This self-important fellow! Dingyi struggled hard, "No wonder the Princess Consort keeps beating you—you deserve it! Let go now, or I won't hold back either!"
Seventh Lord said, "Aren't you sad? I know you're hurting inside. I want to comfort you."
She stamped her foot in frustration, "I don't need your comfort—I have my Twelfth Master! Do you really have to add to my troubles by stirring things up?"
Seventh Lord had intended to hold on a little longer, but then he noticed someone approaching from the alleyway, fists clenched at their waist, each step brimming with fury. Terrified, he released her and took a big step back, saying, "Twelfth Brother, gentlemen use words, not fists."
"You know what a gentleman is?" Hongce gritted his teeth with a fierce smile. "You call yourself a gentleman while hugging my woman?"
"I mistook her for someone else," Seventh Lord blurted out, nearly incoherent. "I thought she was my Mongolian wife for a moment. A simple mistake—hardly a capital offense."
Dingyi wanted to laugh at Seventh Lord's antics but couldn't. A heavy weight pressed on her heart, making it hard to breathe. She tugged at Hongce's sleeve and said, "Seventh Lord came to rescue me out of kindness. Otherwise, I'd have been devoured by now."
Hongce frowned. "I already know everything. Hongzan came up with a clever plan—releasing Mu Liansheng was just a preemptive strike. If I hastily closed the case, wouldn't that play right into his hands? He's afraid of a public trial—he can't afford the humiliation." He then turned to glare at Seventh Master. "Is everything settled now?"
Seventh Master nodded. "With me handling it, what couldn't be settled? Master Wu and the neighbors have been sent away, and Xiaoshu's foster father has been arrested. Whether you want to fry or boil him is up to you. But these trivial matters are easy to deal with—your mother is another story. She's planning to have two bridal palanquins enter the household at the same time. She's already picked out a Principal Wife for you. You'd better think fast!"
Hongce's expression darkened. He turned to Dingyi. "Is this true?"
"Thrilled, aren't you? The joy of having two wives!" Before Dingyi could answer, Seventh Lord interjected sourly, "If you really take a Principal Wife, we'll be on equal footing again. Don't blame me if I steal her from you." His words earned him a fierce glare from Hongce.
Two bridal palanquins? What kind of joke was this? Hongce was both anxious and furious. His own distress was one thing, but Dingyi—she must be suffering in silence! He bent slightly to study her expression and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. Being with me has brought you so much hardship. I was busy with court affairs earlier, and by the time the eunuch delivered the message, it was too late. Thankfully, Seventh Brother was here—I owe him thanks this time. Sha Tong has the carriage waiting outside the palace gates. Go ahead and wait for me there. I'll join you shortly."
"Where are you going?" she asked anxiously, grabbing his sleeve with a worried frown. "To see your mother? When will you be back?"
He forced a smile. "Soon. I just need to say a few words."
He released her and headed toward the rear of the central palace. Seventh Master watched him go and muttered, "He's gone stubborn. Probably off to pick a fight with his mother."
Hongce strode swiftly into En Hui Qing Yu. Chen Jing came forward to greet him, but Hongce pushed him aside.
Noble Consort was having her hands washed by her maids. Seeing his agitated expression, she understood but didn't acknowledge it. She leisurely dried her hands, sat on the stool, and let the maids massage her acupoints with ointment.He suppressed his anger and still swept his sleeve to bow in greeting. The Noble Consort gave a faint hum before speaking, "Sit down! You've come at the right time—I have a portrait here for you to see." She motioned for Chen Jing to unroll the scroll, revealing a palace beauty with her hair in two small buns, wearing a pink floral robe and toying with a round fan, her face beaming with a smile. She pointed at it, "This is the daughter of Grand Academician Li Yizhou from the Hanlin Academy, accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Making her your Princess Consort would hardly disgrace you. I’ve already spoken with Dingyi—if she wants to enter Prince Chun's Residence as a Secondary Wife, that’s fine, but there must be someone above her to keep her in check. A grand residence like yours needs a mistress whose words carry weight. We can’t let some girl of unknown origins manage your household—this is for the sake of your dignity in public." She examined the portrait again, her expression softening slightly, "This girl seems excellent to me. Her father is a first-rank official, and her mother is the fourth daughter of the old Duke Gong’s family—a proper lady from a noble family. In what way isn’t she better than your Secondary Wife? The palace has already arranged the marriage, and the wedding can take place by February. Don’t worry—I’ll naturally instruct her on how to get along with concubines when she’s summoned for an audience. As for your Dingyi, tell her to restrain herself. If she crosses me again, she won’t get off as lightly as today."
Hongce held back for a long while, finally waiting for the Noble Consort to finish before clasping his hands and saying, "Mother needn’t summon anyone else. Your son has chosen one, and there’s no room for another on my bed. Noble ladies, golden branches—I want none of them. I only want Dingyi. Our bond has weathered storms and is no longer something others can interfere with. Please withdraw your decree. Even if the palace issues an edict, I won’t hesitate to defy it. If I’m stripped of my title and thrown into prison, would that be what you wish to see?"
The Noble Consort was astonished, "Have you lost your mind? What do you mean, only her? When you said this before, I thought you were joking. Now you’re saying the same thing—has she bewitched you? Listen well—giving her the title of Secondary Wife is already an immense favor. She’d better not aim any higher. If she dares to overreach, she’ll be crushed to pieces. You will marry the Li family’s daughter. Parental authority is one thing, but the imperial family’s majesty is another. If you dare disobey, and the Principal Wife cannot enter your household, don’t think your Secondary Wife will enjoy her position alone. I’ll have her sent to a nunnery to take the tonsure. After all, your Yuwen clan has had members who became monks—one more won’t make a difference."
At this point, all pretense was abandoned. Hongce hadn’t expected her to show no regard for his feelings. In the past, she might have been headstrong and indifferent to her son’s emotions, but now, even in her advanced years, she remained just as self-willed."Does Mother not care about hurting her son's heart?" He hung his head low, his tone unable to conceal sorrow. "Since childhood, I never knew what love was. You brought me into this world, but did you ever care for me? Others had foster mothers and birth mothers to run between, receiving affection from both. And me? When I came to your palace to pay respects, did you ever truly look at me? When I was ostracized and treated unfairly, did you ever speak a word for me? Now that I’ve grown up and no longer need anyone’s protection, there’s still a void in my heart. I long for someone to truly care for me. I found that person, but it turns out she doesn’t meet your approval. You insist on forcing an outsider upon me, making me suffer unbearably. Is this your so-called deep maternal love?"
The Noble Consort, provoked by his accusations, burned with anger and nodded furiously. "Very well, what a fine son indeed! I’ve done everything for you, and instead of gratitude, you blame me. How dare you speak of matters from the older generation? If you want to know why I am this way, go ask your beloved imperial father! I’ve withered away in the depths of the palace for half my life, full of grievances and helplessness. Who ever pitied me? And what about your imperial father? When Murong Jinshu wasn’t around, he doted on you endlessly. But the moment she smiled at him, he rushed to her side like scalding water had touched his feet. Such is the depth of affection from you Yuwen family men! I may not have cared for you well, but that was due to the fine tradition of your Qi people, raising each other’s children. You blame me, but who should I blame?"
She had her own bitterness, and Hongce knew it all too well. But why must the mistakes of the older generation continue? His resolve hardened further, and he spoke coldly, "Mother endured those sufferings herself, yet now you want me to walk the same path as my imperial father. I don’t believe loving someone is wrong. Meeting Dingyi now is the best timing. There’s no third person involved, and I won’t wrong any innocent woman. I’ll live more openly than my imperial father ever did. Didn’t Mother ever wish for my imperial father to love you wholeheartedly? Since you’ve been through it, why can’t you grant me the same? Women in the imperial family are all filled with sorrow, trapped in their own misery, yet they still scheme to drag others down with them. Even if my imperial father were here today, my words would remain the same: my abilities are limited, and in this lifetime, I will only be responsible for one person. Call me stubborn or worthless—I accept it all. From the moment I was born, I was an unwanted burden. If Mother can’t stand the sight of me, then consider this unfilial son as never having existed!"
Having spoken his mind freely, he left the Noble Consort seething with rage. With a violent jerk, her two-inch-long fingernails snapped in the palm of her maid, who trembled in terror, kowtowing frantically on the ground. The Noble Consort shot her a glare but had no time to deal with her now. Snatching a teacup from the table, she hurled it at Hongce. "For the sake of a woman, you dare raise your voice at your own mother! You ungrateful wretch! I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, only for you to torment me like this today!"
He didn’t dodge. The teacup lid struck his brow, leaving a deep gash that immediately bled. The eunuchs and maids froze in shock. Chen Jing rushed forward, trembling, to staunch the blood, but Hongce waved him away. With a bow, he said, "I never meant to defy Mother. What I’ve done today was out of necessity. I beg your forgiveness. I won’t say more, lest I anger you further. Please calm yourself, Mother. I’ll take my leave now and return in a few days to apologize."He shook his sleeves and strode out of Enhui Qingyu, blood continuously welling up, the warm flow spreading to his jaw and dripping onto the coiled dragon emblem on his chest. Afraid of frightening Dingyi, he pulled out a handkerchief to press against the wound. As he walked, his heart grew heavier, his feet leaden with each difficult step.
She wasn’t in the carriage but had been waiting by the shaft. Seeing him in such a sorry state, she didn’t make a fuss. Instead, she helped him into the carriage and silently bit her lip as she tended to his wound.
Her silence unsettled him. He murmured, “It’s just a minor injury. Nothing serious.”
She nodded. “We’ll call the imperial physician when we get back. It might leave a scar.” A lump rose in her throat, and it took her a while to steady her voice. She reached up to touch his face. “Does it hurt? A little lower, and it could have injured your eye.”
Seeing him suffer this flesh wound pained her more than if she had been struck herself. She tried to hold back her tears, but they fell anyway. Leaning forward, she rested her head on his knees, silent yet trembling with suppressed sobs.
Hongce felt a pang in his heart. Patting her back, he said, “A man can handle a little injury like this. Don’t cry. A few drops of blood are worth it if it changes the Dowager Consort’s mind.”
She lifted her tear-streaked face. “If I’d known you’d have to endure this, I’d rather you married someone else.”
He smiled. “Are you foolish? The pain is temporary, but marrying someone else would torment me for a lifetime. I made it clear to her just now—asked her to abandon that notion. She never cared for me before, so she needn’t meddle in my marriage now.”
Dingyi hesitated. “She must be furious. If this reaches the palace or Changchun Garden, we’ll really be…”
“It won’t come to that. If we’re driven to the brink, we’ll elope.” He spoke of such a topic with surprising ease, pulling her up to sit beside him with a gentle smile. “Would you follow me to the ends of the earth? We could live as an ordinary couple, tending fields and weaving cloth.”
Many hopeless lovers entertain such thoughts, though not necessarily acting on them. That he had such intentions warmed her heart. She sighed, leaning against his shoulder. “It sounds wonderful, but it’s too unfair to you. Who am I? Just a weed of no consequence. To drag a noble Prince like you into hardship? But if it comes to that, don’t worry—I’ll work to support you.”
He paused, then chuckled. “Aside from being a Prince, I don’t seem to know how to do anything else. If we run out of options, you can take me to set up a fortune-telling stall by the street!”
They found solace in their shared humor, leaning against each other and laughing. But the mirth soon faded, replaced by renewed worry. Dingyi frowned. “What did your mother say in the end? The beating wasn’t for nothing. Seeing you bleed must have made her regret it. Did she say, ‘Fine, children have their own fortunes—let them be’?”
He gave a faint smile. “It wasn’t that smooth, but she won’t press the matter further. Thinking back, my words might have been too harsh. I may have hurt her. But if I hadn’t, she’d remain trapped in her own fortress, never considering others’ feelings.”
Since it was all because of her, Dingyi felt guilty too. Lowering her head, she said, “Once she’s calmed down in a few days, I’ll go apologize and kowtow to her. If her anger lingers, I’ll take a few strikes—I’m tough, I can handle it.”He leaned back against the wattle fence and shook his head. "The rift between her and me doesn’t stem from you. Rome wasn’t built in a day—even without the marriage issue, there would have been other conflicts. I suppose our bond as mother and son was just never deep enough."
In his heart, family ties had always been of great importance. Parents, siblings—he cared for each one, though often they didn’t necessarily return the sentiment. He had never intended to take things to extremes, but pushed to this point, knowing full well how much he valued Dingyi, to allow some rustic villager to accuse her—it wasn’t just about face, but even basic decorum and propriety were disregarded. The Noble Consort had been deprived of love for too long and had forgotten the warmth of genuine human affection. Dingyi had endured hardships all these years; if he didn’t stand up for her now, who else in this world could protect her?
He clasped her hands between his palms and rubbed them gently. "Let’s set this matter aside for now. Later, I’ll send more guards to your place. No matter who summons you, have them report to me first—no one is to take you away without my permission. I’ve been counting the days, and Rujian should be arriving in the capital soon. Once he’s here, our family can celebrate the New Year in peace. As for the rest, we’ll deal with it after the festivities."
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