But such worries… Lin Zhen didn't consider them worries at all.
She was quite willing to enter the palace to pay her respects.
Prince Fu was a filial son.
Naturally, she too was a filial daughter-in-law.
Moreover, she had been entering the palace frequently lately precisely to put the palace at ease.
Just as now—when she walked into the Cian Palace where the Empress Dowager resided, the faint coughing that had been echoing through the unusually quiet palace ceased the moment she was seen.
The two elderly palace matrons ahead of Lin Zhen let out a sigh of relief, and one of them whispered in her ear, "Her Grace the Empress Dowager has been unwell again these past two days. Seeing the Princess today will ease her heart."
Ever since Prince Fu passed away, the Empress Dowager had collapsed.
They say no mother does not love her children.
Even though Prince Fu had a poor reputation in the capital and was not much to look at—in the eyes of others, merely a useless waste relying on his mother's and elder brother's favor—
As Prince Fu's mother, the Empress Dowager clearly loved her son deeply.
To see the young go before the old—how could the Empress Dowager bear it?
She had been bedridden since Prince Fu's death and had never fully recovered. Only when she saw Lin Zhen, her young daughter-in-law, did she improve for a few days.
Lin Zhen was also worried about the Empress Dowager's health, so she often came to the palace.
Today she entered the palace again, and the Empress Dowager, leaning against the bed frame with a light cough, felt much better at heart.
"My sister-in-law has arrived. Mother, please take your medicine first, so as not to worry A’Zhen." Seated sideways by the bed was a middle-aged beauty in plain robes—dignified and composed, yet warm and kind.
Her attire was not extravagant—just autumn-yellow garments with a few simple ornaments.
But Lin Zhen dared not be remiss. She stepped forward to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, then quickly curtsied to the middle-aged beauty and addressed her, "Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress."
This was the Empress who now presided over the realm, and her plain dress was also due to Prince Fu's passing.
Seeing Lin Zhen so courteous, the Empress could not help but feel fondness for her. She personally helped her rise and said, "We are all family—no need for such formality. Before Mother, let us only speak of household matters."
As she spoke, the Empress Dowager had already taken the bowl of tonic from the Empress's hands and drained it in one go. She eagerly pulled Lin Zhen close and asked, "Why do you look thinner than a few days ago? Has someone dared to slight you and cause you worry?"
She stroked the slender wrist of the beautiful, endearing girl before her, her face filled with deep concern—clearly worried that after her son's death, his household might be mistreated.
Lin Zhen quickly yielded to her frail strength and sat on the small couch beside her.
Seeing that even the Empress showed concern, she hurriedly said, "It's merely that my appetite has been poor in the summer heat, and my rest has not been good either—that's all. Mother and Her Majesty need not worry."
In the presence of these two noble ladies of the palace, she was much softer and more reserved.
The Empress Dowager listened, then studied her carefully for a moment. Seeing that she truly did not appear to have been wronged, she breathed a sigh of relief, but said to the Empress beside her, "A’Zhen speaks truly—this scorching summer is indeed uncomfortable, and even the healthy cannot bear it… Fortunately, the Suzhou-style garden I previously ordered built at the foot of the Western Hills for Jing'er has been prepared. Jing'er… Jing'er is gone, so let the garden be given to A’Zhen. Let A’Zhen have a place to escape the heat, and let Jing'er find comfort in the underworld."
The "Jing'er" she spoke of was Prince Fu.
The garden built for Prince Fu was still to be given to the Princess of Fu.
Lin Zhen had not come to feign pitifulness to obtain a garden, but she could not stop the Empress Dowager from always wanting to press good things upon her.
Yet to those who did not know, it would seem as though she delighted in scheming to empty the Empress Dowager's coffers.
Her lips twitched—she had never imagined that two sentences would earn her such a great fortune.
The Western Hills were near the capital. Because of their proximity and their lush greenery and tranquility, they had always been a royal summer retreat. Every garden there belonged either to the palace or to various princely mansions—ordinary people had no possibility of settling there.
Seeing that the Empress seemed to hesitate with some concern, Lin Zhen did not wish to put anyone in a difficult position. She said softly to the Empress Dowager, "Mother's affection for her daughter-in-law is my blessing. But in previous years, Mother already bestowed a garden in the Western Hills upon our mansion. If there is need, I can simply take the household there."
"That is foolish talk."
Seeing her so obedient and sensible, the Empress Dowager felt even more love and guilt well up in her heart.
Such a beautiful, young girl—her happiness for the rest of her life had been ruined because of her son, her youth wasted because of her son. Who could bear it?
At this thought, the Empress Dowager was dazed for a moment. One hand fell upon the soft pillow, stroking a stiff corner of paper.
That was her youngest son's deathbed memorial…
But after a moment of distraction, she slowly withdrew her hand, and simply continued to hold Lin Zhen's slender wrist, sighing softly as she said, "The Prince's mansion is the Prince's mansion; what is yours is your own. You are young, and you should have private property that belongs to you alone."
The Prince Fu mansion had indeed possessed gardens in various places before, but those were on the mansion's accounts.
Even though the young prince's wife, as the principal consort, could enjoy them, the mansion had more than one master—Prince Fu had a hereditary prince, and an eldest son…
If the heir later inherits the title, who could guarantee that a child raised by such a birth mother would grow up to be conscientious and properly care for his stepmother, allowing her to continue enjoying wealth and comfort?
Thinking of the respective conduct of the two grandsons' birth mothers, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes briefly, then continued speaking to Lin Zhen, "What is given to you alone is your private savings. I know you have been generous and magnanimous toward the Prince's household because of Jing'er, but you must also take more care of yourself. Leave yourself more options for the future, so that even if… you won't have to depend on others' goodwill."
If she had substantial private savings, even if the heir were unfilial in the future, she could support herself without relying on anyone else.
These words came from genuine concern—one would not speak so plainly unless truly caring, for fear she might not understand.
Lin Zhen was deeply moved. Facing this elder who, despite her illness, was wholeheartedly planning for her future, she felt even more grateful. Her eyes reddened as she smiled at the Empress Dowager and said, "Daughter-in-law understands that Mother is thinking of me. With Mother's support behind me, who would dare show me a cold face?"
There was a childlike innocence and charm in her words. Her bright eyes shone with trust and dependence, and also with the belief that the Empress Dowager would live a long life, would always protect her, and would never let her be wronged.
Looking at such sparkling eyes, the Empress Dowager's vision blurred for a moment, as if they overlapped with the eyes of her youngest son from her memories—eyes that had always trusted her and depended on her.
Her eyes ached, as if burned by that sincerity. She hastily averted her gaze, and her own eyes reddened.
"Naturally, naturally, as long as I live, no one can bully you."
She said to Lin Zhen, her voice choked with emotion.
The Empress Dowager was still ill—how could Lin Zhen dare let her grieve and harm her health? She changed the subject and said, "There is one more matter I wish to ask of Mother." Seeing the Empress Dowager nod slightly while still avoiding her eyes, she continued, "It concerns Tiansheng, born of Consort Shen in the household."
Tiansheng was the eldest son of the late Prince Fu and his beloved Consort Shen, five years old, raised personally by Consort Shen. Lin Zhen had only seen him once, and remembered him as a fair-skinned, clean, and beautiful child.
Although Consort Shen was somewhat troublesome in the household, Lin Zhen would not take it out on the child. Now that Prince Fu had been buried, she felt that life in the Prince Fu household should move forward.
"What about him?" The Empress Dowager showed no concern upon hearing of Prince Fu's offspring, only frowning slightly.
"The child is five this year and has already begun his studies. I wished to ask Mother for a favor—to allow him to study in the palace as well."
There was a royal study in the palace, and children of royal and noble families could enter the palace to study if granted an imperial decree upon reaching the age of enlightenment.
Those who lectured in the palace were all learned scholars.
Moreover, whether one could enter the palace to study was a barometer of favor in the palace.
The world was full of people who followed the wind and judged others by their standing.
If the eldest son of the Prince Fu household did not receive an imperial decree to study in the palace, it would indicate that he was not favored by the palace, and in the future, even fewer people would pay him any heed.
If Ping'an were not still young, Lin Zhen might have had the two brothers study in the palace together.
She did this naturally for the sake of Prince Fu's eldest son. The Empress Dowager watched her wholeheartedly planning for everyone in the household and sighed even more, patting the back of her hand and saying softly, "You. Even if you do so much, with Shen around, I fear she won't be grateful to you, and neither will that child."
"Mother, Tiansheng is His Highness's child. I wish him well not for his mother's sake, but for His Highness's sake, and for my own heart."
"Let me think about it a while longer." Lin Zhen's words did move the Empress Dowager—he was indeed one of the few bloodlines her son had left.
But thinking of Consort Shen of the Prince Fu household, the Empress Dowager showed some displeasure… She had always paid close attention to her youngest son's daily life, and with Consort Shen by Prince Fu's side for years, how could she be completely unaware of this woman who was so favored by her son?
Yet it was precisely because she knew her that she disliked Shen. She said softly, "Now that Jing'er is gone, she has no more restraints. Don't let her raise the child badly."
Lin Zhen lowered her head, pretending not to hear.
Although Consort Shen was noisy, the child she was raising showed no signs of poor upbringing.
He was quiet, showed no signs of mischief, and Prince Fu had praised him in her presence.
Clearly, the mother knew what was good and bad, and knew how to raise a child best.
Even though she knew what the Empress Dowager meant—that she wanted her to take Prince Fu's eldest son into her own care—Lin Zhen had no such intention.
First, because Consort Shen was raising the child quite well.
Second…
A person only has one heart, and she was already raising Ping'an.
Why should she forcibly take another's mother-son bond, separating them, and deprive Ping'an of complete care and love?
Since she said nothing, the Empress Dowager understood her meaning. She was not angry, only felt even more pity for her kind nature.
By all accounts, a newly arrived mistress of the household, facing a favored concubine and the household's eldest son, would take the boy into her own care—first, to have a son to rely on, and second, to intimidate the concubine, holding her son hostage so she would fear and dare not contend with her.
Yet she refused to take such an advantageous course of action. How could this not make the Empress Dowager pity her all the more?
When one truly cares for someone, they wish to give them the finest things the world has to offer.
The Empress Dowager instinctively touched the folded memorial beneath her soft pillow—the last words of her deceased son—then withdrew her hand as if burned. She turned her head and said to the Empress, who was gazing at Lin Zhen with a gentle expression, "With Jing'er gone, life in A’Zhen's household grows ever more difficult. I recall there are newly crafted ornaments from the palace and gems from the Western Regions—prepare a good number of them…"
Alas.
Now that Prince Fu's household had lost her son, no matter how many cold, lifeless trinkets were given, they could not warm the heart of her daughter-in-law before her.
"And that garden on the Western Hills…" The Empress Dowager had not forgotten it despite all the interruptions, and she said softly to Lin Zhen, "These are all private gifts from me to you—do not put them into the household's common coffers. Just listen to me."
Her gaze shifted to the Empress, who seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Noting that she had mentioned the garden twice without saying much, the Empress Dowager did not suspect her ordinarily kind-hearted daughter-in-law of reluctance, but asked with concern, "Is there something amiss with that garden?"
The two women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, shared a harmonious bond and had no need for empty pleasantries. The Empress cast an apologetic glance at Lin Zhen before saying, "Mother, you may not know this, but after the garden was completed, Duke Cheng'en went to see it and expressed great fondness. His Majesty intends to bestow the garden upon Duke Cheng'en in a few days."
Duke Cheng'en was the Empress Dowager's elder brother, born of the same mother—the maternal uncle of both the Emperor and Prince Fu, flesh and blood kin.
Yet upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression shifted and she flew into a rage. "What did you say? He wants it?! My Jing'er's body is barely cold, and he already covets it, rushing to snatch away what belonged to Jing'er?! The insolent wretch!"