The Empress sat in the pavilion, gazing through the sheer curtains at Rongrong and Liang Muchen in the distant corner of the imperial garden, her eyes filled with a hint of amusement.

“What do you think they’re talking about together?” she asked.

An Ru replied, “They’re both young girls; they’re bound to find common ground.”

“I just don’t understand what they could have to talk about. Are they discussing Liu Zhen?”

At the Empress’s last comment, An Ru almost choked on her breath.

An Ru couldn’t answer that question.

She found it odd too. Given Liang Muchen and Xue Rongrong’s positions, even if they weren’t rivals in love, their relationship should still be awkward.

Yet here they were, avoiding the others to chat privately, clearly intending to have a secret conversation.

Considering their interactions, it was quite possible that their secret conversation was indeed about the Crown Prince.

An Ru could only respond vaguely, “Perhaps they’re just talking about private matters between girls. Didn’t they just admire the flowers together? Maybe they got tired from walking and sat down to discuss the flowers. There are only two chairs by that table, so others naturally couldn’t join them.”

The Empress’s gaze lingered on Rongrong.

“Other than her outstanding appearance, I really don’t see anything special about this girl. It’s one thing for Liu Zhen to be captivated by her beauty, but Yuanbao is still young; he likes anyone who treats him well. I understand that Zhaoyang and Anyang are trying to win Liu Zhen’s favor, but Muchen has no need to.”

“Perhaps this Rongrong girl does have some unique qualities,” An Ru suggested, trying to ease the Empress’s concerns. “Think about it, Your Majesty, our old Duke has an exceptionally keen eye for people. If he approves of Rongrong, she must be worthy.”

“It’s better if you don’t mention my father. The more I think about it, the less I understand. How could a man like my father come to her defense? Jinru is his own granddaughter, yet when he got angry back then, he didn’t speak to me for years. Now, for this girl, he comes to the palace to speak on her behalf?”

“Lady Jinru is already Princess Qing, and the old Duke is not the type to dwell on past grievances.”

“It must be because Yuanbao asked him to.”

“That’s probably part of it. Yuanbao resembles the old madam, and in the old Duke’s heart, even the direct grandson of the Duke of An’guo can’t compare to him. But I believe that if the old Duke is willing to speak up, he must also approve of Rongrong and wants to help her secure a higher position.”

Just to secure a slightly higher position?

The Empress was unconvinced.

The old Duke of An had not stepped foot in the palace for many years.

For him to finally enter Kunning Palace again, and for the purpose of advocating for Xue Rongrong—a girl with no direct ties to him—urging the Empress not to interfere in Liu Zhen’s marriage, was perplexing to her.

What did he mean by “not interfering”? The Empress pondered this for a long time.

Liu Zhen liked Rongrong, and it was certain that he wanted to keep her in the Eastern Palace.

Neither the Empress nor the Emperor had any objections to this.

But as for what title to give her, they had never discussed it.

The Empress thought a title of Liangdi (a Concubine of high rank) would be sufficient, and if Liu Zhen insisted, making her a Noble Consort would be acceptable.

However, the fact that the old Duke of An made a special trip to the palace to discuss this matter clearly indicated that Liu Zhen had more than just the title of Nonle Consort in mind for Rongrong.

Recently, Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Anyang frequently invited Rongrong to the palace to socialize.

If there weren’t someone supporting them, these two princesses would never be so openly friendly.

Their close relationship with Rongrong, in turn, subtly influenced how others treated her.

Today, no one in the Imperial Garden would dare to look down on Rongrong.

Since she was mingling on equal terms with the princesses, who would dare to go beyond them?

Liu Zhen was gradually integrating this low-status woman into the court.

He… was trying to make her the Crown Princess.

The thought flashed through the Empress’s mind, and she gasped in shock.

It was impossible.

…

Sitting in the corner, Rongrong had no idea about the Empress and Anru’s excessive attention.

She was still shocked by Liang Muchen’s words, “We didn’t succeed.”

How could they not have succeeded?

Liang Muchen’s and Prince Qing’s reactions in the pavilion didn’t seem like a couple who had not consummated their marriage.

Rongrong didn’t believe Liang Muchen.

But then she thought about her own situation with the Crown Prince.

Despite spending many nights together, nothing had happened.

Of course, Rongrong had been unwilling, and Liu Zhen had agreed, so it made sense.

If Rongrong had been unwilling and Liu Zhen had insisted, it probably wouldn’t have worked.

On the other hand, if Liu Zhen had not been interested, even if Rongrong had been willing…

Rongrong wasn’t sure if it would have worked.

Liu Zhen wasn’t as indecisive as she was; if he didn’t like her and tried to force it, he might have ended up pushing her away.

Rongrong shook off thoughts about Liu Zhen and focused on Liang Muchen.

“You just said you pestered Prince Qing to stay. How could it not have happened?” Since Prince Qing stayed overnight at Liang Muchen’s Frosty Residence, with Liang Muchen’s initiative, how could nothing have happened?

“Yes, he stayed.” Liang Muchen quickly blushed and said, “I begged him to stay, and he finally agreed. After he lay down, I… I mustered the courage to squeeze in beside him.”

Such a young girl… it was unexpected.

“And then?”

Rongrong was intrigued and amused, though she didn’t dare laugh or say much, afraid that Liang Muchen would shy away.

Indeed, as soon as Rongrong asked those three words, Liang Muchen shyly pressed her lips together and fell silent.

“Alright, I see you’re handling things well. You’ll succeed in a few days.”

“No,” Liang Muchen quickly grabbed Rongrong’s hand, looked around to make sure no one was close, and then said, “I… I just kept holding onto the Prince, holding on tightly.”

Rongrong found it amusing again.

This time, she learned her lesson and didn’t ask “and then” but waited quietly for Liang Muchen to continue.

Recalling the scene from last night, Liang Muchen puffed out her cheeks. “Sister, don’t laugh at me. It didn’t feel strange last night, but now that I’m talking about it with you, I feel so embarrassed. I don’t know how I managed to do all that.”

She had clung to Prince Qing, who wanted to push her away but felt she was too hot to touch.

He scolded her for being shameless, but Liang Muchen stubbornly held on, causing quite a commotion.

Later…

Rongrong waited for Liang Muchen to continue, but Liang Muchen just furrowed her brow, lost in thought, leaving Rongrong feeling very anxious.

“The prince was very resistant to me at first,” Liang Muchen finally said.

Rongrong eagerly waited for more, but nothing else followed.

Rongrong sighed inwardly, feeling helpless.

Although Liang Muchen had married just the day before, she was still a young, inexperienced girl, maintaining a certain shyness and reserve, unlike Zhenzhen, who could speak freely.

Rongrong knew that expecting Liang Muchen to share everything on her own was unrealistic, so she had to ask questions bit by bit, avoiding anything too embarrassing.

“And later, did he accept you?” Rongrong asked.

Liang Muchen didn’t respond, but Rongrong took her silence as agreement and murmured to herself, “If he accepted you, then why didn’t things work out?”

Liang Muchen’s face turned as red as a beet, and in truth, she wasn’t sure if the prince had truly accepted her or not.

She thought he must have, otherwise, Prince Qing wouldn’t have held her and gotten handsy.

No, it wasn’t just that—Liang Muchen only remembered her mind going completely blank, as if her head was filled with blood.

Prince Qing was probably just as out of it as she was, not even knowing what he was doing.

After all, he had just been scolding her for being shameless. If he were in his right mind, how could he have done those things?

“So, if everything was going well, what exactly went wrong?” Rongrong asked again.

“I thought at first…” Liang Muchen’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, and with so many people in the imperial garden, Rongrong couldn’t hear her at all.

She thought for a moment, then moved her bamboo chair closer to sit beside Liang Muchen.

Sure enough, Liang Muchen became a bit bolder.

She bit her lip and said, “He tried several times, but it didn’t work.”

Rongrong’s mind immediately buzzed with a series of possibilities.

Tried several times, but it didn’t work? Could it be that Prince Qing wasn’t… capable?

He looked so tall, handsome, and energetic, but was he actually not?

Afraid of being too blunt and making Liang Muchen even more embarrassed, Rongrong carefully chose her words. “So… he… didn’t have any reaction?”

Liang Muchen looked at Rongrong with large, confused eyes. “Reaction? Where?”

Rongrong almost wanted to bang her head against the wall.

This was the imperial garden, after all, and even though it was just the two of them having a private conversation, she still didn’t dare say anything too explicit in such a public place.

Seeing Liang Muchen’s genuinely puzzled expression, Rongrong began to feel embarrassed too.

Compared to the innocent Liang Muchen, Rongrong suddenly felt like a battle-hardened warrior.

It was all Liu Zhen’s fault.

If not for him, she wouldn’t immediately think of that whenever “there” was mentioned.

“‘There’ as in, the part where men and women are different,” Rongrong explained.

Liang Muchen suddenly understood. “Oh, you mean that…” Liang Muchen was quick to catch on.

For Rongrong, an unmarried girl, to know about “there,” she must have already seen the Crown Prince’s…

Could it be that Rongrong and the Crown Prince had already consummated their relationship?

Rongrong was amazing—she had managed to captivate even someone as cold as the Crown Prince.

“You’re so knowledgeable, Sister,” Liang Muchen whispered in admiration.

Rongrong realized she had said too much and couldn’t keep a straight face anymore. She stiffly explained, “I only know about it; I haven’t experienced it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Liang Muchen quickly clarified when she saw that Rongrong was embarrassed. “I just admire you. Sister, please help me think of a solution. I’ve already told you all my embarrassing secrets, so how could I laugh at you?”

“Are you sure he had a reaction?” Rongrong asked.

Liang Muchen nodded. “Before I got married, my mother talked to me about this all night. I took your advice seriously, so I listened very carefully.” Not only did she listen carefully, but whenever she didn’t understand something, she would keep asking questions, to the point where Lady Hou was shocked by her eagerness to learn.

“So, why do you think it didn’t work out?” Rongrong asked again.

Liang Muchen pursed her lips. “I think… it’s because… he… he couldn’t find…”

Having worked in the Ministry of Rites for many years, Rongrong immediately understood what Liang Muchen was getting at. “He couldn’t find the right spot?”

Liang Muchen was surprised that Rongrong seemed to know everything, and she looked at her in astonishment, nodding.

She had intended to tease Rongrong a little but found herself waiting for Rongrong to offer guidance, so she could only wait quietly.

“Why?” Rongrong asked, puzzled.

Prince Qing and Princess Qing had been married for nearly four years.

Even if he wasn’t a first-time groom, it was hard to believe that he wouldn’t know where to find things.

If it were really the case, it would reflect poorly on the Palace of Reverence, and Aunt Anlan would surely reprimand the palace maids of the Sleeping Quarters.

Recalling her past life, when she first attended to Liu Zhen, he also had trouble finding things until she pointed him in the right direction.

If Prince Qing had no issues, but still couldn’t find things, perhaps he had never consummated the marriage with Princess Qing?

Rongrong suddenly covered her mouth, realizing the implications.

It wasn’t impossible.

Liang Muchen was only chosen as the Crown Princess by the Emperor and Empress.

Prince Qing had already expressed his dislike for her.

Given that Princess Qing had been rejected by the Crown Prince before, and everyone knew she was the Crown Prince’s former fiancée, it would make sense that Prince Qing harbored deeper resentment.

“Did something happen, Sister? Is there really a problem with the Prince?”

“No,” Rongrong came back to her senses and shook her head at Liang Muchen, “It’s not a problem. I was just thinking about something else and got a bit distracted.”

Rongrong was unsure whether she should reveal her suspicions.

It was a significant matter if Prince Qing and Princess Qing had not consummated their marriage.

However, since Prince Qing had already shown interest in Liang Muchen, they would eventually get together, and Liang Muchen would find out sooner or later.

Yet, Rongrong decided not to share her speculations with Liang Muchen.

Helping her was one thing, but discussing Princess Qing’s situation was another.

If Rongrong talked about it, it would seem like she was speaking ill of Princess Qing.

Avoiding that topic, Rongrong asked, “Don’t worry too much. Before you got married, did the Countess give you a manual?”

Liang Muchen blushed and nodded, “Yes, she did. I was worried I might forget, so I even brought the manual in my vanity box.”

“You brought it in your vanity box? Aren’t you worried about others seeing it?”

“It’s in my personal maid’s care, so it’s fine. Once I’ve settled in Frosty Residence, I’ll find a more private place for it.”

“There’s no need to hide it too well. Next time you look at the manual, why not have Prince Qing join you?”

Liang Muchen was stunned by Rongrong’s suggestion, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “What? That’s not possible!”

“Why not? Aren’t you both supposed to be properly married now? Why worry about this?”

Liang Muchen was both shy and troubled.

After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Sister, you don’t know. The Prince… he doesn’t even talk to me much. How could he possibly look at the manual with me?”