Wei Pingxi threw down his eyebrow pencil and sat down to the side.
When Yu Zhi returned after washing her face, the Fourth Miss still went to the trouble of applying a light layer of makeup for her.
At least it looks presentable, so that people won't be reminded of such things the first time they see it.
Qinghui Courtyard, Rusong Hall.
Princess Yunzhang had been sitting in this chair for the time it takes to drink three cups of tea.
The master remained calm, but the gold and silver ingots guarding his side were nearly frantic with worry.
Why hasn't my aunt come out yet?
This is the eldest princess of the Great Yan Dynasty, His Majesty's elder sister, the Empress Dowager's biological daughter, a powerful and influential figure!
They've kept her waiting; they've really gone too far.
In the past, when the eldest princess entered the Empress Dowager's palace, she did not need to announce her arrival. The Empress Dowager was reluctant to let her daughter wait in vain. How dare her concubine do that?
Or perhaps, the fourth young lady is really bold.
Having offended the Empress Dowager, now they dare to disregard even the Eldest Princess?
Jin Shi Yin Ding was both impressed by the Fourth Miss's courage and by the Eldest Princess's grace and beauty; to say she was absolutely stunning would not be an exaggeration.
A beautiful woman's friends are usually also beautiful women, no wonder the princess and the empress get along so well.
"Who are you working for?"
"Your Highness, Yin Ding and I are servants of Consort Yu."
"Aunt Yu?" Ji Rong rubbed the rim of the cup with her fingertips. "Her surname is Yu?"
The question was strange, and Jinshi respectfully replied, "Yes. The 'yu' in 'lush and verdant'."
"That's a good omen. How long have you been with her?"
“We were already her people when my aunt was brought into Jingzhe Courtyard, which is about four months ago.”
"How does your fourth young lady treat your aunt? Does she ever bully or humiliate her without reason?"
"this……"
"Tell me the truth, would she bully her?"
Jinshi Yinding didn't understand for a moment which kind of bullying the princess was asking about. If it was about the bed, the concubine was the young lady's person, and how could the intimate things between the two of them be called bullying?
They shook their heads and said in unison, "No, Miss loves Auntie very much and never lets outsiders bully her."
"really?"
"If the Princess wants to know the truth, why don't you come and ask me?"
Wei Pingxi led the beauty across the threshold, dressed in a brocade robe with cranes and branches, her hair black and lustrous, adorned with a white plum blossom hairpin, her figure slender and graceful, perfectly complementing the 'Jinghe Willow' beside her.
Putting aside everything else, her appearance and temperament are truly rare in this world.
"Wei Pingxi greets Princess Yunzhang!"
"This humble servant greets the Princess!"
Ji Rong gave Aunt Yu a careful look and said gently, "Get up, no need for formalities."
Wei Pingxi straightened up: "You may all step back."
Four maids led the servants of Qinghui Courtyard out in single file. Rusong Hall was quiet. Ji Rong gave Miss Wei a look, and Wei Pingxi stepped back a few paces, picked up her tea and sat quietly.
"Please sit down."
Yu Zhi dared not disobey the Princess's order.
Ji Rong scrutinized her features, and suddenly a hint of anger flashed across her face. Her fingers tightened, and she glanced meaningfully at Wei Pingxi, who boldly smiled at her.
Yu Zhi didn't have the courage of the Fourth Miss. When she noticed the Princess's angry expression, she hurriedly got up.
"Sit still. I have something to ask you."
"yes……"
As the saying goes, one feels timid when nearing home. The clues she had been searching for for many years finally came to her by chance. When the words were about to come out, Ji Rong had to use all her willpower to keep herself from losing her composure in front of the younger generation.
"Is your mother's surname Liu?"
She pointed to her neck near her Adam's apple: "Isn't there a small mole here, about the size of a grain of millet?"
Yu Zhi was slightly surprised: "How does Your Highness know about my mother?"
Ji Rong's throat tightened slightly: "Does she...does she have a thin, shallow scar here?"
She rolled up her sleeves and pointed three inches below her forearm.
"Any fine, shallow scars?"
“Yes…” Yu Zhi quickly calmed down.
"Everything matches..."
Ji Rong's more than twenty years of waiting finally bore fruit, and she leaned back in her chair with a sigh of relief: "How has your mother been all these years?"
She smiled, but her eyes welled up with undisguised tears. Yu Zhi guessed that she and her mother were old acquaintances, and said softly, "No. My father passed away when I was a few years old, and my mother, who was blind, raised me alone."
“When the savings left by my father were all spent, we often didn’t know where our next meal would come from. Later, when we really had no rice to cook, we even had to beg.”
"My mother didn't want me to live a life of begging, so she struggled to earn money with her skills until I was eleven years old and could at least help her out..."
Ji Rong's face turned deathly pale, as if struck by lightning. Her body trembled, as if she were enduring unbearable pain.
Her reaction was so strong that Yu Zhi looked uneasy at the Fourth Miss not far away, while Wei Pingxi gave her a reassuring look.
Yu Zhi pursed her lips: "Are you...are you alright?"
After years of waiting, Ji Rong spent countless sleepless nights wondering where her little girl was and what kind of life she was living.
She even prayed to God, begging Him to spare her little girl's life, to let her live well, to meet a good man who would protect and love her, and not let her suffer so much hardship in this world.
Unexpectedly...
Ji Rong's heart was filled with pain and guilt.
Only when she heard Yu Zhi's soft, gentle voice did she raise her head, her eyes reddening: "Where is she?"
"May I ask, Your Highness, what is your relationship to my mother?"
"Old acquaintances".
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was the daughter of an enemy.
Yu Zhi pondered for a moment and asked, "My mother told me that when she was young, she met someone who praised her for having beautiful eyes. Was it His Highness?"
"It's me."
"..."
This was even more shocking than learning that Liu Zicheng was her maternal grandfather.
The person my mother loved in her youth was actually Princess Yunzhang?
"My mother is currently living in the No. 3 Baihu Street residence in Lingnan Prefecture..."
"I will head to Lingnan today." She stood up to leave.
"Your Highness!"
Wei Pingxi stood up to stop her, saying, "If you're going to Lingnan, why not take these medicinal herbs with you? I've asked Yao Chenzi to treat her eye ailment, and these are some of the herbs she's missing."
Jade presented the large medicine box respectfully.
Ji Rong's expression softened slightly, and she sincerely expressed her gratitude: "Thank you."
"Your Highness is too kind to thank me."
The eldest princess took the medicine box and held it in her arms. Yu Zhi earnestly said, "If Your Highness goes to Lingnan to see my mother, could you please not tell her that I am the fourth young lady's concubine?"
Why?
It was a little embarrassing to say, but she forced herself to say, "Because in my mother's eyes, I am marrying the Fourth Miss as her wife, not as a concubine."
"You lied to her?"
"yes."
Ji Rong swallowed her anger: "She'll find out sooner or later. You can hide it for a while, but not forever."
"At least...we should wait until Mother's eye disease is cured before we talk about it," she pleaded.
"Okay, I promise I won't say anything more."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Princess Yunzhang tilted her head and carefully examined Wei Pingxi: "I am grateful for everything you have done for Yan'er, but I warn you, her daughter is not someone you can trifle with."
"So what? Zhizhi still became my concubine." Wei Pingxi attacked her morally: "I rescued them from danger and hunger, where was Your Highness? What right do you have to warn me?"
She pulled the alluring beauty into her arms: "This is my concubine, my woman, Princess, remember this well. I don't like being warned. If there's a next time, I'll show you!"
Ji Rong stood there with an imposing aura, staring at her intently for a long time before laughing heartily: "Fine! Then try it and see if you can live to see tomorrow after you've done it today!"
"..."
She looked at Yu Zhi, her expression softening: "Wait for us to come back, and take good care of yourself."
Her gaze darkened slightly as she swept over the red mark on the junior's neck, earnestly admonishing, "Jing Heliu, even at her worst, was once a favored concubine. How can she become this man's concubine? Think about it carefully."
The eldest princess came and went, but before leaving, she made a vicious move, digging into the heart of the fourth young lady.
As soon as she left, Wei Pingxi frowned and muttered, "Who is she?! What business is it of mine?"
"she……"
Yu Zhi touched her nose: "If I remember correctly, she should be the person Mother still misses."
She phrased it tactfully, and Wei Ping and Xi Ruifeng looked over with wide eyes: "What?"
"She...she is the one Mother loved, and to this day, she still remembers her dearly..."
Is there really such a thing?
Wei Pingxi was puzzled: "If your mother was in love with the eldest princess, why did she still marry your father?"