Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Romance in Palace: Meili in despair prepares for suicide

Meili seemed to be facing one problem after another, in increasing severity. Yun Ke was secretly crying to himself in the garden when his half-brother Yun Jue saw him. Jue teased him for crying and Ke had to pretend he did not. Jue bragged about his royal status and that Ke had to pay respect to him. Jue recalled what his grandparents talked about which was supposed to be a secret, that Ke was an illegitimate child. Ke felt insulted and angry and began to hit him. In so doing he had committed a serious crime of hitting a royal prince, for which his grandmother and step-mother would take advantage to punish him severely. Both were quick to cane him and Meili was scolded for not teaching him properly. Ke had to explain that he was insulted by Jue who called him an illegitimate child, to which both Su Ying and mother-in-law did not express surprise but seemed to wonder who told him that.

As punishment, in future every morning Meili and son had to pay respects (by way of 'kow tow') to mother-in-law and grandmother; and then to husband's first wife and step-mother, respectively.

Meili felt she had to seek help from Empress Dowager. On her way, she met the Emperor who asked her the reason for seeing Empress Dowager. Expressing understanding of her situation, he said he would find a good teacher for Yun Ke and Meili was pleased with his suggestion.

Later, Su Ying's father informed his family of the bad news: that the Emperor himself had decided to find a special teacher for Yun Ke. That the Emperor had personally intervened meant more than anything Yun Jue had, despite his princely status. Su Ying tried to think of how best to sabotage this arrangement and she decided that the best way was to expose Yun Ke's illegitimate status as confirmed by the blood test. She recalled Qing Xuan having it when packing for his trip and decided to look for it. Once she found and read the text, she decided to put up public notices about Yun Ke's illegitimate status. Those who read it were shocked about the revelation and later, even parents of Yun Ke's classmates protested to their school head that they did not want to be associated with him.

Word got round to Qing Xuan's mother who decided to find out from the physician who did the blood test. He was brought to her and confirmed according to the result he had given to Qing Xuan. The matriarch was furious and it was the last straw for her. She had prepared divorce paper for Meili to sign and she was to get out of the house without further delay.

Meanwhile, the physician was seen packing his things to leave his practice, mumbling about people would get him sooner or later. I get the impression Su Ying's father must have bribed him to confirm that father and son had no connection according to the blood test.

In despair at the latest turn of events, Meili went to see Empress Dowager to thank her for her past assistance whenever she faced problems, and asked for reassurance that she would look after Yun Ke. At home, she hugged Yun Ke and advised him to be good and work hard for his future. She even put on her make-up and her maid said she looked exceptionally pretty but wondered why. I guess I know why...

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