Yu Zhaoyuan returned to Cuihan Hall with her maids, feeling disgruntled. All along the way, she pondered where she had gone wrong to annoy the Emperor, her heart filling with worry the more she thought about it.
She had always been deeply conflicted about the matter of recommending her elder sister for a position in the palace. Originally, when her plan failed tonight, Yu Zhaoyuan had actually felt a sense of relief. She was still relatively young and could still strive for favor on her own for a few more years. However, the current reality was that it had been over a month since she finished her recovery from a miscarriage, yet the Emperor had not visited her once.
The night breeze brushed against Yu Zhaoyuan’s delicate face. She looked up at the star-filled sky and suddenly asked, “Huixiang, do you think I should try again?”
Her head maid, Huixiang, was privy to everything from beginning to end. She let out a soft chuckle and consoled her, “Imperial Consort, do not think on it anymore. Aside from anything else, look at the age—the Emperor is over a month younger than the Second Miss. How could he possibly take an interest in her?”
Hearing this, Yu Zhaoyuan sighed. “True. Sister is indeed a bit old. Never mind, never mind. In the end, I must still rely on myself.”
Yu Yihe had followed Madam Yu to attend the banquet. Since Ningning was too young to be brought along, Qingshuang had remained in the west room. Seeing her mistress return now, Qingshuang hurried to serve a cup of sobering soup, noticing a trace of exhaustion on her face.
“What is the matter, Miss?” Qingshuang asked in a lowered voice.
Yu Yihe was determined to keep the events of the night buried in her heart and had no intention of telling Qingshuang. She simply shook her head and took the soup from Qingshuang’s hands. “I just drank a bit too much wine. It is nothing. Prepare some water for me to wash up.”
After washing and lying down in bed, Yu Yihe pulled her daughter’s small body into her arms and let out a deep sigh.
The strength she had maintained all evening crumbled at this moment. She was forced to think about her future path, but despite these matters churning in her head for a long while, she still could not find a good way forward.
A woman seemed born only to grow up, marry, and serve her husband and children. Even if she became a widow, she would have to remarry after a few years and repeat the cycle. Furthermore, she still had no freedom in choosing whom she would remarry.
After several incidents, Yu Yihe had come to see her parents for who they were. For the benefit of the Yu family, they certainly would not hesitate to marry her off again. She could not even harbor resentment toward them; even if she spoke of it, outsiders would only say:
Your parents gave you life and raised you, providing you with a wealthy lifestyle; when you grow up, it is only right to repay them.
At this moment, Yu Yihe even entertained the thought that it might have been better if the Yu family had forgotten her and her daughter on the mountain. But in a flash, she remembered the hardships of that path.
Losing her status as a daughter of an official family was secondary. The most important thing in this world was how difficult it was for a woman to raise a daughter alone. The widowed daughter of Granny Wang on the mountain had already taught her a lesson—people would fight over your fields, and a widow’s doorstep is always plagued by gossip.
The more Yu Yihe thought, the more anxious she became. It was not until the middle of the night that she finally managed to fall asleep. Before drifting off, she had only one thought:
The little one in her arms still needed her care. No matter what happened, she had to find the best possible path.
Yu Yihe slept until noon the next day. When she woke up, her daughter Ningning was already playing quietly on the low couch nearby. Qingshuang was walking in carrying a food box; seeing her awake, she immediately set down the meal and attended to her mistress’s washing.
Once finished, the three of them sat around the circular table to eat. After three years of living on the mountain, they had long since stopped observing formal etiquette between them. Ningning skillfully picked up her small chopsticks to eat, while Qingshuang habitually spoke of the things she had learned that day.
“I heard that Zhaoyuan was turned away at Rende Hall yesterday… No wonder she was in such a hurry… Madam Yu didn’t go to comfort the Imperial Consort; she went to the garden with Madam Li to admire the flowers instead…”
Yu Yihe paused when she heard the first part, and a flicker of joy actually rose in her heart. Based on her single sentence last night, that person likely knew Yu Zhaoyuan was playing tricks. However, after a moment, that trace of joy faded.
Calculating against the Emperor was always a grave crime. Now, being merely turned away was a light punishment, hardly counting as a reprimand at all. After all, she was an Imperial Consort of the Third Rank who had reached that position after five years in the palace; she naturally possessed some degree of favor.
Occupied with the first sentence, Yu Yihe naturally ignored the second, until two days later in the morning when Madam Yu summoned her to the main hall.
Yu Yihe no longer sat close to Madam Yu but kept a distance of half a person. Madam Yu did not notice in the slightest, her mind preoccupied with how to open the conversation. “He’er, seeing as you have been home for three years, it is time to find another husband.”
This was expected. Yu Yihe nodded, pondering how to maneuver through this matter to find a family that was decent in all aspects and would be good to Ningning.
However, she still had not anticipated that Madam Yu had not called her to drop a hint and let her prepare, but rather to directly notify her of a meeting with the man.
“The day before yesterday, while I was out with Madam Li, I happened to hear that Madam Li has a younger brother whose wife has passed away. I asked a few more questions; this man is currently a Langzhong in the Ministry of Rites. He has considerable family wealth and only one son and one daughter. You won’t suffer if you take Ningning and marry into his family. Dress yourself up this afternoon and go to Chunxing Garden to meet him.”
In this dynasty, meetings between unmarried men and women might be more discreet, but for those remarrying, it was much more relaxed. A polite meeting witnessed by maids would not cause gossip.
Yu Yihe first felt a sense of relief that the Yu family had finally given up on offering her to the Emperor, then a bit of dissatisfaction. But upon hearing the man had only one son and one daughter and that she could bring Ningning with her, she agreed.
If she were to remarry, the fewer children her daughter’s stepfather had, the more benefits Ningning could obtain.
To this end, Yu Yihe uncharacteristically put on a lilac-colored ruqun, paired with a lighter-toned jacket. She even added a silver dangling hairpin to her hair. Beyond her usual gentle and steady appearance, she looked a bit more spirited.
Qingshuang walked a circle around her mistress, her eyes full of admiration. “Dressed like this, anyone would believe you were a young maiden yet to wed.”
“Mother is the most beautiful!” Ningning also watched from the side with wide eyes, her voice crisp and stubborn.
“You and Ningning are always so good at pleasing me. I am already twenty-six; how could I possibly pass for an unmarried girl?”
Yu Yihe lightly teased Qingshuang and stroked her daughter’s hair with a soft reprimand, yet her eyes fell upon her own reflection in the mirror. After a few careful looks, her eyes couldn’t help but curve into a smile.
No woman disliked hearing others praise her beauty, and she was no exception.
“It’s not just to please you, Miss. With your looks, that Master Zheng will surely fall at your feet.”
“Yes, yes, I’m falling at Mother’s feet too!” The two adults never hid things from Ningning, and Yu Yihe had never covered up the matters regarding the Wei family. Ningning had long been looking forward to her mother finding her a new father.
After the joking was done, Yu Yihe set off for Chunxing Garden with Qingshuang, not yet imagining what they might encounter.