For three consecutive days, the Fourth Prince had lodged at Consort Gao’s Qinglan Studio.
When Muxi went to the main kitchen to collect meals, she happened to run into people from Qinglan Studio. Both sides were perfectly courteous, and no conflict arose. The two consorts, however, had yet to meet.
It wasn’t until the fifth day—after the Fourth Prince had not stayed at Qinglan Studio the previous night—that Rongmuzhai received a visiting card delivered by Qinglan Studio’s servants, requesting a meeting after breakfast the following day.
After Qinglan Studio received the reply personally delivered by Muyun, Consort Gao began to grow nervous. She grabbed Lan Xin’s hand and asked, “Lan Xin, Father sent word telling me to take the initiative to visit—what does he mean by this?”
Like the Fucha family, the Gao family held influence in the Zhanshi Mansion: Consort Gao’s father, Gao Qi, was the Chief Steward of the Zhanshi Mansion, and Lan Xin and Lan Hu had both been specially assigned to Consort Gao.
This was also why, even though Gao Qi outranked Bakdun by one grade, he turned a blind eye to Bakdun’s covert maneuvering—and even quietly lent a hand.
They were all the same kind of people.
Lan Hu was about the same age as Consort Gao, while Lan Xin was a bit older than the two of them, having already turned eighteen. She was therefore much calmer and reassured Consort Gao: “Shuren, don’t panic. The Fucha lady’s father serves under your father’s command, so she wouldn’t dare do anything to you. Now that we’ve been in the residence for several days, and the rear courtyard has only you and the Fucha lady, a meeting was inevitable sooner or later. I believe your father’s intention is for you to build a good relationship with the Fucha lady.”
“But I’ve heard that Fucha had quite a fierce temper before she married.”
“Shuren, what people say on the outside isn’t necessarily accurate. If I may be so bold, among young ladies of your age, you too have a reputation for being formidable.”
Consort Gao didn’t take offense. She knew her own reputation well enough. Steadying her nerves, she received Muyun in person and gave her a generous reward.
After Muyun left through Qinglan Studio’s main gate, Consort Gao immediately ordered her people to prepare: “Lan Hu, find my pearl headdress set, and bring out that pink banner robe with the lotus embroidery that I brought with me. I’ll need them tomorrow.”
Both Rongyu and Consort Gao had entered the rear courtyard in the capacity of maidservants, so neither had a dowry—only two bundles each.
Rongyu had brought practical items: silver notes and gold ornaments. Consort Gao was different—apart from necessary silver notes, she had brought beautiful ready-made gowns and jewelry.
For this meeting, she was pulling out her most treasured possessions. A woman’s competitive spirit—she absolutely would not give her romantic rival a chance to outshine her.
Rongyu, naturally, had no idea that the servants at Qinglan Studio next door were scrambling about in a flurry. All she knew was that the person who entered Rongmuzhai the next day was a stunning beauty dripping with jewels and finery.
The great beauty likewise saw a Consort Fucha dressed in extremely simple attire.
They looked at each other in silence. It was Rongyu who broke the ice first: “Meeting you for the first time, Shuren—you truly are lovely.”
Consort Gao hadn’t expected Rongyu to receive her so casually. She had assumed this would be a silent contest between rivals, but who would have thought the other woman seemed utterly uninterested in competing? Her own desire to put on a show faded considerably.
Without waiting for Rongyu’s invitation, she walked straight over and sat down on the stone stool across from Rongyu. Taking the peach-green tea that Muxi offered, she found herself at a loss for words.
Rongyu found it genuinely amusing. Consort Gao was the same age as the Fourth Prince—one year younger than herself—still just a young lady.
“Since this is our first meeting and I don’t know what you like, I took the liberty of preparing some of my own favorite snacks. Please see if they suit your taste.”
Rongyu could tell that Consort Gao had no ill intentions and wouldn’t make trouble for her. She turned to Muxi and said, “Bring out the osmanthus syrup and lotus root starch.”
“I know what lotus root starch is—hardly worth making a special show of. But what is this ‘osmanthus syrup’?” Consort Gao hadn’t expected the other woman to offer her food the moment they met, but since this was her first time interacting with Consort Fucha, she decided to stay—consider it doing her a favor.
Muxi moved quickly, carrying an exquisite food box with steady steps, followed by Cheng Mu who bore a small stove. Once they set the food box on the stone table, Rongyu had them wait to the side while she attended to things herself.
The food box was not small, with two tiers. The first tier held fine white lotus root starch—a full bowl that looked very pleasing to the eye.
Rongyu took out the lotus root starch and placed two delicate small bowls before herself and Consort Gao. Then she opened the second tier, which revealed a glass jar filled with a clear, amber liquid, along with a bowl of nuts and candied fruits.
Consort Gao was quite intrigued by the glass jar. She picked it up and examined it closely, then said, “Is this honey?”
“Only a very small amount of honey—it’s mostly osmanthus flowers. Last month when the osmanthus bloomed, I took people out to pick quite a lot. We washed them repeatedly, then added white sugar, honey, and water, and boiled the mixture over and over until it turned clear and translucent. Then we put it in the glass jar and let it cool.”
“You made this yourself?” Consort Gao found it hard to believe. Among young ladies of noble families, some liked embroidery, some liked poetry and calligraphy, and some enjoyed horseback archery—but this was the first time she’d ever encountered one who liked making food.
“Yes, but I only give the instructions—there are people below to do the actual work. You didn’t think I did it all myself, did you?” There was certainly some hands-on work, but there was no need to say how much.
“True.” Consort Gao didn’t dwell on it. “So how is this eaten?”
“Is what you usually eat sweet?”
“It is.”
It was actually quite simple. Rongyu didn’t delegate this to anyone else. She scooped two spoonfuls of lotus root powder into a porcelain bowl, first adding a small amount of cold water and stirring, then pouring in boiling hot water from the stove until the bowl was about two-thirds full, continuing to stir. Watching the lotus root powder turn translucent under Rongyu’s hands, Consort Gao grew quite interested.
That wasn’t the end of it. She scooped a large spoonful of nuts and candied fruit and continued stirring, finishing with sweet osmanthus syrup. Since Consort Gao had a sweet tooth, Rongyu added an extra small spoonful for good measure, then pushed the bowl in front of her to try.
Consort Gao watched Rongyu’s smooth, fluid movements and didn’t hesitate at all. Ignoring Lan Xin’s look of wanting to say something, she picked up the silver spoon and brought it to her mouth.
Rongyu could tell from Consort Gao’s expression that it suited her taste.
The lotus root powder and osmanthus soup wasn’t cloying while eating, but it would leave a slightly rich aftertaste. Rongyu had prepared for that as well. The peach blossoms had already fallen by now, and peaches were nearing the end of their season, but there were still crisp peaches available with excellent texture.
Rongyu signaled Muxi to cut the crisp peaches into chunks, making them easy to spear and eat. There were also some frozen peach pieces steeped with peach-green tea—the best way to cut through the richness.
After finishing her bowl of lotus root powder and osmanthus soup, Consort Gao raised her hand to make herself another bowl. Rongyu quickly stopped her: “Please don’t—one bowl is already enough for you. If you have more, you’ll feel uncomfortable. Have some tea and fruit instead.”
Consort Gao was still rather reluctant to part with it: “I never cared for lotus root powder before—it was bland and tasteless. At home, my mother would add honey to it, but it never tasted as good as yours.”
“Too much honey would be overly sweet. Aren’t you afraid it would be cloying? You should add some water to balance it.”
“This tea is novel too. I’ve never seen fruit paired with tea leaves before.”
“This is peach-green tea. It’s only available in season, and it’s the best for cutting through richness. And these peaches—crisp, not too sweet, with a lovely texture.”
Rongyu adored these peaches. The peach tree in Rongmuzhai bore fruit eagerly, keeping Rongyu supplied with them all summer long.
Consort Gao ate happily and drank happily. The thought she’d had earlier of trying to put pressure on Rongyu faded considerably.
That was only natural. The person across from her showed no hostility and had treated her to fine food and drink. To display any ill will now wouldn’t earn respect—it would only make her a laughingstock.
“Is the Shuren satisfied?” The pleasantries still had to be said. If this woman left Rongmuzhai claiming she’d been poorly received, and word reached the Fourth Prince’s ears, that would be a loss not worth the gain.
“Enough, stop with all this ‘Shuren’ business. My given name is Qingwen. You may call me that as well.”
Consort Gao still wore her haughty air, but the initial formality was gone, and she spoke more freely: “And don’t take this the wrong way, but this is our first meeting, and you dared to offer me food. Didn’t your family teach you anything before you married? You’ve handed me such a big handle—aren’t you afraid I’ll walk out and say you tried to poison me? It’s only because I’m a good person that I wouldn’t stoop to such things.”
Rongyu: …
Of course I know that. Didn’t I eat it with you too? This young lady is so prickly.
She thought it but didn’t say it, and in good spirits, Rongyu replied to Consort Gao: “Then I thank Qingwen for her advice.”
“Alright, as long as you know. Oh, what’s your given name? I told you mine, so you should tell me yours, shouldn’t you?”
A married woman’s given name was not casually revealed to outsiders except for elders in the family, and there was much room for maneuvering in this. Among wives, unless they were especially close, they addressed each other by their family ranking. But since Consort Gao had so openly shared hers, there was no need for Rongyu to hide anything.
“Fu-cha’s eldest daughter, Rongyu. Qingwen, remember it well.”
And so, from that day on, the people of the Fourth Prince’s household noticed that the two mistresses of the rear courtyard were getting along quite well. It was Consort Gao who was the more proactive one—whenever mealtime came, she loved to go to Rongmuzhai, and whether or not Consort Fuca had prepared a portion for her, she would wait steadfastly.
Naturally, the interactions between the two couldn’t be hidden from the Fourth Prince. Those below would periodically report on what happened in the rear courtyard, and seeing that the two got along harmoniously, the Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness—unlike that courtyard next door with its constant quarreling. That would have been enough to drive anyone mad.