Exiting the Fengyi Palace, where the queen resides, the skies already turned dark.
The queen personally arranged for a eunuch to escort Su Rong out of the imperial harem. Despite the offer of arranging a sedan chair for transportation, Su Rong was not fond of it, and chose to walk instead. As such, the eunuch led the way with a lantern while Su Rong sheltered herself under an umbrella as they made their way out of the palace.
Just as they started to leave, they ran into the sedan chair of Imperial Concubine Zhen.
Given that Su Rong’s identity as a Nanchu princess was not a secret, it was unnecessary for her to step aside. Nevertheless, since she was on foot and everyone else was in a sedan chair, she decided to give way.
As the sedan chair approached, Imperial Concubine Zhen lifted the curtains and commanded, "Stop."
The sedan chair came to a stop instantly.
Imperial Concubine Zhen stuck her head out and, looking at Su Rong, asked with a smile, "Are you Lady Su Qi?"
Su Rong stood with a smile, "Indeed, Your Grace."
Thanks to the many attendants around Imperial Concubine Zhen, the area was lit brightly by the lampshades they held after the sedan chair had stopped. Su Rong could clearly see the stunning beauty of Imperial Concubine Zhen who truly was dazzling. She appeared no older than a woman in her teens.
Imperial Concubine Zhen descended from the sedan chair and stood in front of Su Rong. "Previously, I saw Lady Su Qi leaving the palace with Second Young Master Ye, but, unfortunately, we did not have the chance to chat. Today, we’re lucky."
She looked at Su Rong with careful scrutiny, "In the Emperor’s study, there is a portrait. You look so much alike Princess Zhenmin."
Su Rong couldn’t decipher the intentions behind her words, tilted her head slightly, and said, "Thank you for letting me know, Your Grace. My family no longer has my mother’s portrait. If Uncle possesses one, I may request it another day. Surely, he wouldn’t refuse?"
Imperial Concubine Zhen paused for a moment, then shook her head with a smile, "This, I am not certain about. The Emperor takes great care of Princess Zhenmin and his siblings. He might be reluctant to part with it."
Su Rong replied earnestly, "He can keep it. After all, my memories of my mother were formed when I was just a child. Our bond of mother and child lasted only for a few years. It certainly can’t outweigh the sibling bond that my mother and uncle grew up sharing."
Imperial Concubine Zhen chuckled, "It’s not necessarily true."
She looked at Su Rong, "Are you leaving the palace, Lady Su? It’s getting quite late. Why don’t you spend the night here?"
"The queen graciously offered to let me stay, but I’m not used to it. It’s more comfortable outside the palace for me," replied Su Rong frankly. "Given how late it is, instead of staying in the palace, are you going to see my uncle?"
Slightly blushing, Imperial Concubine Zhen nodded, "The Emperor has summoned me."
Su Rong understood. Today, the Emperor had selected her to share his bed and she thought to herself that the Concubine was wearing very little clothing. She kindly suggested, "Your Grace, it would be best to get on your sedan chair given how lightly you’re dressed. Maybe another day I can come and visit you in your part of the palace. The queen speaks so highly of you stating that you are an excellent person and that you get along well in the palace."
"It’s truly due to the queen’s magnanimity," replied Imperial Concubine Zhen without making a move. She looked at the white fox fur cloak on Su Rong and said, "A couple of years ago, I heard that the Crown Prince had saved up plenty of white fox furs. I had wanted to ask him for some to make a cloak, but he denied me. To my surprise, he was generous enough to give it to Lady Su Qi. I really thought that he was planning on giving it to the future Crown Princess."
Su Rong blinked, "I am his newly-acknowledged cousin. Could it be due to our blood ties that I have had such honour?"
Imperial Concubine Zhen smiled, "Perhaps that’s the case. The white fox fur cloak looks absolutely lovely. In particular, on a young girl like you, it looks incredibly charming."
She seemed to be feeling cold, and stopped the conversation, "Since you won’t be staying in the palace, you should leave. I’m sorry for holding you up. The weather is very cold, don’t freeze. Especially since you don’t even have a hand warmer..." She handed over her hand warmer that she was holding to Su Rong, "Take mine!"
Just as Su Rong was about to refuse, Imperial Concubine Zhen interrupted, "I only have a short distance to go. You, on the other hand, have a long way to go to exit the palace. Take it! Don’t be a stranger with me. I can’t have the Emperor wait too long. I will see you another day in my palace and we will chat then."
Having said that, she got into her sedan chair.
All Su Rong could do was show her gratitude, "Thank you, Your Grace!"
Princess Zhenmin waved off with a smile, her palanquin departed, and her procession majestically made its way out.
Meanwhile, Su Rong held the hand warmer, weighing it, realizing it was quite heavy and warming. As she clasped onto the hand warmer with one hand and held her umbrella with the other, she wondered whether her accidental encounter with Princess Zhenmin was truly a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to test her.
She turned and asked the young eunuch, "Do the ladies of the Imperial Harem usually perform their night service this early?"
The young eunuch promptly responded: "Not everyone does, but the Imperial Concubine does indeed start this early. Every day, when it is time for her night service, the Emperor would have already dealt with his morning court matters."
Su Rong understood then, this was a unique treatment reserved for the favoured Imperial Concubine.
The young eunuch accompanied Su Rong to the entrance of the palace, noticing the carriage from the Shen Residence, he reminded Su Rong to be careful before going back inside.
Once Su Rong stepped into the carriage, she was surprised to see Su Xingze sitting in it. Puzzled, she asked, "Big Brother?"
In the dimly lit carriage, Su Xingze sat engrossed in his book. Upon noticing Su Rong, he nodded, "I had nothing else to do, and knowing you’d be at the palace all day, I wanted to put my mind at ease, so I came to pick you up."
Su Rong retorted helplessly, "Although the palace can be ruthless, it’s not like they’re going to devour me. Fen Ling is there too, there’s no need for you to worry, brother."
Su Xingze glanced at her, "Things have been too quiet around you lately. You never know what the people who wish to harm you are planning."
Su Rong earnestly suggested, "Big brother, worrying too much will make you age faster. In my opinion, you seem to have too much time on your hands. Why don’t you take advantage of your free time and settle down with a wife?"
Su Xingze’s expression darkened, he retorted in a bad mood, "You think I’m willingly doing this? I know you find my concerns excessive."
Looking at him, Su Rong heard an implication from his words that it wasn’t his intention to pick her up today and asked, "Then who sent you here? Aunt Shen?"
Su Xingze shot her a look and said, "No, Zhou Gu."
Su Rong remained silent for a moment.
Seeing her silence, Su Xingze felt somewhat disgruntled, "Am I wrong to worry about you? Would it be better for you if no one cared, if no one paid any attention? You have good fortune but fail to appreciate it."
Scratching her nose, Su Rong tried to appease him with a smile, "I’m not ungrateful, but it’s snowing heavily outside. It would be so much better to stay indoors. Even if we have a hand warmer in the carriage, it’s not as warm as the indoors."
Su Xingze gave a disdainful snort.
Not wanting to provoke him, Su Rong tried to mollify him, "Okay, okay, big brother, I was wrong. It’s my good fortune that you care about me, and I shouldn’t be ungrateful. Please don’t be mad." She wanted to offer him the hand warmer, but remembering that it was a gift from Princess Zhenmin, she thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to offer it to her brother and decided against it. Instead, she said while examining the hand warmer, "Look at this hand warmer, isn’t it pretty? It was a gift from Princess Zhenmin."
Su Xingze was never really angry in the first place. Hearing her words, he glanced at the hand warmer in her hand and frowned, "Why did you accept a gift from Princess Zhenmin?"
"I met her as I was leaving the palace. She saw that I was without a hand warmer and insisted I take it," Su Rong briefly mentioned her encounter with Princess Zhenmin and what they had discussed. Then she added admiringly, "If I could be as beautiful as her when I’m her age, I’d laugh even in my dreams."
Su Xingze, having never met Princess Zhenmin, wasn’t able to comment. Looking at Su Rong’s white fox-fur cloak, he asked, "What did she mean when she mentioned asking for the white fox skin from the Crown Prince?"
"Who knows? Maybe she felt that it’s better for me to hear it from her rather than getting the information secondhand," Su Rong yawned, "Investigating a case is seriously exhausting. No wonder the Rui’an King fell ill halfway through."
Su Xingze agreed, observing the evident fatigue in her eyes, he sighed, "If you’re tired, take a rest. I’ll wake you up when we reach the residence."
Su Rong agreed, picked up a throw pillow as a makeshift cushion, sprawled out in the carriage then drifted off to sleep.
Witnessing her curled up, still resembling a kid just like when she was young, Su Xingze couldn’t help but smile. Shaking his head fondly, he picked his book back up to continue his reading.
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