Yongyan gave Xiao Luzi a sharp look, and Xiao Luzi immediately wiped away his tears with his sleeve and stood up beside Yongyan.
Xiao Luzi looked helplessly at Yan Ning; he was already familiar with her stunningly beautiful face. Several portraits of Yan Ning that Yongyan had painted were displayed in his study. Today, Yongyan had spoken recklessly because of her. When their master was in trouble, it was they, the servants, who suffered the consequences. He secretly harbored some resentment towards Yan Ning, who was now a married woman.
With Fukang'an absent, few outsiders visited, and the relatives of the Fucha family mostly came to pay their respects to the old lady. Because they were relatives, the guests bypassed the main hall and went directly to the backyard through the hanging flower gate.
The hall had been deserted for a long time. Although servants cleaned it daily, no incense or incense burner was lit. In the dim spring sunlight, the entire hall exuded a cold and austere atmosphere.
Everything about Changchun Immortal Pavilion was vivid in her mind, and Yan Ning's hands instantly turned icy cold. She didn't know if it was the chill in her heart or the coldness from her fingertips.
On that day, amidst the incense-scented carved beams and painted rafters, Fukang'an bowed his head in silence, while the Empress Dowager's almost transparent brown eyes flickered like a nightmare beside Yan Ning. Her hand unconsciously touched her abdomen, then she stared blankly at Yongyan, kneeling down while holding onto the rosewood chair.
Zhu Xiang simply tidied up the broken pieces of the gaiwan. The tea spilled on the cold floor turned into a pool of cool water that remained still, its chill seeping into her cotton cheongsam.
She clasped her hands tightly together, unsure of the request she was about to make: "Yan Ning begs the Fifteenth Prince to protect the child in my womb!"
Yan Ning knew that he was the historical Jiaqing Emperor, and that the Emperor had long favored him. Therefore, looking down upon the entire capital, only Fukang'an would wholeheartedly protect her and her unborn child. Only Yongyan, even unwillingly, could easily protect her and her child. Moreover, he had Heshen as his patron; even if he were unable to have a child, Heshen's cunning and resourcefulness could ensure her and the child's safety. With just a single command from him, Heshen, even without his own feelings for her, would consider Yongyan's status.
Yongyan rose and walked to Yan Ning's side. He looked down at her with gentle eyes and sighed softly. "I also have many difficulties. The Empress Dowager doesn't really want to see me, but I will do my best to protect you!" He reached out to help Yan Ning up, but hesitated halfway. Instead, he waved for Zhu Xiang to help Yan Ning up.
Yan Ning nodded. With his words of encouragement, she felt at ease.
At dawn, the Peony Hall, shrouded in a hazy veil of morning light, appeared desolate amidst the spring blossoms. Yan Ning stood forlornly in the solitude. She waited outside the main room for a while before the maids opened the door, their voices soft but audible to everyone in the quiet courtyard.
The creaking sound seemed to begin the prelude to dawn, the clatter of a wooden bucket against a water jar, the scraping of a broom against a stone slab. The gentle patter of the water reached her ears, but was blocked by the heavy curtains as Yan Ning entered the main room.
The old lady, dressed in her nightgown, sat before her dressing table, eyes closed, letting her maid comb her hair, which concealed her white locks. She heard the sound of Yan Ning's embroidered low-cut shoes dragging on the carpet. Without opening her eyes, she spoke softly, tinged with reproach, "With Kang'er gone, you've become increasingly ill-mannered! So many women in the world yearn to wear those flowerpot-shaped shoes, yet you keep them hidden away every day!"
Yan Ning lowered her head to look at her own sky-blue embroidered shoes, then glanced at Zhu Xiang's shoes beside her. Aside from the difference in the quality of the material, they were identical. Knowing she was in the wrong, she changed the subject, "I've come to ask for my leave, Mother. I'm afraid you'll have to work harder while I'm away!"
The old lady opened her eyes and saw Yan Ning's distorted figure swirling on the bronze mirror before her. She turned around abruptly and saw that Yan Ning's protruding belly was intact, and breathed a sigh of relief. Lotus wanted to draw her eyebrows, but she stopped her, saying calmly, "A woman only needs to adorn herself to please herself. The old general has long since passed away, so why should I torment myself like this?"
Yan Ning froze, recalling the meticulously applied makeup she had done that morning. When choosing clothes, she discarded her deep crimson attire and changed into an elegant, simple light blue cheongsam, over which she wore a jade-white, double-breasted vest. Because she was to meet the Empress Dowager, she wore her hair in a simple updo, adorned with some inconspicuous hairpins. Fearing her attire might be too flamboyant, she wore a jade hairpin—a style only someone of the Empress Dowager's age could truly wear.
When Fukang'an was alive, except for the few days when she was vying for his favor and had put some effort into her makeup, she almost always appeared without makeup when facing him. Today's deliberate attempt to appear natural was immediately obvious to everyone else. Yan Ning felt somewhat wronged, not because she disregarded her husband's elaborate makeup before leaving home, but because she was filled with anxiety about this trip to the Empress Dowager's palace. She kept wildly imagining that something big was about to happen, without knowing whether it had anything to do with her.
Since everyone says she possesses unparalleled beauty, yet she has no family background or connections. Even if she did, what use would it be in the palace? A single imperial decree from the Emperor, a mere snort from the Empress Dowager, and not only her, but the entire Fucha family could vanish from the world. The Fucha family's immense favor with the Emperor stems solely from the fact that they have produced loyal and valiant soldiers generation after generation. The Emperor deems them useful, and extremely useful, hence his favor and trust.
As for her, the young Yan Ning, she had contributed nothing to the nation or the royal family. Even if the Emperor favored the Fucha family, the Empress Dowager was still his closest relative. In the eyes of these ancient emperors, other men's wives and concubines were nothing more than clothing; they could simply bestow upon a woman of higher birth from the Fucha family as their consort.
She wanted to protect herself and her unborn child, and all she could rely on was her appearance and the ambiguous affection that Heshen and Yongyan had for her.
The old lady was also uneasy about Yan Ning's trip to the Yuanmingyuan. With Fukang'an absent, the Fucha mansion, though large, was now filled with the elderly, the infirm, and pregnant. She took the morning tea for rinsing her mouth from Li Mama, and as she placed it to her lips, she sighed and said, "Go! Remember, you are the lady of the Fucha mansion, Kang'er's woman!"
Yan Ning curtsied, looking at the wisps of steam rising from the lips of Old Madam Fucha, unable to discern whether it was tea steam or cold air. Therefore, Yan Ning couldn't tell whether her words were hot or cold.
They set off at dawn and arrived at Yuanmingyuan at dusk, but Yan Ning still felt it was too fast.
The carriage wheels turned on the carved stone slabs, and because the carriage was large, there was no bumping; only the sound of the wooden wheels hitting the stone slabs could be heard. When the carriage came to a sudden stop, Yan Ning was helped down by Zhu Xiang. Her eyes fell upon the wooden bridge leading to Changchun Immortal Hall. It was a landscape painting of a wooden bridge shrouded in mist, exuding an eerie and sinister aura. After stepping onto the wooden bridge, Yan Ning walked slowly, deeply feeling what it meant to be terrified with every step.
When she entered the Empress Dowager's bedchamber, Yan Ning covered her nose with a handkerchief. Although the scent today was different from the musk she remembered, she was still on guard.
When Yan Ning saw the Empress Dowager, she was stunned!
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