Inside the carriage, the maidservant Han Yan asked softly, “Your Highness, shall we head straight back to the mansion?”
With Her Highness’s current status, she could certainly wait for people from the mansion to come welcome her.
When they entered the city and underwent inspection earlier, Her Highness had already revealed her identity. Now, not only the Yan Mansion but also the prefect’s office would have received the report.
Yan Zhuyu slightly adjusted her sitting position. Her lavish long skirt spread out in layers beneath her, and she lounged lazily with the composure of someone full of confidence.
Waiting at the city gate—how could that compare to having them run themselves ragged to welcome her?
Even Prefect Lin would have to pay her a personal visit.
“Send word to Prefect Lin that This Consort wishes to catch up with Miss Xiuer.”
Han Yan understood and nodded in acknowledgment. Lin Xiuer was the daughter of Yangzhou’s prefect and had often caused trouble for their young miss in the past. What goes around comes around—who knew what that lofty noble lady was scheming now.
When the carriage arrived at the Yan Mansion, Yan Zhuyu did not hurry to alight and reunite with her family. Instead, she gazed at the prominently displayed plaque overhead, her smile profound.
From estate to mansion, from rank eight to rank three—none of her father’s honors had come without this unfavored daughter’s efforts.
Yan Hongchang hurried out the mansion gates with his wife Lady Cai and legitimate son Yan Jincheng, his eyes red as he reached the carriage. “Zhuyu, your father has been longing for your return!”
The young master Yan Jincheng, who had just turned eighteen, reminded him, “Father, you should address Elder Sister as Your Highness.”
Yan Hongchang bowed deeply and proclaimed loudly, “This subject, Commander of the Capital Transport Division Yan Hongchang, respectfully welcomes Your Highness back to the mansion!”
His resounding voice echoed before the mansion gates, brimming with pride and joy.
Yan Zhuyu propped her forehead against the carriage window, her deliberately pouted lips glossy and alluring against her delicate features—a touch out of place. The smugness and showmanship she had felt evaporated the instant she saw her father, replaced by resentment she could scarcely contain. She bent down to step out of the carriage, supported by her younger brother as she descended the footstool. With a single remark—“Father, please see to entertaining the distinguished guests who accompanied me”—she paid no further heed to her bowing and scraping father. Instead, she took the arm of her tense and uneasy mother and entered the mansion through the main gate.
Lady Cai stiffened slightly at having her arm taken; the daughter she had personally raised had become unattainably exalted.
“The Crown Prince’s Highness sent people ahead with generous betrothal gifts. Your father and I are overwhelmed with honor.”
Lady Cai’s tone was deferential and cautious, even her casual words chosen with utmost care.
“Mother overstates it. Since His Highness did not come in person, they hardly count as betrothal gifts.”
Lady Cai waved her hands hastily. “We wouldn’t dare hope for the Crown Prince’s Highness to visit personally—this is already great favor.”
Yan Zhuyu knew her mother was a sheltered woman without her own opinions, always deferring to her husband. She did not vent her resentment on her mother or scorn her for lacking ambition; she had long understood that everything had to be seized for herself.
The return of the Eastern Palace Liangdi caused a sensation throughout the city, overshadowing even the Bangyan’s glory.
When Wei Qin led Jiang Yinyue to knock on the door of their home, familiar sounds emerged from the quiet estate—the wife of the eldest branch, Lady Zhang, scolding her pair of children.
Old Master Wei was still alive, so the Wei Family’s two branches had not divided.
Wei Qin’s father was the Second Son. The year after adopting Wei Qin, he and his wife Lady Gu had a daughter named Wei Ying, who was frail from birth and never parted from her medicine jar.
At the sound of the knock, Lady Zhang kicked her son Wei Xin. “Useless thing, go open the door.”
Wei Xin rubbed his backside and unwillingly pulled open the gate. Just as he was about to snap at the visitors, his chubby face twisted in exaggerated shock.
“Bro—bro—bro…”
“What’s with the mumbling? Not low enough already?”
Lady Zhang stormed over, shoving aside her gaping fool of a son, her pointed chin jutting out even further than his.
“Aqin… Come, everyone, come! Look who’s returned!”
At her shrill call, lamps that had been about to be extinguished relit across the courtyards. Wei Qin’s uncle Wei Bochun helped Old Master Wei out of the main hall, followed by Wei Qin’s foster parents. His little sister Wei Ying trailed close behind.
The family gathered in surprise and delight. Lady Gu’s eyes reddened as she gripped Wei Qin’s arm. “Mother waited day and night—finally, you’ve returned! You’re thinner, taller—let Mother have a good look.”
Wei Zhongchun restrained his joy and limped forward. Upon seeing the woman at his son’s side, he tugged hard at his wife’s sleeve. “Daughter-in-law…”
Lady Gu was so overjoyed at her son’s return that her eyes and heart were filled only with him, overlooking the young woman beside him. When she finally turned to Jiang Yinyue, she was too bashful to utter even a polite greeting.
Old Master Wei steadied the scene. He nudged his eldest son. “What are you standing around for? Hurry and welcome our granddaughter-in-law inside!”
Jiang Yinyue was ushered in like the moon surrounded by stars, feeling nothing but awkwardness. After three years of seclusion, she was out of practice with social graces and feared mixing things up to cause embarrassment.
But the disarray lasted only a moment. Without needing Wei Qin’s introduction, she clasped her hands, curtsied to the eldest of the Wei Family, and said, “Granddaughter-in-law pays respects to Grandfather.”
Old Master Wei shifted uncomfortably for a moment before squinting his aged eyes in a smile. He muttered “Good, good, good” and turned to fetch the golden bracelet passed down from his ancestors.
Jiang Yinyue glanced discreetly at the ankles of the other two elders, then first paid respects to the middle-aged man with normal mobility and the woman beside him. “Granddaughter-in-law greets Uncle and Aunt.”
Wei Bochun smiled in response and exchanged a glance with his wife Lady Zhang, signaling her to fetch the greeting gift they had prepared in advance.
Lady Zhang rubbed her pointed chin and bustled off to her courtyard without delay, lest she seem rude to this highborn granddaughter-in-law.
Jiang Yinyue turned to the other couple and continued her greetings, though her tone suddenly grew shy.
“Father.”
“Mother.”
Wei Zhongchun and Lady Gu stepped forward in unison, even more bashful than she. They had imagined their daughter-in-law’s appearance and demeanor, which matched the descriptions in their son’s letters, but seeing her in person still stirred a timid feeling upon nearing home.
Compared to the awkward couple, Lady Zhang’s daughter Wei Huan was more adept at socializing. She stepped forward boldly and curtsied. “Huan’er greets Second Sister-in-law.”
Jiang Yinyue looked at the girl her own age and smiled with a nod, but her gaze involuntarily drifted past Wei Huan to her other sister-in-law.
Little sister Wei Ying eyed the glamorous noble lady without the boldness to approach like her cousin Wei Huan. She stood farthest back, scrutinizing her sister-in-law with curiosity and timidity.
Wei Qin raised his hand. “Ying’er, come here.”
Wei Ying was frail and walked with a fragile sway. Before she even spoke, her voice choked with sobs. “Sis—sis…”
Her voice lacked the crispness of a young girl, soft and laced with coughs.
Jiang Yinyue supported her and nodded in response, her smile tinged with pity. What young woman would willingly spend her prime years accompanied only by soups and medicines, confined indoors and called a medicine jar?
After greeting everyone one by one, Jiang Yinyue followed Wei Qin to the guest hall in the main courtyard, where the family fussed over them with questions.
Night had deepened. Old Master Wei dozed off in the seat of honor after propping himself up several times, his snores thundering.
Wei Bochun broke into a sweat and called his dim son to help escort the old master back to his room.
Lady Zhang’s prepared night snacks were halted amid the snores.
Worried that her son and daughter-in-law were weary, Lady Gu found an excuse to send the family away and led the young couple to her and her husband’s courtyard to arrange their lodging.
Entering the East Wing Room where Wei Qin resided, Jiang Yinyue carefully examined the spotless furnishings. Though the materials were not luxurious, they were neat and elegantly simple.
Unlike the Jiang Mansion, the Wei Family estate was small, and the wing room hardly spacious. There was no separate bathing chamber, only a screen partition with a bathtub.
Jiang Yinyue’s almond eyes sparkled at the sight of the bathtub.
“Wei Qin…”
He nodded, filled the tub, and then tactfully headed for the door. “I’ll go distribute the gifts from our journey.”
Her wish fulfilled, Jiang Yinyue’s heart and eyes brimmed with thoughts of bathing. She shut the door, swiftly shed her clothes, and plunged into the somewhat hot water. She scooped up handfuls, lathered with soap pods to cleanse her skin, reveling in the comfort of being right at home.
At last, she could wash away the travel’s fatigue.
She lifted her dainty white foot and dangled it over the tub’s edge, swinging it back and forth. Though her personal maidservant Hong Mei was not there to serve tea or pour water, it was comfortable enough.
Wei Qin’s bedroom was simple and bright, scented with wood, matching the fresh, clean aura on his person—no sense of discomfort in this unfamiliar place.
It was good enough, wasn’t it?
Contentment brought constant joy.
She smiled. Compared to her cautious restraint before the Emperor and Empress, the warmth and casualness of her current in-laws suited her straightforward nature far better. As for her husband… Wei Qin was a thousand—no, ten thousand times better than the Crown Prince!
With a soft hum, she stood up unconsciously, lost in pride, unaware she had no change of nightclothes ready.
One truly could not let success go to one’s head.
With a splash, she dunked back into the water and stared plaintively at the unlatched door, hoping Wei Qin would return soon and not linger chatting with the family.
The bedroom had no water clock, and moonlight filtered hazily through the window. In the long wait, the woman in the tub drifted off to sleep unnoticed, missing even the knock at the door.
Creak.
The door was pushed open from outside. Wei Qin’s tall figure was outlined in shadow by the moonlight as he entered and slowly approached the tub. His gaze lingered slightly; the scene before him differed from the erotic tropes in the storybooks he occasionally read—not vulgarly alluring, but starkly white, almost blinding.
As a youth, Wei Qin had disliked the romantic tales smuggled by classmates—not from lack of feeling, but unwillingness to entangle with fleeting flowers and moonlit snow. Yet here, right under his nose, he beheld the bright moon in its full glory.
“Miss.”
He called softly and bent to lift her from the water.
With the splash of water, the sleeping woman jolted awake, her dazed mind snapping alert. She stared in shock at the man’s jawline, her body going rigid.
His fingertips, through the cloth towel, pressed against her arm and the crook of her knee, the rough calluses unmistakable.
Why would a scholar have calluses on his fingers? Perhaps from taming horses in his youth, or from martial training—Jiang Yinyue had no time for such details. She only wanted to glance down at herself but felt too embarrassed, fearing the thin towel failed to cover her sensitive areas.
She clamped her knees tight and stared unwaveringly at Wei Qin’s profile. In the dim light, his deep eye sockets and straight nose carved a stunning side profile.
Night cloaked him in splendor—cold, noble, aloof.
No different from a prince or imperial son.
Wei Qin in the night held an innate air of mystery.
When Jiang Yinyue was set on the small couch by the bed, she was still dazed. As Wei Qin knelt before her, she hurriedly clutched the towel tighter.
She wanted to say something to ease the awkwardness, but saw him reach out as if to wipe her body for her.
“N-no, it’s fine.”
Startled, her voice was a mosquito’s buzz, soft and mumbled.
Wei Qin paused his hand on the towel. “I’ve tended to Miss on the road.”
How could it be the same? Jiang Yinyue clutched the towel and shrank back, dodging the hand shadowed by the candleholder. She had never been naked before him and could not adapt to such openness.
“Clothes.”
Seeing her face fall, Wei Qin lowered his thick lashes and silently dried her exposed feet and calves before fetching clothes.
Jiang Yinyue peeked over, her heart fluttering. She had no intention of disdain; she simply could not yet accept being so exposed.
“I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine.”
Wei Qin set down the clothes without looking at the self-reproachful woman and quietly left.
Such a reserved and sensitive man always made Jiang Yinyue feel as if she were bullying him, yet Wei Qin was no one to be trifled with or manipulated. Contradictions filled him—vibrant life encased in ice, forming an invisible barrier.
Outsiders could scarcely glimpse his inner world.
In time, even Jiang Yinyue grew contradictory: on one hand wishing for things to flow naturally between them, on the other declaring that if he found a woman he truly liked, he could seek a divorce from her.
Loath to be tangled in contradictions, she banished stray thoughts.
She changed into nightclothes and ran to the door to pull the man standing under the moonlight back into the wing room.
Wei Qin’s body was cool. Jiang Yinyue reminded him, “You bathe first.”
He looked up at her. Her gaze darted away as she turned. “I won’t look.”
Outside was pitch black; she had no desire to wait there. Besides, her in-laws might see and probe with questions.
The sound of undressing came from behind. True to her word, Jiang Yinyue did not turn. She rummaged in the chest atop the cabinet and pulled out the bedding her mother-in-law had prepared, stacking it on the rack bed.
“Tonight… tonight, don’t sleep on the floor.”
The night was silent, with fragmented fallen leaves drifting alongside Jiang Yinyue on the rippling river waters toward the distance.
Spring arrived earlier in Yangzhou than in the Capital City.
Moonlight spilled through the window paper as Jiang Yinyue lay on the inner side of the zither-wood canopy bed, yielding most of the bed to Wei Qin.
This was the Wei Family home; she could not take over the host’s bed. Jiang Yinyue shifted further inward, trying to make them both as comfortable as possible. She could not predict what the future held or how far they might walk side by side with Wei Qin. For now, she had to maintain the demeanor of a proper daughter-in-law and avoid giving the Wei Family any cause for suspicion.
They were, more or less, allies who had come together naturally and could part ways honorably.
“Sleep.”
With her back to Wei Qin, she acted perfectly composed.
Wei Qin stood by the bed, his face somewhat tense. After a long silence, he extinguished the lamp, lifted the quilt corner, and lay down.
The canopy bed, without its curtains drawn, fell into profound quiet.
The scent of soapberry mingled faintly with the warm fragrance from the woman’s body, weaving together strangely in the darkness.
They lay still, separated by the width of a bowl under the quilt, yet an inexplicable awkwardness filled the bed.
Jiang Yinyue lay on her side without moving, silent despite the ache in her waist and back. She smelled the cotton padding of the bedding and the medicinal aroma of the pillow, but sleep eluded her.
The faint soapberry scent breached the serene barrier formed by the cotton and medicinal pillow—it emanated from Wei Qin. He had done nothing at all, yet it stirred restlessness in Jiang Yinyue.
The two, who had not shared intimacy for three years, did not lie together with separate dreams; their eyes never met, and they remained sleepless and dreamless.
In a moment, the pressure at her side suddenly vanished. Jiang Yinyue turned her head and saw Wei Qin sitting up.
“I’ll sleep on the floor mat.”
“Come back.” Jiang Yinyue puffed out her cheeks and grabbed one of his sleeves. “If your parents see, what will they think of our relationship?”
She had originally left the Capital City to relax; she did not want unnecessary complications or troubles.
Yielding to her pull, Wei Qin leaned forward, his tall frame drawing slightly closer to Jiang Yinyue. Through the thin moonlight, he vaguely made out her fair and delicate face, and his gaze lingered unconsciously.
Feeling uneasy under his stare, Jiang Yinyue released his sleeve and leaned back. This strange, unfamiliar sensation irritated her. Toward Wei Qin, she had always maintained a partner’s mindset—unspoken, but they both understood it clearly. Yet this reticent man’s look was profound and inscrutable.
“Wei…”
“Miss, sleep first.”
Her mind disturbed by the odd intimacy moments before, Jiang Yinyue did not stop him. She needed quiet—time alone. Once Wei Qin left, draped in a long robe, she fanned away the heat rising from her body and burrowed into the quilt, covering her head.
Without the crisp masculine scent, the sleep-loving woman soon fell into dreams. Her dark lashes trembled rhythmically with her breaths, oblivious to when Wei Qin returned.
Gazing at the motionless “dumpling,” Wei Qin pulled down the edge of the quilt to prevent her from being woken by her own stuffiness.
The sleeping woman lacked her usual sharp, guarded edges; she was soft and serene, much like a drowsy kitten without a care.
Wei Qin curved his finger and gently brushed her cheek. That eternally icy, impassive face softened with a hint of warmth. “Miss.”
He softly called to her in sleep, ripples stirring in his dark eyes.
Water sounds echoed by her ear—the splash when he had lifted her from the bath barrel.
At that time, water droplets from her skin had soaked through his sleeve, spreading dampness as soft met firm in perfect alignment, stirring his heart.
Their brief shared bed had only fermented that stirring.
Wei Qin slowly leaned in, his slightly trembling lips inching toward Jiang Yinyue’s cheek—a kiss lighter than a dragonfly skimming water.
Yet the large hand bracing the quilt bulged with prominent veins.
In the next instant, however, the woman’s unwitting sleep-talk sank the ripples in Wei Qin’s dark eyes.
“Brother.”
Wei Qin sat in the darkness, gazing silently at the woman. After a long while, he rose and left.
Brother—was it her brother Jiang Taolue, or her Crown Prince Brother?