Ye Suijin cared about Pei Ze.
Why did Zhao Jingwen dare to arrogantly marry Pei Lian? Was he after Pei Lian's beauty? No, he was after her father, Pei Ze.
If Pei Lian had not been Pei Ze's beloved daughter, none of the later events would have happened.
Pei Ze, the son of the former Sword South Circuit Protectorate, had taken over Fang Prefecture.
He had one daughter and one young son. The daughter was the eldest, while the son was still young.
Zhao Jingwen, in all likelihood, had seen the opportunity presented by "the son still being young."
How old was Pei Lian's younger brother at this time?
Ye Suijin wasn't really clear. In any case, he was just a child, not yet able to take charge of affairs.
Since Pei Ze didn't have a daughter like Ye Suijin who could take on important responsibilities, it was only natural for him to rely heavily on his son-in-law and hope that his son-in-law could support his nephew.
This was probably what had attracted Zhao Jingwen.
Ye Suijin stroked her chin as she stared at the map, hoping very much that Zhao Jingwen and Pei Lian could meet soon and clear up all the rotten accounts between their past and present lives.
She regretted not having thoroughly looked into the specifics of when Zhao Jingwen and Pei Lian had met in the past.
If she had known, she could have given them a push now, speeding things up.
But because she didn't know, all she could do in this life was to let Zhao Jingwen out as soon as possible, hoping he would have great luck and meet Pei Lian quickly.
She couldn't do anything else.
However, Zhao Jingwen taking over River Mouth was very satisfying to Ye Suijin. It gave her ideas on planning for some future events.
The meals Zhao Jingwen had eaten these past few years at Ye Manor hadn't been for nothing.
Putting away the map, Ye Suijin ordered, "Prepare some things. I'm going to visit Third Brother."
Fourth Uncle Ye hadn't expected Ye Suijin to come calling.
Ye Suijin smiled. "I already told Fourth Sister-in-Law I was coming to see Third Sister-in-Law."
Fourth Uncle Ye looked back. Fourth Lady had an innocent expression.
How could she have guessed that Ye Suijin's words weren't just polite chatter?
But with Ye Suijin's arrival, the whole Ye family was bathed in glory.
What was her status now!
The guests who had come to pay New Year visits were sure to see her here. If they came to pay respects to Ye Suijin and found her absent, they would certainly ask where she had gone. It would reflect very well on the Ye family.
Fourth Lady beamed as she busied herself with preparations to entertain her.
Ye Suijin waved her hand. "Auntie, go on about your business. There must be many guests today. Don't worry about me. I just came to see Third Sister-in-Law."
Fourth Lady had also grown distant from her these past three years.
Although Fourth Uncle Ye had greatly mended his relationship with Ye Suijin in the past half year, Fourth Lady had never directly interacted much with Ye Suijin. She didn't know if this was appropriate or not.
Fourth Uncle Ye waved his hand. "Go on, go on."
Just like an uncle and niece in someone else's family.
Third Son, who was receiving guests in the hall, hurried over. "Why the sudden visit?"
Ye Suijin said, "You go on about your business. I'm going to chat with Third Sister-in-Law."
Even Third Son, who was usually very stern and proper, glanced askance at this.
Ye Suijin said, "...What's with that look?"
Third Son held his forehead. "Let me go with you. Tong Niang and you..."
Two people with absolutely nothing in common had nothing to chat about as women.
Ye Suijin also couldn't explain how she had gotten along well with the women of a rear palace. They all thought she was still that Ye Suijin completely devoted to Ye Manor.
That Ye Suijin who, as a daughter, had fought her clansmen for control of the manor, and moreover won.
To demonstrate as the mistress of Ye Manor that "I am different from other women," "I am not an ordinary woman," she would sometimes unconsciously convey this meaning through her actions, hoping others would see her as equal to a man.
Looking back now, it was quite laughable.
But she really wasn't familiar with Tong Niang now. And Tong Niang was six months pregnant, best not to startle her.
"Alright then," she said. "Let's go together."
Third Son went with her.
When Fourth Uncle returned, he explained to the guests, "Sixth Sister has come to see her sister-in-law, so Third Son has gone to accompany his younger sister."
There were many guests from the Vice Protectorate in Deng Prefecture.
Some of the guests couldn't make out the relationships between "Sixth Sister," "Sister-in-Law," and the rest. They thought, what business is it of ours, this matter of women, and what's more, Third Son Ye abandoning the guests to accompany a younger sister?
Until the person next to them whispered, "Ye Sixth Sister is the Protectorate Lord..."
This person sputtered and coughed up the tea he had just sipped.
Fourth Uncle Ye just smiled blithely, pretending not to have seen.
It was understandable outsiders didn't know, since family order by generation was usually based on the patriarch's order. Ye Suijin's father would have been ranked with Fourth and Fifth Uncles and other close paternal cousins. But in the next generation, they separated into different family lines.
Ye Suijin should have been ranked with her close cousins on her father's side. But she didn't have any siblings or close cousins.
Usually one wouldn't be ranked with one's husband's siblings.
Tong Niang was quite surprised to hear Ye Suijin had come to see her.
Since Ye Suijin was also a woman, Third Son Ye directly brought her to the main room. Tong Niang made to get up, but Ye Suijin went up to stop her. "Sister-in-Law, don't get up."
Tong Niang hurriedly called for maids to serve tea and fruits.
Ye Suijin said, "I didn't really have anything to do. I didn't see Sister-in-Law at the family banquet, so I wanted to come see how you were doing."
She chatted idly with Tong Niang about this and that.
"Not going back to your maternal home this year?"
"Not going back since I'm pregnant. Can't travel when expecting."
"I see, I see."
"Have enough little clothes been tailored? Is the little cradle ready?"
"So many clothes have been tailored, even before New Year my mother came and scolded me, said I wouldn't need so many."
And so on.
Originally Third Son Ye had worried the two would have nothing to talk about, which was why he had specially come along.
But watching the two converse, while it wasn't especially lively, at least it wasn't awkward.
On the contrary, he was rather amazed by Ye Suijin. His impression was that she really wasn't the sort to casually chat about household affairs with other women.
She should have been very impatient with this kind of thing.
But now, her expression was gentle, clearly extremely patient.
Third Son Ye was somewhat curious what had changed her.
He didn't know that the deepest palace chambers and highest palace walls could grind away even the most impatient temper. After living inside for years, even the most hot-tempered would become extremely patient.
Suddenly, Tong Niang gripped her belly.
Ye Suijin smiled and asked, "Could it be the baby kicking?"
Although she had never given birth herself, she had seen imperial concubines pregnant and in labor.
Even when exempted from greeting her, these women insisted on coming, pregnant bellies and all, to pay respects.
After the children were born, they were also always brought before her.
As if she, as the empress, would like these children.
In the early days, Zhao Jingwen only had her and Pei Lian. It was only after he became emperor that he started taking concubines.
As a result, the Crown Prince was much older than the other imperial princes and princesses.
By the time he already had a son, the Crown Grandson, who was just learning to speak, the younger princes were the same age or even younger than the Crown Grandson.
Ye Suijin had no fortune with children in this life.
In principle, she knew that as the official wife, all of her husband's children were also her children.
But in reality, she held no feelings toward these children. She had no desire whatsoever to take any into her palace and raise them.
Those concubines had wasted their efforts.
Her alliance with the Crown Prince was purely political. He lacked support in the rear palace while she lacked sons, so they complemented each other perfectly and their interests aligned.
Right before her death, Pei Lian had hoped they would form a solid political alliance.
Yet it still fell apart in the end.
Of all Zhao Jingwen's offspring, the only child Ye Suijin had felt a hint of affection for was the Crown Grandson.
When the child, just learning to speak, after "Father King," "Mother Imperial Concubine," and "Imperial Grandfather," had learned to call her "Imperial Grandmother," at that moment, Ye Suijin had felt that time was flowing past her cheeks through the lines by her mouth.
She had softened for an instant toward that child.
Later, after the Crown Prince had died by strangulation, Zhao Jingwen had cried in the main palace. After drying his tears, he degraded the Crown Grandson and his mother to commoners.
Ye Suijin had people secretly look after that child.
Zhao Jingwen doted on the new little emperor, who was younger than the Crown Grandson, as a loving father.
"Sister-in-Law," Ye Suijin said, "may I feel the belly?"
The Ye Suijin today made not only Third Son Ye feel like she was a stranger, but also secretly astonished Tong Niang.
She had always felt Sixth Lady was a bit too outstanding. Sometimes when she returned to her natal home, her family members also said this.
Especially, if not for Ye Suijin fighting for control of Ye Manor, if Ye Suijin had been willing to marry out with a dowry like other women, take her husband's residence and surname, and become a Lady of the Ye clan, then Ye Manor should have been inherited by her uncle, Ye Feng Tang.
And later it would have naturally gone to the eldest son of Ye Feng Tang, who was none other than Tong Niang's husband, Third Son Ye.
These were grave family affairs, not for her to interfere with. Even her mother-in-law didn't speak of it, so of course Tong Niang would not casually mention it either.
Only her impression was that Ye Suijin was indeed hard and masculine like a man. She wouldn't have imagined that today she would see a different side of her.
It makes one feel quite relaxed, and is no different from being with other women in the family.
When Ye Suijin asked this, she smiled and took her hand to place on her round belly.
As Ye Suijin's hand was placed there, she could feel the little life inside kicking and punching vigorously.
She held her breath.
In the past, the imperial concubines would come up to her with their bellies sticking out, faces full of delight: "Your Majesty, the baby is moving, feel it."
She had only wanted to roll her eyes.
But now, she could feel the warmth of life.
She suddenly understood.
She didn't actually dislike children. She liked the Twelfth Lady's child.
She just didn't like children who had no blood relation to her at all.
She didn't know who had decreed that the primary wife was mother to all of the man's children.
Nonsense.
She had no interest in the Zhao princes and princesses.
But now, the little life she could feel in the palm of her hand was of the Ye family's bloodline.
Connected by blood to her.
It was her third brother's child.
This really was delightful.
After leaving gifts, Ye Suijin left Ye Sanlang's residence.
Naturally, Sanlang escorted her.
The two walked very slowly, anyway they were wearing furs so it wasn't cold.
Very quiet.
Ye Sanlang wasn't a talkative person, so he was often silent. But now he was silent because he didn't know what to say.
- Ye Suijin being unable to have children was caused by his family.
Should he tell her to look for famous doctors and nurture herself well? Should he tell her to adopt a child from the clan?
Neither was appropriate, so only silence remained.
"San Ge, I've thought about it, we need to slow our pace," said Ye Suijin.
Ye Sanlang looked at her in surprise.
"What I'm thinking is, for now, to just hold on to Deng Prefecture and Tang Prefecture well," Ye Suijin said. "The land, the common people, they all need to rest and recover. We also need to think of ways to attract people from other places to come here. Without population, nothing great can be accomplished."
Ye Sanlang heaved a long sigh of relief.
"I'll listen to you on everything," he said.
But he couldn't help asking: "Suijin, if you have any plans for the future, can you share them with me?"
Ye Suijin said, "What I just said is the plan."
Ye Sanlang was speechless. "Then, do you have any goals?" he asked.
Ye Suijin laughed. "What are you talking about?"
Ye Sanlang couldn't explain clearly, and scratched his head. "That is... in the future..."
Ye Suijin said, "If you're talking about ten or eight years, twenty years from now, what we'll be like, then I'm telling you there is none of that."
"In this lifetime, who knows what circumstances may arise, where we may have to turn. That can't be said."
"So I say we take it slow, don't go too fast and throw out our backs."
She put her hands behind her back and slowly paced.
"I think that as long as we take each step steadily, that's fine. The more solidly we walk, the more steps we'll take."
"Even if we stop here for now, history books in the future will still mention that I am Ye Suijin of Deng Prefecture, leader of the two prefectures. You... hmm, you still may not make it into the history books yet, you'll need to try harder."
"Let's at least strive to leave a note in the history books."
Ye Suijin was speaking sincerely.
In this chaotic era, with so many variables, even with her rebirth and gained advantages, she still didn't dare say what she would or wouldn't achieve in the future.
All she dared say was that she would not repeat the mistakes of her previous life, she would not make the same errors again.
As for the future, even she could only say, take one step at a time.
In this lifetime, go as far as you can go!
