Gu Yan said, “Aren’t you looking for your cousin? I don’t know what she looks like, and if the palace masters have changed her name, it will be even harder to find her. Why not let me take you into the palace so you can search for her yourself?”
Yun Xiangye stared at Gu Yan in shock. “But I… I haven’t learned the palace etiquette yet. I’m afraid I might offend the nobles.”
Gu Yan replied, “That’s fine. His Majesty and Her Majesty know you come from the common folk, so they won’t force you to strictly follow palace rules. You can learn them gradually later. For now, go bathe first. I’ll have Zhuyi and Meiyi attend to you.”
At the mention of Meiyi and Zhuyi, Yun Xiangye frowned. “No need. I don’t require anyone to attend to me while bathing. Just prepare hot water—I can bathe alone.”
Gu Yan explained, “The bath in Qingfeng Garden doesn’t require adding hot water. There’s a dedicated person heating warm water; you only need to add water to it.”
Yun Xiangye straightened her clothes and headed to the bath. The bath in Qingfeng Garden was indeed spacious, large enough to accommodate several people.
After bathing, it was already past noon. Following lunch, Yun Xiangye coaxed Nuonuo to sleep and instructed Run’er to take good care of her before setting off for the palace with Gu Yan.
In the carriage.
Seeing Yun Xiangye’s expression, Gu Yan said, “As long as your cousin is in the palace, we will definitely find her.”
Yun Xiangye lifted the carriage curtain, gazing at the bustling vendors lining the streets of Chang’an, unwilling to engage with Gu Yan.
It was already the twelfth lunar month, and the vendors on both sides were selling couplets and blessings, filling the air with the festive spirit of the New Year.
Noticing Yun Xiangye’s demeanor, Gu Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Are you still angry with me?”
Yun Xiangye replied, “Shouldn’t I be? Three years of sharing a bed, and you kept this from me the entire time. You never truly cared about me.”
Gu Yan sighed. “I didn’t tell you about my identity because I genuinely didn’t think it mattered. Why hold onto this anger for so long?”
Yun Xiangye took a deep breath and ignored Gu Yan once more.
Seeing Yun Xiangye grow increasingly upset, Gu Yan didn’t know how to console her. After all, he had never comforted another woman since childhood. He could only hope that meeting her cousin would lift her spirits.
The carriage arrived at the palace gates, beyond which it could not proceed.
After alighting from the carriage, Yun Xiangye followed Gu Yan through the imposing palace gates, where the towering walls exuded an aura of majesty.
She trailed Gu Yan’s steps into the Eastern Palace.
The study in the Eastern Palace was heated by an underfloor system, making it exceptionally warm.
Yun Xiangye followed Gu Yan in bowing and said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Please, both of you, take a seat. Someone, bring tea.” Zhao Cheng looked at Gu Yan with a light smile. “What brings you here today with your wife?”
Gu Yan replied, “Your Highness, Xiangye has a cousin serving as a palace maid. She will turn twenty-five in the first month. I would like to ask for your help in allowing her cousin to leave the palace before the New Year.”
Zhao Cheng said, “That’s not a difficult matter. Consider it my welcoming gift to your wife. In which palace does your wife’s cousin serve? I’ll speak with Her Majesty later to arrange her release.”
Yun Xiangye answered, “I don’t know which palace she serves in. She only wrote home once to report her safety the year she entered the palace, and since then, there has been no news.”
Palace maids emerged from the tea room to serve tea to Gu Yan.
Yun Xiangye raised her eyes to look at the palace maid who was brewing tea for the Crown Prince. She carefully examined the maid’s face and the red tear mole beneath her eye.
Thirteen years had already passed, yet Yun Xiangye recognized Ye Wanhe in front of her at a single glance.
“Sister Wanhe!”
Hearing the familiar address, Ye Wanhe set down the teacup with both hands and looked at Yun Xiangye. She wondered why the woman before her would call her “Sister Wanhe,” but mindful of her status, she only glanced at Zhao Cheng.
Gu Yan looked at Yun Xiangye and asked, “Is Aunt Ye your cousin?”
Yun Xiangye stood up and walked over to Ye Wanhe. She took Ye Wanhe’s hands in hers and said, “Sister Wanhe, it’s me, Xiangye.”
“Elder Sister Yun.”
Ye Wanhe carefully examined Yun Xiangye’s appearance before her, tears welling in her eyes. She knew the Eastern Palace was not a place for tears, so she struggled to keep them from falling.
Yun Xiangye smiled lightly and said to Zhao Cheng, “Your Highness, what a coincidence. The palace maid brewing tea for you is my cousin, Ye Wanhe.”
Ye Wanhe looked at Yun Xiangye with confusion, wondering why Yun Xiangye had come from Jiangnan to the Eastern Palace.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng glanced at Ye Wanhe and said calmly, “That truly is a coincidence. You sisters haven’t seen each other for many years and must have much to talk about. Go to the neighboring room to chat. Coincidentally, I also have matters to discuss with Gu Yan.”
Yun Xiangye said gratefully, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Ye Wanhe curtsied and led Yun Xiangye to the adjacent tea room. However, the tea room was filled with palace maids, making it unsuitable for conversation.
Ye Wanhe had no choice but to take Yun Xiangye to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber in the Eastern Palace. Here, no one would dare eavesdrop on their conversation.
Upon entering the chamber, Yun Xiangye said joyfully, “Sister Wanhe, I thought it would take some effort to find you. I never expected to find you as soon as I entered the Eastern Palace.”
Ye Wanhe, tending to the medicine simmering in the stove in the bedchamber, asked, “Sister Yun, how did you enter the palace? How do you know Prince Ning’s heir, Gu Yan?”
“Prince Ning’s heir, Gu Yan, is my husband.”
Ye Wanhe said with slight surprise, “Your husband? How could Gu Yan be your husband?”
Yun Xiangye nodded and said, “Three years ago, Gu Yan saved me from drowning. He caught a chill and fell seriously ill. A fortune-teller said I should marry him for good luck, so we wed.”
Ye Wanhe lifted the lid to check the medicinal broth in the pot, sighed softly, and looked at Yun Xiangye with concern. “I never imagined Gu Yan’s wife would be you.”
Yun Xiangye looked at Ye Wanhe and asked, “Sister Wanhe, from your tone, does it mean Gu Yan is not a suitable match?”
Her cousin, upon learning she had married Gu Yan, did not seem pleased and even showed concern for her.
Ye Wanhe said, “Do you know why Gu Yan went to Jiangnan back then?”
Yun Xiangye replied, “I heard from Gu Yan that His Highness sent him to investigate the tea tax?”
Ye Wanhe smiled. “That was one reason. Another reason was the widely known incident of five noblewomen vying for one husband. Gu Yan went to Jiangnan to escape the commotion.”
Ye Wanhe poured the medicine into a bowl, blew on it to cool it, and drank it.
Seeing Ye Wanhe pause, Yun Xiangye quickly asked, “Five women vying for one husband? Sister Wanhe, what exactly happened?”
Ye Wanhe said, “Our Prince Ning’s heir has inherited his parents’ peerless beauty since childhood. So three years ago, when he had just turned eighteen, he captured the hearts of noble young ladies in Chang’an. Five renowned noble ladies in Chang’an even sent matchmakers to the Princess Royal’s residence to propose marriage to Prince Ning’s heir…”
Ye Wanhe continued slowly, “These five noble ladies were Lin Bolan, the eldest legitimate daughter of Chancellor Lin and a famous talented lady in Chang’an; Wei Nian, the eldest legitimate daughter of Duke of Wei; Fu Anran, the eldest granddaughter of Imperial Tutor Fu; Princess Nan’an from Prince Consort Chu’s residence; and Xu Mengqi, the daughter of Marquis Zhenbei…”
Just hearing about the statuses of these noble ladies from Ye Wanhe made Yun Xiangye feel they were incomparably noble.
At the very least, compared to these noble ladies, she—a common girl who grew up in the streets—was like heaven and earth apart…
After finishing the bitter medicine, Ye Wanhe added, “Princess Consort Chu and the Princess Royal are close friends; Duke of Wei and Prince Ning are cousins; Marquis Zhenbei is also a close friend of Prince Ning; and Chancellor Lin and Imperial Tutor Fu both have teacher-student relationships with Prince Ning’s heir…
With these five families sending matchmakers to propose marriage, the Princess Royal and Prince Ning found it difficult to choose or reject anyone. So they simply had Prince Ning’s heir use the excuse of going to Jiangnan to handle the tea supervision corruption case to avoid the situation for a few years.”
Yun Xiangye whispered, “So that’s how it is.”
Ye Wanhe said, “But in these three years, these five young ladies still haven’t gotten engaged. They’re all waiting for Prince Ning’s heir to return to Chang’an. The eldest among them, Fu Anran, the eldest granddaughter of Imperial Tutor Fu, is already nineteen this year, and the youngest, Wei Nian, is almost eighteen.”
Yun Xiangye bit her lip and said, “They’re still waiting for Gu Yan? Don’t they know Gu Yan is already married?”