Wei Minlan said to her maid at her side,
"There's no need to see it. Go to my private coffers and fetch one hundred taels of silver. Please ask Lin Siming to help reward all the embroiderers who made my clothes."
Lin Siming accepted the silver and expressed her gratitude.
Unwilling to concede, Ru Yan held up the Big Sleeve Shirt, unfurling it to display the design of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.
Lifelike birds flocked around the phoenix on the back, its embroidery so exquisite as to be nearly unrivaled.
Upon seeing the robe, Wei Minlan scoffed. "It's beautiful, I'll admit, but tomorrow is my grandmother's birthday banquet, not my wedding. Wearing such a vibrant, red phoenix is highly inappropriate."
Ru Yan quickly tried to curry favor. "Miss Wei, you are of noble birth, destined for greatness like a phoenix gracing the world. This golden phoenix would be more than suitable on you..."
Hearing this, Lin Siming immediately snapped, "Ru Yan, don't speak such nonsense!"
Wei Minlan said, "His Majesty was already married when he was among the commoners. You'd best not throw around that phrase, 'phoenix gracing the world.' If my cousin's wife—the one from the countryside who's prone to jealousy—were to hear that... well, I'd quite like to live a few more years."
Hearing this, Mu Wan Yun looked up at Wei Minlan. "His Majesty said he got married while he was living among the commoners?"
Wei Minlan replied, "He did. About half a year ago, my father urged my cousin to promise Prime Minister Bai that he would make his eldest granddaughter the Empress. It would have given him a better grasp on power.
"But my cousin said that while he was living as a commoner, he had already married a village girl as his first wife. He said he couldn't abandon the wife of his humble days for the sake of the throne.
"It is strange, though. My cousin has been on the throne for over two months. Why hasn't he brought my cousin's wife back from the countryside yet?"
As Mu Wan Yun listened to Wei Minlan, her heart was flooded with immense guilt...
'No wonder he hates me so much...'
'He never planned to abandon me after ascending the throne, but I...'
Mu Wan Yun's heart was filled with remorse. She had divorced the husband who had been so good to her, all to cast off the "family" that had only ever wanted to use her for fourteen years.
'I was unbelievably stupid.'
...
Back in the palace, Lin Siming took Mu Wan Yun to see Shi Shanggong.
After paying her respects, Lin Siming said, "Lord Shang Gong, the Cloud Robe Feather Dress that Mu Wan Yun made was very well-received by Miss Wei. I believe she is qualified to become a Chief."
Shi Shanggong glanced at Mu Wan Yun and said, "She is not a palace maid who was trained by the Palace Bureau from a young age. She has been in the palace for less than a month. To make her a Chief... it will be difficult for her to command respect."
"Ru Yan, on the other hand, entered the Clothing Bureau at the age of twelve. Her embroidery is the most exquisite among all the palace maids, and she has the respect of everyone in the Bureau."
Lin Siming countered, "Lady Shi, are you not yet aware of the foolish things she said and the grave mistake she made in front of Miss Wei today?
"It's true that Ru Yan is a palace veteran, but the position of Chief depends on more than just seniority—it requires skill. I believe Mu Wan Yun is more suitable than Ru Yan."
Shi Shanggong said to Mu Wan Yun, "You may leave us for now."
Mu Wan Yun curtsied and stepped outside. Even from there, she could still hear Shi Shanggong's voice.
"Mu Wan Yun is the daughter of a disgraced official, a descendant of the Mu Family! Do you forget how terribly the Mu Family wronged Empress Wei back then?"
Lin Siming replied, "Mu Wan Yun was the abandoned daughter of a concubine. I hate the Mu Family more than you do.
"But my greater concern is the well-being of the Clothing Bureau. Ru Yan disregards the larger situation and shows me no respect. She acts as if she's the one truly in charge here.
"If I don't use Mu Wan Yun to put her in her place, she'll think I'm some kind of pushover, won't she?
"Right now, the palace lacks a proper mistress. Once we have one, a schemer like her would try to climb right over my head, wouldn't she?"
Shi Shanggong said, "Fine, fine. Have it your way."
Listening from outside, Mu Wan Yun finally understood why Lin Siming had chosen her to be the new Chief.
...
「Taiji Palace, Diligent Governance Hall」
Lu Jingxing closed a memorial and asked Qiu Chi, who was at his side, "Have the birthday gifts for my maternal grandmother been prepared for tomorrow?"
Zhang Qiuchi replied, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. They are all ready."
Lu Jingxing stood up. "It is still early. We will take a walk through the palace. The rest of you need not follow."
Zhang Qiuchi bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Jingxing had intended to visit the palace halls where he had grown up.
But as he walked, his feet unconsciously led him to a small hut in a corner of the Clothing Bureau.
The small hut was unusually bustling today, with a constant stream of palace maids coming and going. It only grew quiet after nightfall.
Lu Jingxing overheard two palace maids talking nearby.
"Xiao Tang, are you really going to give Wanyun a gift?"
"Lin Siming already announced that she's Chief Mu now. Everyone is giving her gifts. We have to go too, don't we?"
Xiao Die said worriedly, "But I've been in the Clothing Bureau for two years, and Elder Sister Ru Yan has helped me so much. If we go give Wanyun—no, Chief Mu—a gift, wouldn't we be letting Elder Sister Ru Yan down?"
Xiao Tang said, "A gift is just a gift. We can still listen to what Elder Sister Ru Yan says from now on."
In the end, Xiao Die followed Xiao Tang into Mu Wan Yun's hut. They only came out after presenting their gift.
Mu Wan Yun looked at the room, which was nearly overflowing with presents. It was the first time in her entire life she had ever received so many gifts.
Hearing the door open, she continued sorting through the gifts in her hands and said, "There's no need to bring any more gifts. I'm already out of room."
"Chief Mu. How impressive."
Hearing the familiar male voice, Mu Wan Yun dropped the gift in her hands, strode forward, and threw herself into Lu Jingxing's arms. "Husband."
Lu Jingxing frowned. "You really are capable, becoming a Chief in such a short time."
Mu Wan Yun hugged him tighter. "Husband, I'm sorry. I was wrong. Wei Minlan told me today that you never planned to abandon me.
"It was my fault. Hit me, scold me, do whatever you want. But after you're done, can you please forgive me?"
Lu Jingxing's voice was icy. "For Us to forgive you is absolutely impossible.
"Did We not tell you to stay away from the Wei Family? Why did you go there again?"
Mu Wan Yun said, "I went to the Wei Family residence, but I didn't see Wei Mingsang.
"Husband, from now on, you are the only one in my heart.
"I never knew how much you loved me... that you would refuse Prime Minister Bai's eldest granddaughter for my sake..."
"Who said We love you?"
Lu Jingxing tried to push Mu Wan Yun away, but couldn't.
Mu Wan Yun clung to him tenaciously, her arms locking tightly around his waist. "Husband, I'm so sorry... I will never let you go again. Just tell me how I can make it up to you. I'll do anything."
Lu Jingxing said, "Let go of me first!"
Mu Wan Yun shook her head. "No. I won't let go. Not unless my husband is willing to kiss me..."
Lu Jingxing lowered his gaze to the familiar, breathtakingly beautiful face before him.
He had married her back then partly to spite the late Emperor, but he had also genuinely cherished her.
'Over the past two years, he had taught her how to write and listened to her whisper amusing stories about the village in his ear. Life had been simple, yet it held its own unique joy.'
'At times, he had even considered giving up on returning to Chang'an and the struggle for the throne, thinking it would be good enough to live a quiet life with her in Yinxing Village.'
'When his father, the Emperor, had restored his title as Crown Prince, he had even insisted that his father issue an edict naming Mu Wan Yun the Crown Princess Consort before he would agree to return to Chang'an.'
'He had wanted to be with Mu Wan Yun for all his life, but her?'
'She had written a letter of divorce without a second thought for their life together as husband and wife!'
Remembering the humiliation from that time, Lu Jingxing forcefully pried her fingers from his waist.
"Ow! Husband, that hurts..."
"It wouldn't hurt if you let go."
Just then, the voices of Ru Yan and Rushui drifted in from outside.
"Sister, why did you give a gift to Mu Wan Yun, too?"
Hearing their voices, Lu Jingxing pulled Mu Wan Yun onto a nearby bed and threw the quilt over both of them.
Mu Wan Yun whispered to Lu Jingxing, "Husband, you're the Emperor. Why are you hiding like a thief?"
Lu Jingxing shot her a fierce glare. "If you let anyone discover Us, then tomorrow you can go right back to Prince Jian's dungeon!"