The imperial palace was exactly as Baoying had imagined: magnificent, towering, with vermilion-painted walls and green-glazed multi-eaved roofs. Entering through the Xihua Gate, one had to first pay respects to the Empress Dowager at her residence, Renshou Palace.
Along the way, the palace attendants they passed would stop and bow before their palanquin. They wore identical, immaculate uniforms, their etiquette flawless, their eyes perpetually lowered. The morning sun cast long shadows at their feet, yet beneath the towering palace walls, they seemed as insignificant as busy ants.
Zong Duo was accustomed to ignoring these people entirely. Baoying thought him terribly rude, so she responded earnestly to every palace attendant they passed, returning each bow with a smile.
The Empress Dowager had fallen ill before the new year—illness striking like a collapsing mountain but receding like silk being drawn from a cocoon. She still could not rise from her bed, so Baoying did not meet her in person, only kowtowing from afar outside the main hall of Renshou Palace.
The head matron of Renshou Palace emerged carrying a long lacquered box inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold, saying it was a gift from the Empress Dowager to welcome her new granddaugher-in-law.
Baoying was delighted at the sight of a present—this was a gift from the most honored woman in all the realm! She wanted to open it right away, but Bailu, who had accompanied her into the palace, quickly tucked the box away, and Zong Duo had already reached the gates of Renshou Palace.
She had no choice but to hurry after him.
They walked to the central palace. Zong Duo's strides were long, leaving her a full pace behind.
Baoying wanted him to hold her hand, so she reached out to tug at his sleeve. But his sleeve seemed to have eyes of its own—every time she was about to grasp it, it swung forward out of reach.
After several failed attempts to catch his sleeve, she finally gave up, trailing sullenly behind him.
The chief eunuch of Kunning Palace was already waiting at the gate, attentively ushering the new Prince of Yan and his bride inside.
This time, Baoying was truly nervous—the Emperor was in there.
Though Zong Duo had told her to simply take it in stride, this was the Emperor—the master of the realm, the father of all living beings. Who could possibly remain composed in the presence of the Son of Heaven?
To her surprise, upon entering the main hall, there was no sign of the Emperor.
The Empress, resplendent in her bright yellow ceremonial robes embroidered with phoenixes, sat in the seat of honor. The seat of highest honor to her left, however, stood empty. Several concubines in elaborate dress and makeup sat below the Empress, their gazes turned toward the doorway.
One, two, three, four, five—Baoying counted quietly.
The imperial family was truly extraordinary. An ordinary household had but one mother-in-law; she had five!
The Empress beckoned the young couple forward, saying with a smile, "His Majesty is occupied with state affairs and cannot spare the time to drink the new daughter-in-law's tea. We shall not wait for him today."
Upon hearing that the Emperor would not attend, Zong Duo's expression remained unchanged as he said respectfully, "Father Emperor works tirelessly; matters of state naturally take precedence."
Baoying, following behind him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, two faint dimples appearing at the corners of her rosy cheeks.
The Empress noticed her and beckoned, "Come here, dear child."
Baoying hurried forward and, following the etiquette Nanny Gui had taught her, gathered her skirts and knelt before the Empress.
A palace maid approached with a tea tray. Baoying picked up the teacup, raised it with both hands above her head, and presented it to the Empress.
The Empress accepted the cup, took the first sip of tea from her new daughter-in-law, then casually handed the cup back to the attendant. Looking at the demure young woman with her head bowed before her, she said, "Raise your head and let me have a look at you."
Baoying lifted her head as instructed. As the Empress studied her, she too was quietly studying the Empress.
The Empress was three years older than the Emperor, with a dignified, stately face. Though her skin was well cared for, fine lines of age were inevitable—yet they did not make her look old, but rather accentuated the graceful bearing befitting the mistress of the harem.
But toward her daughter-in-law, the Empress smiled warmly, sighing with genuine admiration, "What a lovely young girl! How old are you?"
"Your Majesty, this daughter-in-law turned seventeen last winter."
Baoying's voice was pleasant—fine without being shrill, soft and melodious, carrying the natural liveliness of a young maiden, like an oriole emerging from the valley.
In such a solemn setting, she unconsciously reined in that liveliness, and her measured voice became like a cool mountain spring, especially refreshing on a summer's day.
The fine lines at the corners of the Empress's eyes relaxed somewhat as she smiled again, "The Noble Consort was about this age when she entered the palace, wasn't she? I recall that when the Noble Consort first arrived, she outshone all the beauties in the palace. Tell me, is the Princess of Yan not even more so?"
A consort seated below her picked up the thread: "In my view, the Princess of Yan is indeed even more stunning. Consort Xu, sister, what do you think?"
Consort Xu smiled faintly but did not take up the question. Instead, she turned to Baoying and asked, "Have you read any books?"
"Er…" This caught Baoying off guard.
Shi Dalu was a military man, without the enlightenment that "within books dwell golden houses," and naturally it never occurred to him to send his daughter to study.
It was Zhenniang who had pressed Baoying into studying for half a year under the tutelage of Ruyin's female tutor. She could recognize characters well enough by then, but she was lazy by nature and had no patience for poring over obscure classics and histories. Instead, she spent her days absorbed in storybooks and novels, reading with great relish—and in the process, her vocabulary only grew.
Now that the consorts were asking, could she very well say she read popular books like A Marriage That Awakens the World or Tales of Demon-Subduing and Monster-Catching?
No, no—that would hardly be fit for refined company. But the proper books she had actually read could be counted on one hand.
Baoying racked her brains and answered slowly, "To answer Your Highnesses, I have only read the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic."
"Heh—" A light laugh came from beside her. "Even the young boys starting their studies in my natal family don't read books like those anymore."
Baoying stole a glance at that consort from the corner of her eye, feeling indignant inside: she wasn't trying to top the imperial examinations, so what did it matter if she had read fewer books?
The Empress was momentarily at a loss for words, so she had a palace maid behind her present the meeting gifts, then instructed Baoying, "Go and offer tea to your several imperial mothers as well."
"Yes." Baoying had quietly counted earlier—there were four consorts seated below the Empress.
Nanny Gui had prepared her with lessons on palace protocol. The Emperor's harem was said to hold three thousand beauties, and compared to the Empress who had no sons, the birth mothers of the various princes commanded far more prominence.
The first she paid respects to was Noble Consort Chi.
Noble Consort Chi's natal family was undistinguished; she had risen to her position entirely on imperial favor. Her son, the Fifth Prince Zong Mao, had been enfeoffed as Prince of Zhao at just eighteen. Compared to Zong Duo, who had only been granted his own household and princely title at twenty through military merit, Zong Mao could be said to enjoy exceptionally flourishing imperial grace.
Noble Consort Chi was the very consort who had mocked her moments ago, but Baoying dared not show the slightest negligence. She respectfully presented the tea before the Noble Consort.
Seeing that no one reached out to take it for a long while, she could not help but stealthily lift her lashes to steal a glance at the Noble Consort.
Noble Consort Chi was well-preserved, appearing no more than thirty, with strikingly gorgeous features. Yet her demeanor was haughty, and she seemed difficult to get along with.
Still brooding over the Empress's earlier words, she gave a cold laugh. "The Princess of Yan indeed has fine looks! How is it I've never seen you at palace banquets before?"
Baoying answered honestly, "To answer Your Highness, my father holds a seventh-rank official post. Family members are not qualified to attend palace banquets, so Your Highness has never seen your daughter-in-law."
"Seventh rank?" Noble Consort Chi's delicate brows knitted together, and she feigned surprise as she said to the palace maid behind her, "That Uncle Li who used to guard the gate at our house—isn't he already a sixth-rank secretary by now?"
The palace maid giggled. "Your Highness, that was three years ago! Lord Li must have been promoted higher by now."
As her words fell, faint ripples of laughter drifted through the hall.
Baoying could hear the contempt in those laughs.
But she didn't understand what was so funny. Was holding a low official rank something to be ashamed of? That seventh-rank post was something her father had struggled half his life to obtain!
Hearing those scornful laughs, Baoying felt a pang of sadness and turned back helplessly to look at Zong Duo.
He stood at her side, his face still wearing that same calm, composed expression, as if Noble Consort Chi's mockery had nothing to do with his wife's family.
At that moment, the magnificently robed consort seated across from Noble Consort Chi spoke up. "The Noble Consort's natal family is truly extraordinary. Our Xu family has produced dukes and ministers for generations, but a gatekeeper is a gatekeeper—we don't see dogs and chickens ascending to heaven along with the master."
Baoying looked at her gratefully.
From the meaning of those words, this must be Consort Xu—Zong Duo's birth mother, her proper mother-in-law. With someone backing her up, she immediately straightened her spine.
Noble Consort Chi's face, however, shifted slightly.
The Xu family had produced generations of dukes and ministers, while the Chi family had shallow roots. Before she entered the palace, her father had been a city gate guard. Consort Xu was mocking her for her low family standing and lack of pedigree!
She was furious. Seeing that Baoying was still holding the teacup, its golden, clear tea steaming with rising heat, a scheme suddenly came to her. She reached out to take the cup—but it was only a feint. The moment her fingertips touched the bottom of the cup, she withdrew her hand.
Baoying naturally had no idea of the trick the Noble Consort was playing. Seeing her reach out to take it, she let go—only for the teacup to plummet straight down.
In the instant the scalding tea was about to splash onto her, in a flash of lightning, a hand with long, elegant fingers caught the falling cup. With a twist of the wrist, it gathered every drop of splashing tea back into the bowl without losing a single one, then casually presented it before the Noble Consort.
"Your Highness, do be careful."
Baoying watched Zong Duo in amazement. His movements had been so fast, so clean and crisp—more impressive than any street performer's act.
Of course, mixed into that silent admiration was a measure of gratitude. Had he not reacted in time, that hot tea would have scalded her hand.
Noble Consort Chi's expression, however, turned very unpleasant.
If the Princess of Yan had dropped the tea meant for her, she would have had every reason to make trouble. But Zong Duo's casually delivered words had turned it into her own failure to take the cup properly.
She took the teacup from Zong Duo's hand with a cold expression and had her palace maid present the meeting gifts.
Only then did Baoying breathe a sigh of relief and turn to offer tea to the next consort.
Fortunately, the next two consorts did not make things difficult for her.
Below the Noble Consort was Virtuous Consort Guo. In her forties, she was the birth mother of the eldest prince, Zong Dian. The Guo family was a lineage of military generals; the Guo Duke led troops guarding the northern frontier, so the Virtuous Consort's position in the palace was naturally of considerable weight.
Next was Virtuous Consort Liao. The Liao Duke served in the Grand Secretariat alongside Consort Xu's father, yet because the Virtuous Consort had given birth to the Second Prince Zong Yue and the Fourth Prince Zong Kai, her standing still overshadowed Consort Xu's.
Last, she offered tea to her true mother-in-law, Consort Xu.
Consort Xian was around forty years of age, with an elongated face and phoenix-shaped eyes. Baoying felt she didn't look very much like Zong Duo, though the air of pride and aloofness in her every gesture was a perfect match.
Consort Xian accepted her tea but didn't drink it, idly turning the cup in her hand while appraising Baoying through her narrow, slender phoenix eyes.
Baoying's heart was full of trepidation. Of all the consorts, she was only worried that Consort Xian might not take a liking to her. After all, Consort Xian was Zong Duo's own mother—they were the true family.
After a long moment, Consort Xian finally spoke: "A humble background matters little. What matters is knowing your own measure, and understanding to whom you owe your current position and status. If you presume upon favor and grow arrogant, looking down on others, don't blame me for not acknowledging you as my daughter-in-law!"
The words were harsh, leaving Baoying bewildered and anxious: hadn't Consort Xian just been speaking up for her moments ago? Why was she now admonishing her? Had she done something wrong?
Even after leaving the palace and boarding the carriage back to the residence, she remained utterly perplexed.
Zong Duo watched her fidgeting restlessly with a cold eye, and finally spoke: "You needn't take those words to heart. Her Ladyship was merely scolding the mulberry tree while pointing at the locust tree."
Upon hearing that she wasn't the target of the rebuke, Baoying let out a long sigh of relief, then looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes: "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Zong Duo said nothing, turning his head to gaze at the street scene beyond the carriage's gauze window.
Her round, bell-like eyes were like pearls and jade resting at the bottom of a clear, limpid stream—washed so clean and pure that even her most shallow thoughts lay plainly displayed upon them.