Seeing his little head peeking around like that, Lin Zhen couldn't help but find it amusing.
She beckoned to the little one across from her.
Seeing her gesture for him to come over, the little cub's eyes immediately lit up. He pattered over, tilted his little head up, and obediently bowed to Lin Zhen, saying, "Greetings, Mother."
His little face flushed red just from saying those simple words.
Lin Zhen smiled gently, lowered her head, and asked softly, "Ping'an, did you come to pick me up?"
She was smiling warmly, and Ping'an gave a small nod.
"Then why didn't you come over?"
"Didn't… didn't want to cause Mother trouble."
The little cub said this rather sheepishly.
He had missed her so much that when he heard the maids say the Princess Consort had returned to the residence, he'd hurried over, eager to see his mother as quickly as possible.
But when he ran up to her, he remembered—she had gone to the palace today.
Going to the palace was so tiring.
Every time his late birth mother returned from the palace, she would be unhappy. When he went to see her, she would always scold him, saying, "All you know how to do is cause me trouble, you ungrateful little brat who doesn't know how to be considerate! I have to entertain you after coming back from the palace—am I not tired enough?!"
So in his little heart, he had always remembered that going to the palace was something very exhausting, and that good, obedient Ping'an must not fail to be considerate of his mother.
So when the overwhelming desire to see his mother suddenly collided with these thoughts, he felt he was being too willful.
Because his mother had been so kind and gentle with him, Ping'an had gotten bold.
"Mother… tired." He said in a small voice.
"The elders in the palace are all very kind, so Mother isn't tired at all. But even if I were tired from socializing outside, knowing that Ping'an is at home thinking of me, willing to come welcome me back—even a weary heart would be filled with joy. It's truly wonderful to have Ping'an at home thinking of Mother."
This was sincere.
Who wouldn't love being held in someone's thoughts?
Lin Zhen smiled and lowered her head, seeing that the little one's forehead was covered in sweat beads. She could imagine how urgently he had run over on his little short legs, eager to see her.
She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her little cub's sweat.
As the soft handkerchief touched his forehead, Ping'an looked up, mouth hanging open in a daze, showing his little white teeth.
He looked at his mother, so close before him.
She didn't scold him, and she even said, "It's wonderful to have Ping'an."
Mother was even wiping his sweat for him.
This was the first time someone had gently wiped his sweat like this, gazing at him with such doting eyes.
In her eyes, there was only him.
"What's wrong?" Lin Zhen asked with a smile when she saw the little one staring blankly.
The little one's eyes were sparkling, but his face was flushed red as he didn't know what to say.
"If you like something, you should express it, so Mother can know what Ping'an wants and what he doesn't want." Lin Zhen gave this reminder because it was clear this child always suppressed his likes and dislikes, always timid and hesitant.
But a child of this age could afford to be a little willful.
He could confidently express his feelings, rather than always restraining himself with "must be good."
A little cub.
Even if he caused the elders a bit more worry, what of it?
"I… still want…" Under Lin Zhen's encouraging gaze, Ping'an gathered his courage and whispered, "Mother… wipe my sweat again."
Lin Zhen smiled in acknowledgment and carefully wiped the little one's sweat again.
After wiping his sweat under the watchful eyes of many smiling maids, Lin Zhen put away her handkerchief, took the little cub's small hand in hers, and led him toward her courtyard.
Along the way, Ping'an would occasionally glance down at their clasped hands, his round eyes on his thin little face wet and glistening, dark and bright.
Seeing him like this, Lin Zhen smiled and asked, "What else does Ping'an want?"
The little one first shook his head, then looked up and said happily, "Eat fruit with Mother." Such a simple wish.
Yet even such a small expectation could make a little cub happy all day long.
Lin Zhen naturally felt that eating fruit was an enjoyable pleasure, and then she heard Ping'an say in a small voice, "Before, Auntie also… wiped sweat for Eldest Brother. Ping'an… has it now too."
Lin Zhen immediately knew that the "Auntie" he mentioned was Consort Shen of the residence.
She must have seen Consort Shen wiping the sweat of her eldest son, Tiansheng, at some point, and the little one had been filled with longing and envy.
Indeed.
No matter what Consort Shen was like, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to her own son.
"What else does Ping'an envy about Eldest Brother?" Lin Zhen asked with a smile.
"Now, I have Mother." The little cub tightened his small hand around his mother's and said contentedly.
He had envied Eldest Brother before.
Although his mother had once told him not to interact with Eldest Brother, saying he was raised by a "concubine" and that he should share his mother's resentment.
But Ping'an had secretly envied the brother he rarely had contact with.
Because he was always so cherished and fussed over by his own mother.
Back then, in the garden, he had seen Eldest Brother being held by his mother while she adjusted his clothes, and in the eyes of the consort auntie his mother so detested, there was only Eldest Brother.
The little cub had once yearned so desperately, crouching in a corner of the rockery to peek, dreaming even in sleep that if only he could have such love—even just a tiny bit of it—that would be enough.
But now he had it, and he treasured it all the more. His small hands tightened, and the little one pressed closer to Lin Zhen's side.
He no longer envied his elder brother.
"Tianxing, I have my own Ping'an now." Lin Zhen smiled, lowering her head to gently ruffle the cub's hair. "Does Ping'an have his mother in his heart?"
"Love Mother, Ping'an, filial!" Mother was good to him, so he would be even better to her.
Now he would work hard to be a good Ping'an who didn't cause Mother worry, and when he grew up, he would protect Mother and become a Ping'an she could rely on.
The cub nodded vigorously, as if to give his words more strength. "Only love Mother!"
Who said cubs weren't skilled at sweet talk?
At least Lin Zhen was coaxed into a smile.
Mother and son walked along, exchanging clingy words, as if even the sky had stopped being so sultry.
As they were talking, Lin Zhen felt a gaze fixed upon her.
She instinctively followed the feeling and saw, beneath the distant corridor, a young and beautiful woman dressed entirely in mourning clothes, holding a child by the hand, watching her.
The gaze directed at her hid hostility. When Lin Zhen looked at her, the beautiful woman gave a cold snort, then turned and pulled the quiet child away.
"That's the Consort." The servants who had been smiling at the mother-and-son exchange furrowed their brows. Jiaoyue, standing behind Lin Zhen, frowned and said, "The Consort is truly rude. She…"
Though Consort Shen had once been favored by Prince Fu and had borne his eldest son, her status differed from the others—still, a principal consort was a principal consort, and a secondary consort was a secondary consort.
She had already seen Lin Zhen yet turned and left without coming to pay her respects—that was simply a breach of propriety.
"Let it be." Seeing Wen Yue, the maid behind Ping'an, knit her brows tightly, her already stern face tensing with displeasure, Lin Zhen said calmly, "The Prince has passed. Her heart is probably heavier than anyone's."
Consort Shen had enjoyed such prominence before Prince Fu yet had never been elevated to principal consort—that must have been a great blow to her.
She swayed her cub's little hand and smiled. "Besides, the manor has been too quiet. With her making a fuss, it'll be livelier."
She didn't care whether Consort Shen made a scene… There was no male master in the manor anymore, and the heir's title had already been decided. There was nothing left to fight over.
Even if Consort Shen stretched out her claws, it was harmless enough.
As for her wanting gold, jewels, or fine clothes—well, that was just coaxing a beauty.
The Princess Consort Fu, who had just received a hefty sum at the palace, was not short on money. She merely mused idly and had Jiaoyue arrange the palace rewards.
This time, the palace had explicitly designated the gifts for her alone, so Lin Zhen wouldn't be so generous as to put them into the manor's public coffers.
But coming out of the palace had reminded her of something. After returning to the main quarters and having some fruit, she sat with the manor's account books, reading as she spoke to Jiaoyue, her most capable maid who bustled about for her: "The Empress Dowager has gifted me a newly built Suzhou-style garden on the Western Hills. Take some people to see what the garden looks like. No need to rush back—it's not urgent."
"Let Wen Yue go." Jiaoyue poured tea for Lin Zhen with a smile. "Wen Yue has worked hard caring for the Young Prince. Let her go and relax a bit."
Wen Yue was close to her and had worked hard tending to the Young Prince. Besides…
Jiaoyue thought privately that since the Young Prince was now so affectionate with the Princess Consort, Wen Yue might as well take this chance to return to the Princess Consort's side, gain more of her trust, and secure better assignments in the future.
"Then discuss it between you and Wen Yue." Lin Zhen felt it didn't matter who went to relax first—after all, when she later went to the garden to rest, Jiaoyue would naturally enjoy it too.
She only smiled and said, "And the manor's old summer retreat… send someone to ask the inner quarters. If anyone wants to go escape the heat, let them go. No need to suffer through it in the manor."
In such hot weather, everyone would normally be thinking of ways to escape the heat.
But because Prince Fu had passed, all the women of the household had been confined to the manor. Now that the funeral was done, there was no need to make them suffer any longer.
Though Prince Fu's women were now widows, Lin Zhen had no intention of making them live joyless, flavorless lives.
Even Prince Fu himself had never asked his women—and those who weren't quite his women—to remain widows.
Jiaoyue acknowledged the order.
"And this entry," Lin Zhen said, stroking the cub who, content after eating his fruit, nestled against her arm, as she pointed at a large monthly expenditure in the accounts and said flatly, "Cut this from now on. The Prince is gone. Our manor is now a household of orphans and widows with difficult income. Any expenses that aren't ours should be eliminated."
Lin Zhen glanced at the entry, then smiled and said, "The Princess Consort has handled this perfectly. The Earl Dongyang household is large and wealthy, but now that our princely estate needs to economize, we certainly can't continue to support the former Princess Consort's natal family, can we?"
This had been a custom established during the previous Princess Consort's time—every month, a substantial sum of silver was allocated to her natal family, the Earl Dongyang household, euphemistically framed as an act of filial piety.
However, Jiaoyue hesitated for a moment before saying to Lin Zhen, "It's just… I'm afraid the Earl Dongyang household will come to make a scene."
"They'd better come and make a scene with me," Lin Zhen said coolly, then gently pinched Ping'an's thin little cheek.
The little one had been obediently listening, and at the word "scene," the small child shuddered, but quickly arched his tiny, tender back and clutched tightly at Lin Zhen's robe.
"Not afraid… Ping'an, Ping'an is brave!"