Li Wanran smiled as if nothing were amiss and looked away. She suddenly recalled the strategy she had prepared for the Fujin before coming here: neither fawning nor opposing.
Last night, she had tossed and turned in bed, thinking for the entire night before coming up with this approach. She was already exhausted from the daily effort of acting in front of Yinzhen. To make the performance more convincing and avoid being exposed, she had even begun to invest a bit of her genuine feelings into it. Though it wasn’t much, even she wouldn’t believe it if she claimed she still felt nothing for Yinzhen.
Furthermore, she didn’t have a people-pleasing personality; she couldn’t bring herself to go and curry favor with the Fourth Fujin the same way she did with Yinzhen. Besides, in this place, whether in her heart or her actions, there could only be one most important person. She imagined the other person felt the same way.
Moreover, looking at it from another perspective, the Fourth Fujin probably wouldn’t want to face her husband’s pampered concubine every day either. Therefore, she only needed to let the Fourth Fujin know that she had no intention of committing the suicidal act of competing with her. As for whether the Fujin believed her or not, that was outside her scope of concern; her attitude would be displayed for the Fujin to see regardless.
After a brief reflection, Li Wanran took the bracelet from the tray and slipped it onto her wrist. Meeting the Fourth Fujin’s gaze, she praised with a face full of sincerity, “How could I possibly find it lacking? Such a precious bracelet—one look and I am absolutely enchanted by it.”
With that, she rose and joyfully performed a salutation to the Fujin, smiling. “Thank you, Fujin, for parting with such a treasure.”
“It is nothing. This bracelet suits you well; it seems I chose the right gift,” the Fujin replied with a smile. She hadn’t expected Li-shi to be the first to show her stance, and her expression didn’t seem to harbor any dissatisfaction. Perhaps the Fourth Prince had instructed her in private, the Fujin speculated, uncertain of the motive behind Li Wanran’s behavior.
At this point, Song Gege, who was half a beat slower, followed suit. She took the bracelet, put it on, and rose with a soft smile. “Thank you for the reward, Fujin. I shall certainly wear it every day.” After speaking, she cast a suspicious glance at Li Wanran. She’s being quite attentive today; could she be plotting something?
Seeing this, Yi-shi also hurriedly tucked away her gilded bracelet and rose to give thanks. She didn’t have any thoughts regarding the difference in gifts. After all, their statuses were different to begin with; she had long ago accepted her lot in life, and her current situation was already quite good. Furthermore, Yi-shi looked down and touched the gilded bracelet on her wrist. The cool sensation sent a shiver through her, as if a piece of ice were resting against her skin. She didn’t think this gilded bracelet was inferior to the jade ones given to Li Gege and Song Gege; she particularly liked the rubies inlaid upon it.
She truly is from a wealthy family, Yi-shi marveled inwardly. What she envied most was the Fujin’s birth; if she too were…
Seeing that their attitudes were respectful enough, the Fourth Fujin nodded in satisfaction. “These are merely external possessions; it is enough that you like them.” If these items could ensure they remained settled and didn’t cause trouble in the future, she wouldn’t mind rewarding them further for the sake of a comfortable life. To her, such trifles were hardly worth mentioning. Why not do something that yielded a high return for a small investment?
After asking them to be seated, she continued with a smile, “I have only just entered the palace. If there is anything I do incorrectly in the future, you may point it out directly.”
The leader might say that, but would you actually be foolish enough to go and tell her what she was doing wrong? Of course not, unless your head was filled with water.
Song-shi immediately picked up the conversation, smiling as she said, “The Fujin’s words truly humble us; you are being far too modest.”
Everyone was well-versed in the art of keeping up appearances. With one person saying a sentence here and another there, a harmonious atmosphere was established. No one dislikes being surrounded by praise, and the Fujin—despite her lingering reservations about them—was no exception. She beamed with joy. After delivering a speech about how everyone should get along well and setting the morning greetings to occur once every five days, she officially announced the successful conclusion of the morning’s audience.
When Li Wanran heard the words “dismissed,” her mood was no different from a student whose teacher had finally let them go after a long period of overtime. She wished she could fly out in an instant and be lying on her comfortable soft daybed the next second. She had drunk several cups of tea, and her backside was starting to ache from sitting!
Suppressing her twitching red lips, Li Wanran dutifully lowered her head to finish her salutations and withdrew along with Yi-shi and the others.
On the other end, the Fujin leaned on her maid’s hand as she returned to the inner chamber. She changed into comfortable clothing and casually took a book from the shelf, leaning back on the daybed. Xueya knelt on the footstool and gently massaged her legs.
After a long while, the Fujin hadn’t turned a single page of the book in her hand. Her mind was constantly flickering with Li Wanran’s and Song-shi’s behavior from that morning. “What do you think of Li-shi?” the Fujin suddenly asked, putting down her book.
Xueya’s massaging hands paused. She had only seen Li Gege during the morning greeting. She couldn’t truly say what kind of person Li Gege was. After some thought, she could only report her first impression: “She seems to know the rules.”
“Every one of them seems to know the rules,” the Fujin said, propping her chin on one hand while the other leafed through the book aimlessly.
Having served the Fujin since childhood, Xueya could tell at a glance what was troubling her. She gently massaged the Fujin’s legs to make her more comfortable and comforted her, “Whether their compliance is real or fake, they can never surpass you. There is no need to trouble your spirit over them.”
To put it bluntly, they were merely a few concubines who couldn’t be presented in a formal setting. The Fourth Fujin understood those grand principles; she had cautioned herself with them before her marriage. However, after her veil was lifted and she saw the Fourth Prince—whose noble and magnificent presence far exceeded her expectations—unavoidable feelings of hope began to rise in her heart. During the tea ceremony earlier that morning, she had snapped back to reality when she saw the Fourth Prince repeatedly and subconsciously looking toward Li Gege.
She let out a long sigh and said with a bitter smile, “I knew this day would come.” It was still manageable now with only three of them, but there would be more and more people in the future.
Seeing this, Xueya smiled and said, “The Fourth Master is a man of rules. He certainly won’t act like those lecherous men who favor a concubine over their wife; please set your mind at ease.” After speaking, she rose to refill the Fujin’s tea and presented it, letting the warmth soothe her mistress’s internal fire. She then used the morning’s events as an example. “After the Fourth Master finished paying respects to the elders with you, he specifically stayed here until Li Gege and the others came for the tea ceremony.”
“Didn’t you used to say that to judge a person, one shouldn’t just listen to what they say, but look at what they do? The Fourth Master’s actions prove that in his heart, he deeply respects you as his Fujin.”
As the Fourth Fujin listened to her, the clouds of worry covering her brows cleared. She picked up the teacup and took a sip; it tasted sweet. She was now in the mood to arrange things and said with a smile, “The Fourth Master is coming later. Xinyi is busy outside handling the storehouse, so you have someone go to the kitchen to order a few dishes.”
Xueya nodded respectfully. “Yes.”
With the orders given, the Fourth Fujin rose. “For now, I shall go to the small Buddhist hall to copy some scriptures as an offering to the Bodhisattva.” Thinking of Consort De’s words, she couldn’t help but reach out and touch her cheeks, which had instantly turned flushed and hot.
Xueya kept her head partially bowed and didn’t see the Fujin’s expression. Hearing the order, she hurriedly assisted the Fujin into the Buddhist hall. There hadn’t been a small Buddhist hall in the main courtyard originally; it had been prepared following their return from Yongshou Palace by clearing out two rooms in the rear building.
For the next few days, Yinzhen only went to the main courtyard; he did not enter the back courtyard and slept in the study. Yet, as if to tell the outside world that he still valued Li Wanran, he sent her gifts from time to time over those few days. Sometimes, while he was eating something, he would suddenly have an identical portion sent to Li Gege.
The result was as he wished: the palace servants, who already didn’t dare to neglect Li Wanran, became even more attentive to her affairs. Li Wanran remained as she was before, not becoming arrogant or lawless because of this. However, this meant that the servants who wanted to curry favor with her were kept at the door. But where there was a will, there was a way; some clever individuals thought of “saving the country through a curved line” and provided many conveniences to Yi-shi instead. Yi-shi came to see Li Wanran once to talk about this, smiling as she said she was once again benefiting from her light.
On this day, Li Wanran sat on the daybed propping up her chin, bored as she toyed with the pearls in a box.
“Gege, the rewards have all been given out according to your instructions,” Banxia reported after seeing off the eunuch who had delivered a gift. Looking at the box of round, lustrous large pearls, she smiled. “The Fourth Master still keeps you in his heart; even when he’s out of the palace, he doesn’t forget to send you things.”
Today was the ninth day since the Fujin had entered the household—the day of the “Return to the Bride’s Home.” The Fourth Master had taken the Fujin out of the palace early that morning to visit her parents. Although the Fourth Master hadn’t come to see her these past few days, he had sent quite a lot of things to put her mind at ease—white jade brush holders and malachite inkstones notwithstanding. Various jewelry and gems, which her mistress loved most, were sent over in a continuous stream. The scale of it made Banxia wonder if the Fourth Master’s storehouse was being emptied.
After such a barrage of gifts, Banxia didn’t think for a second that the Fourth Master’s absence was because he no longer liked Li Wanran.
Li Wanran looked up and smiled at her but didn’t respond. She simply took three medium-sized pearls from the box and placed them in Banxia’s hand. “Take these and divide them among yourselves.” Over these past days, they had been busy tidying things and trying to make her happy; it had been hard work. With a click, she closed the box and had Banxia put it away, while she herself went to the study to paint.
Left alone in her shock, Banxia stared blankly at the pearls in her hand. It took her a long moment to recover. She entered the study to offer her thanks with a grin before heading off.
Painting was a craft that required constant practice; if one stopped, the hand would grow clumsy. Perhaps at first she had only thought of relearning painting to charm Yinzhen, but as time passed, the passion that had vanished from her heart slowly returned. Now, her painting was no longer for flirtation, but simply because she enjoyed it.
The orange glow of twilight gradually filled the small study. Li Wanran was so absorbed in her painting that she didn’t hear the salutation from outside: “Greetings, Master Fourth.” By the time she felt something was off, Yinzhen had already been standing beside her for quite a while.
As Li Wanran painted with her head down, she suddenly noticed a shadow beside her. Looking up, she saw Yinzhen standing tall with his hands behind his back.
“Master Fourth? When did you return?”
Surprised, Li Wanran immediately set down her brush, threw her arms around his waist, and said in a muffled voice, “How could you bring yourself to come to my place today?” She had estimated that Yinzhen’s time in the main courtyard was about up, but she hadn’t expected him to come today.
Yinzhen rubbed her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head, teasing, “I’ve been here for quite a while, yet a certain someone didn’t notice. Tell me, what should be the punishment for this?”
“Then have someone give me a flogging,” Li Wanran huffed, letting go and withdrawing from his arms. She turned and sat in the chair behind the desk with a reproachful look.
Yinzhen let out a light laugh, his eyes greedily watching the person before him. The young woman’s brows were raised in a coquettish glare, and her eyes were so shimmering and full of life that one would willingly drown in them.
“I could never bring myself to do that.” Yinzhen paced behind Li Wanran, his long fingers picking up a few strands of her hair from her chest. His deep voice carried a longing that even he hadn’t noticed. “Did you miss me?”
The expression on Li Wanran’s face immediately became a bit awkward. She toyed with the lid of her teacup, looking down and muttering, “Does it even matter if I missed you or not?”
Spending these past few days alone had been incredibly comfortable. She didn’t have to worry about being forgotten by the “boss,” and bonuses were credited to her account every few days. All she had to do was act a little when receiving the bonuses. So, aside from thinking about Yinzhen for a bit during the first two days, her state of mind for the following days had become: Yinzhen who? Don’t know him.
However, everyone interprets the same sentence differently. Hearing her words, Yinzhen felt that Li Wanran was acting pitifully, expressing her grievances. His eyes shifted as he leaned close to her, his gaze full of tenderness as he whispered, “If you don’t try, how would you know it’s useless?” If she had taken the initiative to seek him out just once, he wouldn’t have restrained himself until today.
Li Wanran pouted, her head drooping as she said slowly, “The Fujin has just entered the palace; you must accompany her. I… don’t want to trouble you.”
The fact that you haven’t come has already made me troubled, Yinzhen thought, his thin lips parting slightly, though the words remained unspoken. He reached out and pulled Li Wanran up, sat down himself, and then seamlessly pulled her onto his lap. “When did you become so obedient?”
“When was I ever not obedient?” Li Wanran looked up sharply, staring at Yinzhen in disbelief. Seeing his serious face, she was dazed for a moment, nearly falling into his trap. She was so professional; how could it be as Yinzhen said!
Yinzhen was amused by her bristling reaction. “Alright, I remembered incorrectly.” Just as his voice fell, he gently touched Li Wanran’s cheek, which was slightly flushed from her outburst. His dark eyes continuously traced her features as he whispered softly, “Sometimes, you don’t have to be quite so obedient.”
You can appropriately lose your temper with me. After saying this, Yinzhen even visualized Li Wanran losing her temper with him in his mind and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.