Wang Qingyao watched the children for a while before the wet nurse took them away. She then inquired about the Fifth Princess.
When the Emperor and Empress Dowager were interrogating the Fifth Princess, Xiao Yun was with Wang Qingyao in the birthing room and was unaware of what was happening in the main hall. He only learned of the events later from Consort Chen, who had told the Old Grand Consort.
When Wang Qingyao asked, he recounted the story.
"The Fifth Princess claimed she had a dispute with you and accidentally pushed you down. She was quite prompt in admitting her mistake, and she even shed tears and kowtowed. After all, she is a princess, and you weren't seriously harmed. The Emperor merely sent her back to the palace to be confined and didn't say much else."
Xiao Yun was dissatisfied with this outcome. Even though Wang Qingyao wasn't seriously injured, how could he discount the suffering and blood loss she endured? Could her normal labor have been like this if not for the incident?
Wang Qingyao was surprised, "She admitted it?"
Xiao Yun nodded, "She didn't try to evade responsibility at all, admitting her mistake very readily. Everyone also felt she didn't do it intentionally, just that her actions were a bit too vigorous. He then sneered, "Her reason is quite bizarre, wanting to be my concubine? She must be out of her mind. I've only met her a few times in total."
Wang Qingyao found the Fifth Princess's emotions difficult to comprehend, and Xiao Yun found them even more so.
Upon hearing it, there was no sense of vanity or joy from being liked. It felt like two words: insane.
Wang Qingyao shook her head, "She's lying, she did it on purpose."
Xiao Yun paused, recalling that Wang Qingyao had mentioned before her labor that the Fifth Princess had acted intentionally.
At that time, he hadn't cared whether the Fifth Princess's actions were intentional or not. In any case, if anything had happened to Wang Qingyao or the children, he would never have let it go.
However, after hearing Consort Chen's account, he hadn't thought the Fifth Princess had acted intentionally.
After all, the Fifth Princess and Wang Qingyao had no prior enmity.
Well, perhaps not entirely without enmity. According to the Fifth Princess, her unrequited love for him and jealousy towards Wang Qingyao was understandable. But to be jealous to the point of wanting to kill her, Xiao Yun couldn't believe he possessed such charm.
"You think she did it intentionally?" he asked, frowning.
"It was too obvious. I was heavily pregnant, and even the Empress Dowager and Noble Consort Wei spoke to me with caution. How could she, after only a few words, become so physical? When I asked her to let go, it was as if she hadn't heard me! Is she usually ill? Some kind of mania or schizophrenia..."
"I've never heard of her being ill. She's usually quite a quiet person."
"That's exactly it," Wang Qingyao said. "She did it on purpose, wanting to harm me. I just don't know why. Even if I had died, the Emperor would never have allowed her to become your successor wife."
Wang Qingyao was not present when the Fifth Princess admitted her mistake. If she had been, seeing the subtle exchanges between the Fifth Princess and Wei Yu, she would have guessed that the Fifth Princess had been instigated by Wei Yu.
However, at this point, she hadn't yet considered any connection between the Fifth Princess and Wei Yu and was quite perplexed.
"I'll have someone investigate," Xiao Yun said.
Wang Qingyao nodded, "Be careful. After all, it's within the palace. If you're discovered, it will be troublesome."
Xiao Yun nodded and assured her.
After finishing her breakfast, Wang Qingyao prepared to return to the Prince of Ding'an's manor.
Having just given birth, she didn't need to adhere to any superficial courtesies. She sent someone to inform the Empress Dowager and then departed.
Noble Consort Wei had arranged for a spacious, fully enclosed sedan chair, which was brought directly to the birthing room. Xiao Yun carried Wang Qingyao into the sedan chair. The two children and their wet nurse traveled in a separate carriage. They were then carried out of the palace and to the main residence of Kangping Courtyard.
Not a single gust of wind touched her.
Upon entering the room, Xiao Yun gently placed Wang Qingyao back onto the bed. Nanny Nian led the maids of the courtyard in bowing and offering congratulations.
Xiao Yun smiled heartily, "Rewards for everyone!"
The children's rooms were next door, separated to prevent one crying from disturbing the other.
Both children were asleep at the moment, with the wet nurse watching over them. Several maids were peeking from under the window, craning their necks.
Yinzhu: "Why are they sleeping all the time? Won't they get up and play?"
Manzhu: "What do you know? Newborn babies sleep all day. They'll sleep less after three months."
"That sounds so boring."
"Children grow up fast!"
Huang Shiyu and Bian Siyue entered the room to see Wang Qingyao and then went to see the children.
"So soft, so tiny, so cute," Bian Siyue said, looking at An An, almost drooling. "I'm going to teach An Jie'er everything I know."
Huang Shiyu laughed, "What do you know that's worth teaching?"
"I'm proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."
Huang Shiyu sighed, "If only Jiang Jing and Qian Yu were here. Ping Ge'er and An Jie'er would surely become great martial artists when they grow up if they started practicing martial arts from a young age."
Bian Siyue, who had been feeling a bit sentimental at the first part of the sentence, managed to suppress the nascent sadness upon hearing the latter part. "Ping Ge'er can learn. What should An Jie'er learn? Girls should be gentle and demure. Practicing martial arts is too rough."
Huang Shiyu snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Kangping Courtyard was bustling with activity. Soon, Old Grand Consort Fang arrived, also beaming with joy. She entered the room, checked on Wang Qingyao, and asked a few perfunctory questions. Finally, she said, "The Old Grand Consort heard that you suffered greatly during childbirth and will need a month or two to recover. The two children will inevitably disturb you, so I'll take the Ge'er to my courtyard to raise him for now. You can have him back when you're well."