The matter of the marriage alliance to Dongying had temporarily come to a conclusion. The candidates had all been decided. All that remained was to wait for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to calculate an auspicious date and for the Ministry of Rites to prepare the ceremonial protocols for the princess’s marriage alliance.
But Shen Huiyi couldn’t feel happy. She felt her life had become like duckweed floating on water, liable at any moment to be caught in a wave and carried to an unknown place, drifting on the water’s surface until finally rotting and sinking to the bottom—what kind of place was Dongying? She’d heard that even silks and satins had to be smuggled there by pirates. The various feudal lords and daimyo were constantly at war with each other. This time, this great lord who had temporarily secured his position came to seek marriage with the princess—wasn’t it precisely to borrow Great Zhou’s power to establish a firm foothold and unite Dongying?
Even if she could endure all these hardships, so what? Serving as a secondary bride to the Ninth Princess, such a volatile golden branch and jade leaf—even if it didn’t kill her, she’d lose half her life. Who knew how the Ninth Princess would torment her once they got there? Most likely, whenever anything happened, the Ninth Princess would use her as an outlet for anger. This was the first time she so deeply regretted that back then, she had been so eager to excel and had insisted on begging Lady He to ask Imperial Concubine Zhuang to secure this position and become the Ninth Princess’s study companion.
She had already cried until her throat was parched and smoking, but Lady He didn’t even have time to come comfort her—she was busy cleaning up the mess left by that future daughter-in-law, Miss Tong Shao. Thanks to that young miss, Duke Yingguo’s residence had offended both Changning Earl’s residence and the Cui family at the last chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, and even Old Madam Chen had left with a dark expression.
She cried until she was breathless, finally waiting for her exhausted elder sister-in-law Lady Yang and her older sister Shen Huixin.
Shen Huixin sighed and embraced her, earnestly persuading: “Don’t be too sad. You’ve also seen the situation at home now. It might as well be better to marry out early—that’s actually a good thing. Look what Mother and elder sister-in-law have been tormented into? Even Grandmother has been angered into illness.”
Lady Yang was tactful and smooth in her dealings, serving Lady He as she would her own birth mother, and Lady He had always treated her well. Shen Huixin and Shen Huiyi therefore had a reasonably harmonious relationship with her. At this moment, Shen Huiyi looked at Lady Yang through tear-blurred eyes and indeed saw several bright red marks on Lady Yang’s fair neck. She couldn’t help but freeze, even forgetting to cry, clutching Shen Huixin’s arm and asking: “What happened? She hasn’t even married in yet and she dares to lay hands on elder sister-in-law?!”
Lady Yang’s tears immediately welled up. While hastily taking out a handkerchief to wipe them, she shook her head: “This is nothing for me. It’s Mother who’s really troubled. She has to send people everywhere to apologize, while still having to accommodate this young mistress—she nearly coughed up blood.”
Shen Huiyi grabbed Shen Huixin’s hand, so angry her voice changed pitch: “Is this how Marquis Wuning’s residence teaches their daughter?! At the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, she first spoke disrespectfully and offended Song Six, then later even offended Sister Mingyu and Yueheng—can’t anyone even say a few words to her?”
Shen Huixin wearily rubbed her brow and patted Shen Huiyi’s shoulder: “So you should just settle down. If you make any more fuss, Mother really won’t be able to go on living. I’m an already-married daughter—why do I still have to stay home these past few days? Isn’t it because she’s difficult to serve, and you’ve been granted the title of princess?” Lady Yang kept nodding: “Speaking of it, it’s fortunate that you, Huiyi, were granted the title of princess and will soon be going as a secondary bride. Otherwise, with her being such a muddled person, who knows if she might make trouble for you too. She’s utterly shameless, and her whole family are unreasonable rogues. Once you get entangled with them, you can’t shake them off.”
Shen Huiyi leaned against the pillow, pressed her lips together, and finally stopped crying. Elder sister-in-law and elder sister were right. Even Father, who had always been strong-willed, was avoiding this plague god. Mother, elder sister-in-law, and elder sister were all helpless against her. As an unmarried younger sister-in-law, if it weren’t for the marriage alliance matter, in her eyes wouldn’t she just be a doormat to be beaten and scolded at will?
She gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and stood up, storming outside in fury: “I’m going to ask her right now whether she’s dissatisfied with His Majesty’s decree granting me the title of princess. Otherwise, why would she be making such wild trouble without restraint!”
Compared to Shen Huiyi, who had cried once and then figured things out in a carefree manner, Han Yueheng was truly on the verge of despair. For the first time, she clutched Little Lady Fan’s legs and wailed: “Mother, save me! Please beg Aunt, beg her to help me. I don’t want to go to Dongying. What kind of place is Dongying?”
Little Lady Fan only felt her throat go sour. She numbly raised her hand, trembling as she stroked her daughter’s hair, looking at her daughter’s delicate and lovely face. Her lips quivered several times, but she couldn’t say a single word.
Go beg? When had she ever had any face to speak of before Big Lady Fan? Moreover, she hadn’t lived these years in vain—she had a rough idea of how many people in the Ministry of Rites were Zhou Weiqi’s pawns. If Big Lady Fan had even the slightest bit of affection for Han Yueheng, Han Yueheng couldn’t possibly have been designated to serve as a secondary bride—this matter, for Big Lady Fan, was merely a matter of opening her mouth. She only needed to ask the Crown Prince, who would then mention it to Her Majesty the Empress, and how could the Empress refuse over such a small matter?
But Big Lady Fan did nothing. On the contrary, she had even summoned Han Yueheng to the palace beforehand and lectured her with a lot of grand principles, clearly instigating her to willingly go to Dongying. She had obviously already known before the decree came down that Han Yueheng would be going as a secondary bride.
Little Lady Fan closed her eyes, feeling pain in all her internal organs. Sometimes she truly didn’t understand why her biological sister treated her worse than an enemy. It wasn’t enough to torment her—she had to make her pair of children also sacrifice their entire lives, using them as her chess pieces to charge into battle for her.
Her pair of children were the only reason she still lingered on in this world and her softest concern that she couldn’t let go. Big Lady Fan was forcing her to die. No, no, no. She stared wide-eyed in panic, recalling the despair when her tongue had already extended out but she was still rescued. Her pupils dilated, and only after a long while did she let out a miserable sound.
Big Lady Fan wouldn’t allow her to die. If she died, her children would only fare worse. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t die.
For the first time in her life, she responded to her daughter. She reached out with both hands to hold her daughter’s shoulders and help her up, saying dryly: “Mother will think of a way.”
Han Yueheng’s eyes widened in shock. She had thought Mother would shake her head coldly as usual, since even Aunt, who had always doted on her, had advised her to go as a secondary bride for the marriage alliance.
Her heart felt sour. She threw herself into Little Lady Fan’s embrace, feeling for the first time that Mother truly was her mother.
The nanny behind her composed her expression with a solemn face, as if she had heard nothing of all this. Later, after serving Han Yueheng to sleep, she immediately sent a message to the outer courtyard.