Yanxiu and she had been sisters for decades, sharing deep sisterly affection as well as estrangement. When they met again years later, her younger sister was much more mature than when she was young, and she couldn't tell whether this change was good or bad.
"Get up. This bowing and kneeling is so boring."
"As the Empress, my elder sister must not disregard proper etiquette."
"Once we arrive at Ganning Palace, my words will be the standard of etiquette."
Yan Qing chuckled softly, "Sister is still the same as always, she hasn't changed at all."
"It's boring to keep changing."
"What's interesting?"
The Empress gestured for her to sit down and said softly after Yan Qing was seated to her right: "The concubine that Xi Xi brought is quite interesting."
"My sister has come for this very reason." Madam Wei slowly uttered the words she had prepared all the way: "My elder sister gave Pingxi the jade bracelet, granting her the freedom to marry, which is a kind gesture. But why give another jade bracelet to a concubine? No matter how beautiful she is, she is still a concubine."
"Even if she is a concubine, she is still the person beside my pillow."
Sharing a bed and pillows, intimacy day and night—how can this be compared to an ordinary relationship?
"She really likes that girl, can't you tell?"
Madam Wei disagreed: "Liking something can fade. She has many things she likes, and she gets tired of everything she plays with after six months."
The queen fell silent.
"Sister, I will not allow my daughter to marry a lowly woman."
"In your heart, what is noble and what is base?"
"With a motherly demeanor like that of my elder sister, she is the most noble in the harem."
"Then everyone below me is lowly?"
Madam Wei was speechless for a moment.
Seeing that she no longer objected, Yan Xiu's smile remained unchanged: "Have you been living comfortably in the Marquis's mansion all these years?"
"I am doing alright, but Wei Hanqing respects me and I dare not disobey him. Now my sister has both a son and a daughter, and my husband is considerate. Although my father is domineering, he has the Yan family and my sister, so he dares not break ties with me."
"The year you got married, I asked you if you would regret it. You said you had no regrets. What about now?"
Madam Wei straightened up and smiled: "I still have no regrets."
May you never have any regrets.
The Empress picked up a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard: "Play a game with me. His Majesty hasn't won a single game in all these years. With you here, I won't be bored anymore."
Your Majesty is highly talented, so why haven't you won a single game in so many years? Is it because you can't win? Wrong! It's because you don't want to win.
Faced with her elder sister, His Majesty would rather lose for the rest of his life and coax her for the rest of his life.
Madam Wei clenched her hands, which were hidden in her wide sleeves, then slowly relaxed them: "Alright, please enlighten me, elder sister."
The sound of chess pieces clicking and clattering in the Gan Ning Palace was incessant.
The chess style was remarkable, reflecting the temperament of the player. After the game ended, Madam Wei took her leave. The Empress looked at the next game without changing her expression: "She seems more mature, but she's still the same at heart."
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived."
...
In the Zhehua Palace, Wei Pingxi lay on the beautiful woman's back: "Good Zhizhi, do you like me like this?"
Yu Zhi felt dizzy and couldn't hear what she was saying. A drop of fragrant sweat trickled down the back of her neck. Her skin was as smooth as cream and warm to the touch.
She was unable to answer, and Wei Pingxi didn't need her to answer.
After fooling around before lunch, the Fourth Miss got up feeling refreshed, her frustration at being randomly paired up by the Empress dissipated.
She smiled slightly and took a soft handkerchief to wipe the beauty's face.
Yu Zhi's pitiful and weak appearance elicited a gentle and soft reply from her: "Let me hold you and let you rest for a while. I'll take you to try some imperial cuisine later."
Yu Zhi had never tasted the flavors of the imperial cuisine, but she had already experienced the Fourth Miss's tendency to make people suffer many times over.
Knowing that she should go along with her at this time, Yu Zhi hugged her tightly, feeling embarrassed: "You only know how to bully me."
A favored concubine is, of course, meant to be bullied.
Wei Pingxi stroked her spine, feeling it necessary to remind her: "The Emperor and Empress have been childhood sweethearts, with deep affection for each other, and are the most outstanding couple in our Great Yan Dynasty."
"His Majesty has favored his aunt for many years. When he married her as his empress, he swore an oath before all the civil and military officials that he would never betray her in this life."
"We'll most likely run into him on this trip. Don't be afraid when you see him. Just follow me."
The love between His Majesty and the Empress is a well-known fact throughout the country. Yuzhi had heard the neighbors talking about it in Liushui Lane before.
The Empress is the most envied person by all women in the world. She has obtained the position of Empress and the supreme ruler who is devoted to her.
Yu Zhi nestled in her arms: "It is said that His Majesty is the most handsome man in the world, is that true?"
Wei Pingxi laughed loudly: "You'll see when you get there."
Her uncle was also a rare and wonderful man, and he and her aunt were a perfect match.
...
"Why are you here at this time?"
"They're rushing here to freeload a meal."
His Majesty the Emperor is extremely busy with state affairs, especially now that the end of the year is approaching, and countless small countries from all directions are coming to pay tribute.
He was very busy with official duties, and today he arrived at Gan Ning Palace right on time.
The Empress glared at him and said, "No meals were prepared for His Majesty here. All the food prepared is what my precious niece loves."
"Then I won't be picky. I'll eat whatever my niece eats."
He had an exceptionally good temperament, like the warm spring sun; just one glance from him could make one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
A beauty unlike that of the Empress.
Her beauty was innate and unparalleled; more than half the women in the world combined could not match even a fraction of her looks.
Seeing him smile, the Empress raised her hand to touch his head, her tone slightly reproachful: "My nephew finds even a touch on the head annoying, but Your Majesty is so kind, you can touch his head however you want."
His Majesty's features were clear and bright, his eyes seemingly cleansed by the waters of the Jade Pool: "If Ah Xiu likes it, that's good."
He took the Empress's fingertips and kissed them: "Where is Xi Xi? Where is she?"
Empress Manli smiled and said, "If he hasn't come by this hour, he's probably out having an affair with his concubine."
With lunchtime approaching, a palace maid went to the Zhehua Palace to fetch someone.
Yu Zhi followed closely behind the Fourth Miss, one step behind.
Having received favors from the Empress, she once considered the Empress a great person in her heart. Thanks to the Fourth Miss, she was even able to dine at the same table as the Emperor and Empress during her lifetime, and she felt like she was floating on air.
"Be careful." Wei Pingxi turned to her and smiled.
Yu Zhi's face flushed slightly. She took a deep breath and steadily stepped over the threshold.
Madam Wei's heart was also unsettled.
For the person I am about to meet.
The supreme ruler of the Great Yan Dynasty, a man whose beauty is unparalleled on the list of beauties—her elder sister's husband.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the person has arrived."
Stepping through the gate, Yu Zhi lowered her head and bowed her eyebrows, mimicking the emperor and empress's manners as they greeted them.
"Get up, all of you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty and Your Highness."
Yu Zhi was surprised by His Majesty's clear and pure voice; it was truly the most beautiful voice she had ever heard from a man.
While His Majesty was exchanging pleasantries with others, she carefully raised her eyebrows, and when she saw the face of the person in charge, she was startled—so beautiful!
Could there really be such a handsome man in the world?
How are women supposed to live?
"So you are Xi Xi's concubine?" Emperor Yan smiled gently. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Madam Wei covered her mouth and coughed lightly, while Wei Pingxi watched the spectacle with leisure.
Yu Zhi snapped out of her daze and hurriedly knelt down.
"Sit down. You knelt before, so there's no need to kneel again. Are you looking at me because you think I'm ugly or look old?"
"No, no! Your Majesty is of divine appearance and handsome stature, not at all ugly or old!"
She was eager to express her praise, but as she listened, the Fourth Miss's smile froze slightly, and she thought to herself: Isn't this person good at praising people? Why didn't she praise me before?
She pouted and said, "Your Majesty, please don't take advantage of your beauty to act recklessly. Your aunt is watching you."
Ji Ying, out of affection for the Empress, treated her with great kindness and smiled good-naturedly: "The Empress won't fall for your tricks."
Madam Wei quickly averted her gaze, not daring to look any longer, lest she reveal feelings she shouldn't have expressed.
Some people are completely satisfied with a royal meal, while others experience a bittersweet feeling.
Back at Zhehua Palace, Yuzhi spread out a letter to let her mother, who was far away in Lingnan Prefecture, know that she was safe.
She should have written this letter yesterday when she arrived in the capital, but she wanted to write a reply about her experiences in the capital so that her mother could hear it and feel more at ease.
The Fourth Miss was still accompanying the Empress in the Gan Ning Palace when she ran back first, with Jin Shi and Yin Ding grinding ink for her.
In the letter, Yu Zhi wrote about how well the Yan family treated her, and how the First Madam, the Second Madam, and the Old Madam all gave her gifts, but she deliberately omitted the specifics of what they were.
It describes her skiing competition in the icy landscape, the exhilarating experience of the Fourth Miss at the Flaming Mountains, and how she lost several thousand taels of silver in half a day, leaving her with only one tael in the end.
He also wrote that the fourth young lady gave him this tael of silver, and that the four Yan brothers, even when they joined forces, were no match for the fourth young lady.
Then comes the scene of entering the palace, where she devotes a lot of space to describing the beauty of the emperor and empress, one a fairy and the other a beauty, a perfect match in the mortal world.
Before she knew it, she had filled more than ten pages. After a moment of contemplation, Yuzhi carefully wrote down her thoughts and instructions for her mother.
"Send it to Lingnan Prefecture on the day it leaves the palace, and have the messenger deliver it to my mother."
"yes."
Jinshi, please keep this letter safe.