chapter 4
chapter 4
Panic showed plainly in Jiang Xinyue’s eyes. She had never imagined that I would dare lay hands on her inside the imperial palace.
“The Jing’an Marquisate is a military house. My father and brother were both accomplished commanders. I may be a woman and unable to ride onto the battlefield, but I am far from helpless. If there is a next time, you will receive more than this small warning.”
I released her slowly.
She seemed ready to shout for help, so I added, “You have attracted enough attention today. Make a larger scene, and you will lose more than you gain.”
That finally silenced her.
I had no desire to waste more time on her. I had attended the banquet and fulfilled my obligation to the Empress.
On the carriage ride home, Qinghe complained, “The imperial family has gone too far. The old master and young master gave their lives for the realm, yet now they bully you because you have no one left to rely on…”
I patted her shoulder. “When a man leaves, his tea soon grows cold. Who remembers forever? When the Emperor speaks of my family, he is honoring loyal ministers. If we speak of our own service, we are presuming upon past merit. His Majesty arranged this marriage to show the court that he had not mistreated the descendants of the meritorious. But he cares only that the marriage takes place, not whether I suffer inside the Crown Prince’s household. I am merely an instrument through which he displays imperial grace to the realm.”
Qinghe’s eyes reddened, but she did not dare answer.
Once home, I received a letter from one of my father’s former subordinates.
I left the capital for a little over ten days. By the time I returned, I heard that the Crown Prince had asked permission to inspect the northern border and gain experience there. He had also requested that our wedding be postponed for two years.
His intention could not have been clearer. He meant to keep me waiting indefinitely.
During my absence, Jiang Xinyue had come to the Jing’an Marquisate and caused such a disturbance that Grandmother fainted from rage.
A servant found me at the city gate. I hurried home and arrived just as Jiang Xinyue was leaving, arrogant and overbearing.
I knew whose power she relied upon.
Without the Empress’s encouragement, how would she have dared behave this way?
The moment she saw me, she sneered, “Your father and brother are gone. The Jing’an Marquisate is an empty shell. Once you marry, only one old bag of bones will remain here. The river is running dry, the sun is setting, and the gates stand deserted. How many days of glory do you think this house has left? The Empress and Crown Prince both despise you. Why keep clinging to them?”
My hands clenched. My voice broke as I said, “The Empress and Crown Prince favor you and indulge you, so you think you may humiliate the Jing’an Marquisate however you please? My father and brother died wrapped in horsehide, their bones buried among the green hills. Our house has no one left to support it. Grandmother and I have only each other. If you want the Crown Princess’s seat, then take it…”
Tears spilled down my face. I sobbed so violently I could barely speak, turning every accusation toward the Empress and Crown Prince.
The Empress wanted to remain invisible behind all this.
I would not make it so easy for her.
The street outside our gates was packed with onlookers. Fingers pointed. Voices rose, condemning the Empress, condemning the Crown Prince, and recounting every rumor about Jiang Xinyue’s origins.
“The Shen father and son died on the battlefield, and now only an old madam and a young woman remain. To see them bullied like this chills the heart. If the imperial family dislikes the match, it should simply cancel the marriage. Why humiliate them?”
“I hear this woman is the treasure of the Crown Prince’s heart. She has considerable skill. The Empress is pleased with her, and the Crown Prince denies her nothing.”
“She dares make trouble only because she has powerful masters behind her.”
Rumor could wound me.
It could also serve me.
The Empress had humiliated me at every turn and allowed the gossip to spread, hoping I would recognize defeat and surrender my place of my own accord.
But her behavior and the Crown Prince’s conduct over these past days, now joined to the scene before our gates, told a different story: the imperial family was bullying a defenseless military house. That was enough to chill the hearts of veteran ministers.
Today’s rumors pointed straight at the Crown Prince.
Jiang Xinyue could not endure the condemnation of an entire street. She fled in disgrace.
Watching her stumble away, I almost laughed. The moment I showed weakness, I placed all of them over the fire.
Today’s performance had been a trap prepared especially for her. I had never feared that she would make a scene.
I had feared only that she would not.
After checking on Grandmother, I sent every servant in the estate across the city in search of famous physicians.
The capital was thrown into an uproar. Rumors churned through every noble household.
This time, they were no longer laughing at me.
The censors submitted memorial after memorial, impeaching the Crown Prince for moral corruption, disorder in his inner household, and contempt for ritual law.
Senior ministers also wrote to the throne. To mistreat the descendants of loyal servants and permit others to bully them, they said, would chill the heart of every subject in the realm.