She also needed to go out to take her seat at the banquet. After comforting Song Chuyi and instructing the palace maids to serve her well, she patted Song Chuyi’s hand and went out.
The sky gradually darkened. Nanny Xu was worrying about how to arrange bathing and changing clothes when the nanny sent by the Crown Princess began explaining the layout of Yong’an Palace to Qing Ying and Qing Tao.
The Crown Princess had thought things through thoroughly. Qing Ying and Qing Tao, who had come as part of the dowry, couldn’t help but feel relieved, and happily went in to tell Nanny Xu. A genuine smile appeared on Nanny Xu’s face. Although His Highness the Crown Prince’s Grandson was fond of Song Chuyi, having such thoughtfulness from her future mother-in-law was what truly put one at ease. She smiled and moved closer to Song Chuyi to ask: “Miss, shall we go change clothes and bathe first?”
The phoenix coronet had been pressing on her head all afternoon. Song Chuyi, despite having experienced marriage before, had never worn such a heavy phoenix coronet. Moreover, in her previous life, how could she have had the treatment of circling the city twice? It had been merely a sedan chair carried into Duke Yingguo’s mansion, with all ceremonies simplified. Now remarrying, the experience from last time was completely useless, which made her feel somewhat discouraged.
Now hearing Nanny Xu speak this way, she hesitated again: “Need I not wait for His Highness to return?”
Qing Ying quickly picked up the conversation: “His Highness specifically instructed the Princess to tell you not to sit and wait for him, but to bathe and rest as you please.”
Only then did Song Chuyi nod, allowing Nanny Xu, Qing Ying, and Qing Tao to serve her as she walked around the screen into the adjacent bathing room.
The bathing room of Yong’an Palace was tiled with marble. Against the northwest corner were placed two wardrobes made of chicken-wing wood. On the left was one with a mirror, along with a painted washbasin stand. Beside it was also placed a noble consort’s daybed.
In the middle was a sunken pool. Once the gate was opened, hot water continuously gushed out. The palace maids didn’t enter, but through the gauze curtain softly told Qing Ying where the bathing items were placed.
Nanny Xu first helped Song Chuyi take down her hair, using a hairpin to pin it up, before helping her into the pool.
Qing Ying and Qing Tao had already taken out her customarily used bath beans and fragrant soap from the cabinet. Additionally, there was a basket of rose petals that had been prepared in advance. Seeing this, Qing Tao smiled: “Earlier I was worried we’d be completely in the dark with many inconveniences, but now it seems, where would there be any inconvenience? I’m afraid it’s even more thorough than at home.”
These words naturally had an element of exaggeration, but it was true that everything in Yong’an Palace revealed thoughtfulness everywhere. Nanny Xu smiled until her face creased—although she had heard that Zhou Weizhao currently had no other attendants around him, only upon arriving at Yong’an Palace did she know it was truly the case. Not only were there none, there weren’t even any intimately close palace maids or concubines. Yong’an Palace was clean and clear. The palace maids all knew propriety and were dutiful, showing that whether the Crown Princess or Zhou Weizhao, both were extremely attentive. With such attentiveness, why would one need to worry that life wouldn’t be good?
The hot water was at a moderate temperature. Song Chuyi submerged her face in the water, watching through layer upon layer of ripples as Qing Tao above scattered petals by the handful. She felt somewhat like laughing, but more than that, she felt nervous.
Someone called from outside. Nanny Xu left Qing Tao and Qing Ying to attend to her and went out herself.
When Song Chuyi finished dressing and came out, she saw Nanny Xu and Ziyun arranging a meal, and couldn’t help feeling somewhat surprised.
“The Crown Princess specially sent her attendant Nanny Liang and Lady Xiangling to bring it.” Nanny Xu helped her sit down at the table: “Fearing you’d be hungry, she told you to settle your stomach first.”
Song Chuyi didn’t particularly like sweets, so there were no desserts on the table. There was a dish of red wine lees shad fish, a dish of stir-fried kidneys, and a dish of osmanthus whitebait. Additionally, there was an earthen pot of fresh shrimp congee and a clay pot of water shield and frog congee, plus two small dishes of chili peppers for seasoning.
Xiangling waited for Song Chuyi to be seated, then smiled and said: “Her Highness says these were all arranged according to what His Highness mentioned. If you don’t like them, another table can be prepared.”
They were all dishes she loved. Song Chuyi quickly shook her head: “No need to trouble. This is very good.”
Xiangling smiled with pressed lips. Both she and Nanny Liang generously accepted the red packets Lüyi handed over, then asked Song Chuyi if there were any other instructions. Seeing Song Chuyi shake her head with a smile, they turned to take their leave and went out.
Nanny Xu and Qing Tao attended Song Chuyi as she drank a small bowl of congee, when someone outside reported that His Highness had returned.
Song Chuyi’s previously maintained composure began to falter, and even her spoon became somewhat unsteady.
She hadn’t seen Zhou Weizhao for over ten days. She had finally built up her mental preparation, but just now when he lifted the veil, somehow even her heartbeat seemed to skip several beats. She couldn’t help feeling somewhat at a loss.
Zhou Weizhao had already entered. He rarely wore heavily colored garments, but this time he wore a bright red ceremonial robe that made one’s eyes brighten involuntarily. Nanny Xu and the others all smiled and called out “Your Highness.” The flickering candlelight in the room was particularly dazzling.
Song Chuyi moved her gaze to the gilt beauty-painted four-cornered palace lantern placed on the table, feigning composure.
Zhou Weizhao’s eyes—elegant yet never frivolous—fell upon her. He walked a few steps and sat down opposite her, softly calling her name: “Xiaoyi?”
She had just bathed. Her hair wasn’t yet fully wrung dry, carrying the fragrance after bathing. She wore a gauze gown made of layers of bright red overlapping-rhyme gauze. A wrist like white jade and congealed fat fell outside—beautiful as if she were a celestial consort descended from heaven. His gaze became even more burning.
Song Chuyi felt somewhat uncomfortable and lowered her head, softly humming in acknowledgment.
Nanny Xu and Qing Tao had already personally gone to collect the celebratory fruits scattered on the bed. Zhou Weizhao reached out to take Song Chuyi’s hand resting on the table, laughing softly: “Your brothers didn’t spare me any difficulty—they weren’t afraid of me in the slightest.”
Song Chuyi recalled Song Yan’s red-rimmed eyes the night before she left home. The nervousness in her heart unknowingly dissipated entirely, and her beautiful eyes brimmed with tears.
“I promised them I would definitely treat you well.” Taking advantage of Qing Tao and Nanny Xu not looking over, and with no one else in the room, he lowered his head and brought his mouth to her ear: “I will treat you even more preciously and carefully than they do.”
Who said that Zhou Weizhao, raised by Daoist priests since childhood, couldn’t speak sweet words? Song Chuyi was moved by him to the point of nearly crying again. Fortunately, Nanny Xu and Qing Tao had already made the bed and were coming over.
“You should eat something first…” Song Chuyi withdrew her hand, trying hard to suppress her tears, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s: “You reek of alcohol.”
Qing Zhuo was still worrying for him with seeming telepathy: “You say His Highness is completely drunk—will he still be able to… you know? I told him not to drink so much. The Prince Consort too, really… It wasn’t easy for our Highness to marry a wife, was it? If the Crown Prince’s Grandson Consort gets angry, who could withstand it?”
Han Feng rolled his eyes, unable to bear it any longer. He jumped up and gave him a knock on the head: “You’re a Daoist priest—why are you worrying about His Highness’s affairs?!”