Yun Xiangye disregarded the palace rule against walking too quickly, lifting her skirt as she hurried after them, finally catching sight of the retreating figures of the Crown Prince and her cousin.
“Sister Wanhe.”
Hearing Yun Xiangye’s voice, Ye Wanhe turned and saw her waving. She lowered her head and said, “Your Highness, may this servant speak with my cousin for a few moments?”
Zhao Cheng glanced at Yun Xiangye, who was causing a commotion in the palace, and frowned slightly. “Don’t take too long. Return to the Eastern Palace early.”
“Yes.”
After curtsying in acknowledgment, Ye Wanhe turned back to find Yun Xiangye.
Catching up to Ye Wanhe, Yun Xiangye indeed detected a strong scent of medicinal herbs on her.
“Sister Wanhe, why did you say earlier that you didn’t want to leave the palace?”
Ye Wanhe glanced at the passing palace maids around them and said to Yun Xiangye, “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Holding Yun Xiangye’s hand, Ye Wanhe led her to a secluded corner of the palace grounds.
Only after confirming that no one was around did Ye Wanhe speak to Yun Xiangye: “Yun Xiang, it’s not that I don’t want to leave the palace—it’s that I cannot.”
Yun Xiangye waited for Ye Wanhe to explain further, but she sighed and fell silent.
Yun Xiangye said, “Sister, Her Majesty the Empress already knows about your improper relationship with the Crown Prince. She won’t allow you to stay in the Eastern Palace for long. Why don’t you come with me to plead with the Princess Royal again? If you voluntarily express your willingness to leave the palace, the Empress will surely agree.”
Hearing Yun Xiangye’s words, Ye Wanhe’s eyes widened in shock. “What are you saying? What does Her Majesty the Empress know?”
Yun Xiangye replied, “Earlier, when the Princess Royal took your pulse, she detected from your pulse that you and the Crown Prince have been spending nights together and that you take contraceptive medicine daily.”
Having her most private and shameful secret exposed by her cousin, Ye Wanhe’s face flushed with embarrassment, turning both red and pale.
Yun Xiangye sighed. “Her Majesty the Empress is very angry. She said earlier that she wouldn’t allow a seductive servant to remain in the Eastern Palace for long…”
Tears instantly welled up in Ye Wanhe’s eyes. Biting her lower lip, she shook her head and said, “I didn’t, Yun Xiang, I didn’t seduce him. I didn’t.”
Seeing Ye Wanhe’s tears, Yun Xiangye quickly reassured her, “I believe you.”
Though Yun Xiangye was only two years younger than Ye Wanhe, Ye Wanhe had always carried herself like an elder sister. Yun Xiangye still remembered the days when they were young, learning embroidery together with their mothers.
Yun Xiangye didn’t believe her sister could be the type to seduce her master.
“Sister Wanhe, come with me to plead with the Princess Royal to let you leave the palace.”
Ye Wanhe said, “No, the Crown Prince forbids me from leaving the palace. I cannot disobey or defy his orders.”
Yun Xiangye argued, “Even if you don’t leave the palace with me today, Her Majesty the Empress won’t let you stay in the Eastern Palace. Who knows where she might assign you then? Sister, given how furious the Empress is, I fear she won’t allow you to become a Crown Prince Consort or even a Liangdi or Liangyuan!”
Ye Wanhe replied, “I never expected to become a Crown Prince Consort, Liangdi, or Liangyuan. My background is too humble, and the Crown Prince would never grant me such positions.”
Moreover, since His Majesty ascended the throne, there has only been Her Majesty the Empress in the imperial harem. The Crown Prince’s grandmother deeply resented concubines and secondary wives in her time, so it is likely the Crown Prince will also have only the Crown Princess. Otherwise, the Crown Prince would not still be without a secondary consort or concubine at the age of twenty-three.”
Yun Xiangye said, “Since you know this, why have you chosen to remain in the Eastern Palace?”
“My dear sister, as a servant in this deep palace, what choice do I have? I can only follow the master’s will.”
Ye Wanhe lowered her eyes, tears welling up. “If I were to defy His Highness’s wishes and request to leave the palace, it would anger him. Though the Crown Prince appears gentle and kind, he never tolerates disobedience from those under him.”
Yun Xiangye looked at Ye Wanhe with pity and said, “But Her Majesty the Empress would never allow you to stay in the Eastern Palace…”
Ye Wanhe sighed. “A servant in the palace can only obey the master’s orders. If Her Majesty truly wishes to transfer me away from the Eastern Palace, I will follow her command. However, for now, I must still obey the Crown Prince’s orders.”
Ye Wanhe looked at Yun Xiangye, who was worried about her, and said, “Yun sister, I cannot speak with you any longer. I must return to the Eastern Palace to serve His Highness.”
Yun Xiangye said, “Sister, please do not take the contraceptive medicine anymore. The Princess Royal said you are already struggling to conceive. If you take it a few more times, you may never have children in this lifetime.”
Ye Wanhe gently touched her abdomen, her lips trembling slightly. “Xiangye, whether or not I take the contraceptive medicine is not up to me. Compared to a lifetime without children, it is still better than the heart-wrenching pain of having a child aborted.”
Yun Xiangye’s eyes reddened. “Sister, the Princess Royal has treated me well. Why don’t you come with me to beg her? She will surely have a way to protect you and prevent the Crown Prince from troubling you.”
Ye Wanhe said, “No matter how capable the Princess Royal is, she cannot protect our relatives far away in Jiangnan. If the Crown Prince wishes to deal with me, it would be all too easy for him.”
Ye Wanhe reached out to wipe away Yun Xiangye’s tears and said with a light smile, “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if I never have children in this life. If I am fortunate enough to leave the palace, at my age, I could only become a stepmother. Not having biological children might allow me to focus wholeheartedly on caring for stepchildren. If I am not fortunate enough to leave the palace, I will never be able to have children anyway, so there is no need to worry about being childless.”
Seeing Ye Wanhe’s forced smile, Yun Xiangye felt a deep ache in her throat.
Ye Wanhe smiled at Yun Xiangye and said, “Hurry back to Fengyi Palace. Don’t worry about me. After all, I have been in the palace for many years. But what about you? Have you faced any hardships since arriving in Chang’an?”
At that moment, Yun Xiangye felt that the grievances she had suffered at Gu Yan’s hands were nothing compared to what her sister endured in the palace.
Yun Xiangye shook her head, not wanting her sister to worry about her any further.
After returning to Fengyi Palace, Yun Xiangye found that Xie Zhixuan had already selected four palace maids and a matron in her thirties.
Xie Zhixuan said to Yun Xiangye, “These maids will serve as your attendants in Qingfeng Garden. Give them names once you return to the mansion.”
“Yes,” Yun Xiangye replied.
In the sedan chair back to the Princess Royal’s mansion, Yun Xiangye remained distracted, preoccupied with her cousin Wanhe’s predicament.
Upon returning to Qingfeng Garden, Yun Xiangye hurried to see Nuonuo. Entering the inner courtyard and hearing no cries from Nuonuo, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon entering the room, Yun Xiangye did not see Nuonuo and only then learned that Gu Yan had taken Nuonuo to the study.
Yun Xiangye then headed to the study, where she saw Nuonuo quietly nestled in Gu Yan’s arms, watching him write official documents.
“Mother,” Nuonuo greeted Yun Xiangye with a sweet smile.
Yun Xiangye stepped forward and took Nuonuo into her arms. “Nuonuo.”
As she looked at her soft, gentle little daughter in her arms, Yun Xiangye thought of her cousin, who might truly be unable to have children if she took the contraceptive medicine a few more times. At this thought, Yun Xiangye glared fiercely at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan looked at Yun Xiangye in confusion. “What are you angry with me about this time? As soon as I returned to the residence, I took care of Nuonuo.”
Yun Xiangye handed Nuonuo over to Nanny Cao, who was waiting outside, then returned to the study and closed the door.
Gu Yan looked at Yun Xiangye and chuckled softly. “There’s no heated floor in this study, only a charcoal brazier. If you want to give Nuonuo a little brother or sister here, you might catch a cold. It’s better to go back to the room…”
Yun Xiangye frowned. “Stop thinking about such improper things! How is your relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Gu Yan asked, “Why do you ask?”
Yun Xiangye replied, “You are cousins, close in age, so I assume you have an excellent relationship.”
“Hmm,” Gu Yan said. “What about it?”
Yun Xiangye looked at Gu Yan. “If you can help me get my cousin out of the palace, I will never be angry with you again for hiding your identity. From then on, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west.”
Gu Yan pulled Yun Xiangye into his arms, seating her on his lap. “Xiangye, what I am about to tell you must not be shared with anyone.”
Yun Xiangye frowned. “As long as you help my sister leave the palace, I will agree to anything you say in the future.”
Gu Yan whispered softly into Yun Xiangye’s ear, “Aunt Ye is His Highness’s woman. Why would His Highness let his own woman leave the palace?”
Yun Xiangye exclaimed, “So you knew about this too! Then do you know that His Highness the Crown Prince has been making my cousin take contraceptive medicine?”
Gu Yan was not surprised that Yun Xiangye knew about this, assuming Ye Wanhe had told her. “Yes, the prescription for the contraceptive medicine was something I obtained for His Highness from my uncle, Qin Wen.”
So it was Gu Yan who had sought the contraceptive medicine prescription…
Yun Xiangye trembled with anger, her voice shaking. “Gu Yan, do you know that if my sister takes that contraceptive medicine a few more times, she might never be able to conceive again! If anything happens to my sister, I will never forgive you.”
Gu Yan sighed helplessly. “It wasn’t me who made your sister take the contraceptive medicine. Why are you angry with me over this?
Besides, the prescription was prepared by my uncle Qin. He is a highly skilled physician. Unless taken continuously for several years, the contraceptive medicine he prescribed shouldn’t cause such severe harm as to prevent pregnancy.”
Yun Xiangye frowned. “You’ve been in Jiangnan for three years, so my sister must have taken this medicine for at least three years. When did you obtain this prescription?”