Tantai Tong was afraid she had seen wrongly, but when she tried to look again, the door had already shut. She rubbed her eyes, feeling rather at a loss, and asked Cao Xi beside her, “Eunuch Cao, did you see anything just now?”
Cao Xi’s lips twitched. “Replying to the Princess, this servant saw nothing.”
Tantai Tong touched her face in confusion and left, turning back every few steps.
Meanwhile, Cao Xi stood dutifully at the door. The Hall of Mental Cultivation was not especially well soundproofed, and he could hear a few faint sounds within.
He looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed inwardly that being a favoured court attendant was not such an easy post.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Song Pu was on edge, his voice rising several degrees. “Your Majesty, be careful. What if the Princess saw us?”
Tantai Yi said, “If she saw, she saw. Yetong is family. She would never speak of it.”
Family, indeed. Song Pu clearly remembered that the Prince of Yong’an had truly rebelled, though he had forgotten the reason. Back then it had been nothing but a melodramatic sister-in-law romance novel to him, and his attention had been entirely on the female lead and Prince Gong. As for matters like these, he had been wilfully blind.
There was one thing he was certain of. At present, the Prince of Yong’an was indeed utterly loyal to Tantai Yi. If he later rebelled, there must have been some trigger. As for what that trigger was, Song Pu tried hard to recall, but could not come up with anything. His mind was full of that melodramatic romance, which showed just how little he had cared for court intrigue. He had skipped those parts when reading, so he had no impression at all.
Tantai Yi was displeased to see him distracted and gave him a light pinch. Song Pu cried out at once, “Your Majesty… you’ve hurt me again!”
Tantai Yi said innocently, “I did not mean to.”
Song Pu replied, “…To me it very much looks as though Your Majesty did it on purpose.”
Tantai Yi changed the subject. “Yetong has invited me to her residence for a gathering. Lord Song should come with me.”
Song Pu hesitated. “It is Your Majesty’s family banquet. How could this subject go along?”
Tantai Yi gave a snort. “Lord Song will be my Empress in future. What is there to object to in going with me?”
Even so, Song Pu still found it difficult to believe that Tantai Yi would truly make him Empress. After a pause, he asked, “Does Your Majesty truly intend to establish this subject as Empress?”
Tantai Yi halted. He wondered whether he should explain the difficulties of the matter, but if he spoke of them, it would make him seem incapable. That would never do. In Lord Song’s eyes, he was an emperor who could do anything. He must not let him think less of him. With that thought, he said firmly, “When have I ever gone back on my word? Besides, Lord Song cannot be a consort. Only the position of Empress suits you.”
He had once considered taking Lord Song as a male consort. Even now, he did not quite understand why he had not thought of making him Empress back then, but had instead focused solely on the idea of a consort. At this point, however, if he were to make Lord Song a consort, he would feel it an injustice. Someone as fine as Lord Song could only match the position of Empress.
This matter had troubled Song Pu as well. Why had Tantai Yi first proposed making him a male consort, only to later leap straight to establishing him as Empress? The difference in attitude was too great. Song Pu had always been puzzled. He had asked before, but at that time Tantai Yi had somehow taken to speaking only sweet words, and even now Song Pu did not know the reason.
In truth, it stemmed from how Tantai Yi had first regarded Song Pu as a confidant. When it came to matters of love, he was, in the end, somewhat muddled. A confidant and a bedfellow were not the same, yet he had not understood this at the beginning. If one said he was muddled, he had nevertheless struck several direct blows, bringing matters to their current state. Yet to call him gifted in love would also be far from accurate.
Be that as it may, Tantai Yi’s words stirred Song Pu’s heart again. He could not help feeling a trace of guilt. Tantai Yi was indeed a man whose word carried weight. In other matters he might equivocate, but on this matter of establishing an Empress, he was unusually resolute, and did not seem to be deceiving him. That in itself proved his sincerity.
Moreover, Tantai Yi was genuinely making an effort, whereas he himself had done nothing.
Song Pu reflected inwardly for a moment, then smiled and said slowly, “With Your Majesty’s words, this subject… is reassured.”
Tantai Yi’s lips curved slightly. “In that case, Lord Song shall accompany me to the banquet.”
Though it was called a family banquet, Tantai Tong had not invited the Empress Dowager or Prince Gong. Though young, she still remembered the kindness of Empress Chunyuan. In those days, Empress Chunyuan had treated her with great affection, even making her a fluffy rabbit-ear hat, which she still kept to this day. It was not only that. The Tantai family, to some extent, were all deeply devoted by nature. The late Emperor, though he had many consorts, had only two children, Tantai Yi and Tantai Mingyu. To put it bluntly, Tantai Mingyu had been an accident. The late Emperor had never favoured the other consorts, remaining steadfastly devoted to Empress Chunyuan alone. Tantai Tong’s father, the Prince of Yong’an, was the same. Even ten years after his wife’s death, he had not remarried.
Perhaps this constancy was etched into their blood. Tantai Tong herself was no different. She longed for that kind of unwavering love, belonging only to one person until death. Because of this ideal, though she admired Song Lingyun, she kept strictly within propriety and would never do anything that would make her despise herself.
Likewise, she harboured a faint dislike for the present Empress Dowager and Prince Gong. In her view, they ought never to have existed.
Thus she invited only Tantai Yi.
However, Tantai Yi did not come alone. He brought Song Pu. Recalling what she had glimpsed earlier, Tantai Tong felt uncertain and could not help casting several more glances at Song Pu.
These glances quickly drew Tantai Yi’s notice. He was displeased, though knowing her timid nature, he did not wish to frighten her. He merely smiled faintly and said, “Why does Yetong keep looking at my Lord Song?”
The phrase “my Lord Song” made Song Pu’s eyelid twitch. He looked towards Tantai Tong, meeting her gaze. Startled, she immediately withdrew her eyes and stammered, “I was only curious why tang-ge brought Song-gege.”
She had not even noticed the possessiveness in his words.
Tantai Yi narrowed his eyes. “What does Yetong think of Lord Song?”
Tantai Tong said blankly, “I… naturally think Song-gege is very good.”
Song Pu and Song Lingyun were brothers, with a certain resemblance between their features. It stirred her once-calm girlish feelings again, softening her gaze as she looked at Song Pu.
Tantai Yi sensed it and grew even more displeased. “If Yetong is seeking Lord Song as a husband, then you have chosen wrongly. Lord Song belongs to me. In future, I intend to…”
Before he could finish, Song Pu abruptly tugged at his sleeve. “Your Majesty, do not speak nonsense. What if you frighten the Princess?”
Tantai Yi shot him a displeased glance, then turned back to Tantai Tong. “Do you understand what I am saying? Anyone else will do, but Lord Song cannot be your husband.”
Tantai Tong flushed at once, waving her hands. “That is not what I meant. I never intended Song-gege as a husband. Tang-ge has misunderstood.”
Tantai Yi did not quite believe her. She had clearly looked at Lord Song several times just now. “If that is truly the case, then so be it.”
At that moment, the steward approached and said, “Miss, Miss Lin has arrived.”
Tantai Tong’s eyes lit up. She said to Tantai Yi, “Tang-ge, please go inside first. My gege is within and wishes to apologise to you. I will take my leave for a moment.”
Having said that, she bowed and, heedless of decorum, turned and hurried off.
Song Pu said, “Your Majesty, you frightened the Princess.”
Tantai Yi frowned. “How did I frighten her? I have yet to reproach her for staring at Lord Song, yet Lord Song rebukes me on her behalf.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Song Pu. “Could it be that Lord Song wishes Yetong to be your wife?”
Song Pu said, “…Your Majesty does not know, the Princess admires my elder brother. Her looking at me just now was likely seeing me and thinking of him.”
Tantai Yi laughed. “What sort of ‘thing’ is Lord Song, to speak of seeing an object and thinking of a person?”
He smiled, then paused, his golden eyes lighting up. “So Yetong admires Song Lingyun. In that case, I shall make the decision and bestow a marriage upon them.”
He looked at Song Pu again, his smile deepening. “I take one son from the Song family and return them a daughter-in-law. Surely this is the most profitable exchange in the world.”
Song Pu was stunned and hurriedly said, “Your Majesty does not know, my elder brother is already betrothed. How could he marry the Princess?”
Tantai Yi frowned. “Song Lingyun has no wife. If not, what is there to fear? I shall annul that betrothal and have him wed Yetong.” He smiled again. “Yetong is beautiful and gentle. Song Lingyun would be fortunate to marry her.”
“Your Majesty must not!” Song Pu knew full well that Tantai Yi was capable of such a thing and steeled himself to persuade him. Before he could speak, however, Tantai Tong returned, bringing a young woman with her.
The woman seemed somewhat familiar. Before Song Pu could place her, he heard Tantai Tong bow to Tantai Yi and say, “Tang-ge, this is my close friend, Lin Xuemei.”
