Four Seasons Brocade – CH 124

Chapter 124 ☆、

“Oh,” Chu Mao’s voice rose slightly.

Ah Wu did not dare utter any gentle words like “I cannot sleep if you do not come back” and instead said honestly, “There’s something I’d like to discuss with Your Highness.”

Chu Mao nodded, sat down opposite Ah Wu, and gestured for her to speak.

Ah Wu smelled the scent of alcohol on him, which displeased her, but she did not show it on her face. She said softly, “Your Highness, please go wash up first. My matter is not urgent.”

Chu Mao did not object and got up to go to the bathing room. When he came out, he saw Ah Wu still doing needlework under the lamp and asked, “What are you doing so diligently? Are you not afraid of hurting your eyes?”

Ah Wu’s heart skipped a beat. The tone of Chu Mao’s voice was much more approachable now than it had been with the coldness of the first two days. “A pair of socks made for Your Highness.”

In the customs of the Great Xia Dynasty, brides-to-be would embroider items for their future husbands while embroidering their dowry. However, these were usually prepared at home, and whether the bride actually made them was uncertain. Those items paled in comparison to the comforting sight of the socks embroidered before him.

Given Ah Wu’s busy schedule, making something large, like clothing, would likely take a considerable amount of time. To quickly win over Chu Mao’s heart, she started with something small, like socks.

Ah Wu spread out the socks for Chu Mao to see. “Your Highness, what do you think?”

Now Chu Mao could not ignore them. He glanced at them; they must have taken several days to make. “Hmm.”

Ah Wu now understood. Chu Mao used “Hmm” to replace anything he did not want to comment on, so getting a “not bad” from him was already quite an achievement.

But needlework was not something Ah Wu could do easily; it required real effort, which was why she particularly disliked Chu Mao’s perfunctory attitude. So she showed Chu Mao her most prized part of the sock.

Finally, Chu Mao spoke, “Why did you embroider a duck on my sock?”

“Uh…” This really stumped Ah Wu. She had been embroidering whatever she was good at, and ducks were her specialty—drawing ducks, embroidering ducks. “Hmm.” Ah Wu tried to brush it off, just like Chu Mao.

In the end, Chu Mao came to Ah Wu’s rescue: “This duck looks quite dashing.”

Ah Wu gave Chu Mao a grateful, bright smile, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Ah Wu dared not flaunt her embroidery skills and sentiments any longer. She put away her needlework, lay down on the bed, and then turned to Chu Mao, who was lying beside her, saying, “Your Highness, I heard my elder brother achieved first place in the provincial examination this time. I’d like to return to the Rong Mansion tomorrow.”

In the darkness, those clear, bright eyes blinked at you, making it difficult to refuse.

“I heard from Mei-Ying that Aunt Hao talked to you today?” Chu Mao asked.

Upon hearing Mei-Ying’s name, Ah Wu knew she must have spoken ill of her to Chu Mao. Since Chu Mao already knew that Aunt Hao had talked to her, agreeing would offend her. Ah Wu had originally planned to deceive him, but now it seemed that would not work.

However, Ah Wu had not come away empty-handed. Why did Chu Mao specifically mention that he heard it from Mei-Ying? Was this not clearly intended to create discord between Ah Wu and Mei-Ying? Ah Wu wondered if he had inadvertently let it slip or if he disliked Mei-Ying’s gossip about his Princess and wanted her to give Mei-Ying a warning. Ah Wu sincerely hoped it was the latter and was more than willing to do so.

“Yes, Nanny said we should avoid suspicion, but I think if we are going to avoid suspicion, the Prince should not have married me. If that’s the case, then the Prince should marry a peasant girl from the mountains; maybe that would be the only way to avoid suspicion,” Ah Wu said jokingly, knowing that some things were harder to say seriously.

“Oh, why should I marry a peasant girl?”

“If the Prince marries the daughter of a noble family, it’s seen as trying to win over powerful clans; if he marries the daughter of a military general, it’s seen as trying to consolidate military power; if he marries the daughter of a civil official like me, it’s seen as trying to win over censors and upright officials; if he marries the daughter of a merchant, it’s seen as being greedy for money. Therefore, I think it would be better if the Prince married a peasant girl,” Ah Wu chuckled.

Chu Mao said, “I am afraid marrying a peasant girl would also raise suspicion.”

This time, it was Ah Wu’s turn to be surprised. “What suspicion?”

“I am afraid it would be considered ‘claiming territory,'” Chu Mao said seriously.

Ah Wu, however, had already burst into laughter. The more she thought about it, the more brilliant Chu Mao’s “claiming territory” seemed, and she almost wanted to pound the bed with laughter. “Your Highness is too good at joking. So, what kind of woman do you think you should marry to avoid suspicion?”

Chu Mao seemed to seriously consider Ah Wu’s words before saying, “I am afraid only marrying a beggar woman from the street whose relatives have all died would avoid suspicion.”

Ah Wu laughed even harder, almost propping herself up halfway towards Chu Mao.

“But where can you find such a stunning beauty among beggar women?” Chu Mao’s fingers pinched Ah Wu’s delicate, smooth, and exquisitely beautiful chin.

This pinch made both of them jump as if they’d been instantly acupunctured, and the previously harmonious atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

Ah Wu was annoyed. Why had she been so impulsive? How could she have abruptly pulled her chin away? She wondered what her expression had been like and hoped Chu Mao had not noticed anything. Actually, Ah Wu was not disgusted by Chu Mao’s touch; rather, she disliked being touched by anyone, not him personally, but that was hard to explain. On the other hand, Ah Wu was also annoyed. Was he not someone who disliked being touched, too? Why had he just casually pinched her chin?

Meanwhile, Chu Mao was probably annoyed as well. People’s reactions when caught off guard were almost always genuine, and Chu Mao could not convince himself that Ah Wu’s eyes did not reveal disgust. Of course, he was probably also annoyed that he had reached out his hand without thinking.

After that, neither of them spoke again, facing the ceiling and closing their eyes, pretending to sleep.

After a long pause, Ah Wu seemed to realize her initial reaction had not been good enough, so she added, “Actually, if Your Highness really married a beggar woman, there would probably be suspicion.”

Chu Mao remained silent for a long time. Ah Wu thought he had fallen asleep, but after a while, she heard him say, “What suspicion?” His tone held a hint of coldness.

Ah Wu sighed inwardly. She had given herself away after all; how terrible.

“Oh, I am afraid everyone will guess that the beggar woman is some high-ranking official’s long-lost child.”

That was how people were. If they wanted to suspect you, no matter what you did, they would find something to suspect.

After a long while, just as Ah Wu was about to fall asleep, she heard Chu Mao speak again: “I will tell Aunt. Brother-in-law has passed the imperial examination; you really should go back to see him. If I have time, I should go too.”

Ah Wu quickly replied, “No, no, I can go alone.”

Ah Wu thought to herself that Chu Mao’s words meant he had chosen her over Nanny Hao. It seemed that Hongyao Villa was not such an unassailable fortress after all.

Soon, even breathing came from Ah Wu’s side. In the quiet night, only another person remained awake until dawn.

The next day, Ah Wu dressed herself up and went out quietly, without the pomp and circumstance of a princess consort. She returned to the Rong Mansion quietly, afraid that if someone informed them first, they would have to give her a grand welcome, which would create distance.

Therefore, when the gatekeeper saw Prince Qi’s carriage, he was startled and rushed inside to report.

When Lady Cui saw Ah Wu, her first words were, “Why did you not let us know you were coming back? Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened; I just did not want to bother you,” Ah Wu replied casually.

Master Rong, growing increasingly serious with age, cleared his throat and said, “Nonsense! You are already married into the imperial family, and you are coming home less than a month after your wedding. What kind of behavior is this?”

Ah Wu, however, was not afraid of Master Rong. “Brother passed the imperial examination with top honors. How could I, his younger sister, not come back? Right, Elder Brother?” Ah Wu smiled at Rong Jie.

Rong Jie, now just like his father, said, “Father is right. How could I not know your feelings? Even if you do not come back, we siblings will not become estranged. You still need to take care of yourself. Although there are no elders in the mansion, countless eyes are watching His Highness the Prince’s affairs. You should be cautious.”

Ah Wu was truly afraid of this family. The moment Lady Cui saw her, she assumed something was wrong, and the two pillars of the household launched into another lecture. Ah Wu could only impatiently say, “Alright, alright, since I am being disliked, I will not come back anymore.” She then pretended to wipe away tears with a handkerchief, which amused everyone.

“That will not do,” Lady Cui said with a smile. “You still have to come back for your elder brother’s wedding. They are counting on you to bring them honor.”

The family chatted for a while longer, then Lady Cui pulled Ah Wu to sit in the inner room. “How is the Prince treating you?” she asked.

Ah Wu, naturally, only reported good news, replying with a cheeky grin, “Even if Madam does not believe me, she should believe my face.”

Lady Cui scolded her, “You are married now and still so unseemly.”

Finally, it was noon. At the insistence of Master Rong, Lady Cui did not dare keep Ah Wu for lunch and “sent” her out. On the carriage back to the Prince’s Mansion, Ah Wu felt somewhat melancholic. Married to a Prince, her family no longer felt like her family; even basic human kindness was sometimes a luxury. She wondered what it would be like when her sisters-in-law entered the family. Ah Wu felt a pang of sadness.

After returning to Prince Qi’s mansion, Ah Wu regained her spirits. Seeing the unfinished socks in the sewing basket on the table, and remembering that she might have been impolite in her panic the previous night, she picked up her needlework again, hoping that Chu Mao was too busy to worry about it.

Meanwhile, Ah Wu instructed, “Zi-Shan, go to the outer courtyard and tell Steward Wu to come in tomorrow.”

Although Zi-Shan was suspicious, she dared not inquire about Ah Wu’s matter. Leaving Yulan Hall and heading towards the outer courtyard, she saw a group of people approaching from the end of the covered walkway just around the corner.