Chapter 4.3

Tao Ti sat quietly by the side and listened. She knew very well that while the emperor was seeming to exhort the crown prince, he was actually beating the message into her. The underlying message was: If you dare to make my precious son unhappy, then, stretch out your neck and get ready to die.

After five minutes, Emperor Zhaokang looked at Pei Yan. “Yan’er, take your wife to go offer incense to your Queen Mother. This marriage was made when your Queen Mother was alive, if she knows you are married, she would certainly be happy.”

Emperor Zhaokang’s tone became exceptionally gentle when mentioning the late empress.

Pei Yan stood and bowed to Emperor Zhaokang. “Imperial Father, then this son will take his leave.”

Tao Ti also hurriedly followed suit and curtsied, “This child will also be taking her leave.”

Emperor Zhaokang waved a hand, “Go, go.”

After the young couple left, Emperor Zhaokang smoothed his fingers over the warm cup, his eyes reflecting some age, “Time flies. In the twinkling of an eye, Yan’er has also gotten married.”

Li Gui had been serving Emperor Zhaokang since he was eight. After more than forty years of being by his side, he could tell at a glance that His Majesty was missing the late empress.

After pondering for a moment, he said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. This servant can see that Crown Prince and Crown Princess are getting along well. Besides, the Directorate of Astronomy has said that it can be seen from Crown Princess’s bazi ¹ that she brings luck to her husband. With her by Crown Prince’s side, Crown Prince’s health will definitely get better.”

Zhao Kangdi harumphed. “I certainly hope so.”

He wasn’t counting on that little lady to be of any great use. If Yan’er really didn’t live past twenty-three, he would bury her alive along with her husband. To be able to be Yan’er’s companion on his journey in the netherworld would also be a worthy death for her.

——

Fengyi Palace; the permanent residence of empresses through the ages.

After the death of Empress Gu, Emperor Zhaokang grieved deeply and ordered for her memorial tablet to be enshrined in Fengyi Palace. Even if Lady Zhou had become the successive empress, she did not have the right to move into Fengyi Palace, but was to move into Ganquan Palace.

Based on this alone, one could see which of the two empresses bore more weight in Emperor Zhaokang’s heart.

When the sedan chair stopped in front of Fengyi Palace, Tao Ti couldn’t help tilting her head to look at the vigorous and exquisite calligraphy on the plaque hanging at the entrance of the palace.

Pei Yan stopped beside her and said softly, “This was written by Imperial Father’s hand.”

Tao Ti was slightly taken aback; Pei Yan said lightly, “Let’s go in.”

Fengyi Palace was very large and magnificent. Even though the mistress of the palace had passed for sixteen years, the palace was tidy and spotless. Even the flowers and trees in front of the court were lush and luxuriant, as if the mistress of the palace had never left.

Pei Yan explained, “Imperial Father would come to stay here for two days every month, so the palace attendants dare not slack off, and would come to clean and tidy this place every day.”

“It seems like His Majesty loved the late empress very much,” said Tao Ti. The late empress had been gone for so many years and he still thought about her like this. Perhaps for Emperor Zhaokang, Empress Gu Queen was his unforgettable sweetheart, forever out of reach.

Love? Pei Yan’s black eyes narrowed slightly, noncommittal.

The palace attendants of Fengyi Palace saw them coming and hurriedly bowed.

Not long after, an old nanny over the age of fifty walked out of the hall. She was dressed in dark blue palace robes. Seeing Pei Yan, she smiled. When she saw Tao Ti, who was next to him, she was a little surprised, but quickly recovered and smilingly, “Your Highness, is this the crown princess?”

Pei Yan nodded and smiled gently, “Nanny Lan, Imperial Father asked me to bring her here to offer incense to Queen Mother.”

Tao Ti guessed that this Nanny Lan should be a close attendant of the late empress, and, appropriating the right attitude, greeted her with a smile. “Good day, Nanny Lan.”

“Crown Princess is too polite, it’s too much for this old servant.” Nanny Lan looked Tao Ti up and down and smiled. “When my mistress and the Marquis of Yongwei’s wife decided on this marriage, you were just half a year old, Crown Princess. Back then, my mistress even held you before… in the blink of an eye, sixteen years have passed. Unexpectedly, Crown Princess has grown up to be so beautiful.”

At this point, Nanny Lan sighed a little, “If only my mistress were still…”

Pei Yan’s long eyelashes lowered, and he called out softly, “Nanny Lan.”

“Ah, this mouth of mine. Your Highness getting married is a joyous event, I’ll stop talking about all that.” Sister Lan hurriedly squeezed out a smile and moved to the side to give way. “Your Highness, Crown Princess, hurry on in.”

Once you walk into the main hall, there is the elegantly decorated spiritual hall.

As soon as they entered the main hall, they were in an elegantly furnished mourning hall.

On the long table made of golden nanmu wood were two memorial tablets, placed one before the other.

Tao Ti looked up at Pei Yan in confusion.

As if he could read minds, Pei Yan replied, “One is my Queen Mother’s, and the other is my elder brother’s.”

Tao Ti was momentarily stunned; Pei Yan had an elder brother?

Pei Yan looked straight ahead and said lightly, “Imperial Brother is the eldest son of Imperial Father and Queen Mother, but when he was five years old, he was suddenly struck by a severe illness and died. In the year following his death, Queen Mother gave birth to me.”

So that’s how it was. Tao Ti said softly, “May your grief subside, Your Highness.”

Pei Yan didn’t say anything, but just took the incense from Nanny Lan and gave three of them to Tao Ti.

He offered the incense in an extremely pious manner; his eyes were closed, and he was silent.

Tao Ti stood one step behind him. Looking at the thin figure clad in moon-white before her, she sighed inwardly: Crown Prince is really a beautiful, poor little thing.

He lost his mother at a young age, and was weak and sickly, with not long to live. His father, the only one who doted on him, had remarried, and given him a stepmother whose attributes were still currently unclear to Tao Ti, a younger brother who couldn’t wait for him to die, and an acrid and wicked younger sister.

Here was a proper Cinderella, and a sickly version at that. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a fairy godmother, nor a prince…

Tao Ti was a little frustrated; why was she only good at cooking and not good at medicine?

After paying respects to Empress Gu and the eldest prince, the two were ready to leave.

Just before they left, Nanny Lan suddenly stopped Tao Ti. With great care, she brought out an exquisitely carved rosewood box.

“This was left behind by the late empress, saying that it’s a little token of appreciation for her daughter-in-law as a mother-in-law when His Highness got married.”

“This…” Tao Ti was stunned and did not receive it immediately.

Pei Yan walked to her side and nodded at her. “You should accept it.”

Having heard him say that, Tao Ti received the box and thanked Nanny Lan.

Nanny Lan’s cloudy eyes were watery, as if a weight had lifted off her heart. She was very happy, and even personally walked them to the door.

Just a little way off from Fengyi Palace, Tao Ti stopped and called out lightly, “Your Highness.”

“Hmm?” Pei Yan also stopped in his tracks and looked at her quizzically.

Tao Ti walked up to him and stuffed the carved box into his arms. “I’m returning this to you.”

Pei Yan cast his eyes down at the little lady who only came up to his chest.

She lifted a little round face, pink and delicate. Her jet-black eyes sparkled at him; her eyes were clear all the way through, like snow that was thawing atop a mountain.

“This is from Queen Mother for the crown princess; you should keep it.” Pei Yan’s voice was mild.

“But I— I… I am not a proper crown princess, after all, I don’t deserve it.”

Pei Yan’s brows twitched slightly; he did not speak, and just opened that box.

Inside the box was a mutton fat jade bangle. The jade was delicate and smooth, and it shone with a lustrous clarity. Although Tao Ti didn’t know much about jade and gems, she could tell that this jade bangle was no ordinary item.

Just as she was spellbound at its sight, Pei Yan suddenly took her hand.

He—he took her hand!

Tao Ti looked dazedly at Pei Yan, her mind in a mess.

Pei Yan wore his usual warm and gentle expression. He picked up the jade bangle and gently slid it on her wrist.

The bangle seemed like it was specially made for Tao Ti; it slipped on in one go. Her wrist was slender and fair to begin with, and wearing this jade bangle gave her an added touch of gentleness.

Pei Yan looked it over and said, “It’s just right.”

Tao Ti’s cheeks burned slightly. She was about to reject it again when she heard Pei Yan say in a light tone, “Just accept it. If I’m no longer around, this bangle can only be buried in the darkness with me, which would be a pity. It looks good on you. If you don’t like it, you can sell it in the future for some money.”

He said this carelessly, but it made Tao Ti’s heart ache badly.

She touched the jade bangle on her wrist, and looked at him with her clear eyes, her voice soft, “Rest assured, Your Highness, I will keep it safe. I won’t sell it.”

Seeing her promise so earnestly, the corners of Pei Yan’s lips lifted; the light smile on his lips made him look exceptionally gentle. “Mm, I believe you.”

Footnotes:

¹ bazi : (八字) A Chinese astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour.

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