The pomegranate sapling was eventually planted, with Yinzhen filling in the soil and Li Wanran providing the water. Although they had skipped a few professional steps, it was still considered planted by their own hands. With this sentiment in mind, the two of them would circle the sapling every few days to check on its progress. Under their watchful eyes, the little sapling slowly began to sprout new branches and leaves.
As they entered the height of summer in August, the weather became increasingly sweltering and stifling. Every day at noon, the temperature would soar, necessitating the constant use of fans to prevent being drenched in sweat. Li Wanran sat by the window, where a slight breeze could be felt, as she and Banxia each held a fan and fanned themselves vigorously. Despite this, a sticky sensation still clung to her skin.
“Zhuqing, go to the kitchen and order a few more bowls of mung bean soup. Xiao Yuzi and the others will be back shortly,” Li Wanran said with a frown, her small face flushed from the heat.
“Yes.” Zhuqing, who was watering the flowers under the veranda, immediately set down her watering can, took the silver, and headed toward the kitchen accompanied by the incessant chirping of cicadas.
“Right now, I wish I were deaf!” Li Wanran muttered resentfully at the sound of the cicadas, speaking as if they were her mortal enemies. She was already irritable from the heat preventing her from taking a nap, and with the punctual daily chirping outside the courtyard added to the mix, her agitation only grew.
Hearing this, Banxia quickly set down her fan, pressed her palms together in front of her chest, and bowed toward every corner of the room. “Pah, pah, pah! Children’s words carry no harm. May the Bodhisattvas not take her seriously.” After her prayer, she picked up the fan and fanned Li Wanran with increased force, nagging her that she shouldn’t say such things. What if a passing Bodhisattva actually heard her and took it literally?
Li Wanran was too hot to argue about the probability of a Bodhisattva happening to pass by. She picked up the nearly empty bowl of iced sour plum soup from the side table and drained it. Because it had been sitting out for a while, it was no longer very cold.
Li Wanran: Even more annoyed now.
“Xiao Yuzi has been out with the others catching those cicadas for a while now. You won’t have to hear those annoying sounds much longer.” Banxia fanned her while trying to soothe her temper. “Listen, doesn’t it sound like there are much fewer of them now?”
Li Wanran slowed her own fanning, half-believing, and tilted her ear to listen. Indeed, the noise had diminished significantly, no longer rising and falling in endless waves as it had at the start. With one major source of annoyance reduced, her foul mood improved considerably.
She finally smiled and said, “When they come back to drink the mung bean soup, give them some small silver ingots. Working under such a scorching sun, we can’t just dismiss them with a single bowl of mung bean soup.”
Seeing her mood lift, Banxia nodded with a smile. “I understand.”
After giving her instructions, Li Wanran went to bathe. With the constant sweating, she felt as if she could scrub grime off her skin—a sensation she absolutely could not tolerate. By the time she finished and emerged feeling refreshed, the annoying chirping outside had ceased. Glancing out the window, she saw that Xiao Yuzi and the others had indeed finished their task. They were currently sitting under the veranda, wiping sweat with their sleeves and gulping down mung bean soup.
Li Wanran smiled and told Banxia to distribute the silver ingots immediately. She added, “Tell them they don’t need to come and thank me. Just go back and rest once they’ve finished their drink.”
Banxia complied and went out with the silver. Left alone, Li Wanran began to find sitting idly a bit boring. Deciding not to waste time, she planned to make a belt for Yinzhen. It would serve as a way to pass the time and also as a small token of her affection, letting Yinzhen feel her love. No sooner said than done, she immediately fetched the fabric and began to work.
The Main Courtyard
Xinyi quickly peeked at the person sitting in the eastern secondary room and then pulled back. Meeting the Fujin’s questioning gaze, she shook her head with a slight frown.
Beside them, Xueya, who was fanning the Fujin, lowered her voice in exasperation. “She’s been sitting there all morning. Just how long does she plan to stay? Is she really not going to leave until she sees the Fujin? She certainly knows how to build a reputation for herself!”
Building a reputation by stepping over their Fujin—it was truly sickening. After Song Gege’s health had stabilized, the Fujin had strictly forbidden her from coming to pay respects every day. Yet even so, she would still come to sit in the Main Courtyard every few days. This had led many of the servants to remark on how truly respectful Song Gege was toward the Fujin.
If not for her status, Xueya would have loved to rush over and spit at those people. If they didn’t know how to speak properly, they should shut up. This wasn’t “respect”; it was blatant provocation.
In Xueya’s eyes, Song Gege coming to the Main Courtyard while clutching her waist outside of the scheduled greeting days was nothing but a provocation. Wasn’t she just trying to flaunt her pregnancy? Xueya let out an indignant huff. What was the big deal? It wasn’t as if she were the only woman capable of giving birth.
The Fourth Fujin truly did not want to see Song-shi. She sneered, “If she loves sitting there, let her sit. I want to see if she can keep waiting if I never go out.”
“You mustn’t, Fujin. Song Gege is pregnant,” Xinyi hurriedly advised. “What if she goes back and tells Master Fourth an exaggerated story about you refusing to see her? It wouldn’t be good if he misunderstood you.”
Xueya found these words reasonable, but she couldn’t bring herself to persuade the Fujin to see someone she detested. She could only signal Xinyi to think of something. Xinyi glanced at her helplessly and looked back at the Fujin in silence.
In truth, the Fujin understood these points perfectly well. It was precisely because of this that she disliked Song Gege even more. Song-shi had even surpassed Li Wanran as the most annoying person in her heart. After a long silence, the Fujin calmed her expression and allowed Xinyi to help her with her makeup. With a hint of mockery in her eyes, she said, “Let us see what ‘guidance’ Song Gege wishes to offer today.”
With the intention of dealing with this nuisance quickly so she could send her away, the Fujin finished getting ready and stepped out. She sat gracefully in the seat of honor, picked up her teacup, and said with a faint smile, “Once the weather turns hot, one becomes quite drowsy. I slept a bit longer than intended; I’ve kept you waiting.”
She then turned to Xinyi and feigned a light scolding, “I’ve spoiled you all too much; you didn’t even think to wake me when Song Gege arrived.” Xinyi immediately knelt and begged for mercy, playing along with the Fujin’s act.
Seeing this, Song Gege rose and offered a gentle persuasion: “On the contrary, I feel the Fujin’s maid is truly good to you. Besides, there is an ice chest and fresh tea here; it’s much more comfortable than my own courtyard. If I could, I would truly love to stay and never leave.”
The Fujin allowed Xinyi to rise and only smiled without responding. Nice dream, she thought, but it will remain just a dream.
Seeing that the Fujin didn’t take the bait, Song Gege didn’t feel awkward. She turned and signaled for Tinghe, who had been standing behind her, to step forward. Glancing at the pomegranate ornament on the tray Tinghe held, she smiled at the Fujin. “I was the only daughter in my family; as a child, I was very envious of other children who had brothers and sisters.” She paused here, the smile on her face deepening. “So, I thought of giving this to you. I hope that in the future, your child and the one in my belly can be a pair of brothers who love each other dearly.”
The Fujin glanced at the pomegranate ornament, a flash of impatience crossing her eyes. Is she really here just to provoke me? Before she could say anything, Song Gege suddenly added, as if embarrassed: “Actually, I heard earlier that Master Fourth sent a pomegranate tree to Li Gege’s place, which reminded me that I still had this pomegranate ornament in my storehouse.”
The Fujin suddenly understood. The corners of her mouth curved slightly as she toyed with the lid of her teacup. So, this was her real motive: using this to incite her to move against Li-shi.
The Fujin sneered in her heart. This trick wouldn’t have necessarily worked during her first few days in the palace, let alone today. She already knew about Master Fourth planting a pomegranate tree in Li-shi’s courtyard. She even knew he had planted it with his own hands alongside Li-shi. Having known for a long time—and having witnessed his unique treatment of Li-shi—she wasn’t even surprised that he would do such a thing.
It wasn’t that she felt no discomfort, but she was clear on one thing: no matter how much Master Fourth favored Li-shi, he would not cast aside her dignity as his Fujin for her sake. Since Master Fourth’s heart was currently with Li-shi, she would not do anything to her. After all, she had learned many methods of dealing with favored concubines from her mother back home.
Coming back to her senses, the Fujin saw that Song Gege was still watching her, as if determined to hear something specific from her mouth. She huffed inwardly, refusing to let the woman have her way. She said with a half-smile, “Master Fourth has always cherished Sister Li; isn’t it normal for him to want a child with her? Perhaps Sister Li will have good news soon as well. When that time comes, the child in your womb will have a younger brother or sister to play with.”
Song Gege hadn’t expected her to say that. She gave a couple of dry laughs and changed the subject. After a short while, seeing that the Fujin remained uninterested, she finally set down her teacup and took her leave. However, as she left, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the “finally she’s gone” expression on Xueya’s face, and she almost failed to maintain her gentle smile.
Returning to her own courtyard, she touched her belly and sighed. “In the future, there’s no need to visit the Fujin so frequently.” Her frequent visits to the Main Courtyard had been intended to sow discord between the Fujin and Li-shi, and also to repair the rift between herself and the Fujin. Unfortunately, no matter how she tried to curry favor this time, the Fujin’s attitude remained distant, unlike before. Since that was the case, she didn’t care to keep pressing her warm face against a cold seat.
Song Gege looked at her belly and began to smile. She had gotten everything she wanted, hadn’t she? Except for the fact that she hadn’t yet succeeded in bringing down Li Wanran.
Tinghe, who was massaging her feet, nodded and said resentfully, “I feel the same. The Fujin was clearly leaving you out in the cold on purpose today, making you wait so long.”
Song Gege picked up a circular fan and fanned herself gently. “None of that matters now.”
What mattered was when the Fujin would finally lose her patience and strike at Li-shi. Song Gege’s eyes were full of confidence. During the time she had spent with the Fujin, she knew better than anyone how much the Fujin disliked Li Wanran—though much of that had been subtly nudged by her own comments.
Recalling the Fujin’s indifferent reaction when she mentioned the pomegranate tree, Song Gege let out a light laugh, thinking it must have been hard for the Fujin to pretend so convincingly. In her heart, the Fujin was likely just as furious as she was, wanting to scratch the walls in rage.
Thinking this, she felt a sense of lofty pity for the Fourth Fujin. So what if she was the Fujin? She still couldn’t win Master Fourth’s heart. Song Gege now had the child in her womb, which would be her trump card in the future, whereas the Fujin had nothing but her title. Now, all she had to do was wait for the two of them to start fighting; it would be best if they both suffered, leaving her to reap the rewards.