“Your Highness, before the Princess Consort left, she asked me to deliver this herbal medicine to you. The recipe and its safety have already been confirmed by your personal physician.” Gu Sinjie held out the cup of herbal medicine Xiao Ruyi had prepared for Qin Wujing.
Qin Wujing took the cup from Gu Sinjie. “That woman went to the Imperial Palace this early in the morning? Isn’t the event this afternoon?”
Gu Sinjie nodded. “That’s right, Your Highness. The Princess Consort also asked me to apologize for not having time to see you before she left.”
Qin Wujing gave a brief nod, then indifferently took a sip of Xiao Ruyi’s herbal medicine. The cold-eyed man stared intently at the cup in his hand—only Heaven and Qin Wujing himself knew what he was thinking.
“Did Madam Su go with her?” Qin Wujing asked again.
Gu Sinjie nodded. “Of course, Your Highness.”
Meanwhile, Xiao Ruyi had arrived at the Imperial Palace. She hurried to the Empress Dowager’s Palace, because it was the only safe place for her within the Imperial Palace.
As soon as she heard that Xiao Ruyi had arrived, the Empress Dowager hurried to her feet and ran toward the door of her room to see her niece. The woman immediately embraced Xiao Ruyi right there.
“Ruyi!”
Xiao Ruyi smiled when the Empress Dowager hugged her. She returned the embrace with all her heart. Meeting the Empress Dowager relieved Xiao Ruyi, as though the heavy burden on her shoulders had been lifted completely. It felt as if she had returned home.
“Your father is still ill after hearing about your marriage. Auntie is so glad that you’ve been all right at the Qin Prince’s Residence,” the Empress Dowager said after releasing Xiao Ruyi and leading her inside.
Xiao Ruyi nodded faintly. “Ruyi heard the news on the way here. There was nothing I could do because I didn’t have time to visit Father at the Xiao Estate.”
The Empress Dowager nodded in return. “Oh, it’s all right, Ruyi. Xiao Dajie won’t be angry about it either. He’ll certainly understand your situation.”
Xiao Ruyi said nothing more. She merely smiled at the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager invited her to sit beside her throne. The older woman gently stroked Xiao Ruyi’s hair and asked, “Has the Qin Prince made things difficult for you?”
Xiao Ruyi slowly shook her head, though in truth, she desperately wanted to nod. “No, Auntie. The Prince treats me well, and so do the others at the Qin Prince’s Residence.” Xiao Ruyi wanted to throw up after saying that. Lies! Qin Wujing was always hurling cutting remarks at her!
Hearing Xiao Ruyi’s answer, the Empress Dowager’s expression showed that she doubted her confession. Xiao Ruyi continued speaking, trying to make the Empress Dowager believe her.
“Ruyi has been a little busier than usual lately because the Prince assigned me to manage the household affairs of the Qin Prince’s Residence. It turns out there’s so much to take care of when you become someone’s wife.” Xiao Ruyi tried to make her expression convincing for the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager had entered the Imperial Harem at the age of sixteen. Naturally, she had already swallowed every kind of sweetness and bitterness life had to offer. Deceiving her was no easy task, especially since she had raised and cared for Xiao Ruyi ever since she was a child.
The Empress Dowager sighed—it was impossible to tell whether it was in relief or distress. “Ruyi, your auntie can only hope that you’re all right. It’s very difficult to change the situation now. The Emperor can’t oppose Rong Xuan because of the complicated political circumstances. He desperately needs the Rong family’s help to oppose the officials who don’t support him.”
That was true. At present, the Emperor’s greatest strengths were the Xiao and Rong families, though the Rong family held the greater influence. The Rong family was the most famous family in the Empire, while the Xiao family ranked just below it.
Rong Xuan and the Emperor had married for political reasons. If not for the interests surrounding her son’s position, the Empress Dowager would never have approved of their marriage. She would have preferred to make Xiao Ruyi the Empress, because not only would that have strengthened her position in the Imperial Palace, Xiao Ruyi was also her beloved niece. There would have been nothing wrong with Xiao Ruyi becoming Empress.
Xiao Ruyi smiled faintly, then gently placed her palm over the Empress Dowager’s hand. “Ruyi understands, Auntie. Ruyi won’t blame you or the Emperor.”
The Empress Dowager leaned her shoulder against the back of her throne and slowly massaged her forehead. “If Auntie couldn’t prevent your marriage to the Qin Prince, then at the very least, I should have been able to protect you from those rumors.”
Xiao Ruyi shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about those rumors, Auntie. Ruyi is fine. Auntie, believe me… Ruyi feels happy by the Qin Prince’s side.”
The Empress Dowager gazed at Xiao Ruyi sorrowfully. “But the Qin Prince—” Before she could finish, Xiao Ruyi immediately interrupted her. She knew exactly where the Empress Dowager’s sentence was headed.
“Auntie, regardless of the Qin Prince’s imperfect physique, Ruyi doesn’t mind at all. As long as I’m by the Qin Prince’s side, I feel safe, and that’s more than enough. I lack for nothing.”
“Auntie shouldn’t have let that girl pass the next round of the selection,” the Empress Dowager said a moment later. The “girl” she meant was obviously Xiao Liyue.
“Auntie, don’t say that. Elder Sister is now Your Majesty’s daughter-in-law of the Empire, and Ruyi has already let go of the selection. You should treat Elder Sister well to preserve peace in the Imperial Harem, shouldn’t you?” Xiao Ruyi replied. She added a slight spark to her answer, fanning the Empress Dowager’s anger.
“Daughter-in-law? In her dreams! I’m utterly disgusted and disappointed in her. How could she do something so heartless to her own younger sister?! She was so easily swayed by Rong Xuan’s words.” The Empress Dowager snorted softly. She truly hated Xiao Liyue, and this brought a faint smile to Xiao Ruyi’s lips.
The two of them continued chatting like a mother and daughter by birth. Xiao Ruyi felt completely at ease beside the Empress Dowager.
They reminisced about the days when Xiao Ruyi was still a child, grew into a beautiful young woman, and finally married. It was while discussing this marriage that the Empress Dowager suddenly asked a question that left Xiao Ruyi speechless, wearing a stiff smile.
“Will you truly come to love the Qin Prince?”
Xiao Ruyi grumbled inwardly. This was the second time someone had asked her that after Madam Su last night! Why had there suddenly been so many questions about her feelings for Qin Wujing?
“Auntie, as his Princess Consort, of course Ruyi will love him.” Xiao Ruyi emphasized the words “will love” in her sentence. That was enough for the Empress Dowager to understand.
The Empress Dowager gave a slight nod, then forced a smile. “Very well. Auntie will support Ruyi’s choice. I’m sure whatever you choose will bring good results.”
The Empress Dowager had asked this to confirm Xiao Ruyi’s answer about her feelings. She couldn’t force Xiao Ruyi to make a choice, especially since Xiao Ruyi’s relationship with the Qin Prince wasn’t bad. The Qin Prince was her brother-in-law. They weren’t particularly close, but neither did they have a bad relationship. Moreover, because Qin Wujing’s legs were paralyzed, the man rarely showed himself at events in the Imperial Palace.
Although the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had once been wary of Qin Wujing because of the immense military power he commanded, the matter didn’t drag on. However, Qin Wujing still seemed resentful of the Imperial Palace’s treatment of him two and a half years ago, when news that his legs had been diagnosed as permanently paralyzed became the subject of heated discussion.
At the time, Qin Wujing was the target of all kinds of disdainful looks. Several nobles began to belittle his presence, and after one official incited him, the Emperor—who had once been his son—proposed taking five hundred thousand troops away from Qin Wujing, claiming that a man with paralyzed legs would have difficulty managing such a large army.
Qin Wujing was naturally offended when he heard that. He refused to surrender his troops, and several nobles joined him in supporting his refusal. The matter briefly became a fierce conflict between Qin Wujing and the Emperor, but it abruptly ended when the late Emperor’s personal eunuch arrived with a will declaring that the five hundred thousand troops belonged exclusively to Qin Wujing.
After the Empress Dowager responded to Xiao Ruyi’s earlier statement and the room fell silent for a moment, a female servant suddenly entered and delivered a message. “Your Majesty, the celebration for the appointment of the Empire’s two new Noble Consorts has begun. All the guests, including the Emperor, are waiting for your arrival.”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager and Xiao Ruyi exchanged a look.