food bought for the family to eat?

E Chu was deeply worried. The crown prince had entrusted him with the silver notes when he left. E Chu exchanged them for a bundle of copper coins and two hundred taels of small silver, sewing a hidden pouch into his pants to store the remaining silver notes. He hadn’t managed a household before, and only now did he realize how expensive everything was. He used to spend lavishly, but now, managing the finances, he was learning to be stingy. He thought to himself: at this rate, with the crown prince’s way of distributing funds, even a hundred thousand taels wouldn’t last until Yangzhou!

It wasn’t that he was being miserly; it was just that there were so many families in need that he couldn’t help them all—there were even more destitute families out there!

He led the guards to bring in the large bundles of goods, which startled the children outside, leaving them frozen in place. The kids exchanged glances but said nothing, all of them swallowing in unison. They even saw a piece of fatty pork, marbled with lean meat!

It didn’t even need to be cooked. Just looking at the oily raw meat, they all felt like rushing over to lick a bite to taste what it was like!

But they didn’t dare. Their older brother had told them that these were great lords, more powerful than even the high landlords! So, they huddled by the door, occasionally casting glances inside. They saw the woman, sitting by the fire, roll up her sleeves and stand up, smiling as she asked, “What would the second lord like to eat today? How about I make some garlic-baked fish? We could also have some osmanthus and dried tangerine peel braised pork, and put some quail eggs in the braised pork. We could stew some hot, fragrant bamboo shoot and pork bone soup in a clay pot. As for the main dish, let’s keep it simple—how about steamed buns?”

Just this one sentence made the children’s mouths water. They had been sneakily admiring Cheng Wanyun’s face, which was as delicate and translucent as apricot blossoms after rain, reflected in the firelight. But now, their attention was completely diverted to the white rice and fatty pork.

Yinreng had no objections. He smiled and joked, “I’ll eat whatever the second mistress makes.”

Cheng Wanyun had already noticed the movement of the children by the door. She smiled and said, “Second lord, I’ll make a little more.”

Yinreng nodded. He felt like a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, and though he didn’t want to voice it, he stood up and instructed E Chu, who was wiping sweat off his forehead, “Tell them to all come in and warm up by the fire. When the eldest brother comes back, tell him not to leave either. Everyone stays to eat together, and they’ll eat with you all.” He then rolled up his sleeves to help Cheng Wanyun. “When we’re away from home, we don’t worry about these things. I’ll give you a hand.”

E Chu nodded in acknowledgment and went out to bring the children in. Bitao, Cheng Huai Jing, and the Shi brothers were already well-behaved, following the crown prince into the kitchen, helping to start the fire, boil water, chop vegetables, and peel skins—anything and everything, eager to help. They were making a fuss! Letting the two masters cook for them? Were they trying to get their heads chopped off?

So, after walking around the kitchen, the crown prince couldn’t even help. He stood dumbfounded in the middle of the kitchen. In the end, it was Cheng Wanyun who found him utterly adorable in his confusion, so she assigned him the task of washing vegetables. She moved like a shadow, chopping the pork belly into even pieces, swiftly cutting off the fish head, and slicing open the fish belly… Yinreng was wearing an apron tied around his waist and awkwardly washing the pre-sliced bamboo shoots.

Watching how fast Cheng Wanyun worked with the knife, he was momentarily dazed.

It struck him then that he was the only one who felt out of place during this southern tour. He suddenly realized this: no matter what vehicle they took or what clothes they wore, A Wan never complained. When she saw the suffering villagers, she was moved with compassion, but she remained far more composed than he was. In the palace, she seemed like a bird that could not live without him, trapped in a cage. Yet outside the palace, she seemed like a fish swimming freely in the sea, a bird soaring in the vast sky. Stepping on this dusty land, she seemed to draw vitality from the soil, and every word and action of hers was more resilient and capable than his.

She didn’t need him to worry.

At that moment, Yinreng subtly realized the fundamental difference between them. A Wan had always seen herself as a “commoner,” while he had spent his life learning how to be a “ruler.” So, when he saw the suffering of the common people, it felt like a lump in his throat, his heart pricking with pain. It was because all of this went against the teachings of his father and the ministers: the great peace of the empire, the prosperous reign of Kangxi…

And A Wan had never seen the so-called prosperous age, so she didn’t experience the sharp contrast of falling off a cliff.

Because she had never been deceived like he had.

Yinreng suddenly understood. This trip required him to see the world with a different perspective, not as the crown prince or heir to the throne, but as A Wan did—viewing himself as just a humble subject of this vast land of the Nine Provinces.

With a sizzling sound, A Wan poured rock candy into the pan to caramelize the sugar. After blanching the pork belly in water, she added it to the pan, and it turned a reddish-brown. Then she added star anise, fragrant spices, and cinnamon sticks, releasing a rich aroma as the meat was stir-fried. After adding water and soy sauce, she transferred both the meat and the broth into a clay pot to simmer. Finally, she added the cooked and peeled quail eggs. After about fifteen minutes, she lifted the lid, and the braised quail eggs with pork belly were ready—sweet, tender, with the meat rich and fatty yet not greasy.

Meanwhile, Cheng Huai Jing had already set up a temporary stove using stones. He placed the large ceramic jar that E Chu had bought on top. Without needing Cheng Wanyun’s instructions, he skillfully added the pork bones, which had been blanched to remove the blood, and the bamboo shoots that the crown prince had personally washed. He then poured in well water to make soup. As he covered the pot, he wiped his hands and asked, “Elder sister, should we use low heat or high heat?”

“Boil it on high heat, then turn it to medium heat. Let it simmer for half an hour. It’s getting late, so we don’t have time for slow simmering,” Cheng Wanyun replied, already preparing to marinate the fish without turning her head.

Yinreng was left dumbfounded. The men in the Cheng family could cook?

If he hadn’t left the palace, Yinreng wouldn’t have wanted A Wan to be busy in the kitchen alone. According to the classics he had read, as a prince, he wasn’t supposed to enter the kitchen—after all, “A gentleman stays away from the kitchen.” But Cheng Huai Jing looked like a skilled hand in the kitchen…

Perhaps his surprise was too obvious. Cheng Huai Jing, who was squatting down to arrange firewood, looked up with a grin and said, “Second lord, I’m an unlearned man. I’ve only read a few books, and I don’t understand all those grand principles. My elder sister and I have always gotten along well since we were little. We both love good food, so behind our father’s and mother’s backs, we would sneak into the kitchen, and that’s how I learned this skill.”

Cheng Huai Jing didn’t feel any burden: he wasn’t a gentleman, so why stay away from the kitchen? This was an opportunity to get close to the kitchen, and who didn’t know that his elder sister was good at cooking? By helping her in the kitchen, he got to taste the first bite!

After finishing the soup, he went to help Cheng Wanyun knead the dough and steam the buns.

Cheng Wanyun laughed as she fried the perch in the oil, while handing Cheng Huai Jing the task of chopping chilies, cucumbers, radishes, and potatoes. She also gave the job of peeling garlic to the crown prince. “Second Lord, could you peel some garlic for me?”

With Cheng Huai Jing setting an example in the kitchen, Yinreng obediently took the garlic and, as if working on a scholarly task, carefully began to peel it. Cheng Wanyun glanced at him and couldn’t help but laugh.

It reminded her of the big brothers in later generations, who liked barbecues and always had a little sister helping them peel garlic.

With the crown prince peeling garlic for her, could she now be considered a winner in life?

The Shi brothers, who had never entered a kitchen at home, had experience from military campaigns. Making fire and cooking in the wilderness was common for them, so their hands were quick. Cheng Wanyun didn’t dare boss them around, but these two didn’t act like aristocrats. They were quick to lend a hand, passing plates and bowls, handing her sauces, and slicing ginger. The fish required a complex base for the seasoning—after frying the pork belly, they added Shaoxing wine, green onions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, chili, pepper powder, and various spices like soy bean paste.

Under her direction, the Shi brothers helped her prepare the sauce while the fish fried. Once the fish was fried, Cheng Wanyun placed it in a large ceramic bowl, added the sauce, tofu, potato slices, and other vegetables to the bottom, then put it back on the stove to cook for a while longer before it would be ready to serve.

The aroma of the grilled fish was irresistible, even in an era with such rich food culture as the later generations. Let alone in the Qing Dynasty, Cheng Wanyun had prepared a large spread. Outside, E Chu had set up three tables. The eldest brother had already returned, nervously leading his younger siblings to sit at the outermost table.

His mother refused to come over, saying that as a widow, she wasn’t a lucky person and didn’t dare to dine with nobles. After Cheng Wanyun learned this, she had a portion prepared for the mother and asked a guard to deliver it to the fishing boat.

One table was for the boy and his family, another for E Chu and the guards, and Cheng Wanyun, the crown prince, Cheng Huai Jing, and the Shi brothers sat at the third. They originally hesitated to sit, but the crown prince said, “Today, we’ll observe the formalities, no need for anything else.”

Only then did they carefully sit at the side.

The Eldest Brother was almost overwhelmed by the rich, savory aroma of the food. His siblings were the same. Once the crown prince said, “Don’t hold back, start eating,” the sounds of frantic chewing and swallowing filled the table.

As they ate, the sauce from the grilled fish and braised pork was wiped clean with steamed buns, and the bones from the pork soup were slowly gnawed on until the marrow was completely sucked out.

After the meal, the five children lay under the table, too full to get up.

Cheng Wanyun saw this and thought, “Oh no, I had no idea they were so hungry that they could even eat chili peppers!” She quickly asked E Chu to check if there was a doctor in the village: “Their stomachs are empty, and they’ve lived through times when they barely had food. Suddenly eating so much, especially all that meat, they might suffer from indigestion. Quick, get some medicine to help.”

E Chu was prepared. “We packed all kinds of medicinal herbs for the journey. Don’t worry, Second Madam, I’ll go fetch them right away.”

The crown prince had traveled out of the capital, how could he not be prepared with doctors and various medicines?

This was the crown prince’s first time leaving Beijing for the south. What if he got sick from the local water or climate? Before leaving, he had packed all sorts of salves, pills, and prescriptions. E Chu didn’t dare hand these over to anyone else and carried them personally, keeping them in a tower chain filled with various porcelain bottles. Anyone who didn’t know would have thought he was a Taoist priest carrying charms for blessings!

As she had expected, the children soon started complaining about stomach discomfort. Fortunately, E Chu had a full supply of medicinal herbs, and after each child took two pills, their diarrhea stopped. They couldn’t sleep on the boat in this condition, and the eldest brother absolutely refused to sleep in the upstairs room. He feared that if he went up there, he wouldn’t earn the little bit of money he could, so the crown prince had no choice but to let the children sleep by the fire pit, covered with extra blankets that E Chu had bought.

The five children huddled together, one holding onto the other, forming a tight bundle. They had never slept under such soft blankets before, and as soon as they lay down, they fell asleep almost immediately. The Eldest Brother stayed awake the longest, still half-conscious, when he heard the angel-like Second Madam say, “Get someone to put a wooden board in place, the children don’t sleep still, we don’t want them to roll into the fire pit.”

To him, these scholars and the Second Madam seemed like divine beings, so in his dream, he gave Cheng Wanyun and the crown prince divine statuses. As he dreamed, he muttered, “Second Lord, great deity, Second Madam, great deity, I bow to you…”

Cheng Wanyun and the crown prince heard this and couldn’t help but laugh, though they both felt indescribable emotions. After returning to the room upstairs, neither of them could fall asleep, so they both sat up. They picked up their thick cloaks, brought over the fire basin and chairs, and sat together in the open corridor, gazing at the night sky filled with stars.

The fire basin was placed by their feet, and Yinreng wrapped himself and Cheng Wanyun in his cloak. Common folk usually saved oil for lamps, so by now, everyone had gone to sleep, and the stilt houses were swallowed by darkness. Under the faint light of the moon and stars, the uneven rooftops could barely be seen. Looking farther out, a few fishing boats were still on the river, casting their nets in the deep of night. Their single lanterns swayed with the waves, growing fainter and fainter.

“Wanyun, I feel so uneasy inside.” After a long silence, Yinreng sighed, “This place is so close to the capital, yet the people here are barely able to survive. Today, the Eldest Brother said that for the first time in his life, he tasted meat. When I asked him what he usually ate, he said sweet potatoes, or unsold rotten fish, or thin porridge that couldn’t even stand up with chopsticks, often mixed with bran.”

Cheng Wanyun didn’t know how to comfort the crown prince. He would sooner or later realize the truth about the world, and it was better to let him face it now. So she paused for a moment, then slowly said, “Second Lord, actually… this place is still considered better. At least the village head here is a kind-hearted person, who knows how to care for the poor and the widowed. This place is by the mountains and the water, so they can survive with the blessings of heaven, eating fish, shrimp, and snails. That’s why these five children didn’t starve to death. But there are many other places where people would starve to death even without a famine.”

It was the first time she spoke to him about her experiences in Shexian.

She told him how, in times of need, she worked on poverty alleviation and how Master Cheng had stabilized grain prices and provided disaster relief during famines.

“Shexian isn’t very poor, but some villages are struggling just to make ends meet. When my father became the magistrate of Shexian, he thought about what resources Shexian had that other places didn’t. He consulted with local farmers about the land and terrain, what crops were suitable for planting, and what weren’t. He carefully selected livestock to raise, and with the government taking the lead, he encouraged the common people to follow suit. The government provided free seeds and some subsidies. In the end, they settled on five key industries: mandarin fish, She tea, tribute chrysanthemums, flower pigs, and Hui ink. After five or six years, the county finally started to earn some money, and the government began collecting taxes. My father then focused on building bridges and roads, so these five key products could be sold in other areas. My father even built official boats so that the county’s agricultural products could be traded for money. The government earned money, which could be used to buy oxen for plowing, seeds for planting, and provide subsidies to officials who would teach farming and animal husbandry to the common people…”

This was essentially the most basic poverty alleviation policy from later times. Cheng Wanyun used her “father’s love filter,” acting naive and pretending to be clueless, to persuade Master Cheng to adopt these ideas. It wasn’t without risk, but it worked because Master Cheng was a “A Daughter’s Slave” and had an unshakable belief in her intelligence. He trusted her unconditionally, which is why she dared to say it. But in reality, she only provided the ideas and direction. The groundwork—research, trial and error—was all done by Master Cheng, along with his assistants, who spent time in the fields and mountains, figuring it out for themselves.

Poverty alleviation is always the hardest in the first five or six years. Once the results start showing, it becomes a positive cycle. In Shexian, the government, the gentry, and the common people are interconnected, and everyone’s livelihood depends on each other. Those who are corrupt or who try to sabotage things are often overwhelmed by the anger of the people. There were only a few minor problems before things began to improve.

Aside from poverty alleviation, there was also disaster relief.

“When my father became the magistrate of Shexian, he set up the Changping, She, and Yi granaries. These were established after he was transferred back from Panyu to his hometown. Before, during times of disaster, people resorted to eating human flesh, but it improved a lot afterward.” This was also based on the lessons learned from later generations, and Cheng Wanyun gently and indirectly suggested it to Master Cheng. The Changping granary was not an unprecedented idea, as it had been around since the Ming dynasty. It wasn’t unusual. During times when grain prices were low, the government would buy grain to store. During years of high grain prices due to disasters, they would sell grain to stabilize prices. This could prevent both underpriced grain from hurting people and overpriced grain from starving them.

The She and Yi granaries weren’t her original idea either; she just suggested it based on later experience. Master Cheng and his assistants improved upon the idea. The plan involved wealthy families and landlords in Shexian donating a set amount of grain to these granaries every year. These granaries were named after businesses and prominent families, and there would be benefits in the form of additional points in the imperial exams or in the local education system. In addition, the government would purchase more grain from various channels as emergency reserves, so that during times of famine, they wouldn’t have to rely on the imperial government for relief. They could handle it themselves. At least in Shexian, these three types of granaries saved many lives. There was even one year when, during a flood disaster, only people drowned, but no one starved to death.

Although Cheng Wanyun led a peaceful life in Shexian, she couldn’t bear to see Master Cheng’s worry lines grow deeper. She had worked hard to help, but as the selection for the imperial harem approached, and after facing the harsh realities of life—such as the “pig cage” incident—she became disillusioned. Once she saw the reality, she gave up trying.

Cheng Wanyun had an intermittent drive for ambition, and the opportunities for her to do so in the palace were limited. In Shexian, Master Cheng was the head, and as long as he supported something, it could be done. Even if it didn’t succeed, he wouldn’t blame her, so the policies could move forward. But in the palace, the leader was Master Kang… Cheng Wanyun never dared to speak out of turn.

She had tried to “survive by adapting to the local situation.”

Yinreng silently listened, and in his heart, he repeatedly confirmed: no wonder his father, the Emperor, had said that Master Cheng was an official with great potential. It turned out he had done so much good for the people. These policies sounded really good, but they had a fatal flaw: not every county magistrate was like Master Cheng. Otherwise, the saying “bankrupt county magistrate” wouldn’t exist.

Take what Cheng Wanyun just said, for example: the government earned money and chose to build bridges, repair roads, and buy grain from outside, but most county magistrates would just pocket the money for themselves, using it to bribe higher officials or buy land, houses, and luxuries, or buy official positions for their useless sons. It was said that when Master Cheng left Shexian, the people cried and sent him off.

Such people are few and far between.

Although this was the first time he had witnessed the true life of common people, in this regard, he was not as knowledgeable as Wanyun. However, when it came to the atmosphere of the officialdom, Wanyun was not as aware of it as he was. Corrupt officials were far more common than honest ones, and those who were adept at currying favor outnumbered those who actually did the hard work.

Yinreng’s gaze turned thoughtful as he stared at the horizon. He suddenly had the urge to write down everything he had seen on this journey and send it back to the Emperor at once. Does the Emperor truly know what the real Qing Dynasty is like?

He was so focused on suppressing the power of the Eight Banners and balancing the court, yet he had forgotten about the millions of Qing people beneath his feet.

After all, the Qing Dynasty did not take over from the Ming, but from Li Zicheng’s uprising. Who was Li Zicheng? He had originally been a herdsman for landlords. Dynasties rarely fell because of treacherous officials, but more often due to the unbearable suffering of the people.

As Yinreng thought, a sudden chill swept over him, and he stood up abruptly. His cloak slipped off his shoulders, and Cheng Wanyun was momentarily stunned. She then saw him bend down to tightly hug her, saying forcefully, “Wanyun, you are my lucky star.”

Before she could respond, he quickly walked down the stairs and kicked E Chu, who had been unable to find a wooden board and had fallen asleep next to the fire, awake. “Get the messenger over here. I have a letter that needs to be sent to the capital immediately.”

E Chu was still groggy and not fully awake when Yinreng had already left him behind and returned upstairs. He took Wanyun in his arms and laid her down in the warm blankets that had been heated by the hand stove, urging her to sleep. As for him, he searched for a long time before finally finding a stack of blank documents. He planned to record everything he had seen in Tongzhou and the small fishing village. Before he began writing, he pondered deeply, then solemnly wrote three big words: “On the People’s Livelihood.”

The flickering light cast dancing shadows on the walls. Cheng Wanyun hugged the blanket, propping her chin up as she watched the Crown Prince writing diligently at the desk. His shadow, projected by the lamp, became a giant figure holding a pen in the swaying candlelight, a dark figure who was advocating for the people. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched.

She knew she had no power to change history, but she hoped that, at least under the rolling wheels of history, there would be a little less sorrow and despair.

The Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly part of China’s history. Whether Manchu, Han, or Mongol, all those living in the Qing were Chinese, and naturally, she hoped that everyone could live a better life.

As she watched, she eventually fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, the first rays of morning sunlight had already filtered through the shutters, casting light spots all over the floor. The Crown Prince was lying behind her, his arm resting on her waist, sound asleep.

It seemed that once he had sent off that memorial, all his unease had been put to rest, and he could finally sleep peacefully.

Cheng Wanyun carefully lifted his arm, quietly pulled the covers back, and got out of bed. She quickly tied her hair up into a simple bun, wrapped her head with a piece of cotton cloth, and put on her plain blue clothes. She was about to head downstairs to prepare breakfast. As she walked down, she noticed that the children who had been sleeping by the fire had already gotten up, and their bedding was neatly folded.

The Eldest Brother, with frost in his hair, entered the room holding a net bag. When he saw Cheng Wanyun, he paused for a moment.

“Great Immortal… Second Madam, good morning. You’re up.”

He stammered, unsure of how to bow. He bent his knee as if to kneel, but Cheng Wanyun hurriedly stopped him and smiled, asking, “No need to kneel to me. You are a man; you should kneel to Heaven, your parents, and the rulers—no one else. By the way, why are you up so early? Look at all the dew on you. Where did you go?”

“I went to the river to catch some snails… these snails…” The boy trailed off, not knowing how to continue. He had enjoyed such a good meal, but now he had nothing to repay them with. He wanted to show his gratitude, but his purse was empty. How could someone as beautiful and noble as the Second Madam eat something so humble as snails?

“Oh, snails are great!” Cheng Wanyun looked down at them and said in surprise, “What big snails! You’re quite impressive. Take them to the kitchen and rinse the sand out. I’ll make spicy snails for you later. It will definitely be delicious.”

The Eldest Brother’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Cheng Wanyun patted his head. She was feeling a bit nostalgic for E Linzhu and Hongxi.

Just then, another little head popped up from outside the door. It was Xiao Zhu, the boy’s two-year-old brother. He clung to the doorframe, his round eyes fixed on Cheng Wanyun, and in a shy, tender voice, he said, “Second Madam… do you want to come see the chicks? They just hatched!”