Chapter 88 Absence Makes the Heart Blossom More Beautiful Inside the main hall, Granny Shuang served with great eagerness…
Inside Duanben Hall, Granny Shuang attentively served the Crown Princess as she dressed. The Crown Prince had only brought her to the West Garden, which had delighted her immensely. Upon hearing word that the Crown Prince would be arriving that evening, she personally attended to her preparations. However, she noticed that the Crown Princess seemed somewhat distracted.
Granny Shuang asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Did you not sleep well during your afternoon nap? Why don't you rest on the couch for a while longer? I'll call you later."
The Crown Princess shook her head, and after a while said in a low voice, "Granny, call Sui'er over to serve you later."
Granny Shuang paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The Crown Princess is still young, why call someone else?" Sui'er was a palace maid serving in the West Garden. The Crown Princess had seen her a few days ago while admiring the scenery and had specially transferred her to Duanbentang. Granny Shuang immediately knew that this was a palace maid specially prepared by the Crown Princess for the Crown Prince.
But in her opinion, the Crown Princess is not yet thirty years old. Although she cannot match the younger princesses in terms of fertility, there are still concubines in the harem who gave birth at an advanced age. For example, Consort De was twenty-eight when she gave birth to the Fourteenth Prince. So why send a palace maid to the Crown Prince at this time?
The Crown Princess said, "There are always times when people feel powerless, which is why they ask others to share their burdens." Then, without room for argument, she said, "Call Sui'er in to adorn my hair with flowers."
Granny Shuang had no choice but to say yes. However, she quickly came to a conclusion. After all, she was just a lowly palace maid. If she were lucky enough to gain favor and become pregnant, the child would be considered to have been born to the Crown Princess. It would just require a little effort to influence the birth mother, but it was nothing more than lifting a finger.
The Crown Princess glanced briefly at Granny Shuang as she left, then sighed softly.
The Crown Prince seemed increasingly composed, and sometimes she wondered if it was because of her effective advice over the years that he had finally come to his senses. She thought she should be happy and gratified, but along with her joy came a touch of worry, because she felt she hadn't done enough. Especially since he had only brought her along to the garden this time, and the Crown Prince hadn't followed. So these past few days she had been trying to work on that aspect.
Although her relationship with the Crown Prince had improved in the past two years, they rarely engaged in marital relations, and even when they did, it was as distant as if they were on official business. Now that she was getting old and her daughter, Ulinzhu, had grown up, she had no other thoughts.
This time, she didn't bring anyone else from the Xiefang Palace with her when she came to the garden, and she hadn't heard anything about the Crown Prince favoring any palace maids. She couldn't openly advise the Crown Prince to show favor to the people, so she thought of sending him someone to serve him. Firstly, it would make things easier for her, and secondly, it would save the Crown Prince from only visiting her once or twice a month, which would make her, as the Crown Princess, seem derelict in her duty.
Before long, Yinreng came over from the front and said, "Have someone serve the meal."
As the saying goes, one should not speak while eating or sleeping. The couple finished their meal quietly, and then someone brought them water to wash their hands. Yinreng asked, "How has Wulinzhu been lately?"
The Crown Princess rarely showed a smile. "It's very good. Yesterday, I heard from the wet nurse that Wulinzhu was going to paint a picture, saying that she would show it to the Prince when it was finished."
Upon hearing this, a hint of tenderness appeared on Yinreng's face.
The Crown Princess asked softly, "I heard that the Crown Prince has recently been teaching the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes in the front courtyard."
"Hmm," Yinreng replied casually.
The Crown Princess continued, "I'm sure His Majesty also hopes that you and your brothers will be harmonious and respectful to each other. His Majesty will surely see your kindness towards your younger brother."
In recent years, Yinreng's relationship with the Crown Princess had improved considerably. Whenever the Crown Princess offered advice, Yinreng would listen attentively, especially since these few words resonated with him perfectly. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes." He continued in a friendly tone to the Crown Princess, "I've been busy with things at the front lately and haven't had much time to attend to things at home. Have you been enjoying your time at Duanbentang these past few days?"
The Crown Princess replied politely, "I am perfectly fine."
Just then, Sui'er came in to serve tea. A slender figure knelt down deftly with the tea tray in hand. Yinreng didn't pay any attention to it, but the Crown Princess said, "What does Your Highness think of this tea? This is a tea-brewing maid I recently found. She has some skill."
Yinreng took a sip of tea and glanced at Sui'er: "Your tea-making skills are alright, but you look unfamiliar."
The Crown Princess continued with a smile, "If Your Highness thinks she's good at making tea, why not send her to serve at the front?"
Yinreng's expression gradually faded. His mind was mostly on the outside world, paying little attention to the inner quarters. And if he were to actually come to the inner quarters, he wouldn't even consider anyone else. The Crown Princess could be considered, after all, she was the Emperor's designated primary consort. But more than anything, it was Lady Chengjia. He only wanted to be with her now, because they always had so much to talk about—about the outside world, about the inner quarters, and about the children. Thinking of this, he found himself beginning to miss Lady Chengjia. If she were here, what would she be doing right now?
The Crown Princess received no response for a long time, and her mind began to wander. Finally, she couldn't help but ask softly, "Your Highness?"
Yinreng came to his senses and slowly said, "It's getting late, let's go to bed."
The Crown Princess understood this was a blatant rejection, but such a matter was not grounds for advice, so she remained silent. That evening, lying beside him, she thought that the Eastern Palace had quite a few heirs; the Emperor shouldn't think she was incompetent. As for the Crown Prince, she had given him away, but he refused. However, she also thought that the Crown Prince's lack of interest in women was probably a good thing; the Emperor would likely be pleased if he knew.
Yinreng lay on the bed and slowly closed his eyes, thinking how slowly the days were passing. He decided to wait a little longer and bring Cheng Jia and the children over when it got warmer. He missed them; it had been so long since he had seen them.
It was only June when Yinreng sent someone to the Forbidden City to fetch the princess. Not long after the eunuchs who had come to fetch her left, Granny Shuang received the news. Granny Shuang didn't dare complain to the Crown Princess, and could only sigh in the tea room. Sui'er was startled by her sigh and cautiously asked, "Granny, what's wrong? Did you get chilled by that plate of melon?"
Granny Shuang looked at Sui'er, whose face was fair and delicate, and said, "She's frozen, so cold that I feel uncomfortable all over." She thought that since Crown Princess Cheng was coming over, everyone else had to step aside. It was truly strange; with such a beautiful and gentle young girl right in front of him, the Crown Prince wasn't moved. Could it be that in the Crown Prince's eyes, Cheng Jia was so good that she could compare to this beautiful young woman of sixteen or seventeen?
When Yinreng arrived at Donglizhai, the room was quite lively. Everything on the kang (heated brick bed) had been taken down, and Cheng Qianyue and Hongyan were teasing the two children with small bells.
The second princess, Moyaqi, and the fourth prince, Hongchao, both showed signs of learning to crawl. The two children's bellies were pressed against the kang (a heated brick bed), and their hands and feet were scurrying around like little turtles.
Cheng Qianyue and Hongyan sat on opposite sides, the bells in their hands jingling. Hongchao moved closer to Hongyan, and Hongyan coaxed him, "Hongchao, your brother is here, come over here quickly."
Hong Chao made little noises, his calves visibly straining, but after crawling for ages, he couldn't budge an inch. He seemed angry, then rolled over and sat up, refusing to move. Compared to this boy, Mo Yaqi was clearly more lively and patient, straining her legs as she moved her body little by little with her movements, like a little caterpillar.
Cheng Qianyue opened her arms to her and said, "Come on, baby, you'll be here with your mother in just a few more steps." After a while, Moyaqi finally wobbled over, but her hands reached out before her head. With a forceful grab, she picked up the bell that Cheng Qianyue had placed beside her and put it in her mouth to bite.
Cheng Qianyue quickly picked her up and said, "Oh dear, you can't eat this! Let go of her mouth!"
Seeing that Hongchao was sitting still and wouldn't move, Hongyan couldn't wait any longer. So she ran over and wrapped her legs around him, muttering, "Hongchao, how come you can't even compare to your sister? Your sister can crawl, and you can't even move."
While coaxing Moyaqi, Cheng Qianyue said to Hongyan, "When Hongchao climbs again, you support his legs from behind, so he will exert more effort."
"Will this work?" Hongyan asked uncertainly.
Cheng Qianyue said, "Of course it works. That's what I did when you were learning to crawl. You'll see if you try it in a bit."
Yinreng overheard half of what was being said outside and immediately walked in, asking, "What are we testing?"
Cheng Qianyue couldn't stand up to greet him while holding the child on the kang, but she guessed that Yinreng didn't care about that, so she didn't pay any attention to anything else and said with a smile, "Your Highness is here. We were just talking about the two children. They are learning how to crawl, but they don't know how to exert force."
Yinreng walked over and sat down, hugging each of the two children affectionately. He said, "You've both gotten quite a bit heavier in the few months I haven't seen you." Then he exclaimed, "You've grown so fast!"
Of course, children change every day. Cheng Qianyue simply put both children in Yinreng's arms. "Moyaqi and Hongchao can recognize people now. Your Highness should spend more time with them, so they don't forget their own father."
Yinreng immediately burst into laughter, picked up a rattle drum and started teasing them, with Hongyan joining in the fun. Cheng Qianyue, having been entertained by the father and sons, slowly got off the bed, went back to the inner room to change her clothes, and then sent someone to the kitchen to order her meal.
The family played in the house for the entire afternoon. During this time, Moyaqi and Hongchao got sleepy and were taken away by their wet nurse. Yinreng then started asking Hongyan about his literacy progress. Yinreng didn't stop until after dinner when all the children had gone back to their rooms.
Cheng Qianyue had just washed her feet and was sitting at her dressing table removing her jewelry. Yinreng saw her pull out a hairpin, and her waterfall of black hair cascaded down, rippling like delicate willow branches, inexplicably stirring his heartstrings. He got out of bed and went straight to her.
Cheng Qianyue had just removed the last hairpin when she looked up and Yinreng was already in front of her. He then eagerly swept her up and carried her to the bed. Cheng Qianyue knew what he wanted to do, so she looked at him and smiled. As they smiled, they began to kiss.
This was terrible; things quickly escalated like a bolt from the blue, becoming uncontrollable, and the passion nearly set the bed curtains ablaze.
The buttons on Cheng Qianyue's robe were difficult to undo. Yinreng tugged at them twice but couldn't get them open. Veins bulged on his forehead, and he was so angry he wanted to tear them off. If he really did that, she could forget about getting the robe again. Besides, Cheng Qianyue really liked this light green silk robe. It suited the summer scene, and since it was newly made and she was wearing it for the first time today, she was reluctant to part with it.
Cheng Qianyue immediately exclaimed "Oh!" and moved back a couple of steps, saying, "When did you become so lustful, Master?" As she spoke, she began to unbutton her own clothes.
Yinreng watched her undress, his gaze making her blush furiously. Soon the buttons were undone, and his hand slipped inside. Cheng Qianyue felt he was too eager, as if he hadn't had sex in a long time.
The thought immediately displeased Cheng Qianyue. She couldn't believe that Yinreng hadn't slept with other women since she became pregnant; they were either princesses or palace maids from the Xiefang Palace, or she had simply pretended not to know. Thinking this, she became angry and instantly sharpened her tongue, relentlessly nibbling at his Adam's apple.
Yinreng felt both smug and excited. When she bit him, his eyes turned fierce and ruthless. Then, he raised his hand and flipped her over.
Cheng Qianyue groaned, looking at him with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, and tried to push him down. But soon, a sudden gust of wind and a sudden downpour occurred, and she lost her grip, no longer caring about anything else. Cheng Qianyue wrapped her arms around his neck and comforted herself, saying, "Why think so much? There's no need to make people uncomfortable. Let it be."
That night, Donglizhai called for water twice. After feeling refreshed, Cheng Qianyue became sleepy. She couldn't help it; the scratching and nibbling had exhausted her, so she fell asleep quickly. Yinreng went to sleep later than her, and hearing Cheng Qianyue's steady breathing in the darkness, he couldn't resist leaning over and kissing her.
People say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it's certainly true.
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