"Fourth Prince, His Majesty has already rewarded me."
"Father's rewards are his own. The two cannot be lumped together."
Mo Xuanchen rose.
"I did not know what you liked, Miss Shen, so I prepared a little of everything I could think of."
"You can take a look, Miss Shen. If there is anything you want, just tell me later."
"Then I would be disrespectful to refuse."
Shen Yuxi gladly accepted.
With someone like the Fourth Prince, refusing would have been impolite instead.
By the time Shen Yuxi returned home, it was already lunchtime.
"Fourth Prince, would you like to stay and dine with us?"
At Madam Shen's prompting, Shen Yuxi took the initiative to ask.
"No need. I still have to visit the palace. Perhaps another day."
Mo Xuanchen cast a look at Shen Yuxi's bowed head, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.
If he really stayed to dine, someone would probably find her food tasteless.
They respectfully saw the Fourth Prince off.
Once he had left.
Shen Yuxi asked curiously, "Mother, how long was the Fourth Prince here? Did he say anything to you?"
"Not long, only an hour. The Fourth Prince is a man of few words. After explaining why he had come, he barely spoke."
Although the Fourth Prince's arrival had surprised them, the matter was soon cast to the back of their minds.
"Little sister, did anything interesting or unusual happen when you attended court today?"
Shen Tinglan shifted her gaze to Shen Yuxi's face and asked hesitantly, concern in her eyes.
What she really wanted to ask was whether her little sister had been beaten.
With her little sister and the system's melon-eating ways, never fearing a spectacle might get too big, they would certainly eat melons at court.
If they ate a melon they should not have, they might offend someone without even knowing it.
But she could not say that outright.
Shen Yuxi shook her head. "Nope. Court was pretty boring."
Just bringing it up annoyed her.
"Those ministers argued themselves into a frenzy over the tiniest issues. My head was buzzing. It was so annoying."
"I don't know how His Majesty puts up with them at morning court every day."
Madam Shen chided her softly, "No nonsense. His Majesty is not someone people like us can discuss."
"Now that you have entered court, you must curb that old temper of yours. You cannot always speak so freely, understand?"
"Yes, yes."
Shen Yuxi nodded helplessly in agreement.
She spoke to the system in her mind. [System, is my mother approaching menopause? Why is she getting more and more fond of nagging?]
Madam Shen: "..."
[Host, your mother is just concerned about you.]
[Besides, if your mother nags you, that is your problem too.]
[Bullshit!]
Shen Yuxi swore outright in her mind.
Hearing this, Madam Shen's hand inexplicably began to itch.
[Look, why doesn't your mother scold your eldest brother or second sister? Why does she only keep after you?]
[Obviously, it is because you give your parents no peace of mind.]
[Behind every child who gives their parents no peace of mind is a pair of parents who love to worry and nag.]
Shen Yuxi gave a haughty little huff and ignored the system, taking Madam Shen's arm and shaking it.
"Mother, I'm hungry! Let's eat already."
Madam Shen sighed, then turned and instructed the servants to bring out the food.
Shen Tinglan and Shen Shiyan covered their mouths and snickered.
"Second Sister, these stir-fried seasonal vegetables are your favorite. Have some more." Shen Yuxi placed a chopstickful in Shen Tinglan's bowl.
A smile curved Shen Tinglan's lips and eyes. "Thank you, little sister."
Shen Yuxi was dissatisfied with her second sister's appetite.
She ate far too little, not even half as much as Shen Yuxi did.
She truly wondered how her second sister had managed to grow up.
Without realizing it, Shen Yuxi said what she was thinking aloud.
"Do you think your second sister is like you, eating as much as a little piglet?"
If her youngest daughter had been born into a commoner's household instead of the Shen residence, they really might not have been able to afford to feed her.
"Mother, those words stabbed me right in the heart."
Shen Yuxi grumbled, "Heaven is vast and earth is vast, but eating comes above all. Only with a full belly can you accomplish great things."
"Second Sister eats so little. It's bad for her health."
"Could it be that you eat too much?" Madam Shen's words pierced her heart again.
Shen Yuxi clutched her chest, indicating that she did not want to discuss this topic.
"Mother is right. Little sister, you should learn from your second sister and strive to become a proper young lady of a distinguished family," Shen Shiyan chimed in.
"Eldest Brother, just eat your food and talk less."
Shen Yuxi indignantly placed a piece of braised pork in Shen Shiyan's bowl.
The family was warm and harmonious, filled with laughter.
Meanwhile, Minister Shen, still hard at work at the Ministry of Rites: "..."
"Minister, these are the materials you requested."
An official placed a thick stack of books before Minister Shen.
"Mm. Go back to your work."
"Yes."
Minister Shen had not even found time for lunch and remained busy well into the afternoon.
The imperial garden.
"Yesterday, His Majesty said he would visit our palace tonight. There is still time. Your Highness, why not return and prepare?" her senior personal palace maid said.
"What is there to prepare? Whether His Majesty comes or not makes no difference to me."
An ordinary consort would have been overjoyed to learn that the emperor would spend the night in her palace.
Noble Consort Wei's response, however, was indifferent, as though she did not care at all.
Only one eunuch gave Noble Consort Wei a deep look, the intense feelings in his eyes almost impossible to suppress.
"Didn't I tell you to have someone put up a swing for me in the imperial garden? Why has nothing been done?"
"Forgive us, Your Highness. Her Majesty the Empress said that without His Majesty's permission, no one may alter so much as a blade of grass or a tree in the imperial garden. Anyone who does will be punished according to palace rules."
A flicker of irritation crossed Noble Consort Wei's eyes.
She said impatiently, "The empress governs heaven and earth, and now she is trying to govern me too."
She raised her hand and plucked a vibrant peony. Suddenly, a cry rang out behind her, "His Majesty has arrived!" Startled, she hurriedly threw away the peony in her hand.
Emperor Xuanzhao wore a bright yellow dragon robe, his expression as dark and cold as ice in the depths of winter.
"Greetings, Your Majesty-"
"Noble Consort Wei, what impressive methods you have. How did I never notice just how capable you were?"
"Your Majesty, what... is wrong? Has someone angered you?"
Noble Consort Wei thought someone else had angered Emperor Xuanzhao, and he had happened to encounter her in the imperial garden, so he was venting his temper on her.
She was unhappy about it, and a trace of displeasure faintly showed on her face.
Emperor Xuanzhao sneered.
She would not shed tears until she saw the coffin.
"Noble Consort Wei, you have served me for no short time. You know my temper."
His voice was as cold as the wind in the depths of winter. "I will give you one chance. Confess, and you will be treated leniently. You had best tell me everything you have concealed from me, without leaving out a single word."
"Perhaps I will let you keep your corpse intact."