Inside the room, after listening to her daughter's detailed account of her recent situation in Beijing, Yu's mother felt relieved and then turned to Yu Zhi to talk about how she met Ji Rong many years ago.
Yu Zhi lost her father at a young age and had experienced hardship. Unlike ordinary children, she was not extreme and asked softly, "Does Your Highness treat your mother well?"
"She treats me well."
To be able to hold onto one's love for over twenty years without getting married, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Sister Rong is the best in the world.
"Father's wish has come true, and Mother's wish should also come true."
How could a poor scholar from back then, after several years of marriage, not see that his wife only respected him and had no romantic feelings for him?
He should have figured it out.
Being moved and not being moved are two rivers that flow to different ends.
Human hearts are like flowing water, uncontrollable; who to love and who not to love is beyond one's control.
"Father has passed away, and all I want is for my mother to be happy."
Hearing her words, Liu Boyan was overwhelmed with emotion: "Zhizhi..."
...
"My daughter is such a good person, and you have ruined her. If you change your mind and make her your wife, I, the princess, will help you keep Yan'er in check. What do you say?"
The wind howled, and it was unknown where Ji Yunzhang had gathered these renowned sword masters. No matter how strong Wei Pingxi was, at her age, being able to withstand two or three of them would make her a true prodigy of her time.
Now, her opponents number ten, and these ten are all of one mind capable of forming a sword formation. If it weren't for her pride, she should have conceded defeat long ago.
Mei Jian was once again destroyed by the opponent's sword energy, but she managed to withdraw her hand in time to avoid her meridians being injured by the sword energy.
The door to the main hall was open, letting in a gust of wind. Ji Rong, wrapped in a cloak, held a teacup in her hands, gently stirring the steam with the lid. It should have been a romantic and carefree scene, but unfortunately, she was not skilled in martial arts and had no internal energy to protect herself, so she was quite cold.
"Silly child, I'm helping you."
"Help me? You're clearly beating me up."
"Beat you until you understand, it's also helping you."
Wei Pingxi was no match for him and, exhausted, collapsed onto the snow.
It was alright that she lay down, but Ji Rong thought she had been accidentally beaten to death, so he hurriedly put down his teacup and came out.
Seeing that she could still breathe, the princess was both amused and exasperated: "Good son-in-law Xi Xi, why are you so competitive? No matter how strong you are, can you be stronger than these ten of my best fighters?"
Wei Pingxi rolled his eyes at her: "They are old monsters who are at least five hundred years old. What's so great about beating an eighteen-year-old kid like me? It's shameful to lose."
She turned her face away from Ji Rong.
Ji Rong squatted down and gently persuaded her, "I'm your aunt's friend. If you don't trust me, don't you trust your aunt?"
She brought up the Empress, and Wei Pingxi was reminded once again of the pair of white porcelain dolls that the Empress had given him before he left the palace.
"no."
Why not?
"You can discard a concubine when you're tired of her, but you can't discard a wife. It's troublesome."
"Troublesome?" Ji Rong was amused and exasperated. "Your aunt thinks highly of my daughter. She even gave her the bracelet. Don't you trust your aunt's judgment?"
Instead of answering, Wei Pingxi asked, "Who is your daughter? How dare you speak so arrogantly."
Sooner or later.
Seeing that she was exhausted and pale, Ji Rong reached out to help her up: "The truth will eventually come out. I thank you for rescuing the mother and daughter..."
"Your Highness, gratitude isn't something that can be expressed with mere words."
Ji Ronglian bowed to her respectfully, her manners impeccable and her attitude sincere.
Wei Pingxi suddenly felt bored: "Whether it's a wife or a concubine is up to me. No matter if you're a princess or you bring up my aunt, if I don't want to get married, no one can force me."
"Beauty is beautiful, but one day it will become tiresome. Liking someone is agonizing enough, and love is an elusive thing that I can't understand."
"From the first moment I saw her, I was attracted to her body. She was beautiful and delicious. Even if Madam Yu knew everything, she could not change the fact that Zhizhi was the concubine I brought into the house."
"If you can't stand it, then tell Madam Yu that I have abused her daughter, but a concubine is still a concubine!"
"I am an unpredictable person by nature. I will not tie my heart to one person, nor will I need to make someone live or die for me. I like her, but today it is her, and tomorrow it may be someone else."
"Unless there comes a day when I can't live, can't sleep, or can't eat without her, I won't change my mind."
Her inner energy was depleted, and she swayed. Jade and agate steadied her in time.
Ji Rong was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth: What kind of temper is this? She won't listen to reason, so she'll have to suffer the consequences!
She was furious, while a few steps away, Wei Pingxi, pale-faced and sweating profusely, saw the beauty standing against the wind and snow and his legs went weak, almost causing him to kneel down.
Yu Zhi, clearly having heard the Fourth Miss's heartless words, her eyes reddened, and she gracefully stepped forward: "Are you alright?"
She still walked with some awkwardness. Wei Pingxi saw all of this and noticed that her eyes were red. He guessed that she might have secretly cried while standing there, and a sudden feeling of irritation welled up in his heart.
Turning her head, Ji Yunzhang glared angrily at the Princess. She was annoyed by her lack of respect, but since her future 'daughter' looked so deeply in love, she really didn't dare to do anything to the little brat in front of her.
Ji Rong saw Yu Zhi, but Yu Zhi had forgotten about the existence of the Eldest Princess.
Her mind was in turmoil, and she hugged the fourth young lady with a mixture of emotions, feeling both hopeful and uncertain.
Wei Pingxi was stunned by her hug, and wrapped his arms around her slender waist: "It's nothing, we just had a fight."
"So...did you win?"
"without."
Yu Zhi was surprised that there were people she couldn't beat.
She dared not let Wei Pingxi see her sadness. After hugging her for a while, she let go, and her little face lit up with a bright smile. She hooked her little finger with the fourth young lady's: "Let's go, let's go for the New Year."
Chapter 55 The Crybaby
As the year draws to a close, we welcome the Spring Festival.
South of Xuanwu Street, every household is preparing for the New Year.
Yu's mother arrived at just the right time from Lingnan Prefecture, so that she could spend a joyous and festive holiday in the capital.
She can't see, but she can hear. After she had a good sleep, everyone in the yard was busy as bees.
Princess Yunzhang sat cross-legged on a pear wood chair, bundled up tightly, holding a small hand warmer in her hands, and wearing a red fur collar around her neck, looking very warm.
"Oops, wrong, wrong, tilt it a little more to the right."
Wei Pingxi stood on the small wooden ladder, moving the character "福" (fortune/blessing) to the right: "Like this?"
"No, no, tilt it to the left again."
The eldest princess considered herself an "old lady," and with her aging arms and legs, she was certainly not suited for the dangerous activity of climbing ladders and stairs. Therefore, the task of pasting up the couplets fell to the fourth young lady.
Having lived two lives, this was the first time Wei Pingxi had done this job. Originally, she didn't want to do it, since there were plenty of servants in the courtyard, and any one of them could do the job.
In previous years, even in her own courtyard, she had never condescended to climb a ladder to put up these things. So why did she agree when Ji Yunzhang specifically asked her to do so?
Wei Pingxi turned to look at the girl sitting obediently on the small stool—wasn't it just because she had a sharp tongue?
She couldn't live with herself for making someone cry during the Lunar New Year.
If one's conscience prevents them from doing so, they can only be driven by Ji Yunzhang.
But this princess has gone too far!
She thought Ji Rong was being unreasonable, but Ji Rong thought she was being unreasonable too. She frowned and said, "Are you stupid? You're so stupid you could die! Your eyes are crooked, crooked, either to the left or to the right. Do you think your eyes are in the sky?"
"..."
The "Fu" character in his hand was almost torn. Wei Pingxi took a deep breath and, with a snap, stuck the "Fu" character, still covered in paste, onto the front door above his head.
She ignored the prince who was making a fuss over nothing and smiled, "Zhizhi, do I look good with my stickers?"
Yu Zhi's eyes still had a faint redness around them, but upon hearing this, her eyes lit up: "Beautiful!"
When her future daughter said "It looks good," Ji Rong cleverly didn't contradict her. Instead, she turned her attention to the person on the ladder: "It's just putting up a 'Fu' character. Why are you so proud of yourself? Don't forget, you'll have to put up the rest of the Spring Festival couplets."
"I'll put it on, I'll put it on!" Wei Pingxi jumped down from the ladder, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to get to work.
When Liu Boyan woke up and went outside, she heard someone bullying her 'son-in-law' again.
"Sister Rong..."
The sound came so suddenly that Ji Rong almost choked on a longan.
She hurriedly explained to her sweetheart that she hadn't bullied anyone, and Wei Pingxi inwardly cursed, "Serves him right," before turning back with a smile: "Zhizhi, can you keep an eye on things for me?"
Yu Zhi nodded: "Okay."
After being bed partners for several months, the two still had a tacit understanding and never mentioned their previous heartlessness and sadness.
Without Ji Rong deliberately finding fault, the Fourth Miss's speed in pasting up Spring Festival couplets became noticeably faster.
After pasting the main door, he pasted the small door, and after pasting the small door, he pasted the side door. In the dead of winter, Wei Pingxi was sweating profusely.
With the Spring Festival couplets pasted up, red lanterns hung up, and various festive potted plants brought in, the courtyard was transformed, brimming with vitality.
Everything is ready; we're just waiting for the Spring Festival to arrive.
Agate brought clean water for the young lady to wash her hands and face. Wei Pingxi dried her face, revealing a natural beauty, her eyes and brows radiating a unique charm.
Her captivating charm was so striking that Yu Zhi dared not look at her for long.
After the initial excitement of putting up Spring Festival couplets with the Fourth Miss faded, she became depressed. Although she hid it well, she still couldn't hide it from Wei Pingxi's eyes.
Yu's mother was tied up with the eldest princess and couldn't get away. The door was half open and half closed, so the fourth young lady went over and closed it.
The wind and snow were shut out, the noise was shut out, leaving only the two people at that moment.
This is a good time to speak.
Wei Pingxi tried to speak several times, but didn't know how to make the person happy.
Perhaps she was born unable to be a good person; she was eccentric, stubborn, ruthless, and deeply hurtful.
For her, the most complex and unbreakable bond in the world is the kinship between blood relatives, while the simplest relationship is the transactional relationship of money exchanged for goods.
So she spent lavishly on gold and silver and kept a beautiful concubine in her backyard.