"Husband, hold me, please…"
For a moment, Zhan Qin's expression froze into ice once more.
Seeing he had no reaction, Rong Li felt extremely wronged. She furrowed her brows, wanting to question him, but her gaze somewhat uncontrollably fell upon his face.
That face which, in her eyes, seemed flawless in every way.
A jade-like grace, unparalleled in this world.
Thus, her princess temper completely dissipated in an instant.
The last time the two had met was before Zhan Qin had been ordered by her mother, the Empress, to go south. Before his departure, they had parted on unpleasant terms. It was only natural for him to have some temper, the little princess thought she should show some leniency toward her own Imperial Consort.
If the mountain won't come to me, then I shall go to the mountain.
Rong Li chose to ignore the coldness in Zhan Qin's expression. Seeing he had already removed the uncomfortable armor, she simply spread her arms and threw herself into his embrace.
"Alright, don't be angry anymore."
The young girl softly threw herself into his arms, feeling hundreds of times more real than that moment in the courtyard earlier.
His hands could touch her slender, delicate frame; a hint of sweet fragrance mixed with the scent of medicine suddenly enveloped Zhan Qin.
Zhan Qin lowered his head and glanced down, seeing that little head nuzzling against his chest, her voice muffled by his clothes, sounding even softer and sweeter. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Not receiving a reply didn't anger her; she only continued to act coquettishly in his arms like a sticky candy: "Husband, it's been so long since we last saw each other. Hold me, please."
Her little face lifted from his chest, cheeks like peach blossoms, skin as white as snow, eyes shining like stars.
This face gradually overlapped with the one he had seen the night before he was ordered to go south.
Only back then, those starry eyes were as cold as ice, looking at him with an arrogant and impatient expression: "If Mother has something for you to do, just go and do it. There's no need to bother me."
At that time, she was also sitting on a similar chaise lounge, leaning lazily, with seven or eight portraits scattered around her hands and feet. Some were unfolded, all depicting handsome and elegant young talents.
His gaze swept over the portraits for only a moment before Rong Li angrily scolded: "When did my affairs become something for you to look at? If you have nothing to do, leave early. Don't stand here being an eyesore."
Zhan Qin had already heard that Her Majesty, pitying the Princess and her Imperial Consort for their truly discordant relationship, intended to find a few companions to amuse the Princess. These portraits were exquisitely painted, likely all done by palace artists.
She didn't spare him another glance, casually picking up a portrait to look at before disdainfully tossing it aside.
"Husband?" This sweet call pulled Zhan Qin out of his momentary daze.
Rong Li was looking up at him, her warm breath gently brushing against his neck, her eyes filled with confusion.
But before he could say anything, the young girl suddenly used her strength to straighten up, hooked her arms around his neck, and actually leaned in close to his cheek.
When Xieyue and Fuyun came to serve the medicine, they saw Rong Li angrily kneading a Hidden Pouch beside her.
"Did the Imperial Consort upset you?" Fuyun brought the medicine over, skillfully taking out a stack of silver-threaded plums from the curio cabinet.
Rong Li suddenly squeezed the Hidden Pouch flat and "whooshed" threw it aside: "I already lowered myself to coax him, but he… he acted like that!"
Xieyue hesitated, serving her medicine while following her lead: "The Imperial Consort has a cold and rigid temper. If Your Highness dislikes it, you could agree to the matter His Majesty discussed with you last time."
Rong Li remained silent, frowning with a pale face as she drank the bowl of medicine. Fuyun quickly fed her a plum.
Xieyue, pondering the situation, went outside and brought back a new stack of portrait scrolls: "Your Highness, the palace has sent new ones. Would you like to take a look?"
Rong Li showed little interest. As if remembering something, she pouted and told Fuyun to retrieve the Hidden Pouch she had just thrown away. Clutching it in her arms, she muttered sullenly: "There's nothing much to see… none are as good-looking as the Imperial Consort."
Even though Xieyue had grown accustomed to such remarks over time, she still found it difficult to respond immediately to her mistress's words.
Fuyun, however, reacted quickly, feeding her another plum and smiling as she said: "The Imperial Consort probably hasn't angered Your Highness, has he?"
Rong Li let out a "hmph" but did not answer, only mumbling in complaint: "…Mmm."
"Then may this servant boldly ask what the Imperial Consort did?"
"I hugged him, and he ignored me!" Rong Li pursed her lips, her eyes slightly reddening. "I even…"
After hesitating for a while, Rong Li fell silent, refusing to say more no matter how Xieyue and Fuyun pressed her.
She slumped dejectedly into the soft quilt of the chaise longue: "In any case, I, the princess, personally sought to make peace with him, but he told me to think carefully about what I had said and done to him before, and then just left like that!"
Xieyue immediately stood up: "How could the Imperial Consort show even a shred of respect for Your Highness, daring to act like this? This servant will go to the palace at once and accuse him of disrespect!"
"Mhm!" Rong Li nodded emphatically, but her hand quietly tugged at Xieyue's sleeve: "…Never mind, it's too late today."
The medicine made her drowsy. Rong Li yawned, her delicate nose wrinkling slightly as she grew sleepy.
The two ladies-in-waiting naturally attended to her washing and helped her to bed.
Fuyun drew the bead curtain and closed the door, keeping watch with Xieyue in the outer chamber. Seeing Xieyue still frowning deeply, she softly comforted her: "Her Highness isn't truly angry."
"Then what is it?"
Even Fuyun needed a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking: "In Her Highness's current view, it's merely a quarrel between a young couple."
Hearing such words gave Xieyue a headache.
But like Fuyun, she had served Rong Li since childhood and knew well that, given Rong Li's temperament, if she were truly angry, she would go to the palace to accuse the Imperial Consort even if the heavens fell and the earth cracked—had such incidents been rare before?
So she fell silent again, her heart filled with unspoken worries. After a long pause, she said: "Is it truly impossible to explain things clearly to Her Highness? Seeing Her Highness like this, I feel deeply unsettled."
Fuyun also sighed: "If it were possible, you and I wouldn't be so anxious. But do you remember? That day, you merely mentioned once that Her Highness and the Imperial Consort were not getting along, and Her Highness became so agitated she fainted. The imperial physician said that for now, we must comply with Her Highness's wishes in everything. Otherwise, repeated agitation could disturb the blood clot in her brain and endanger her life."
Xieyue could only remain silent: "…Since things have come to this, we can only plead with the Imperial Consort more often."
Fuyun nodded, and both saw traces of worry in each other's expressions.
The discord between Her Highness and the Imperial Consort had persisted for a long time, largely due to Her Highness's dissatisfaction with the Imperial Consort's background. Fortunately, the Imperial Consort was older, aloof and cold by nature, and preoccupied with his duties, so he did not engage in disputes with Her Highness, allowing them to maintain a semblance of peace until now.
But now, with Her Highness having fallen ill due to an unexpected mishap, what would become of them in the future?
Rong Li was unaware of the thoughts swirling around her. She drifted into a heavy, drowsy sleep, and in her haze, she dreamed of the moment when she had tried to kiss Zhan Qin.
She knew she had hit her head and could no longer remember many things clearly. When she tried to recall the past, it always seemed hazy, as if veiled by a layer of dust.
Yet she remembered vividly that she and the Imperial Consort had once been deeply affectionate. She also vaguely recalled that before the Imperial Consort departed for the south, they had parted on bad terms, which was why she had humbled herself to coax him.
Between husband and wife, what harm was there in a little intimacy?
But she never expected Zhan Qin to raise a hand to block her, stopping her lips and causing her to plant a kiss on the back of his hand instead.
Rong Li glared at him indignantly. Zhan Qin curled the corner of his lips in a faint, ambiguous smile, then leisurely wiped the back of his hand, as if her kiss had been something unclean.
"Your Highness told this subject not to be angry, but do you still remember what you said to me in the past, and how you treated me?"
Rong Li was about to flare up in anger, but seeing his half-smiling expression, her temper softened against her will. By the time she regained her composure, she only saw Zhan Qin kneeling in perfect etiquette to take his leave, then picking up the belongings he had left outside and walking away, leaving her with nothing but his retreating back.
Repeatedly rejected, the Eldest Princess gritted her teeth in frustration.
She cried out sharply, "Zhan Qin! Once you step out of this door, don't you dare come back!"
Zhan Qin paused briefly in his steps but did not look back, simply walking away.
Rong Li had never imagined he would actually leave. Struck as if by lightning, her eyes reddened instantly.
In her memory, the two of them had been as close as one person—how could the Imperial Consort bear to treat her like this!
She was young, having married Zhan Qin by imperial decree before she even reached the age of maturity. Now, two years later, she was only just fifteen by nominal age and would not officially come of age until after this year's birthday celebration. With her emotions swinging wildly between highs and lows, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Her vision blurred into a misty haze. Rong Li wept silently, tears falling like broken strings onto the front of her robe, staining the opulent floral patterns into dark, messy blotches—a pitiful sight.
She cried quietly, her mind a chaotic whirl. Overwhelmed with grievance, she tried to recall how she had wronged him in the past, but inexplicably, a sharp, fragmented shout echoed in her mind:
"Zhan Qin, Lord Zhan, in this life and the next, I will never spare a glance for someone like you! There is no place for you in the princess's residence! If you know what's good for you, seek a consensual divorce at once!"
Rong Li could not remember when she had said this, nor did she recall how Zhan Qin had reacted at the time.
But the words struck her with such shocking force that her tears stopped abruptly. She was stunned that she could have uttered such hurtful words to the Imperial Consort.
Just the thought of the two of them truly parting by consensual divorce made Rong Li feel as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth splitting apart. She wished she could cry herself to death on the spot.
She racked her brains but could not recall the reason behind it all.
If there had been no reason, and she had rebuked the Imperial Consort without cause, uttering such excessive words, it was only natural for him to hold resentment in his heart.
To be fair, if she had heard the Imperial Consort speak to her in such a manner, how could she merely feel resentful? She would surely have taken the matter to the palace and asked Her Majesty the Empress to uphold justice.
For now, the Imperial Consort was only refusing her intimacy—nothing more.
Rong Li wiped away her own tears, feeling somewhat ashamed of how unreasonable she had been earlier.
Clearly, she had been the one to speak hurtful words first, yet she had forgotten. After being apart for months, she hadn’t treated him gently and even threatened that if he left, he wouldn’t be allowed to return. It truly wasn’t right.
However, asking her to immediately call the Imperial Consort back felt too awkward for her pride.
Thinking about how angry he must be today, she decided it would be better to wait a couple of days before properly coaxing him back.
Drifting in and out of sleep, Rong Li dreamt of what had just happened and noticed details she hadn’t before—
When she kissed the Imperial Consort, although he blocked her, he hadn’t pushed her away.
Moreover, earlier when she hugged him in the courtyard, his armor had been uncomfortably hard against her. After she mentioned it, hadn’t he taken it off?
The Imperial Consort still cared for her; it was just that her earlier words had been too harsh and hurtful.
Amidst the sour and bitter feelings in her heart, a hint of sweetness emerged. With her tear-stained face still damp, she smiled faintly, turned over, and drifted back to sleep.
She would sleep well tonight and seek reconciliation with the Imperial Consort tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the Grand Princess’s wish was a good one, but it was not to be fulfilled.
Xieyue and Fuyun took turns keeping watch through the night. In the middle of the night, hearing faint moans from inside the room, they hurried in and drew back the bed curtains.
Rong Li was burning with fever, the blankets kicked aside. Her clothes had been torn open at some point, and she was drenched in sweat, as if pulled from water.
Xieyue took the waist token and rushed to the palace overnight, while Fuyun washed her body and changed her clothes. As she did, she noticed the young princess clutching the Hidden Pouch on the bed, her cheek resting gently against it. Her pale lips moved faintly, as if murmuring something.
Fuyun leaned closer and heard her soft, slurred voice, like someone intoxicated by fragrant wine: "Imperial Consort…"