After returning to her courtyard, Yu Mu immediately told the young maids that she had matters to attend to and that the day’s lessons should be postponed. Once she finished speaking, she entered her bedchamber and dismissed everyone, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.
Madam Zhang knew that the First Lady must have spoken privately with the young mistress, so she hurried off to negotiate with the palace matrons. She couldn’t allow the instructors from the palace to develop a poor impression of her young lady.
Yu Mu wasn’t trying to avoid her lessons for any particular reason. The morning had simply been too rushed. She’d had no choice but to grit her teeth and face everyone. Now that she finally had a moment to herself, she needed to think carefully about what to do next.
She possessed no extraordinary abilities.
Everywhere she went required proof of identity. If she secretly fled, she would probably be captured before long.
If she didn’t flee…
She would have to get married.
It wasn’t that she was completely opposed to marriage. She had never been deeply in love with anyone in her previous life, so she wasn’t especially attached to the idea of romance.
But sharing one man with countless other women…
That was something she found difficult to accept.
After entering the Crown Prince’s household, how was she supposed to deal with the women of his inner court? How would she get along with the future Crown Princess?
At the end of the day, she was still only a concubine.
Although, under Qing law, a Secondary Consort was officially recorded in the imperial genealogy, her position was still far from equal to that of the principal wife.
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became.
Unfortunately, many things in life didn’t happen according to her wishes.
The moment she became Liya Yu Mu, countless aspects of her future had slipped beyond her control.
“If I have to marry, then I’ll marry,” she finally muttered to herself.
“At least I’m a Secondary Consort. I’ll have my own courtyard. As long as I keep to myself and live quietly behind closed doors, life shouldn’t be too terrible.”
After giving herself a long mental pep talk, Yu Mu carefully memorized the list of names her mother had given her.
There weren’t many people on it, but they would become one of her greatest hidden assets after she entered the palace.
She would be allowed to bring one matron and one personal maid with her.
The matron was an easy choice.
Madam Zhang had been her wet nurse since infancy and also served as the stewardess overseeing her household.
More importantly, Madam Zhang was highly skilled at caring for women’s health and physical well-being. She had been specially selected by the family for Yu Mu from the time she was a child.
Choosing a maid was more difficult.
At present, Yu Mu had two senior maids and two junior maids serving her.
The senior maids were already intended for future marriages and would eventually manage the family’s businesses outside the palace.
That meant her personal attendant would have to be chosen from the two junior maids.
One was Caihe.
The other was Lüxiu.
Caihe was cheerful and lively.
Lüxiu was calm and steady.
Yu Mu found herself leaning toward Lüxiu.
According to the original owner’s memories, Lüxiu simply carried out whatever she was told without making decisions on her own.
That was exactly the kind of servant Yu Mu wanted.
She had no desire to stand out after entering the palace.
Once she’d made up her mind, Yu Mu paid even closer attention to Lüxiu over the following days, deliberately entrusting her with various tasks.
Before long, everyone around them realized whom their mistress had chosen.
The servants immediately began treating Lüxiu with noticeably greater warmth.
Yet Lüxiu remained as composed as ever.
She neither became arrogant nor let the attention go to her head.
Both Yu Mu and Madam Zhang quietly observed her behavior and were very satisfied.
As for Caihe…
She was deeply disappointed that she hadn’t been chosen.
Unfortunately, the moment that disappointment began to show on her face, Madam Zhang quietly had her removed from Yu Mu’s service.
From then on, Caihe never appeared before her mistress again.
Madam Zhang’s swift handling of the matter left Yu Mu rather stunned.
She didn’t know where Caihe had been reassigned.
But she doubted it was anywhere pleasant.
For the first time, she felt grateful that she’d transmigrated into the body of a noble young lady.
If she’d become an ordinary servant instead…
Could she really have survived?
If not…
Her fate might have been even worse than Caihe’s.
Time passed quickly.
Although two months wasn’t particularly long, Yu Mu spent every day to the fullest.
She studied with the same determination she’d once devoted to preparing for the college entrance examinations.
Every night before falling asleep, she’d mentally review everything she’d learned during the day.
She couldn’t very well ask the palace instructors to repeat their lessons.
Finally…
The day of her wedding arrived.
Before dawn, the matrons sent from the palace pulled her from bed and began preparing her.
She bathed.
Her face was threaded to remove fine hairs.
Her makeup was carefully applied.
Finally, she changed into her ceremonial wedding robes.
As a Secondary Consort, she wasn’t permitted to wear the bright imperial red reserved for principal wives. Instead, her wedding attire was a deep rose-red—a festive color, but distinctly different from true crimson.
By the time her preparations were complete, the auspicious hour had arrived.
Her eldest brother, Getai, carried her onto the bridal sedan.
As the procession departed, Yu Mu caught sight of her mother’s tearful eyes and her brother’s reluctant expression.
A wave of sadness rose within her.
Although she’d only lived with this family for two months…
She could genuinely feel how much they loved her.
She was deeply moved.
And she wanted to repay that affection.
Besides, in this era, a married woman still depended greatly upon the support of her natal family.
Meanwhile, Yuqing Palace bustled with preparations for the arrival of its new Secondary Consort.
This year, two Secondary Consorts would be entering the Crown Prince’s household.
In addition, two lower-ranking concubines, Ladies Tang and Zhang, had already been carried into Yuqing Palace in simple sedan chairs the previous month.
Yu Mu would arrive first.
Lady Liujia would enter a month later.
In other words…
Yu Mu would have an entire month alone with the Crown Prince before another woman of equal rank entered the household.
That month would determine whether her future life in Yuqing Palace would be easy or difficult.
As the first officially recognized mistress of Yuqing Palace, Yu Mu was naturally treated with considerable importance.
Everything used during her wedding ceremony was the finest permitted for a Secondary Consort.
Ironically, that alone was enough to make the existing women in the palace jealous before she’d even arrived.
Yinreng himself was also quite satisfied with his future Secondary Consort.
Her family background was respectable.
He had seen her once before and found her graceful beauty very much to his liking.
According to the reports he’d received, while she wasn’t a master of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she was proficient in all of them.
Since Yinreng had inherited Emperor Kangxi’s love of Han scholarship, he couldn’t help imagining that he had found someone who might truly understand him.
As a result, he attached considerable importance to the marriage.
When Yu Mu’s bridal sedan arrived outside Yuqing Palace, he personally went out to welcome her.
The assembled guests were astonished.
Yu Mu herself was even more stunned.
Following the instructions of the matrons beside her, she grasped one end of the large pink ceremonial flower.
The other end…
Was held by the Crown Prince himself.
Her mind went completely blank.
She nearly forgot how to walk.
The Crown Prince…
The man who stood at the very pinnacle of the empire…
Was walking beside her.
Completely overwhelmed, Yu Mu could only mechanically follow the wedding matron’s instructions through each step of the ceremony.
Yinreng clearly felt the stiffness from the woman holding the other end of the ribbon.
Knowing it was her first marriage, he deliberately slowed his pace to match hers.
Sensing his consideration, Yu Mu found herself developing a slight favorable impression of him.
At the very least…
The Crown Prince didn’t seem to dislike her.
Perhaps her future wouldn’t be quite so difficult after all.
As a Secondary Consort, she wasn’t entitled to perform the full wedding rites alongside the Crown Prince as a principal wife would.
However, because the groom was the heir to the throne rather than an ordinary prince, she was still permitted to bow before Heaven and Earth.
A husband-and-wife bow to each other, however…
Was out of the question.
Yu Mu could only think sarcastically,
Well… thank you very much.
Wearing an incredibly heavy headdress, she had absolutely no desire for such an “honor.”
By the time the lengthy ceremony finally concluded, her entire body felt stiff with exhaustion.
She gladly followed the attendants back to the bridal chamber.
The room was already filled with guests.
Several imperial princesses and noblewomen had come to offer congratulations.
The Crown Prince’s younger brothers had also crowded in to tease the newlyweds.
After all, opportunities to make fun of the Crown Prince were exceedingly rare.
Yu Mu sat quietly on the wedding bed, listening to the laughter around her.
She was terribly nervous.
Especially because the six-year-old Ninth Prince and Tenth Prince—spoiled by everyone’s affection—kept shouting that they wanted to see the bride.
If the Third Prince and Fifth Prince hadn’t stopped them, the two little boys probably would have lifted her bridal veil themselves.
Not wanting his younger brothers to steal the privilege, Yinreng quickly stepped forward with the ceremonial rod and gently lifted Yu Mu’s veil.
A hush immediately fell over the room.
Before everyone sat a young woman with delicate, elegant features.
An oval face.
Large almond-shaped eyes.
A refined nose.
Soft, petite lips.
Everything fit together in perfect harmony.
The candlelight added a dreamy softness that made her seem even more beautiful.
Everyone stared in surprise.
It wasn’t that Yu Mu possessed breathtaking, unparalleled beauty.
Rather, most Manchu women carried themselves with bold, heroic confidence, while noble ladies were expected to project dignity and composure.
Yu Mu’s appearance and gentle temperament leaned much more toward the refined elegance associated with Han women.
The contrast caught everyone off guard.
Seeing the expressions around him, Yinreng couldn’t help feeling pleased.
His new Secondary Consort had certainly brought him honor.
From that moment onward, he treated her with obvious gentleness throughout the remaining wedding rituals.
Feeling the warmth in his attitude, Yu Mu gradually relaxed.
No matter what happened in the future…
At least the beginning was a good one.
After eating the symbolic fertility dumplings and sharing the ceremonial wedding wine, Yinreng left with his brothers to entertain the guests in the front hall.
Led by the wife of Prince Yu, the imperial ladies exchanged only a few polite words with Yu Mu before taking their leave.
After all, she was merely a Secondary Consort.
Had she not been marrying the Crown Prince himself, most of them probably wouldn’t have attended at all.
Leaving at this point was already giving her considerable face.
Yu Mu understood perfectly well.
She immediately instructed Madam Zhang to escort the guests out.
Only after everyone had finally left the room did she breathe a genuine sigh of relief.
“Your Ladyship, would you like something to eat?” Lüxiu hurried over. “You only had a little rice porridge this morning.”
“Yes… but first, help me out of these clothes.”
She rubbed her neck.
“This headdress is so heavy it’s making my neck ache.”
“At once, Your Ladyship.”
Lüxiu stepped forward and began removing her elaborate ornaments.
As a Secondary Consort, Yu Mu was attended by one matron, two senior maids, two junior maids, and two young eunuchs.
The eunuchs remained outside the door, ready to answer any summons.
Inside, the senior maid Linglan quietly directed one of the younger maids to prepare hot water in case her mistress wished to bathe.
After issuing her instructions, she simply stood waiting.
Unless Yu Mu called for her, she would never approach on her own, careful not to overstep palace etiquette.
Having been busy all day, Yu Mu had neither the time nor the energy to establish authority over her new servants.
Instead…
Her thoughts kept drifting toward the wedding night that awaited her.
Though she had come from the modern world, she’d only experienced one youthful romance during her school days.
She knew almost nothing about married life.
Everything she understood came from joking conversations with coworkers and the lessons her mother had awkwardly given her before the wedding.
She could only keep trying to calm herself.
After removing her makeup, eating a bowl of noodles, and bathing, Yu Mu quietly sat on the bed waiting for the Crown Prince.
As the candles slowly burned lower, the lively sounds from the front courtyard gradually faded.
Soon, footsteps approached.
At this hour…
There could only be one person.
Sure enough, greetings sounded outside before the door opened.
The Crown Prince entered, carrying a strong scent of wine.
He had clearly been made to drink quite a bit.
Seeing this, Yu Mu immediately instructed the attendants to help him wash up behind the screen.
“Is His Highness all right?”
“Please don’t worry, Your Ladyship,” He Zhong, the chief eunuch of Yuqing Palace, replied respectfully. “His Highness has only had a little too much to drink. He isn’t drunk.”
Once Yinreng had finished freshening up and returned to the bedroom, He Zhong promptly ushered everyone out before thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
The room instantly fell silent.
Yu Mu wanted to cry.
She glanced at Yinreng, who was sitting against the headboard with his eyes closed.
“Your Highness… would you like some tea?”
The silence had become unbearably awkward.
“That sounds good.”
He slowly opened his eyes.
“I did drink rather a lot. My throat is a little dry.”
Hearing his answer, Yu Mu quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed it over.
Standing nearby, she finally had a chance to look at him properly.
He was…
Remarkably handsome.
His bearing was refined.
His voice was gentle.
Nothing like the hot-tempered tyrant she’d imagined.
“Come.”
Yinreng gestured toward the bed.
“Sit with me. Let’s talk for a while.”
Seeing her standing stiffly beside him, he hoped conversation might ease her nervousness.
“I’ve heard that you’re quite fond of Han scholarship. Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Highness. My mother hired female tutors to teach me from a young age. I happened to enjoy those studies myself, so I’ve continued learning for many years.”
“Oh?”
A smile touched his lips.
“So I’ve married a talented lady.”
“You flatter me, Your Highness.”
Yu Mu lowered her head modestly.
“I only know a little. I’m hardly worthy of being called talented.”
“No need to be so humble.”
“You’re already far more accomplished than most women.”
He paused before asking,
“Do you have a childhood nickname?”
“My mother always called me Mu Mu at home.”
“Mu Mu…”
He repeated it softly.
“That’s rather adorable.”
After a brief silence, he smiled.
“It’s getting late.”
“We should rest.”
He gently put an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the bed.
Yu Mu instinctively tensed.
She almost pulled away before quickly reminding herself where she was.
Suppressing her instinct, she obediently lay down.
Feeling her rigid posture, Yinreng lightly patted her shoulder.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“I’ll treat you well.”
The candles burned quietly through the night.
By the time silence settled over the room once more, it was very late.
Completely exhausted, Yu Mu had already drifted into a deep sleep.
Yinreng held her close as he, too, gradually fell asleep.
Only the flickering candlelight remained, silently illuminating the bridal chamber.