Although the outcome wasn’t entirely as desired, it hadn’t turned out too badly. The Noble Imperial Consort’s willingness to compromise genuinely surprised Ding Yi. “Was it because the Empress mentioned the Retired Emperor? Your mother became happy and therefore showed me special leniency?”
Hong Ce fidgeted with his prayer beads, saying distantly, “I know she suffers inside. Sometimes she gets too fixated on things, making herself unhappy.”
Aren’t all people who feel deeply like this? Ding Yi said, “We can’t blame her. If I were in her position, I’d also feel that life had lost its joy. Women and men are different. No matter how capable a woman is, ultimately she must depend on a man. Providing food and clothing isn’t most important—what matters is that you care about her and keep her in your heart.” She moved closer, hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder, looking up to say, “For instance, with us—we’re getting along so well, but if suddenly one day you fancy someone else and cast me aside… just thinking about it makes my heart go cold.”
They made their journey home as the lanterns were first being lit. Near the end of the year, merchants kept their stalls open late. The streets were lined with peddlers, with lanterns hanging high on their carrying poles. Those lights connected one after another, shining through the glass-paned carriage windows, illuminating his face. His features carried a warm tenderness, and his smile showed even more affection as he said softly, “In this world, there are countless people. To find someone suitable among these countless individuals—do you think that’s simple? I am a prince, a noble. If I wanted women, I wouldn’t even need to ask. When I was in Khalkha, the left and right wings sent me beauties, all young ladies of fifteen or sixteen, as lovely as flowers, but I kept none of them. I just thought that when I returned to the Central Plains, I would find someone I could truly connect with and live peacefully with until old age. Perhaps because I knew from childhood how difficult love can be—my mother provided me with a tragic example—I’ve been particularly serious about this matter.”
“Then I should thank your mother. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been my turn—you would have belonged to someone else long ago.” After thinking for a moment, she paused and added, “You say those girls were like flowers. Compared to them, I must fall short, right?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Indeed! The first time I saw you, you were small, effeminate, standing in the blazing sun with your head tilted and eyes squinted, like a simpleton.”
She gave a soft laugh. “And later?”
“Later…” He stroked his chin. “Stubborn, unlucky, talkative…” Finally, he poked her chest. “And this is small.”
Ding Yi’s face flushed crimson. This man was too improper! She had thought him a gentleman, but who knew he would reveal his true nature while talking. She protested, pinching the back of his hand, “It’s not like I wanted it that way—it was my difficult circumstances! I wish I could be… bigger, but I had to bind them with cloth all the time. How could they grow?”
“And now? They’ve been unbound for some time. Let me see later.” His smile was both roguish and melancholic. Another year had passed, wasted away.
She squirmed a little. “Are your hands cold? Let me warm them.” Then she opened her fur cloak and placed his hand over her heart.
Her frank temperament was truly impeccable. Instead, Hong Ce felt a bit embarrassed, with a faint blush creeping up his cheeks, yet he didn’t withdraw his hand. His mouth changed the subject, “Let’s check the calendar later to see when the Beginning of Spring falls. We can still make some arrangements before the decree is issued. There should be enough time.”
“There’s no need to try so hard,” she said. “Rank means as little to me as a marriage certificate—it just means I can stay at the post station legitimately. Without it, I’d still find a place to stay, just not in your Duke Chun’s mansion, but in Vinegar Bureau Alley instead.”
Hong Ce expressed dissatisfaction with her indifferent attitude toward such matters. “Don’t you want to be paired with me, so when people see us, they can point and say, ‘There’s the couple’?”
She thought for a moment, then slowly smiled. “That would be nice. I’d like people to say that. But if that’s not my fate, I don’t mind, as long as I’m the only one in your heart.”
He grabbed her chest in a gesture of frustration. “Once you become Consort Fujin, you’ll be branded as such. Even if you’re later elevated, you’ll still be seen as promoted from a secondary position, falling short in dignity.”
She gave a small cry, hunching her shoulders and shrinking back a bit. “If I don’t mind, why are you so anxious?”
“This person is…” It was a classic case of the eunuch being more anxious than the emperor. He had no way to deal with her. He gently caressed her again. “They’ve grown.”
“Really?” She was delighted. “I thought so too. I made new undergarments some time ago, but when I took them out to wear yesterday, they were too small…”
He quickly covered her mouth. There were still two drivers outside. Speaking in veiled terms was fine, but being so explicit would invite mockery.
Ding Yi realized that such intimate talk shouldn’t be overheard by others and hastily tucked her face into her gray squirrel fur muff.
The horse’s hooves clip-clopped, and the carriage swayed. She had a knack for riding in carriages, keeping her head balanced while her waist moved with the flow, creating a graceful, beautiful sway. He rested his chin on his hand and watched her for a while, his eyes fixed on her, but his mind was elsewhere. “Tomorrow I need to enter the palace for an audience with the Emperor. Duke Jilantai caught me—he once conspired with horse merchants to assassinate the Salt Control Commissioner of Zhejiang. Someone covered for him at the time, allowing him to escape punishment. Recently, after much effort, I found the widow of that commissioner. She has account books that her husband kept privately, with clear details. Once the Emperor sees them, he’ll understand the situation. I only need to expose one person, and the rest will be easier to handle. Hong Zan is too slippery—he’s evaded investigation several times, but I’m not in a hurry. I have ways to make him walk into my trap.”
The case involving Ding Yi’s father was connected to an old case, tracing upward from the bottom with intricate relationships between the people involved. She didn’t understand much about such matters and only asked, “Why didn’t the commissioner’s wife file a complaint? Since she had evidence, why hide it for so long without seeking justice for her husband?”
He turned his face and smiled faintly, “If they could kill a commissioner, dealing with a mere woman would be even easier. The commissioner’s wife isn’t a fool. She has children and has to protect herself. Besides, filing a complaint isn’t as simple as wanting to do so. If the courts won’t accept it, they’ll charge you with falsely accusing an imperial official, and you won’t even get to see people from the Censorate or Ministry of Justice.”
She frowned, leaning against the cushion, and nodded, “I know about this. After all, I worked in government offices for some years and witnessed cases where people couldn’t find justice.”
He smiled, “What you’ve seen is nothing. You followed your master in dealing with punishments. How much could you know about what happens in the court? Executioners aren’t needed during trials, so what you’ve heard is merely superficial. The officialdom is too dark. The Emperor sits in the bright hall, wanting to clear all injustices under heaven, but can he accomplish it? Higher intentions don’t reach below, and those receiving imperial salaries play tricks along the way. The Emperor becomes blind and deaf, unable to discern everything. Now that I’ve fallen into your hands, otherwise, who would disturb that nest of ash and offend so many people?”
She smiled sheepishly, “Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness. Shall I massage you?”
He enjoyed that, comfortably stretching his long legs and pointing to his calves, “Here… I’ll write to Ru Jian later, asking him to return to the capital. It won’t be long before the truth is revealed, and I’m afraid we’ll have a tough battle to fight!”
She placed his leg on her lap and massaged it slowly, becoming afraid when she heard him mention a tough battle. “My third brother won’t be implicated, will he?”
After a moment of silence, he replied, “I’ll do my best. It shouldn’t be too bad.”
This frightened her even more. “Why are you only telling half the story? Aren’t you just scaring me? If there’s a risk, don’t let my third brother get involved. Even if the case can’t be overturned, I accept it.”
He gave her a helpless look. “Do you know what it means to be caught in a situation where you can’t back down?”
She hung her head. “It seems that the tactic of saying little and kowtowing often won’t work anymore.”
He made a sound of agreement. “Is that what you did in front of my mother?”
“What else could I do? Talk big? I’d be surprised if she didn’t slap me across the face! Those well-bred young ladies from noble families don’t talk much. I need to learn from them so she won’t look down on me even more.” She looked at him dolefully. “Hong Ce, what about my third brother?”
He smiled bitterly, stroking her face. “I said I’d do my best. There will be many people at the trial, and any favoritism must be subtle. Even if he suffers somewhat, at least his life won’t be in danger.”
Ding Yi’s heart ached. Ru Jian probably knew about these things, yet he still wanted to clear their father’s name. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes.
Seeing her like this, he felt at a loss and hurried to comfort her, saying, “It’ll be alright. With me looking after things, it won’t be too bad. If you don’t want to live under a false identity, you’ll have to go through something like this sooner or later. Just grit your teeth, endure it, and it will pass. Don’t cry—it makes me anxious. If you have something to say, just say it. How does crying help?”
She sniffled, “I just think Ru Jian is too pitiful. He kept things bottled up inside without telling me. I always thought he was opening mountains, doing business, living a comfortable life.”
He sighed, stroking her hair. “Men and women are different. There are some things men would rather die for than surrender, such as ideals, such as dignity.”
She understood his meaning but couldn’t comprehend that state of mind. In her previous life among common people, as long as she had enough to eat and wear, there was nothing she couldn’t compromise on. Now she even thought that if they had crossed the border into foreign lands back then, perhaps Ru Jian wouldn’t have to face danger.
But if she left Great Ying, she would never have continued her fate with him. She hugged his neck, pressing her face against the dragon pattern on his shoulder. She ultimately believed in him. With him there, any difficulty could be overcome.
The journey home was somewhat long, and she grew drowsy, leaning against his chest and dozing. She felt him patting her back gently, one stroke after another as if soothing a child. She smiled, the smile lingering at the corners of her mouth, and in her hazy state, she leaned forward to kiss his Adam’s apple. He trembled slightly, holding her even tighter.
When they arrived home, he carried her from the carriage. She rubbed her eyes, wanting to walk by herself, but he wouldn’t allow it, carrying her straight into the bedroom.
His pace was somewhat hurried, and he placed her on the bed with the same urgency. Her eyelids were heavy, unable to open, as she heard the rustle of him removing his clothes. Soon he joined her on the bed, softly calling her “love meat,” which made her giggle. She didn’t answer but placed her hand over her eyes.
He undid her clothes, his burning lips meandering downward. She wasn’t afraid, just nervous, her stiff arms clinging to him. He was a strong, magnificent man, with powerful hands beneath his refined exterior, each movement capable of shattering one’s heart.
A lamp burned on the table, screened by a floor-length shade, and behind the fine tassels stood a huge brass mirror. In the dim lamplight, the reflection of two figures appeared. She was too embarrassed to look, yet couldn’t help stealing glances. Amid rapid breathing, his taut waist emerged—a silhouette she had never imagined before, like the elegant curve of a bow arm, poised and full of power.
She winced in pain, curling her limbs. He bent down to kiss her, a sweat-dampened strand of hair falling and brushing against her cheek, tickling her. Through the haze, she saw his face, like a premium gold-and-blue landscape painting—his handsome features were like mountains outlined with colored powder, his affectionate lips like the extraordinary peaks drawn with gold hooks and iron lines. It felt as if she had fallen into the deep sea, unable to reach heaven above or earth below, just floating, all her senses filled with him. He swallowed her whimpers, leaving only clusters of goosebumps on her exposed skin, trembling as a storm swept over her.
She couldn’t remember how long it lasted, her soul seemingly flying beyond her body in a daze. When she awoke, the candles had extinguished, and there was light shining on the window from outside. She turned to look at the person beside her. He was in deep slumber, his face in dreams rarely showing such innocence, without sharp edges—just a simple man.
She raised her hand to tuck the blanket around him. He was a light sleeper and woke with the slightest touch, mumbling, “Is it dawn?”
Ding Yi propped herself up to push open the window, opening a small crack. Fine snowflakes scattered in, revealing that the light was a reflection of the snow.
“It’s snowing again…” Before she could finish, he pulled her back into the blanket.
“You dare push the window without clothes?” he scolded. “There are people on night duty in the corridor. Aren’t you afraid of being seen?”
She pouted, “Didn’t you ask me if it was dawn? I was just checking.”
“I was just saying it casually.” He pinched the tip of her nose. “Silly girl. Tomorrow I’ll get you a Western clock and teach you to tell time.”
Her warm body moved closer, pressing against his chest. Her body temperature was naturally higher than his, almost like a small stove. He pulled her into his embrace and sighed, “If only I had met you when I was in Khalkha, then I wouldn’t have worried about cold nights.”
But she detected a teasing tone and struggled to ask, “To serve you in bed every night?”
“What are you thinking!” He caught her. “Don’t move around. Are you planning for another round?”
She blushed scarlet. “The decree hasn’t been issued yet. You’re not keeping your word.”
“I couldn’t control myself for a moment.” He was honest enough, readily admitting, “It was my fault… Do you think you’ll get pregnant?”
Is it that easy to have a child? She said, “Probably not. Didn’t anything happen last time? Many women get married but can’t bear children, begging for help everywhere. We’d better not be like that.”
He nodded and said, “Then I’ll be more diligent. It should work.”
With him, every third sentence returned to his old occupation. She cast him a disdainful glance. “I’ve heard that eating ‘girl fruit’ can help conceive a daughter.”
He recalled the lantern fruit he had seen on his way back from court, peeled and bright yellow. “You mean those sold at small stalls with a sign saying ‘Girl fruit sold by the catty, twelve taels per big unit’?”
“Yes, that’s it.” Her face lit up with joy. “The unripe ones are sour, but the ripe ones are sweet!”
She was still a child. Though she had suffered, her mind wasn’t fully mature. The world in her eyes was always a little more interesting than in others. He agreed, “Alright. When I return from the palace, I’ll detour to the market and see. If they have some taken from storage for sale, I’ll buy a couple of catties. After eating them, we’ll have a daughter.”
It was strange to talk about having children before even being married, but since the Noble Imperial Consort had given her approval, there shouldn’t be any more surprises. She let out a gentle sigh. Now they just waited for Ru Jian to return, for her father’s case to be resolved smoothly, and for Ru Jian and Hai Lan to get married. Then everyone would have their happy ending.