Early the next morning, after Baoying had finished her breakfast and was sitting on the couch playing backgammon with Xiaolian, Nanny Wei came hurrying over again. "Miss, miss, come to the front hall quickly—the Prince's residence has sent people to take you back."
"Who came?" Baoying set down her game piece. "Has His Highness come?"
"No." Nanny Wei shook her head and thought carefully for a moment. "Four young ladies came, all dressed in fine silks and satins. They look like young misses from a wealthy household."
Baoying felt somewhat disappointed.
Still, it was curious enough that Bailu and the other three would come calling. In their daily conversations, they always looked down on the Shi family with contempt. Why would they come hand in hand today?
Curious to see what was going on, she pulled Xiaolian along to the front hall.
Zhenniang was already entertaining Bailu and the other three.
"The rain was heavy yesterday, so we kept the Princess Consort here for the night. I didn't expect you young ladies to come all the way here in person today. We've truly put you to trouble."
Bailu replied flatly, "In that case, please have the Princess Consort return with us quickly, so we may report back to His Highness."
"What's the hurry? Since you've come, have a cup of tea before you leave."
Just as she finished speaking, Baoying walked in from outside, looking somewhat displeased at Bailu. She had just seen that when Zhenniang offered tea, Bailu hadn't even reached out to take it.
Although Baoying didn't care about these people's cold treatment of her—they were strangers after all—she couldn't tolerate them slighting her mother in her own home.
Seeing her enter, Bailu and the others didn't rise from their seats, instead speaking with reproach: "The Princess Consort has been throwing her temper all day; it's time to return. Running back to her natal home like this only causes trouble for us servants!"
Last night, they had been sent to the Shi residence, only to find the gatekeeper had already gone to bed and locked the doors. No matter how they knocked, no one answered, so they had no choice but to wait outside all night. Unfortunately, this alley was full of bamboo groves, and in the summer night, mosquitoes swarmed relentlessly, leaving all four covered in bites.
They were all senior palace maids accustomed to a life of comfort—when had they ever endured such hardship! Now that they saw the culprit responsible for their suffering, their complaints naturally flowed freely.
Baoying gave a "hmph." "What do you have to be troubled about? The Prince's mother-in-law poured tea for you, and I didn't see you feeling troubled about that."
Her words made all four of their faces change.
In the past, when they made snide remarks, the Princess Consort never took offense. They had assumed she was a mute gourd—who would have thought she could be so sharp-tongued?
But His Highness had sent them to fetch her. If they angered her and she threw a tantrum and refused to return, how could they report back to His Highness?
Bailu and the others had no choice but to rise and apologize to Zhenniang. "We servants overstepped our bounds. Please don't take offense, madam."
Zhenniang felt unworthy of such courtesy. Given the bearing of these maids, they were likely more refined than most young ladies of respectable families. She dared not accept their formal respects, lest these proud maids take revenge on her Baoying later.
She urged, "Baoying, since the Prince's residence has sent people, you should return early. His Highness must be missing you."
"Yes, Princess Consort, please return quickly."
Bailu and the others, though reluctant, had no choice but to lower their posture and plead with her.
Baoying rarely saw them so humble, and her mood lifted considerably. She forgot her earlier unpleasantness with Zong Duo and happily boarded the carriage back to Prince Yan's residence.
The first thing she did upon returning was apply medicine to her scraped knee.
A small scab had formed over the broken skin. Zhenniang had specifically instructed that ointment be applied morning and evening, so that once the scab fell off, no scar would remain on the skin.
The mistress and maid treated Zhenniang's words as gospel.
Baoying sat by the daybed, her bare feet resting on the footstool, her flower-embroidered silk trousers rolled up to her knees. Xiaolian sat on a small stool below, and the two were focused on applying the medicine when suddenly they heard the jade bead curtain rattle. Looking up, they saw Zong Duo walking in.
Today he wore a dark blue belted riding jacket with fitted sleeves. The crisp silk accentuated his dashing bearing, though his handsome face was somewhat pale. Combined with his cold, indifferent expression, he looked like a beauty carved from ice.
Baoying glanced at the ice chest in the corner of the room and thought inappropriately: if she placed her husband in the corner, he could serve the same purpose of cooling the room and warding off the heat.
At that thought, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Zong Duo looked at her expressionlessly. When she had finished laughing, he spoke coldly, "That thing you fed me the day before yesterday—what exactly did you put in it?"
What else could she have put in it?
Baoying had already let go of the matter from the day before yesterday, but seeing him still harping on it, she felt somewhat annoyed. She counted on her fingers: "Just one black-boned chicken, two qian of ginseng slices, three qian of angelica, two qian of deer antler…"
"Miss," Xiaolian reminded her timidly, "that whole package of deer antler—you put it all into the soup…"
"Ah, right." Baoying suddenly remembered, and cautiously glanced at his expression. "Two liang of deer antler."
Zong Duo's gaze at her suddenly sharpened. His usually calm expression shifted and changed, finally tinged with a faint flush of anger.
"Two liang?" The veins at his temples twitched as he suppressed his fury. "Even ten people wouldn't need that much, and you fed it all to me?"
"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to," Baoying apologized sincerely, then quickly defended herself, "Though adding too much is a bit wasteful, but—but deer antler is a good thing, so it's not like you're at a loss."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but size him up with her big, dark eyes.
Zong Duo stood by the folding screen, his posture tall and elegant, as straight and verdant as a pine. Seeing how spirited he looked, perhaps her two taels of deer antler had indeed done some good.
Seeing that he didn't respond, she mumbled again, "Then, at most, I'll be more careful next time."
"There's a next time?"
Zong Duo let out a cold laugh, but seeing her dazed and foolish expression, arguing with her would truly be beneath him.
After a moment of silence, he turned to look at Xiaolian beside him. "Why aren't you applying medicine to your mistress's wounds?"
"Huh?" Xiaolian was taken aback.
"If you don't hurry, the wounds will have healed by the time you get to them!"
Zong Duo coldly tossed out the remark, then turned and swept away with his sleeves.
The mistress and servant looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What does he mean by that?" Baoying asked.
"Uh." Xiaolian glanced at the small scabs forming on her knees and stammered, "His Highness seems to be mocking us for making a mountain out of a molehill!"
Baoying was furious. She decided she would never speak to him again.
As summer deepened and cicadas chirped in waves, the servants of Zhaoming Hall busied themselves with bamboo poles to catch the cicadas, afraid they might disturb the Princess Consort.
Yet the silent courtyard seemed to lose some of summer's charm. Baoying sat by the window to cool off, gazing at the blazing sun and tree shadows outside, listlessly waving her round silk fan.
Now that the novelty of being newly married had worn off, she found the vast Prince's residence rather empty and lonely. Though there were many servants in the residence, they treated her with utmost deference, and Baoying was unaccustomed to this feeling of being looked up to from above.
Xiaolian offered her a suggestion: "Why not invite Miss Ruyin over to play?"
Baoying had already been thinking of that, but she had been sulking with Zong Duo these past two days, and by extension, she didn't want to talk to Nanny Sun either.
But since she now needed her help, she could naturally bend when necessary. She quickly sent Xiaolian to invite Nanny Sun over.
Upon hearing that she wanted to host a guest, Nanny Sun neither approved nor objected, only smiling as she said, "The day after tomorrow, His Highness will be visiting the Xu residence. The Xu family is His Highness's maternal family. As the new bride, the Princess Consort should go pay respects to the old madam of their household. As for inviting Miss Wei over, perhaps it would be better to postpone it for a few days."
Baoying saw the logic in that and had no choice but to abandon the idea, instead turning to Nanny Sun to ask about the Xu family.
Nanny Sun told her that Grand Secretary Xu had three sons and four daughters. The eldest Master Xu served as an official outside the capital, while the second and third masters held positions in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works in the capital respectively. Consort Xu was Grand Secretary Xu's second daughter and had only one son, Zong Duo.
Baoying silently compared in her heart—Zong Duo's relationship with the Xu family was just like her relationship with the Wei family.
Though she was still angry with him, Baoying wouldn't take it out on his relatives. As his maternal grandmother's granddaughter-in-law, she truly should pay a proper visit to his grandmother.
So she took this visit quite seriously. Though she didn't need to wear the formal Princess Consort ceremonial robes, Baoying still carefully coordinated her outfit, choosing a red-and-white patterned silk skirt with a peacock-blue sheer over-robe with wide sleeves. It looked elegant and dignified without stealing the spotlight.
On the day of the outing, the carriage bound for the Xu residence was already prepared and waiting at the Prince's residence gate. Seeing there was only one carriage, Baoying refused to ride with Zong Duo no matter what.
Nanny Sun earnestly advised her from the side, "When the Princess Consort accompanies His Highness on outings, how could they not travel together? If someone with discerning eyes were to see this, they might misunderstand that His Highness and the Princess Consort are at odds."
Baoying snorted. "Then it's not their fault for misunderstanding—your His Highness has indeed been speaking harshly to me!"
Nanny Sun was about to persuade her further when Zong Duo's voice came from inside the carriage: "If she doesn't want to ride, then let the Princess Consort walk there herself. Someone, set off!"
"Yes!" The coachman acknowledged and raised his horsewhip.
Baoying panicked and quickly grabbed hold of the carriage shaft with both hands, glaring angrily at Zong Duo inside the carriage. "You—you're going too far!"
The man in ornate robes and jade crown looked down at her from above: "My patience is limited. If you don't want to walk, get on."
When under someone's roof, one must lower one's head.
Baoying swallowed her anger and stepped onto the footstool to climb up. The Prince's carriage was tall and spacious, so getting up required considerable effort.
Zong Duo sat comfortably inside, watching indifferently as she climbed up using both hands and feet, without the slightest intention of lending a hand.
Once on the carriage, Baoying shot him a resentful glare and chose the seat farthest from him.
Zong Duo lowered his eyes to read the documents in his hands, ignoring her reproachful gaze.
As the carriage drove out of the imperial street, Baoying gradually grew restless. She was naturally more inclined to activity than stillness, and she truly couldn't bear this strange atmosphere of mutual silence.
She took the initiative to break the silence: "Hey, about the deer antler matter, I've already apologized to you. Shouldn't you apologize to me too?"
Zong Duo glanced at her sideways. "Apologize for what?"
"For the things you said that day." She bit her lip. "They were very harsh and very hurtful."
He thought back briefly, but didn't apologize to her, only saying, "I'll say it again—I'm not sick. Don't be so clever."
"You're not sick, so why won't you live with me?"
He said coldly, "Because I have no interest in women who are eager to throw themselves at me."
Baoying was furious.
Not only did he refuse to apologize, but he repeated those awful words again!
"What do you mean, no interest? You're clearly impotent! Even two liang of deer antler won't help!" She was so angry she spoke without thinking, racking her brain for ways to mock him. "You're weak in the yang department, you're not a man! You, you…"
As she ranted, she worked herself up even more, and simply reached her hand straight toward his crotch.
Before she could get close, her wrist was seized in his grip.
Now that she was closer, she could clearly see the fury smoldering in his dark eyes, and his voice was no longer as calm as before: "I don't like physical contact with people. Don't make me say it a third time!"
Baoying was frightened by that icy gaze.
She tried to pull her hand back, but his iron-hard fingers clamped down tightly, leaving her trapped.
"You're hurting me, let go!"
She was both angry and scared, and her tone involuntarily softened.
Zong Duo flung her hand away.
"You have no sense of propriety at all," he said coldly. "Starting tomorrow, you will study palace etiquette with Nanny Sun for four hours every day."
Baoying rubbed her aching wrist aggrievedly, only to see several long red marks wrapped around her fair, snow-white wrist—a truly shocking sight.
In all her life, she had never suffered such humiliation. And when she heard what he said, her eyes reddened with tears despite herself.
"I don't want to learn etiquette!" She looked up at him with fury, tears welling up like spring water. "You're the one with no sense of propriety! Do you even know what it means to be husband and wife? It makes no sense—who marries someone and then treats them like a decoration!"
The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
"I like being free, I like doing nothing all day. I don't want to study etiquette for four hours a day. You, you're such a bully! Waaah…"
Zong Duo's thick brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the sobbing girl before him with a headache.
"Stop crying."
Baoying ignored him, crying on in her sorrow.
"Stop crying!" He snapped.
Baoying was startled, and her crying abruptly stopped.
She stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes, crystal droplets clinging to the tips of her curled lashes, a faint flush spreading from the corners of her eyes to her temples. She looked so pitifully lovely that it was hard to be harsh with her.
Zong Duo's tone softened somewhat. "If you behave, you won't have to learn the rules."
Baoying sniffled and nodded reluctantly.
He tossed a handkerchief over to her. "Wipe your tears first."
Baoying glanced at the soft handkerchief embroidered with gold thread, a stubborn defiance in her expression as she refused his charity.
She gave a snort through her nose, pulled out a handkerchief from her own sleeve, and lowered her head to carefully wipe away the tears on her face.
The tears dissolved the rouge on her cheeks, leaving a faint trace of pink on the white handkerchief.
Baoying knew her makeup must be ruined, so she simply used the damp handkerchief to wipe off all the rouge on her face.
She was naturally radiant and beautiful; removing the rouge didn't diminish her looks—it merely stripped away the dignified elegance that makeup lent her, revealing a fresh, spirited charm more befitting her age.
Zong Duo lowered his gaze, then spoke again: "Don't stand so close to me."
Baoying shot him an indignant glare—there was a whole body's length between them! And he still found fault with her!
She plopped herself down in the farthest corner, turning her face away to stare at the carvings on the wall panel, determined not to acknowledge him anymore.
She focused on counting the carved patterns for a while, but when the silence stretched on, she couldn't help stealing a sidelong glance at him.
Zong Duo was absorbed in the documents in his hands, his face as calm as a still lake, as if their quarrel was hardly worth a moment of his attention.
He was the one who made her cry, yet he wouldn't even offer a word of comfort.
The morning sun streamed through the gauze window, falling on his thin eyelids, his amber eyes gleaming with a clear, captivating light.
Baoying suddenly felt that he was like a noble young master carved from ice—even if the sun melted his exterior, inside he remained cold, frozen ice.
In short: aloof, dull, and all show with no substance.
Not even as good as Wei Xuan!