Four Seasons Brocade – CH 128

Chapter 128 ☆、

“Not full,” Chu Mao said as he came out of the bathing room, seeing Ah Wu eating a piece of golden sparrow pastry.

After finishing chewing, Ah Wu wiped her mouth with a handkerchief before speaking with slight surprise, “Your Highness just finished eating?”

This time, Chu Mao did not mention not eating after dinner. He sat down directly in front of Ah Wu, who obediently pushed her untouched bowl of white porridge towards him.

The white porridge was served in a Longquan celadon lotus-petal bowl. Even before tasting it, the delicate fragrance of lotus leaves filled the air. Accompanied by a dish of water chestnuts in chili oil and a dish of spicy cucumber strips, it looked incredibly appetizing.

Zi-Zhui, who was nearby, had already thoughtfully brought out a new set of chopsticks. Chu Mao ate half a bowl of porridge with the dishes and also ate a piece of milk-based water chestnut flour cake. This was something Ah Wu had specially asked Zi-Zhui to prepare often, and she had not expected to actually use it today. Chu Mao loved milk-based pastries, which Ah Wu rarely ate; she could not stand the strong smell.

After finishing their meal, they naturally could not rest immediately. Chu Mao picked up a book, intending to read, while Ah Wu picked up her needlework again.

“By the way, did you not say you were going to set up a study? Why have we not seen any progress?” Chu Mao asked.

Ah Wu put down her needlework. Actually, she did not particularly enjoy needlework; she only did it to appear virtuous in front of Chu Mao. “With the year-end approaching, Nanny Hao is incredibly busy. I do not want to add to her burdens. Let’s wait until spring.”

Chu Mao glanced at Ah Wu, a slight smile playing on his lips. “The Princess’s studies cannot be neglected.”

This was a joke, as if Ah Wu had never been to school. Ah Wu gave Chu Mao a playful glare, pouting, “I really do not have many books around me.”

Both of them remembered the Shuangjian Tower incident. Chu Mao smiled but remained silent; Ah Wu hated his stinginess in this regard.

Chu Mao resumed reading, and Ah Wu, too, put down her needlework and picked out a pink sheet of paper from the “Five-Colored Paper” set in her black lacquered and gilded box. She began to trace patterns, not for embroidery, but for the design of a new brocade for the Four Seasons.

“Your pink paper is quite unique,” Chu Mao suddenly remarked, startling Ah Wu so much that she almost scribbled off-target.

“Yes, this set has five colors,” Ah Wu said, bending down to rummage through the box and selecting four other colored papers: blue, green, light blue, and light pink. These were decorated with auspicious peaches, eternal spring, immortals celebrating longevity, and plum blossoms and cranes symbolizing eternal life. The paper Ah Wu was using depicted longevity and happiness. Because it was the end of the year, Ah Wu had specially chosen festive colored paper.

Chu Mao took the drawing and admired it briefly, while Ah Wu lowered her head again to draw, using a daylily pattern with butterflies playing among them and wild chrysanthemums creeping on the ground. Folk artisans often used patterns drawn from local customs or what they saw, but Ah Wu used painting as her design, elevating the composition and artistic conception considerably. This was another major characteristic of the Four Seasons Brocade after its “dyeing” process.

Since then, Chu Mao had stopped reading and instead quietly observed Ah Wu, who was intently drawing patterns.

“You have some free time, even drawing patterns for your own clothes,” Chu Mao said.

Ah Wu’s hand paused as she put down her brush. She did not know how much Chu Mao knew about her, but to say that he knew nothing about her now would be self-deception. She figured he must have found out what kind of person he was marrying beforehand.

“It’s not my clothes; it’s a design for Cui Ji. I have a small contribution to it.” Ah Wu did indeed have a contribution to Cui Ji, and she was determined not to hide these small things from Chu Mao.

“It’s well done. I suppose your meticulous brushwork paintings must be quite good,” Chu Mao praised.

Ah Wu thought to herself, “Actually, my landscape paintings are not bad either.” She smiled calmly, glanced at the Western-made clock, and said, “Oh, it’s so late.”

The two of them went about their business of washing up.

The next day, Ah Wu slept soundly until dawn again. She was increasingly reluctant to wake up during the winter, and for several days, she almost ate breakfast and lunch in one sitting. In this respect, it was still more comfortable than at the Rong Mansion. At least there were two elderly people living at the Rong Mansion, so Ah Wu felt embarrassed to sleep so freely. At the Prince Qi’s Mansion, apart from the first two unpleasant days, everything went extremely smoothly. Chu Mao left early in the morning and almost never returned until the courtyard was locked at night. Even if Nanny Hao was very strict, she could not control the Princess’s deep sleep.

After waking up, Ah Wu rolled around in bed, clutching her blankets, before pulling the rope tied to the head of the bed. The rope led to the outer room, with a golden bell hanging at the other end. When the bell rang, Zi-Shan and Zi-Zhui, along with a maid carrying a towel and a bowl, filed in.

Nothing made Ah Wu happier than opening her eyes refreshed and finding herself alive. So happy was she that she did not even notice Zi-Shan’s slightly twitching eye.

Zi-Shan wrung out a handful of cool water with a few drops of mint-scented dew from a blue-and-white porcelain basin and handed it to Ah Wu to help her wake up. Ah Wu refused to take it. “Zi-Shan, sing me a little tune from your hometown.”

“Princess, please get up quickly. It snowed heavily last night,” Zi-Shan urged.

“I will not get up unless you sing,” Ah Wu said, simply lying back down to sleep.

Zi-Shan was at her wits’ end but could not say anything, so she forced a high-pitched voice and sang, “The mule leading the way, with three lanterns, oh, it’s got those bells, oh, that ‘wa-wa-de’ sound.”

Ah Wu had never heard such a folk song before; Zi-Shan had always sung love songs to her. Ah Wu took the cool handkerchief, applied it to her face, shivered, and became much more awake. She got up and got out of bed, not even putting on shoes and socks—she did not know when she’d kicked them off last night—and cheerfully asked, “Did it snow last night?”

Ah Wu quickly walked around the screen and out, still humming “The mule leading the way, with three lanterns…” before abruptly stopping.

Ah Wu had intended to go outside and look out the window at the snow, as was her morning habit—she liked to open the window and inhale the first crisp, clean air. But as soon as she happily stepped outside, she saw Chu Mao sitting motionless on the couch by the window, watching her intently.

Her face was flushed and watery from just waking up; her clothes were disheveled, the pale green undergarment hanging askew beneath her robe; her bare feet were flawless, her hair slightly tousled, like a newly opened flower bud caressed by a cold wind, exuding boundless allure, making one yearn to tear open the tightly closed petals and force her to bloom.

“Your Highness,” Ah Wu gasped, quickly retreating, glaring fiercely at Zi-Shan and Zi-Zhui, as if to say, “Why did you not remind me?”

Zi-Shan and Zi-Zhui blinked and slit their throats, as if to say, “The Prince would not allow it, just to see how long you could sleep!”

Ah Wu hurriedly dressed and washed up before stepping out with a slightly guilty smile. “Your Highness, why did you not go to the Bingxue Forest today?”

“It’s a rare day off, and I was planning to have breakfast with the Princess,” Chu Mao said casually, seemingly unconcerned about Ah Wu’s late rise. “Why did Lady He and the others not come to pay their respects?”

Ah Wu smiled. “Lady He and Lady Tao are not feeling well these days. I told the three chambermaids that they do not need to come in the morning; they can come in the evening.”

“If you are unwell, call a physician. If the physician cannot cure you, go to the estate to recuperate. Now that you are in the household, the proper rules should be observed. Whatever other households did, our household should be no exception.” Chu Mao took a sip of tea.

Ah Wu felt a chill run down her spine. This was not the first time Chu Mao had said this to her. The first time, she had not taken it seriously, and being so calculating, she constantly tried to guess Chu Mao’s thoughts, even assuming the chaos in the household was his doing. She had not realized that the chaos was actually caused by her own negligence.

Smart people could sometimes misunderstand, but seeing Chu Mao’s directness, Ah Wu knew it was an implicit expectation, not a disappointed resignation. Therefore, Ah Wu felt this was a good opportunity to express her loyalty.

“It turns out I was overthinking it. I was thinking…” Ah Wu took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision before speaking, “Father said His Majesty has been unwell for some time. I thought Lady He is the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, and Lady Tao is the legitimate daughter of Governor Tao. They are both people the Prince can use, so I…”

Ah Wu’s words were extremely bold, almost a direct statement. However, she had also thought about it repeatedly. She had considered a roundabout approach, waiting until she was closer to Chu Mao and his guard was lowered before discussing these matters. However, in the past month or two, Ah Wu had also realized that Chu Mao was an extremely difficult person to get close to. They were not exactly a normal couple, and Chu Mao disliked getting close to people. Ah Wu really had not found a good opportunity to get close to him. She had even considered arranging a “beauty saves the hero” scenario to break down the barriers, but of course, it was just a thought.

So, at this moment, Ah Wu had a sudden inspiration. She thought, if she could not beat around the bush, could she be direct? Asking a stranger would be inappropriate, but she was his wife; their fates were intertwined. If she remained silent, it would only make her seem guilty.

So, Ah Wu took a gamble. Before they even knew each other well, she revealed her own situation, hoping to elicit a response.

As Ah Wu expected, Chu Mao gave her a surprised look and said, “These are not things we should be thinking about. Important matters of the imperial family cannot be decided by lower-ranking officials.”

Seeing the seriousness in Chu Mao’s expression when he said, “cannot be decided by lower-ranking officials,” Ah Wu could not help but think that this was probably Chu Mao’s true feeling. Judging from his later actions, while he was open to advice, he also made decisions independently.

“You do not need to worry too much about these things. Just continue as usual in our household. Now that they’ve entered the household, they belong to the Chu family, no longer the He or Tao families,” Chu Mao said.

Ah Wu was finally convinced by Chu Mao’s words. This was the way of someone truly focused and single-minded. Neither flattering nor avoiding suspicion, just doing what needed to be done. Ah Wu admired him immensely; this was the highest level of feigning sincerity. If she had not known what happened later, she probably would never have guessed Chu Mao’s true intentions.

Ah Wu felt that everything she was doing now was forgetting that she knew what had happened later.

“Since Your Highness has said so, I understand. Well, I also have something to say,” Ah Wu said earnestly.

Chu Mao nodded.

“That Nanny Hao managing everyone in the household, I actually think it’s inappropriate,” Ah Wu honestly confessed.