Today, the sunshine illuminated everything and there wasn’t a cloud in sight for a thousand miles.
Wei Luo’s period started last night and she was feeling very gloomy. She hadn’t been concerned with this matter originally and felt that a child would come when it was time. There wasn’t anything to worry about. However, Empress Chen and fourth aunt had repeatedly inquired about this matter. One said that Zhao Jie was old enough that they should be considering the problem of descendants. The other said that Liang Yu Rong was already pregnant. Why wasn’t she pregnant yet? Their fussing had caused Wei Luo to be anxious too. In addition, her period had just started, so her mood hadn’t been good. She had even reprimanded several servants this morning.
Zhao Jie had specially freed up a day in his schedule to go with Wei Luo to Da Long Temple to burn incense in worship. He knew that she wasn’t in a good mood, so he stayed patient and tried to coax her.
I’m not even worried. What’s there for you to be anxious about? Ah Luo, I married you because I want to pamper and take care of you. It wasn’t because I wanted you to burn incense for me. If I only want a heir, I could have married anyone. Why would have I insisted on only being willing to marry you? Don’t take imperial mother’s words seriously. She’s been thinking too much about having a grandson. If you feel too pressured, I’ll talk with imperial mother so that you can decrease the frequency of going to Zhao Yang Hall to pay respects.
Wei Luo was sitting on his lap and moving his fingers back and forth as she counted them again and again.
But I want to give birth to our children.
Zhao Jie kissed the top of her head, but he felt that it wasn’t enough. He closely held her small face and said,
Naturally, we’ll have children in the future. Let’s have three children. Two son and one daughter, okay?
Wei Luo nodded. Her mood had improved after hearing his persuasive words.
When they arrived at Da Long Temple’s foothills, they saw Duke Ying’s residence’s carriage. Wei Luo had Jin Lu go over to the other carriage to inquire and found out that first madam and Liang Yu Rong had also come here to burn incense. They had also brought second branch’s Wei Bao Shan with them.
Liang Yu Rong had recently been diagnosed as being pregnant for over a month. Her pregnancy didn’t seem noticeable yet. First Madam was very concerned and had arranged for several servants to serve Liang Yu Rong. She was treated like a moon with all of the stars revolving around her.
Liang Yu Rong was very happy to see Wei Luo. She pulled Wei Luo to her side as they climbed the stairs.
Is your prince that unwilling to part from you? He’s even coming with you to burn incense.
Wei Luo somewhat jealously looked at Liang Yu Rong’s stomach. Yu Rong had only been married for two months and she was already pregnant. She had been married for half a year without any signs of pregnancy. It really wasn’t fair.
What about you? Why didn’t oldest cousin Chang Yin come with you?
Liang Yu Rong laughed as she objected,
You have to climb up long stairs to get to Da Long Temple. His leg hasn’t fully recovered yet. There’s no way I would let him come here with me.
Look at that pleased with herself expression. Wei Luo wanted to ask Liang Yu Rong for advice on private bedroom matters. However, that Wei Bao Shan came over to greet her and Wei Luo curved the corners of her lips down.
Wei Luo didn’t have a good impression of Wei Bao Shan. Last year, she had tried to seduce Zhao Jie by pretending to pull down her handkerchief from a tree at the hot spring villa.
Thus, Wei Luo only nodded in response and showed a very alienated attitude.
Liang Yu Rong pulled Wei Luo to walk faster for a few steps and whispered,
You should keep away from Wei Bao Shan.
Wei Luo stopped herself from raised her eyebrows. She had thought she was the only one that disliked Wei Bao Shan.
Why?
Liang Yu Rong said,
Just remember my words. I heard that she’s a person that’s not satisfied with her position. She tried to seduce Heir Song when we went to Count Zhong Yi’s residence as a guest last time, but Heir Song only ignored her.
Song Hui? Wei Luo felt somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected that this Wei Bao Shan would be a person that was so discontent with her position. But when she thought about, it wasn’t that surprising. Second aunt was deliberately oppressing her and not allowing her to marry. Wei Bao Shan had already aged to an old maiden of eighteen years old and her status in Duke Ying’s household was awkward. If she didn’t get married soon, no one would want her. By that time, her only choice would be to marry a widower or be someone’s concubine.
Wei Luo said,
Don’t worry. I rarely come into contact with her.
Da Long Temple was at the top of a mountain. When they had climbed halfway up, Wei Luo ran out strength and Zhao Jie had to carry her up the rest of the way in the end. Liang Yu Rong felt very envious when she saw this. In her heart, she felt that Wei Luo’s life was too wonderful. Before she was married, she had Wei Chang Hong to carry her. After she was married, she had Prince Jing to carry her. The more she thought, the more envious she felt.
Liang Yu Rong was pregnant and shouldn’t be exercising too strenuously. As a result, she would frequently pause as she walked up the stairs and arrived at the temple an hour after Wei Luo.
–
Since it was praying for a child, then it would only seem sincere if they came here together to pray. Wei Luo pulled Zhao Jie to kneel down on the praying mats with her. They bowed to the Bodhisattva statue three times, lit three incense sticks, and inserted the incense into the three-legged incense burner.
When they were walking out of the main hall, Zhao Jie rapped Wei Luo’s head.
Have you stopped worrying now?
Wei Luo clutched her head. Just as she was about to speak, she saw someone at the entrance when she raised her her head.
Wei Bao Shan took a step back and said with her head lowered,
Greeting Prince Jing, Greetings Princess Consort Jing.
Wei Luo unobtrusively furrowed her eyebrows. She didn’t know how long Wei Bao Shan had been standing here.
Chapter: 156.2 out of 171
Wei Bao Shan seemed as if she didn’t notice that Wei Luo didn’t want to see her. She glanced at the Guanyin statue (patroness of female fertility) inside the hall and said,
Has His Highness and Her Highness come here to wish for a child?
Wei Luo raised an eyebrow and gave an irrelevant answer,
Miss Bao Shan is in very good shape. First Madam and First Young Madam are still climbing the stairs and you’re already here.
It wasn’t clear if Wei Bao Shan had understood the ridicule in Wei Luo’s words. She said with a smile,
Your Highness, you’re flattering me too much. It’s only that my body isn’t fragile and pampered. The path here wasn’t that long either.
Her words were hinting that Wei Luo had needed Zhao Jie to carry her up the mountain.
She went back to talking about the previous topic.
Your Highness, if you’re wishing for a child, I have a useful item from my hometown. It’s an embroidered picture of a Chinese unicorn with a hundred children. It’s said to be very effective and has helped many couples. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, I can deliver it to Prince Jing’s residence after I return home.
Wei Luo truly didn’t like her and there was no need to give Wei Bao Shan face, so she bluntly said,
Really? No need. I never accept things that have unclear origins. Miss Bao Shan, you should just keep it for yourself.
Wei Bao Shan’s expression changed. Her eyes flitted towards at Zhao Jie. She seemed to be asking for his opinion.
Zhao Jie always valued Wei Luo’s opinion as the most important point. Moreover, he could also see that Wei Luo was feeling vexed towards this girl in front of them. Thus, he indifferently said,
If Ah Luo wants an embroidered picture of a Chinese unicorn with a hundred children, the palace seamstresses can embroidered one for her when we return to the capital.
His words made Wei Bao Shan seem as if she was bringing disgrace to herself.
Wei Bao Shan’s face changed back and forth between losing all color and turning completely red. It was extremely interesting sight.
Wei Luo’s mood turned cheerful. She held Zhao Jie’s hand as they left the hall and headed towards the guest rooms at the back of the temple.
That sounds good. I want one that’s six feet wide and ten feet tall.
Zhao Jie agreed with a smile.
–
Shortly after, first madam and Liang Yu Rong reached the top of the mountain. After they prayed to Bodhisattva and burned incense, they also went to the guest rooms.
Other than have an effective Bodhisattva, Da Long Temple also had unique vegetarian meals. They frequently had worshippers coming here for these two reasons. After Zhao Jie and Wei Luo had lunch at noon, they prepared to return home. When they arrived at Da Long Temple’s entrance and were about to descend the mountain, Wei Luo’s sharp eyes immediately noticed that Zhao Jie was missing something on his waist.
Big brother, where’s your sachet?
Zhao Jie lowered his head to look. He must have inadvertently left it behind while they were eating. Just as he was about to order Zhu Geng to go look for it, he saw Wei Bao Shan walking over to them. Gasping for breathing, she stopped in front of Zhao Jie.
Your Highness, please wait.
Wei Luo raised her eyebrows as soon as she Wei Bao Shan.
Zhao Jie furrowed his eyebrows,
What?
Wei Bao Shang took out a forest green sachet embroidered with golden thread and brought it forward in front of Zhao Jie.
Your Highness, please look. Is this your sachet?
Zhao Jie didn’t respond, but Wei Luo saw that it was indeed Zhao Jie’s sachet. Zhao Jie liked plum blossoms and there was two wintry, pure plum blossoms embroidered on his sachet. He probably really liked this sachet. He had been constantly wearing that sachet recently.
Wei Bao Shan added,
I found this sachet in a guest room. Because this vaguely resembled Your Highness’s sachet, I came here to ask. If this sachet belongs to the prince, please be more careful. Don’t lose it again.
Zhu Geng.
Zhao Jie expressionlessly said.
Zhu Geng hurriedly appeared,
Your Highness, this servant is here.
Zhao Jie didn’t take another glance. He turned around and ordered,
Burn the sachet. Don’t let this prince see it again.
Zhu Geng was startled for a moment, but he quickly recovered and took the sachet from Wei Bao Shan. He took a folded matchbook from his clothing, lit a matchstick and placed the lit matchstick underneath the sachet. A gust of wind later, the sachet was burned to ashes.
Wei Bao Shan’s expression stiffened. She would have never expected that Zhao Jie would respond in this manner and was left utterly speechless.
Zhao Jie walked to Wei Luo’s side and kneaded Wei Luo’s hand. She was equally stunned.
Stop staring into space. Do you want me to carry you down the mountain?
Wei Luo returned to her senses and shook her head. Descending the mountain wasn’t as tiring as climbing up. She could walk down by herself.
When they arrived at the bottom of the mountain, Wei Luo finally asked,
Isn’t a little too regrettable to burn that sachet?
Zhao Jie answered her question with another question,
What’s there to regret?
Wei Luo said,
Didn’t you like that sachet a lot? I saw that you wore it several times.
Zhao Jie smiled and carried her up onto the shaft of the carriage. He raised his head to look at her and said,
If I had taken the sachet, wouldn’t my little vinegar (symbolizes jealousy) jar have caused a huge disturbance? Your mouth was pouting so much that I could have hanged an oil pitcher on it.
Wei Luo slapped his hand away. She felt he was completely slandering her.
I’m not a vinegar jar.
He was clearly the one who was a vinegar jar.
Zhao Jie stepped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain, and entered the carriage. He didn’t continue to tease her and his expression had become slightly stern.
Wei Bao Shan has a scheming mind. It’s better if you have less contact with her in the future.
Wei Luo didn’t expect that he would notice this too. She sat down at his side and enthusiastically asked,
How did you notice this?
Zhao Jie felt that her question was slightly laughable.
If you found a sachet that belonged to an unfamiliar man, would you specially return it to him?
Wei Luo properly said,
Naturally, I wouldn’t. I would throw it away. Why would I meddle with someone else’s item?
That was the exactly the reason.
Zhao Jie didn’t say another word. He originally didn’t care to discuss this type of troublesome matter. He only said more than usual because he saw that Wei Luo had been unhappy. As he expected, the little fellow became entirely free from worry after he said those words and changed the topic.
Are you really going to give me an embroidered picture of a Chinese unicorn?
Zhao Jie nodded,
Of course.
On the next day, Zhao Jie went to the palace and went to the Embroidery Department to look for the best seamstress out of the hundred seamstresses that worked there to embroider a picture of a Chinese unicorn with a hundred children for Wei Luo. Empress Chen was currently longing for a grandson. When she heard about this picture and how Wei Luo had brought Zhao Jie with her to Da Long Temple to pray, she was extremely supportive. She even called Wei Luo to her side and spent the visit excessively praising her.
Chapter: 156.3 out of 171
The weather became warmer and warmer. Spring quickly turned into summer. It would soon be Duke Ying’s wife’s birthday banquet.
Wei Luo felt listless as soon as summer arrived. She wasn’t interest in doing anything. Zhao Jie ordered the servants to buy a wagon of ice. The ice was placed in all four corners of their room to lower the temperature. It was only after this was done that Wei Luo felt slightly better.
On old madam’s birthday, Wei Luo wore a light muslin top that was as thin as a cicada’s wing. It was paired with a light red and green gauzy skirt. Her attire looked very refreshing.
Zhao Jie was wearing a deep black robe embroidered with honeysuckles and a jade waist accessory. His tall and straight body showed his bone-deep handsomeness.
After they arrived at Duke Ying’s residence and presented old madam’s birthday gift, Zhao Jie and the other male guests stayed in the receiving room and Wei Luo went to the reception pavilion to converse with the other female guests.
When fourth madam saw her, she didn’t rush to ask her if she was pregnant. It was probably because she could tell that Wei Luo also wanted a child, but the child still hadn’t come yet. It would be superfluous to discuss this topic further. Fourth madam didn’t want to put Wei Luo in a difficult position, so she didn’t bring up this topic in front of her.
However, just because fourth madam didn’t mention this, it didn’t mean that other people would also stay quiet on this issue.
Wei Luo talked with fourth madam for a while. Because she was feeling tired, she wanted to go to her old room to sleep for a bit. As Wei Luo passed through a flowerbed, her handkerchief was swept away by the wind and landed behind the rock garden. Wei Luo led Jin Lu over there to look for her handkerchief. Right after she picked up the handkerchief, she heard people speaking on the other side of the rock garden.
Miss, this servant saw Princess Consort Jing passing by here recently.
Wei Luo heard Wei Bao Shan’s voice next,
How come I didn’t see her? You’re probably mistaken.
The servant girl looked left and right. She wasn’t certain as she said,
Strange, where did she go?
She immediately followed these words by saying,
This servant guarantees that this servant didn’t make a mistake. Princess Consort Jing is so beautiful. She looks like someone that walked out of a flower. This servant had never seen someone so beautiful.
Wei Bao Shan didn’t reply.
That servant girl was probably young. When she spoke, her voice was very lively. She chattered on,
This servant heard that Prince Jing is extremely pampering towards Princess Consort Jing. During the Spring Lantern Festival, he personally made over a hundred lanterns and had them released in Huai An River just to make Princess Consort Jing happy.
Wei Bao Shan stopped walking for a moment and slowly said,
Really?
Even though she said those words, she secretly felt this was very probable based on what she had seen when she went to Da Long Temple last time. How many husbands would crouch down in front of other people to carry their wives up a mountain to pray at a temple? Not only had Zhao Jie done that, there hadn’t been the slightest hint of dissatisfaction on his face. He truly cherished Wei Luo to the core of his bones.
The servant girl added,
Of course, it’s real. Princess Consort Jing really makes a person feel envious. Not only was she born in a good family, she also married well…
Wei Bao Shan lightly sneered. Her tone was slightly disapproving as she said,
What’s there to envy? So what if she married well? Isn’t she still a hen that can’t lay eggs?
On the other side of the rock garden, Wei Luo’s eyes turned icy.
Jin Lu was angry that her entire body trembled. She clenched her fist and said,
Miss, this Wei Bao Shan is too outrageous…
Wei Luo didn’t respond to her words. She calmly walked out from behind the rock garden and blocked Wei Bao Shan’s path.
Wei Bao Shan hadn’t expected that Wei Luo would be nearby. Although her face immediately paled and she bit her bottom lip, she was able to force herself to remain calm
On the other hand, the servant girl that was wearing a dark green jacket and skirt fell down to the floor on her knees. Panic-stricken, she said,
Greeting Your Highness…
Wei Luo ignored the servant girl and only looked at Wei Bao Shan as she said,
Miss Bao Shan, the next time you talk about people behind their backs, don’t forget the words
the walls have ears
.
Wei Bao Shan opened and closed her mouth without saying a word. She lowered her head.
Wei Luo coldly said,
Kneel.
When the servants that were passing through this courtyard noticed that something was wrong, they inevitably couldn’t resist glancing back.
Wei Bao Shan had thought Wei Luo was only an overly spoiled, young girl. After all, when she interacted with Wei Luo in the past, she didn’t discover anything unusual about Wei Luo. However, when Wei Luo had ordered her kneel, her cold and severe tone had increased her imposingness and made Wei Bao Shan feel as if there was no room to refute.
She hadn’t realized that there was a reason why Wei Luo hadn’t sorted her out previously. Wei Luo used to feel that Wei Bao Shan was beneath her notice.
Right now, she had poked at Wei Luo’s sore spot and Wei Luo would no longer be courteous towards her.
In front of everyone, Wei Bao Shan slowly kneeled down. She tried to explain,
My earlier words… They weren’t directed at the princess consort…
Wei Luo softly smiled and leaned over to face Wei Bao Shan. Wei Luo had previously felt angry, but seeing Wei Bao Shan’s terror, she controlled herself and only felt disdain. She had though Wei Bao Shan would be more daring, but her daring had only amounted to this much.
It wasn’t directed at me? Then, whom was it directed towards? Wei Bao Shan, you have to take responsibility for your words. Do you think I’m a fool? You’re scared now, but why didn’t you control your mouth before?
Wei Luo’s eyes were smiling and she seemed very agreeable, but her mouth said,
Showing lack of regard towards your superior. Insulting the imperial family. With this alone, I can condemn you for your crime. Jin Lu, come here. Punish her with twenty slaps. Not even one slap can be missed.
Jin Lu had wanted to do this since she first heard Wei Bao Shan’s words. Hearing Wei Luo’s command, she was naturally happy to obey. She walked to Wei Bao Shan’s side, rolled up her sleeves, and satisfyingly slapped her with one hand and then the other hand in quick succession.
Twenty-three slaps were heard in the courtyard. Each slap was louder than the last.
Only a short time had passed. Wei Bao Shan’s face had swollen to the size of steamed bun. It was an absolutely unsightly appearance.
Wei Luo looked at her and was rather satisfied. She curved her lips and asked Wei Bao Shan,
Do you acknowledge your wrongdoing now?
Wei Bao Shan tightly clutched her swaying skirt and nodded her head in humiliation. She probably couldn’t speak right now.
Wei Luo lowered her eyes to look at her.
Since you know you were wrong, go to Second Madam and tell her that you did something wrong and that I ordered a servant to discipline you. Otherwise, other people will wonder if they see you like this.
She suddenly thought of something and faintly smiled.
Go now.
Wei Bao Shan suddenly widened her eyes and incredulously looked at Wei Luo.
Second madam was currently in the reception pavilion and there were also many guests gathered there. If she went there now, wouldn’t everyone have a poor impression of her?
