Commandery Prince Danshuo often presented himself to others as modest and affable. Even the Emperor repeatedly praised him for holding a high position without becoming arrogant.
Yet no one truly regarded him as a good-natured young gentleman.
Even someone as close to him as Muhe could not tell whether he was pleased or angry when she heard the amused question in his voice.
“I was only thinking…”
“Thinking what?” Fu Yi pressed.
But before Muhe could rack her brains for a suitable answer, he once again seemed remarkably considerate and said with a smile, “I’m also rather curious how she managed to deal with Prince Kang’s Residence today.”
“Why don’t we go ask her in person?” Fu Yi’s gaze finally fell upon Muhe.
The word “we” lightly passed through Muhe’s mind.
Her heart settled completely. Suppressing her trembling excitement, she answered, “Yes.”
Fu Yi slowly ate two mouthfuls of the medicinal meal before setting down his chopsticks.
Muhe hurriedly asked, “Does it not suit Your Highness’s taste?”
Fu Yi instead said, “My new wife is very thoughtful. When she heard that I had not rested well, she did not dare disturb me in the slightest. I ought to show her some concern as well.”
“Have tonight’s dinner served in Quiet Bamboo Court. I’ll dine with the Commandery Princess.”
Quiet Bamboo Court was the courtyard where he and his bride had spent their wedding night.
Muhe stiffened at this. Exhaling softly, she reached out to support Fu Yi. “Then… allow this servant to assist you.”
Fu Yi instead lifted his eyes and called to the guard, Wu Xun, “You come with me. Take a trip there.”
Wu Xun had been intensely curious about that young woman from the Marquis’s Residence. At these words, he eagerly stepped forward and took hold of the wheelchair, answering loudly, “Yes!”
Meanwhile, Nanny Shi entered the room as quietly as possible. Cheng Nianying sat bolt upright and poked her head out. “What is it?”
Nanny Shi jumped and let out a breath before asking, “Did this servant wake the Commandery Princess?”
Leaning against the headboard, Cheng Nianying’s expression remained calm. “I sleep lightly.”
Nanny Shi beamed. “Miss Muhe, who personally serves the commandery prince, sent someone to deliver some things.”
“Muhe?”
“She is the one who attends to the commandery prince at close quarters. She wears a lotus-colored skirt.”
A personal maid.
Cheng Nianying had heard that in wealthy households, the personal maids who served their masters at close quarters would ultimately be taken as bedmaids.
Thus, she asked on behalf of the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s household, “Does the commandery prince like her very much?”
Nanny Shi choked. She thought to herself that she absolutely could not answer that.
Seeing her predicament, Cheng Nianying asked again, “What about the others?”
“The others?” What others?
“Concubines, bedmaids…”
Nanny Shi hurriedly said, “There are none! None at all!”
Although no one in the residence was willing to accept this Commandery Princess, Nanny Shi’s thinking was more conservative. She thought that, in the end, this was the woman who had slept in the same bed as the commandery prince, and she ought to first regard her as his wife.
Cheng Nianying: “…Oh.”
Seeing that her reaction was far too calm, Nanny Shi quickly added, “Everything this servant said is the truth.”
Cheng Nianying nodded, then blurted out, “Then the commandery prince really is a very good person.”
Nanny Shi answered blankly, “Yes, yes, he really is very good.”
While they were still talking, the little palace maid who had come to deliver the items began to find her legs aching from standing.
She muttered inwardly, Could she be deliberately putting on airs?
A maid from the Wuning Marquis’s Residence came over and asked, “What should I call you, Sister?”
The little palace maid was filled with hostility and contempt toward the people from the Wuning Marquis’s Residence. She answered perfunctorily, “Zitao.”
“Sister Zitao, did the commandery prince specifically send you to deliver these things to the Commandery Princess?” The maid’s face was full of anticipation.
Zitao shattered her hopes without mercy. “Of course not. Would the commandery prince have that kind of free time?”
The maid secretly curled her lip. What kind of thing was that supposed to mean? Was the legitimate daughter of their Marquis’s household someone with nothing better to do?
“Then these things…”
“I heard that the Commandery Princess went to request an audience with the commandery prince. Sister Muhe, who attends to him, was concerned about the Commandery Princess, so she sent me to deliver some things to calm her nerves.”
The maid’s expression changed slightly. Wasn’t that saying the Commandery Princess was such a troublesome person that she needed to have her “nerves calmed”?
Zitao took in the maid’s expression but naturally paid it no mind. She muttered even more quietly, “Why hasn’t she come out yet? I have other things to do.”
The instant she finished speaking, a young male servant hurried through the door and loudly announced, “The commandery prince is coming to dine with the Commandery Princess. Everyone, prepare yourselves at once.”
Zitao’s voice immediately lodged itself even deeper in her throat.
The maid from the Marquis’s Residence, however, instantly became more triumphant and shot her a smug look.
The commotion outside did not escape the ears of the people inside.
Nanny Shi slapped her palms together in surprise, then grabbed Cheng Nianying by the wrist and said urgently, “This servant will have someone help the Commandery Princess change clothes at once.”
Cheng Nianying could not help looking down at her dress.
It was clean, and the clothing, scented with incense, still carried a faint fragrance. It was not even very wrinkled after sleeping in it. And now she was supposed to change into another outfit?
How extravagantly wasteful!
The legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s household must have been accustomed to such displays. It was only that Cheng Nianying was so poor that she had never seen much of the world.
To avoid exposing herself, Cheng Nianying swallowed her refusal and allowed the palace maids to help her change clothes.
Nanny Shi had indeed put some thought into choosing the outfit.
That morning, when Cheng Nianying had offered tea to Prince Kang and his wife, she had chosen a dignified and proper style for her. Now, she changed her into something bright and vivid.
She was young, and there was no fear that she would be overwhelmed by the color.
“This one is good.” As she spoke, Nanny Shi pushed Cheng Nianying, now dressed, to sit beside the table. She then helped her wash her face and rinse her mouth again.
By the time Fu Yi arrived, Cheng Nianying was sitting there obediently waiting for him, just as she had the previous day.
Like a doll molded by hand.
A wooden beauty like this ought not to be very likable.
However, when she heard approaching footsteps, she raised her eyes and looked over. In an instant, everything around her seemed to come alive.
Fu Yi had not yet spoken.
She asked first, “Have you rested well?”
Fu Yi paused for a moment, then smiled. “I have.”
Walking behind Fu Yi, Wu Xun was struck head-on by Cheng Nianying dressed in water-red.
How could anyone dare to wear such an eye-catching color?
Yet she wore it.
And it did not look vulgar or gaudy on her.
That was probably because there was not the slightest trace of deliberately ingratiating allure on the young girl’s face.
She was… rather different from what he had imagined.
Wu Xun pressed his lips together.
After pushing his master closer, Wu Xun tactfully stepped aside. Then he heard the young woman from the Marquis’s Residence ask, “But why is your complexion still so pale?”
Wu Xun’s heart tightened. He thought warily, Never relax your guard just because of her appearance! She is probably probing the master with every word she says!
Fu Yi himself appeared completely unconcerned.
He answered with a faint smile, “Because I was seriously ill. How could I recover so easily?”
“Will you get better?”
Wu Xun seethed inwardly. What, because the master might not recover, were you planning to find another household to serve as soon as possible?
Fu Yi said softly, “I don’t know either.”
Cheng Nianying forced out a dry sentence. “Don’t give up.”
Wu Xun: “…?”
Fu Yi was stunned for a moment. Then he lowered his head and chuckled softly. “Mm. I won’t give up.” His tone shifted. “How could I give up? I’ve only just gotten married. If I died of my illness, Wife, wouldn’t you become a widow?”