Chapter 38, Section 38: "If I tell him to go east, he would never dare to go west..."
As May arrived, the sun became noticeably hotter. Having already visited several popular spring viewing spots near the capital in April, Luo Fu was less inclined to leave the city. She would either visit her sister to see her sister preparing clothes and shoes for her nephews and nieces whom she hadn't seen for over half a year, or stay at the Marquis's residence and invite her two sisters-in-law to Wanhe Hall to play cards with her mother-in-law.
There were no playing cards in Yangzhou. It was only when Lady Liao, the wife of the Duke of Dingguo, invited the three sisters-in-law to a play that Luo Fu first encountered playing cards. After lunch, the old lady suddenly became interested in playing cards. Because she didn't know how to play, Luo Fu just sat next to Lady Liao and watched. Fortunately, she was clever and learned most of it after watching for more than an hour.
Since then, when she didn't go out, Luo Fu would often ask her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to teach her, and now she's so skilled that she often wins money.
On the seventh day of the month, the mother-in-law and her three daughters-in-law were playing in the cool, breezy pavilion in the garden when Steward Zhao brought over a maid. The maid was about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a fine silk dress, and walked with her head held high and her chest out, even more imposing than the most trusted maids in the Left Prime Minister's Mansion and the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion.
Luo Fu subconsciously looked at her eldest sister-in-law, Yang Yanzhen, who was the most knowledgeable among the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Strangely, Yang Yanzhen couldn't discern the other party's exact origin either, and could only guess in a low voice, "They're probably from some royal palace."
Upon hearing this, Madam Deng released the cards and was about to stand up when Yang Yanzhen, who was sitting to her left, quickly grabbed his mother-in-law's arm and said with a smile, "No matter how powerful she is, she is just a maid in front of you."
Deng then shifted her position and sat down again, but she no longer felt as comfortable as before.
"Madam Hou, Princess Kangping has sent someone to deliver an invitation."
Upon arriving, Steward Zhao bowed and explained.
To the Deng family, there was no difference between princesses and princes; they were all members of the royal family. Moreover, the family had been in the capital for over twenty years without having any private dealings with any of the princes or princesses. So, trying to hide her nervousness, she smiled at the maid and said, "It's so hot today, thank you for making this trip."
The maidservant gracefully bowed to the four women—the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—and then looked at the youngest, Luo Fu, presenting her with a gold-embossed invitation: "His Highness wishes to invite Princess Shun, Princess Fu, and the Third Madam to the manor for a card game the day after tomorrow. I wonder if the Third Madam is available?"
Luo Fu, who had nothing to do every day, was flattered. Just listen to this: a princess actually invited her to play cards, and the other two card players were also princesses!
"Yes, yes, please tell Her Highness that I will definitely arrive on time!"
To show her overwhelming joy at winning the princess's favor, Luo Fu bypassed the card table and personally accepted the precious invitation from the maid.
The maid smiled faintly, bowed to the four women—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—once again, and took her leave.
After watching the person walk away, Luo Fu sat back down in her chair, opened the invitation, and read it carefully. It was just a simple and polite invitation, nothing more.
After reading it, Luo Fu noticed that her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were all looking at her, and she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. After all, she was the lowest in status among the four, yet she was the only one who had received Princess Kangping's invitation. When dealing with petty-minded mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, even such a small matter could easily cause rifts.
Luo Fu was the first to speak: "I don't know what Your Highness means by this. I've only met her twice. Once was at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, and we didn't even exchange a word. The other time was at the small flower banquet hosted by Her Majesty the Empress at the beginning of last month. Although the princess and I talked, we didn't discuss anything special."
Faced with her daughter-in-law's bewilderment, Madam Deng was unable to offer any help: "I haven't even exchanged a single word with the princess..."
Second sister-in-law Li Huaiyun briefly recalled, then shook her head: "I only have a nodding acquaintance with the princess."
Because she was aloof and taciturn, ordinary noble ladies did not like to socialize with her, and a proud princess like Princess Kangping would certainly not take the initiative to get to know her.
The eldest sister-in-law, Yang Yanzhen, guessed: "The princess is lively and loves to laugh, and the third sister-in-law is also talkative and loves to laugh, so she must have caught the princess's eye."
It is obvious that she, being too dignified and proper, was not a close confidante of Princess Kangping.
Luo Fu: "..."
Visiting the princess's residence was a big deal. When Xiao Yu returned in the evening, Luo Fu showed him the invitation.
As Xiao Yu looked at the invitation, Luo Fu stared intently at him, asking warily, "Tell me the truth, have you ever offended Princess Kangping before?"
One shouldn't only think about being favored by others. Luo Fu was more worried that Princess Kangping had a grudge against Xiao Yu and would take revenge on her, the innocent Lady Xiao Yu, just like Li Jiulang.
Xiao Yu stared at the invitation in silence for a moment, then glanced at his wife's face, which was beginning to radiate anger, before looking away and saying, "In the past, when I entered the palace, I could see several princes from afar, but I never had any contact with the princess. The only time I can remember was outside the palace, that Mid-Autumn Festival..."
Rosé's eyes widened in disbelief!
Immediately afterward, Luo Fu snatched the invitation and slapped Xiao Yu's shoulder hard a few times: "You did care about the people when it came to the Northern Expedition, but when Prince Fu and the princess occupied the bridge to enjoy the moon, they were just making the people take a detour. They didn't hit or scold anyone. Why did you have to go and make sarcastic remarks about them?"
The invitation from the princess's residence was exquisite and quite heavy. It was so hard that it almost made Xiao Yu's shoulder go numb. Ever since he was pushed off the bed by his wife and rolled around more than once, Xiao Yu never dared to underestimate his seemingly petite and gentle wife again!
Xiao Yu was in a lot of pain, but he didn't dare to dodge. He endured the pain before pulling the lady in front of him onto his lap and holding her. He explained, "Although occupying the bridge to admire the moon is a small matter, it means that the two princes do not care about the rights and convenience of the people. If no one points out their mistake of disregarding the people in time, then next time they may seize the people's wealth for their own gain, or enslave the people for their own pleasure. So I spoke out to stop them in order to nip it in the bud."
Luo Fu: "..."
That makes so much sense, she couldn't find a single word to refute it!
Xiao Yu took the opportunity to quietly take the invitation from the lady's hand.
Luo Fu couldn't argue with his grand principles, but she was annoyed by Xiao Yu's ability to offend people at every turn. She casually pinched his arm and said, "I don't care. Just hope the princess treats me well tomorrow. Otherwise, if the princess makes me suffer even five points of grievance, I'll make you suffer fifty points when we get home!"
Xiao Yu agreed verbally, but in his heart he thought that if Princess Kangping really bullied his wife for this, he would go to the emperor to impeach her.
.
On the ninth day of the fifth month, Luo Fu arrived at the princess's residence a quarter of an hour early, at the time indicated on the invitation.
A smiling eunuch led her to a side hall where Princess Kangping used to play cards.
Luo Fu learned something new again; it turned out that the princess's residence was actually modeled after the palace.
Upon arriving at the side hall, Luo Fu heard laughter and chatter coming from inside before even entering. One of the voices belonged to Princess Kangping, carrying her innate arrogance and unrestrained manner, while the other voice was gentler and subtly seemed to be trying to curry favor with Princess Kangping.
"Your Highness, the Third Madam of the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence has arrived."
"Okay, please invite her in."
After entering, Luo Fu quickly glanced at the two people sitting on the tea chairs on the north side. One was Princess Kangping, and if she remembered correctly, the other should be Princess Shun.
Luo Fu bowed respectfully to the two noblemen.
Kang Ping smiled and told her to dispense with the formalities, saying in a familiar tone, "I've already invited you here myself, so there's no need for you to be so polite. However, this is the first time you and my third sister-in-law have met outside the palace, so let's complete the formalities first. Next time you come, you won't have to be so formal."
Princess Shun examined Luo Fu's appearance while nodding in an approachable manner: "What the princess says is true. Once you've played cards once, you'll be familiar with everyone next time."
While the noble lady might say that, Luo Fu dared not truly believe it. After thanking her, she sat down on another tea chair that Princess Kangping pointed to.
Almost as soon as she sat down, Princess Fu arrived, and Luo Fu's heart skipped a beat the moment she entered.
Luo Fu prided herself on her exceptional beauty, but her appearance was the kind that was praised as bringing good fortune, like the peonies commonly seen in Luo City—beautiful as they were, but in a field of them, any single flower wouldn't stand out too much. Princess Fu, however, was different. With her slender, willow-like figure and a serene, moonlit beauty, even when she smiled, her eyes seemed to carry a faint hint of melancholy.
The bright moon, which should have been hanging high at night, appeared in the daytime, making it hard for anyone not to notice it.
"I'm so sorry to be the last one." Upon seeing the three people at the tea table, Princess Fu smiled and apologized, her voice as light and melodious as a stream flowing through the deep mountains.
Luo Fu thought that even in the summer, with Princess Fu by her side, the surroundings seemed to become cooler, but in the winter, Princess Fu would make people feel even colder.
"This humble woman greets Princess Consort Fu." Luo Fu promptly rose and bowed.
Princess Fu offered a perfunctory helping hand, which did not seem like the gesture of someone who would take a heavy courtesy seriously.
Princess Kangping hosted the gathering, and the four of them drank a cup of tea to get to know each other briefly before moving to the mahjong table. Each chair was covered with a soft and comfortable satin cushion, and there was a special tray in one corner of the mahjong table for placing tea and pastries!
Luo Fu flattered sincerely, "I have attended several card games since I came to the capital, but I have never seen a second card table like this."
Princess Kangping was very proud: "Of course, this is a design I came up with myself. I gave it to the palace craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department to make. There is no second one like it in the entire capital."
The Empress Dowager was not fond of playing cards, and her four sisters-in-law dared not trouble the Imperial Household Department to make a card table for them, lest they give the Emperor a bad impression of being a playboy who wasted his life on gambling.
Luo Fu understood; Princess Kangping was fun and enjoyable!
The royal nobles played cards much like the female members of the imperial family, chatting as they played. Princess Shun fawned over Princess Kangping, while Princess Fu, who was not very talkative, always had Princess Kangping initiate the conversation, as she was more interested in the affairs of Luo Fu and his wife.
"I heard that Censor Xiao single-handedly ensured that all officials in the Censorate could leave their posts on time. Aren't his colleagues very grateful to him?"
Luo Fu chuckled dryly as she observed the cards on the table: "At first, he gained some good relationships, but he squandered them all in no time. He would complain that others were slow in doing things, or he would tell others to shut up while eating so that their saliva wouldn't get on his food. As a result, no one in the Censorate wanted to eat at the same table with him anymore."
Princess Kangping was so surprised that she forgot to play her card. Princess Shun secretly suppressed a laugh, and even Princess Fu, who was focused on playing cards, glanced at Luo Fu a few more times.
Luo Fu looked at Princess Kangping with a hesitant expression.
Princess Kangping: "What's wrong?"
Luo Fu said with shame, "The night before last, because of the time he disturbed the princess and Prince Fu's enjoyment of the moon, I patted him a few times and told him not to cause trouble again."
Princess Kangping was even more curious about Xiao Yu's reaction: "You hit him, and he wasn't angry?"
Luo Fu finally revealed a hint of smugness: "Ever since I had a big fight with him after the palace examination, he has never dared to offend me again. If I tell him to go east, he would never dare to go west."
Princess Kangping, Princess Shun, and Princess Fu: "..."
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Author's note: These are all card players who will have more important roles later on; they'll all get more screen time eventually.
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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