Although Qi Daiyu was quite fond of children, and since she was already looking after the Eldest Princess, adding the Second Princess wouldn't make much difference in terms of care.
However, the Eldest Princess was born to the Empress, while the Second Princess was born to Consort An. In Qi Daiyu's heart, the Empress naturally held more importance. Could looking after the child of a cherished superior be the same as looking after the child of a merely cordial colleague?
If anything were to happen to the Second Princess, who would take responsibility?
Consort An seemed to sense her hesitation and proactively explained, "The Eldest Prince has also come to the Summer Palace. Concubine Shu asked me to help look after him..."
As Concubine Shu was under house arrest, she naturally couldn't come to the Summer Palace. However, the Emperor couldn't let the Eldest Prince suffer the heat in the main palace, so Concubine Shu requested that Consort An care for the Eldest Prince, a request the Emperor granted.
This meant Consort An had to care for two children. The trouble was, the four-year-old Second Princess and the two-year-old Eldest Prince couldn't really play together. When they were together, the Second Princess always had to yield to her younger brother, even when she clearly wanted something for herself.
Consort An felt for her daughter. Hearing her daughter say she wanted to be with the Eldest Princess, she took the initiative to bring the Second Princess to "Over-and-Under Heaven Light".
"Just like the Eldest Princess, I'll have someone bring the Second Princess here during the day and take her back in the evening. If Her Majesty the Empress can trust you, I naturally have no worries. And, rest assured, I won't let you go to all this trouble for nothing." Consort An was always blunt, even stating outright that she would offer Qi Daiyu compensation.
Qi Daiyu said awkwardly, "That really isn't necessary." The princesses had their own maids who handled all the trivial tasks, so it wasn't as if she would be doing exhausting work.
Consort An added, "The Second Princess is my daughter. I only want her to be happier."
The implication in these words ran deeper, indicating that no matter what, she would not use her own daughter for any schemes.
Her intention was to put Qi Daiyu at ease.
Hearing this, Qi Daiyu found it hard to refuse. No matter her personal thoughts about Consort An, she had never revealed them. To outsiders, their relationship was one of peaceful coexistence, and Consort An currently had a good reputation within the palace. If she refused outright, who knew what rumors might start circulating again.
Moreover... Qi Daiyu glanced at the Second Princess. The little girl was actually quite pretty, just timid and seeming rather insecure. Remembering how she had protected the Eldest Prince that day, she was also a sensible child.
If being here could help her become more confident and cheerful, it would be a good deed.
Qi Daiyu then crouched down and beckoned to the Second Princess.
The Second Princess first looked at her mother. Seeing Consort An nod, she walked over to Qi Daiyu.
Qi Daiyu smiled at her warmly. "Then from now on, Second Princess, you can come to Consort Hui's place during the day to study and play with the Eldest Princess, alright?"
The Second Princess was clearly excited but looked to the Eldest Princess.
The Eldest Princess took her hand. "Second Sister, hurry up and say yes!"
Only then did the Second Princess say, "Okay, thank you, Consort Hui. I will be obedient and not cause you any trouble."
She was really too well-behaved. Qi Daiyu couldn't help but pat the Second Princess's head.
"Second Sister, come with me to the terrace to play on the slide!" The Eldest Princess, holding the Second Princess's hand, ran off.
This left only Consort An and Qi Daiyu in the room. Having little to say to each other, Consort An promptly took her leave.
With two children now at "Over-and-Under Heaven Light", the place became incredibly lively.
The Eldest Princess, believing Qi Daiyu's words that more sun and exercise would make her healthier, wanted to drag the Second Princess out to play in the courtyard under the blazing sun.
The summer sun was far too harsh. Qi Daiyu worried they might get heatstroke, and getting tanned wouldn't be ideal either.
So, she had Xiao Chengzi and others set up a pavilion in the courtyard, using gauze curtains to block the wind on all sides, and moved two ice basins inside.
Then, she sent Putao to ask Her Majesty the Empress for some ox sinew. She had the sinew made into a rope and taught the two princesses to play Chinese jump rope.
Taking advantage of the children's innocence, she had them stand as the posts to hold the rope taut. She jumped through all the patterns like "Skinflint Zhou" and "Horse Orchid Flower", having a grand time. Strangely enough, the two children were delighted, clapping for her when she jumped smoothly, which actually made Qi Daiyu feel a bit embarrassed.
Having worked up a sweat, she went to bathe and change clothes herself, leaving Zhuyi and the other maids to play with the two princesses.
When she came out again, Qin Saizhu had arrived.
"Your place is truly bustling!" she exclaimed. The sounds of laughter and joy had reached her at Peaceful Courtyard, making her itch with curiosity, so she couldn't resist coming over to see. "What a pity I'm not in a condition to join now, otherwise I'd love to have a jump too."
How fun it looked!
"Look at you, a grown woman still wanting to play children's games, aren't you ashamed?" Qi Daiyu completely forgot who had just tricked the children, teasing Qin Saizhu without a blush.
She had someone bring lounge chairs to the corridor, and the two of them lay there watching the princesses jump rope.
Putao brought over an ice basin. The cool air quickly dispersed the heat. Shiliu then presented them with lychee ice wine, and each took a bowl, eating it in small sips.
Qin Saizhu loved food but nowadays didn't dare indulge. She only took a few sips to taste the flavor before setting the bowl down. Watching Qi Daiyu's leisurely ease, she teased, "I've realized all your cleverness is spent on eating, drinking, and having fun."
She pointed at the ice basin.
This ice basin was no ordinary one. It had a mechanism installed with several fan blades. Somehow, it could move on its own. When the blades turned, they created a breeze that passed over the ice in the basin, producing a delightfully cool wind, perfect for summer comfort.
Qi Daiyu called this contraption an "ice fan." This way, there was no need for a maid to fan beside the ice basin, saving who knows how much effort.
There was also a version that didn't use ice, simply called a "wind fan." The air it blew was just ordinary air, but it could still relieve the heat and was extremely suitable for those who shouldn't use ice.
After making them, Qi Daiyu sent the "ice fan" to the Emperor and the "wind fans" to Her Majesty the Empress and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.
Naturally, she received rewards again.
Hearing Qin Saizhu's comment, Qi Daiyu laughed. She had seen this device in a video by a handicraft blogger one day and immediately realized how useful something that could be made without electricity was. After finally understanding the principle, she explained it to Xiao Chengzi and had him make it.
Sending them to the Emperor and Empress wasn't for the rewards, but to legitimize her own use of them.
"I only have these little bits of cleverness."
Truth be told, her "golden finger" was quite significant. Just the ability to look up various materials was incredibly powerful. However, Qi Daiyu didn't have the capacity to fully utilize this function.
Things like salt extraction, electricity generation, glassmaking—they sounded impressive, right? But even with the relevant materials laid out before her, she couldn't understand them!
In her previous life, she was just an ordinary office worker. Her knowledge and skills were limited to her profession. After working for several years, she had even forgotten the periodic table of elements completely.
In order to legitimize the appearance of those cosmetics in this world, she started taking online courses again. However, she was quite inconsistent, studying only in fits and starts. After all, in this lifetime, she still wanted to live comfortably.
She was willing to put some effort into eating, drinking, and having fun. As for other things... better forget about them.
Watching Qi Daiyu's contented and self-amused demeanor, Qin Saizhu smiled gently. What some might call "petty cleverness" could indeed be a form of great wisdom.
She thought it over again and again, but ultimately decided not to tell Qi Daiyu about the matters concerning Consort Ning and Concubine Li. When it came to someone like Consort Ning, the farther away one stayed, the better. As for Concubine Li, she would keep an eye on her from the sidelines, ensuring she wouldn't develop any malicious intentions harmful to Daiyu.
Qin Saizhu believed that the less one knew, the safer one was, hence her decision not to inform Qi Daiyu.
Who could have guessed that Concubine Li would take the initiative to seek out Qi Daiyu.
"You're saying... you were sent into the palace by Consort Ning?" Qi Daiyu's throat felt dry. She hugged her teacup and drank over half of it.
Concubine Li lounged inelegantly on the daybed. "She found out about my sister's and my circumstances from somewhere and proposed sending me into the palace to help deal with Zeng Qiming. Since it meant avenging my sister, of course I agreed."
So that was it. Qi Daiyu's confusion was answered. The incident where Zeng Qiming, drunk, harassed Concubine Li was actually a planned part of the scheme between Concubine Li and Consort Ning.
"Consort Ning's sister was married to the wrong man, abused and humiliated to death. Zeng Qiming got what he deserved." Qi Daiyu still felt regret over Yang Luoniang's early demise. Upon learning that Yang Luoniang had been tortured to death by Zeng Qiming, and now hearing that Zeng Qiming had been ensnared by Consort Ning's design, she only wanted to clap her hands in approval.
Such scum deserved to die.
"Consort Ning is truly clever!" Qi Daiyu praised sincerely.
Concubine Li: "I don't care if she's truly clever or not. My revenge is done, so our cooperation naturally ends here. I'm telling you this myself because I'm afraid you might hear it from elsewhere later and misunderstand me as being Consort Ning's person."
There seemed to be a starlight shimmer in her eyes. Qi Daiyu couldn't help but ask, "Now that your revenge is complete, do you still wish to stay in the palace?"
Concubine Li: "Why do you ask that?"
Qi Daiyu pursed her lips. She could understand Concubine Li entering the palace to avenge her sister, but once you entered the palace gates, the sea was deep; the freedom of before was gone forever.
Concubine Li seemed to read her thoughts. She suddenly leaned closer and tapped Qi Daiyu's forehead with a slender, onion-white fingertip.
"Are you foolish? Do you know how many people in this world wish to enter the palace? Countless! People live different lives. Some live in silks and satins, unaware of hardship; others can't even hope for a full bowl of rice, let alone dignity. So many people long to enter this palace of golden bricks and jade tiles!"
"I am already twenty-four this year. According to the rules of the Music Bureau, by twenty-five, one must find another path. I could either be bought out by some official to become a concubine, oppressed and humiliated by the lofty principal wife; or marry a wealthy merchant. If I could bear a son, perhaps I could enjoy a peaceful old age. But if I couldn't... can you guess how much medicine I've taken over the years to maintain my figure?"
"Of course, one could choose not to marry at all. Becoming an instructor at a local music academy wouldn't be bad. But a delicate woman like me, with some measure of beauty, what do you think my fate would be?"
Concubine Li's gaze grew colder. "This world has no place for a woman who is both lowly and beautiful. Entering the palace was my only path. As long as I can gain the Emperor's favor, I can live well."
Live in silks and satins. Live with dignity.
What is freedom worth? What is love worth?
She just wants to live.
Qi Daiyu didn't know how to describe the feelings in her heart. She only felt it swelling, aching and sour.
She felt anger. She felt sorrow. She felt helpless.
She didn't know if it was for Concubine Li, or for herself.
Or perhaps for all the women in this world.
After a long while, she looked at Concubine Li. "Perhaps... would you believe me? There is a place where men and women are equal. There, women can do anything they wish, achieve great deeds, benefit the people. Whether to marry or not, whether to have children or not, it's all their own choice."
She gazed quietly at Concubine Li, and Concubine Li gazed back.
Then, Concubine Li laughed. She laughed until tears streamed from her eyes.
"I believe. Why wouldn't I believe? There must be such a place."
