Concubine Ren: “…”
Her features twisted together, her expression turning almost savage. In all her time in the Hua household, she had never been made to swallow such an insult! But the moment she looked up, what Concubine Ren saw was the purple-and-jade qilin pendant at Hua Chun’s waist, marking his status as Prime Minister.
He was the Prime Minister.
No matter what, there was nothing she could do to him. Even the Old Master, hearing him needle her so openly, would not step in to defend her even a word. She had thought Madam Wan’s smugness alone was enough to infuriate her — now she realized that being enraged half to death by Hua Jinghua while being able to do absolutely nothing about it was even more maddening!
For a moment she wanted to rush up and kill Hua Jinghua.
“Don’t get worked up.” Watching her expression, Hua Chun said: “One must stay calm in the face of trouble in order to find a good solution.”
Turning her head, she looked at Hua Zhengrong: “Father, this calamity was unavoidable for the Hua family — if it’s not me who suffers, then it will be Noble Consort Hua. What do you think?”
Old Master Hua was, in truth, someone who favored sons over daughters. The palace’s favor was ever fickle, and even though Liuying was a Noble Consort, he had never placed too much hope in her. Hua Jinghua was different — the Hua family still needed him to carry the family forward and bring it glory.
So, even though Hua Chun had clearly provoked Concubine Ren on purpose, he could only fold his hands behind his back and turn a blind eye, saying: “Liuying brought this upon herself; our Hua family cannot protect her. You also should not meddle too much in harem affairs — go back and attend to your duties. Once there’s word from the palace, I’ll have someone inform you.”
“Yes.” Hua Chun nodded in agreement.
This blatant favoritism made Concubine Ren even more breathless with anger, nearly fainting. Before she could burst into tears, Hua Chun hurriedly pulled Madam Wan away from the scene of the crime.
They had barely taken a few steps when they indeed heard wailing loud enough to blow the roof off.
“Fantastic!” Madam Wan’s grin nearly split her face ear to ear, gripping her hand happily: “It’s been so long since I married into this family, and this is the first time I’ve ever been this happy! Years of pent-up frustration seem to have burst out all at once — Huaer, you were amazing!”
Not content with just words, Madam Wan hugged her and planted a couple of kisses on her.
Infected by her mother’s smile, Hua Chun felt happy too, and the two of them practically skipped their way back to the small courtyard.
“Hua Liuying brought this on herself this time.” Once the door was shut, Hua Chun looked at Madam Wan and said: “It’s not that I wanted to harm her on purpose — infighting among our own is one thing, but dragging it out into the open is just giving others something to laugh at. This mindset of ‘if I’m not doing well, you shouldn’t either’ — Mother, you’d do well to have less of it.”
Startled for a moment, Madam Wan pouted at her: “You’ve grown up and now you’re the one lecturing your own mother?”
“It’s not a lecture.” Hua Chun shook her head: “We are, after all, an official’s household. I worry about you, son to mother. You got your revenge and it felt good this time — but from now on, avoid Concubine Ren, don’t provoke her on purpose. Even a cornered dog will jump the wall.”
In this regard, she had more than enough experience — how many people, out of jealousy and resentment, had schemed behind others’ backs, and she herself had nearly fallen victim to it more than once.
“Why should I?” Madam Wan didn’t understand: “We won, and I still have to avoid her? Every time she gets the upper hand she comes and gloats in front of me — now I’m not even allowed to give a little back?”
“Mother.” Hua Chun said, torn between laughing and sighing: “You’re not a child anymore. Just because someone steps on your foot, do you have to step back on theirs?”
Puffing out her cheeks, Madam Wan remained unconvinced: “I only know an eye for an eye! A wrong unavenged is not the way of a gentleman!”
“You’re also not exactly a gentleman — you’re a woman.” Handing her a cup of tea, Hua Chun said: “Trust me, I’m right about this. Go rest well — leave the rest to your son.”
After thinking it over, Madam Wan agreed, since Huaer these days really set her mind at ease, no longer suffering silent losses the way she used to.
Except…
Furrowing her brow, Madam Wan looked up at her: “Though I quite like how you are now, what exactly happened in between? Why does it seem like, ever since you took that flogging and came back, you suddenly had an awakening? You talk more than before, and you’re much livelier too.”
Hua Chun was startled.
See, see — all those stories about transmigrators going completely unnoticed were lies! The difference between her and the original Hua Jinghua was simply too great — how could her own mother not notice? What should she do? If the truth was slipping out, could she still keep playing along happily?
Her mind spun through several thoughts, and Hua Chun gave a dry laugh, looking at Madam Wan: “That beating from the Emperor knocked some sense into me. Life is short — why not live it openly and happily? What if one day His Majesty loses his temper again and beats me to death — then I wouldn’t even get the chance to regret not having said more to you.”
Momentarily stunned, Madam Wan was touched again, looking at her tenderly: “As long as you’ve thought it through clearly, whatever you choose to do, your mother will support you!”
“Good.”
After chatting a bit more, Hua Chun saw her off.
Since transmigrating here, the warmest person she’d met was Madam Wan. She didn’t know what kind of ending awaited her, but since she was Hua Jinghua’s birth mother, Hua Chun felt she ought to do her filial duty and treat her well.
He Chang’an returned to the palace once more, relaying the Prime Minister’s exact words to Yuwen Jie.
“I knew he’d say something like that.” The Emperor looked displeased: “Playing word games right in front of me — he’s certainly bold!”
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.” He Chang’an said with a smile: “Speaking fairly, this whole matter was Noble Consort Hua being unreasonable, turning against her own family. The Hua family’s courtyard renovation has little real connection to disaster relief. You should let Prime Minister Hua be.”
Glancing sideways at him, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed halfway: “It sounds like you have a favorable impression of that Hua Jinghua.”
“A bit, yes.” He Chang’an nodded readily, stroking his chin: “Doesn’t Your Majesty think so too? There’s something particularly captivating about Prime Minister Hua’s presence — very attractive.”
Particularly captivating? Yuwen Jie shook his head.
If anything was particularly notable, it was probably when Hua Jinghua kept a straight face while defying him — that was the moment most likely to make him want to drag the man out and have him executed on the spot.
Still, though He Chang’an always seemed easygoing and warm with his smiles, at his core he was extremely aloof — Yuwen Jie knew this well, being his friend of many years. This was practically the first time He Chang’an had met Hua Jinghua since returning to the capital, and it had played out like some hero-rescues-the-underdog scene — was that really enough to earn his favor?
Looking at him uneasily, the Emperor hesitated a moment before speaking: “Chang’an?”
“Hm?” He Chang’an was still lost in thought.
“You’re this old and still haven’t married. Is it perhaps…”
“What?” He looked up, staring blankly at the Emperor.
Taking a deep breath, Yuwen Jie’s eyes turned grave: “Do you perhaps like men?”
Huh?
Nearly toppling off the couch, He Chang’an was torn between laughing and crying: “What kind of thing is that for Your Majesty to say? I’ve simply never met someone I truly liked — how does that make me someone who likes men?”
“The way you look at Hua Jinghua is gentler than the way you look at any woman.” Yuwen Jie said: “Even when you met the foreign princess last time, I never saw you with that kind of look in your eyes.”
Wasn’t that just nonsense! He Chang’an gritted his teeth: “That foreign princess is only about half as good-looking as Prime Minister Hua — I’d look at her that way too, if she were!”