“The Heir is back.” A little maid in the South Courtyard had extremely sharp eyes. Seeing a figure from afar, she announced it loudly, gave a slight curtsy, turned around, and lifted the door curtain.
Wei Qingchen lifted the food container and stepped over the threshold. Two senior maids had already come forward, smiling as they took the item from her hands and led her inside.
“I said you should have been back ages ago. I waited and waited, and now look, the sun is already setting.”
Wei Qingchen had just paid her respects when Old Madam Wei put on a stern face, feigning anger, and scolded her mumblingly. Wei Qingchen rose and leaned against the soft couch, lifting her face. “On the way back, I passed by Cloud Tripod Pavilion. Remembering how the Old Titled Lady once praised their Apricot Blossom Dumplings, and it being the season now, I had the shopkeeper make two fresh batches.” She pointed at the food container in the maid’s hands, winking playfully. “Instead of praising me for thinking of the family, Old Madam blames me for coming back late.”
“Oh, is that so? Then I must try some while they’re hot.” Old Madam Wei only missed her grandson. How could she truly blame her? Now she praised, “It’s still my Chen’er who’s filial.”
The maids of the South Courtyard were all very clever. A chorus of agreement echoed to cheer their masters. Old Madam Wei then asked, “Have you seen your mother yet?”
“Not yet. I rushed straight here first to pay respects to the Old Titled Lady.” Wei Qingchen leaned closer, lowering her voice. “If the Apricot Blossom Dumplings get cold, they won’t be as tasty. I rushed to deliver them to the Old Titled Lady first.”
Old Madam Wei, seeing her playful spirit, was so delighted her eyes narrowed. She held her hand and stroked it repeatedly. Maids brought over teacups and pastries. Old Madam Wei watched her grandson take a sip of tea, then told her to go give her mother her greetings.
Wei Qingchen rose from the soft couch and gave a refined, proper bow. “I will go see Mother first. Later this evening, I will return to keep the Old Titled Lady company and chat.”
Within the Grand General’s Manor, the South Courtyard, though not the largest, had the best orientation. It was about a hundred and eighty paces from the Jade Grain Courtyard where the Grand Princess resided—not too far, but not too close either.
The sky was half-light, half-dark. As Wei Qingchen walked along, lamps were being lit throughout the mansion. In the courtyard, trees were lush and verdant. Her mind was occupied, so she walked even slower. Passing servants saw her and hurried over with lanterns. She waved them off, not letting them approach, and left the path first.
In the side hall of the main building in the Jade Grain Courtyard, Aunt Qi was overseeing the young maids setting the table. When Wei Qingchen entered, she greeted Aunt Qi first. Aunt Qi smiled and said the Princess was in the inner room. Wei Qingchen acknowledged and walked in.
“How is it that Mother’s calligraphy is so beautiful? I can never seem to learn it.” Wei Qingchen saw her mother sitting beside the writing desk and leaned over to watch the characters under her hand for a while. It wasn’t until her mother raised an eyebrow and glared at her that she retreated a step, grinning, and cupped her fist in greeting.
“Why are you so mischievous today?” Not hearing a response for a long moment, the Grand Princess’s gaze shifted over. “Did you drink too much spring water from Spirit Platform Temple when you went to offer incense for your grandmother?”
Wei Qingchen was startled, but still smiled. “The spring water at Spirit Platform Temple isn’t even sweet. On the way back, I passed by Cloud Tripod Pavilion. They had seasonal Apricot Blossom Dumplings, so I bought two batches. One I left at South Courtyard. For the other, I beg Mother to kindly try some.”
Mu Yunxian scrutinized her for a few moments, then simply placed her purple rabbit-hair brush back onto the brush rest. Sitting upright in her chair, she looked at her directly. “Did you encounter something on the road?”
Wei Qingchen hadn’t expected this question from her mother. She visibly paused again, her right hand unconsciously touching her ear.
After waiting for a moment and seeing she still had no intention of speaking, Mu Yunxian stopped pressing. “If you don’t want to say, then don’t. Handle your own matters yourself. Your father will be back in a few days. Be careful he doesn’t test your lessons strictly.”
Outside, Aunt Qi had already appeared at the doorway twice. Mu Yunxian allowed herself to be served, washing her hands, and then sat down in the Flower Hall. “Do not speak while eating, do not speak while resting”—this was the way of health.
Wei Qingchen changed out of her outdoor clothes, ate dinner at her mother’s place, then went back to the South Courtyard to chat with the Old Titled Lady for a while. Old Madam Wei thought she seemed less lively than usual, attributing it to tiredness from just returning, and sent her maid to shoo her off to rest, mentioning nothing more.
That night, Wei Qingchen tossed and turned, going over the matter in her heart again and again. When the sky was just starting to lighten, she rose, took her ceremonial sword from the shelf, and in the courtyard, practiced a full sword routine, move by move. Her mind was made up.
The maids attending her, following her habits, brought a cloth. She wiped away sweat, returned to her room to change clothes, and seeing the sky was now bright, headed straight for the Jade Grain Courtyard.
“What did you say??” Mu Yunxian stared at her only child in extreme shock, feeling her scalp tingle.
Yesterday, she had sensed this little one was hiding something. The child was grown up, and her status was special. Keeping some secrets was fine. But she hadn’t expected that this child would come first thing in the morning claiming to share a meal, dismiss all the servants, and then ask… if she knew Chu Mingxi of the Imperial Medicine Hall.
This girl from the Chu family—actually, Mu Yunxian did more than just know of her; she had probably met her before. The Chu family’s medicinal materials were imperial tributes. Mu Yunxian often entered the palace to chat with the Empress Dowager. Once, when the Imperial Academy of Medicine was to make some kind of pill for the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Medicine Hall also came to report back. This girl had come with her medicine box, following her father. Apart from offering greetings, she hadn’t said a single extra word. But when the imperial physicians discussed prescriptions and ingredients, her gaze had been exceptionally bright and focused.
She was a dignified and graceful girl.
But what did her daughter just say? Desire to take her as a wife?!
Mu Yunxian raised a hand and pressed the temple near her hairline, steadying her breath. “Why this sudden idea?”
Wei Qingchen stood for a moment, biting her lip. “A few days ago, I seemed to hear that Father discussed with you about arranging my marriage.” She lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
Mu Yunxian shot her a sharp glance. “You actually planted spies near your father and me?!”
“How could I?!” Wei Qingchen was speechless. “You didn’t even avoid people. Half the mansion probably knows by now. It was someone from Grandmother’s rooms teasing me.”
Mu Yunxian realized she had jumped to a wrong conclusion. She stood up, patted her shoulder, and seated her beside herself. “That was just a preliminary discussion. You are fifteen now. It’s appropriate to discuss marriage now and conduct the ceremonies in a couple of years.”
Wei Qingchen gave her a mournful look. “With my… circumstances… is it truly appropriate?” She heavily emphasized the word “appropriate.”
Mu Yunxian understood her meaning and rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Back then… Mother had no choice…” Mu Yunxian had been born with a cold affliction. Despite countless treatments, it could only be alleviated. To conceive a child, she had used many medicines. At that time, she already knew this child would be her only one. Whether boy or girl didn’t matter to her. But the Grand General’s Mansion…
Old matters, there was no point in saying more. Just those difficult scriptures one must chant.
Wei Qingchen hugged her mother’s arm, her handsome face showing a hint of girlish tenderness. “I know. I’ve never blamed you. Just looking at those noble ladies cooped up like caged canaries, I am endlessly grateful for your decision back then.” She paused, then added sycophantically, “The Grand Princess is wise.”
Mu Yunxian was coaxed into a laugh and swatted her hand lightly. Returning to the subject: “You wanting to marry a girl… that’s not a bad idea. But that eldest daughter of the Chu family… when I saw her, she looked a bit older than you. Now she must be eighteen or nineteen, right?”
“Eighteen. Birthday is in the first month.” Wei Qingchen answered smoothly.
Mu Yunxian was even more astonished. “You’ve inquired this clearly?!”
“I… took notice long ago.”
“…”
Mu Yunxian opened her mouth, then steered away from her daughter’s “took notice” and asked the most pressing matter first. “Eighteen years old. Her family must have arranged a marriage for her.”
“Yes. It was just broken off a few days ago.”
“WHAT?!” Mu Yunxian was shocked yet again, turning sideways to stare at her. “She just broke off an engagement, and you’re rushing in to secure it???”
“Mother…” Wei Qingchen hugged her arm and pulled her back to her side. “Her situation clearly stems from the issue with the other family…”
“Which family?”
“The Li family. The nephew of Lord Li, the Vice Minister of Rites. Ah, Mother, this isn’t important.” Wei Qingchen buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, steering the diverted topic back. “What’s important is your daughter’s marriage!”
At this, the Grand Princess indeed looked troubled. After thinking for a moment, she asked, “You know this Chu family child?”
“Yes…” Wei Qingchen lowered her head.
Mu Yunxian stared at her suspiciously. “Explain.”
Wei Qingchen was still dawdling. The Grand Princess scolded, “If you don’t explain clearly, how can I help you?!”
“Mother, you agree?!”
Mu Yunxian rubbed her aching forehead. “Speak!”
“It’s nothing much.” Wei Qingchen said. “She saved me. In the Northern Region.”
Mu Yunxian’s brow furrowed. “Was it during the time you went missing after the ambush?”
“Yes.” Wei Qingchen rose and poured her mother a cup of hot tea, then sat upright beside her. “That time, I was gravely wounded, and the weather was bitterly cold. If I hadn’t met her, whether I could have survived is uncertain.”
Mu Yunxian held the teacup. The drifting steam calmed her mind, but she still remembered that period. News had come from the front: her only child was missing. Her heart had surely fallen into a land of ice and snow.
“So you want to repay her? By marrying her just when her engagement has been broken off?” The Grand Princess’s tone softened. “A life-saving grace should be repaid. But there are many ways to repay it. You don’t necessarily have to stake your lifelong matters on it.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s merely repayment.” Wei Qingchen tilted her head, thinking. “Yesterday at Cloud Tripod Pavilion, hearing others wantonly mock and insult her… I felt… very indignant. She is a very, very good person. Back then, when she saved me, she didn’t even know my identity. I was penniless. Later, after I woke, she never once inquired about my background, never asked about the past or future. She just did her utmost to heal me.” As she spoke, she looked up at her mother, her eyes growing firmer. “Those who look at her coldly, that family who broke the engagement—they don’t know her goodness. I thought, someone as good as her shouldn’t be treated like this.”
The Grand Princess looked at her daughter’s still-youthful but utterly serious expression. Her heart quietly rejoiced at those words.
You are also a very, very good child, deserving to be cherished by someone with a true heart.
“You say she didn’t know your identity. But does she know your…” The Grand Princess raised an eyebrow.
“Mm… she knows.” Wei Qingchen’s righteous spirit was pricked by her mother’s words. A blush stained her cheeks. She glanced at her mother, then quickly lowered her head. “When I woke up, I discovered my chest binding had already been undone…”
“She saw you bare?” The Grand Princess was so shocked she lost control, knocking over the teacup beside her hand.
“She… personally changed my medicine.” Wei Qingchen lowered her head, righting the teacup. Her small face was almost buried in her chest. “Every single day, she never entrusted it to another’s hands…”
The Grand Princess: “…………”
