"Princess, are there any other instructions?"
Seeing her lost in thought before the matrons, Jiaoyue called out softly.
Lin Zhen snapped back to attention and gave a slight shake of her head. "That will be all. Let them go about their business."
Jiaoyue then dismissed the two matrons. Noticing the hesitation on the face of the matron from the garment workshop, she asked, "Is there something else?"
Seeing that the two matrons had something to say, Lin Zhen let her gaze fall upon them once more.
At this, the more dignified matron hesitated for a long while, opening her mouth as if to speak before stopping, fearing that what she was about to report might displease the Princess.
But considering that the matter at hand was not something a mere servant like herself could decide on her own, she could only steel herself and say, "There is one more matter on which I beg the Princess's instruction… The Consort has ordered us to tailor summer garments, and the fabric she wishes to use is the Jiangnan Misty Gauze bestowed by the palace in early summer…"
This Misty Gauze was an extremely precious thing—only a few bolts were ever presented as tribute. At the time, the palace had bestowed merely four bolts upon Prince Fu's manor. It was cool, fine, and soft, and garments made from it drifted like those of immortals.
By all rights, such fine fabric should only be used to make clothes for the Princess.
But Consort Shen was no ordinary consort, and the garment workshop ought to have obeyed her.
Now that the Princess was in charge of the household, they feared that if they catered to Consort Shen, they would offend their true mistress.
Moreover, considering that the Princess had only just married into the manor, facing a consort who had once been favored and who also had the eldest son of the manor to rely on—whether she would take a dislike to her, want to make an example of Consort Shen to warn the others, or rise up to humiliate Consort Shen to establish her authority over the household were all uncertain matters. Naturally, she wanted to know the Princess's intentions.
These words left Lin Zhen silent for a long moment.
Whether she feared Consort Shen or wanted to humiliate her… What did she have to fear, and what reason did she have to be displeased at the sight of Consort Shen?
"What was the practice before?" she asked.
"Before… it was done," the matron said with difficulty.
The previous Princess, now deceased, had fought with Consort Shen for years, matching her blow for blow, yet had never managed to suppress Consort Shen's arrogance.
"Then continue making it for her as before." The household's fabrics were meant to be used for whoever they were made for, and besides—before Prince Fu had passed away, he had gripped her hand tightly and begged her to treat his concubines and children well.
Lin Zhen had been able to marry into Prince Fu's manor and enjoy peace and stability.
Thinking back to the humiliations and suffering she had endured before her marriage—when she had barely been able to survive—it was precisely Prince Fu who had reached out a hand to pull her from that sunless mire and given her the prosperous and stable life she now enjoyed.
A warm smile unconsciously curved at the corners of Lin Zhen's lips as she said gently to the matron before her, "Consort Shen's allowances need not be brought to me in the future—let them be exactly as before. Also, the allowances for the other concubines of the manor shall remain the same as well."
Making clothes? Yes, they should make clothes—make them in abundance. They must ensure that every beauty in the manor could wear beautiful garments, so that the manor would bloom like a garden of flowers, a delight to the eyes.
Prince Fu's manor was filled with many concubines—real ones and false ones alike, filling up more than half the estate. Prince Fu was a man who cherished women and was willing to protect them, and Lin Zhen did not think there was anything wrong with that.
If Prince Fu had not been such a man, she herself would likely have been hounded to death by now.
Yes, hounded to death.
The young Princess, exquisitely beautiful beyond compare, ran her fingers over the fine garments she wore—soft fabric embroidered with faint silver-threaded lotuses—and her gaze grew distant for a moment.
Even after all this time married into Prince Fu's manor, she still occasionally felt a restless unease, as if she were dreaming, afraid that she might wake.
Had she truly escaped from that suffocating situation?
Was she truly no longer counting every copper coin, no longer anxious over daily necessities, no longer rising early each morning to toil for a living, no longer wary of the covetous gazes of those who saw her beauty and lack of backing?
She now had ease and stability. She could sit here leisurely, sipping tea, listening only to reports.
Thinking of the displacement and suffering of her first seventeen years, Lin Zhen cherished her present days dearly.
She had once been a pitiful abandoned daughter of a marquis's household—a wonton-selling beauty who had to bow her head for a few copper coins.
She had a heartless maternal grandfather, a faithless father, a mother who had fallen ill after being cast out of the marquis's estate, and a young, childish younger brother.
A life of precarious uncertainty had pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.
Life had been so difficult—and then, after she had finally secured a betrothal, her fiancé had passed the imperial examinations with honors, only to marry into a noble family instead.
Fine, marry into a noble family—she had let go. In these times, having seen so many faithless men, Lin Zhen did not insist on undying devotion or unwavering love.
But if they were to go their separate ways and live their own lives, that would have been the end of it. Instead, the wretch, having married a noble lady of a prince's household, still wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He refused to live in harmony with his wife, muttering endlessly, and whenever he caught sight of her from afar, he would weep in the wind… The wretch was too far away for her to reach with a swing of her staff, but he had stirred up the jealousy and resentment of the noble lady he had married.
She was unwilling to discipline her own husband, yet she sent people to bully Lin Zhen, who had neither power nor influence, and stirred up so much trouble that Lin Zhen's business had nearly been ruined.
Even when she stayed behind closed doors, someone would splash dog's blood outside and loudly slander her name, calling her shameless, a woman who would seduce anyone's husband.
Blade after blade pressed against her.
If not for the day she gathered her courage and opened a wonton stall, attracting a plump, fair-skinned young man in ornate robes who loved small wontons, her life would have been even harder.
The chubby fellow ate at her stall for ten straight days, and for ten days, all was calm.
On the tenth day, he set down his bowl and chopsticks, and asked her with a grin.
"Miss, your wontons are delicious. Will you marry me?"
That was Prince Fu.
Lin Zhen: …
She couldn't understand what connection there was between delicious wontons and taking a wife.
At first, her vision went dark.
Was it to be crushed by the noble ladies of the prince's household until she couldn't survive, or to be seized by the famously lustful Prince Fu of the capital, known for his countless concubines in his harem…
Both seemed like hell.
But only later did she come to understand that so-called rumors were merely rumors.
Prince Fu was not the vile man the world made him out to be.
From the time they met until his death, their only moment of intimacy was when, on his deathbed, he first took her fingers in his hand.
Still grinning, he gently shook her hand.
"You are the princess consort now. No one can bully you anymore. In the future… spend plenty of silver, and live well."
He kept smiling at her, refusing even as he drew his last breath to let anyone grieve or sorrow for him.
A person like this… was someone Lin Zhen had never encountered before.
How could such a person exist?
But it was precisely this person who gave her everything she had now. So, for the people of this prince's household he left behind, she would take up the responsibilities he once bore and guard them well in his stead.
Consider it… letting Prince Fu rest easy in the underworld.
So everyone in the household assumed she would resent Prince Fu's concubines—after all, who would like the people who shared their husband and his favor?
But Prince Fu was not truly her husband.
He had given her the title of princess consort, yet treated her with utmost respect.
"Tell the stewards in every department not to neglect the people in any of the courtyards," she instructed Jiaoyue.
Jiaoyue had served as a head maid beside Prince Fu for many years and was well-versed in all the rules and protocols.
Lin Zhen still relied on her heavily.
Seeing Jiaoyue acknowledge the order, she turned her head and smiled gently at the young girl who had already risen from her seat, nervously clutching a travelogue. In a soft voice, she said, "Eighth Young Miss's book is quite interesting—you've been reading for quite a while now. Have some tea to moisten your throat."
Though she was young, only seventeen, her gentle words carried warmth and kindness even in mere pleasantries.
The girl, seeing how warmly she was treated, blushed on her plain, barely-passable face and hurriedly shook her head, stammering, "As long as the princess consort enjoys it, this young lady doesn't mind… If the princess consort likes it," she bit her lip, not daring to look directly at the beautiful princess consort before her whose loveliness made her feel ashamed of herself, and said tremblingly, "this young lady would be bold enough to come every day to keep the princess consort company."
But she wasn't an interesting person, nor did she know how to speak flattering words. The only way she could think to please someone was to read to them.
Just reading travelogues.
Moreover, she didn't know whether her shameless insistence on staying at the prince's mansion, right in front of the princess consort, might displease or annoy her.
After all, given her status…
Seeing her unease, Lin Zhen pretended not to notice and continued in her gentle voice, "With Eighth Young Miss here, I naturally take pleasure in it." Though she was now a widow, she was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.
Her youthful years had been lived in day-after-day oppression, each day so difficult she had forgotten what happiness was.
But after spending some time in the Prince Fu's household, Lin Zhen had slowly learned to smile and be gentle. She said to the plainly pretty girl who was staring at her in surprise, "To be honest, I shouldn't keep Eighth Young Miss from returning to the Earl's residence to fulfill her filial duties,"—at these words, the girl's face went pale, but Lin Zhen continued slowly—"but I truly cannot do without Eighth Young Miss's thoughtful company. Please stay by my side for a while longer. I trust your household will understand."
When she first spoke, the plainly pretty girl's eyes had filled with despair, but upon hearing the rest, her eyes flew wide open.
"The princess consort… the princess consort is willing to keep me in the mansion?" she cried out, then, afraid she had misheard, stumbled over her words, "The princess consort is willing to keep this young lady?"
She looked at Lin Zhen as if gazing upon a celestial maiden, trembling all over, then her body went limp and she threw herself to her knees before Lin Zhen.
"The princess consort's kindness, this young lady…" She had always been timid and weak, never daring to speak loudly to anyone, but now, throwing all shame aside, she burst into tears.
"This young lady kowtows to the princess consort." Her gratitude was beyond words, and she felt that at this moment she would entrust everything she had to the princess consort before her.
How could there be such a good person?
She clearly knew her identity, clearly should not like her.
After all, she was the younger half-sister of Prince Fu's primary consort, who had passed away a few months ago. After the former princess consort's death, she had been sent to the Prince Fu's mansion by her legitimate mother, all for the position of Prince Fu's successor consort.
The Earl's residence's intentions were plain as day.
Even after Prince Fu later married Princess Lin, rejecting the Earl's Manor's attempts, the Earl's Manor still did not take her back, still leaving her in the prince's household to be an eyesore to the princess.
Yet the princess did not drive her away, but kept her…
Keeping her, just as the prince had done that day, spared her from returning to that man-eating Earl's Manor, giving her a place to rest her head.
"I, I will serve you well in the future, Princess," she said, as if Lin Zhen's offer to keep her had saved her life. She shuffled forward on her knees and threw herself at Lin Zhen's legs, weeping, "As long as the Princess keeps this girl, this girl will obey the Princess's every word. The Princess may treat me as a little cat or dog… Thank you, Princess, for your mercy…"
The sound of the girl's crying filled her ears, pitiful and delicate.
Lin Zhen only felt her legs tighten, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
…Those words sound so familiar.