Zhao Qing got out of the carriage and said with a smile, “It would not be appropriate for Miss Lin to disembark outside. His Highness has sent me to pay respects to the gentlemen.”
As the saying goes, even a seventh-rank official before the prime minister’s gate carries weight.
Those who served Prince Duan were naturally not to be offended. Jia She and the others quickly responded with courteous smiles. “Of course. Please invite His Highness into the residence for some tea.”
Zhao Qing did not accept the invitation. He merely said, “Miss Lin will be entering the residence through the west corner gate. May one of the gentlemen please indicate the way?”
They did not dare insist. Jia Lian hurried forward to lead the way. “This way, Eunuch.”
Daiyu sat inside the carriage while her uncles and cousins outside could only walk. She gave a self-mocking smile and thought to herself that she now looked rather like a petty person intoxicated with sudden success.
Chu Heng was utterly bored. Seeing her smile like that, he guessed at its meaning and said, “Even the Empress’s own birth mother would have to kneel and salute when meeting her. Miss Lin, you’re already doing quite well.”
Daiyu frowned. “Your Highness, such words should not be spoken lightly.”
Chu Heng said indifferently, “You and I are now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Miss Lin, even if I were to rebel, I could still tell you about it.”
Daiyu: “……”
In an instant, all her melancholy thoughts vanished. She said helplessly, “Thank you for Your Highness’s trust.”
“Whether I trust you or not isn’t something I get to choose,” Chu Heng replied casually.
Though the choice was not his, Daiyu understood his meaning from his words. Reluctant as he might be, Prince Duan acknowledged her as his princess consort.
Before today, Daiyu had already been forced to accept that she must become Prince Duan’s consort. That Prince Duan could accept this unchangeable fact was, for her, undoubtedly good news.
She showed no trace of shyness or embarrassment.
Most marriages in this world were blind and mute unions; mutual affection and shared devotion existed only in stage plays.
Recalling the events of the day, Daiyu felt that Prince Duan was not a warm person, nor particularly gentle in temperament, but neither was he bad. He did not seem difficult to get along with.
In the future, this would be just fine—very much to Daiyu’s liking.
He would be Prince Duan, and she would be her own Princess Duan. It suited her perfectly.
When the carriage entered the west corner gate and came to a stop, Zhao Qing saw that there were no idle onlookers around. Several old women were guarding a small sedan chair, waiting. He bowed and said, “Your Highness, Miss Lin, we’ve arrived.”
Inside the carriage, it was inconvenient for Daiyu to perform a salute, so she lowered her head and said, “Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness.”
Prince Duan disliked meeting people. Though Daiyu did not know the reason, to be safe she had no intention of rashly inviting him to alight.
She felt that her interactions with Prince Duan today had gone very smoothly. Fewer matters were better than more; she did not wish to disrupt this stable situation.
Coincidentally, Chu Heng had no intention of getting down either. He merely nodded. “Mm.”
Daiyu got down from the carriage with Zhao Qing’s support, performed her courtesy to Jia She and the others, then sat in the sedan chair. Once the old women lowered the curtain, they called over several young servants to lift it.
After Miss Lin’s small sedan had departed, Zhao Qing said to Jia She and the others, “Now that Miss Lin has arrived home, His Highness will also return to his residence. There is no need for the gentlemen to see him off.”
Without giving the Jia family any chance to speak, Zhao Qing boarded the carriage and instructed the driver to turn back toward Prince Duan’s residence.
Jia She and the others looked at one another in bewilderment. No—what did Prince Duan mean by this? Having reached the Jia residence, he would not even step down from the carriage, nor could he be bothered to say a single word to the Jia family?
Though no one dared to criticize Prince Duan aloud, this was truly too dismissive of the Jia family’s face.
The dignified Duke’s residence—the maternal home of both a Noble Consort and a Princess Consort—and yet Prince Duan would not even grant them this small courtesy?
No matter what they muttered inwardly or how unpleasant their expressions became, Jia She and the others still respectfully saw Prince Duan’s carriage off.
Watching the carriage gradually leave Ningrong Street, Jia Lian finally said, “His Highness’s meaning may still require Grandmother to ask Cousin Lin about it.”
Taking advantage of Prince Duan’s marriage to Daiyu, Jia She and the others all wished to take the opportunity to form ties with Prince Duan.
Prince Duan was the Emperor’s younger brother and deeply favored. If they could befriend him, it would be all benefit and no harm, whether to them personally or to the Jia family.
“Mm,” Jia She said. “You go and inform Grandmother of what happened here.”
……
Inside the carriage, Zhao Qing kept glancing at his master, his face full of hesitation.
“If you have something to say, say it,” Chu Heng said. “Staring at me like that is unsettling.”
Zhao Qing smiled ingratiatingly. “This servant does have something to say—it’s hard to hold it in.”
Chu Heng reclined against a soft cushion, watching the people coming and going beyond the gauze window, and said casually, “Mm.”
“Your Highness, what do you think of Miss Lin?” Zhao Qing asked, gauging his master’s expression.
Chu Heng thought for a moment, his tone flat. “I don’t get to choose anyway. We’ll make do.”
Make do…
That meant she was neither particularly important nor unimportant. Zhao Qing was not surprised. Having seen the prince’s conduct today, he felt that in the future the prince and princess consort would likely be nothing more than a mutually respectful couple.
“If the Empress Dowager asks, tell Shuangyun exactly that,” Chu Heng suddenly added.
Zhao Qing was startled and immediately knelt to kowtow, declaring his loyalty. “Your Highness, this servant serves you with a single heart and would never dare harbor disloyalty! Shuangyun did ask a few questions, but this servant absolutely did not betray you…”
Zhao Qing had hoped that the princess consort might bring some vitality to the prince’s life. Since the Empress Dowager had recently been intent on bringing the prince and princess together, which aligned with his own wishes, when Shuangyun wanted to know the prince’s thoughts, he had simply said a few words. It was all for the sake of making the prince’s future life better—he had absolutely no intention of betraying the prince or acting as the Empress Dowager’s informant.
“I know,” Chu Heng said. “Get up first.”
Chu Heng did not participate in court politics, and there had never been major matters in Prince Duan’s residence. Even someone like Zhao Qing, who had served in the palace for decades, would inevitably grow simple-minded after living long in such ease.
Zhao Qing dared not disobey and quickly scrambled to his feet, sitting properly again.
Chu Heng straightened up and said slowly, “You mean well by me—I know that. But you must remember one thing.”
“What I think is good—that alone is good.”
This was a warning not to overstep. Zhao Qing immediately broke out in a cold sweat, bent his waist as low as it would go, and said tremblingly, “Yes. This servant will remember.”
Chu Heng reclined halfway again, propped his chin, closed his eyes, and said slowly, “Go check whether there are still people from the Empress Dowager in the residence.”
When Chu Heng left the palace at fifteen to establish his residence, all the servants had been assigned by the Empress Dowager. Over the years, some had been replaced, and some had shifted their allegiance to Chu Heng.
Still, the Empress Dowager always wished to know every movement, word, and action of Chu Heng. The entire Prince Duan residence had to be constantly scrutinized to ensure she could not exploit any openings.
“Yes,” Zhao Qing replied respectfully, not daring to say more.
Chu Heng idly flicked the tassels on his jade pendant and felt as though he had forgotten something.
Only when the carriage stopped at Prince Duan’s residence did he realize—
He still did not know Miss Lin’s given name.
He would ask next time.
……
Zijuan and Xueyan were waiting early at the ornamental gate. As soon as they saw their mistress return, one hurried forward to take the scroll, while the other supported her.
Only then did Daiyu show signs of fatigue. “Zijuan, rub my hands for me. Bring some hot water back as well—I want to bathe.”
“Yes,” Zijuan responded quickly. “The young lady must be exhausted. After bathing, you should rest—there’s nothing urgent left.”
Daiyu said, “I must first pay my respects to Grandmother.”
As they spoke, they passed through the inner hall, went around the marble screen, crossed the front hall, and arrived at Grandmother Jia’s courtyard.
Xue Baochai and Ying’er were coming out of Grandmother Jia’s room and happened to run into Daiyu and her group face to face.
Xue Baochai immediately noticed the scroll in Xueyan’s arms. Knowing that Daiyu had gone into the palace to give thanks today, she did not need to ask—this must be a reward from the Empress Dowager.
She concealed her envy and stepped forward with a smile. “Pin’er is back. Just now at Grandmother’s place, I even heard her mentioning you.”
Daiyu smiled and said, “I’ll change my clothes and then go pay my respects to Grandmother.”
Xue Baochai smiled. “I won’t delay you.”
Though Daiyu looked somewhat tired, her expression did not suggest she had suffered any grievance. Moreover, she had returned with rewards. Thinking of the gifts previously delivered to the Jia residence, it seemed that the Empress Dowager was not dissatisfied with this daughter-in-law.
Xue Baochai reflected on this, then thought of her own situation. If she had not been outside, she might have sighed aloud on the spot.
The so-called golden-and-jade marriage had been spoken of in the Jia family for so many years, yet few had ever clearly expressed support for it. Only a few years ago, when the Grand View Garden was being built, had Lady Wang used it to deceive her mother, extracting a great deal of silver from their family.
Once a person is no longer useful, they are quickly forgotten. Lady Wang was now busy selecting a high-born bride for Baoyu—how could she still remember any gold or jade?
Her mother wished for her to marry into a family that could protect her brother, but the Xue family had already declined. What powerful family would look favorably upon them? Thus, she could only linger on at the Jia residence.
—Naturally, there was also the reason that Xue Baochai herself did not wish to consign her brilliance to the wrong place.
Her maternal uncle, Wang Ziteng, had no regard for them at all, and the Jia family was clearly unreliable. Even someone as composed as Xue Baochai could not help but often reveal worry in private.
Yet as she walked along, turning these thoughts over and over, she felt that perhaps her prospects were not entirely hopeless. Lady Wang aimed high and wanted a noble daughter-in-law, but as far as she knew, there was currently no high family that truly fancied Jia Baoyu.
The second son of the Duke’s residence’s second branch—though he had a full-blooded sister who was a Noble Consort—what favor had that consort secured for the Jia family? Could she obtain imperial privilege for Jia Baoyu?
In the eyes of great noble houses, Jia Baoyu was hardly a prized catch.
Thinking of this, Xue Baochai could not help but smile bitterly. Yet such a Jia Baoyu was, for her, indeed a prize she longed for.
She sighed again. In the end, Daiyu was the one with good fortune. Though she had lost both parents, who would have thought that such a tremendous blessing could fall from the heavens?
Only—
Daiyu’s situation was good for now, but Prince Duan was long plagued by illness. Her future was still uncertain.
All things considered, Xue Baochai sighed with a sense of resigned satisfaction. She and Daiyu were, after all, kindred in misfortune.
The Daiyu whom Xue Baochai envied had already paid her respects to Grandmother Jia and was now bathing in her own quarters, several maids massaging her wrists and arms.
“Now it’s all right,” Zijuan said softly with a smile. “The young lady can finally rest properly.”
Daiyu smiled faintly. “I still have to go to Grandmother’s place again.”
The matter of Prince Duan was not yet finished today. She still had to give Grandmother and the others an explanation.
Zijuan asked in confusion, “Is there still something else, Miss? Why didn’t you say it all earlier…”
Daiyu shook her head and said no more, merely closing her eyes in thought.
After bathing and changing into everyday clothes, Yuanyang came on Grandmother’s orders to invite Daiyu over.