Hong'an Xiangzhuang - 1

Hong'an Xiangzhuang - 1

"She really said that?"

When Zhao Yunkang heard Luo Yu's account in the study, he thought about the different "accidental" injuries that had occurred to the various nannies in Yuan Kai's room.

This was the first time he truly faced his second wife, and the first time he realized just how extraordinary she was, the one the strategist had described as "not simple!"

"Your Highness, not a single word is wrong."

Luo Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, still feeling lingering fear as he recalled the princess's overwhelming aura.

He had been on the battlefield and had taken countless lives. After being wounded and retired, he worked as a steward in the Prince's mansion.

The former queen was domineering and willful; no one dared to speak loudly in front of him.

Why does the current princess, an ordinary young lady, exude such a strong sense of oppression?

“General, the Princess Consort is making a statement!” Ma De gently waved his feather fan. “The Prince’s residence does not need to prepare meals, and the young prince does not need to attend morning and evening services… She plans to live in seclusion in the Prince’s residence. As long as we do not provoke her, she will not cause trouble.”

He thought Yun Yixia would pretend for a while before slowly revealing her fangs, but he didn't expect that the Empress Dowager's show of force today would force the tiger to show its true colors.

Glancing at the general, Ma De sighed silently. Caught between two formidable women, the prince's days ahead were likely to be difficult.

"Isn't this great?"

Xu Zhihao's eyes lit up; Yun Yixia perfectly matched the general's requirement to be a "decorative figure".

"Does the young master look like someone who doesn't cause trouble?"

Liang Qiu shook his head and chuckled, thinking of the "non-fatal" accidents that happened to the young master's several maids, and how they had searched but found no clues.

Isn't this a form of protest?

"I'm going to see her!"

Zhao Yunkang quickly assigned the tasks at hand and walked towards the backyard.

He wanted to see Yun Yixia's attitude.

If she holds a grudge against the royal family because of the Empress Dowager's punishment of copying today... that would contradict the very reason he chose her to enter the family.

This person cannot be allowed to live!

The dark blue tiled roof ridges trace gentle curves in the twilight, while the chiwen (mythical beast) ornaments on both sides silently gaze at the sky. The courtyard walls, built of solid mud bricks, separate a world of their own.

Zhao Yunkang stepped into the courtyard and glanced around. He noticed that the maid he had arranged was cleaning, which reassured him somewhat.

He entered the main hall, where Yun Yixia was sitting by the tea table, brewing tea. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with confusion as she looked over, but her lips still held a humble and gentle smile.

"Your Highness, would you like some tea?"

Yun Yixia thought Zhao Yunkang would arrive a few days later, but to her surprise, he came to "settle accounts" with her not long after she said it.

"Um!"

As the sun dipped below the horizon and night quietly fell, candlelight flickered inside the house.

Yun Yixia sat upright before the tea table, her back naturally straight. Her ten fingers were slender and white as jade. She picked up the teapot, and the water flowed like silk, pouring into the teacup and stirring up a faint fragrance.

She lowered her eyes slightly, her long, thick eyelashes casting faint shadows on her fair skin, her expression focused and serene.

A few strands of her dark hair slipped quietly down her temples, swaying gently with her movements, adding to her tender and charming appearance.

"Your Highness, please!"

Yun Yixia gently placed the teacup on the mat with both hands, pushed it towards the opposite side, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Thank you!

Zhao Yunkang picked up the teacup, and a delicate fragrance entered his nostrils. He lightly touched the rim of the cup to his lips, took a small sip of the tea, and savored its sweet and mellow aftertaste.

"Excellent tea!"

"What did you mean by what you said to the housekeeper when you came back?"

Zhao Yun, being a martial artist, prefers to be straightforward with most people.

“The literal meaning!” Yun Yixia slammed down her teacup. “With Your Highness’s access to information, it’s not hard to see that I don’t want to marry into the royal family.”

There have been many opportunities for Your Highness to refuse this marriage proposal, which must be because I meet your expectations for a wife in some way.

I understood what you meant last night.

What I'm trying to say today...why pretend you don't understand?

Yun Yixia's smile was neither obsequious nor distant. Amidst the fragrant tea, her almond-shaped eyes were moist and gentle, as if the person sitting opposite her was not her husband, but a friend with whom she shared a virtuous friendship.

The Empress Dowager protected her two sons in the turbulent and dangerous inner palace, and helped one of them ascend the throne.

What kind of kind person could she be?

How could the son born to such a woman not understand Yun Yixia's "explicit hints"?

"Playing dumb?"

Zhao Yunkang raised an eyebrow, picked up the teapot to pour her tea, and then gently placed it back on the stove.

"Your Highness wouldn't expect me to endure what ordinary people cannot... What good would that do me?"

Yun Yixia picked up her teacup, looked down at the ripples in the cup, and when she looked up again, her smile deepened, and fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes.

The brat caused trouble, but the Empress Dowager backed her up and punished her... If she did nothing, she would be completely taken advantage of by the royal family sooner or later.

"Isn't the status of a princess enough?"

"What is the true purpose of Princess Kang remaining in Xijing? And how did the previous Princess Kang die?"

Yun Yixia leaned forward slightly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze, yet carrying a chilling edge.

I don't want to die!

"Those facades put on for the Yun family shouldn't fool Your Highness... You shouldn't have married me!"

Yun Yi and Xia Xing showed no trace of the timidity they displayed at their parents' home; their authority as superiors was in no way inferior to that of their counterparts.

"Shouldn't it be?" Zhao Yunkang stood up. "I think you're the most suitable!"

"Your Highness, please take care!"

Yun Yixia did not respond to "most suitable", but got up and respectfully saw Zhao Yunkang to the gate of the courtyard. Her manners were impeccable.

"You are the Princess Consort of Kang!" He paused for a moment, "Mind your manners!"

"promise!"

Yun Yixia curtsied respectfully, and to outsiders, the couple appeared to be very respectful to each other, with no indication that she had just turned the tables on him.

"My lady, the hot water is ready."

Bai Wei glanced at the various people in the courtyard, gave them a disdainful look, and followed her wife to the bath room to serve her.

Warm mist wafted behind the screen, and hot spring water rippled in the brass bathtub, with a few freshly picked hibiscus petals floating on the surface.

Yun Yixia removed her clothes, dipped her jade feet into the water and patted them twice before slowly entering the bath.

Water droplets slid down the porcelain-white curve of her nape, dripping into the shallow hollow of her collarbone, gathering into a shimmering pool of candlelight reflected in the water.

When will he leave Beijing?

The hot water made Yun Yixia's earlobes turn coral-colored, her almond-shaped eyes held a hazy mist, the water rippled gently with her movements, and two hibiscus petals clung to her collarbone, refusing to leave.

“There’s no definite news!” Bai Wei replied while washing her hair. “However, the Khitan sent an envoy with a letter of surrender, and he will probably arrive in the capital at the end of the month. He shouldn’t be able to leave anytime soon.”

"Tell your men to keep an eye on the Khitan envoys. They've suffered a defeat and are burning with resentment, ready to cause trouble."

Yun Yixia looked up at the roof of the bathhouse and sighed softly.

"Even if you really provoke them, don't start a conflict openly. Settle the score with them after they leave Daqing."

"Yes!" Bai Wei wrung out her hair. "Wife, the water's cold."

Yun Yixia got up and left, the water curtain cascading down her legs and gathering into a thin stream at her ankles.

She stepped onto the mat, her ten toes as white as fresh snow, and with a slight exertion, they resembled the pinkish-white of peach blossoms.

"My lady, do you think the young master will cause trouble again?"

“It’s no big deal to look for him!” Yun Yixia finished dressing. “If we come once, we’ll break one of the hands of the nanny next to him… There are so many nannies, he’ll learn his lesson eventually.”

"promise!"

The excitement surrounding the grand wedding of Prince Kang in Xijing City had not yet subsided when the people began to discuss the upcoming Khitan delegation.

Zhao Yuankai used the Empress Dowager's influence to punish Yun Yixia. After returning to the Kang Prince's Mansion, he still wanted to find an opportunity to make trouble for her, but she was like a coward, staying in the courtyard all day long.

If the mountain won't come to see me, I'll go to see the mountain myself.

Yun Yixia sat under the sycamore tree, holding a book in her hand. She wore a moon-white long gown with a light blue half-sleeved outer garment, looking so plain that she didn't resemble a newlywed.

The morning light filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on her face, making her complexion appear as smooth as jade.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has arrived."

The maid Qiu Shui led Zhao Yuankai into the room. He was dressed in a crimson brocade robe, with a round face and big eyes. He walked in with a furrowed brow and a fierce expression.

Behind him followed a woman in her forties, with a shrewd face, darting eyes, and a bruise around her eye.

"Bai Wei, summon Granny Du here!"

Yun Yixia ignored Zhao Yuankai and turned the pages of the book in her hand.

Just as the young prince's breathing became increasingly heavy, Du Fang, the head housekeeper, followed Bai Wei into the courtyard.

"This servant greets Your Highness!"

"Granny Du, please rise!" Yun Yixia smiled and raised her hand. "Today, the young master came to visit, and Qiu Shui brought a man into the inner courtyard without announcing him. This is against etiquette. Please come and deal with this, Granny!"

"promise!"

Granny Du bowed in response and gestured for Qiu Shui to go out with her.

A five-year-old child is hardly a man, but Qiu Shui did make a mistake, and it is only right to punish her.

"Granny Du!"

"I am here!"

"Next time, if there are people in my yard who don't know manners or follow the rules..."

Yun Yixia's gaze fell on Zhao Yuankai's flushed face, her almond-shaped eyes moist but containing an icy depth.

"I won't trouble you!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness!"

Du Fang pulled Qiu Shui away, and from then on, apart from the people in the Princess's courtyard, everything else in the inner quarters remained unchanged.

This move also tells everyone that if they don't take the person away today, the courtyard will have to be run according to the princess's rules in the future.

"Yun Yixia, what do you mean?"

Zhao Yuankai was young, but precocious; he understood the new princess's implication.

Qiu Shui was someone he arranged to be placed in the princess's courtyard.

Today, Yun Yixia dealt with Qiu Shui in front of him, clearly slapping him in the face.

"Young Master, who taught you to address your elders by their first names?"

Yun Yixia's gaze fell on the old woman behind him, her lips curving slightly upwards, her gentle expression revealing a hint of aloofness.

"Did this old woman teach you?"

"no!!!"

Zhao Yuankai stomped his foot, then suddenly pulled out a slingshot from his pocket, fully extended the rubber band, and aimed it at Yun Yixia.

"You dare touch my people! Do you believe I'll beat you up?"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!"

The old woman quickly spoke up, but only raised her hand in a perfunctory manner without actually stepping forward to stop her.

Bai Wei spread her arms to block Yun Yixia, her gaze coldly fixed on the two of them.

"Your Highness, what a magnificent sight!"

Yun Yixia stood up and walked to Bai Wei's side, looking down at the short, red-faced girl.

"Putting insects in the teacups, replacing the fruits and vegetables sent from the main kitchen, tearing the fabric... Your Highness, what brilliant methods!"

"What makes you think I did it?"

Zhao Yuankai met Yun Yixia's calm gaze, and her all-knowing eyes made him inexplicably uneasy.

"If Your Highness has nothing else to say... please return!"

Yun Yixia nodded slightly, the sunlight casting a shadow under her eyelashes, like a god looking down, without sorrow or joy.

"snort!"

Zhao Yuankai didn't dare to actually fire, and reluctantly put away his slingshot, turning around and running away.

“Your Highness, now that I have entered the Prince’s Palace, I am your stepmother.”

"You have disrespected me, and I could punish you, but considering your young age and the loss of your mother... I will not punish you."

Yun Yixia watched the old woman leave with Zhao Yuankai, gently dusted off her sleeves, and Bai Wei nodded slightly.

A streak of pure white streaks across the layered shadows of towering buildings, as white doves take flight into the distance...