The Xu residence was located in Shiyong Ward in the southwest corner of the imperial city, the most prosperous area in the capital.
When Prince Yan's carriage arrived at the Xu family's front gate, the prince's guards had already cleared the street. The Xu family members had been standing at the entrance since early morning, waiting to receive them.
Zong Duo stepped down from the carriage and proactively turned back to offer Baoying his hand.
Watching those long, slender fingers gleam like jade in the sunlight, Baoying felt a faint ache where he had gripped her wrist.
Though she was still nursing her displeasure, she had no intention of embarrassing him in front of others. She graciously placed her hand in his and used his support to step down from the carriage.
But as she withdrew her hand, she dug her nails hard into his palm.
Zong Duo's expression remained unchanged, though he arched one eyebrow slightly and glanced at her.
Baoying laughed inwardly.
The Xu family members all came forward to greet them with formal salutes.
Grand Secretary Xu was occupied with state affairs, so the two masters of the Xu household led the welcoming party.
Baoying took a quick look at them—both were around her father's age. These must be the Second Master Xu and Third Master Xu. Both had long, oval faces and phoenix-shaped eyes, appearing refined and elegant, bearing a strong resemblance to Consort Xu.
Baoying blinked and studied them again and again, then finally turned her gaze to Zong Duo's face. They said nephews resembled their maternal uncles, but she didn't see it at all.
The two masters escorted Zong Duo to the main hall, while a maidservant came to lead Baoying to the sedan chair pavilion, where she was carried by sedan chair all the way to the Old Madame's Hall of Blessings.
The scenery along the way differed from the grandeur of the prince's mansion. The Xu residence was an official's estate and could not exceed regulations by building palace-style structures, yet the pavilions and towers all featured sweeping eaves and upturned corners, possessing a distinct elegance and refinement.
The two Madams of the Xu household waited at the entrance of the Hall of Blessings to receive her. They helped Baoying down from the sedan chair, each taking one of her hands, and praised her in unison: "The Princess Consort is truly a jade-like beauty. Come, let us go in and see the Old Madame. She dotes on His Highness more than anyone—imagine how delighted she'll be to meet her grandson's bride."
Baoying saw that these two noble ladies, adorned in pearls and finery, carried not a trace of airs. Her heart settled somewhat, and she followed them into the Hall of Blessings.
Seated upright on the arhat bed at the head of the hall was an elderly woman with hair of pure silver. On the footstools on either side sat two young ladies, delicate as golden branches and jade leaves, around her own age—presumably the young misses of the Xu family.
When they saw her enter, the two young ladies rose to their feet, but only the Old Madame remained seated in her place.
Baoying remembered Nanny Gui telling her that the rank of a Princess Consort was above that of a First-Class Lady, so aside from the imperial consorts in the palace, she need not bow to anyone of her own accord.
The Old Madame showed no intention of rising to greet her either, but given her advanced age and her position as Zong Duo's grandmother, Baoying naturally wouldn't quibble over such matters. She stepped forward gracefully and performed a wanfu salute.
Only then did the Old Madame beckon her forward and have her sit down beside her.
Baoying studied Zong Duo's grandmother with curiosity.
She appeared to be in her early sixties, bearing a strong resemblance to Consort Xu, though lacking the sharpness in her brows and eyes that the Consort possessed. However, despite her kind and benevolent appearance, the Old Madame could not conceal the commanding dignity of one accustomed to authority in every gesture she made.
In comparison, though Baoying bore the title of Princess Consort, she was in truth merely a seventeen-year-old girl—her experience was nothing before this woman.
Old Madame Xu held Baoying's hands in hers, a sharp glint flickering in her slightly clouded eyes as she too studied the girl without showing it.
The young woman before her was radiant and stunning, like a clear white peony in full bloom. Most striking were her eyes—clear, lively, and untainted by a single trace of impurity—gazing back at her with open curiosity.
Clean, innocent, without a shred of cunning.
That was Old Madame Xu's first impression of Baoying.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief inwardly, then cast a subtle glance at her two granddaughters standing nearby, a smile of certain victory curling at the corners of her lips.
"Come here."
The Old Madame beckoned the two young ladies forward and personally introduced them to Baoying: "Our Xu family has few daughters in this generation—only three in total. The eldest has married and gone to Yingtian Prefecture. This is the second miss, the legitimate daughter of the eldest branch, named Lanyue. And this is the third miss, a daughter of the third branch born to a concubine, named Lanxing. You are all around the same age. If you ever find yourself bored at the prince's mansion, you may summon them to keep you company."
Baoying looked at them and thought the two sisters truly lived up to their names.
Xu Lanyue had skin like snow and a flower-like countenance, poised and graceful, though carrying an air of cool aloofness that kept others at a distance. Xu Lanxing was livelier, like pear blossoms after spring, possessing a more approachable charm than her elder sister.
Old Madame Xu chatted with Baoying for a while, then pleaded fatigue and retired to her chambers, instructing the Xu sisters to play host and accompany her on a stroll through the gardens.
Along the way, Xu Lanyue spoke very little. Fortunately, Xu Lanxing served as a mediator in the middle, and Baoying simply took her silence for shyness rather than a slight. She explored the Xu family's gardens with great enthusiasm.
The Xu family hailed originally from Jiangnan. When the estate was first built, they had invited a master garden designer from Suzhou to oversee the project, which took five years to complete. Now, decades later, the garden had acquired the depth of age atop its original exquisiteness, becoming a truly magnificent sight.
Even the most distinguished officials visiting Xu Mansion for the first time would be struck with awe at the breathtaking scenery, let alone Baoying, a sheltered young lady of modest upbringing who had seen little of the world.
She admired the sights as she walked, expressing her praise without reservation.
To others, however, her praise carried a different connotation—the exclamations of someone provincial and unrefined.
Xu Lanxing smiled faintly, the gloom suppressed by her status as Princess Consort of Yan dissipating considerably.
So what if she was a princess consort? She had merely married well. Had she not been fortunate enough to marry Prince Yan, she would never have set foot in the Xu household in this lifetime. Besides, Prince Yan wasn't hers alone—he was also their cousin.
She felt a desire to cut Baoying down a peg and gestured toward a mountain retreat not far away: "That spot sits on high ground and overlooks the entire garden. Brother Duo used to love that place."
At the mention of Zong Duo, Baoying grew curious and asked, "Are you all quite familiar with His Highness?"
Xu Lanxing, eager to show off in front of her, nodded toward Xu Lanyue: "My second sister used to serve as companion reader to Princess Rong'an in the palace. She and Brother Duo grew up together as childhood sweethearts."
At the mention of childhood sweethearts—cousins raised together—Baoying immediately thought of herself and Wei Xuan.
Drawing from her own experience, since Zong Duo and Xu Lanyue had grown up together, he must have bullied her quite a bit. Despite Zong Duo being a man of few words, he was surprisingly adept at tormenting others.
She cast a sympathetic glance at Xu Lanyue and racked her brain for words of comfort: "Second Miss, don't take it to heart. What's past is past."
Xu Lanyue's smug expression had yet to fade when she heard these words, and her face shifted slightly.
What did she mean by that? Staking a claim? Warning her not to bring up old affections?
She shot Baoying a cold glare.
Earlier at the meal in Fuhui Hall, she had been seated at the lower end and seen clearly that a ring of red marks encircled Baoying's wrist.
With the status of a princess consort, who would dare lay hands on her? It could only be Zong Duo. Since Zong Duo didn't cherish her, there was nothing to fear from this daughter of a minor official.
Since she dared to put on princess consort airs in the Xu household, it was time to teach her a lesson.
Xu Lanyue's lovely eyes darted as a scheme formed in her mind. She changed the subject: "This place is called the Pavilion of Resonating Melodies. Its orientation and structure, combined with the flowers, trees, and rockeries of the corridor courtyard, allow music to carry great distances—the effect of sound resounding through the forest."
She turned and fixed her gaze intently on Baoying: "May I ask, Princess Consort—of the qin, se, pipa, sheng, flute, and xiao, which can you play?"
"None of them," Baoying said openly. "But I can sing."
"Sing?" Xu Lanxing let out a derisive laugh.
Noble ladies of refined households did not take up singing; they learned string and wind instruments instead, which showcased talent while possessing a unique elegance.
"That's right!" Baoying was quite proud of it. She genuinely had a gift for singing. From childhood to now, any opera or folk tune she'd heard, she could reproduce with near-perfect accuracy.
Shi Dalu had once joked that if Baoying hadn't been born into their family, she could have made a living as a street performer—which had so infuriated Zhenniang that she didn't speak to him for three days.
Xu Lanyue said, "Then sing a song for us to hear."
It was high summer, and the southern breeze was cool.
Baoying cleared her throat and sang a "Song of the Four Seasons":
"At dawn I climb the cool terrace, at dusk I rest by the orchid pool. I gather lotus blossoms by moonlight, and every night I harvest the seeds…"
She wasn't boasting—her voice was clear and melodious, and everyone who heard it praised it. As she sang, the tune, amplified by the Pavilion of Resonating Melodies, drifted gracefully to the mountain retreat across the way.
Inside that retreat, Zong Duo was discussing current affairs with several young masters of the Xu family at a table. Xu Pei, unable to sit still in the heat, rose and pushed open the lattice window, hearing the ethereal singing carried in by the pine breeze.
The wispy strands of song tugged at the heart, like morning dew, soothing the restless heat of the summer day. The voices of discussion gradually slowed as everyone diverted their attention to listen to the singing outside.
Zong Duo turned to look at Xu Pei: "Close the window. It's noisy."
Xu Pei chuckled: "We're not reaching any conclusions anyway. Might as well go out for a stroll."
As he stepped forward, he looked at the eldest young master: "Elder Brother, who's practicing singing at the Pavilion of Resonating Melodies?"
The eldest young master was puzzled too.
No new singing girls or performers had joined the household, and while the courtesans accustomed to the pleasure quarters had good voices, few could sing with such lighthearted liveliness.
The other young masters thought the same, curious about the true identity of the singer, and egged each other on toward the Pavilion of Resonating Melodies.
By this time, Baoying had finished her "Song of the Four Seasons" but received no applause. Instead, she saw that everyone from the young ladies to the maidservants of the Xu family were smiling—yet their smiles concealed a hint of mockery.
She finally sensed something amiss and seized a moment to quietly ask Bailu, who attended her: "What are they laughing about?"
Bailu was laughing too.
She had been born into the Xu household as a servant, later sent to the palace to serve Consort Xian, then assigned by Consort Xian to attend the Princess Consort of Yan. Yet in her heart, she still considered herself a Xu family member and took delight in Baoying's humiliation.
Seeing that the subject of their amusement remained oblivious, the mockery lost some of its flavor.
Bailu, never one to miss a good show, whispered to her, "To answer Your Highness, the Second Miss is toying with you, treating you like a singing girl in a brothel!"
Baoying flew into a rage.
She had never been one to swallow a loss silently. Striding briskly up to Xu Lanyue, she cast a sidelong glance at her and said, "May I ask, Second Miss, of the qin, se, pipa, sheng, flute, and xiao—which of these can you play?"
Xu Lanyue set down her teacup with deliberate slowness, and said with no small measure of pride, "I am proficient in all of them."
"Very well then, I wish to hear a pipa tune. Play one for me."
Still unhurried, Xu Lanyue replied, "I study music for self-cultivation, not for the entertainment of others. I regret that I cannot oblige."
Baoying let out a long "Hmm" and said, "If you can't play, just say so. No need to hide behind such high-sounding excuses."
"Who says I can't play?" Xu Lanyue, never having been questioned like this before, flushed red in an instant.
Baoying sat down beside her and, mimicking her unhurried manner, took a sip of tea. "You dare not play—doesn't that just mean you can't?"
"Who says I dare not?"
"Then play."
"Well…" Xu Lanyue was left speechless.
If she played, she would be turning the tables on herself, and she could not bear the humiliation before a crowd of servants. But if she refused, Baoying would insist she had been lying, and she would lose face either way.
Seeing this, Bailu quickly interjected, "Your Highness, do not make a scene. What good will it do you to offend the Second Miss?"
Xu Lanxing also spoke up to rescue her sister: "Your Highness, our Xu family is a house of bells and tripods, of poetry and books. We cannot stoop to such base entertainments. Do not force your will upon others!"
"What base entertainments?" Baoying retorted with righteous indignation. "I am merely asking the Second Miss to do what she asked me to do. How is that forcing my will upon anyone? If you don't even understand 'Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto you,' then a house of bells and tripods, of poetry and books? More like a house of 'bells and tripods, of poetry and snooks'!"
"You—"
Xu Lanyue's face went pale, then flushed red by turns. Women of noble birth like them, even when quarreling, used words sharp as needles wrapped in silk—never did they speak as bluntly and to the face as Baoying did. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
"The Prince has arrived!" "Greetings, Your Highness."
At that moment, the servants' hurried greetings came from outside the door.
Everyone in the pavilion turned to look, and saw several richly dressed young lords in jade belts and golden crowns entering. The one at the lead wore a cold, aloof expression—it was Zong Duo.
Clearly, the entire quarrel had just fallen upon their ears.