Chapter 5
Chapter 5
I did my utmost to hold back my temper. Turning to Mama Shi at my side, I asked, “If I went to beg His Majesty, would he agree to let me get an amicable divorce?”
Mama Shi was in her early forties, an old hand from the palace. Careful and gentle by nature, she had been specially assigned by the emperor to attend to me.
Supporting my arm, she smiled and said, “You have only just married. Why mention such a thing? Besides, His Majesty has only one elder sister-you. Your good days are still ahead of you.”
There was not a single flaw to be found in those words.
It was as though she were telling me that if I built a good relationship with the emperor in the future, he might permit me to divorce-and at the same time warning me that I had to obediently remain in the Duke’s Mansion.
Just then, a sinister, mocking laugh sounded behind me. I did not need to ask to know who it was-Eunuch Feng.
He had been sent by the Empress Dowager specifically to keep watch over me. In his early thirties, he was fair-skinned and handsome, and infamous for being vicious and scheming.
“Your Highness had best behave yourself!”
Eunuch Feng flicked his horsetail whisk and drawled in that neither-male-nor-female tone of his, “This is the household of a duke and marquis with illustrious military achievements. The Duke is a third-rank General of the Dragon-Tiger Guard. And what is the Dragon-Tiger Guard? The imperial guard charged with defending the capital! The Duke is also a veteran minister who has served through three reigns. Even the Empress Dowager shows him some respect. So there is only the Duke’s Mansion repudiating a wife-there is no reason for you to seek an amicable divorce!”
I pressed my lips tightly together and lowered my head.
During all those years imprisoned in the cold palace, I had suffered every manner of humiliation and torment at the hands of eunuchs.
Those castrated dogs and gelded donkeys were vindictive to the bone. Every last one of them was as venomous as a snake, and they seized any chance they could to bully me.
At that moment, Rong Yi leaned closer and lightly tapped my shoulder with his forefinger. “Yuanyuan, what is an amicable divorce?”
I shrank back a little, not wanting to so much as look at him. “Nothing. Let’s go. We need to serve tea to your parents.”
The Duke of Wu’an and his wife had already been waiting outside the reception hall for some time.
The Duke was a military man, tall and powerfully built, with a pair of tiger-like eyes that were incomparably sharp.
The woman beside him was dignified and elegant. She was the current mistress of the Duke’s Mansion, Junior Lady Bo.
Junior Lady Bo and Rong Yi’s late mother, Senior Lady Bo, had been blood sisters. One, however, was a legitimate daughter, while the other was born of a concubine. It was said that Junior Lady Bo was an honest woman who spoke her mind, and she had a very good reputation among the noblewomen of the capital.
When they saw me, the Duke of Wu’an and his wife hurried forward to bow, only for Eunuch Feng to step in first and help them up.
Eunuch Feng smiled obsequiously. “The Empress Dowager gave instructions long ago: the princess must not put on airs or flaunt her status. She is to show filial respect to her elders and serve her parents-in-law like any ordinary woman.”
As expected.
Following the etiquette Mama Shi had taught me beforehand, I respectfully served tea to my parents-in-law.
“Quickly, rise.” Junior Lady Bo supported me with both hands. She looked me up and down, a trace of pity flashing through her eyes. “Your Highness has a beauty that could topple kingdoms, a rare sight in this world. For you to marry our Yi’er now is truly a grievance to you…”
“Ahem.”
The Duke of Wu’an coughed twice, cutting off Junior Lady Bo’s words.
Junior Lady Bo seemed very afraid of her husband. Realizing she had misspoken, she lightly pressed her lips together.
She stroked my hand. When she saw the chilblains on my fingers, her eyes instantly reddened, and she sighed quietly without drawing attention to it. “If you lack anything, simply send the older maids or servant girls to ask me for it. If Yi’er causes trouble for you, tell me as well. I will discipline him!”
The Duke of Wu’an shot her a cold look, clearly displeased.
Junior Lady Bo hurriedly lowered her head and dared not say another word.
“Mother, you can discipline me right now.”
Rong Yi looked distressed. He crouched on the ground and bowed his head deeply. “I made Yuanyuan angry.”
The Duke of Wu’an quickly asked, “What happened?”
Rong Yi remorsefully slapped his own hand twice. “I pushed Yuanyuan.”
The Duke of Wu’an rose and walked over, gently rubbing his son’s shoulder. His voice was tender. “Why did you push her? Tell me slowly.”
Rong Yi’s mouth turned down in a pout. “Yuanyuan hit my little brother.”
The Duke of Wu’an gave me a brief glance, then immediately frowned toward the doorway and asked coldly, “What is going on?”
Following the Duke’s gaze, I turned my head and only then discovered that Rong Zhaonan was standing by the door.
He had been staring at me all along. At the sound of his father’s question, he abruptly snapped back to his senses.