Chapter 516 – Post-Wedding Extra Chapter: A Dance That Captivated the City and Spread Across the World – Tang Tang’s Special Nature (08)
As the male lead of this world, Yu Weiyi was indeed quite skilled at coaxing people. Sang Tiantian was dissatisfied with being made a secondary consort, but Yu Weiyi told her that many people were currently keeping an eye on him, trying to uncover the mastermind behind him so they could eliminate that person and cut off his support. He claimed that this arrangement was meant to protect her. He also promised that once he ascended the throne, the position of Empress would belong to her and no one else.
He brought out all manner of sweet words and precious treasures, and only then did Sang Tiantian stop making a fuss.
“Then remember this: if you ever betray me, don’t blame me for turning against you,” Sang Tiantian warned with a coquettish laugh.
Yu Weiyi put an arm around her and smiled. “How could I…”
But where Sang Tiantian couldn’t see, a look of disgust appeared in his eyes. The last person who had threatened him had long since been reduced to a pile of bones. If it weren’t for the fact that Sang Tiantian was still useful to him, she would never have lived to see another sunrise after saying something like that today.
Although the Ministry of Rites would handle the arrangements when a prince took a consort, the Empress, as the prince’s legal mother, naturally had to meet the woman herself. Thus, when Yu Weiyi took Sang Tiantian as his secondary consort, the Empress summoned her for the customary audience.
On the day Sang Tiantian entered the palace, Bai Tang happened to be there as well. He had heard that the Empress had recently been waking up in the middle of the night, and the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician hadn’t been very effective.
Bai Tang seemed to have a natural talent for plants and medicinal herbs. He had specifically gone to learn from an old physician, selected several herbs with calming properties, ground them into powder, and mixed them into flour to make pastries. He then brought them to the palace for the Empress.
The filial gesture from her daughter-in-law delighted the Empress, and she happily accepted the pastries. The two were chatting when a eunuch came to report, “Lady Sang has arrived.”
Sang Tiantian entered Kunning Palace and performed the somewhat unfamiliar formal salute.
“This commoner pays her respects to Your Majesty, the Empress.”
Accustomed to the equality of the twenty-first century, Sang Tiantian had never actually knelt before anyone. Naturally, she was quite unwilling to kneel now.
She kept her head lowered, thinking that no one would notice. Little did she know that the Empress, seated upon her throne, saw her expression perfectly clearly. Her first impression of Sang Tiantian immediately worsened.
“Raise your head and let me have a look at you.”
The Empress’s authoritative voice rang out. Sang Tiantian inwardly complained about how frightening and vicious the Empress was while slowly raising her head.
Although the passage of time had left its marks on the Empress’s face, it was still apparent that she had been a beautiful woman in her youth.
As the Empress examined Sang Tiantian, Sang Tiantian examined the Empress in return. When the nanny saw Sang Tiantian staring directly at the Empress, she immediately scolded her.
“How insolent! How can Lady Sang be so disrespectful? Which etiquette nanny was responsible for teaching you?”
Sang Tiantian jumped in fright. Only then did she remember the rule that one must not look directly at the Emperor or Empress during an audience.
Who says one person is more noble than another? she complained inwardly.
But what came out of her mouth were flattering words instead.
“This commoner knows she was wrong. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. I have never seen someone as sacred and majestic as Her Majesty, the Queen Mother of the West in the heavens, so I lost my composure.”
Her words were exceedingly flattering. If the Empress had not seen how unwilling Sang Tiantian had been to kneel just moments ago, she might not have held it against a junior. But Sang Tiantian was clearly saying one thing while thinking another. No matter how long the Empress had been out of favor, she was still the Empress of the current dynasty, and her dignity and authority could not be violated by anyone.
The Empress decided to give Sang Tiantian a small lesson and did not tell her to rise. Instead, she picked up her teacup, took a sip, and began chatting and laughing with Bai Tang.
Bai Tang did not know why Sang Tiantian had appeared here or how she had become the First Prince’s secondary consort. But he knew that back at Wanhua Tower, their childhood friendship had been severed by her own words. What Sang Tiantian had said had hurt him deeply. Moreover, he was now the youngest son of the Bai family and would soon become A Wu’s Third Prince’s Consort. At a time like this, he could not let anything slip and bring trouble upon A Wu. So he stopped paying attention to Sang Tiantian, who was still kneeling below, and instead told the Empress amusing stories about things happening among the common people. Once the Empress was in a better mood, she might let Sang Tiantian rise sooner.
Sang Tiantian was extremely indignant as she knelt there, but since the Empress had not told her to rise, she did not dare to get up on her own. She could only curse the Empress’s viciousness in her heart.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. It was a feeling she had experienced only with one person before.
She abruptly raised her head. She had not noticed the young man beside the Empress earlier, but now that she took a proper look, wasn’t that Bai Tang?
“Bai Tang, why are you here?” Sang Tiantian demanded sharply.
Bai Tang’s body stiffened. The Empress frowned and said, “Lady Sang, where are your manners? Is this how the Sang family taught you to conduct yourself?” She pulled Bai Tang into her arms and gently patted his back. “Good child, don’t be afraid. Mother will stand up for you.”
The Empress knew that Bai Tang was innocent by nature, timid, and physically frail. How could he withstand such a fright from Sang Tiantian?
Bai Tang shook his head and said softly, “Mother, I’m fine.” Having already prepared himself mentally, Bai Tang bravely turned around and faced the indignant Sang Tiantian.
“Why can’t I be here? I’m about to become the Third Prince’s Consort. What’s wrong with coming to the palace to show filial respect to Mother? What do you think, Lady Sang?” Bai Tang had made up his mind that he absolutely could not admit that he knew Sang Tiantian. Not only would that bring trouble upon A Wu, but it would also hurt the Empress, who cared for him so deeply, because she would feel that she had misjudged Sang Tiantian.
That voice, that face—it was unmistakably Bai Tang. Even his name hadn’t changed, yet he was pretending not to know her. How detestable.
Sang Tiantian’s resentment toward Bai Tang twisted her beautiful features. Back at Wanhua Tower, Bai Tang had already been above her in status. Now he had actually managed to become the Third Prince’s primary consort, while she was only a secondary consort. From now on, she would even have to bow to him whenever they met. How could she not hate him?
“I merely thought that the Third Prince’s Consort looked like someone I once knew. I meant no offense.”
With that, a young eunuch entered the hall and announced from outside.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the First Prince and the Third Prince have arrived.”
The Empress waved her hand and told them to enter. “Let the First Prince come in and take a look at the secondary consort he chose. I have never seen anyone who can be so glib after doing something wrong. A young lady with neither manners nor virtue.”
The Empress’s words were quite severe. With Sang Tiantian being judged so harshly, she could forget about ever becoming the primary consort in this lifetime, let alone becoming Empress if Yu Weiyi eventually ascended the throne. Even if Yu Weiyi were willing to make her Empress, the court officials would never agree to let a woman lacking proper manners and virtue become the mother of the nation and a role model for women throughout the realm.
The two princes soon entered.
“Your son pays his respects to Mother.”
“Peace? I’m not at peace at all. Weiyi, you’d better manage your secondary consort properly. Don’t wait until she ruins your reputation for you to regret it.” The Empress spoke sternly.
“Mother, please calm down. Don’t let anger harm your health.” Yu Weiyi hurriedly said this. He absolutely could not bear the charge of making his stepmother ill with anger. Beside him, Sang Tiantian, who was kneeling, called out, “Weiyi,” only to immediately receive an angry rebuke from him. “Apologize to Mother at once.”
Sang Tiantian unwillingly knocked her head against the floor once. “This common woman was disrespectful. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
“Enough. Rise and go back.” The Empress did not want to waste any more time on them. She wanted to spend less of it away from her own son and future daughter-in-law.
Yu Weiyi apologized once more, but when he raised his head, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the young man beside the Empress. He was smiling like a blooming flower, a tiny dimple nestled in his cheek. His eyes curved into gentle crescents, resembling the crescent moon in the heavens. He was extraordinarily adorable and beautiful.
The next second, Jiang Liangwu stepped in front of Bai Tang, blocking Yu Weiyi’s view. Only then did the latter regain his senses. He cupped his hands and asked, “Mother, who is this?”
The Empress had an intense dislike for Yu Weiyi. She suspected that he might have been responsible for Kang’er’s serious illness back then, and now he even dared to cast covetous eyes on her daughter-in-law. Her voice turned icy as she said, “This is Kang’er’s soon-to-be primary consort. Tang Tang, you should get to know him as well. This is the First Prince.”
Bai Tang stepped out from behind Jiang Liangwu with poise and bowed to Yu Weiyi. “Greetings, First Prince.”
“You may rise.” Yu Weiyi reached out to help him up, but Bai Tang sidestepped him and retreated behind Jiang Liangwu again.
“All right. You two are about to be married, so go and make your preparations. I won’t keep you here for a meal.” The Empress really did not want to see the lecherous look on Yu Weiyi’s face any longer. To her, it was an insult to her precious Tang Tang.
Yu Weiyi had no choice but to leave Kunning Palace with Sang Tiantian.
Only after they had gone completely did Jiang Liangwu say to the Empress, “Mother, after the wedding, I plan to take Tang Tang away from the capital.”
The Empress was startled and hurriedly asked, “Why? Is someone secretly targeting the two of you?” Otherwise, why would they be thinking of leaving?
Jiang Liangwu’s smile did not fade. “Mother, please don’t worry. You should know that I told Father that in this lifetime, I will marry no one but Tang Tang, and I will have only him.”
Hearing this, Bai Tang felt both touched and ashamed. He was overjoyed by -Wu’s devotion to him, but at the same time, he could not give A Wu a descendant.
The Empress remembered this and her expression stiffened. She stammered, “Yes… Why would you say something so foolish?” Although she felt terribly sorry for Tang Tang, her son could not simply leave himself without an heir, either.
Jiang Liangwu said, “It’s because Tang Tang’s physical constitution is different. Mother, did you know that in a small country in the Western Regions, there is a group of men known as ‘ge’er,’ and like women, they can bear children?”
“What do you mean?” The Empress’s gaze shifted to Bai Tang. “Tang Tang, he…”
“Exactly. Tang Tang’s maternal grandfather was a ge’er from that small country. Tang Tang inherited this trait from his maternal grandfather and is capable of bearing children. Otherwise, why would Father agree to let me marry only one person?” Jiang Liangwu was lying through his teeth, but the sincerity on his face actually managed to fool the Empress.
The Empress was overjoyed. She took Bai Tang’s hand and said, “That’s wonderful. Actually, it’s not as though I insisted on Kang’er taking a secondary consort. It was just that this child… But now everything is fine. Everything is fine.”
Bai Tang smiled, but his heart was filled with bitterness. Even if there had been a ge’er among Bai family’s ancestors, he himself was not actually descended from the Bai family by blood. A Wu could deceive others, but he could not deceive him.
After leaving Kunning Palace, the two of them rode back to the residence in a carriage. After a long silence, Bai Tang forced a bitter smile and said, “A Wu, if you do this, you’ll only make Mother disappointed later. I really can’t have children. Why don’t you… why don’t you take a secondary consort?”
After saying this, Bai Tang turned his head away, refusing to let Jiang Liangwu see the tears streaming down his face. He was so greedy. He didn’t want A Wu to take a secondary consort, but… but the truth was that he really couldn’t…
“Who says I was lying? Tang Tang really can bear children.” Jiang Liangwu wrapped his arms around Bai Tang from behind, his palm gently stroking his flat abdomen. “The physician who has been treating Tang Tang has always thought there was something unusual about his pulse. I was afraid of frightening you, Tang Tang, so I never dared to tell you. It wasn’t until the physician consulted some ancient medical texts that he finally confirmed that Tang Tang is a ge’er.”
The man gently bit Bai Tang’s earlobe. A wave of tingling sensation ran through him, and his face flushed so red it seemed as though blood might drip from it. His heart, however, was filled with joy. Even his soft, sweet voice trembled slightly with excitement. “Are you telling the truth? I really can have A Wu’s babies?”
The young man looked at him expectantly, a bright light sparkling in his eyes. Jiang Liangwu lied with a guilty conscience as he coaxed him, “Of course. When have I ever lied to Tangtang? It’s just that pregnancy is more difficult for a ge’er, so we’ll have to put in a little more effort…”
“A Wu… Mm…”
“Tang Tang, let’s make the most of our time…”
When the carriage finally arrived at the rear courtyard of the residence, its wheels came to a stop. The servants nearby promptly dispersed. Embarrassing sounds came from inside the carriage, growing louder and louder…