The Main Courtyard
Inside the eastern secondary room, the Fourth Fujin stared blankly at Song Gege’s belly, still struggling to believe what she was seeing. However, now was not the time for her to scrutinize the details.
Collecting her emotions, the Fourth Fujin sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. “Had I known you were with child, I would never have agreed to let you come to pay your respects every day.” She reached out and placed her hand over the thin quilt covering Song Gege’s abdomen, speaking in a gentle, soothing voice. “Fortunately, the physician said everything is fine; otherwise, I truly wouldn’t have known how to explain this to the Consort and the Fourth Master.”
Song Gege slowly sat up and offered a soft, light smile. “Being able to accompany the Fujin every day is my blessing. Besides, coming for the morning greetings was my own choice; how could I possibly blame you?” She lowered her head and smiled with an air of humble contentment. “It was my own negligence, or else it wouldn’t have taken a fainting spell today for me to realize it. I have caused the Fujin worry; it is truly my fault.”
After her hesitant apology, Song Gege made a move to lift the quilt and get out of bed to properly beg for forgiveness.
Although the Fourth Fujin desperately wanted to pack Song Gege up and send her away to be out of sight and out of mind, reality dictated that she maintain her virtuous image. Her smile faded slightly as she pressed Song Gege back down. “What are you doing? The most important thing for you right now is to lie still and avoid unnecessary movement, lest you harm the child.” She tucked in the corners of the quilt and asked with feigned curiosity, “Three months have passed; did you truly not notice anything?”
Finally, it had come. Song Gege’s eyelashes fluttered as she wore a look of confusion. “I find it strange as well. Having given birth before, I logically shouldn’t have failed to notice the changes in my own body.”
Upon hearing this, the Fujin used her handkerchief to hide the slight twitch of her lips, feeling that Song-shi was treating her like a fool.
Beside them, Song Gege’s maid, Tinghe, seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke up. “After the Gege gave birth to the little mistress last time, her body was never quite well. Later… because she was so consumed by grief, her health declined further, and her cycles became irregular.”
The master and servant both wore expressions of sudden realization.
“I suppose that must be the reason,” the Fujin said, looking Tinghe up and down for a few seconds before following the logic with a smile. Acting as if she believed their story, the Fujin did not press further. Instead, she turned and urged the servants to hurry and brew the tonic to stabilize the pregnancy. She appeared deeply concerned about the child, as if Song Gege were carrying her own.
Halfway through the bowl of tonic, Yinzhen, having heard the news, finally arrived at a leisurely pace. He walked to the Fujin’s side, glanced at Song Gege, paused for a moment, and then turned to ask, “Is the child well?”
“The physician said the child is safe, but Song Gege is exhausted and needs a few days of rest,” the Fujin replied with a smile. She then performed a submissive salute to Yinzhen. “It was my negligence. I allowed Song Gege to rise early for greetings because I was unaware of her condition. I nearly harmed your lineage; please punish me, Master.”
Yinzhen frowned and reached out to help the Fujin up. “Those who do not know are not guilty.” He had heard that Song Gege went to pay respects voluntarily, so he naturally wouldn’t blame the Fujin. If even Song Gege, who had birthed a child before, didn’t know her own condition, how could the Fujin, who had never given birth, be expected to know?
The Fujin rose at Yinzhen’s touch, and the weight on her heart lifted. At least the Fourth Master didn’t think she was intentionally mistreating his concubines. However, her eyes flickered with a hidden thought: she should have fewer dealings with Song-shi from now on. She still leaned toward the belief that Song-shi had known she was pregnant. If that were the case, Song-shi’s efforts to get close to her over the past two months were likely driven by ulterior motives.
Yinzhen spoke a few more words to Song Gege, telling her to rest well. Seeing her leaning against the bedstead, her face pale and weak, she looked all the more pitiable. After a moment of consideration, he made a decision. He toyed with the jade ring on his thumb, ignoring the surprise and the fleeting flash of resistance on the Fujin’s face.
“Song-shi is frail and lacks the strength to manage on her own,” he said calmly. “The Fujin will take charge of her care during this pregnancy.”
He wanted to prevent a repeat of what had happened with the little mistress. Remembering his daughter who had passed away so young, the good mood he had felt upon hearing of Song-shi’s pregnancy vanished. Although that child had lived only a few months, she was his first, and he had invested significant hope and affection in her. Yinzhen sighed inwardly, becoming more resolute in his decision to have the Fujin oversee this pregnancy. He truly did not trust Song-shi.
After giving his instructions and rewarding Song Gege with a bounty of medicinal tonics and trinkets, he departed quickly. He needed to be alone.
In contrast to the Fujin’s resistance, Song Gege accepted the decision quite well. In fact, she was very satisfied. With the Fourth Master’s word, if anything went wrong with this pregnancy, the Fujin would be held responsible. Song Gege hid the smile in her eyes and put on a look of shame. “I have already caused the Fujin so much trouble. I feel much better now; I should return to my own quarters.”
“It is no trouble at all. I am, in a sense, the mother of this child as well,” the Fujin replied after collecting herself, patting Song Gege’s hand. What else could she do? The Fourth Master had given the order himself; even if she was unwilling, she had to grit her teeth and do it. She also had to do it perfectly, so that no one could find fault with her. “You rest here for now. When you are feeling stronger, I will have someone take you back.”
She then turned to reprimand Tinghe, who was standing nearby. “Serve your mistress well. If anything happens to her, neither the Fourth Master nor I will forgive you.”
After receiving Tinghe’s terrified assurance, she finally led her people away in satisfaction.
Once they returned to the inner chamber—a space that felt more secure to them—Xueya helped the Fujin sit down and said indignantly, “We were nearly fooled by her.” It was obvious who “she” was.
Xinyi poured a cup of floral tea and handed it to the Fujin, who was propping up her head in silence. She gently massaged the Fujin’s shoulders. “No matter what her intentions were, we know the truth now. It is just a pity that the Fujin has to go to such trouble for her pregnancy.”
The Fourth Fujin set down her teacup and rubbed the space between her brows. “From now on, keep a close eye on her side. Treat her like a goddess until she gives birth.” Fortunately, she had seen how her mother cared for her pregnant sister-in-law back home, so she wasn’t entirely at a loss for what to do.
Both maids complied. No matter how much they resented it, there was no choice; if anything happened, the Fujin would bear the blame.
As she fanned the Fujin, Xueya still felt bitter and muttered, “I don’t know what the Fourth Master was thinking. And that Child-sending Guanyin statue—could it have looked at the wrong person?” Their Fujin was the one who burned incense and chanted sutras every day, so why was the child sent to Song Gege instead!
“Shut your mouth!” Xinyi scolded in a low voice. Neither the Prince nor the statue was something to be spoken of so casually. “Is that something you should be saying?”
Xueya realized her mistake and sheepishly slapped her own mouth a few times in apology.
The Fujin didn’t mind; she actually felt that Xueya was right. However, such things couldn’t be said openly, so she didn’t stop Xinyi from lecturing her. She simply felt a knot in her chest when she remembered how happily she had been chatting with Song Gege previously. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she felt. She waved Xinyi away and went into the Buddhist hall without a word.
Xueya and Xinyi stood frozen, looking at each other.
Xinyi quickly recovered and gave instructions. “Hurry in and serve the Fujin. I will go outside and watch over Song Gege.” She and Xueya had served the Fujin since childhood and knew each other’s temperaments well. Xueya had been spoiled by the Fujin into a person who couldn’t hold her tongue and couldn’t hide her thoughts. Therefore, Xinyi didn’t trust her to go to Song Gege’s side. If anything happened, Xueya wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Seeing Xueya nod and pick up her skirts to leave, Xinyi called out to her again, still uneasy. “Just serve the Fujin well inside. Guard your tongue; don’t say anything to make her unhappy.”
Xueya wrinkled her nose and tapped Xinyi with her fan, huffing, “I’m not that stupid.” With that, she turned and left.
Seeing her like this made Xinyi even more worried. She sighed helplessly, brushed off her clothes, and turned toward the eastern warming room to check on the situation.
As the sun began to sink in the west, Li Wanran was sitting in her courtyard playing cat’s cradle with Banxia and the others. After thinking about Song Gege’s situation for a while that morning, she had given up. She had no particular thoughts on the pregnancy. Since it had nothing to do with her, why waste time on it? She would simply have some standard congratulatory gifts sent over.
She was currently struggling to figure out how to untie the knot on Banxia’s hands when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yinzhen enter the courtyard. Su Peisheng followed behind him with two young eunuchs—one carrying a sapling and the other a shovel.
Li Wanran performed a salute, and after being helped up by Yinzhen, she asked directly with curiosity, “Why did you bring a sapling?”
She looked around her courtyard. A few paces from the steps of the main room stood a magnolia tree with a stone table beneath it for shade. Along the veranda were rows of seasonal flowers in full bloom. The place was not empty at all.
Yinzhen did not answer. Instead, he pointed a slender finger at the sapling and said leisurely, “Guess what kind of tree this is?”
Li Wanran stepped forward and scrutinized a leaf for a long time but couldn’t tell. She wrinkled her face and shook her head. She wasn’t a gardener; all saplings looked more or less the same to her. How was she supposed to recognize it?
“It’s a pomegranate sapling,” Yinzhen said, no longer keeping her in suspense. After speaking calmly, his phoenix-like eyes locked onto her face, seemingly anticipating her reaction.
Li Wanran’s eyebrows arched in surprise as she immediately realized the symbolism of the pomegranate. Yinzhen’s meaning was…
Seeing her prolonged silence, Su Peisheng grew anxious. Surely Li Gege knew the pomegranate’s meaning of “many children and many blessings”? After returning from the main courtyard, the Fourth Master had specifically ordered this pomegranate sapling to be sent to Li Gege. Why was she just standing there in a daze?
“Pomegranates have an auspicious meaning. If it’s planted here where you can see it day and night, you and the Fourth Master will surely bloom and bear fruit soon,” Su Peisheng said, emboldened by Yinzhen’s narrowed eyes to speak directly, winking at Li Wanran as he did so.
Yinzhen suddenly turned and gave him a chilling look, as if saying, I see you’re living much too comfortably. Su Peisheng gave a few sheepish laughs and lowered his head, not daring to speak again.
Li Wanran plucked a leaf and sat back down at the stone table. She tilted her chin up and said with a touch of playful arrogance, “Why didn’t you send it to Song Gege? She already has your ‘fruit’ over there.”
“Are you jealous?” The coldness on Yinzhen’s face was instantly replaced by a smile, and his tone was relaxed. “But now, I am hoping to have a fruit with you.”
The surrounding servants immediately blushed and lowered their heads.
Li Wanran hadn’t expected Yinzhen to say such private things in public; it was far too inconsistent with his usual image. After her initial surprise, she turned red with embarrassment and stood up, covering her face and stomping her foot. “What nonsense are you talking? If people hear this, it will be so…”
Yinzhen laughed and stepped forward to pull her hands away, looking at her with total composure. “This is your courtyard; what is there that cannot be said?” He then swept an indifferent glance over the attending servants and said coolly, “And who would dare to spread rumors?”
The servants bowed their heads even lower.
Li Wanran fanned her face with her handkerchief and began to consider where the tree should be planted. After looking around, she finally pointed to a spot not far from the window. “How about there? That way, I can see it as soon as I open the window.”
Yinzhen naturally had no objection. Seeing this, Su Peisheng turned and signaled the young eunuchs to start digging the hole. Although the two eunuchs looked small, they were quite strong; in no time, a hole was dug.
At that moment, Li Wanran suddenly tried to take the sapling from the eunuch’s hands. The eunuch didn’t know what she meant but didn’t dare let go, looking helplessly at Yinzhen. Seeing their confusion, Li Wanran simply smiled and said she wanted to try planting the tree herself.
Yinzhen frowned in disapproval. “They are here for that; there is no need for you to do it.”
Banxia also stepped forward to echo Yinzhen’s words, hoping to dissuade her from this random idea. Li Gege was accustomed to a life of luxury; how could she do such manual labor?
Seeing them both trying to persuade her, Li Wanran didn’t lose heart. Instead, her eyes shimmered with a fluid light as she smiled and said, “They say sincerity brings results. If I plant it myself, wouldn’t that be even more sincere?”
Banxia didn’t quite catch her meaning, but Yinzhen understood immediately. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Wanran meaningfully, deliberately drawing out his words. “In that case… I must plant it with you. Wouldn’t that be even more effective?”