The courtyard after the rain was filled with the fragrance of plants and trees. Wei Nanxun rested her chin in her hand, staring blankly out the window.
Seeing that she was still wearing her nightgown, her hair was not combed, and she hadn’t had breakfast, Zhi Xia hurried over and said anxiously, “Miss, what are you looking at? It’s getting late, you have to enter the palace today.”
Hearing the word “Miss,” Wei Nanxun came back to her senses and forced a smile.
“It’s nothing, I just had a nightmare.”
She had dreamed of her past life again. Yes, she was reborn, free from the suffocating Eastern Palace, and away from Pei Yuyan and the endless power struggles.
Unfortunately, she was reborn after her first encounter with Pei Yuyan, and everything was repeating according to the memories of her previous life. Pei Yuyan came to her door to break off the engagement with her elder sister, Wei Mingzhao. Wei Mingzhao forced her to be a concubine in the Eastern Palace, even Pei Yuyan wanting to see her in private was exactly the same.
The only difference was that this time she refused, did not agree to be a concubine, and did not see Pei Yuyan in private. Instead, she tried to persuade Wei Mingzhao.
Wei Nanxun didn’t dare to say she understood Pei Yuyan very well. After all, this man’s thoughts were deep, completely different from the seemingly bright and upright appearance. But after sleeping with him for so many years, she could more or less guess some of his thoughts.
He was an upright and prudent gentleman who would become an emperor in the future. How could he be a frivolous person seduced by beauty? Moreover, with the emperor’s decree for the marriage, he would never break off the engagement because of this.
The most likely reason was that his power was too strong, and his image was too perfect. Adding another Wei family as in-laws, he was afraid that the emperor would be wary of him, so he deliberately added the flaw of being obsessed with beauty.
Of course, she didn’t tell Wei Mingzhao any of this. She only said that the Crown Prince would definitely not break off the engagement, and that she was illiterate and didn’t know the rules, so she didn’t dare to enter the palace to serve the emperor, scaring herself into a high fever for several days. She even brought up her deceased mother, saying that she had promised her mother never to be a concubine.
Perhaps afraid that she would scare herself to death, no one in the Wei family mentioned the matter again, and the Crown Prince really didn’t break off the engagement.
Wei Nanxun thought the matter was over, but after a month of recuperation, just as she was able to walk on the ground, the virtuous concubine in the palace sent a letter inviting Wei Mingzhao to admire flowers, and specifically mentioned bringing her along.
The virtuous concubine was Pei Yuyan’s aunt. The empress died in childbirth, and the empress’s sister was brought into the palace and named the virtuous concubine by the Empress Dowager.
Others might wonder why the virtuous concubine was suddenly interested in her, but only she knew that this must be Pei Yuyan’s doing.
His character was to never give up until he achieved his goal.
This was not a flower viewing banquet at all, but a Hongmen banquet, one that she couldn’t refuse.
Wei Nanxun sighed softly, holding her forehead. Zhi Xia had already brought out her best clothes and jewelry: “Miss, come and choose. Being able to enter the palace to see the Empress is a blessing that others can’t even ask for. Why are you sighing?”
“I’d rather not have this blessing.”
To prevent her from embarrassing the Wei family when she entered the palace, these clothes and jewelry were newly made by order of her grandmother, all of the finest satin. She had never seen such a new piece of clothing during the New Year in the past.
But she wasn’t happy at all, and listlessly picked out one of the most elegant ones, a goose-yellow jacket and skirt. She simply combed her hair into a bun with matching pearl flowers, and then a maid from the front yard came to urge her.
Before leaving, she had to go to the front yard. She was from the second branch of the family, her mother died early, and her father was a merchant who traveled all year round and was rarely at home, so the affairs of the mansion were managed by her aunt, the first wife, Wang.
It was her first time entering the palace, so Wang naturally had to give her a few instructions, but her words implied that she should follow Wei Mingzhao, listen more, talk less, and not cause trouble.
No matter what Wang said, Wei Nanxun lowered her head and agreed obediently, appearing docile and timid.
But in Wang’s eyes, she was a pitiful and charming fox.
Especially since Wei Mingzhao was specially dressed up today, with gorgeous clothes and beautiful jade, all the most fashionable and best in the capital, highlighting her status as the eldest daughter of the Duke’s mansion.
And Wei Nanxun’s almost unadorned face, as clear and beautiful as a lotus emerging from water, faintly overshadowed her own daughter.
She wanted to give another warning, but it was getting late, and the carriage from the palace to pick them up was already outside the gate, so she had to send them to the carriage.
The two got into the carriage and sat facing each other. The sisters who were usually the closest didn’t even say a word to each other, as if they were strangers.
It wasn’t until the carriage slowly stopped that Wei Mingzhao said with an ambiguous meaning, “Seventh Sister, the palace is not like the mansion. There are many rules everywhere. You must follow me closely, and don’t offend any dignitaries again.”
Wei Nanxun’s heart was filled with mixed feelings. In the past, she had loved and respected this eldest sister more. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have listened to her and become a concubine in the Eastern Palace.
But all the sisterly affection and kindness disappeared after she learned that Wei Mingzhao had harmed her child and sent poison. The day before, she had refused her pleas, and now the two were like they had torn their faces apart.
Looking at the familiar face in front of her, she felt unfamiliar for the first time. Did the life in the Eastern Palace change Wei Mingzhao, or had she never seen her sister clearly from the beginning?
Wei Nanxun paused, pretending not to understand, and said timidly, “Don’t worry, Eldest Sister, I will definitely follow you closely.”
Wei Mingzhao obviously didn’t believe her. She was uneasy about the virtuous concubine summoning her sister to the palace. She had cried and begged out of necessity. If possible, she would never allow anyone to take away the Crown Prince’s favor. Even if Wei Nanxun said that the Crown Prince would not break off the engagement and would not make her a concubine, she still suspected that this was a seductive tactic of retreating to advance.
She always felt that her sister had been acting strangely lately, not as easy to deceive as before, so she could only say coldly, “You better be…”
The eunuch who came to pick them up was already waiting outside the palace gate. Seeing them get out of the carriage, he hurried forward, bowed respectfully, and led them into the palace.
Wei Mingzhao was the eldest daughter of the Duke’s mansion and had been entering and leaving the palace with Wang since she was a child, so she was no stranger to this road.
And Wei Nanxun, although married to Pei Yuyan for more than four years, had only followed Wei Mingzhao to kowtow to the virtuous concubine once after serving in bed, and had only seen her once, without speaking to her up close. She had only been to the virtuous concubine’s Jingren Palace once.
She didn’t know the virtuous concubine well, but she had heard that although she hadn’t been named a noble consort, she held the phoenix seal and was the most favored concubine in the palace. As for her temperament and style of doing things, she knew nothing about it.
Therefore, she wasn’t perfunctory just now, but sincere in every word.
The palace was not like the Wei mansion. She didn’t know what Pei Yuyan and the virtuous concubine were planning, but now that the Crown Prince hadn’t broken off the engagement and the marriage was proceeding as usual, Wei Mingzhao definitely didn’t want her to marry into the palace.
At least on this point, their goals were the same. As long as she and Wei Mingzhao stayed close together today, the virtuous concubine would have no way to act.
The red walls were towering, and the palace road seemed to have no end. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they finally saw the plaque of Jingren Palace.
“Please wait a moment, ladies. This servant will go inside and report to the Empress.” The eunuch led them to the corridor outside the main hall and left, leaving them to wait in place.
It was noon, more than an hour away from lunch. Everything in the palace was in order. The maids and eunuchs who were cleaning bowed to them when they saw them.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Wei Mingzhao couldn’t stand still and stretched her neck to look into the hall.
Wei Nanxun, on the other hand, kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart. She was too lazy to care about anything else, but at this moment, a maid’s slightly nervous voice sounded not far behind them: “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Your Highness? The only person in the world who could be addressed as Your Highness was him.
Wei Nanxun trembled all over, as if she had been frozen in place, and slowly raised her eyes to look at the person.
She saw a tall figure standing under a mimosa tree not far away. The wind blew, and the pink velvet flowers on the branches rustled down. His eyebrows were clear and handsome, his eyes were bright, and he looked at her with a smile.
Pei Yuyan.
It really was him.