Lu Jinchen's eyes followed Gu Liyue until she was out of sight. Even then, he couldn't snap out of his daze.
The Empress Dowager let out a soft chuckle. Leaning against the chair, she tapped her head. "Come and give Aijia* a massage."
Lu Jinchen came to his senses. Nodding to the maids, he reached out to massage the Empress Dowager himself and said with a smile, "Grand Imperial Mother, I noticed that the headband of the matriarch of the Gu family changes patterns with the seasons. It's light in summer and thick in winter, very suitable. How about having someone make some for you later following Liyue's craftsmanship?"
The Empress Dowager looked up at him and sighed, "You never used to be so observant."
Lu Jinchen's hand paused for a moment, and he looked a bit embarrassed. "I was just an ignorant child before."
"Aijia has an old ailment that won't get better anytime soon. You don't need to worry about Aijia. But your father, he's already forty-four. He's so meticulous about the affairs in the court, and he's even more concerned than your imperial uncle. The other day when he came to visit Aijia in the palace, Aijia saw a lot of gray hair on his head. Aijia felt so heartache."
Lu Jinchen frowned. After a long while, he said indifferently, "He has more than just me as his child. He has many concubines around him. There are plenty of people to care about him."
The Empress Dowager let out a long sigh. "But the one he's most worried about is you."
Lu Jinchen said, "I don't believe such self - deceiving words. If he was really worried about me, why did he send me to that woman back then? When you wanted to bring me into the palace, he refused. He truly believed that woman! Even after all these years, he still trusts her and still believes that those things were my mother's fault. Even..."
He stopped massaging, walked to one side, stared at the dwarf pine nearby, and angrily snapped off a pine branch. "I'm his son, but I'm just a rebellious one. The position of the heir apparent was given by him, and I don't care about it. Grand Imperial Mother, if he asks your imperial brother again, please just grant his request and let his favorite son be the heir apparent."
The Empress Dowager got anxious. Standing up, she pointed at Lu Jinchen. "You... Why are you so stubborn? You're his son and his legitimate son. He just said that out of anger. Do you really think he wants to depose you?"
Lu Jinchen remained silent. The Empress Dowager was so angry that she started coughing. The maids in the palace hall didn't dare to say a word and knelt on the ground, trembling.
The nanny escorted Gu Liyue back. Seeing this situation, she immediately smiled. "Your Highness, the heir apparent is busy with errands in front of the emperor on weekdays and doesn't have much time to accompany you. It's not easy for him to come today. Didn't you tell the servants before that children and grandchildren have their own blessings and that you should just enjoy your later years?"
The Empress Dowager didn't respond. The nanny then walked up to Lu Jinchen and said, "The autumn pear paste the heir apparent sent before was really good. Later, when we asked someone to make it, we could never achieve that taste. The other day, the Empress Dowager was still thinking that the taste was exactly the same as the one made by the princess consort herself back then."
Lu Jinchen's eyes flickered slightly. He walked up to the Empress Dowager, knelt down, and said in a low voice, "Grand Imperial Mother, it's my fault. Please don't be angry, Grand Imperial Mother. The nanny who made the autumn pear paste was an old nanny who served my mother before. I sent her back to the countryside. If you want it, Grand Imperial Mother, I'll go and find her back..."
The Empress Dowager reached out her hand, pulled him up, and hugged him into her arms. "My child, what would Aijia do with the nanny? Aijia just wants Aijia's grandson to be well. Don't think so much."
Lu Jinchen looked up. "Grand Imperial Mother, I'm doing fine."
The Empress Dowager's eyes turned red. In the end, she just turned her head and gently wiped away her tears without saying a word.
Now, Gu Liyue tiptoed into Lu Yunxi's courtyard. Before she even entered the room, she heard suppressed sobs from inside, followed by the maids' soothing voices.
Lu Yunxi roared, "Get out! All of you get out! I said I won't drink it, won't drink it, won't drink it!"
The bowls and dishes fell to the ground with a "bang".
Soon, a maid carried the broken bowl out. Seeing Gu Liyue, she was slightly stunned and quickly bowed. "Greetings, miss."
Gu Liyue stepped back and whispered, "I'm Gu Liyue. The Empress Dowager ordered me to accompany the princess."
Hearing the voice, Lu Yunxi wiped away her tears and shouted towards the door, "Come in."
Gu Liyue walked in. Looking at the stains on the carpet, she guessed that the medicine had been spilled. She tiptoed forward. After thinking for a long time, she advised, "Taking medicine... will make you recover faster."
Lu Yunxi was sitting on the bed with her back to her. After a long while, she turned around and said, "Can't you even comfort people?"
Gu Liyue looked a bit embarrassed. "Not really... I only learned a bit from the Jiang family last year, but I always felt it wasn't sincere. It's better not to comfort at all."
Lu Yunxi thought for a while, got up, pulled Gu Liyue to sit beside her, and asked, "Don't you comfort your family either?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "Normally, they comfort me. There's nothing that needs me to comfort. I'm timid and not good at speaking."
Lu Yunxi pouted. "I don't think you're timid or not good at speaking. You were so articulate at the New Year's Eve palace banquet. The Empress Dowager even praised you later and criticized me, saying I'm not half as good as you."
Gu Liyue said, "Most people are like this. Even though they love their own children very much, they always say their own children are not as good as others'. I see my second uncle is like this. He always says how good the sons of other families are and how bad my fourth brother is. But in my opinion, although my fourth brother is a bit reckless, he's not that bad."
Lu Yunxi immediately let go of Gu Liyue's hand. "What's good about him? You're always speaking up for him."
Gu Liyue added, "He's my brother. Of course, I'll speak up for him."
Lu Yunxi was not happy. "Then what are you doing here? Just go and accompany your brother."
"I'm worried about him. And the Empress Dowager ordered me to enter the palace. I didn't dare not come."
Lu Yunxi pushed Gu Liyue hard. "So you didn't really come to accompany me? Then go, go! I don't need you to accompany me!"
She was strong. With this push, she directly pushed Gu Liyue off the bed. Gu Liyue fell on the ground with a thud, and tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.
The maids quickly got up and helped Gu Liyue up. Seeing that she was in great pain, they rushed to get the ointment and were about to take off Gu Liyue's clothes to apply the medicine.
At first, Lu Yunxi was a bit flustered when she saw Gu Liyue fall. But when she saw her own maids surrounding Gu Liyue, she immediately flew into a rage, and tears streamed down her face. "You just accompany her. Let her be your mistress. I should be alone. I'll go back to the prince's mansion tomorrow... No, I don't need to wait until tomorrow. I'll go back today!"
The maids either knelt down or tried to persuade her, holding Lu Yunxi back to prevent her from leaving.
Gu Liyue thought for a moment, then simply covered her buttocks and burst into tears. Suddenly, the whole Shoukang Palace was in a complete mess.
Lu Yunxi said angrily, "It's just a fall. Why are you crying like this?"
Gu Liyue sobbed, "Although I didn't fall as badly as you, I'm not used to moving around usually. This fall really hurt me. You don't know. It takes me a long time to recover from a fall. Look, the bruises on my body from the training you asked me to do before haven't faded yet."
*Aijia is a self - reference term used by the Empress Dowager in ancient Chinese.