Though the outcome wasn't entirely satisfactory, it wasn't too bad either. That Noble Consort could relent truly surprised Dingyi. "Was it because the Empress mentioned the Emperor Emeritus? Your mother was pleased, so she granted me extra leniency."
Hongce toyed with his prayer beads, lost in thought. "I know she's suffering in her heart. But sometimes she gets too caught up in her own thoughts, making herself miserable."
"Who with deep emotions isn't like that?" Dingyi said. "Can't blame her. If I were her, I'd also feel life holds no joy. Women are different from men. No matter how capable a woman is, in the end, she still has to rely on a man. Providing food and drink isn't the most important—what matters is that you care for her, keep her in your heart." She moved closer, wrapping her arms around his and resting her head on his shoulder, looking up at him. "Take us, for example. We're getting along fine, but if one day you suddenly take a liking to someone else and cast me aside... Just thinking about it chills my heart."
Their return journey began as the lanterns lit up the evening streets. With the year's end approaching, vendors stayed open late. The roadside was lined with peddlers, each with a lantern hanging high above their stalls. The lights stretched endlessly, their glow streaming through the glass-paned carriage windows, illuminating his face. His eyes held a warm tenderness, his smile softening his features further as he murmured, "In this world of countless people, finding the right one among them—do you think it's that simple? I'm a prince, a noble. If I wanted women, I wouldn't even need to ask. Back in Khalkha, the left and right wings sent me beauties—young girls of fifteen or sixteen, fresh as flowers. I didn't keep a single one. All I wanted was to return to the Central Plains someday and find someone I could talk to, to live peacefully together till old age. Maybe it's because I learned early how difficult love can be. My mother set a tragic example for me, making me especially serious about it later on."
"Then I should thank your mother. Otherwise, it wouldn't be my turn—you'd have been someone else's long ago." She paused, then added, "You said those girls were like flowers. Compared to them, I must fall short, don't I?"
He arched an eyebrow. "Absolutely! The first time I saw you, you were tiny, effeminate, standing in the blazing sun with your head tilted and eyes squinting—like a complete fool."
She burst out laughing. "And later?"
"Later..." He stroked his chin. "Stubborn, unlucky, prone to nagging..." Finally, he poked her chest. "And small here."
Dingyi's face flushed crimson. This man was utterly shameless! She had thought him a gentleman, but now his true colors showed. Indignant, she pinched the back of his hand. "It's not like I chose to be this way! My circumstances weren't great. I'd have loved to grow... bigger, but I was always bound up in cloth—how could I grow much?"
"And now? It's been a while since you stopped binding. Let me take a look later." His grin was roguish, yet tinged with melancholy. Another year had slipped by, wasted just like that.
She fidgeted shyly. "Are your hands cold? Let me warm them for you." Then she opened her cape and placed his hand over her heart.
Her straightforward nature was truly impeccable. Hongce, on the other hand, felt slightly embarrassed, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. Yet he didn't withdraw his hand, instead deflecting with idle chatter. "We should check the almanac later, see when the Spring Begins falls. There's still time to make some moves before the decree is issued.""There's no need to be too rigid about it," she said. "Status to me is like a travel permit—just a way to stay at an inn with proper justification. Without it, I can still find a place to settle, just not in your Prince Chun's Residence. Wine and Vinegar Bureau Alley would do just as well."
Hongce was dissatisfied with her indifferent attitude toward everything. "You just don’t want to be paired with me, do you? When people see us, they’d point and say, 'Look, a couple!'"
She thought for a moment and slowly smiled. "That sounds nice. I’d like people to say that. But if it’s not meant to be, I don’t mind, as long as I’m the only one in your heart."
He vented his frustration by grabbing her chest. "Once you become a Secondary Wife, you’re branded. Even if you’re promoted later, you’ll still be elevated from a concubine, always a step behind in dignity."
"Ah!" She hunched and shrank back. "I don’t care, so why are you getting worked up?"
"This woman really..." It was a classic case of the Emperor not worrying while the eunuch fretted. He had no choice but to soften his tone and gently knead her a couple more times. "They’ve grown."
"Really?" She was delighted. "I thought so too. I had new undergarments made a while ago, and when I took them out to wear yesterday, they were too small..."
He quickly covered her mouth. There were two coachmen outside—speaking in riddles was one thing, but being so explicit would invite ridicule.
Dingyi snapped back to reality. It wasn’t proper for such intimate talk to be overheard, so she tucked her chin in and hid her face inside the gray squirrel fur muff.
The clip-clop of hooves matched the sway of the carriage. She had a knack for riding—keeping her head balanced while her waist swayed gracefully with the motion, creating an elegant and pleasing effect. He watched her for a while, propping his chin, his eyes fixed but his mind elsewhere. "Tomorrow, I’ll have an audience with the Emperor. I’ve caught Duke Zhen Jilantai—he once colluded with a caravan to assassinate the Salt Inspector of Liangzhe. Back then, someone covered for him, letting him escape unscathed. After much effort, I recently found the inspector’s widow. She has private ledgers left by her husband, with all the details clearly recorded. Once the Emperor sees them, he’ll understand the whole story. As long as we expose one, the rest will follow. Hongzan is too slippery—he’s wriggled out of every investigation so far. But I’m not in a hurry; I have a way to make him walk into the trap himself."
Dingyi’s father’s case was tangled with an older one, with intricate relationships from the bottom up. She didn’t understand much of it but asked, "Why didn’t the inspector’s widow file a complaint? If she had evidence, why hide it for so long instead of seeking justice for her husband?"
He turned his head and gave a faint smile. "If they could kill the inspector, dealing with a woman would be even easier. The widow wasn’t foolish—she had children to protect and had to prioritize survival. Besides, filing a complaint isn’t as simple as wanting to. If the yamen refuses to accept it, they could charge her with false accusation against an imperial official, and she wouldn’t even get to see anyone from the Censorate or the Ministry of Justice."
Frowning, she leaned against the wattle fence and nodded. "I know about that. After all, I’ve spent years in the yamen and seen wrongful cases with nowhere to turn."He smiled faintly. "What you've seen is nothing. Following your master, you only deal with prison affairs—how much could you know about courtroom matters? Headsmen aren't needed when hearing cases, so what you've heard is just superficial. The official circles are too corrupt. The Emperor sits high in his bright hall, wanting to clear all injustices under heaven—but can he achieve it? When decrees don't reach below, those living off imperial salaries play dirty tricks along the way. The Emperor becomes blind and deaf—don't expect him to see every detail clearly. Now I've fallen into your hands. Otherwise, who would stir up that hornet's nest and offend so many people?"
She forced an awkward smile. "You've worked hard, Prince. Shall I massage you then?"
He accepted readily, stretching out his long legs comfortably and pointing to his calf. "Here... Later, write to Rujian and have him return to the capital. The moment of truth will come soon enough, and I fear we'll have a tough battle ahead then!"
She lifted his leg onto her lap and began kneading slowly, growing fearful at his mention of a tough battle. "My third brother won't get caught up in this, will he?"
After a brief silence, he said, "I'll do my best. It shouldn't be too bad."
This only frightened her more. "Why speak in half-measures? You're scaring me. If there's risk, then don't let my third brother get involved. Even if we can't overturn the case, I'll accept it."
He gave her a helpless look. "Do you know what it means to ride a tiger and find it hard to dismount?"
Her head drooped. "So keeping quiet and kowtowing more won't work either."
He hummed in agreement. "Is that what you were doing earlier in front of Mother?"
"What else could I do? Talk nonsense? She'd have slapped me across the face for sure! Those well-bred young ladies don't talk much—I need to learn from them so she won't look down on me even more." She gazed at him sorrowfully. "Hongce, what about my third brother?"
With a bitter smile, he stroked her cheek. "I said I'll do my best. When the joint trial comes, there'll be many judges. Any favoritism must be subtle. Even if he suffers some hardship, at least his life won't be in danger."
Dingyi's heart ached. Rujian probably knew all this, yet he still wanted to clear their father's name. The thought brought tears to her eyes.
Her expression left him at a loss. Hurriedly comforting her, he said, "It'll be fine. With me watching over things, it won't turn too bad. Since he doesn't want to live under an assumed name, he'll have to face this sooner or later. Grit your teeth and endure—it'll pass. Don't cry; your tears unsettle me. Speak your mind—what use are tears?"
She wiped her nose. "I just think Rujian is so pitiful. He keeps things weighing on his heart from me, and I always thought his Mountain Opening and business kept him living comfortably."
He sighed, smoothing her hair. "Men and women are different. Some things are worth risking one's life to defend—ideals, dignity, for example."
She understood his words but couldn't grasp that mindset. Back in the streets, as long as one had food and clothing, there was nothing one couldn't yield on. Now she even thought that if they could have crossed the border into foreign lands, perhaps Rujian wouldn't have to return and face danger.
But leaving Great Britain would have meant never continuing her bond with him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against the coiled dragon embroidery on his shoulder. Ultimately, she trusted him. With him here, no difficulty was too great to overcome.The journey back was a bit long, and drowsiness overtook her. She dozed off nestled in his embrace, feeling him pat her back gently, one stroke after another, as if soothing a child. She smiled, the curve lingering at the corners of her lips, and in her haze, she leaned in to kiss his throat. He trembled slightly and held her even tighter.
When they arrived home, he carried her out of the carriage. She rubbed her eyes, intending to walk on her own, but he wouldn’t allow it, striding straight into the bedroom with her in his arms.
His steps were hurried, and the way he laid her on the kang was just as rushed. Her eyelids were heavy, too leaden to open, but she heard the rustling sounds of him undressing. Soon, he climbed onto the kang and called her softly, "Beloved Flesh." She giggled but didn’t answer, covering her eyes with her hand instead.
He loosened her collar, his scorching lips trailing downward. She wasn’t afraid, only tense, her arms stiff as she clung to him. He was a robust and vigorous man, his refined exterior concealing a wild strength—every movement of his could shatter one’s heart.
A lamp burned on the desk, separated by a floor-length canopy, beyond which hung delicate tassels framing a massive brass mirror. In the dim glow, the reflections of two figures emerged. She was too shy to look, yet unable to resist. Amidst their ragged breaths, the taut lines of his waist appeared—a contour she had never imagined, like the elegant curve of a drawn bow, poised and brimming with power.
She winced in pain, curling her limbs inward. He bent to kiss her, a sweat-dampened strand of hair falling onto her cheek, tickling her. Through the haze, his face resembled a masterfully painted golden-blue landscape—his handsome brows and eyes like the outlined ridges of mountains, his affectionate lips like peaks etched in gold and iron. It was as if she had plunged into the depths of the sea, neither reaching the sky nor touching the ground, simply floating, every sense consumed by him. He swallowed her whimpers, leaving only goosebumps rising on her bare skin, trembling like leaves in a storm.
She couldn’t recall how much time had passed, her consciousness drifting as if her soul had left her body. When she awoke, the candle had burned out, and light from outside spilled onto the window. She turned to look at the man beside her—he was deep in slumber, his face uncharacteristically youthful in sleep, stripped of its usual sharp edges, just a simple man.
She reached out to tuck the blanket around him, but he was a light sleeper, stirring at the slightest touch. "Is it morning?" he mumbled.
Dingyi propped herself up to push open the window slightly, a fine mist drifting in—it turned out to be the reflection from the snow outside.
"It’s snowing again..." Before she could finish, he pulled her back under the covers.
"You dare open the window without clothes on?" he chided. "There are night watchmen in the corridor—aren’t you afraid of being seen?"
She pouted. "You asked if it was morning, so I just wanted to check."
"I only said it casually." He pinched the tip of her nose. "So stubborn. Tomorrow, I’ll get you a Western pocket watch and teach you how to tell time."
Her warm body nestled closer, pressing against his chest. By nature, her body temperature was higher than his, like a little furnace. He pulled her into his arms and sighed. "Why didn’t I meet you back in Khalkha? I wouldn’t have suffered through the cold nights."
But she detected a teasing note in his words and struggled slightly. "Every night, attending to you?"
"What nonsense!" He caught her. "Stop squirming—are you asking for another round?"
Her face flushed crimson. "The decree hasn’t even been issued yet. You’re going back on your word."
"I lost control for a moment," he admitted frankly. "My mistake... Do you think there might be a child?""It's that easy to have a child?" she said. "I don't think so. Last time didn't work either. Many women get married but can't conceive, begging gods and ancestors for help. We'd better not end up like that."
He nodded and said, "Then I'll work harder at it. It'll work."
He couldn't go three sentences without returning to his usual topic. She gave him a disdainful glance and said, "I heard eating Girl-nourishing herbs can help conceive a daughter."
He recalled seeing those lantern fruits on his way back from court, their skins peeled off to reveal golden yellow flesh. "The ones sold at street stalls with signs saying 'Girl-nourishing herbs sold by weight, twelve taels for a small coin'?"
"Yes, exactly those!" She beamed. "The unripe ones are sour, but the ripe ones are sweet!"
She was still a child at heart. Though she'd known hardship, her mind hadn't fully matured, and the world through her eyes was always a bit more interesting than others'. He agreed, "Alright then. On my way back from the palace, I'll stop by the market. If they've taken any out of storage to sell, I'll buy a couple extra pounds. Eat them and we'll have a daughter."
It was embarrassing to talk about having children before even getting married, but since the Noble Consort had given her approval, there shouldn't be any more surprises. She sighed softly in relief. Now they just had to wait for Rujian to return, for her father's case to be resolved smoothly, and for Rujian and Hailan to marry. Then everyone would have their happy endings.
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