57 Cultivating Familiar Feelings

Yan Qiu Yue stared at Li Mei, utterly dumbstruck by what her maid had just reported. Last night, she'd drifted off to sleep while angrily thinking that she would sort Wei Tian Ao out after he finally came. But how could she sort out this absentee husband of hers? And more importantly, what time was it? The first morning after the wedding night, the married couple was to pay respects to Prince and Princess Rui together. Yet Li Mei had just reported that Wei Tian Ao went to court? She wasn't aware that he was even allowed to attend court!

There was nothing for it. She would simply have to press forward on her own. Who knew what Wei Tian Ao was thinking? "Attend to me quickly." she forced out through gritted teeth as she got out of bed. As she did so, she examined the bed more closely. Sure enough, the side opposite where she had slept was completely undisturbed.

She and Wei Tian Ao were to share a bedroom, so where had he slept the night before? Just thinking about the possibilities irritated her. Yan Qiu Yue had been given her own separate sitting room adjacent to this bedroom where her personal items had already been moved. She had to quickly get ready to serve the elders. Li Mei called the other maids into Yan Qiu Yue's sitting room and they made fast work of helping her freshen up and change clothes.

She sat down at her vanity table as her Chu Hua did her hair and her eyes landed on the fan that had been returned to her the day before. With a grimace, she picked it up and handed it to Mu Rong. "Put this away somewhere. I do not wish to see it again."

Mu Rong froze momentarily before bowing her head. "Yes, Madam."

Madam. Yan Qiu Yue realized belatedly that Li Mei had called her that, as well. Could she still be called a "madam" when she and her husband hadn't consummated their marriage? This confused madam let out a sigh just as footsteps could be heard outside the door. For a moment, her heart jumped as she considered that it might be Wei Tian Ao, but then the door slid open to reveal a group of older maids. "Madam, we have come to guide you to pay your respects to Prince and Princess Rui. They have been expecting you and you are already late!"

"Pardon, but our madam--" Mu Rong attempted to defend her young miss who was currently in a disadvantageous situation through no fault of her own, but Yan Qiu Yue interrupted her.

"Please convey my deepest apologies to my father-in-law and mother-in-law. I have been careless."

"Hmph! Do hurry." The group moved outside the bedroom to wait.

"Yes. I will immediately go to pay my respects. Do wait just a moment longer." Yan Qiu Yue said to their retreating backs. She was already in a bad position. Trying to make excuses or show her anger now wouldn't do her any favors.

Chu Hua finished putting Yan Qiu Yue's hair into a double hooped immortal-seeking ji style, adorning the loops with various jade hairpins and a golden floral buyao. All of this weighed on Yan Qiu Yue's neck almost as much as her bridal headdress had, but she well knew that there was no choice but to wear such things. She would henceforth be judged heavily on what she wore. Of course, it had been so even when she'd merely been the daughter of Duke Ning, but now her conduct reflected upon Prince Rui's household and the royal family. "Perhaps over time my neck will get stronger and it won't feel so heavy in the future," she thought before rising from her seat. Zhi Lan slid open the door to allow Yan Qiu Yue to leave the room before leading the other maids to follow behind her.

"I have seen Madam," the older maids in the hallway all paid their respects to Yan Qiu Yue. Considering that their leader had just barged in and barked orders at her, this was a rather belated greeting indeed. It could be seen that the servants of this Prince Rui estate did not look too favorably upon this young madam. Had she left that bad of a first impression on them or was this due to the influence of Princess Rui...? Yan Qiu Yue nodded her head at the maids in acknowledgment before urging them to lead the way. Her hands clenched into fists inside of her sleeves. Were the Prince and Princess aware of what their good son had done--or not done, as it were? What an embarrassing predicament!!

Arriving at the sitting room where the Prince Rui couple awaited, the older maid announced Yan Qiu Yue before leading her in. Yan Qiu Yue swept into a low curtsy. "Daughter-in-law greets Prince Rui and Princess Rui."

A maid helped her up as Princess Rui laughed. "Come come, there's no need for such ceremony between family. Are you well? Let this princess see your face. I did not get to look so closely in the past."

Princess Rui's smile did not quite reach her eyes and Prince Rui sat on the side with a polite smile but said nothing. Yan Qiu Yue felt an insurmountable pressure from this couple. She had no choice but to come forward and take Princess Rui's outstretched hands, allowing the latter to examine her. "Thank you, Princess, for your benevolence. Yan Qiu Yue is doing fine."

"Such fine skin, it seems one can almost squeeze water from it. One can see what a pampered life you led in Duke Ning's estate up until now. It is good if you are fine." Princess Rui smirked.

Prince Rui usually thought himself above such matters of the inner courtyard, but hearing these words he couldn't help snorting. "How fine could she be when that good son of ours hung her out to dry?"

Yan Qiu Yue chose to not immediately answer. She instead moved to pour tea for the couple to show her respect to them, then smoothed her skirts before kneeling upon the ground before them. "This humble one has heard that my husband went to the palace early this morning. He surely had important matters to attend to. I ask for Prince Rui's leniency in this matter on my husband's behalf."

"Mm," Prince Rui's expression brightened slightly. "There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Justice and my royal brother is planning on having Tian Ao fill it. In the meantime, he is to observe the work and assist them in order to learn." He took a sip of the tea and nodded his approval at Yan Qiu Yue before sneering. "What a good son, so eager to learn that he went this early to court!"

The underlying meaning was "I, as his father, took the day off from attending court due to my son's wedding, but the groom himself abandoned his new bride and went straight to work! What a joke!"

"You must be tired after a long day yesterday. I have arranged for a steward to come and show you around the estate, then you should rest early." Princess Rui said. At these words, Yan Qiu Yue rose and curtsied once more.

"I will obey the princess's words. Thank you for your kindness."

Yan Qiu Yue and her maids went to the hallway where a eunuch already awaited. He greeted Yan Qiu Yue before introducing himself as Gan Zhi.

"Steward Gan, thank you in advance." Yan Qiu Yue returned with a half-bow, which Steward Gan avoided.

"Madam is too polite. This one has been tasked to show you around the estate to make your life here easier."

He patiently and leisurely walked with Yan Qiu Yue around the estate, which was about twice the size of Duke Ning's estate. Prince Rui had three concubines aside from his official wife, but only one of them was titled as "ce fei"--that is, a concubine with some status. The other two were lower in rank and had long fallen out of favor. Still, it wouldn't do for a prince of the first rank to not have some women in his estate so as long as they didn't cause trouble, they would likely remain.

Eventually, they reached a large courtyard. "This is to be the Prince-shizi's courtyard in the near future. For the time being, in order to cultivate familiar feelings, the Prince and Princess have you and the prince's shared quarters close to their own courtyard, but they have been renovating this area for your use in the future."

"Cultivate familiar feelings"? Yan Qiu Yue raised an eyebrow. It was more likely that when they were close by, it was easier to observe them, but there was no need for her to say such things to a steward.

Anyway, Wei Tian Ao didn't have any other women for the time being, so Yan Qiu Yue had no inner courtyard to manage, per se. Her main duties aside from taking care of her husband--if he would deign to appear before her--were to pay respects to the princess every morning and manage the businesses that had been bestowed to her as part of her dowry. Princess Rui was in charge of the household and would give her a monthly allowance, but it would behoove Yan Qiu Yue to have her own money to spend. At least then the princess couldn't accuse her of wasting the Prince Rui household's funds.

After the tour was completed, Yan Qiu Yue obediently returned to her quarters to have her afternoon meal and rest. Even though she hadn't done much today, her mind was exhausted from the drastic change in situation. She looked around at the well-furnished but empty room she was in. Outside she couldn't hear anything but the birds and servants' footsteps as they ran back and forth running errands for the prince or princess. Here, she could no longer have tea with Yan Qiu Heng nor could she go to bother her mother or accompany her second sister-in-law. She was on her own.

This was the somewhat bleak start of Yan Qiu Yue's new life as a married woman.