Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jiang Mo raised her hand to push him away, then restrained her instinct, closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around the man's waist...

Compared to her clumsy impatience, Chen Yingchou, who was blind, though not much better at the start, made up for it with gentleness and patience.

Under Chen Yingchou's lead, Jiang Mo's pain lessened, and she gradually started to enjoy it. She unconsciously tightened her embrace.

Perhaps misinterpreting her intent, Chen Yingchou whispered in her ear, "Hold on a little longer—I'll try to be quick."

The man suddenly intensified and quickened his pace, nearly causing her to cry out. Instinctively, she tightened her arms around his waist again. The tighter she held, the more ferocious he became.

In the midst of the storm, she both wanted him to stop and wished for him to continue, until finally she could bear no more.

With a low, muffled groan, it was over.

Their bodies were covered in a thin layer of sweat, sticky and clinging together. Chen Yingchou breathed heavily, his warm breath spilling onto her ear and neck one puff at a time.

After a few minutes, Chen Yingchou rolled off, felt for his inner robe, and put it on himself. Barefoot, he got out of bed and began to walk out alone.

Jiang Mo was too exhausted to move, watching as Chen Yingchou stumbled his way out.

She thought she must have been quite terrible. The man who had just shared intimacy with her neither wished to share her bed nor say another word to her.

Just as she was about to turn away, Chen Yingchou also turned around.

Even through the red silk over his eyes, she could tell he was apologizing. Leaning on the screen, head down, hair messy, belt untied.

"Forgive me. The imperial decree leaves me no choice."

She was momentarily stunned, staring blankly as Chen Yingchou disappeared behind the screen. She listened quietly to the sound of the door opening, the voices of Qiao Yun outside, the chatter of the maidservants, and then the closing of the door.

Two people who had no feelings for each other were forced to consummate the marriage for the sake of imperial heirs. He apologized to her, but what was there for her to forgive?

As his wife, it was her duty to bear his children. All of this was what Wei Yalan ought to do. There was no need for apologies.

They were just two pitiful people being pushed around by fate, with no control over their own lives.

Jiang Mo was both physically and mentally drained, unwilling to dwell further. She got up, blew out the candle by the bedside.

She had just started to doze off when the candle was lit again. Above her came Hui Qing's voice: "Get up. Drink this bowl of contraceptive tonic."

Jiang Mo glanced at Hui Qing, then lowered her eyes, propped herself up, and without a moment's hesitation, picked up the bowl and drank it all.

Hui Qing said, "Look at you, all sweaty. I'll get Lanqiu and Randong to help you bathe."

Without even opening her eyes, Jiang Mo turned away and lay down. "I'll do it in the morning. You may leave. I'm very tired."

Hui Qing did not leave. She sat by the bed and asked, "Why didn't you let me accompany you to the palace today?"

Jiang Mo closed her eyes, already drowsy. "The prince handled the palace visit plans. I had no control over it."

"Ordered by the prince? I thought something had gone wrong this morning. I worried all day until you returned and instructed Xingchun to prepare for the consummation. That's when I knew all was well. Did you intentionally not let me go?"

Jiang Mo knew she would ask and had her answer ready. Facing the inside of the bed, she did not turn nor open her eyes.

"Why would I not let you accompany me? Don't you know? You don't show me any respect at all. Those people in the palace have sharp eyes. If you went, wouldn't you be afraid of being seen through?"

Hui Qing raised a corner of her mouth, still with that smug, bullying attitude. "In front of outsiders, I would naturally be obedient to you."

"Did you know that Xingchun and the other three were all sent by the Empress? They were nurtured in Kun Ning Palace for years. Over time, wouldn't they start to notice something?" Jiang Mo slowly propped herself up, leaned closer to Hui Qing, and stared into her eyes. "If you can truly be respectful and obedient to me in front of outsiders, then fine. But if not, I suggest you just stay out of it."

Hui Qing stared at that face—identical to her mistress's—with the same stern eyes she got when angry. For a moment, she was dazed. She instinctively took two steps back, but quickly pulled herself together and raised her chin.

"Aren't you scared I'll tell the Lady everything you just said? Don't forget, before we came to Prince Yu's mansion, the Lady said you have to follow my orders."

Jiang Mo, annoyed at having her sleep disturbed, just threw on her robe and got up. She sat at the square table, poured herself a cup of tea, and said while drinking, "Go ahead and report."

Seeing Jiang Mo so unfazed, Hui Qing started to think twice. The replacement was right. For now, the most important thing was to maintain peace and not let anyone discover the truth. She truly didn't want to serve a counterfeit. What harm was there in being a bystander? After all, they both wanted to keep their identities hidden.

But then another thought worried her: "If the maids who came with you aren't attending you, it might look weird. I think we still need to keep up appearances. From now on, I'll try to serve you alone in your room whenever possible."

Jiang Mo smiled. What a clever scheme. At that point, who would be serving who?

Even if she was only Princess Yu for a few days, she was going to enjoy it.

"Look at the ones guarding the door, the ones sleeping in the side rooms, and the ones patrolling the yard. You think you're the only one who has to report to Lady Guogong? Doesn't Zhaomu Courtyard have people who report to the Empress, the prince, or even someone else? Do you think this place is like the Guogong mansion, where you can shut the door and do whatever you want? How many eyes are watching here, and how many hidden agendas are there? Do you know?"

Jiang Mo poured another cup of tea and drank it. "Don't worry. I'll tell everyone my close maid died of sickness before I got married, and you were assigned to me later. So you and I don't have a close master-servant relationship. Still, your position as chief steward remains unchanged. Oh, and you should know: my dad and little brother's lives are in Duke Qingguo's hands. I'd have to be crazy to go against the Duke and his wife. Right now, I just want to live in peace and get out of here as soon as I can."

After hearing this, Hui Qing felt the Jiang Mo in front of her was very different from the Jiang Mo a month ago. Whether she'd always been sharp and insightful but hid it, or had learned it during that month of training, it was hard to tell.

Regardless, Hui Qing fully agreed on one point: for her family's sake, she would never dare to hurt the Guogong Mansion.

With that, she felt completely reassured. "Fine, then I'll be a bystander."

Besides, pretending to be obedient was too tiring. She was happy to just chill out.

Hui Qing picked up the medicine bowl to leave, but Jiang Mo stopped her. "Today, please report every word I said to Lady Guogong."

She never had any bad intentions anyway, so she might as well be straightforward.

Hui Qing replied, "Naturally."

After this conversation, Jiang Mo no longer felt like sleeping. She turned her head and saw the white sheet on the bed, the bloodstains made her feel like a huge hole had opened in her heart. She couldn't stand to lie on it again, so she called out, "Someone come in."

Xingchun, Wangxia, Lanqiu, Randong, and several other maids all came bustling in.

They really did take this consummation seriously.

"Change the white sheet. I want to bathe."

Lanqiu folded Prince Yu's clothes and gave them to the eunuch outside the door. Then she began to organize Jiang Mo's clothes and bedding. Wangxia took the white sheet off, handled it carefully, and left.

Randong and the other maids were busy in the bathroom behind the screen.

Only Xingchun stayed, holding a notebook and pen, looking around and jotting things down.

After a moment, Xingchun stopped writing and looked at Jiang Mo as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.

"Say what you want to say."

Xingchun said, "I'm just following orders. If I've offended you, Your Highness, please forgive me."

Just then, Randong came to help Jiang Mo up. "Princess, the bath is ready."

Jiang Mo took Randong's hand and looked at Xingchun. "Ask me while I'm bathing."

She didn't feel anything before getting into the water, but once she was in, she noticed her right wrist hurt. She looked closely and saw it was a little bruised. Frowning, she tried to remember—maybe in the carriage, or just now...

"What did Aunt Hui Qing give the princess to drink?"

Xingchun interrupted Jiang Mo's thoughts. Jiang Mo gently rubbed her wrist and said, "A fertility tonic."

As she recorded, Xingchun glanced at Jiang Mo's wrist and blushed for no apparent reason. Seeing this, Jiang Mo knew that little girl must be thinking naughty thoughts and would report who knows what nonsense to the Empress.

Let them be, whether it's Hui Qing or Xingchun.

"The Empress has her own arrangements for the princess's tonic. Please don't drink Aunt Hui Qing's tonic anymore."

Jiang Mo frowned. She didn't want to take the Empress's tonic; if she got pregnant, it would be very troublesome. But she couldn't disobey. She would agree for now and think of a way later.

"I will follow the Empress's wishes in everything."

"When is the princess's monthly cycle?"

"Around the twelfth of each month."

Xingchun thought for a moment, then looked at Jiang Mo's wrist again, looking puzzled. "His Highness instructed that from now on, you will only be intimate on the two fertile days each month. Today is the twenty-sixth, which happens to be a fertile day. His Highness said... if today is fertile, there will be no further intimacy this month... His Highness also asked me to inquire if the princess would like to stay a few extra days at the Duke's mansion during tomorrow's visit to her family home?"

Jiang Mo gave a self-deprecating smile. She was being rejected.

Her body felt heavy. She lifted her arm with difficulty, resting it on the rim of the wooden tub, and leaned her head against her forearm, motionless.

Mist swirled before her eyes. Jiang Mo lowered her head, lost in thought. She didn't respond to Xingchun, who stood there waiting.

After a long while, Jiang Mo finally said, "I will not stay overnight at the Duke's mansion. I will return the same day."

That night, she slept curled up, restless and uneasy. As soon as the sky began to lighten, she got up.

While she was getting dressed, Qiao Yun entered, followed by several young eunuchs carrying trays.

On the trays were gorgeous robes and valuable jewelry.

"His Highness prepared these for the princess."

Jiang Mo glanced at them and asked, "What style of robe is His Highness wearing today?"

Qiao Yun replied, "The crabapple-red gold-thread flowing-cloud brocade robe."

Hearing this, Jiang Mo pointed to the crabapple-red dress from the selection and said, "I'll wear this one."

Qiao Yun gave Jiang Mo a knowing look, then instructed the eunuchs to set down the items and left.

At the end of late morning, on the carriage to the Duke of Qingguo's mansion, the newlyweds sat in awkward silence.

Jiang Mo was worried. With Prince Yu's cold attitude toward her, if he handled the homecoming perfunctorily, would the Duke of Qingguo hold her responsible for not playing her part as Wei Yalan well and take it out on her father and younger brother?

Moreover, what would be reported back to the Empress?

She lifted the corner of the curtain and glanced at the maids accompanying them, Lanqiu and Randong.

Xingchun had a stomachache in the morning and couldn't come, so Lanqiu and Randong were sent instead, but they would surely report everything truthfully too.

When that time came, the Empress would surely summon her to the palace for a lecture.

She was a stand-in. To avoid revealing any flaws, it would be best to enter the palace as little as possible.

But thinking of last night, she smiled helplessly. After consummation, Prince Yu had not stayed the night. The Empress would sooner or later know that their marital relationship was actually indifferent, and a lecture would be unavoidable.

Now that things had come to this, she simply let things be. As long as she knew to endure, yield, and act cautiously, she could surely get through this period safely.

Along the way, she thought of many excuses to explain Prince Yu's cold attitude if the Duke's household asked. Whether it was due to his temperament after the great war, or a sudden mood change before leaving in the morning—in any case, it could not be attributed to marital discord.

Soon, the carriage stopped at the gate of the Duke of Qingguo's mansion.

Prince Yu's residence had sent word early in the morning. Now, the Duke of Qingguo and the Duchess, along with a crowd of household servants, were waiting at the mansion's gate. In the distance, locals had gathered to watch the spectacle.

The carriage body wrapped in silk, windows inlaid with gold and jade, guards on fine horses, dozens of maids and eunuchs on both sides, and carts laden with large chests—all this testified to the extremely noble status of the person inside.

Chen Yingchou was helped by Qiao Yun to get down from the carriage first. The Duke of Qingguo hurried forward to bow, but Qiao Yun did not remind Chen Yingchou to acknowledge him; he simply ignored the Duke as if he hadn't seen him. His attention was all on Jiang Mo. Seeing that Jiang Mo was about to descend, he immediately raised Chen Yingchou's arm and whispered a few words. Chen Yingchou cooperatively shifted his stance and reached out his hand toward Jiang Mo.