Chapter 8

Last night, he chose to drink with the rough men from the Ministry of Punishments in the outer hall rather than enter our wedding chamber. It seems he is still resistant to this marriage in his heart.

Nanny An, upon hearing Xu Fu's words, felt a slight sense of reassurance and asked, "Should this old servant still administer that medicine to Madam Rong?"

Xu Fu narrowed her eyes, recalling Rong Shu's pallid countenance from earlier. She shook her head and said, "Keep it for now. She will return to the Marquis's residence in a couple of days, and taking that medicine will surely make her ill for several days. Let us wait until the day she consummates her marriage with Yan'er; until then, there is no need for her to take it, lest it cause unnecessary complications." With these words, she leaned back against her bolster and closed her eyes.

An-ma-ma had more words yet to speak, but upon seeing her face marked with exhaustion, her cheeks sunken and sallow, no longer bearing the dignified grace and beauty of days past, a sharp pang tugged at her heart. Thus, she decided against uttering any further, gently lowering the bed curtains before quietly exiting the room, the empty bowl held in hand.

The wutong trees beyond the gate swayed noisily in the wind, their leaves rustling like an orchestra. Layer upon layer of dark clouds were rolling in, accompanied by a gentle rumble of thunder, indicating an impending downpour.

Yingyue gently closed the partially opened windows in the room, ensuring that the sudden rain outside would not disturb the young lady's peaceful slumber.

Earlier, the lady had only managed a small bowl of minced meat porridge before retiring, her weary eyes revealing her exhaustion. It was clear she was extremely fatigued.

Yesterday, there was no consummation of the marriage, and today she appeared ill. Yingyue's heart was in turmoil, filled with both concern and helplessness. However, she was but a maid; no matter how anxious she was, it would be of no use.

Letting out a soft sigh, Yingyue exited the chamber, the door creaking shut behind her.

Rong Shu lay in bed, slowly opening her eyes, and gazed thoughtfully at the canopy above her bed, intricately embroidered with blooming pomegranate flowers.

This was the canopy bed that the Rong family had presented to her on her wedding day. It was made from forty-year-old huanghuali wood transported from southern Jiangnan, crafted by the most skilled carpenter in the capital city, taking no less than half a year to complete. The bed was adorned with twelve ancient auspicious beasts and thirty-six varieties of divine clouds, all intricately carved.

The pomegranate flowers on the canopy were also sewn by her own hand, thread by thread. Other young ladies typically embroidered mandarin ducks playing in the water or lotus flowers side by side, but she knew Gu Changjin to be a man of propriety. She feared he might find her chosen patterns too frivolous, so she secretly replaced them with blooming pomegranates.

In retrospect, it all seems like a jest now.

He never had room for her in his heart; how could he have cared whether she embroidered mandarin ducks or pomegranate blossoms?

When she woke up on this bed this morning, Rong Shu initially struggled to distinguish between the additional memories in her mind—were they like searching for a deer under banana leaves, an illusion, or merely a fleeting dream of a luxurious life?

It wasn't until she entered Liuyi Hall and saw Madam Xu, as well as Aunty An, and heard the same words she had heard in her previous life that she gradually regained her composure.

She had truly returned to three years ago, on the day she married Gu Changjin.

Those three years of memories were not a dream, but a reality she had genuinely experienced. She had long let go of Gu Changjin in the Sishi Garden, so looking at him now naturally left her with a heart as still as a tranquil pond.

Rong Shu closed her eyes, feeling an immense wave of weariness wash over her like a tide of seawater.

Raindrops pattered against the window, announcing the arrival of rain. Accompanied by the soft sound of the drizzle, she drifted back into a rainy night in her semi-conscious state.

It was the seventh day of the seventh month in the twenty-third year of Jiayou, the very day when the Cowherd and Weaver Girl were believed to reunite. On that day, Gu Changjin was summoned to the imperial palace.

At that time, the Cheng'an Marquis Estate was in distress, with its entire household imprisoned in the Dali Temple. Rong Shu was tirelessly working to resolve the issues surrounding the Rong and Shen families, completely unaware that Gu Changjin had returned to the capital from Qing Province and had become Crown Prince, the son of Empress Qi.

That very night, Rong Shu went back to the Gu residence to see him.

The young Crown Prince stood in the corridor, seemingly aware of her purpose for visiting. He spoke to her coolly, "Rong Shu, the evidence of the Rong and Shen families' collusion with the enemy is irrefutable. Their sentence of exile was already a lenient one from Father Emperor."

Rong Shu took a step forward, shaking her head anxiously. "The Shen family couldn't have betrayed us. My mother said that if we can find my uncle, we can clear both the Shen and Rong families' names. Gu Changjin, for the sake of our three years of marriage, can you send someone to Yangzhou to search for my uncle?"

Rong Shu hadn't wanted to beg him.

But when a tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and when a drum breaks, thousands beat it.

In just a month, the Cheng'an Marquis Estate was implicated and seized, leaving her with nowhere to turn for help. Seeking out Gu Changjin was her last resort.

Despite knowing his impartial nature, that he would never compromise justice due to personal feelings.

Indeed, Gu Changjin looked at her for a moment, seemingly too lazy to engage in further conversation with her. He simply instructed, "Heng Ping, Chang Ji, escort Lady to the annex. No one is to release her without my order."

The Gu family had always been impoverished, and Gu Changjin himself was a man of humble origins. Where would he have an annex?

Rong Shu understood clearly that this annex was nothing but a cage prepared by the nobles in the palace for her. After the incident at the Cheng'an Marquis Estate, how could they allow the daughter of a convicted traitor to remain as the Crown Princess?

Besides, Gu Changjin had never favored her.

She had caused him to be separated from his beloved for three long years. He probably despised her deep down. By confining her in the annex, it was a way for him to avoid seeing her.

Rong Shu smiled. As Gu Changjin passed by her with his eyes lowered, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve, asking softly, "Gu Changjin, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

Gu Changjin paused in his steps, looking down at her white-knuckled fingertips. After a long moment, he spoke, "Don't dwell on going to Yangzhou to find your uncle. Your uncle Shen Zhi personally sent the evidence of your family's treason to the capital, and your father has already confessed and signed the confession yesterday."

Her uncle had personally delivered the evidence of their crime?

Rong Shu felt the fragile thread holding her together snap with a sharp twang.

Just then, a sudden clap of thunder echoed in the distance, followed by a gust of fierce wind. Before long, raindrops began to fall from the sky, drenching her in icy coldness.

Gu Changjin cast her a casual glance before turning away and leaving the room. The moment he stepped out the door, a palace maid hurried over to hold an umbrella for him.

He was surrounded by attendants as he boarded his carriage, never once looking back.

Chapter 4

When Rong Shu awoke, it was already late afternoon. After the sudden downpour earlier that morning, the air held a crisp, invigorating hint of autumn.

Ying Que brought Rong Shu a fragrant drink and asked, "Miss has been asleep for over four hours; you must be quite hungry. The small kitchen has prepared some soup, steamed duck, lamb tripe soup, and a few vegetarian stir-fries. Shall I serve the meal?"