She not only had her own courtyard, but also servants to attend to her. She never lacked seasonal clothes and jewelry, and she didn't have to do any chores. Rather than being a concubine, she was more like a mistress.
Wei Hong has never been interested in women, except for the one he took as a concubine. This made Chi Zhu, who had served in the Prince's mansion for many years and was not bad-looking, very resentful. She had always disliked her, which is why she deliberately stirred up trouble in front of the Princess today.
"Although you are the prince's concubine, you have never abused your status to bully anyone. But she has repeatedly caused you trouble!"
At first, Chizhu naturally didn't dare, but after Wei Hong stopped coming to Chu Yan's courtyard about a year ago, she gradually became more presumptuous and stopped taking Chu Yan seriously.
Wan'er complained a lot, and seeing that Chu Yan didn't react for a long time, she asked, "Wife, what are you thinking about?"
Chu Yan sat at the table, propping her head up with one hand: "I was wondering why Zhou's mother looked at me like that just now."
Wan'er smiled: "Of course it's because Chizhu told her that you are the prince's concubine."
No, it's not.
Chu Yan thought to herself.
At that time, Akatsuki hadn't even spoken yet.
...
After the maids and servants left, Cui Hao led the steward of the front courtyard to pay his respects to Yao Youqing, which was also a way for them to get to know each other.
Unlike the loosely organized inner quarters, the people in the front courtyard were the ones who truly managed the Prince's Mansion and handled its daily affairs.
They were originally in charge of managing the entire manor, but after Yao Youqing married into the family, Wei Hong moved to the front courtyard, and they all followed suit, leaving the back courtyard entirely to Yao Youqing's domain.
"Does that mean I can arrange this room however I want, and change it however I want?"
Yao Youqing asked, her eyes showing no sadness or resentment at being abandoned here alone by her husband; in fact, there was a hint of anticipation and joy in them.
Cui Hao was taken aback. The words he had prepared to explain and exonerate the prince were blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
He came to his senses and couldn't help but chuckle, suddenly realizing that the prince and princess were actually a very good match.
One didn't want to come, and the other didn't want the other to come, so there was no conflict whatsoever.
“Yes,” he said with a smile, “His Highness said that this inner quarters will be yours, Your Highness’s place from now on. Since it is your place, you can decorate it however you like, and you can decide the arrangement of the servants yourself.”
"As you just saw, there are actually very few maids in the mansion, and the mansion is so big, it's definitely not enough."
"Originally, I was thinking of arranging things for you in advance, but I was afraid that you wouldn't like the people I chose, so I had the brokerage firm bring some people over. You can choose for yourself later, and if you don't have enough, have them bring more people over later. You can get the money from Zhou Tai."
In other words, the backyard was entirely hers, and she could arrange everything from the servants to the courtyard as she pleased.
Yao Youqing nodded, her joy evident in her expression.
She had just felt that the house was too desolate. Apart from the necessary furniture and decorations, there was almost nothing there. It was empty, rigid, and lifeless. It didn't seem like a place for daily living at all, but rather like... a government office or something. Although it wasn't uninhabitable, it just felt like something was missing.
Now that Cui Hao said she could change the layout of the room as she pleased, she was overjoyed and planned to change the room back to the style of her original boudoir, so that it would feel like she was still living at home!
Cui Hao arrived with a mix of trepidation and reluctance, and left with a speechless feeling of being both amused and exasperated.
After returning to the front courtyard, he reported to Wei Hong: "Your Highness, everything is arranged."
In the past, Wei Hong would not ask any further questions after hearing him say that, but today he was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What did she say?"
Cui Hao exclaimed, "He didn't say much."
Wei Hong looked at him with a sullen face, clearly dissatisfied with the answer and feeling that he was hiding something.
Cui Hao: "The princess is... very happy."
Wei Hong: "..."
Author's Note: Cui Hao: You're the one who told me to say this.
Chapter 15 Letters
Wei Hong didn't believe Cui Hao's words at all.
Being left alone in the bedroom by her husband on her wedding night would make any woman unhappy.
Those with stronger personalities might be able to maintain a semblance of composure and appear poised and elegant, but that delicate, fragile woman...
It's good enough that you're not crying.
Wei Hong felt that Cui Hao was saying this to avoid feeling guilty, but the lie was so poorly told that he wouldn't believe it.
But whether he believed it or not, he couldn't bring himself to visit Yao Youqing in the inner courtyard again. He felt he had already done too much by asking her a few questions.
That's Yao Yuzhi's daughter. Even if her personality is different from Yao Yuzhi's and has nothing to do with what happened back then, she still shares the surname Yao.
He was already being courteous by not mistreating her; how could he possibly care about her further?
Wei Hong didn't ask any more questions and dismissed Cui Hao. But not long after, Cui Hao hurriedly returned and whispered a few words in his ear.
Wei Hong's expression darkened, and he immediately left Hu City.
...
Yao Youqing didn't need to worry about choosing servants; Zhou Mama would take care of it for her.
After careful selection, Zhou Mama handed over the chosen servants to the stewardess they brought from the capital for training and observation. They were initially placed outside the courtyard to work and were not allowed to enter the main courtyard. The servants who remained in the main courtyard to serve Yao Youqing were still from the Yao family. Even Han Qing and Chi Zhu were not allowed to enter the courtyard.
After arranging everything, Zhou Mama had someone rearrange Yao Youqing's room, and then took her to stroll around the inner quarters of the Prince's mansion.
When Yao Youqing came in yesterday, she was wearing a veil and couldn't see anything. Only today did she get a clear view of the entire Prince's Mansion.
It turned out that it wasn't just the rooms in the main courtyard that felt empty; the entire palace felt very empty.
Elsewhere, it was fine; she wouldn't notice much unless she went inside and looked closely. But the garden was quite conspicuous.
If the room is empty, then the garden is probably bare, looking neat and clean, yet unable to hide its desolation and loneliness.
Yao Youqing stood in the garden, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper, before finally making a decision.
"I want to renovate this place too, to make it look like our Yao Family Garden!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother quickly tried to dissuade her: "Your Highness, it's fine if you change the room's layout. Anyway, the Prince has never been to your boudoir, so he doesn't know what you arranged it according to."
“This garden… people always pass by, what if the prince comes one day and recognizes it…”
She didn't say what she meant after that, but Yao Youqing understood what she meant.
Wei Hong has a grudge against Yao Yuzhi. If he knew that his garden had been transformed into the Yao family garden, he would definitely not be happy.
But……
"The prince has never been to our residence, how could he recognize us?"
Yao Youqing said.
Wei Hong left the capital to establish his own residence at the age of eleven. Before that, he lived in the palace and had never been to the Yao family. After arriving in his fiefdom, it goes without saying that he never went there.
Someone who has never been to the Yao family would naturally not know what the Yao family garden looks like.
"As long as we don't tell him, he won't find out!"
Yao Youqing opened her clear, big eyes and said with a playful tone.
Zhou's mother hesitated, but Yao Youqing tugged at her sleeve and shook it gently: "Zhou's mother, please promise me. No one will recognize us except our own family."
She is the eldest daughter of the Yao family and the princess of the Qin Prince's mansion. If she insists on doing something, Zhou Mama, as a servant, cannot stop her.
Although they were nominally master and servant, they were more like family. Especially after Yao Youqing's mother passed away, she became even more dependent on her and would ask for her opinion on everything. If she really felt it was inappropriate, she would usually give up, because she knew that Zhou Mama was definitely doing it for her own good.
Mother Zhou naturally felt that what she was doing was very inappropriate, but when she thought about how her young lady had married far away and was not favored by her husband, and that she might have to spend her whole life alone in this empty inner courtyard, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Since life is already so difficult, why not find some joy in the midst of hardship and make yourself happier?
She nodded in agreement, but still felt that she should inform the King of Qin about this matter.
Instead of telling him that it was modified to resemble the Yao family garden, at least tell him that they want to start construction in the garden and renovate it.
So she immediately sent someone to the front yard to inform them of the news, but the servant told her that the prince had already left.
Madam Zhou assumed that the Prince of Qin had simply left the residence on business, and said, "Then let's talk about it when the Prince returns tonight."
The man told her, "The prince won't be back tonight either. The steward of the front courtyard told me that the prince has left the city and may not be back for two or three months."
Mrs. Zhou was taken aback, and a surge of anger rose in her heart.
The newlywed husband not only abandoned his bride on their wedding night, leaving her alone in the empty room, but also left Hucheng the next day, and was gone for months without even saying goodbye!
Because of yesterday's events, the servants of the Prince's manor already looked down on their young lady, especially that girl named Chizhu. Now, things are even worse; they're going to make their young lady even more despised!
Her face turned pale with anger, and Yao Youqing quickly comforted her: "Mother Zhou, don't be angry. The Prince holds an important position, so he must have had something urgent to attend to before leaving in a hurry. I'm not in a rush to repair this courtyard. I'll ask him when he comes back."
Mrs. Zhou was annoyed: "How did the Princess know he had urgent business to attend to? Maybe he was..."
He left because he was unhappy with the marriage and didn't want to stay with the young lady!
She realized she had misspoke halfway through her sentence and stopped, but Yao Youqing understood and laughed, "How could that be? Mother, you're overthinking it. Hu City is where the Prince's mansion is located, it's his own home. Even if he doesn't like me, there's no reason for him to hide elsewhere just to avoid me."
How can you give up your home just because you dislike someone, and then avoid them yourself?
How could the King of Qin be the kind of person who would wrong himself?
Mother Zhou thought about it and realized that she had only been thinking about her young mistress and hadn't understood such a simple truth in a moment of impulsiveness.
She glanced at her young mistress beside her, whose face was calm and whose eyes were clear. Her heart, which had been in turmoil since leaving the capital, finally began to calm down. All the previous emotions, such as anxiety, fear, loss, unease, resentment, and worry, disappeared, as if she had found her pillar of support.
The thought popped into her head, and she smiled again, affectionately patting her head.
"Then we'll have someone find some craftsmen later and start working on the garden today."
Yao Youqing exclaimed, "Is that alright? Should we wait for the Prince to return and ask him first?"
“No need,” said Madam Zhou. “Didn’t Lord Cui say yesterday that this inner quarters will be yours from now on, Miss? You can arrange it however you like.”
"Since His Highness has instructed him to say so, he certainly won't go back on his word."
After saying that, she added quietly, "As long as we don't let him know that it was modified according to the Yao Family Garden, that's fine!"
Yao Youqing covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes crinkling, and nodded: "We won't tell him!"
...
The garden renovation was thus decided, and for a long time to come, the palace was under construction, with construction workers coming and going every day.
The stewards in the front yard were very dedicated and did not deliberately neglect Yao Youqing because of Wei Hong's coldness towards her. Together with the servants of the Yao family, they handled everything very well. As long as Zhou Mama gave an instruction, she didn't need to worry about anything else. They would take care of everything and do it very well, leaving no room for complaint.
As the garden began to take shape with everyone's concerted efforts, Ding Shou gradually approached the capital city with the pill.