When Yu's mother pushed open the door and came in to see that she was in good condition, she was relieved: "Take a break after embroidering for a while, or you'll hurt your eyes."
"Yes, I'll listen to Mother." She stopped what she was doing and made tea for her mother.
After accepting the cup of tea, Liu Boyan had something to say but didn't know how to say it.
The mother and daughter had relied on each other for many years, and Yu Zhi could more or less guess what she was thinking. There were some things that were inconvenient to say before, but now they could probably be said.
Her voice was soft: "Mother."
"What's wrong?" Liu Boyan looked up at her.
Yu Zhi smiled and said, "My daughter has a wonderful mother."
A sweet little girl can always make people happy, and Yu's mother smiled broadly: "Just say what you have to say, how could your mother blame you?"
Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. Love and fate are determined by heaven. If you are meant to be together, no one can stop you. Xi Xi has been working hard on her cooking skills lately, practicing in the kitchen late at night.
Whether or not this is for her benefit, it is already commendable that he has this intention and is willing to endure this hardship.
“Mother has no prejudice against her, it’s just that…”
How could a mother not love her own daughter?
She can't blame her daughter, so can't she take it out on her son-in-law? If you want to be her son-in-law, who would believe you if you didn't show some sincerity?
“Mother…” Yu Zhi said softly, “The idea of taking a concubine as a wife was my idea, and I begged her to keep it a secret from you. She treats me very well, unlike ordinary wealthy families who don’t treat their concubines like human beings. Although she often says she’s just playing around, she has kept all her promises to me.”
"No one did it better than her; she protected me and cared for me."
She tugged at her mother's sleeve, her face flushed with embarrassment: "A daughter's heart is not something she can give away easily."
It was truly impossible to hold on.
It was because everything that person did touched her heart.
Once you've fallen for someone, you'll never change your mind.
She pleaded softly, "Mother, please don't scare her away, okay? I really love her and want to grow old with her."
Chapter 90 After the Storm
At the end of July, the capital was drenched in rain. Ji Pingxi stood under the eaves, watching the misty rain. She was thin, her waist so slender that it could be encircled by one hand, and she looked melancholy: "Aunt, has your pillow talk gone yet?"
"..."
It's all just whispering in someone's ear.
Ji Rong sighed softly.
Princess Changyang twitched the corner of her mouth: "Haven't you blown it yet?"
That day, her imperial aunt beat her for a long time! And she didn't fight back!
Did I get beaten up for nothing?
She looked at Ji Yunzhang suspiciously.
Princess Yunzhang, accompanying her niece to watch the rain, cleared her throat with a serious expression: "This 'pillow talk' thing depends on the right timing, location, and people—"
"Could it be that the Imperial Aunt hasn't succeeded in climbing into bed yet?" Ji Pingxi interrupted her.
Ji Rong glanced at her: "Nonsense!"
She slept with Yan'er in her arms last night.
He did hug her, but aside from wanting to steal her from her slender waist, he awkwardly avoided his niece's direct gaze and suddenly said dejectedly, "I'll be able to blow it up soon."
"Soon? How soon is 'soon'? I feel like every day is an eternity. If you don't let me see Zhizhi soon, I'm going to make a scene."
She wasn't a particularly good-natured person to begin with, but she only lowered herself because she fell in love with someone.
Ji Rong comforted her, "Don't worry, I brought it up again last night, and Yan'er has softened her tone considerably."
She deliberately emphasized "last night" and "again," and Ji Pingxi narrowed her eyes and stabbed her with her words: "There are some people who pretend to have something when they don't. Aunt, you're not that kind of person, are you?"
The promised "pillow talk" hasn't worked yet, and if she keeps putting up with this, she might as well elope with Zhizhi.
She speaks bluntly and doesn't know how to be tactful. Ji Rong knows she's been having a hard time lately, so she doesn't take it personally. After all, her good niece got angry yesterday when she saw a male cat riding a female cat.
Having grown accustomed to a life of rich, meaty meals, suddenly being forced to eat vegetarian food would be unbearable for anyone.
She was magnanimous and didn't hold it against her.
Ji Pingxi's blisters on the tip of his tongue were purely due to internal heat, and he was in a bad mood, so everything looked wrong to him.
Seeing that her aunt was not taking the bait, and with no one left to provoke, she immediately gave up and became like a resentful woman in her boudoir.
"When will this ever end?"
She was worried, and so was Ji Rong—when would Yan'er finally agree to be with her and teach her some real "pillow talk"?
The princess, who boasted to the heavens, thought to herself.
...
Grow old together.
A beautiful wish.
Liu Boyan locked herself in her room and didn't come out. A light and pleasant minty scent slowly wafted from the gilded bronze incense burner with mythical beast patterns. She leaned against the soft couch, frowning as she thought about Ji Pingxi.
Princess Wei Pingxi was already infamous when she was still known as Princess Wei Pingxi. She was criticized for her eccentric personality, for having a lot of talent but not following the right path or learning proper principles, and for her love of doing things that challenged etiquette and law.
He is wicked.
Her appearance, however, was clear and beautiful.
When she was blind, she always wondered what kind of outstanding man her daughter had married. Now that she had seen him, she was indeed beautiful, a true princess, and could be described as a fairy who flew out of the moon palace.
People have mouths, and they especially love to spread rumors. Liu Boyan lazily flipped through the various stories about 'Wei Pingxi' that her servants had gathered, and one of them caught her attention:
Miss Wei is extremely skilled in painting, and she loves to paint portraits of beautiful women. All the beautiful women in the world consider it an honor to invite Miss Wei to paint their portraits while naked.
"A womanizer." Liu Boyan's brow furrowed with sorrow.
I don't know if her decision was right or wrong.
She stood up.
"Go and invite His Highness down."
The maidservant responded and left.
Yu's mother tidied her appearance, changed into a light bamboo-colored brocade robe, and prepared tea to wait for her.
Upon hearing the news, Ji Pingxi rushed over without delay. Entering the door, he straightened his clothes and performed a solemn bow: "Your son-in-law greets your mother-in-law!"
She was a princess who truly possessed a fiefdom, and there was really no need for her to bow down to a woman. When she raised her head, Liu Boyan saw that she looked haggard and had a deep affection for her. She said softly, "Get up quickly."
She actually responded to the address "mother-in-law".
Ji Pingxi was overjoyed: "Thank you so much, Mother-in-law!"
Her eyes were slightly red, a testament to the hard-won happiness that came after bitterness.
"sit."
"Eh."
Ji Pingxi dared not disobey her.
Seeing that she had settled into her seat, Liu Boyan spoke softly, "Are you blaming me?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"If I didn't dare, that would be rather strange."
"mother in law--"
"No rush, I know what you're thinking, listen to me first."
"yes."
She was exceptionally well-behaved. Liu Boyan knew that this well-behavedness was not because she was naturally well-behaved; on the contrary, the reason why such an unruly person would act well-behaved in front of her was because of her daughter.
"You've lied to me for over a year, so it's not too much for me to make you live apart for more than ten days, is it?"
Ji Pingxi shook his head like a rattle drum.
Liu Boyan laughed at her: "You are indeed very good at coaxing people, with sweet words and the ability to bend and stretch. I am a mother, and I only have this one daughter in my life. I certainly can't bear to see her suffer or be looked down upon."
"If the Liu family hadn't fallen, my Zhizhi would also be a young lady from a prestigious family. She wouldn't have had to struggle for a living from a young age. Many people would have doted on her and spoiled her. With her personality and looks, it would have been easy for her to find a husband who would care for her."
"But fate played a cruel trick on me. The Liu family fell from grace, and I went blind."
"I have been a burden to her for a long time, and she has been forced to become someone's concubine in order to protect herself and to cure my eyes as soon as possible."
“I know my daughter. She agreed to be your concubine because she had no choice but to do so at the time. To be honest, Liushui Lane is a mixed bag of people, and I worry every day that my daughter will be bullied by bad people.”
"Later you came and dealt with the shrew and her son, so you owed us a debt of gratitude for saving our lives."
"I should thank you for saving me." Yu's mother bowed to her, but Ji Pingxi dared not accept it readily and quickly stepped aside, her palms sweating.
"Children and grandchildren have their own destinies, I can't control them." The woman sighed softly, "My daughter is timid and loves to cry. I told you this a long time ago. Living together is a lifelong commitment, you can't like someone today and then hate them tomorrow."
"Humans are not objects; they are made of flesh and blood, and they have feelings and hearts."
“If one day you find her annoying, or feel that she doesn’t move you as much as she did when you were young, you should think more about today.” Liu Boyan stared intently at her: “My Zhizhi wasn’t bought with gold and silver; you begged me for her.”
"Yes!" Ji Pingxi quickly knelt down and kowtowed to her: "It was something I begged for; I was determined to marry Zhizhi!"
She kowtowed so hard that the loud thud disrupted the carefully prepared words of Yu's mother. Worried that her son-in-law might have been driven mad by the kowtow, she hesitated to speak.
"It's alright, Mother-in-law, I'm fine, please continue."
She knelt on the ground and refused to get up, lowering her stance to the bare minimum in her marriage proposal.
Seeing that her forehead was red, Liu Boyan suddenly couldn't bring herself to say the warning she was about to deliver.
She patted the princess's head and said with empathy, "Get up quickly. We are all children with mothers. I love my daughter, and the Empress loves her daughter too. She doesn't say it, but she is giving me face and the Liu family face. But I can't be ungrateful."
If the Empress were to see her beloved darling kowtowing to people so readily, she might feel resentful.
Now that we've decided to be family, we absolutely cannot have any grudges.