Who Walks Without Watching Where They're Going!
Consort Shu had asked Pei Mu to teach Zhou Jingmi because he came from a family of military commanders and was only staying in Yujing briefly before returning to the frontier.
She wanted a son so badly.
Thus, she had invited Pei Mu not to teach Zhou Jingmi the zither or painting, but to teach her riding and archery.
Qin Shuning also knew these skills, but she had lived in the palace for a long time, and Consort Shu did not dare make the matter public. That was why she had chosen Pei Mu.
Just now in the pavilion, Zhou Jingmi had secretly played a piece she had just learned on the zither for Pei Mu, only for Consort Shu to catch her in the act.
That was why Consort Shu had scolded her, and even Pei Mu's pleas had done nothing to help.
Judging by how aggrieved Zhou Jingmi had looked just now, yet had not dared speak, Consort Shu must often have spoken harshly to her.
Hearing the old nanny's report, Su Luoqian felt a slight jolt in her heart.
She recalled the little princess she had just seen, dressed in a boy's riding clothes.
She was only six or seven years old. She should have been wearing palace dresses and growing up carefree, doted on by the adults around her, yet now she was being forced to learn riding and archery.
Was Consort Shu... planning to raise Zhou Jingmi as a little prince?
"Consort Shu is becoming more and more absurd."
The empress's brows were tightly knitted. She was evidently surprised and displeased by Consort Shu's actions as well.
The child's sex was already determined. Even if she dressed the little princess in boys' clothes every day and had her learn riding and archery, what difference would it make?
What did she hope to achieve?
The matter could be treated as serious or trivial, so she had to be cautious.
The empress stood, rubbing the space between her brows with her fingertips. Sounding somewhat weary, she said, "Never mind. Let's return to the palace first."
When Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi left the palace, they boarded the carriage together.
As the wheels rolled forward, she seemed to think of something. She lifted the carriage curtain and looked back.
Lu Jingsi sat on the cushioned couch in the middle, his legs long and strong beneath his brocade robes.
He lowered his eyes to the pomegranate blossoms on the small table in the carriage, plainly picked not long ago, then glanced at the small stretch of Su Luoqian's fair, bare nape as she faced away from him.
He understood, but said nothing.
Only when the carriage had left the imperial city behind and the towering palace gates were no longer clearly visible did Su Luoqian lower the curtain and sit straight again.
Meanwhile, at Prince Cheng'an's Residence, Nanny Liu came in through the side gate, her aged face pinched.
It was customary for the prince and his consort to visit the Grand Princess on the first day of the lunar month. She had timed it carefully, watching the residence's carriage travel from the Grand Princess's residence toward the imperial city before knocking at the Grand Princess's gate.
Several times before, she had tried and failed to complain about Su Luoqian to Lu Jingsi. Now she could only pin her hopes on the Grand Princess.
Once she exposed Su Luoqian's fickleness to the Grand Princess—how she still pined for her clan cousin even after marrying into the prince's residence—Su Luoqian's days as the prince's consort would surely be over.
Nanny Liu was smugly pleased with her own cleverness.
But to her surprise, she was "served a closed door" at the Grand Princess's residence.
The servant at the gate had welcomed her inside, and she had met Nanny Li, who served the Grand Princess.
But the message Nanny Li brought back was, "Her Highness says the Prince of Cheng'an's Consort is both virtuous and talented, worthy and upright. If Nanny Liu encounters any trouble, she need only report it to the consort."
"Furthermore, it is a grave taboo for a servant to overstep. Nanny Liu has served at both the Grand Princess's residence and the prince's residence for many years. She should not be ignorant of even this rule, and must not offend again."
After delivering the message, Nanny Li sighed earnestly and offered her a few words of sincere advice. "Her Highness lives in seclusion and seldom goes out. Do not trouble her with these matters again."
"On the Su Family matriarch's birthday, you went to the Grand Princess's residence yourself, yet Her Highness did not let you take the gift for Lady Cui of the Su Family back with you. Can you still not understand what that meant?"
In the end, the birthday gift had reached Su Luoqian through Fulin that day.
Though it was only a small matter, an old servant who had served for many years should not have failed to see what lay behind it.
Only then did Nanny Liu stop to think back on it.
That day, after returning to the prince's residence, Su Luoqian had punished her by making her kneel. How could she have had the mind to ponder such details?
Thinking about it now, she realized that the Grand Princess had already warned her back then.
But she could not accept it.
Su Luoqian was plainly not the right woman for the prince, so why could the masters not see it?
After entering the side gate of the prince's residence, Nanny Liu walked toward her room, lost in thought.
She pondered a good way to deal with Su Luoqian.
As she passed through a moon gate, she accidentally collided with a young maid coming from the opposite direction.
Somehow, the impact sent her falling backward, landing on her bottom quite a distance away.
"Ow..."
The little maid recognized Nanny Liu's voice at once. Disregarding her own scraped palm, she hurried to her feet and helped her up.
"Who walks without watching where they're going?!"
The little maid trembled, hunching her shoulders and lowering her head as she apologized. "Nanny Liu, I'm sorry..."
Nanny Liu rubbed the place that hurt from the collision and scolded, "Which courtyard are you from? Are you rushing off to be reincarnated?"
"If you'd seriously hurt an old woman like me, could you afford to take responsibility?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The little maid never dared raise her head and seemed very timid.
Nanny Liu said impatiently, "What's your name?"
"Th-this servant's name is... Yinzhu..."
"Raise your head and let me look at you."
Yinzhu clasped her hands tightly in front of her, twisting them together, but finally raised her head slowly.
The girl was still very young, seemingly not yet fifteen.
Her face was flushed red with fear.
Nanny Liu narrowed her eyes, suddenly finding the maid somewhat familiar.
"You're a dowry maid from the Su Family, aren't you?"
Yinzhu answered softly, "Y-yes."
Nanny Liu was delighted. She had just been worrying about how to deal with Su Luoqian.
She had only nodded off, and heaven had handed her a pillow. Presumably, even heaven could not stand Su Luoqian.
Her expression changed, and she gave a kindly smile. "Yinzhu, was it? Did you hurt yourself in the fall?"
"No, this maid is fine."
Nanny Liu paid no heed to her words and grabbed her hand. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you've scraped the skin."
"This old woman has no medicine on her now. Wait for me here at this time tomorrow, and I'll bring you some."
Yinzhu knew about the times Nanny Liu had made trouble for Su Luoqian before, and did not quite dare get too close to her. She stammered, "There's no need, no need, Nanny Liu. This... little scrape is nothing."
"How can you call it a little scrape? If you don't take care of it, it could get worse."
"You needn't worry about anything else. This old woman means nothing else by it. Just take the medicine and let me feel a little better, all right?"
Her tone was earnest. Yinzhu timidly raised her eyes to look at her, then quickly lowered them again before answering softly, "A-all right. Thank you, Nanny Liu."
Nanny Liu broke into a smile. "You're welcome."
She patted Yinzhu's shoulder, looking very amiable. "Then go back to the main courtyard first. The prince and consort should be back soon, and they'll need someone to attend them."
"Yes, Nanny Liu."
After answering, Yinzhu ran off, still feeling apprehensive.