The forced smile on Ruan Ruyi’s face froze when she heard what Leng Changxi said. With an embarrassed look, Concubine Tan stepped forward to greet Qin Yunuan at once, who looked agreeable behind Leng Changxi. She held her hand and flattered, “Well, I guess you are Infanta Ping, right? You are as pretty as I had thought. I’m very pleased with you.”
“That’s all right,” Leng Changxi said indifferently. Fired from the black mask, his severe eyes showed that he was distant to persons not concerned, “But what really matters is whether mother likes or not. After all, Yunuan is her daughter-in-law. Yours is standing beside you, Concubine Tang.”
These words were sharp and straightforward, which dispelled the fake enthusiasm of Concubine Tang right away, who intended to put on a good face at first. Leaning against the pillow on the worn dark green couch, Princess Ning only gave a gentle smile, instead of stopping Leng Changxi from playing it off against Concubine Tang in such an obvious way. Deep in her heart, she never liked Concubine Tang for she was a fence-sitter.
Before Princess Ning married into Prince Ning’s family, Cao Shuxin, one of the concubines of Prince Ning, had the power in her grip at Prince Ning’s Mansion, and Concubine Tang had fawned upon her in every possible way. However, not long after Princess Ning came here, Concubine Tang gave herself up to Princess Ning like an ingratiating dog. She told her all the secrets and weaknesses of Consort Cao that she knew. Luckily, Princess Ning had kept her mother’s warnings in mind— such a flattering and insincere person should not be trusted because she could turn against you one day just like what she did to others.
So, during these years, Princess Ning had kept an appropriate distance with Consort Cao and Concubine Tang even though she was the hostess of this family. She had learned from her mother that it would be a good way to hide when you could not win.
“Don’t take it to heart, sis,” Princess Ning said to Tang with a smile, “Changxi was spoiled by me since childhood. He is used to coming straight to the point.” The implication was that she also agreed with what Leng Changxi said.
“That’s good. It’s good to be straightforward,” Tang echoed and sat down with an awkward expression.
But Ruan Ruyi hadn’t given up yet. She actually had the cheek to ask Princess Ning, “Well, mother, about the matter that we had talked about, do you think we can…?”
“Do you mean the shops in the east of the city?” It seemed that Princess Ning had come to understand suddenly.
“Yes,” Ruan Ruyi said shamelessly, “Although these shops were originally under the management of the West House, they have been poorly managed and assisted by our people from the East House. So, it would be easier if we run the shops on our own in case of the West House gaining extra advantage from us. What do you think, mother?”
Actually, in the West House that Ruan Ruyi had just mentioned lived the family of Leng Zhongxiao, Prince Ning’s younger brother. As the second branch of the family, they should have moved out and gone on their own according to the convention. But Leng Zhongxiao was a lazy and impetuous person in nature who cared for nothing but eating, which bothered Prince Ning a lot. Thus, Prince Ning allocated a quarter of the mansion to Leng Zhongxiao and his wives, which was then called the West House. However, though living in the same mansion, the two branches were not that close as imagined. The reason was probably that the Second Master of the West House had stirred up so many troubles that disturbed Prince Ning.
The shops in the east of the city were a good example. These shops, which included a jewelry shop, a draper, and a rice shop, had a good location with convenient traffic that made it a prime area for business. However, after being taken over by Second Master, the business that should have been lucrative took a dramatic turn downward. Thanks to the secret help from Princess Ning’s family under her instruction, it showed signs of recovery these years. But then, these shops were coveted by some annoying people, among whom was Tang and her sly daughter-in-law Ruan Ruyi.
“Well, that makes sense,” Princess Ning nodded. But just as Ruan Ruyi was about to show her delights, Princess Ning changed the subject, “Since I have not prepared any welcome gift for Yunuan, I’d like to hand those shops over to her as the welcome gift to my new daughter-in-law. Just like you said, charity begins at home, right?”
Froze for a moment, Qin Yunuan was aware of the hostile eyes of Concubine Tang and Ruan Ruyi that were sweeping her like sharp knives. She knew that they would certainly blame her as their speculations were dashed, but she had been well-prepared for the destined fights when she decided to marry Leng Changxi.
Qin Yunuan raised her head gracefully and gave a gentle smile to Ruan Ruyi and Tang. “Excuse me.” Then she made a courteous curtsy to Princess Ning. “Thank you, mother. I really like this welcome gift.”
Seeing that Qin Yunuan had accepted her kindness instead of retreating for fear of power, Princess Ning nodded with great satisfaction and then said to Ruan Ruyi and Tang, “What? What else do you want to discuss with me?”
Ruan Ruyi and Tang both retracted their head.
“Okay, then. You can go back if there’s nothing else. I’m tired now. Changxi and Yunuan can stay and talk with me.” Obviously, Princess Ning wanted to have a private talk with her son and daughter-in-law. After all, there must be a gap between people from different courtyards.
As Ruan Ruyi and Tang went back unwillingly, Qin Yunuan looked back at Princess Ning with a smile. It was whispered between servants and maids that Princess Ning was too kind to compete so that Concubine Tang and Consort Cao were so arrogant. But in Qin Yunuan’s eyes, pretending not to know was a wise way. Maybe she was very aware of the stakes of all these things, and it was an assured deal to stick to the principles on big things while losing a little on small things.
“Come here. Take a seat.” Seeing the quiet and peaceful look of Qin Yunuan, Princess Ning couldn’t help but beckon her to sit aside. Such an intimate and natural action reminded Qin Yunuan of her childhood when her own mother asked her to come to bed and look at her doing embroideries.
Princess Ning leaned over to a more leisurely and comfortable gesture, and then took Qin Yunuan’s hand in her palms with a smile. “Changxi had told me about your story,” Princess Ning said.
Subconsciously, Qin Yunuan took a glance at Leng Changxi who was sitting next to her and drinking tea. She knew that Leng Changxi was always close to Princess Ning, and his intentions of telling those things would not be bad. But still, Qin Yunuan was afraid that Princess Ning might have some ill feelings about her. All along, she had been pointed at and abused by others as a daughter of a concubine who was just an embroiderer. Even though she was now crowned with the title of Infanta, if Princess Ning also had such impressions on her…
“What a poor girl,” Princess Ning caressed Qin Yunuan’s face with affection. Her soft palm had the tenderness and warmth of a mother. “I felt heartbroken at the thought of you supporting your brother by yourself at the mansion of Grand Commandant. You must have suffered a lot.”
Qin Yunuan could tell the sincerity and genuine compassion in Princess Ning’s tone.
She lowered her head slightly and said softly after casting a glanced at Leng Changxi, “Now I have got my reward.” That was right. She had met Leng Changxi and so many good people in this life, which was much better than her previous one. Now Baochuan was her only concern. Luckily, Concubine Chang would look after him in the mansion of Grand Commandant. Qin Yunuan believed that there were more good people in this world.
“Yes, as long as you got your reward,” Princess Ning smiled kindly, and then turned back to Qingzhu, the personal maid who was waiting aside, “Bring the welcome gift that I had prepared.”
“Didn’t you say that those shops were….”
“That was just a lie,” Princess Ning smiled. “You are the love and wife of Changxi, how could you only get some shops?” As she said, she took the palm-size brocade box handed by Qingzhu and gave it to Qin Yunuan.
“Open it.” Princess Ning said.
Qin Yunuan bowed her head and opened the sapphire-blue brocade box carefully. On the red velvet cotton was a copper key that had a red rope tied to its head, which looked like a sign.
“This is the secondary key of the counting house in this mansion,” Princess Ning said simply.
“Oh, mother. How could I accept such a tremendous gift!” Qin Yunuan was really flattered. On her first day as Leng Changxi’s wife, Princess Ning handed the key to the counting house over to her, which represented the administrative power of the fiscal expenditure income of the whole mansion. Like a stroke of luck from heaven, this gift surprised Qin Yunuan so much that she did not know what to do.
“Don’t refuse me at once,” Princess Ning smiled and pushed the key back into Qin Yunuan ‘s hand. “I give it to you for some reason. You still have a one-month-trial to run the shops that I had handed over to you. Let’s see how you will do. Besides, this is just the secondary key. You cannot manage the counting house without the key in my hand. What do you think?”
This would be a challenge but also an opportunity that stood for the trust and proactive intimacy of Princess Ning, so Qin Yunuan had no reason to refuse.
“Thank you, mother.” Qin Yunuan accepted her kindness calmly.
Leng Changxi left alone after talking for a while as he had some military affairs to handle. It was almost noon by the time Qin Yunuan went out. There was nobody around, and even the sparrows all came back to their nest to be away from the heat of the day. But by the Chaoshou Corridor, Qin Yunuan saw a familiar figure from afar.
“Yunuan,” Ruan Ruyi greeted Qin Yunuan actively when she saw her approaching. Wet with sweat, her hair was closely against her forehead, which showed that she had waited under the hot sun for a long time. Obviously, she was well-prepared.
“Why are you waiting here? Look at the sun. It’s making me dizzy.” Qin Yunuan knew clearly that Ruan Ruyi was waiting for her, but she didn’t make it clear. She was waiting for her to start.
