It was nearly noon by the time they returned to the Shi residence.
Zhenniang was taken aback to see Baoying and quickly pulled her inside, ordering someone to wring out a hot towel. She wiped her daughter's face herself while asking with concern, "It's only been a few days since the return visit—why are you back already?"
"Mother!" Baoying threw herself into Zhenniang's arms, sobbing with tears and snot streaming down her face. "I can't go on living like this!"
Zhenniang was both shocked and alarmed. Recalling that her daughter's gait had seemed unsteady when she entered, her gaze moved to Baoying's legs—sure enough, there was a tear in the skirt at the knee.
There were no outsiders in the room, so Zhenniang lifted her skirt and rolled up the trouser leg. Both knees were scraped raw, the red specks of blood stark against her fair skin.
"Did Prince Yan hit you?" Zhenniang's heart clenched.
"No." Baoying wiped her tears. "But it's almost as bad as if he had."
"Then what exactly happened?"
Zhenniang fetched ointment and gauze, tending to her daughter's wounds while anxiously questioning her.
Baoying poured out the whole morning's ordeal in tearful detail.
After listening, Zhenniang frowned. "What is this all about? Even if he didn't care for the medicinal food, there was no call for him to say such hurtful things."
"Exactly!" Baoying agreed wholeheartedly. "I put in all that effort for nothing—what right does he have to say such cruel words? Mother, I don't want to be with him anymore. I want to come home!"
Zhenniang gave a helpless smile. "Silly girl, marriage isn't a game of house. You can't just call it quits over a quarrel. Mother will cook a fine spread for my Baoying at noon, and after you eat, you'll go back to the manor, lower your head, and apologize to Prince Yan. How about that?"
Baoying hung her head, her voice dripping with grievance. "Why should I apologize? When you and Father quarrel, isn't it always Father who gives in first?"
Zhenniang finished applying medicine to her scraped knees, pulled the trouser leg back down, then took her hand to examine her palms. Seeing no serious injury, she set aside the ointment with relief and went to the washbasin stand to clean her hands.
"I know you're upset, but Prince Yan holds a noble rank—it can only fall to you to accommodate him."
Baoying's gaze followed Zhenniang's movements around the room as she complained, "What does noble rank matter? The whole household's servants already revolve around him, but I'm not his servant."
Zhenniang said nothing.
Baoying continued, "I remember when I was little, after you quarreled with Father, you carried me to Uncle's house to stay. Father had to come calling several times before you'd agree to go back with him."
Zhenniang smiled. "So running back to your mother's house after a quarrel is something you learned from me."
She dried her hands and sat back down beside Baoying, speaking earnestly. "But your father is no match for Prince Yan after all. Back then, my quarrels with your father were mostly over your grandmother. Now you're in the prince's manor—the Emperor and Empress don't live with you, which is already better than most. You should be even more careful in word and deed. Don't let a reputation for willfulness reach the palace; the Empresses wouldn't care for it either."
Baoying hung her head in silence.
After lunch at home, the rain fell even harder.
This suited her perfectly. She tugged at Zhenniang's sleeve and wheedled, "Mother, look how hard it's raining. I can't possibly go back."
"Oh, you." Zhenniang tapped her on the nose, unable to bear disappointing her daughter. "Go to your room and take a nap. Leave once the rain stops."
Baoying returned to her room thoroughly satisfied, but quietly conferred with Xiaolian: "Since I've come home, I'm not setting foot back in that wretched manor. Bailu and the others are always giving me dirty looks—as if I hadn't noticed."
Seeing that no one was around, Xiaolian dared to speak. "Miss, could it be that His Highness was so angry today because we put in too much deer antler and ginseng, and overdosed him on tonics?"
Baoying had her own doubts, but she'd never admit it aloud. "How could that be? Those are all fine things. At worst—at worst the taste was a bit off. There's no call for him to fly into such a rage!"
Still, she supposed she wasn't entirely blameless either. If he came to fetch her in person, then she'd go back with him.
After her midday rest, the sound of rain outside the window gradually faded. Occasionally there came the rustle of bamboo leaves—the trace of wind passing through. The rain had stopped.
Baoying refused to get out of bed, afraid Zhenniang would send her back to the manor.
Fortunately, Zhenniang never came. Losing patience, Baoying sent Xiaolian out to investigate.
Before long, Xiaolian returned to report: "The mistress is in the kitchen slaughtering a chicken with Fang Sao."
Fang Sao was a kitchen helper at the Shi residence.
Hearing this, Baoying sat up happily. If her mother was slaughtering a chicken, then she definitely wouldn't have to go back today.
She gathered her skirts and ran to the kitchen to watch Zhenniang bustle about.
Fang Sao laughed. "Miss is a Princess Consort now—your status is far above what it used to be. Why would you come to this smoky, sooty place?"
Baoying dragged over a stool and sat by the doorway to enjoy the breeze. At this she curled her lip. "Being a Princess Consort isn't all that great. It's not as comfortable as being at home."
Fang Sao chuckled. "Surely you must be eating abalone, shark fin, and all manner of delicacies every day over there?"
When it came to food, Baoying perked up and said enthusiastically, "Not really. But the prince's residence does take food very seriously. Just for breakfast alone, there are seven or eight varieties—congee, pastries, cakes, and noodles, all available. There are tea snacks in the afternoon and late-night snacks in the evening. The kitchen stove fire never goes out."
"So you're a little mouse that's fallen into a rice jar."
Zhenniang chuckled as she chopped a chicken leg and handed it to her.
The freshly cooked chicken leg was scored with a crisscross pattern, the golden skin covering firm meat, drizzled with scallion slivers in hot-oil soy sauce. The aroma wafted up with the steam, tickling the nose.
Baoying loved to eat, and the chicken legs at home were always hers.
Not just at her own house—every time she visited her uncle's house, the chicken leg was also hers for the taking. Ruyin wanted to maintain a slender figure and wouldn't indulge in food.
Baoying had no such restraint. She'd been a plump, round little girl since childhood, and only when she shot up in height at twelve or thirteen did she finally shake off the nickname "Little Fatty" that Wei Xuan had given her. In truth, she hadn't lost much weight—it had just settled into a few specific places.
"Mother, is Wei Xuan still in the capital?"
Baoying gnawed on the chicken leg, her small mouth shiny with grease, and suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"He went back to Shu long ago." Zhenniang kneaded dough, speaking casually. "Your brother Xuan only came back to the capital to attend your wedding. He missed the main ceremony but managed to catch the return visit. He rested at home for half a day and set off back to Shu the next morning. Your aunt was complaining to me about it—rarely coming back as he does, and he wouldn't stay longer…"
"Oh." Baoying felt a vague sense of disappointment she couldn't quite name.
She still remembered what Wei Xuan had told her on the day of the return visit—that if Zong Duo treated her badly, he would stand up for her.
As evening approached, Shi Dalu returned from the yamen and was also startled to see Baoying.
When he heard she'd had a falling out with Prince Yan, Shi Dalu said nothing, only asking carefully whether the scrapes on her knees were serious.
They weren't really, but Baoying, afraid her father would also urge her to go back, deliberately put on a pitiful look: "Very serious! The skin's all scraped off!"
Shi Dalu stroked his beard and smiled. He knew his daughter's temperament well—if it were truly serious, she'd be bawling her eyes out by now.
After the family finished dinner, Shi Dalu, as usual, began telling his wife and daughter about the new cases at the yamen.
"I handled a case recently—a husband and wife quarreled, and the woman, in a fit of anger, threw herself into the water and drowned."
Zhenniang frowned deeply at this and shot Shi Dalu several fierce glares. What a thing to bring up—knowing full well their daughter had just quarreled with her son-in-law, and he goes and says something like that to scare her.
Shi Dalu pretended not to notice and continued, "The neighbors all said the woman had a fiery temper, so it was plausible she'd taken her own life in a moment of rage. I was about to close the case when the coroner said the woman had been pushed into the water and murdered."
Baoying was captivated and quickly asked, "How did the coroner uncle know?"
Shi Dalu said, "There was mossy mud under the woman's fingernails, and her knuckles were bruised. That meant she'd had a chance to climb back onto the bank, but someone stepped on her hands and pushed her back into the water."
Baoying let out an "Ah," her crescent-shaped brows knitting together in distress.
"Since it was a murder case, it was simple enough." Shi Dalu picked up a bite of cold dish to go with his wine. "One investigation and it came out—it was her husband who did it. It was also the woman's fault for always going on about wanting to die; so when she actually died, no one thought to suspect her husband."
Baoying said indignantly, "Father, that's not right to say! What she said or did isn't a reason to make excuses for a bad person!"
Shi Dalu chuckled. "The logic is sound, but as the saying goes, 'A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.' Since you can't control others, you can only control yourself."
Seeing that Baoying was completely unmoved, he had to spell it out more plainly: "Your father and mother are useless. If Prince Yan bullies you, we wouldn't dare go to his door to demand answers. Who can help it that he's of royal blood, and who can help it that an imperial edict married you to him? We can't control Prince Yan, so we can only control ourselves—'Nothing outside the mind, seek within.'"
"Father's chanting sutras again—can't understand, can't understand!"
Baoying angrily set down her chopsticks, lifted her skirt, and ran back to her bedroom.
Zhenniang and Shi Dalu exchanged helpless glances, both sighing with worry.
Their daughter had been spoiled like a little princess in the small world of the Shi household.
They'd originally thought of taking in a son-in-law, or marrying her back into the Wei family where they knew everything about her, so she could live out her life in peace and comfort. Who would have thought fate would play such tricks—married into a prince's household, where she could hardly be as willful as she was at home?
Baoying's days ahead would be difficult indeed.
"Go check on her quickly—don't let her be hiding in her room crying again." Shi Dalu said to Zhenniang.
Zhenniang went to Baoying's room as instructed, but instead of hearing crying, she overheard whispered chatter beneath the window between Baoying and Xiaolian: "What's so great about being a prince? One day, I'll have him running circles around me!"
Xiaolian giggled. "And sticking out his tongue, wagging his tail!"
The light, lively laughter of mistress and maid drifted out from the window.
Zhenniang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and gave up any thought of going in to console her daughter.
At this hour, the Prince Yan's mansion was brightly lit. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, Zong Duo had been convening his advisors daily to ensure the dragon boat race would proceed without incident.
As dusk fell and the lamps were lit, the assembled men rose one by one to take their leave. But Zong Duo spoke up: "Xiao Jiang, stay a moment."
Xiao Jiang was about the same age as Zong Duo. He was the son of Jiang Cheng, the deputy director of the Imperial Medical Institute, and had moved in court circles since childhood. Having known Zong Duo since they were young, he had long since pledged himself to Zong Duo's service.
Seeing that Zong Duo had kept him behind, Xiao Jiang winked at him. "Your Highness is newly wed. Why not return to your Princess Consort instead of seeking out this humble physician?"
Zong Duo gave a light cough, his expression somewhat uncomfortable. He placed his wrist on the desk. "Take my pulse."
Xiao Jiang pressed his fingers to the pulse point. After a moment, his thick brows shot up in surprise. "Tsk, your pulse is off. Why is your yang heat so excessively rampant? Dare I ask, Your Highness—have you gone astray in your cultivation?"
Zong Duo massaged his brow in vexation. "I inadvertently consumed some tonic foods. A broth made with deer antler and ginseng—does it truly have such potent restorative effects?"
Xiao Jiang burst out laughing at this. "That's an aphrodisiac medicinal dish! What, could it be that Your Highness's performance in the bedchamber has been less than satisfactory?"
Zong Duo shot him a cold look.
Xiao Jiang quickly stifled his laughter, then mused thoughtfully: "Though Your Highness's primordial yang is abundant and your foundation solid, even consuming tonic foods shouldn't drive your yang fire to such a feverish pitch. I suspect something else was added to that medicinal dish. Think carefully, Your Highness—besides deer antler and ginseng, what else went in? Or rather, what was the dosage?"
Zong Duo's head ached. How was he supposed to know what had gone into it? He would have to go back and ask her.
"First, prescribe me a decoction to bring down the fire."
"Understood."
Seeing that Zong Duo's expression was less than pleasant, Xiao Jiang dared not jest further and hurriedly withdrew to compose the prescription and prepare the medicine.
"Yuan Yi!"
Zong Duo summoned his personal attendant.
Yuan Yi hurried in. "Your Highness, what are your orders?"
"Summon the Princess Consort."
"Reporting to Your Highness, the Princess Consort made a fuss this morning about returning to her natal home, and you said to let her go as she pleased. At present, the Princess Consort is no longer in the mansion."
Zong Duo fell silent for a moment.
He had thought she was merely putting on a show of bravado. He hadn't expected her to actually run back home.
"The Princess Consort has no sense of propriety whatsoever. Those four palace maids Her Ladyship sent—are they just decorations?"
Yuan Yi said cautiously, "This servant has heard that those four maids don't hold the Princess Consort in much regard. When she misbehaves, they tend to stand by and watch rather than offer counsel or restraint."
"Hmph." Zong Duo let out a cold laugh. "Pass down my order: have them go to the Shi residence this very moment. If they cannot bring the Princess Consort back, they needn't return either!"
Yuan Yi glanced at the pitch-black sky outside. At this hour, the curfew had likely already taken effect. But since it was His Highness's command, they would have to make the journey regardless.