Chapter Sixty-Three Paying Respects

As soon as Jing Hu stepped through the threshold of the Qixue Pavilion, everything felt comfortingly familiar, bringing a deep sense of warmth.

The appeal of the Jianye Temporary Imperial Palace lay solely in the presence of Ke Mingxu. Once he returned ahead of her to Yanjing, she quickly found the scenery of the palace utterly dull and tasteless.

Naturally, she realized now that there was no place like home.

Nanny Zhao, who served beside Consort Xu, came out to greet her. "The little princess has finally returned! Her Ladyship has been talking about you for so long that this old servant's ears are almost worn out."

Of course her mother missed her. When she went down south to the Yangtze region last year, she had only stayed in Jiahe for a single month before sending off several letters urging her to return to Yanjing.

Naturally, she had refused. Her journey had only just begun, and traveling there had taken a good half-month.

By pestering her grandmother with sweet persistence and coaxing, she managed to have all those letters blocked, allowing her to comfortably spend nearly half a year in Jiahe, running wild every day with her favorite, mischievous second cousin, Xu Yu.

When boys got mischievous, they could be even wilder than her, so she had lived a remarkably joyful time during those days.

Upon her return, her mother had scolded her for being ungrateful, saying that despite her tender age, she was already eager to leave her mother and venture far from home. Yet, if she weren't so young, how could she be so carefree, thinking of nothing but play?

Down in the south, her grandmother's family was not considered wealthy, and her noble status as a princess did not carry much weight among the neighbors, who simply regarded her as some distant relative come to seek shelter.

No longer was everyone treating her with awe and reverence. Although she was never truly wronged, she ultimately gained a deeper understanding of human relationships and worldly ways.

Although her recent trip to Jianye was brief, hearing those words spoken by Jing Xun in the heat of the moment had left a lingering shadow of doubt in her heart. Acting as if nothing had happened was difficult, yet it was all she could do.

With a smile, she asked, "My mother missed me, but did Nanny miss me?"

As she spoke, she walked into the inner chamber, where Consort Xu was sitting on the couch by the window. "I heard long ago that you had entered the manor. How is it that changing your clothes took you so long?"

"You only come to pay your respects at this hour; it is clear that after going out to play for days, you haven't thought of me at all."

Jing Hu smiled brightly and sat down beside her. "I haven't seen Mother in so long, so I naturally had to dress up prettily before coming to the Qixue Pavilion. Choosing the right outfit took me half the day, which is why I am late."

Consort Xu looked her up and down. "This rose-purple color—didn't you dislike it before? How is it that you're wearing it again today?"

She continued, "You must have been running wild in the woods of Jianye, as you look somewhat tanned. I told your father long ago to keep a tighter rein on you, but neither father nor daughter ever listens to me."

Jing Hu seemed to have indeed found fault with this dress before, though she could no longer remember it, nor could Baolan, who managed her clothes and jewelry back at the Fangshi Pavilion. She certainly hadn't expected her mother to remember it so clearly.

Hearing her mother say she looked tanner, Jing Hu hurriedly jumped off the couch to check her reflection in the western standing mirror inside the inner chamber. The person in the mirror was still as radiant as an eastern pearl; how could she possibly be tanned?

"I'm not tanned at all, Mother is teasing me." Besides, she had only gone hunting with Jing Xun and his wife during the first few days of her arrival; afterwards, she simply spent every day waiting by the tree for her hare in Ke Mingxu's residence.

She felt her metaphor was quite fitting. Ke Mingxu was just like a big hare, upright to the point of simplicity, letting her take advantage of him time and time again.

Realizing her thoughts had drifted, Jing Hu hastily pulled the conversation back. "Father hasn't had the time to mind me. He seems terribly busy these days, and sometimes I don't even see him for several days in a row. Who knows what he's been up to?"

She figured it was better to leave that topic for her mother and father to discuss.

"If I didn't tease you a little and make you feel concerned, you would just run off to play wildly again next time. How important is a maiden's complexion? Even with your natural beauty, you cannot afford to neglect yourself and toss caution to the wind."

Consort Xu picked up a teacup from the small side table, took a sip, and asked casually, "During these days, how did Jing Xun and his wife treat you?"

This question was far harder to answer. She found the two of them somewhat annoying, especially Jing Xun.

She had no desire to know things that only served to make her feel helpless. She could not comfortably stand on the side of her mother and elder brother, because she knew what they were doing was wrong.

Yet, their pampering of her did not mean she held any real sway before them. If they ever found out that she likely knew of their intentions regarding Jing Xun, she could kiss goodbye to ever hearing a single word about him again.

He was her brother, after all. If one day they committed even more outrageous deeds, how could she ever face him?

"Third Brother and his wife treated me very well and took great care of me. Whenever there was anything pleasant, they always thought of me." Despite a slight pang of insincerity, Jing Hu said so anyway.

If only they would stop interfering in her affairs with Ke Mingxu, everything about them would be simply wonderful.

Consort Xu merely gave a light smile, neither confirming nor denying her words. After speaking for just a short while, she dismissed her once more. "You've spent nearly half a month in Jianye. Now that you've finally returned, get some proper rest today and come back to pay your respects tomorrow."

Jing Hu had nothing more to say, so she offered a proper bow and left the room accompanied by Nanny Zhao.

At the longevity grand ceremony of the current Emperor in Jianye, only primary wives were entitled to attend. Naturally, the Emperor himself had no need to observe such a rule, bringing his most favored Consort Bai into the temporary palace.

Besides, his own primary wife had already been demoted to a commoner and reduced to a grievance-laden soul lingering in the cold palace.

Yet others were bound by the rules.

Fortunately, the Princess Consort had not gone this time either. With their father away during these past days, only those two old rivals remained cooped up in the manor, and she could only hope nothing untoward had happened.

She reckoned her own mother was fine, but the same could not necessarily be said for the Princess Consort. Although the latter held the title of primary wife, she lagged behind her mother in both favor and means.

It would be best if neither side made trouble and they remained at peace with one another. Her mother's reputation was already notorious enough; if her father ever ascended the throne as Emperor, she would fare no better than the late Empress Yuanli.

Thus, Jing Hu asked Nanny Zhao, "Over the past half-month, has the Princess Consort given my mother any trouble?"

Nanny Zhao shook her head. "Because of the affairs concerning the former Empress, the Princess Consort has kept herself locked in her quarters all this time, burning incense and chanting Buddhist scriptures."

"Who doesn't know she was on close terms with the former Empress? Now that the Empress has been reduced to a commoner, they both hold the rank of primary wife. I daresay the Princess Consort is merely praying to the Buddha to spare her from sharing the same fate as that commoner surnamed Zhang."

Her words carried a sharp edge. Although Commoner Zhang and the Princess Consort had little to do with her own conflicts, Jing Hu still took no pleasure in hearing them.

She said nothing more, merely offering a faint smile before leading Liuhuang at a brisk pace back to her own residence, the Fangshi Pavilion.

Upon returning to the Fangshi Pavilion, her herbal medicine had not yet finished brewing. Baolan came forward to report on everything that had transpired within the pavilion during her absence.