After entering the estate, Tantai Si paid him no further mind, simply tossing out a casual “do as you please” before taking Tang Jiu and heading back to his own courtyard.
Rong Xun secretly rolled his eyes.
Rubbing his stomach, which had long since passed the point of hunger, he quickened his pace and headed toward the southern courtyard.
Wenxi had been waiting outside the doorway for Rong Xun for the better part of an hour. Catching sight of the edge of Rong Xun’s robes appearing around the corner of the courtyard, he smiled subconsciously and hurried forward.
“Your Highness, you are finally back. I was worried sick.”
“I just went to pay my respects. What is there to worry about?”
Wenxi shook his head. No matter how one looked at it, that was still the imperial palace. If a single mistake were made, it would be no laughing matter. Still, judging by Rong Xun’s relaxed demeanor, the trip to the palace must have gone smoothly enough.
Wenxi pushed open the door, and a wave of warmth rushed out from the room.
Rong Xun let out a comfortable sigh. Winter was certainly best spent indoors. He took off his cloak, handed it to Wenxi, and made a beeline for the charcoal brazier, holding his hands out to warm them in the air.
“Wenxi, go get me something to eat. Tossed about for half the day, I am practically starving.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Rong Xun and Wenxi were not the only occupants of the room. Mammy Wang and that gossipy maid Qing’er were also there, along with a few other estate servants standing about in the outer room. It was hardly appropriate for Wenxi to address Rong Xun as Young Master at the moment.
Once Wenxi left, no one else spoke to Rong Xun. The room instantly fell quiet, save for the occasional popping sound of the charcoal burning inside the brazier.
Mammy Wang cast a sidelong glance at Rong Xun. Seeing that Rong Xun made no move to get up, she took it upon herself to dismiss all the waiting servants from the outer room, leaving only Qing’er, who had been brought along from the Marquis’s estate.
Once the estate servants had cleared out, Mammy Wang sidled right up to Rong Xun.
“Your Highness, this old servant has some things on her mind. After much deliberation, I feel I must speak with you.”
With no outsiders present, Mammy Wang’s tone toward Rong Xun turned rather overbearing.
Rong Xun stared at the glowing red charcoal in the brazier and said nothing.
Annoyed by Rong Xun’s nonchalant attitude, Mammy Wang let out an unpleased huff. “Your Highness, forgive this servant’s lack of respect, but even if Your Highness dislikes hearing it, for your own good, this servant has no choice but to speak.”
Rong Xun remained silent. Mammy Wang rolled her eyes at him and continued on her own accord.
“This Prince of Chen’s estate is not like our Marquis’s estate. As the Princess Consort, while managing the household is important, the Prince’s favor is what matters most. If the legal wife fails to win her husband’s favor, then when concubines eventually enter the estate, you will not even…”
Rong Xun caught the hidden meaning behind Mammy Wang’s words. The old woman was entirely fixated on getting him to win the Prince’s favor, likely so the Marquis’s estate could reap the benefits through him, right?
Rong Xun rubbed his hands together, settled into a comfortable posture, and waited until Mammy Wang finished her long-winded lecture before finally speaking up. “Mammy, you have said so much. What exactly is your point?”
“I… Your Highness, you should know very well what this servant is talking about.”
“Oh, my apologies, but I genuinely have no idea.”
Mammy Wang choked on her words, glaring irritably at Rong Xun. “Your Highness, do not play dumb with me. Last night, you and the Prince did not consummate the marriage at all.”
Rong Xun dropped the false smile on his face, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Mammy Wang. How on earth did she know that he and Tantai Si hadn’t consummated the marriage? But more importantly, what business was it of hers? For a mere servant, she was severely overstepping her bounds.
“Before Mammy entered the estate, could it be that you used to teach at an academy?”
Mammy Wang was momentarily baffled by Rong Xun’s out-of-the-left-field question, replying instinctively, “This servant entered the Marquis’s estate with the Madam before I even reached womanhood. I have never set foot in an academy a day in my life, let alone taught.”
“In that case, it must have been your elders who taught at an academy.”
“Certainly not!” Mammy Wang did not understand why Rong Xun kept fixating on this bizarre question. Growing increasingly displeased, she snapped, “Your Highness, stop deflecting and give some serious thought to what this servant said.”
“Since no one in your family has ever taught at an academy, why are you so fond of playing the teacher?” Rong Xun ignored Mammy Wang’s protest, raised his eyes, and stared coldly at her. “Mammy Wang, you love lecturing me so much. You were not satisfied with bossing people around at the Marquis’s estate, so you want to keep playing schoolmarm at the Prince of Chen’s estate too? If you are that eager, how about I have the Prince of Chen come over right now so you can lecture him as well? That way, your great talents will not go to waste.”
“This servant would not dare! How could this servant ever presume to instruct the Prince!”
Mammy Wang panicked and dropped to her knees to beg for mercy. Back at the Marquis’s estate, relying on the backing of the Marquis’s wife, she had grown accustomed to throwing her weight around with Rong Xun. For a moment, she had completely forgotten that Rong Xun was now the Prince Consort. Times had changed.
“Your Highness, please spare your anger. This servant only had Your Highness’s best interests at heart and temporarily lost her sense of propriety.”
“Temporarily lost your sense of propriety?” Rong Xun sneered. “Mammy Wang, did you really just lose your sense of propriety, or did you never have any to begin with?”
Mammy Wang pressed her upper body even lower to the floor. “This servant will not dare do it again. Please spare me, Your Highness.”
“Oh, come now. Were you not acting quite mighty just a moment ago? Caving so quickly takes all the fun out of it.” Rong Xun refused to let the matter drop. “Well? What else were you planning to teach me? Let us hear it all today.”
Rong Xun had already despised this mammy back at the Marquis’s estate, but he had been forced to bow his head under someone else’s roof. Now that circumstances were different and he had left the Marquis’s estate, he was not about to let anyone walk all over him again. Rong Xun was petty by nature. After being tormented so badly by Mammy Wang at the Marquis’s residence, this was the absolute best opportunity for payback.
Compelled by Rong Xun’s oppressive aura, Mammy Wang had no choice but to kneel and admit her wrongs.
Standing off to the side, Qing’er could no longer stand by and watch. She muttered under her breath, “Mammy Wang is only doing this for Your Highness’s own good. How can Your Highness be so ungrateful?”
Rong Xun’s hearing was quite sharp. He slowly shifted his gaze toward Qing’er and a slow smile spread across his face. He had almost forgotten about her.
“Earlier, I thought you were just a chatterbox. Turns out, not only do you love running your mouth to tattle, but you also love sticking your nose into other people’s business. What is this? Do you think I am being too hard on Mammy Wang?”
Qing’er froze, turning to face Rong Xun. It took her a few slow seconds to realize he was talking to her. Her expression shifted, and unsteadily, she dropped to her knees right beside Mammy Wang.
“This servant would not dare.”
Though her lips uttered words of compliance, her face bore a blatant look of defiance. These petty expressions naturally did not escape Rong Xun’s notice. Rong Xun raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat amusing. Where on earth did this maid get the confidence to think he would not do anything to her? She dared to provoke him time and time again. If he did not teach her a lesson now, she would probably be riding over his head in a few days.
However, Rong Xun never hit women. After a moment of thought, a faint smile touched his lips.
“When I am disciplining people, it is not your turn as a mere maid to chime in. For your punishment, go sweep the accumulated snow clean in the courtyard. You are not allowed to rest until it is finished. Consider this a light warning. The next time you cross the line, it will not be this simple. Understand?”
“Wait.” Qing’er bit her lip, her eyes brimming with a mix of grievance and rage. The southern courtyard was hardly small, and there were plenty of stone pathways. Cleaning all that snow alone would take forever.
Seeing Qing’er’s attitude, Rong Xun sneered. “What? Unconvinced?”
“This servant would not dare.”
“Of course I know you would not dare. Take this as a reminder to recognize your own standing. As for Mammy Wang—”
As he spoke, Rong Xun turned his gaze to the kneeling Mammy Wang. Seeing this, the mammy hunched her back even lower.
“Considering your advanced age, I will not make you sweep. Instead, you can go outside and supervise Qing’er while she clears the snow. Whenever she finishes, that is when you may rest.”
While Rong Xun’s ruling appeared lenient toward Mammy Wang, it would undoubtedly put her through plenty of misery. It was freezing outside, and clearing the southern courtyard’s snow would take at least two hours, more than enough time to freeze the two of them half to death.
Not daring to talk back to Rong Xun, Mammy Wang offered a rigid, formal bow. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Watching the figures of the two women as they exited, Rong Xun sat back down on the daybed, picked up the fireplace tongs, and poked at the charcoal inside the brazier. A tongue or two of flame flickered out from the embers. Suddenly, he found himself craving roasted sweet potatoes.
Once warmth seeped back into his limbs, Rong Xun leaned back comfortably against the headrest behind the daybed. He pulled out the book Tantai Si had given him, took one look at it, and immediately tossed it aside with disgust. He was far too lazy to read such a boring text. If he was going to read, it had to be a vernacular novel. Now those were actually entertaining.
There were no smartphones here, so Rong Xun had gradually grown to love reading street-vendor storybooks. He wondered if Wenxi had remembered to pack the collection of novels he had gathered and bring them along to the Prince of Chen’s estate.
As he was thinking of Wenxi, the outer door pushed open and Wenxi walked in carrying a three-tiered food box. Seeing that the room was empty of others, Wenxi’s steps grew much lighter.
“Young Master, I have brought back plenty of good food.” He stepped forward, opened the food box, and laid the dishes out one by one onto the small side table: shredded chicken with silverfish, bamboo shoots with prawns, white crab, and a pair of large chicken legs.
It was all his absolute favorite food, making Rong Xun’s eyes light up. He sat up straight and reached for the chopsticks, his peripheral vision catching sight of the fine layer of sweat glistening on Wenxi’s forehead.
Rong Xun casually asked, “Is it raining outside?”
“It is not raining, Young Master. It is snowing.”
“Snowing?” Rong Xun turned his head to look toward the lattice windows behind him, gazing outside through the transparent glass. Clusters of snowflakes were drifting gently down.
He tossed a shrimp into his mouth and murmured indifferently, “Must be freezing out there.” He wondered what kind of mood the two people shoveling snow were in right now.
Wenxi chimed in, “It is freezing indeed, Young Master. When I was walking over, I even saw Steward Duo Fu preparing to distribute cotton-padded winter robes to the servants down below.”
Rong Xun rapidly picked food from the dishes, eating with great relish. “Is that so? Then make sure you go claim yours later, too.”
The mention of winter clothing reminded Rong Xun that he needed to organize his dowry. As a consort marrying into the Prince of Chen’s estate, major living expenses were naturally covered by the estate, but navigating social obligations and gifts required plenty of spending silver. Fortunately, Rong Xun was not someone who liked taking losses. Before the wedding, he had scammed a massive fortune in dowry goods out of Lady Chen, and with that much wealth, he needed to start planning how to manage it properly.
After filling his stomach, Rong Xun had Wenxi sort out his collection of storybooks so he could browse them whenever he had free time. No sooner had Wenxi agreed than Duo Fu’s voice rang out from outside the door.
“Your Highness, this servant requests an audience.”
“Come right in, Steward Duo Fu.”
Rong Xun straightened his robes and sat upright. Duo Fu walked in, followed by two young pages who looked quite youthful.
“Steward Duo Fu, who are they?”
“The Prince gave instructions to find two personal attendants for Your Highness. This is Changji, and this is Changning.” Duo Fu pointed first to the taller lad, then to the shorter one.
Following a brief introduction, the two pages bowed to Rong Xun in unison. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Rong Xun looked the pair over. They had average, unremarkable features, the type who would easily blend into a crowd without catching anyone’s eye, but they looked honest enough.
“You may rise.”
With that, Rong Xun turned to Duo Fu. “Many thanks, Steward. You have gone to a lot of trouble.”
“Your Highness flatters this servant. This is only what I ought to do.” Duo Fu bowed to Rong Xun once more. “This servant still has matters to attend to, so I will not disturb Your Highness’s rest any further.”
Rong Xun nodded.
Once Duo Fu left, Rong Xun and the two newly arrived pages stood staring at each other. Noticing their increasingly stiff postures, Rong Xun chuckled. “No need to look so tense. I do not bite.”
Perhaps put at ease by Rong Xun’s approachable demeanor, the two relaxed visibly.
Rong Xun had zero experience in managing an inner courtyard, and he had no clue how to arrange these two. He had originally intended to let Duo Fu handle their placement, but the thought of Mammy Wang and Qing’er suddenly crossed his mind.
Right. Changji and Changning could take over those two positions inside the bedchamber. Rong Xun was thoroughly sick of having Mammy Wang and Qing’er bobbing around in front of his eyes all day anyway.
“Wenxi, go outside and tell Mammy Wang and Qing’er that they no longer need to handle personal attendance duties. Send them to help out in the small kitchen instead.”
“Ah.” Wenxi’s jaw dropped slightly in surprise. “Young Master, is that really alright?”
After all, Mammy Wang and Qing’er were personal dowry servants sent by the Marquis’s wife. If word got out that Rong Xun had relegated his mother’s family’s dowry maid and mammy to kitchen chores, people might accuse him of lacking filial respect toward his parents. Furthermore, Rong Xun’s current status was sensitive, with countless eyes watching his every word and action.
However, Rong Xun could not care less about any of that. He was utterly sick of the pair, and moving them far away would give him some well-deserved peace and quiet.
Once Changji and Changning were settled in, the two pages quietly set about their tasks. The room grew much quieter. As Rong Xun warmed himself by the fire, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.
“Wenxi, go fetch my dowry ledger. I need to take inventory.”