Chapter 14
Chapter 14
[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 13]
The court was stable, the harem peaceful, and the Great An Dynasty flourished as its national strength grew by the day.
Two uneventful years passed. In the spring of the fourth year of Yongning, the marriage of Princess Qinghe, the emperor’s eldest daughter, was finally placed on the agenda.
“Your Majesty must stop saying there is no hurry. Han Zhaoyi is frantic.”
Empress Miao peeled a tangerine and complained, “Jingrou is already fifteen, and she is the eldest daughter. Her wedding rites cannot be treated carelessly. Even if we settle her marriage now, she will not marry until next year, when she is sixteen. If you delay any longer and wait until she is seventeen or eighteen, she really will be an old maid.”
She pushed half the tangerine into Emperor Gaozu’s hand and sighed. “We women live inside the palace and rarely see officials from outside. As her father, you must take this seriously and keep it in mind!”
Emperor Gaozu settled back against a bolster and broke off several tangerine segments to eat. “Very well. I will keep an eye out and see whether any of the old ministers have suitable young men in their families.”
After a moment’s thought, he smiled. “The palace examination will be held in the fourth month. Perhaps there will be a young scholar of outstanding character and appearance among the new presented scholars. If one is suitable, he could marry a princess.”
Empress Miao’s expression shifted as something occurred to her. She grew serious. “I seem to recall that Prince Consorts of the former dynasty were forbidden from taking part in government…”
“Our dynasty has no such rule.” Emperor Gaozu waved the concern away without hesitation. “A country falls when its strength declines and its ruler is incompetent. A Prince Consort has nothing to do with it.”
Empress Miao laughed, then hesitated for several moments before continuing. “There is something else. When Your Majesty sends people to investigate, do not look only at whether the young man is talented. Ask who else lives in his household. Are his parents and elder siblings easy to get along with? Does the family have any hereditary illnesses? And does he already keep concubines or bedchamber maids…”
Emperor Gaozu replied casually, “Have him dismiss them before the wedding. In any case, after the marriage he will live at the Princess Manor.”
Empress Miao had known a man would not care about this, which was precisely why she had raised the point. “Even if he dismisses them, the thought still leaves a knot in the heart. This is your own daughter getting married. Do you not want her to have a perfect husband?”
“Very well.” Emperor Gaozu considered it, then agreed. She was his own daughter; he might as well help wherever he could. “I will have several candidates found. You can ask Xiangping’s wife and Han Zhaoyi’s family to investigate them. Whichever man they favor will be the one.”
Empress Miao gave an amused snort. “Xiangping would never let his wife investigate this.”
Emperor Gaozu looked at her in confusion.
There was no need for secrets between an affectionate husband and wife, so Empress Miao told him candidly, “I mentioned this to my sister-in-law before. Xiangping said that even if he knew a good candidate, he certainly would not mention him. He has to save the man for Jiaojiao.”
Emperor Gaozu stared for a moment, then understood and burst out laughing.
Princess Qinghe was fifteen this year. Princess Zhaoyang, Empress Miao’s daughter, was fourteen. The sisters were close in age. If it was time for the elder sister to begin considering matches, the younger had nearly reached that point as well.
“Then choose for them together.” After pondering for a moment, Emperor Gaozu made the decision. “They are both our children. We must not favor one and neglect the other.”
Empress Miao naturally had no objection. She smiled. “That would be wonderful. If the sisters marry around the same time, they can look after each other outside the palace.”
Once the matter was settled, Emperor Gaozu put it in motion. He summoned a trusted aide and instructed him, “Our two princesses are grown. It is time to select their Prince Consorts. Investigate carefully and prepare a list. The Empress and We will screen the candidates in detail afterward.”
The aide knew this assignment permitted no carelessness. Success would naturally earn a reward. If he bungled it and harmed a princess, the question would not merely be whether he spent the second half of his life in terror, but whether he had a second half at all.
He raised his vigilance ten thousandfold. “What requirements do Your Majesty and Her Majesty have for the candidates?”
Emperor Gaozu considered carefully. “As for age, not too young. A boy who is too young is still childish, understands nothing, and will not know how to show consideration. But if he is too old, the age gap will be excessive. He will seem stuffy and unappealing. Seventeen to twenty-five would be best.”
“His birth need not be too lofty. A family of the fifth rank or above will suffice. If he is a new presented scholar, that requirement may be lowered somewhat. But one point is absolute: no man from a family with corrupt traditions.”
“His looks should preferably be outstanding. Once they marry, the princess will see him morning and night. Think how miserable it would be if he were unpleasant to look at. Their sons and daughters would surely be unattractive too. Investigate whether his ancestors had any serious or hidden illnesses as well.”
“As for temperament, Princess Qinghe is gentle, so it would be best to find an elegant and cultivated man who can exchange poetry with her. Princess Zhaoyang is spirited. Search among the old ministers’ families for a talented young man who can ride out with her and help her unwind. Then again, affinity is unpredictable. Who knows what kind of men they will actually like?”
The aide felt his forehead fill with black lines. His Majesty was asking him to find a male Chang’e for each princess. He did not dare show anything unusual on his face and merely asked respectfully, “Are there any other requirements?”
“He must also be faithful in character and refrain from chasing women outside.” Remembering Empress Miao’s warning, Emperor Gaozu added, “Choose men whose private lives are clean. No habitual philanderers.”
The trusted aide answered, “Yes.” Then he heard Emperor Gaozu continue, “The former dynasty forbade Prince Consorts from participating in government, but Our dynasty has no such rule. Pass word to the outer court later so the officials do not avoid the princesses like tigers and refuse to marry them.”
With that condition added, the aide breathed a tremendous sigh of relief.
If a Prince Consort could not take part in government, marrying a princess would end his official career. That would make the assignment truly difficult. Without that restriction, however, a princess’s support could win him imperial favor and bring hereditary rank to his children. It was a match of the highest possible quality.
The aide answered respectfully. Seeing that Emperor Gaozu had no further instructions, he rose and withdrew.
In the space, Li Shimin sighed with emotion. “Marrying off a daughter is nothing like choosing a daughter-in-law. You must sift through thousands, always fearing that she will entrust herself to the wrong man and suffer mistreatment. When We married Changle into the Zhangsun Family and Chengyang into the Du Family, did We not choose with the same exhausting care? When Lizhi married, We gave her a little extra dowry, and all the court officials objected-especially Wei Zheng, that damned country bumpkin…”
Emperor Gaozu remembered his former life, bitterness and sweetness mingling in his heart. “Empress Xu and We had two daughters. Our younger daughter died early, so when the elder married, We gave her a double dowry. We feared she might suffer after leaving her family.”
Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma also had two daughters, but both marriages had been unhappy. He sighed dejectedly and said nothing.
Ying Zheng and Liu Che also cared for their children, but one had never had an Empress, while the other could hardly be said to have particularly favored his Empress. Neither could truly understand the fatherly tenderness of the first two men.
Ying Zheng disliked commenting on others’ private affairs and remained silent. Liu Che, however, could not resist. “Is that not excessive? They are only daughters, not your ancestors. Look at the two of you getting sentimental.”
Emperor Gaozu said, “A heartless man like you could never understand.”
Li Shimin said, “Social climber, mute yourself and get lost.”
Liu Che stared at them, too affronted for words.
Was a personal attack not going too far?
Liu Che laughed in anger. “No, do neither of you find yourselves hypocritical? You are men too, with so many women in your harems, yet you demand that your sons-in-law be faithful and chaste? Do you truly not think you are being impossibly demanding?”
Emperor Gaozu frowned. “You do not understand even that?”
Li Shimin looked at him in disgust. “We are simply shamelessly applying a double standard!”
The two men shouted in perfect unison, “Being emperor really does make us that extraordinary!!!”