Lord Fourth felt her tremble in his embrace and patted her back to comfort her. "Don't worry, it's nothing. You're Mother's daughter-in-law, and she won't hurt you."
"Yeah, I know, I know." Ruoyin knew that Lord Fourth was a filial son, and they say that a woman should stand by her man. Thus, she would follow Lord Fourth's wishes and do her filial duty.
When the real Fujin was staying in the princes' palace, she'd had to frequently pay respects to Consort De in her residence. That was real torture.
Now that Lord Fourth had his own Zhen Beile Fu, the number of times she needed to pay respects to Consort De had decreased by more than half.
She only really needed to present herself at the palace during Chinese New Year or other festivities, or when Consort De summoned her.
Besides, Ruoyin had a selfish wish this time—she could use this as an excuse to venture out to the capital to buy things, so the Heavens were practically helping her!
However, she thought it prudent to run it by Lord Fourth first. "My Lord, may I buy something when I'm coming back from the palace?"
After hearing this request, Lord Fourth gave it some thought before replying, "It's just some shopping, so buy whatever you want. If you want anything next time, just instruct someone to tell the front courtyard and get the servants to get it for you."
"Aw yeah! My Lord is great!" Ruoyin snuggled into Lord Fourth's embrace.
"You fickle little thing. Didn't you just cry and say that your Lord was bullying you?" Lord Fourth caressed her back.
Ruoyin put on an act and said, "Did I? Why don't I remember it anymore?"
"Look at yourself; are you trying to renege on your promise to your Lord? Hm?" Lord Fourth's warm hands traveled down slowly.
"No, no, no, my Lord, I'm in the wrong. I'm in the wrong; will that do?" Ruoyin's eyes reddened in anxiety. She was really afraid now. Her waist!
When he saw her beautiful eyes redden, Lord Fourth's heart softened. He recalled her earlier words and restrained himself.
After all, she was still his Fujin, and he should consider her feelings.
Thus, he lowered his head and gave her a peck on her forehead. "I'll let you go this time, but I won't make another exception!"
"Thank you, my Lord," Ruoyin said sweetly.
Lord Fourth had court the next day, while Ruoyin had to present herself at court early the next morning. It was with this in mind that Lord Fourth decided not to spend the night at Ruoyin's.
Consort De was very fussy, so not staying the night would ensure that his Fujin would be well-rested when she entered the palace the next day.
If not, a fight would definitely ensue with his crafty wife sleeping by his side, even if he didn't want to.
Thus, after an afternoon nap, he left Ruoyin's place in high spirits, even sporting a faint smile.
Su Peicheng followed behind Lord Fourth. When they were at a distance, he could not help but look back at the main courtyard.
The Fujin was extremely skilled to have pacified the thundering Lord Fourth to such a great extent that he was even smiling.
The next morning, Ruoyin dressed appropriately—not as dull as the real Fujin had, but also not as youthful and pretty as she did in the palace.
She understood the importance of dressing suitably for the occasion. After all, being alone with Lord Fourth at home was an entirely different affair from presenting herself at the palace to meet his mother.
She donned a lilac Manchurian garment. On her head sat a fan-shaped royal headdress adorned with a gilt butterfly hairpin and a pearl-jasper ornament on the left and a mid-sized pale pink flower hairpin on the right.
Her face was powdered with light makeup—it was best not to look too fresh and alert, for she had grown plump from eating so much recently, and she ought to look like she had just recovered from a grave illness.
She even changed the color of her nails to a light one and slipped on three cloisonnes to protect her nails.
After fussing over her looks, Ruoyin rose and looked herself over in the mirror. Finding no lack of propriety in her dressing, she headed for the palace in a carriage.
The carriage was Bordeaux red and, like a little pavilion, had all kinds of wood carvings on top.
Once at the palace, Ruoyin handed the
The imperial bodyguards recognized the carriage but still went through the procedure of scrutinizing the gerege. Satisfied, he bowed, smiled at the carriage, and said, "The Fourth Fujin may enter."
With that, the carriage continued into the palace and parked in the stables.
Following her memory, Ruoyin walked toward Yonghe Palace, where Consort De was. It had red walls, vermilion doors, and a jet black plaque with large golden letters.
Ruoyin didn't know why, but seeing the huge words "Yonghe Palace" splashed across the plaque brought forth an internal feeling of oppression.
She calmed the uneasy feeling in her heart, inhaled deeply, and began her climb up the steps.
When she was halfway up the flight of steps, Aunt Cui, who was beside Consort De, had already spotted her from afar. She came up to her warmly and greeted, "Fujin, it has been a while. Madam has kept you in her thoughts frequently."
"I was unwell previously, so I did not dare disturb Madam." Ruoyin smiled courteously and was led into the main hall by Aunt Cui.
There was no sign of Consort De upon her entering. Aunt Cui served Ruoyin a cup of tea and said, "Rest here first, Fujin. Madam is copying some scriptures inside and still doesn't know that you're here. I'll go inside and tell her."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Aunt." Ruoyin received the teacup and sipped it lightly.
In a short while, Consort De emerged from inside wearing a tawny garment. She looked about thirty-five.
A royal headdress rested upon her head. It was embellished with a large flower in the middle and two gilded hairpins on the sides, exuding poise and luxury.
However, the common center parting style of her hair made her look especially striking.
Fortunately, she had an elegant and indifferent beauty and maintained her appearance properly, which nevertheless gave her a muted charm.
Ruoyin thought that she did look like Lord Fourth's mother—like Lord Fourth, she radiated a complex aura.
She rose and walked to the middle of the hall. After Consort De settled down on her high seat, she kneeled and bowed. "Daughter-in-law wishes good health and fortune on Mother."
Consort De looked down at Ruoyin from her high seat and intoned mildly, "Your body is weak. You may rise."
"Thank you, Mother." Ruoyin rose and sat back down on the rose chair she was sitting on earlier.
"I haven't seen you for months, but you look like you've gained some weight," commented Consort De absent-mindedly.
Internally, Ruoyin remarked that Consort De had great eyesight and could tell that she had put on weight from such a considerable distance.
Externally, she smiled and said, "Mother, my illness left me bedridden, so I did not once step on the ground then, causing me to slim down. Recently, I have gotten much better and my returning appetite has led to me consuming more rice than usual, which brought about my weight gain."
"Being able to eat is a blessing. You were too thin, which makes your body unconducive to carrying a child. No wonder your tummy is still silent despite your having been with Lord Fourth for five years. You still look like that now." Consort De hinted pointedly of her desire for her pregnancy.
Ruoyin had already predicted that Consort De would direct her attention to the subject of child-bearing, but she was not upset at all.
This was because she knew it was the norm in this dynasty for elders to not apologize even if they made mistakes.
Moreover, as a mother-in-law, Consort De simply wished to be able to hold a grandson, which thus elicited her nagging.
Which mother-in-law wouldn't complain a little if her daughter-in-law's tummy had no sign of activity after five years?
She smiled good-humoredly and replied, "Mother is right."
Consort De was surprised that Ruoyin did not appear awkward like before but was even smiling. She asked, "Have you copied your scriptures this time around?"
"Mother, I have just recovered from a serious illness, and Lord Fourth has only recently transferred the governance of household affairs back to me, so there was temporarily no time to copy them. I beg Mother's forgiveness," Ruoyin returned respectfully.