Inside Consort Liang's palace.
Cui Yunfeng sat in the lower seat, feeling somewhat uneasy in her heart.
Xiao Yi originally sat on the other side, but ever since Cui Yunfeng entered, he changed his seat and sat right beside her.
"These are tribute fruits, have a taste."
Consort Liang sat at the head seat, watching her son act like a servant, peeling fruits and pouring tea for her. She slightly turned her face away, finding it a bit unbearable to watch.
Cui Yunfeng also felt a bit awkward and opened her mouth to swallow the fruit Xiao Yi brought to her lips.
"Yi'er, it's getting late. Aren't you going back to your manor?"
Xiao Yi didn't speak, just cast a sidelong glance at Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunfeng tugged at his sleeve almost imperceptibly, yet she said, "Her Highness is right."
Xiao Yi looked at her saying one thing but meaning another, curled his lips into a smile, and turned to Consort Liang, "It is still early. Mother, whatever you want to say to Yunfeng, just say it. Later, I can conveniently escort her back to her manor on my way."
Consort Liang: ...
Saying that meant she wanted him to leave and not listen.
"Or is it that Mother wants to say something I shouldn't hear? Then I definitely cannot leave. Don't you agree, Yunfeng?" As he spoke, he picked up another peeled fruit and handed it to Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunfeng looked at Consort Liang, then at Xiao Yi, closed her eyes, and swallowed it.
Consort Liang knew her son's behavior very well; he was afraid she would bully Cui Yunfeng.
Strictly speaking, Cui Yunfeng was a child she had watched grow up. If it weren't for the Emperor later growing wary of the Cui family, the two of them would be very close now.
Since Xiao Yi sat there and wouldn't leave, Consort Liang had no choice but to speak, "Yunfeng, I was close friends with your mother and we share some old affection. You are also a child I watched grow up."
Cui Yunfeng immediately nodded, "Her Highness is right. I have always kept your care in my heart and never dared to forget."
Consort Liang nodded and was about to speak again, but before she did, she glanced at her son who was staring at her, and the words on the tip of her tongue inexplicably softened a bit.
"Yi'er and you are childhood sweethearts. I have seen his feelings for you over the years. Now he has reached the age to marry a primary wife. He can't keep dragging this on and causing dissatisfaction among the court officials. I called you here today to ask for your thoughts."
Consort Liang and Xiao Yi both looked at Cui Yunfeng simultaneously.
Cui Yunfeng's face paled slightly, she bit her lip tightly, and remained silent for a moment.
Consort Liang added, "As a prince, there are many officials in the court vying to marry their daughters to Yi'er, but he..."
"Mother," Xiao Yi said lightly, "You can skip these words and proceed to the next part."
"..."
If you don't boast about a product before selling it, how can you sell it and raise the price?
He knew nothing, just a reckless youth.
Consort Liang glared at Xiao Yi in annoyance. Being the mother of this wretched son meant she couldn't put on any airs and just had to lower herself along with him.
With a wooden face, Consort Liang said, "You saw it on the way here. For your sake, he had the Empress beat three of my personal maids to death. Even I am amazed by his devotion to you. What are your plans regarding the marriage between you two?"
"I..." Cui Yunfeng glanced at Xiao Yi, feeling quite guilty.
When she promised her cousin that day, she really hadn't thought that much.
Xiao Yi said, "No rush. I'll have someone tell the imperial kitchen to make some of your favorite pastries. You can eat and think."
"???!!!" Consort Liang was first shocked, then numb, and finally felt utterly useless and speechless.
Was she, Consort Liang, just a mere decoration?
"Let's settle the main business first. If you want to eat, you can go somewhere else and take your time."
Cui Yunfeng, "..." Actually, she felt quite awkward too.
"Stop talking," she tugged at Xiao Yi's robe.
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you afraid of her anymore?"
After saying that, he lowered his eyes and gave a half-smile at the corner of his sleeve that Cui Yunfeng was tightly gripping.
Cui Yunfeng immediately felt very embarrassed and quickly let go.
"Hold on to it. With me here, you don't need to be afraid." Xiao Yi forced the sleeve back into Cui Yunfeng's hand.
Consort Liang cast a sidelong glance at their actions, her face slightly cold and expressionless.
"Are you done coaxing her? Is it my turn to speak?"
Cui Yunfeng hurriedly said, "Please speak, Your Highness."
When she was young, she used to call her Aunt Liang. Later, as they met less frequently and Consort Liang no longer treated her with the usual warmth, she gradually stopped using the term Aunt Liang.
It became more of a relationship between sovereign and subject.
Consort Liang said, "What exactly are your plans regarding you and Yi'er?"
This time, she skipped the preamble and asked directly.
Consort Liang was too lazy to keep beating around the bush. Just looking at her useless son made her heart ache.
A dignified prince couldn't even handle a girl and needed his mother to step in. And even when she did, he wouldn't let her say this or that, afraid of scaring the girl...
Consort Liang: I have never felt so useless since entering the palace.
Even the Empress had never made her feel so stifled.
Consort Liang had a look of "hurry up and say it, then get out."
Cui Yunfeng lowered her eyes and said softly, "My marriage is not something I can decide alone. My father and grandmother..."
"I know the intentions of Prime Minister Cui and Old Madam Cui. Since I called you here today, I naturally have a plan. If you are willing, I have my ways to persuade Prime Minister Cui and Old Madam Cui."
Cui Yunfeng was stunned for a moment, then looked up and asked, "How does Your Highness plan to persuade them?"
Her father was no ordinary official; he was the Prime Minister, second only to one and above all others. A harem consort could not threaten him.
Consort Liang knew what Cui Yunfeng was thinking. She sighed silently, glanced at her son again, and said, "Rest assured, I will not do anything detrimental to your family."
Consort Liang couldn't stop sighing in her heart.
Marrying a primary wife was supposed to bring support for a prince, but for her son, it was far from support; it was more like a drag.
Especially since Yunfeng's heart was entirely focused on her family.
Cui Yunfeng breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Xiao Yi beside her, her red lips parting slightly.
The anticipation in Xiao Yi's eyes was unhidden for the first time, but Cui Yunfeng still couldn't make up her mind to nod and say yes.
Marrying Xiao Yi meant breaking away from the Cui family.
How could she bear to do that.
Consort Liang looked at her son's hopeless demeanor and could only add more fuel to the fire, "Over the years, Yi'er has taken the blame, suffered punishment, and lost men more than once just because of a single word from you, whether for your cousin or your Cui family."
"Yunfeng, you are a good child. You should understand his sacrifices for you."
Winning over this daughter-in-law was truly frustrating for the mother and son, but although Consort Liang was the mother, she had no decision-making power in front of her son Xiao Yi.
Cui Yunfeng's mind was a mess as she listened to Consort Liang recount all the good things Xiao Yi had done for her over the years, piece by piece.
Listening to it blurred her eyes with tears, and she was deeply moved.
"Your Highness," Cui Yunfeng's voice choked with emotion, "As long as my father and grandmother agree, I... am willing."
Hearing this, Consort Liang took a deep breath and finally had the time to drink half a cup of tea.
She turned her head to cast a sidelong glance at her son, immediately averting her eyes as if the sight was an eyesore. "Good, then I can rest assured. I have an old keepsake left behind by your mother. Take it back with you later and pass it on to your grandmother."
Cui Yunfeng nodded in agreement.
Xiao Yi's joy overflowed beyond words.
Consort Liang stood up to leave, giving the two of them some space to talk. "I am a bit weary, so I shall take my leave first."
Staying even a moment longer made it hard for her to breathe.
She truly could not fathom how she and the Emperor had managed to produce a hopeless romantic like Yi'er. It was simply inconceivable.
