As the carriage was about to enter Ningrong Street, no one had returned ahead of them this time, so the Jia family was presumably unaware. It would likely be inconvenient for Miss Lin to return home unannounced.
Chu Heng did not make any rash arrangements and instead asked, “Miss Lin, would you like to inform your household first?”
Daiyu replied, “I would trouble Your Highness.”
Chu Heng then summoned Zhao Qing and instructed him to notify the gatekeepers of the Jia residence that Miss Lin was returning, to inform the relevant people, and to make all necessary arrangements to receive her.
The last time Zhao Qing had accompanied the prince to the Jia household had been half a month earlier, yet the gatekeepers still remembered him—after all, he served directly under the prince. Upon seeing him, they dared not act frivolously. After hearing his message, they bowed in acknowledgment, and the steward ordered someone to go inside and report to the masters.
By the time the carriage slowly entered Ningrong Street, the Jia family had already received the news. Wang Xifeng hurriedly instructed people to prepare a sedan chair and assemble a group of matrons. Hearing that Prince Duan had come again, Jia She and Jia Lian, father and son, were both at home and naturally dared not fail to come out to receive him. Jia Zheng, who had just returned to the capital, ordered someone to summon Jia Zhen and Baoyu, but someone sent by the Old Madam came over and said that Baoyu was not permitted to go out. Matters were urgent at the moment, so Jia Zheng could not say much and could only comply.
Following Daiyu’s arrangements, the carriage once again entered the Rongguo Mansion through the west corner gate. All idle onlookers were driven away, leaving only the matrons guarding the sedan chair, panting heavily as they waited for Miss Lin—clearly having rushed over in haste.
Daiyu inclined herself slightly and said, “Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness.”
Seeing that Daiyu was about to alight from the carriage, Chu Heng quickly lowered his voice and said, “Miss Lin, there is one more matter. In the future, there may be other affairs—especially those involving the Empress Dowager. I may discreetly send someone to pass you messages, but I fear that if word were to leak out, people might speak of impropriety. Would it not be better to handle things more openly? What do you think?”
Daiyu thought for a moment and asked, “How does Your Highness intend to be more open?”
“I will use the pretext of sending items and dispatch Zhao Qing here, so he can quietly pass messages to you,” Chu Heng said.
Zhao Qing was Prince Duan’s trusted aide. Daiyu nodded and said, “I will follow Your Highness’s suggestion.”
Seeing that Daiyu’s expression had softened, Chu Heng brought up the earlier matter again. “Miss Lin, if you have something to say… something you need, feel free to send someone to the Prince’s Residence. I only wonder whether it would be convenient for you?”
Having learned his lesson, he did not presume anything and asked with great caution.
After some consideration, Daiyu thought that she would naturally not trouble Prince Duan with her own personal difficulties. However, if the matter involved the palace or the Empress Dowager, then it concerned their alliance, and Prince Duan could not be avoided.
She nodded and said, “Inside the household, I often need to purchase hair oils and cosmetics from outside. My attendants usually have their own sons run these errands. If I have something I need to inform Your Highness of, I can have them deliver a letter to the Prince’s Residence.”
When Daiyu married next year, there would certainly be many people accompanying her as part of her dowry. The personal maids and matrons who attended her closely would surely go with her.
Aside from Xueyan, all the servants around Daiyu were household-born servants of the Jia family. If she were marrying into another family, their relatives would still hesitate over whether to follow along when selecting accompanying servants. But now that Daiyu was to marry into the Prince’s Residence, with prospects rising, they were eager to follow her.
Zijuan, Chunxian, and the instructing matron had all conveyed this intention to Daiyu—they and their families were willing to follow her wholeheartedly.
Daiyu had already quietly settled on part of the list in her mind. These people would be bound to her on the same rope from now on. Entrusting such matters to them, she could be at ease.
Only… “ants tied to the same rope”—that phrase felt oddly familiar. Daiyu paused for a moment; Prince Duan had once said something like this, and the thought made her somewhat irritated.
Royal nobles, accustomed to standing high above others, were indeed not people one could truly confide in.
They might speak pleasing words and perform acts of protection one moment, only to disregard another’s circumstances the next, insisting on doing what they believed was “for someone’s own good,” full of self-righteousness—unaware that they were trampling on another’s painstaking efforts, that a single sentence or gesture from them could shatter someone beyond redemption.
Her days of dealing with Prince Duan would be long. Daiyu reminded herself silently that she must remember this lesson well.
Chu Heng nodded. “I understand.”
Daiyu listened to the sounds outside. No one from the Jia family had yet hurried over. After weighing her words, she said, “Your Highness, you have never cared to meet outsiders, and my maternal family surely does not catch your eye. It would be better for us to part here, and for you to return to your residence early.”
Chu Heng looked at Daiyu longingly. “Very well. Take care.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Daiyu thanked him once more, then turned and, supported by Zhao Qing, stepped down from the carriage.
By the time Jia She and the others rushed over, Daiyu’s sedan chair was already nowhere to be seen. Chu Heng reluctantly lowered the carriage curtain and instructed Zhao Qing to return to the Prince’s Residence.
Zhao Qing glanced at the Jia family members and reminded him, “Your Highness, the masters and young masters of the Jia family have come to pay their respects.”
“Mm,” Chu Heng responded.
Daiyu’s meaning had been very clear. She did not wish to implicate her maternal family, nor was it her intention to use the engagement to bring Prince Duan and the Jia family into closer relations.
Chu Heng naturally followed her wishes.
This also aligned well with Chu Heng’s usual principles. He had always kept to himself and rarely met outsiders. Aside from his natural temperament, it was also because he did not want people to think he was easy to cultivate ties with.
Everyone said that the Empress Dowager favored Prince Duan the most among her sons, and that the emperor favored this younger brother the most. That made Chu Heng a piece of fat meat—how many people wished to cling to him and seize the chance to gain benefits?
For the sake of peace and convenience, Chu Heng had always kept others at arm’s length.
The more Chu Heng thought about it, the more he felt that he and Miss Lin were truly well matched. Unfortunately, he had already offended her deeply—worse than when they had first met.
Chu Heng let out a long, faint sigh.
Since the Jia family members were already in sight, Chu Heng could no longer avoid them. He remained seated in the carriage and received their salutations without saying much, then once again instructed Zhao Qing to return to the residence.
Leaving the Jia family members standing there, exchanging bewildered glances once more.
It was Jia Zheng’s first time witnessing such behavior from Prince Duan. He looked at Jia Lian and asked, “Prince Duan… what exactly is his way of doing things?”
Jia Lian gave a bitter smile and said, “The last time His Highness sent Miss Lin back, it was the same. When he came to pick up Miss Lin, however, he did come in and sit for a while. The Old Madam said that Miss Lin mentioned His Highness does not like to meet outsiders, so we cannot force the matter. Well… His Highness may do as he pleases. Over time, we are bound to become relatives anyway. As the days pass and familiarity grows, His Highness will naturally be willing to associate with us.”
Jia Zheng frowned. Prince Duan’s status was exalted, so he could not say much. Though displeased at heart, he had no choice but to nod stiffly.
Jia She shook his head and said sarcastically, “No wonder the Old Madam wouldn’t let Baoyu come out. She really does dote on her grandson.”
That the Old Madam favored the second branch was something everyone in the Jia family knew. Jia She’s resentment over this was also well known, but no one had ever pierced that thin veil. With Jia She’s pointed remark, Jia Zheng, being in the wrong, had nothing to say. Since it was not his own family matter, Jia Zhen feigned deafness. One was his father, the other his second uncle—Jia Lian could hardly speak up.
The group stood awkwardly for quite a while before Jia Lian spoke up to invite the elders back inside, and only then did the matter come to an end.
…
Daiyu went to the Old Madam’s main courtyard, paid her respects to the elders, met with her sisters, and only then sat down to speak.
Seeing that Daiyu had brought back rewards from both the Empress Dowager and His Majesty again, everyone knew the trip had gone smoothly. Some were happy for her; others were envious, jealous, and resentful—there was no need to elaborate. Only Lady Wang nearly crushed the handkerchief in her hand.
Daiyu’s time at Longhua Temple had not been long, but it was enough for Lady Wang to realize just how unwelcome her precious son was among the noble families. She had already lowered her expectations for a daughter-in-law from a legitimate daughter to a concubine-born one, yet the official matchmakers still wore expressions of difficulty, subtly urging her to consider girls from families of lower standing—modest young women from lesser households were quite good as well.
Lady Wang refused to let her son settle for less and kept pressing the matchmakers. Meanwhile, Daiyu looked so radiant and favored that her already sour mood only worsened.
It was just like back when she herself had married into the Guogong residence—bowing and scraping as a daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, serving the great-grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law—while Jia Min had been a pampered young lady, surrounded by maids and matrons, held high above all others, a sight that made people’s eyes ache with envy.
Now Jia Min’s daughter, nothing more than a sickly orphan with no parents, had surpassed her instead!
How could Lady Wang not grit her teeth in hatred?
Daiyu summarized her temple worship in just a few words and did not mention anything else. With no other option, the Old Madam allowed her to return and rest.
Everyone else also withdrew. The Old Madam called Yuanyang over to massage her back, sighed, and complained to the matron beside her, “That girl Yu has been like this since she was little—she only recognizes her own reasoning, impervious to persuasion. Not just me—even if her mother were here now, she probably wouldn’t be able to do anything about her.”
The matron gently consoled her. “Miss Lin still keeps the Old Madam in her heart, and that is a good thing. She is young, and a young lady at that—there are things she cannot yet see clearly. When she marries in the future, being a wife will not be easy, and life in the Prince’s Residence and the palace will be even harder. Without the Old Madam teaching her, Miss Lin will come seeking your guidance herself.”
Daiyu had no natal family; in the future, she could only rely on her maternal relatives. This was indeed the Old Madam’s greatest source of confidence.
Daiyu did not know that at this very moment, someone hated her and someone else was plotting over her. Right now, she was shaken with lingering fear.
She had been far too self-assured. After barely ten days of interaction, she had made a hasty and absolute judgment.
Neither her dealings with Prince Duan nor Prince Duan himself were as good as Daiyu had believed. She could not relax, and absolutely must not lower her guard because of Prince Duan’s attitude.
This exalted prince might, at any time, grow self-important again and, under the banner of acting for Daiyu’s good, do something unbearable.
Between her and Prince Duan, it would be better to keep things strictly official and mutually respectful. All that harmony and concern were illusions—empty and useless.
“Miss, the water is ready.” Zijuan came over and spoke softly. “Miss should bathe and rest soon. Today has truly been exhausting.”
Her body was indeed weary, but Daiyu’s heart was even more so. She rubbed her forehead. Prompted by Zijuan, she suddenly felt so drowsy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Daiyu said, “Tomorrow morning, you must wake me. Don’t let me miss paying respects to the Old Madam.”
“Yes,” Zijuan replied with a smile. Miss had finally been able to enjoy a sound, peaceful sleep these days, and all of them who attended her closely were delighted by it.
As they spoke, Daiyu had already grown drowsy, on the verge of falling asleep.