Lin Zhen's attitude was different from before. Consort Shen, long accustomed to her leniency, was momentarily stunned.
"What did you say?!"
"What I mean—can you not understand? You indeed never taught Tiansheng to be hostile toward his younger brother. But through your words and actions, your daily behavior is all seen by this child."
Seeing Consort Shen's beautiful face flush red as she stared at her without speaking, clearly still listening, Lin Zhen continued without courtesy, "Tiansheng loves you most as his mother. If you speak ill of this one and that one in your daily life, how could he not take it to heart? Look for yourself!"
She gestured for Consort Shen to look toward the children.
Consort Shen instinctively looked over and froze.
The two children stood together now, face to face yet silent, neither speaking to the other.
But just moments ago, they had been greeting each other.
"I didn't… I don't like that woman, but I never told Tiansheng to dislike his brother. I don't like you—" Consort Shen suddenly went pale.
She recalled her complaints in her chambers these past days.
"Your dislike of me is understandable—no one likes a woman competing with them for their husband." Seeing her eyes redden, Lin Zhen's expression softened, and she said gently, "But His Highness has only these two bloodlines. Bear with it, or do it away from others' eyes. Tiansheng will soon enter the palace to study and will be there during the day. Curse me during the day if you must, but when Tiansheng returns in the evening, say some good words about me, say some good words about Ping'an, alright?"
Just moments ago she had been stern, but now she seemed to be coaxing her.
Consort Shen was dazed for a moment.
It was as if the woman she hated most before her blurred and transformed into another plump figure who was always smiling cheerfully.
"Alright, alright, whatever you say is fine." The way he coaxed her back then truly resembled this very moment.
"I hate you, not because you took the position of Princess Consort, but because you took His Highness." Consort Shen choked up, looking at this woman who had endured her long outbursts without seeming to take any of it to heart—as if no matter how she made a scene, she would still indulge her.
Tears fell from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and said, "You all think I married him for wealth and glory. Yes, back then I wanted wealth and glory, to live a good life. But I also truly loved him."
"I know." Lin Zhen said gently.
"I loved him, so I kept him to myself, so I hated you. But you… you're far better than the previous one."
Lin Zhen's mouth twitched.
She couldn't tell for a moment whether she should feel honored.
After all, in Consort Shen's eyes, she was better than the late Princess Consort Fu.
"I'll take that as a compliment?"
"About Tiansheng's matter—was it you who petitioned the palace?" Consort Shen asked, having dried her tears.
She turned back and saw her son anxiously glancing in her direction.
The little child's face was full of worry for her.
Had she truly fallen to a state where she made her own child worry like this?
Consort Shen forced a smile, gave a light hum, and linked her arm through Lin Zhen's.
From afar, both children who had been craning their necks in worry simultaneously relaxed.
Lin Zhen began to sweat.
The weather was still too hot.
But since Consort Shen had seen reason, she should cooperate properly. She heard Consort Shen say again, "The Empress Dowager hasn't allowed me into the palace for a long time. If not for your mention, I doubt Her Grace would have thought of Tiansheng."
In truth, the Empress Dowager hadn't disliked her from the start.
Consort Shen couldn't help but recall her younger self—so young, clinging to Prince Fu, chasing after him and crying out that she was willing to marry him, even as a concubine. How kind the Empress Dowager's gaze had been back then.
In the years that followed, she bore Prince Fu his eldest son, and the Empress Dowager had shown her much indulgence.
But after that, the Empress Dowager grew cold toward her.
"I think Tiansheng shows considerable talent for study." Lin Zhen had a younger brother who loved reading, so she could tell at a glance that the child truly seemed suited for scholarship.
She didn't deny Consort Shen's words either.
That Tiansheng could enter the palace—Consort Shen truly should thank her for it.
And Consort Shen wasn't one to be ungrateful.
Still awkward, she released her hold after only a moment, stealing a glance at Lin Zhen. Seeing this girl younger than herself remain so composed, she swallowed the grief in her throat, gave another light hum, and turned her head away, saying, "Thank you."
She gave her thanks, then continued, "I understand everything you've said. From now on, I'll teach Tiansheng to be… good brothers with Ping'an. You're right—he's gone, and his children… should stand together in unity and carry on the household."
When she finished, Lin Zhen was quite satisfied. She gave a slight nod and said, "But do mind his study time as well. On ordinary days, take him… bring him to play more in the garden."
A little child looking so burdened with worries—how could that be happy?
Consort Shen secretly pursed her lips again and hummed in acknowledgment.
"There's one more thing I want to tell you." That was about the Noble Consort.
Lin Zhen recounted what had happened in the palace to Consort Shen, her expression calm as she said, "I've offended her, so she'll surely elevate you to create discord with me. When she invites you to the palace, you—"
"I won't see her." Consort Shen said decisively.
Though her answer was somewhat pleasing to hear, Lin Zhen hadn't come to hear her refuse out of concern for her own sake.
"What I mean is, you might as well visit the palace more often. The Noble Consort enjoys great favor—currying favor with her would benefit you as well. As for me…"
"You think I'd do it for your sake?" Although Lin Zhen's earlier scolding had made her reflect, Consort Shen was never one to yield to others. She said with a dark expression, "I won't go courting the Noble Consort's favor."
Her tears nearly fell again as she murmured, "If it weren't for them, how could the Prince have abandoned me? He could have lived long, could have stayed forever."
Her beloved husband.
In truth, when Prince Fu was gravely ill, Consort Shen had already begged all the gods and Buddhas.
She only prayed that he could live a little longer—even if, even if he no longer loved her, even if he married another woman as his principal consort, as long as he was still alive, that was enough.
He was gone, and her life had lost all its luster.
How could she not hate?
She hated the Imperial Noble Consort who had poisoned Prince Fu back then, hated the Duke Cheng'en's household that cried injustice for the Imperial Noble Consort, hated the Emperor who was in league with Duke Cheng'en…
How could she possibly fawn over the Noble Consort?
She bitterly hated every single person who had treated Prince Fu's life so lightly.
Lin Zhen said nothing, watching Consort Shen's trembling frame. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of her eye.
Prince Fu's passing had saddened her too, but her grief was only for the loss of such a good man, and sorrow over the death of her benefactor.
But the heart-piercing pain of losing one's beloved, as Consort Shen felt, was something she could not comprehend.
"Then I'll refuse her on your behalf."
"No need for you to make enemies for me. If she truly sets her sights on me, I'll refuse her myself." What did Consort Shen have to fear from making enemies now?
The Empress Dowager and the Empress already disliked her—one more Noble Consort made no difference to her.
"…You'd best not offend her." Lin Zhen never imagined she'd one day be parroting the Empress's earnest advice back to someone else, truly counseling with all sincerity.
Consort Shen looked at her with a complex gaze and said after a long moment, "You truly are different from the previous one." She brought up the woman she had once fought tooth and nail against, and said softly, "At first, I wanted to get along with her peacefully—harmony in the household brings prosperity, after all. But she looked down on the Prince, thinking herself a celestial being."
The person she held dear in her heart was treated like dust, and she was also harsh to all the women in the Prince Fu's household, causing trouble day after day.
She was never one to swallow her anger, so naturally she and the late Princess Consort Fu were irreconcilable.
"Your words are all well-intentioned, I know that. But I won't listen to you. The Duke Cheng'en's household and the Noble Consort, and…" Consort Shen looked at Lin Zhen for a moment, then said softly, "and the one currently staying in our residence—I hate them all."
Lin Zhen simply said, "Suit yourself."
She wasn't one to counsel others toward magnanimity and forgiveness. As long as Consort Shen didn't harm the children, who cared whom she hated?
But it made Lin Zhen think of what had occurred to her in the palace today.
Seeing that the Noble Consort looked familiar, feeling that her temperament seemed somehow known to her.
Then Lin Zhen remembered—her own household also housed a young lady from the Duke Cheng'en's family.
After the late Princess Consort Fu's death, there were still those who coveted the position of principal consort.
Not to mention that Earl Dongyang's household had sent the late Princess Consort Fu's half-sister A'Yu, the Duke Cheng'en's household also had designs on the position.
They didn't think much of Prince Fu himself, but they very much valued his princely title.
So the Noble Consort in the palace had sent her cousin from a collateral branch to the Prince Fu's residence, ostensibly as a guest, but in truth she had taken up residence there—after living in the Prince Fu's household, who else could that young lady marry?
To this day, that young lady from the Duke Cheng'en's family still resided in the residence. Her temperament was cut from the same mold as the Noble Consort's—truly cold and aloof.
She kept to herself behind closed doors, never even showing her face before Lin Zhen, exceedingly proud and distant.
It was precisely this young lady's temperament, along with what she'd seen of the Noble Consort's temperament today, that made Lin Zhen think… the girls of the Duke Cheng'en's household were all so similar in disposition—could it be that they were deliberately raised this way because the Emperor favored such women?
Was the Emperor genuinely fond of the Noble Consort as his cousin, or did he simply favor this particular type of woman?
That was why she had casually sown a few seeds of discord with the Emperor.
But compared to the Noble Consort in the palace, this "cousin" residing as a guest in the residence was very quiet—she lived in complete silence and hadn't caused Lin Zhen any trouble at all.
Naturally, Lin Zhen wouldn't go looking for trouble with her either.
Since Prince Fu hadn't said to send the cousin back to the Duke Cheng'en's household, she wouldn't send her home.
"Then in a few days, when Tiansheng goes to the palace, I'll escort him there."
The palace was full of snobs; Lin Zhen wouldn't simply toss a small child into the palace and be done with it.
Consort Shen clenched her skirt with one hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."
"By rights, Tiansheng should have two study companions when entering the palace. If your family has any nephews or younger cousins, this would be a rather good opportunity."
These words left Consort Shen momentarily stunned, and she slowly shook her head before replying, "Aside from one elder sister, my family has no one left. And my sister has only a daughter…"
She twitched the corner of her mouth, deciding to repay kindness with kindness, and said to Lin Zhen, "If you have one, I've heard…"
At the words "I've heard," she grew somewhat uneasy, clearly feeling a bit guilty, yet she continued anyway, "I've heard you have a younger brother. Why not have him enter the palace to study."