Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Yuyan, with tears in her eyes, thanked Xie Run: "This servant is grateful for the Secondary Consort's kindness."

It was too late by the time they returned, so Xie Run forced herself to go check on Taotao before resting.

Her big, chubby boy was sleeping soundly, not kicking up any fuss about the change of scenery.

According to the maids and eunuchs nearby, everyone had been on high alert, worried he wouldn't adapt to the front courtyard.

But who would have thought that Taotao, upon arriving at the new place, was so excited that he crawled all over the place, with a whole crew trailing after him.

After crawling, he fell asleep on his own, having no idea how long he'd kept the servants' hearts in their throats.

Xie Run gently squeezed her son's cheek, and the weight on her heart finally lifted.

After Prince Jing finished washing up, he pulled her into his arms from behind. "All worries gone now?"

Xie Run turned her head to look at him.

She had taken down her hair, and her soft, jet-black tresses cascaded over her shoulders, giving her a particularly gentle, graceful look.

The flickering lamplight added a touch of allure to her appearance.

"As the saying goes, 'A parent worries about their child from birth to old age.'"

"He's not even one yet—how could I possibly rest easy?"

Prince Jing reached out and stroked Xie Run's hair, not bothering with more reassuring words.

No matter how much you say, actions speak louder than words.

After washing up, the two went to bed and drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next day, when Xie Run got up, Prince Jing had already left the front courtyard.

The senior maid attending to her toilette said, "His Highness went to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt and headed to the palace bright and early."

"His Highness is concerned for the Secondary Consort's wellbeing and told this servant not to wake you, letting you sleep in, saying there's plenty of hard days ahead."

Xie Run massaged her temples, thinking about how she still needed to go to Yunbi Pavilion to pay her respects. "I should get up then. Sorry for the trouble, miss."

She was staying in the front courtyard, where the maids had been serving Prince Jing since they were young and all had a certain amount of clout.

Xie Run felt a little uncomfortable bossing them around, and she couldn't very well keep sleeping in.

After freshening up and getting dressed, Xie Run changed into a simple, unadorned dress, threw on a thick cloak embroidered with winter jasmine, and headed to Yunbi Pavilion with her attendants.

As for Taotao, she left him in the front courtyard.

Right now, there was no safer place than the front courtyard.

But just as she arrived at Yunbi Pavilion, Xie Run saw someone she hadn't expected—Fang Yuaner.

After a period of confinement, Fang Yuaner had grown noticeably thinner, and she'd become much more subdued overall.

Moreover, she usually loved dressing in bright, flashy colors, but now she was dressed in plain clothes.

When she first got to the door, Xie Run almost didn't recognize her.

The two met at the funeral hall of Shiqie Lian, and Fang Yuaner stared at Xie Run for a long time, her eyes dark and inscrutable.

Xie Run smiled lightly. "It's been a while, Sister Fang. You've lost a lot of weight—I almost didn't recognize you."

Fang Yuaner said meaningfully, "That's my line."

"It's like I'm only meeting Sister Xie for the first time today."

After speaking, Fang Yuaner couldn't help coughing a couple of times.

Xie Run noted her calling her "sister" and felt a silent alarm go off inside.

Fang Yuaner had likely transmigrated into this world from a novel, believing she had the script in her hands, and was inherently arrogant by nature.

She and Xie Run had entered the prince's household at the same time, so in theory, there was no ranking between them.

Age-wise, Xie Run was actually half a month older.

But from the very beginning, counting on being the favored one, she kept calling Xie Run "Sister Xie" left and right.

Xie Run calling her "Sister Fang" was out of humility and propriety.

Her calling Xie Run "sister" wasn't overstepping, but it showed she thought she was a notch above Xie Run.

Later, she gave birth to a child before Xie Run, but because the child wasn't healthy, Prince Jing gave her the cold shoulder for a while.

She still called Xie Run "sister."

At that time, she prided herself on having borne a son before Xie Run and considered her status more noble, never once humbling herself.

Now, after being confined for a few days, she suddenly called Xie Run "sister"... Xie Run felt not a trace of pride.

The bigger the change, the more it showed Fang Yuaner's mindset had shifted—her behavior and temperament might be different from before.

But that heart full of greed and ambition would never change.

Xie Run said with a look of concern, "I heard Sister Fang cough twice. Are you feeling unwell?"

She glanced around. "Why aren't there a couple more braziers lit?"

Fang Yuaner smoothed her cuff and smiled lightly. "It's nothing. I just caught a chill from the cold nights lately—caught a bit of a cold, that's all."

"Then Sister Fang should take care of herself and not dress too lightly."

"Thank you for your concern, sister."

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Xie Run stepped forward to light three sticks of incense for Shiqie Lian, also helping to burn some joss paper.

She murmured a few words under her breath and shed a few tears for show.

During this time, several maids came in to ask about matters, all about Fang Yuaner.

Fang Yuaner handled them in an orderly manner.

Judging by the situation, it seemed Fang Yuaner was the one in charge of the funeral arrangements for Shiqie Lian?!

After paying her respects, Xie Run was led by a maid to the side room for tea, where she ran into Shufei Li and Shiqie Fang, who were also having tea.

Shiqie Fang had the young Princess Ruyi by her side.

Shufei Li and Shiqie Fang rose and bowed to Xie Run, saying, "This humble one pays respects to Consort Xie."

"Rise." Xie Run's voice was calm as her gaze fell on Princess Ruyi. "It's been a while since I last saw you, and the Princess has grown much taller. You've changed so much since the new year."

Princess Ruyi looked at Xie Run for a moment before saying, "I hope Consort Xie is well."

"It's been a long time, and Consort Xie has grown even more beautiful—more dazzling than the green peonies that just bloomed in the greenhouse."

Xie Run smiled. "You flatter me, Princess."

A maid brought tea, and Xie Run took a sip before asking softly, "When I was offering incense to Sister Lian just now, I noticed Sister Fang was managing the arrangements."

"Have the Prince and Princess given any orders?"

Shiqie Fang, who never liked discussing matters with others, simply lowered her head and stared into her teacup.

It was the usually cold and distant Shufei Li who spoke up to explain: "The Princess said she had a headache when she rose this morning and couldn't manage Shiqie Lian's funeral rites. She begged the Prince to lift Consort Fang's house arrest for now, and after Shiqie Lian's funeral, the house arrest will resume."

"The household truly has no one else available... The Princess only hopes that Consort Sun will enter the household soon and help share the burden of managing its affairs."

Xie Run sensed that Shufei Li was airing grievances for the Princess's sake.

By first mentioning that the Princess had specially begged Prince Jing to release Fang Yuaner, and then saying there was no one available, she was implying that Xie Run always pretended to be weak and refused to take charge.

Otherwise, the Princess wouldn't have bypassed Xie Run and directly let Fang Yuaner handle Shiqie Lian's funeral.

Xie Run smiled at this, not taking the bait, and instead raised another matter.

"Since the Princess is so unwell, why don't we go together to Qingsong Courtyard to visit her?"

Shufei Li paused. "The Princess has a severe headache right now. If we both go, the noise and crowd might only make her feel worse."