Four Seasons Brocade – CH 091

Chapter 91 ☆、

Half a month after settling in, with everything going smoothly, Ah Wu finally sent Tang Yin an invitation to visit the Rong residence.

The next day, the Tang family’s carriage arrived at the Rong residence, and Master Rong’s heart was finally at ease. In officialdom, people would speak one way to one person and another to another; even those who were mortal enemies behind the scenes must appear friendly on the surface. Sometimes, observing the winds blowing in the inner quarters was safer.

The visits of female relatives were a sign of close family ties.

When Tang Yin arrived, she first went to Lady Cui’s room to greet her. Her eyes swept over the set of rosewood furniture, revealing a hint of surprise. This sincere praise made Lady Cui extremely pleased, further increasing her goodwill towards Tang Yin.

The two girls, as arranged by Lady Cui, went to Ah Wu’s room.

Because it was summer, there was no incense in Ah Wu’s room, only a dish of Buddha’s Hand citron for aroma. The flower growers in the capital were incredibly skilled; there was nothing they could not grow. Every morning, before the night soil collectors even left, the streets and alleys of the capital were filled with their produce. Because the new house was too small to have a greenhouse, they bought flowers and fruits outside every morning.

Dozens of pots of fragrant flowers like jasmine were placed on the steps outside the window. Sometimes, a gentle breeze would drift into the room, filling it with their fragrance. All the lattice windows had been removed and covered with sky-blue gossamer gauze, which provided ventilation and kept out mosquitoes. The sunlight filtering through looked beautiful in the room.

“You certainly know how to enjoy life,” Tang Yin commented bluntly. Gossamer gauze was not cheap; it cost over a hundred taels of silver a bolt, and she was using it to cover the windows.

“It’s a pity we do not have local ice cellars,” Ah Wu said with a hint of regret, not being modest, simply because the visitor was Tang Yin.

Tang Yin sat down, drank a bowl of plum juice served by Zi-Shan, and praised, “Wow, your plum juice is quite something.” It was refreshingly sweet and sour, smooth on the palate, and without the slight tingling sensation of other plum juices—truly rare.

Ah Wu smiled smugly, unable to resist showing off. “Jiangnan craftsmanship, made by Tong-Guan. This girl’s plum juice is truly unique. When we moved, she did not look at anything else, just focused on the three jars of plums she buried under the old plum tree, and personally followed them onto the carriage all the way here.”

After both of them enjoyed a bowl of plum juice, Tang Yin took out a book and pushed it in front of Ah Wu.

Ah Wu opened it and saw a handwritten copy of Chuanshan Ji; the handwriting was Tang Yin’s.

Ah Wu’s eyelashes trembled. She looked up and stared intently at Tang Yin, saying, “Thank you.”

Both were intelligent people, and their hearts were in sync. Ah Wu did not want this matter to ruin her friendship with Tang Yin, so after a moment’s hesitation, she began, “I…”

Before Ah Wu could finish speaking, Tang Yin interrupted her, “Ah Wu, actually, if my brother were not engaged, I would be more than willing for you to marry into my family.”

Ah Wu’s face flushed instantly. Tang Yin really dared to say anything!

“Sister Yin,” Ah Wu stopped Tang Yin from continuing, “Sister Yin, there’s nothing between Second Master Tang and me. If you had not brought this book today, I would not know anything at all.”

Ah Wu’s words were half true and half false. During their last meeting at the Dragon Boat Festival, Tang Xiujin suddenly mentioned the Chuanshan Ji, which immediately made Ah Wu realize something was amiss. It was not that she was being presumptuous; it was simply that after the Lantern Festival that year, Tang Xiujin had promised to lend her a copy a month later, but nothing had come of it. Ah Wu had assumed it was either to avoid suspicion or simply forgetfulness. But so many years had passed, and this sudden mention inevitably made people think more.

Today, Tang Yin brought her her own copy, indicating that Tang Yin, as his sister, had also sensed something and was trying to prevent them from exchanging books privately.

Tang Yin knew she had been rash. Ah Wu had met her brother once after returning to the capital, and she had been present at the time. At least on Ah Wu’s side, there was absolutely nothing between them. But Tang Yin was blinded by concern. Besides, her brother was such a talented person; seeing that her second brother was interested in Ah Wu, Tang Yin naturally felt that Ah Wu should also be interested in her second brother. That was why she had rushed to test the waters.

But Ah Wu’s expression was so open and honest that Tang Yin could not help but worry. “Then you would not happen to have taken a fancy to Second Brother Gu, would you?”

Ah Wu was so angry she almost fell over. Tang Yin’s girlish heart was starting to flutter, and she assumed everyone else felt the same way, even Ah Wu. “What nonsense are you talking about? You think everyone’s like you, just because you are thinking about men?” As soon as she finished speaking, Ah Wu blushed with embarrassment. She had actually uttered such vulgar words as “thinking about men” one day.

“Are you not ashamed…” Tang Yin pinched Ah Wu’s mouth in embarrassment, and the two laughed and joked for a while before stopping.

“Have you not thought about it at all? You are of marriageable age, and you do not even like my Second Brother or Second Brother Gu. I really do not know what kind of person you want to marry. Tell me!” Tang Yin said sweetly.

Ah Wu leaned back on the pillow, panting, her hair slightly disheveled, her delicate face flushed, like rouge refined from peach blossom juice, a touch of which on her jade-like skin possessed an astonishing allure, making Tang Yin’s heart skip a beat. A hazy thought flashed through her mind: perhaps even her second brother was not good enough for her.

Ah Wu, on the other hand, was getting impatient with Tang Yin’s antics. This young girl’s spring fever was truly not to be underestimated; she kept bringing this up the moment they met. Even at the dragon boat race, Ah Wu had not dared to even consider marriage.

“Me? I do not want to get married. I just want to be a young maiden for life. A girl is so precious at home; marriage is not so comfortable anymore.” Ah Wu’s words sounded like a joke, but they could not be more sincere.

Remember the day Master Rong jokingly asked who he should marry Ah Wu to? Ah Wu had taken the opportunity to say the same thing, but Master Rong had not taken it seriously. “Who does not get married? Would your mother agree? But in my opinion, with your talent, you could easily be a princess.”

Tang Yin continued before Ah Wu could object, “I heard the palace is considering selecting consorts for the four princes. If you are not interested, you’d better start preparing.”

Ah Wu nodded. This was a truly caring friend.

“I am afraid Grand Secretary Tang is also worried about this,” Ah Wu asked.

Who could argue? Grand Secretary Tang’s only legitimate daughter was being eyed by several princes with designs on her. “You do not know; last time Empress Tian and Consort Xiang summoned us, the Fifth Prince’s gaze was truly irritating. He’s a prince, a legitimate son, yet he acted like that.”

Ah Wu nodded. Actually, there was a reason why the Fifth Prince looked so unattractive. Although Empress Tian held the title of Empress, her power in the harem was far inferior to that of Consort Xiang, and she was also out of favor. Emperor Longqing barely paid her any attention, and the Fifth Prince was like a weed in the eyes of her former uncle. Above him was the Fourth Prince, who surpassed him in every way, and below him was the Sixth Prince, the son of a favored concubine. Empress Tian herself was also foolish, so it was not surprising that the Fifth Prince turned out badly.

Initially, the Imperial Princess supported Empress Tian’s faction because she and her son were foolish and easy to control. However, Ah Wu did not truly agree with her mother. Everyone had their own inner conflicts, and the Imperial Princess looked down on the backgrounds of the other three princes, so she had to settle for second best.

“Ah Wu, you must not let the Fifth Prince see you like this. You did not see how he drooled over Sister Gu and your Fifth Young Lady Rong the other day.” Tang Yin covered her mouth and laughed.

Finally, Tang Yin added, “But your Fifth Young Lady Rong is quite capable. The way Consort Xiang and the Sixth Prince looked at her that day was unusually different. It’s just a pity your uncle was later stripped of his title as heir apparent; otherwise, your family might have really produced a princess consort.”

“Oh, so that day they let Empress Tian and Consort Xiang pick and choose like cabbages and even brought the Fifth and Sixth Princes along?” Ah Wu said incisively.

“Who says otherwise?” Even the royal family could not be so humiliated. “Speaking of which, those two are nowhere near as good as Empress Xiaozhen.”

“Have you met Empress Xiaozhen?”

“Uh, I have not met her; I heard it from my mother,” Tang Yin answered honestly.

Mentioning Empress Xiaozhen inevitably brought up the Fourth Prince, Chu Mao. “Did you see the Fourth Prince that day?”

“No, the Fourth Prince avoided me after the dragon boat race.” Tang Yin thought for a moment and then said, “Hey, why are you bringing him up alone? Hey, are you…”

Ah Wu quickly shook her head. “Is he not the most handsome man in the capital, the one you always talked about? Do you remember that year you encouraged us to peep at him through the back gate of his palace?”

Ah Wu successfully shifted Tang Yin’s focus. “Oh, you are telling me? That time scared me to death! I’ve never been that afraid, not even when I see the Emperor. How come my legs were trembling just from his one glance at me that day?”

Ah Wu thought to herself, “You are right to be afraid of him. You have not seen him when he kills without blinking an eye.”

“But if someone is not afraid of him, marrying him would be great. Waking up every day to see that face would be so pleasing to the eye, you’d definitely live a few more years.” Tang Yin, being a young girl at heart, immediately thought of Chu Mao’s stunningly handsome appearance.

Ah Wu thought to herself, “Then you are wrong. Those who marry him are all short-lived. What do you mean by living a few more years?”

“If you are not afraid of him, would you be willing to marry him?” Ah Wu asked mischievously.

Tang Yin hesitated. Firstly, she already had someone in her heart; secondly, as the young lady of the Tang family, how could she not know the Fourth Prince’s awkward position and perilous future?

“Ah, what a pity for that face,” Tang Yin sighed.

His face was anything but a pity. Many women would fight tooth and nail to marry him later.

Ah Wu was thinking about how to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm, helping the Imperial Princess avoid the Fourth Prince’s calamity.

Ah Wu considered many options.

If Chu Mao could not successfully usurp the throne, then the Imperial Princess would avoid it, but that was not a good solution. With Emperor Ai still alive, given the grudge between Consort Xiang and the Imperial Princess, her fate would likely be even worse than under Chu Mao. Although Chu Mao disliked the Imperial Princess and constantly made things difficult for her, he never actually tried to kill her. But things might be different with Consort Xiang. If that venomous woman had not been preoccupied with her own problems, the Imperial Princess would likely be dead long ago.

Or perhaps let the Fifth or Seventh Prince ascend the throne? That was far too difficult, and they would be scourges of the country if they took the throne. The Seventh Prince was also somewhat simple-minded. With Empress Tian and Consort Xiang in the palace, the Seventh Prince’s survival suggested he possessed some extraordinary qualities, such as exceptional stupidity.

After much deliberation, Ah Wu concluded that the best solution was for the Imperial Princess to befriend the Fourth Prince. This would be a win-win situation, perfect, but the difficulty would be virtually impossible.

However, Ah Wu firmly believed that anything was possible with human effort. She decided to take one step at a time and see what would happen.

Ah Wu was momentarily distracted, but Tang Yin pulled her back. “Ah Wu, you said…” Tang Yin’s voice was barely audible, “…what way do I have to marry Second Brother Gu?”

Although her voice was soft, Ah Wu heard her clearly because they were so close.