The laughter echoed twice and then vanished as quickly as it had come. Mudan and the Princess Consort of Fen exchanged puzzled glances. The Princess Consort instructed Yinger, “Go and see who’s making such a commotion outside. Who let them in? They have no manners at all.”
Seeing how angry she was, Mudan guessed that the Princess Consort truly didn’t know what was happening. She relaxed and decided to wait and see how things unfolded.
Shortly after Yinger left, Madam Chen hurried in, beaming with joy. “My lady, you’ll never guess! Did you hear someone laughing just now?”
The Princess Consort frowned. “Of course, I heard it. Who was it?”
Realizing she had been too excited, Madam Chen composed herself. However, she couldn’t hide the joy in her voice as she said, “It was Young Master Si laughing.” Although he only laughed twice, the fact that he laughed at all was significant.
The Princess Consort abruptly stood up, her voice trembling. “What did you say?”
Madam Chen repeated, “Young Master Si was laughing. I was accompanying Miss Qing to look at flowers outside. When we reached the cliff chrysanthemums, Huangli had something to report. I told Miss Qing to wait there for me. Who would have thought I’d see three children throwing mud at each other?”
Madam Chen’s words were somewhat jumbled. It took Mudan a while to understand the gist of the story. Jiang Yunqing was left alone at the cliff chrysanthemums waiting for Madam Chen. Young Master Si and the youngest son of the Heir Apparent, the ten-year-old Fifteenth Young Master, came looking for the Princess Consort. The Fifteenth Young Master had become fascinated with puppet shows and wanted to use Young Master Si’s name to ask the Princess Consort to keep a small puppet troupe in the mansion. Unexpectedly, they encountered Jiang Yunqing. While Young Master Si didn’t react, the Fifteenth Young Master, holding a grudge against Jiang Yunqing for hitting Young Master Si before, dug up some mud from the pond’s edge and threw it at her.
At first, Jiang Yunqing endured silently, trying to avoid the mud and planning to leave. However, when a clump of mud hit her face, leaving her in a miserable state, she became furious. She grabbed some mud and retaliated. Both sides continued throwing mud at each other without a word, neither willing to back down. Old Woman Wu and Xiangcheng, witnessing this, dared not raise their voices and could only try to intervene, ending up covered in mud themselves. Young Master Si, who had been watching from the sidelines, eventually grabbed some mud and joined the fray. He hit Jiang Yunqing once, and she threw mud back at his face. Suddenly, he started laughing.
Madam Chen continued excitedly, “I heard something unusual and rushed to look. All the children were covered in mud like little monkeys. The amazing thing is that Young Master Si laughed.”
Mudan’s expression darkened slightly. With so many people in the prince’s mansion, she couldn’t believe that Young Master Si and the Fifteenth Young Master didn’t have attendants watching them, yet they were allowed to bully Jiang Yunqing like this. And what about Madam Chen? She had been outside the whole time. Did she not notice until it was too late? Did she only intervene when she was satisfied that Young Master Si had laughed? Moreover, while Young Master Si and the Fifteenth Young Master were acting childishly, Jiang Yunqing was not. She was a young lady of marriageable age. She was here as a guest, not to be someone’s outlet for anger or to be made a fool of. What would Jiang Yunqing think of this situation?
Since Mudan had brought Jiang Yunqing here, she felt responsible for ensuring her safety and well-being. She stood up and said, “Are they still at it? I’ll go take a look. Qing’er has a reserved nature and tends to overthink things. She’s also stubborn and not very outgoing. She’s young and might not know her strength. I’m afraid she might hurt someone.”
Hearing the tone in Mudan’s voice, Madam Chen realized her mistake. She had been so focused on making Young Master Si happy that she hadn’t considered how this might be seen as bullying or disrespecting a guest. Feeling embarrassed, she avoided answering Mudan directly and instead called for someone to separate the children and stop their play before anyone got hurt. She also ordered Jiang Yunqing to be brought in to clean up and change clothes.
“Dan’er, don’t go. Those little rascals might accidentally hurt you. Yinger, go help Miss Qing inside. Tell Young Fifteenth to kneel in the corridor and wait for his punishment. That naughty boy is getting more and more out of hand. He needs to be disciplined properly,” the Princess Consort of Fen stopped Mudan, giving Madam Chen a reproachful look. She then instructed a servant to prepare hot water, cosmetics, and other necessities for Jiang Yunqing and her maids to clean up.
Feeling guilty, Madam Chen slipped away, saying, “I’ll go find some clothes for them.”
Once Madam Chen and Yinger had left, the Princess Consort smiled at Mudan and said, “Dan’er, don’t be angry. She means well, but she only has eyes for this child. She’s not very tactful and can sometimes lose perspective. I’ll have her apologize to Qing’er later.”
“It was just an accident. Chen… After all, she’s just acting out of motherly love,” Mudan sighed softly. She knew it wasn’t realistic to expect Madam Chen to apologize to Jiang Yunqing. Blame Young Master Si? He clearly didn’t understand what was happening. As for the Fifteenth Young Master, he was already being punished by kneeling in the corridor, and the Princess Consort had mentioned disciplining him further. There was no chance she would say one thing in front of them and do another behind their backs. Jiang Yunqing had hit Young Master Si before, and the prince’s mansion hadn’t held it against her. Now it was the Fifteenth Young Master who had misbehaved, and although Madam Chen had acted inappropriately, the Princess Consort had personally addressed it. What more could Mudan ask for? The best she could do now was to comfort Jiang Yunqing.
The Princess Consort nodded, “I’m glad you understand her feelings. She has spent all her energy on this child, and her greatest wish is to see him smile and live in peace and prosperity. Peace and prosperity are easy to achieve in a family like ours, but seeing this child truly happy is rare. I never expected that Young Master Si would actually… This is truly extraordinary.”
There were some things she couldn’t say outright, but she truly hadn’t expected that Young Master Si’s two firsts would both be related to Jiang Yunqing. This was what they called fate. She had also inquired about Jiang Yunqing’s situation. Jiang Yunqing wasn’t favored at home, and her birth mother’s status was very low, so her prospects were essentially bleak. Being a concubine’s daughter, out of favor, not particularly beautiful or capable – these were secondary concerns. The most important thing was that Jiang Yunqing herself had no bad reputation, and Young Master Si was interested in her. That alone was enough.
Mudan sensed that the Princess Consort was about to bring up the matter of Jiang Yunqing, but she was reluctant to agree. It was true that she and Jiang Changyang relied heavily on the prince’s mansion in many ways, and the Princess Consort had indeed been very kind to them. However, Young Master Si was not a normal child. Putting herself in Jiang Yunqing’s shoes, would she choose such a marriage if she were in Jiang Yunqing’s position and status? The answer was obvious. Sympathy was one thing, but love and life were another. Unless she had no other choice and was desperate, she wouldn’t agree to it.
“The Duke of Pingyang is very intelligent and kind. The Princess Consort and Madam Chen have raised him well,” Mudan gently picked up on the Princess Consort’s words, looking boldly at her.
The Princess Consort frowned as she looked at Mudan. Mudan tried to keep her smile and gaze as gentle as possible. There were things she would do and things she wouldn’t. She could bring Jiang Yunqing to attend this banquet, but she absolutely would not act as a messenger for the Princess Consort in this matter. Regardless of how things might end up between Jiang Yunqing and Young Master Si, or whether the Princess Consort would be angry about it, she wouldn’t do it.
After a moment of silent eye contact, the Princess Consort sighed softly, lowering her gaze and touching her forehead. “Very well. I won’t force you. This is my affair, after all. I’ll ask her myself.” She smiled bitterly, no longer hiding her intentions. “Although it’s said that marriages are arranged by parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words if the Duke’s family agrees, she won’t have a way out. But I know well that if she’s unwilling, if it’s not wholehearted, bringing her into the family would only harm two people. The whole family would be in turmoil. What’s the point of that?”
Seeing her being so straightforward, Mudan felt a bit guilty. She said, “The weather is getting colder. I recently acquired a white fox fur. If you don’t mind, I could have someone make it into a small warming accessory for you?”
“Heh,” the Princess Consort chuckled softly, reaching out to gently stroke Mudan’s cheek. “Alright, I’ll accept your apology.”
Mudan smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you, Princess Consort. I’ll go meet Yunqing now. The young lady is shy and might be crying from embarrassment.” She then stood up and went to the door to receive Jiang Yunqing. As she stood at the entrance, she saw a mud-covered figure kneeling in the corridor not far away. His body and face were covered in mud, with only his eyeballs moving actively. When he saw her looking, he made a face at her. Mudan guessed this must be the Fifteenth Young Master, but she ignored him and looked for Jiang Yunqing instead.
When she saw Jiang Yunqing being supported by Yinger, Mudan was shocked. Jiang Yunqing’s hair, body, and face were covered in mud, emitting a foul odor of silt. Her eyes were wide open, and her lips were pale from biting them. It was clear she was extremely angry, yet she managed to calmly greet the Princess Consort, saying in a flat tone, “Yunqing has been disrespectful. Please don’t blame me, Princess Consort.”
Seeing her state, the Princess Consort wanted to laugh but dared not. She said kindly, “It’s our fault for letting this happen to you. I will severely punish the Fifteenth Young Master to make amends.” She then repeatedly called for people to help Jiang Yunqing clean up. Jiang Yunqing thanked her and remembered to ask, “I have two servants who also need to wash up. May I trouble the Princess Consort to lend them a place to clean themselves?”
Seeing how calm and composed Jiang Yunqing was, neither crying nor making a fuss, and how considerate she was in her actions, the Princess Consort felt even more fond of her. Her thoughts shifted slightly. If Jiang Yunqing had only cried or hidden when bullied, unable to fight back, she might have looked down on her. In a big family, how could there not be some unpleasant incidents? It was good that she had some spirit and dared to fight back when bullied. However, while gold is easy to obtain, a true heart is hard to find. It would only work if Jiang Yunqing was willing. Thinking of this, the Princess Consort felt sad again.
At that moment, a series of rapid footsteps were heard, and Young Master Si rushed in. He ignored everyone else and went straight to Jiang Yunqing, holding out his dirty hand in front of her and staring at her intently.
Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what he would do. Jiang Yunqing stared blankly at Young Master Si’s hand. In his palm crawled a black ant, slightly larger than ordinary ants. Jiang Yunqing frowned as she looked at the ant without moving. Was he treating her as a playmate?
“Xiao Si,” the Princess Consort called cautiously, “Qing’er doesn’t like ants.”
Young Master Si seemed not to hear the Princess Consort’s voice. He stubbornly kept his hand in front of Jiang Yunqing, nudging the ant back whenever it tried to crawl away. This continued several times. Jiang Yunqing took a deep breath and, gathering her courage, caught the ant.