The Virtuous Concubine

The red candles flickered in the room, and the light and shadows created ambiguous ripples on the wall.

After drinking the wedding wine, Guaerjia lowered her head slightly with a shy face. Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince suddenly reached out his hand, firmly grasped her wrist, and gently pulled her up from the edge of the bed.

Guaerjia was a little stunned, because her next task was to wait for the Fourth Prince to come back from entertaining people outside, and then have the bridal chamber.

The Fourth Prince looked at the bride and saw that her makeup was not messy and her manners were still dignified. He nodded with satisfaction and said without question, "Let's go. I'll take you to meet two people."

Guaerjia suppressed her surprise and followed the Fourth Prince respectfully. After another series of twists and turns, she saw a beautiful woman as white as pearls and jade sitting in a seat hidden among the flowers and green shadows. Her eyes, every gesture and movement were surprisingly charming. Next to her was a pretty girl, full of energy, unlike the quietness of an ordinary lady.

Both of them were dressed very low-key, without any sense of ostentation, but Guarjia was knowledgeable and naturally knew that nothing about these two people was something you would see in an ordinary luxurious family.

Guaerjia secretly wondered who these two people were and why the Fourth Prince valued them so much that he specially invited her to meet him on their wedding night.

She could roughly guess that the girl was Princess Wenxian, the daughter of the twins who were much favored in the palace. She was as playful and lively as the rumors said. But the girl next to her looked too young. If it weren't for the attitude of the girl and the Fourth Prince, as well as the occasion today, it would be reasonable to infer that she should be Concubine Dezhao.

Otherwise, why is it said that Guaerjia was Kangxi’s favorite daughter-in-law in his previous life? Her vision is indeed outstanding.

Malu's coquettish look at this moment was not deliberate, but after several rounds of fooling around with the prince in the carriage, the corners of her eyes and eyebrows were naturally emitting a blush of love, and she had no strength in her body, and she was just holding on on her last breath.

At this time, the beautiful woman also saw them and smiled kindly, "It seems that you have time."

The voice was soft and pleasant, and it was intoxicating. The Fourth Prince nodded slightly, took Guaerjia's hand and walked forward, introducing her: "Mother, this is your daughter-in-law, Guaerjia."

Then he turned to Guarjia and said, "This is my mother. Please pay your respects to her."

Guaerjia was startled, and quickly bowed and said, "My concubine greets Imperial Concubine Dezhao. I wish you the best of luck and happiness."

Ma Lu smiled and let Wen Xian help her up. She looked at him carefully and saw that he was very polite and looked calm and dignified. She was quite satisfied and said, "Get up. Today is a great day. From now on, we are a family. No need to be polite."

Wen Xian, who was standing by, could not hold back his curiosity. He let go of the hand that was supporting Guaerjia and walked around her, praising her: "Fourth sister-in-law is so pretty. Fourth brother is so lucky."

Guaerjia's cheeks flushed at her straightforward praise. She lowered her head shyly and said, "Princess, you are too kind. It is my honor to be able to live in the Fourth Prince's mansion."

In fact, she secretly sighed in her heart that she was not one of the most beautiful women in the boudoir, so she should be more dignified and friendly and become the mistress of the house in the future. But she had seen many beauties, especially young and delicate beauties in the boudoir.

It was only today when I met Concubine De Zhao that I realized there is such a graceful woman in the world. No wonder she was able to give birth to six sons for the Emperor.

Wen Xian smiled, took her hand and said, "Fourth sister-in-law, don't be shy. We should get closer in the future."

As they were talking, Su Peisheng came hurriedly and said, "Fourth Master, the guests outside are waiting for you two to toast, so you can't delay any longer."

The Fourth Prince nodded and said, "I understand. I'll go now." He turned and looked at Guaerjia, with a hint of apology in his eyes, "You stay here with mother and sister first, I'll be back soon." Guaerjia nodded obediently, "Don't worry, Fourth Prince, I will entertain mother and sister well."

After the Fourth Prince and Su Peisheng left, Malu took Guaerjia's hand and asked softly, "How was your day? There are so many procedures for the wedding, I'm sure you're tired."

Guaerjia replied hurriedly: "Thank you for your concern, mother. Everything is fine. The Fourth Prince is also very caring towards his daughter-in-law."

Malu nodded slightly and talked about some things to pay attention to when entering the palace to kowtow to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor tomorrow. Guwaljia agreed to all of them with a humble and sincere attitude.

Malu did not stay long. Seeing that it was getting late, if he delayed any longer, the palace gates might be locked. So he took Wen Xian and said goodbye and returned to the palace together.

When the Fourth Prince returned from entertaining guests, the moon was already high in the sky. He walked into the bridal chamber, feeling a little tipsy. Guaerjia had been waiting in the inner room for a long time, and when she saw him return, she hurriedly stood up to greet him.

As the Fourth Prince washed his face, he asked her, "Are mother and Wen Xian gone?"

Guaerjia lowered her head, her eyes fell on the red carpet under her feet, and whispered, "Yes, seeing that it was getting late, my mother was afraid that the palace gates would be locked, so she took the princess back to the palace. My mother was very kind and said many thoughtful words to me, which made me feel much more at ease."

The Fourth Prince nodded, and directly hugged Guaerjia's waist and fell into the bed: "Spring night is short, rest early."

In this second life, in order to act like a humble prince to the emperor, he listened to his mother and asked her to marry and have children late. Now was the first time he had touched a woman, and he was really anxious.

While the waves were turning red, Malu and Wen Xian were also on the carriage back to the palace. It was the same carriage, but Malu knew that the prince was gone, and only the burnt incense ash and the still sticky dress reminded her of her previous absurdity.

Wen Xian seemed to have noticed Malu's inappropriate silence. She asked in confusion, "Mother, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

Fourth brother is getting married tonight, why is mother always distracted?

Malu was slightly startled, then forced a smile and said softly: "It's okay, I'm just a little tired."

Upon hearing this, Wen Xian hurriedly urged the coachman outside to speed up.

After returning to the palace, Malu Qiang cheered up and told Wen Xian to go back to his room and rest early. He then asked everyone to leave, took off his dress, and threw the clothes inside into the brazier to burn them until most of them were burned. Then he turned around and lay down.

After lying down, he tossed and turned, then sat up and called Bai Xia, who was on night duty outside: "Bai Xia, is there any clove powder in the palace?"

"Madam?" Bai Xia hurried in upon hearing the voice, her face full of surprise. Clove powder was something that Madam used only after having sex with Guard Nalan or Doctor Rong. It had not been touched for a long time. Why did she suddenly want it?