On the day Rongyue and Ru Ge returned to the palace, what they said,
Zhao Hua did not know, nor did she care to ask.
She only saw afterwards during the morning greetings that the two often went together, laughing and chatting, so she knew that they had resolved many things with each other.
The new consorts had quite an opinion of Ru Ge, discussing her privately:
"She is a coquettish minx. She's only been in the palace for a few days, and she has already been intimate with the Emperor twice, while he hasn't even seen our faces."
"The Emperor doesn't flip our cards, so what can we do? We can only look on enviously, it's no wonder when she was born looking a bit like the Empress."
"I don't think so. Haven't you noticed she's always close to Consort Shun, the two of them laughing together like sisters? It's not like us, the chief consorts never have good expressions when they see us, this life is truly dull."
Seven days later, an autumn rain completely swept away the lingering summer heat,
Almost overnight, even the short gusts of wind sweeping down the streets turned cold and harsh.
At sunrise,
Zhao Hua saw Cheng Yu off to the Office of the Imperial Secretariat, deliberately changing him into a new small jacket she had made.
Don't be fooled by the small size, every stitch was imbued with a mother's thoughts, taking Zhao Hua a couple of months to complete.
Now worn by Cheng Yu, it looked a bit large, but fit him well.
Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Boys at this age are growing quickly, so the sleeves are a bit wide, otherwise they'll be too tight in just a couple of days and uncomfortable."
Cheng Yu looked in the mirror,
Seeing that the jacket's style and material were both exquisite,
But what caught his eye most were the embroidered patterns.
The clusters of vibrant purple blossoms were called purple bougainvillea.
This flower couldn't survive in the capital, but in Hengzhou it bloomed across the mountains in summer.
Cheng Yu understood that this was his birth mother's way of comforting his homesickness.
But the palace had always been his home,
And the woman before him was his birth mother.
His daily glumness and melancholy only hurt his closest kin.
Since returning to the palace, how Zhao Hua treated him, though he seldom expressed gratitude verbally, he was clear in his heart.
The rift caused by their separation was difficult to mend,
But for Cheng Yu, Zhao Hua now held the same position as his foster mother who raised him.
The more mature he became, the more guilty he felt seeing the little jacket stitched by his caring mother's hands.
Zhao Hua keenly sensed Cheng Yu's low spirits and gently asked,
"What's wrong, son? Do you not like it?"
Cheng Yu first shook his head, then quickly nodded and said firmly, "I really like it!"
"Mother~"
The sweet voice of Ruo Xin came from behind,
Zhao Hua turned to see the little maid bouncing over like an energetic white rabbit,
Clutching at Zhao Hua's robe hem and swaying it,
"Mother, mother~ Jin Yue is taking me to the Imperial Garden to admire the chrysanthemums today, can I walk with brother?"
The path to the Office of the Imperial Secretariat had to pass through the Yonghe Palace,
So Zhao Hua smiled and nodded, stroking Ruo Xin's neatly combed fringe, "Of course. Just be careful, it rained yesterday so the path is slippery, don't fall."
"I know~" Ruo Xin mischievously stuck out her tongue, "Mother Consort Chen always says I don't act like a proper lady, that I'm wilder than the boys when I'm rowdy. She wants me to learn to be demure and become a gentle lady."
Zhao Hua shook her head with a smile, "In my opinion, girls don't necessarily have to be quiet and restrained. As long as you live comfortably without harming others, you can live however you like."
"Really?" Ruo Xin grabbed her little head skeptically, "But the instructing governess tells us girls that we must obey the three obediences and four virtues, and cannot be willful, otherwise no one will like us."
Zhao Hua slowly squatted down, took Ruo Xin's hand, and said,
"Everyone grows up constrained by rules and teachings. If everyone lived by the same mold, wouldn't they all become the same? Think about it, the reason the flowers in the Imperial Garden are so beautiful is because of their myriad colors and shapes, all unique. If you looked around and they were all the same color and shape, no matter how beautiful, it would be dull."
Ruo Xin puffed out her cheeks, her lively black eyes rolling in their sockets,
It was unclear if she understood what Zhao Hua said, but she nodded dazedly in acknowledgment.
Then she grabbed Cheng Yu's hand and hurriedly said, "Brother, let's go! Jin Yue is going to be waiting for us."
With that, she turned and waved to Zhao Hua, "Mother, your daughter is leaving first~"
Ruo Xin pulled Cheng Yu along stumbling towards the exit,
At the entrance to the inner chambers, he suddenly turned back, meeting Zhao Hua's affectionate gaze upon the two siblings,
With just that exchanged glance, the window in Cheng Yu's heart that had long been closed was gently pushed open by an invisible, warm force.
In that sudden clarity, he laughed heartily, waving energetically at Zhao Hua and saying brightly,
"Mother! Your son will return for the noon meal with you!"
Mother...
Zhao Hua's calm heart was enveloped in warmth.
This was the first time Cheng Yu addressed her so,
A simple form of address, yet it made Zhao Hua feel the joy of becoming a mother again.
She was dazed for a moment before nodding vigorously at the children, her smile tinged with tears as she said tenderly,
"Good, mother will wait for you."
