Ruyi curtsied and said, "Yes, this servant has remembered." Last time, she ate a lot of nourishing porridge and her face broke out in pimples. The pimples haven't completely healed yet, and there are dark pimple marks on her face. Even after using medicine, they haven't completely disappeared, so Consort Zhang didn't take her to the Wei family.
After seeing off Consort Zhang and Zhao Nihong, Ruyi immediately went to carry out the tasks Consort Zhang had instructed her to do.
Today was not the day of the grand court assembly, so Prince Duan did not need to attend court. However, a letter arrived from the Wei family informing him that Wei Caitao had entered the palace and that he should go there again tomorrow. Since he had nothing else to do, he returned to Xiaoxiang Courtyard.
The eunuch Leng Yang was not by his side at the time. As soon as he entered the archway of Xiaoxiang Courtyard, he bumped into Ruyi. The soup in Ruyi's hand fell to the ground with a 'clatter' and spilled all over her.
The soup was still very hot. Ruyi cried out in surprise, but when she realized it was Prince Duan, she immediately shut up and knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, please forgive me. This servant deserves to die. I bumped into Your Highness."
Her body was covered in soup, and her face was covered in acne scars. Even with thick makeup, it was hard to hide them. The rouge and powder of Dayong were far from the exquisite ones of modern times; they were very rough and could not cover up the acne marks at all.
Prince Duan looked down at Ruyi. Ruyi was not young anymore, but she was still younger than Consort Zhang. However, she was not as beautiful as Consort Zhang, and now she was covered in soup and looked disheveled. For some reason, Prince Duan thought of the concubines he sometimes encountered while walking in the palace. They were all stunningly beautiful. He heard that his nineteenth brother had health problems and could not perform sexual acts. Dozens of delicate flowers had to stay alone in their empty rooms and live like widows. It was a waste of their talents.
He was startled by his own thought: "How wonderful it would be if all these beauties were his."
"Go down." When Prince Duan thought of the beauties in Prince Yong's mansion, he found Ruyi rather unappealing. If it weren't for the beauties in Prince Yong's mansion as a comparison, Ruyi would actually be quite pleasing to the eye.
Ruyi hurriedly went downstairs to change her clothes. The soup had been spilled, so she had to make it all over again. She cursed her bad luck in her heart and went downstairs to find someone to clean it up. Wei Ji came out from the shadows. She had just received the news that the prince had returned to the manor, so she rushed over, only to find this good show.
Ruyi was clearly trying to seduce the prince, but unfortunately she was ugly and old, and the prince didn't fancy her. She puffed out her chest smugly and walked in with her pipa in her arms.
"Concubine? I've arrived, Concubine?" Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, as melodious as the tinkling of a mountain stream. She had a naturally good voice, and when she spoke, it was sweet and charming, but not overly so. It was just the right amount of sweetness, making men feel an eagerness to see her beautiful face.
Prince Duan emerged from behind the screen and saw Consort Wei standing respectfully in the hall, her head bowed, not daring to look at her too much. Her beautiful, delicate hands held a pipa, her clothes swaying in the wind, and a faint fragrance wafted over, stirring his heart.
"Are you Wei Ji?" Prince Duan had seen Wei Ji before. After Zhao Changyan took Wei Ji from Zhao Shu, he brought her to play the pipa for Prince Duan. However, he was too busy to pay much attention at the time, but Wei Ji's pipa playing and appearance did indeed amaze him.
The phrase "You are Wei Ji" is not a question, but simply an opening remark.
Wei Ji nodded shyly, looking flustered and unsure of what to do, appearing pitiful, "Yes, sir."
"Want to play the pipa for the concubine?" Prince Duan asked, casually sitting in a chair and looking at Consort Wei. Consort Wei's face was already flushed with embarrassment, and two blushes appeared on her face, making her look even more charming.
Prince Duan's mind raced. Prince Yong's mansion was indeed full of beauties. Even a random singing girl was much more beautiful than the concubines in his mansion.
Moreover, these beauties are all forced to live as widows, which is truly unacceptable.
Wei Ji nodded slightly and said softly, "Yes."
“Play a tune for me,” said Prince Duan.
Consort Wei looked up shyly, glanced quickly at Prince Duan, and then quickly lowered her head. "Yes." She found a stool, sat down, placed the pipa on her lap, and began to play.
At this moment, a maid rushed into the Qunfang Courtyard, pushed open the door of a room, went inside, closed the door, and said, "Auntie, Wei Ji has succeeded."
"What?" the concubine asked, her voice trembling. "Tell me quickly."
"Consort Zhang went to the Wei family, while the Prince returned to his residence and is currently listening to Consort Wei playing the pipa in Xiaoxiang Courtyard," the maid reported.
“Sister, Wei Ji is just a courtesan and still a virgin. If she were to give herself to the prince, no one would say anything, and the prince would not despise her. But we…” She couldn’t continue. At this moment, she felt that entering the Yong Prince’s mansion was the stupidest thing she had ever done in her life. Not only would she get nothing, but she would also lose her virginity.
"So what if we're not virgins? Don't forget who we are." A voice said with a hint of ruthlessness, "This status alone is enough to make the prince treat us a few more days."
"My younger sister doesn't understand, so I hope my older sister can give me some pointers."
"You can go down now." These were the words spoken by the older woman. Her voice was cold, and if one could see her face, one would imagine she was sneering.
Before long, the maid came out of the room, closed the door, and went to stand guard in front of the moon gate across the street to prevent anyone from disturbing her.
"elder sister."
"A wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a stolen lover. There's a lot to learn about this."
At noon, Prince Yong emerged from the palace, accompanied by Zhang Beifu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, and Xu Da, the commander of the Royal Guard. These two were responsible for protecting the emperor's younger brother as he toured the country on behalf of the emperor.
Zhang Beifu came from the Zhang family, the Marquis of Huainan, and Xu Da was the commander of the Royal Guard. Everyone in the Royal Guard came from prominent and noble families, so Zhao Shu felt more at ease when she saw these two people.
Besides Zhang Beifu and Xu Da, there were also a group of civil officials, including Xie Qiusheng, the Vice Minister of Rites, who came from the Xie family, and Guo Liangjin, the Imperial Censor, who was the father of the wife of the Marquis of Zhiyuan. Considering that the Prince's Mansion had done some small favors for the Marquis of Zhiyuan, and that the Xie family would definitely not fail to protect their father, Zhao Shu felt even more at ease.
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