Hearing Xiao Chengji’s words, Yanyu lay back down again. She had to admit—the wedding night was no blessing. Even now, her waist and legs still ached.
She had already heard that the royal family’s rules were far stricter than those of the Shao household—hundreds of times more complicated.
Still, lying in bed all day made her feel a little guilty: “Your Highness, if I don’t go to pay respects, won’t the Empress and Empress Dowager be angry with me?”
Xiao Chengji sat beside her: “Normally, by the hour of *chen* (7–9 a.m.), you should already be waiting outside Shoukang Palace. Guess what time it is now?”
Yanyu asked curiously: “What time?”
“Just past *wei* (1–3 p.m.),” Xiao Chengji said coolly. “They’re already furious.”
Yanyu’s face turned pale: “I slept that long?”
Xiao Chengji looked at her—skin soft and fair, lashes long enough to tickle the heart, eyes shimmering with moisture as if deliberately inviting pity. He felt inexplicably irritated: “Don’t try to seduce me in broad daylight.”
Yanyu had never learned how to seduce a man, nor did she understand what he meant. Pretending to understand, she nodded: “Oh… alright. But tomorrow, when the Empress and Empress Dowager question me, what should I do?”
“They are elders. If they accuse you, you can only endure it.”
Yanyu wore a thin crepe undergarment, light as cicada wings. The collar was not tightly fastened, and her pale skin peeked through, making Xiao Chengji restless. He reached out to adjust her collar: “Just wait to suffer their punishment.”
Yanyu grasped his hand: “Your Highness, won’t you help me?” Her touch was soft and warm.
Xiao Chengji abruptly pushed her hand away: “Help you? Am I that familiar with you?” He rose and left her chamber.
Yanyu sulked on the bed for a while.
No wonder Madam Jiang always said men were no good, warning her to be careful after marrying Xiao Chengji.
At the time, Yanyu hadn’t understood what Madam Jiang meant. Now she saw it clearly—though they had consummated the marriage and were husband and wife, Xiao Chengji still claimed he wasn’t familiar with her.
Just after Xiao Chengji left, Ruidong and Ningxia entered carrying things to attend to Yanyu.
Ruidong wrung a cloth to wipe Yanyu’s hands and face, helping her wash:
“Miss, would you like hot water prepared for a bath?”
In fact, the night before, Xiao Chengji had ordered water brought, wiped her body, and even changed her clothes—but Yanyu had already fainted and remembered nothing.
“Wait until before bed tonight,” Yanyu said. “For now, bring me a change of clothes. I want to walk around the residence.”
From now on, she would live in the Prince Qin’s household. This was her new home, and today she wanted to explore and become familiar with it.
Ningxia brought a bowl of bird’s nest to her: “Miss, please eat something first. The Emperor just gifted blood-swallow’s nest. It was freshly stewed and delivered.”
Yanyu vaguely remembered someone checking her pulse in a dream, so she casually asked about it.
Ningxia nodded: “Yes, that’s right. People from the palace came. The physician said our lady’s body is weak and needed examination. We saw that the lead was a female physician, and since His Highness’s attendants did not stop her, we let her in.”
Yanyu didn’t think much of it, assuming this was simply royal custom. Still, she felt uneasy about not going to pay respects to the Empress and Empress Dowager today.
Now that she had married Xiao Chengji, she was aligned against them. Combined with her broken betrothal to the Fifth Prince, even if she had gone today, she would likely have been humiliated. Tomorrow, when she did go, she wondered what she would face. She gave Ruidong and Ningxia special instructions: “Tomorrow morning, be sure to wake me early.”
Ruidong nodded: “Miss, don’t worry. We’ll remember.”
Now that Yanyu was married, her hair had to be styled up.
Ruidong, skillful with her hands, quickly arranged a beautiful coiffure. Yanyu looked at herself in the mirror, feeling unfamiliar.
Just two days ago, she had still been a maiden. In the blink of an eye, she was already a wife.
Bichun came in from outside and whispered to Yanyu: “The concubines of the household are waiting outside. They wish to pay respects to you, Miss.”
Yanyu frowned.
She hadn’t known much about Prince Qin’s residence before. There were no secondary consorts here, but since he was a prince, it was normal for others to send him concubines, or for the Empress and Empress Dowager to bestow women upon him.
“Send them back. Let them stay quietly in their own courtyards. Nothing will change—treatment remains the same as before. But if they deliberately come to me, then anything might happen.” Yanyu said calmly.
She was broad-minded, but not so broad as to live harmoniously with her husband’s other women. After years in the Shao household, she had seen enough of such matters and understood household politics well. She had sisters, cousins, and aunts she was close to—there was no need to cultivate relationships with Xiao Chengji’s concubines.
Bichun nodded: “Yes, I’ll give the orders.”
The four concubines who had come were all bestowed by the Empress Dowager. They had sat neglected for years, and now, under her orders, had come to test the waters.
Bichun spoke with them briefly, then told them to leave.
The leading woman smiled: “Now that the household has a Princess Consort, we must pay respects in person. We were granted by the Empress Dowager herself. Could you report this again?”
Bichun gestured politely: “Our Princess Consort does not repeat herself. You may be gifts from the Empress Dowager, but she is the Prince’s principal wife and your mistress. From now on, you will all live in this household. If you behave properly, nothing will happen.”
Seeing the Princess Consort’s maid so firm, the women were embarrassed and had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
Bichun returned and repeated the exchange to Yanyu.
Yanyu found it curious: “All of them were bestowed by the Empress Dowager?”
The Empress Dowager’s reach was truly long.