Her thoughts turned to Consort Song first. She had performed her duty and had given birth to a daughter. However, her daughter had passed away, and she thus would not have had the guts to complain to Consort De.
Moreover, she was of low birth, which meant that she could not enter the palace to meet Consort De.
She then thought about Consort Li. She was the second Fujin and had given birth to and raised a daughter. Consort De had given her a gerege, which meant that she could enter the palace to pay her respects to Consort De.
Hence, all this pointed to Consort Li's doing!
Ruoyin had only had this revelation before she heard Consort De say sternly, "All things have their cause and effect, and that is why there is no smoke without fire."
Even though Consort De was upset that Consort Li's information was unreliable, she had already spoken and thus would not give up the matter easily.
"Mother, I did come to loggerheads with Lord Fourth because of a trivial matter." Since Consort De possessed the exact news of the event, she decided to admit to it.
If not, Consort De would think that she had a penchant for lying to her elders.
"Oh? How did that come about?" Consort De rested her hand on the arm of her seat and rubbed it absent-mindedly. "Tell me what happened between you and Lord Fourth, then."
"Mother, it is my opinion that it is inevitable for a husband and wife to have conflicts sometimes, because it is a human thing. Now that I have reconciled with Lord Fourth, I do not wish to speak of unhappy matters again." Ruoyin looked up and met Consort De's eyes before continuing, "Moreover, I do not wish for this trifle to inconvenience and worry Mother, and as such, your Daughter-in-law has no comment to make."
Ruoyin felt that both she and Lord Fourth were not unweaned children and thus did not feel the need to report every little bicker between them to Consort De.
Even if she did report it, Consort De would not support her.
Moreover, the news of her drinking contraceptive soup had caused Lord Fourth to fly into a rage, which meant Consort De would lecture her about it as well.
If she faked a random reason, she would only trap herself into a web of lies if she did not craft it well.
Thus, there was really no need to explain anything.
She would brush over it if she could.
Consort De sized Ruoyin up with her sharp gaze. Saying that she had no comment was a clever move. How did Lord Fourth's wife get better and better at conversing? She could not possibly press the matter now, and after sinking into thought for a moment, she said, "I will not pursue the matter since you do not want to talk about it. However, you and Lord Fourth are taciturn people who have a history of sulking alone. As the Fourth Fujin, you should take more initiative."
Upon hearing Consort De speak, Ruoyin replied, "Mother is right. However… I am unable to tell what Lord Fourth is thinking about. I thus do not dare to take initiative heedlessly for fear of it backfiring."
Upon hearing this, Consort De knitted her brows and her gaze brightened slightly.
Even though Lord Fourth had not grown up under her care, he was still her son. She still understood that he was a reticent person.
However, she still said, "Daughter-in-law, this is your fault, then. Lord Fourth is usually busy with national matters, and you should thus be more considerate of him. There is nothing to be afraid of; you're his Fujin, and he will not eat you."
The corner of Ruoyin's lips twitched. Right; doesn't Lord Fourth already eat her?
However, those were only her internal thoughts, and she still replied with a "yes."
Ruoyin thought that Consort De would spare her, since their conversation had been quite pleasant and devoid of any unhappy feelings.
However, Consort De said, "You are too aspirational such that you lack propriety even in front of your own husband. Go back and copy the Lessons for Women. You don't have to copy a lot; once will do, and show it to me when you enter the palace next time."
"Understood." Ruoyin was speechless right there and then.
Why was it the Lessons for Women again? Can't the mother and son change it up a little?
However… couldn't she just show Consort De the one she had already copied for Lord Fourth?
Upon thinking of this, she smiled slightly. If she were to do this, she would only need Lord Fourth's permission.
This time, even though Consort De had instructed Ruoyin to copy the Lessons for Women, she still asked her to stay for her afternoon meal.
She was still the Fourth Fujin. Moreover, Consort De had heard of Fei Yanggu's glory in Mongolia.
Thus, Consort De would not go overboard with Ruoyin and only meted out a warning to her.
During the meal, Ruoyin did not eat as much as she did last time, but her appetite was still considered good.
After the meal, she stayed for a little while again.
It was past one o'clock in the afternoon before Ruoyin exited Yonghe Palace.
Consort De was a person who was a stickler for rules that governed reputation, and she thus gifted her a set of jewelry.
Afterward, Ruoyin set off for Ciren Palace to meet the Empress Dowager again.
This time, the maidservant did not make Ruoyin wait but called her to enter the palace directly.
After Ruoyin entered the palace, the maidservant poured her a cup of tea. "Fourth Fujin, please wait for a moment. The Empress Dowager has just retired, and I will go to wake her up."
"There's no need. I will just wait. Tell her I am here after she wakes up." Ruoyin smiled lightly.
The elderly Empress Dowager was quite good-natured. To disturb her right after she went to bed was not appropriate.
The maidservant was startled, but she smiled and agreed.
Thus, Ruoyin and Nanny Liu waited and waited in the hall. The Empress Dowager did not appear, but the Fifth Princess did.
The Fifth Princess had just woken up from her afternoon nap and came over to look for the Empress Dowager.
Upon entering, she saw Ruoyin. Before she even got close, she called out delightedly, "You're here too, Fourth Sister-in-law?"
Upon hearing the voice, Ruoyin turned around to see the Fifth Princess coming in. She rose and walked up to her. "Yes. I was summoned by Mother today, so I decided to visit the Empress Dowager to pay my respects too."
After the Fifth Princess walked closer into the room, she looked toward the interior and said, "Grand Empress Dowager should be awake about now. I will go in and call her out for you."
"It's alright. I'll just continue waiting." Ruoyin tugged at the Fifth Princess' sleeve.
Upon being held back by Ruoyin, the Fifth Princess paused. She turned around to look at the hand that was tugging at her and said in a surprised tone, "Fourth Sister-in-law, you've changed."
Ruoyin paused before smiling. "Are you also going to say I gained weight?"
"You did gain weight, but you look better than before. You're also more easy-going now, and I like you better like this," the Fifth Princess answered earnestly.
Just then, the Empress Dowager came out. She was smiling as she said, "So it's Lord Fourth's wife and the Fifth Princess. I could hear you talking from inside."
Ruoyin and the Fifth Princess exchanged a smile before the former curtsied. "It is Granddaughter-in-law's fault for disturbing your rest."
"It's alright. At my age, I can't sleep for very long either. Even resting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn feels like I was half-sleeping." The Empress Dowager waved her hand to indicate that it was alright.
After the Empress Dowager sat down, Ruoyin kneeled before her to serve her tea. The former then gifted her a set of jewelry as well.
After making the necessary remarks, Ruoyin did not wish to stay further. She only came as a form of ceremony, and staying longer without any real form of conversation would only make things awkward.
Thus, she bowed and left after one stick of incense had burned away.
This time, after exiting the palace, she did not go anywhere but straight back to Meng Qing Manor.
Upon arriving at Yi Lan Villa, she asked Qiao Feng, "Where is Lord Fourth? Is he in the manor?"
"Mistress, Lord Fourth returned to the manor in the afternoon. I heard he is in the study." So long as Lord Fourth did not step into the back courtyard, everyone knew where he would be.
Ruoyin's pretty eyes turned slightly. She was thinking of what she could do to make Lord Fourth allow her to show the copy of Lessons for Women she had made previously to Consort De. After pondering deeply about it for a moment, she said, "Go to the kitchen and tell them to make some snacks. Also, include two bowls of watermelon slushie and get Qiao Lan to prepare warm water for my bath."