Zhaorong leaned on the imperial concubine's couch, picked up a small piece of pastry and put it into his mouth.
She didn't bother to put on make-up today, but she looked plain and pretty. Her appearance was not glamorous, but it was still decent, but she usually liked to put on heavy make-up, as if other people wouldn't recognize her as a beauty if she didn't.
Like a princess.
The prestige that can only be built up by wearing clothes and makeup is ultimately false. Others respect her and fear her just because she was born in the heavenly family.
What they fear is not her, but the power behind her.
Bai He came back from the hall and said, "Your Highness."
Zhaorong glanced at her and said slowly, "How?"
Bai He swallowed and then said, "Your Highness, you are indeed right. The prince-in-law did have a small talk with his cousin for a while."
Her fingertips froze, and she reluctantly stuffed the pastry into her mouth, but she felt that the taste of the previous piece was missing. Although she tried her best to pretend that nothing happened, her pursed lips revealed her thoughts.
Regardless of whether Ruan Yuyi and the little emperor brother had known each other before, she did not like Ruan Yuyi. The moment he saw her for the first time, alarm bells went off in Zhaorong's heart.
Many servants in the mansion, when mentioning Ruan Yuyi, praised her for her kindness and easy service, and no one had a bad word for her. It was not that she could not see it, even the few maids who were assigned to the west wing also expressed their expectations.
Then go and wait on the one in the east chamber.
I thought that if she could endure her temper, please Cheng Zhu, and rob her of her residence, she would be able to outdo her.
But all the signs around her seemed to have a voice, whispering in Zhaorong's ears that she was inferior to her. The appearance of Ruan Yuyi broke her usual understanding of the things around her.
Before that, she had always thought that everyone should follow her, and that she could easily get everything in the world by virtue of her status as the eldest princess.
But everything caused by Ruan Yuyi told her that this was not the case.
She sleeps with Xingqiu every day, so she can't help but know that even if she forces him to separate from Ruan Yuyi, she can't make him treat Ruan Yuyi like a stranger.
Last night, he told her that when the palace guests came tomorrow, he would have to go out to see her off, and at least make a good show of her appearance.
She sneered secretly and said it grandly, but in fact it was not for that person.
But she still let him go.
He had mentioned, consciously or unconsciously, that he hoped she would be kind and gentle, and would not rebuke the servants loudly at all times. He also told her how to behave when walking and what clothes to wear appropriately.
She gradually felt something was wrong because these were Ruan Yuyi's habits.
She didn't want him to be disappointed, so she thought of complying. She was the eldest princess, how could she lose in a competition with a shabby young lady.
Zhaorong tightened her sleeves and told herself over and over not to get angry, causing her body to tremble slightly. She suddenly picked up a tea cup and threw it towards the corner.
The exquisite celadon-glazed porcelain cup shattered with the sound, and the tea liquid seeped into the carpet, leaving messy tea leaves.
She is not Ruan Yuyi.
She can't do it.
But Ruan Yuyi was asked to go to the corner, and secretly took a small step back, keeping a distance from Cheng Xingqiu.
He noticed it, and felt his heart tightening. But he didn't dare to come any closer. They were originally a couple, and it was he who made their relationship what it was today.
Knowing that the sedan chair was still waiting on the other side and there was no time to delay, he said bluntly, "Lingling, accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. When you get to the palace, you have to be careful."
He took out a handkerchief embroidered with orchids and handed it in her direction, "If you don't want to, I am willing to go to His Majesty on your behalf to beg for mercy and let His Majesty let you out of the palace."
This was a token of their love at that time. Although it was not a valuable thing, it was embroidered stitch by stitch by the young lady. It was turned over on her soft body, which was ambiguous enough.
At that time, her embroidery work had not yet gone through a year of contact during the festival, so it seemed a bit immature, and even some stitches were unevenly thick.
But Ruan Yuyi had long forgotten about this veil. If he hadn't suddenly brought it to her eyes, she would never have remembered it.
She glanced at it lightly and did not reach out to pick it up, "The eldest son had better throw this square handkerchief away, so as not to misunderstand the eldest princess." Who can't open and close his mouth? How can he have the face to make the emperor listen?
If he says it, let it go.
She may not be able to escape that decree, but there seems to be nothing wrong with her being able to escape Cheng Xingqiu's entanglement and the fate of marrying an idiot by entering the palace.
When His Majesty's interest in her subsides, she will stay in her palace and live a peaceful life without competing with others.
Thinking of this, she felt a little relieved.
Cheng Xingqiu was unwilling to give in and wanted her to accept the square veil, "After all, we are a husband and wife, so you should just keep it in mind."
"Leave Your Majesty a thought for catching me having an affair?" That His Highness alone was enough to make her depressed.
He was speechless.
"Eldest Young Master, I hope you can do what is said in the book of departure. The two of us can live happily together. Don't let the eldest princess down again," she said softly, "I should go.
"
He could only watch her departing back, Pingpingtingting, swaying like a lotus, but she would eventually become someone else's lotus.
Mu Xiang blocked Ruan Yuyi's head and protected her into the sedan chair.
The interior of the sedan was dark, and all that came through was the color of the curtains. Two guards were carrying it in front and back, and she could clearly feel the slight shaking of the sedan body.
She lowered her eyes and suddenly noticed the square handkerchief at her feet. Her heart skipped a beat and she picked it up.
Perhaps because it had been folded for a long time, there were already a few creases on it. Her hands tightened slightly.
"Muxiang," she opened a corner of the curtain and called in a low voice, "find this place and throw it away." She handed the veil out from the corner of the light.
The woody fragrance should come down.
She sat quietly, and after an unknown amount of time, the sedan chair finally shook violently twice and fell down. But she couldn't wait for any movement nearby, and she didn't dare to move without permission.
Muxiang and the eunuch's voices came from outside and fell into her ears clearly.
"Father, why did you bring the young lady here?" Mu Xiang's voice sounded a little urgent.
She was speechless, and she vaguely realized that she might not be in the palace.
The eunuch said slowly and softly, "Our family is just following orders. As for where the sedan carrying Ruan Cairen will land, we don't have any say."
"But Your Majesty -" Mu Xiang was still waiting to say anything.
Ruan Yuyi opened the crepe sedan curtain, but was suddenly startled. What she saw in front of her eyes was not the palace in the imperial city, the scene of winding corridors, but the courtyard that was entering and exiting.
When the eunuch saw Ruan Yuyi coming out on his own, he greeted him respectfully and said, "Cairen, Your Majesty, it's a good time for you to stay here. Don't be anxious. Someone will surely bring you food and clothing."
"Eunuch," she looked indifferent on her face, but secretly tightened her hands on her skirt, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?" If it were a serious palace concubine who had given her status, there would be no reason to raise her outside the palace.
The eunuch smiled and said, "How can we dare to speculate on His Majesty's thoughts? Talented people should not embarrass our family."
She gave Mu Xiang a look.
Mu Xiang understood, took out a purse filled with broken silver, and when it connected with the eunuch's sleeve, he handed the thing over calmly.
"Of course not," Ruan Yuyi said gently, "I just don't know when His Majesty will come, so I have made preparations in advance."
Perhaps she was too shocked by entering the palace. When she learned that Cai Ren was just a false name and that she would be raised outside the palace as a concubine, she quickly accepted it.
It's just that for some things, it's better to inquire about it earlier so as not to be caught off guard.
The eunuch was also a man who had seen the world. Ruan Cairen was sensible, which was far more important than the amount of reward. The smile on his face was deeper, "When the emperor is busy with government affairs, he usually does not think about the harem. It will probably be tomorrow at the earliest.
.”
After receiving the news, she thanked Muxiang and asked Muxiang to send him a happy life.