Chapter 239: Consort Rong Says the Xie Family’s Young Daughter Has a Red Mole
Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Consort Rong Says the Xie Family’s Young Daughter Has a Red Mole
This was the first time Shen Ningning had ever stepped into Consort Rong’s palace.
Just inside the entrance, she saw a small, decorative rockery displayed directly opposite the door. It was paired with the gentle gurgling of water from a fish tank, and a pleasant fragrance drifted toward her.
A screen decorated with a motif of blooming flowers and a full moon stood behind the ornamental tank, seeming to block out the biting cold from outside.
Shen Ningning rubbed her small hands on her ice-cold cheeks and let out a warm breath.
The Chief Palace Maid announced, "Your Highness, the Commandery Princess and the young miss have arrived."
Consort Rong’s friendly voice called from inside, "Perfect timing. The tea is ready. Come in, quickly."
Shen Ningning was still a little reserved, but Qi Xiuwei, as if she were in her own home, took her little hand. "Come on, let’s go try it. My aunt’s tea is absolutely divine."
Once they rounded the screen, Shen Ningning realized the fragrance she had smelled at the entrance was drifting from the tea Consort Rong was brewing.
Beneath a large, half-open window sat a luohan couch with a small, square table on it. On the table, a small red clay stove was bubbling away, letting off steam.
Consort Rong was seated gracefully beside it, smiling as she beckoned the two over.
Shen Ningning asked curiously, "How can you brew it to have a floral scent?"
Consort Rong looked at her with a gentle smile. "The Commandery Princess has a sharp nose. In this Silver Tip Mountain Needle tea, I’ve also added plum blossoms and dried gardenias."
"Not only is the aroma refreshing, but drinking it also helps to dispel the cold and warm the body." As she spoke, she handed them two cups.
Qi Xiuwei and Shen Ningning sat across from Consort Rong. The two little girls held the piping hot, fragrant tea and took small, delicate sips.
After a few sips, a comfortable warmth spread through her body. Shen Ningning sighed in admiration, "Wow... it’s so good."
Qi Xiuwei immediately smiled at her. "If you like it, why don’t you just come and drink it every day?"
Shen Ningning blinked her large, round, dark eyes. "But how could I trouble Her Highness every day?"
"Why not? If you become my cousin’s female reading companion, you can drink it every day."
Hearing Qi Xiuwei say this, Shen Ningning silently put down her teacup.
Consort Rong, who had noticed this without showing any reaction, said with a smile, "Wei’er, are you recommending the Commandery Princess to your aunt?"
Qi Xiuwei nodded. "Aunt, it would be wonderful if the Commandery Princess could stay and we could be my cousin’s female reading companions together."
At that moment, however, Shen Ningning mustered her courage and said softly with her rosy lips, "But I don’t want to stay."
A brief silence fell over the room.
Consort Rong was the first to speak. "What is it, Commandery Princess? Is there something troubling you?"
Qi Xiuwei froze for a moment before realizing. "Ningning must want to be the Crown Prince’s female reading companion!"
But Shen Ningning shook her head. "I don’t want to be anyone’s female reading companion for now, because... I haven’t even learned things properly myself yet."
"During my lessons, I have to pull the little cart my brother made for me just to move my books."
She held out her two chubby little hands. "And look, Your Highness, my little hands can only hold one brush at a time. I can’t serve a Prince while he studies."
"My elder aunt said a female reading companion has to hold the books for the Prince and also grind his ink, but... how could I possibly manage all that!"
Consort Rong was taken aback, but then she covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh. The surrounding palace maids also pressed their lips together, trying to hide their smiles.
Princess Funing was truly adorable, refusing so earnestly with such childish words.
Consort Rong said with a laugh, "Ningning, don’t worry. As for the matter of the female reading companion, I actually already have someone in mind."
She looked at Qi Xiuwei. "This child, Wei’er, has been pestering her father daily to send me letters, insisting that she must become the female reading companion. I really couldn’t refuse her."
"I heard her results in the assessment this time were excellent in every subject. So, I think the position of female reading companion should rightfully be hers. I only called you both here today to enjoy some tea."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ningning felt a wave of relief, and the smile on her face instantly grew even sweeter and more adorable.
"Thank you, Your Highness. The tea is so delicious." She was finally willing to pick up her teacup again.
They didn’t chat for long before Consort Rong said to Qi Xiuwei, "You may go back first. I have a few words to say to Ningning alone."
Qi Xiuwei, being well-behaved and quiet, stood up gracefully upon hearing this.
"Aunt, Wei’er will take her leave then." With that, she blinked twice at Shen Ningning before turning to follow a palace maid out.
After she left, Shen Ningning took out the round wooden plaque carved with a small deer and placed it on the table.
"Your Highness, this should be returned to the Ninth Prince. I know His Highness wants to thank me for helping him feed the little deer, but since I’m not going to be his female reading companion, I shouldn’t accept his things."
Consort Rong’s gaze was gentle and deep, as dark and mysterious as the ocean.
She glanced at the wooden plaque and chuckled. "You child, you’re certainly strict with yourself. Is such a small trinket really worth returning?"
However, she didn’t force Shen Ningning to accept it.
Consort Rong looked out the window. The north wind swept through the courtyard, causing the accumulated snow to rustle down from the branches.
The charcoal in the small red clay stove on the table seemed to have nearly burned out, and the bubbling sound gradually faded away.
At some point, all the Palace Attendants had withdrawn completely. Only a Chief Palace Maid stood guard outside the screen, motionless as a statue.
"Sigh." Consort Rong sighed first. "Commandery Princess, please don’t think me nosy for calling you here. It’s because I wanted to have a good look at you. You bear a striking resemblance to my sister."
Shen Ningning’s dark eyes widened. "Do you mean my godmother, Shen Siyi?"
Consort Rong nodded, her gaze on the courtyard filled with a nostalgic sorrow.
"There are some things that Chancellor Xie probably wouldn’t tell you. The reason my sister broke with the Qi family back then was because my mother wanted to arrange a marriage for her, to marry her off to a distant relative of our Qi family."
"But at that time, my sister had already pledged her heart to Chancellor Xie. How could she possibly accept someone else?"
"My sister fought hysterically against it, but in our home, my mother’s word was law. Even my father couldn’t do anything about it. So, in a fit of anger, my sister left with Chancellor Xie."
"This angered my parents and the other relatives in our clan. As the saying goes, ’A formal betrothal makes a wife; an elopement makes a concubine.’ They felt that by leaving with a man without regard for her reputation, my sister was tarnishing the Qi family’s name."
"But I felt that my sister was, in the end, being brave for the man she loved. I have always envied her for that." As she said this, Consort Rong raised a hand to wipe away the glistening tear at the corner of her eye.
Shen Ningning held her teacup the whole time, listening intently.
Her large eyes, framed by long lashes, would only blink occasionally, as if she were completely engrossed.
She also very much wanted to understand Shen Siyi’s past.
Seeing this, Consort Rong gave a small smile. "I’ve gotten sidetracked. After my sister cut ties with the Qi family, she became the lady of the Xie family."
"In the years after she married, she bore Chancellor Xie three children, but the youngest daughter went missing a few years ago. You should know about this. My sister was so heartbroken over it that she drowned."
"When I first saw you, I felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, because your eyes and brow are so very similar to my sister’s. That’s why I gave you that silver ruyi before."
"But, I never expected that you weren’t her biological daughter. That left me very puzzled. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?"
Outside, the sky hung heavy with thick clouds. The north wind howled, plunging the unlit hall into shadow.
Consort Rong sat in the half-light, her gaze lowered, looking both compassionate and mournful.
"Ningning, I suspect... could Chancellor Xie have made a mistake? You should be his daughter."
"Otherwise, how could you have the same red mole on your hand as his biological daughter?" As she spoke, Consort Rong took Shen Ningning’s small hand.
Her palm facing up, the small, delicate red mole was exceptionally conspicuous in the cold, dim light.