Chapter 17

Chapter 17

[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 16]

Once the two princesses’ marriages were settled, the palace bustled with preparations, and so did the households outside it.

Guo Yangjia’s parents had died early, so the Duke and Duchess of Xing had to manage his wedding. The Duke of Xing told his wife, “He may be marrying into the imperial family, but that does not mean he should diminish himself by arriving with nothing but a bundle on his back. Prepare everything that ought to be prepared, especially the betrothal gifts. My second brother and his wife died young and left this one child behind. Once Yangjia marries, he will effectively establish a separate household. Do not begrudge the expense.”

The Duchess of Xing agreed and immediately began making arrangements.

When her sister-in-law from her maternal family visited, she glanced at the list of betrothal gifts and stared so hard her eyes almost stopped moving. After dismissing the servants, she cried urgently, “You foolish girl! He isn’t your own son. Why give him so much? Do not forget you have sons and daughters of your own. If you hand your family wealth to your nephew now, do you imagine he will support you in your old age?”

Her shrill chatter gave the Duchess of Xing a headache. She rolled her eyes and snapped, “When have I ever mistreated him in all the years I raised him? Whatever my eldest son receives, he must receive too. If I turn stingy at the final step, I might as well deliberately throw away every kindness accumulated over all these years!”

“Money is dead, but people are alive. Yangjia is not heartless. However sincerely I have treated him all these years, he will treat me the same way in the future. If I never need that devotion, it will pass to my children. We cannot lose. Besides, he is marrying a princess of legitimate birth, the Crown Prince’s full sister. If he arrives at the Princess Manor empty-handed, whose face do you think that insults?”

Her sister-in-law flushed and tried to continue, but the Duchess of Xing waved her away like a fly. “Your brain is too dull to understand. Tell my mother what I said; she knows what is at stake. You need do only one thing: keep your mouth shut and do not spread nonsense outside. Otherwise, I will return home and lodge a complaint against you. Then you can see how my brother deals with you!”

While the Duke of Xing’s Estate prepared in a blaze of celebration, the Lü Family felt rather different. Everything proceeded in due order, yet the household somehow lacked warmth.

After the marriage edict arrived, Madam Lü complained privately to her husband, “We urged him to marry early, but he never felt any hurry. Now look what has happened. We have not gained a daughter-in-law-we have given away our son instead!”

The Patriarch of the Lü Family frowned. “What sort of talk is that? Does our son cease to bear the surname Lü once he marries?”

Madam Lü fell silent. After a long while, she said dejectedly, “Han Zhaoyi has only one daughter, Princess Qinghe. Who knows whether the princess will have difficulty bearing children in the future…”

The patriarch set down the book in his hands and asked irritably, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I simply feel unhappy. It is stifling me.”

Madam Lü finally spoke her heart. “In the past, we great clans intermarried among ourselves. Both sides knew each other’s roots, and every family was pure and distinguished. Now look at us. We are bringing a butcher’s descendant into the family. I could die of shame!”

The Patriarch of the Lü Family remembered how the emperor had divided and suppressed the great clans over the past two years, and his heart sank as well. He sighed. “When the moon is full, it begins to wane; when prosperity reaches its height, decline follows. Even dynasties rise and fall, let alone great clans.”

“Enough.” He stopped after that brief observation. “Those words are dangerous. Never mention them again. Besides, if the Lü Family had no wish for this match, why did we submit our son’s name in the first place?”

In the end, their own son was taking a wife, and that was a joyful event. His bride was also a Daughter of the Emperor. However dissatisfied Madam Lü felt, she dared not show it. She ordered hairpins, bracelets, and other ornaments favored by young women prepared and sent them together with her formal memorial to the Empress. When the imperial return gifts arrived, someone brought an extra wooden box and explained that it came from Han Zhaoyi.

Madam Lü opened it. Inside lay a pair of delicate jade disks and a pair of gold-mounted ruyi scepters carved from Hetian jade, all auspicious objects in matching pairs. Beneath them was an outer robe for a young man. Its measurements clearly belonged to Lü Xiuzhen. The stitches were fine and the pattern elegant; someone had plainly devoted her whole heart to it.

After the marriage edict was issued, members of the Shanggong Bureau had visited the estate to take measurements for clothing. There was nothing strange about the palace knowing his size.

Madam Lü examined the needlework carefully and saw that a single person had made the entire robe without a second pair of hands assisting. Pride rose in her heart. “The princess is certainly thoughtful. There was so little time. It cannot have been easy for her to finish every stitch herself.”

The senior maid beside her smiled. “We cannot enter the palace and have never met her, but we hear Han Zhaoyi is honest and generous, while Princess Qinghe is gentle by nature. This servant also met the eunuch who delivered the gifts. Han Zhaoyi must have instructed him beforehand, for he was exceedingly modest and amiable, not arrogant in the least.”
Madam Lü’s heart stirred, and her thoughts began to wander. She ordered someone to bring the outer robe and personally went to her son’s courtyard. “The gifts from the palace have arrived. The rest are nothing remarkable, but there is one thing you absolutely must see.”

Lü Xiuzhen had just returned from practicing with his sword. He set the weapon down and asked indifferently, “What is it?”

Madam Lü handed him the robe. “Princess Qinghe sewed it herself. She put great care into it.”

Lü Xiuzhen’s expression shifted slightly. He accepted the robe, examined it a few times, and nodded. “The princess was indeed thoughtful.”

Madam Lü sighed inwardly at his lukewarm response. “The wedding date is settled and cannot be changed. Princess Qinghe is gentle and virtuous, not willful like Princess Zhaoyang. She is still a good match. Xiuzhen, you…”

Lü Xiuzhen grew impatient, but he did not wish to lose his temper with his mother. He merely frowned in restraint. “I understand, Mother. There is no need to say more.”

Once a son was grown, his mother could no longer command him in everything. Madam Lü could not force the issue. After several more reminders, she rose and left.

Lü Xiuzhen’s brows drew together. He gazed silently at an uncertain point floating in the air, as though he could see the little girl from years ago with her sweet, crisp voice.

A bird flew past the window, its wings brushing the lattice with a soft sound. He returned abruptly to himself and murmured in confusion, “Where are you now…?”

The days flew past. In the blink of an eye, it was the summer of Yongning’s fifth year.

As the wedding approached, Madam Lü grew busy. She also harbored a private intention. Each time she dealt with people from Han Zhaoyi’s palace, she humbled herself conspicuously, distributed generous rewards, and expressed constant concern for Princess Qinghe far away in the palace. Again and again, she said she had two sons but no daughter; now that she was gaining a daughter-in-law, she would naturally love the girl as her own flesh and blood.

Princess Qinghe was Han Zhaoyi’s only daughter, and Han Zhaoyi feared above all that she might suffer mistreatment. When the eunuch returned from the Lü Family to report, she listened with exceptional care.

“Madam Lü is exceedingly kind and attentive in every respect. Every word shows her concern for the princess. She often sends fabrics and ornaments that young women enjoy. In this servant’s private judgment, she could not treat a daughter of her own any better…”

Han Zhaoyi silently thanked the Bodhisattva, overcome with delight. “The Prince Consort is the finest possible choice, and Madam Lü is benevolent too. If Jingrou can entrust herself to such a family, I will have no regret left in this life.”

Princess Qinghe listened beside her, shy and happy at once.

That evening, Madam Lü was checking the household accounts for the month by lamplight when the door suddenly opened from outside. She frowned. Only when she saw that the intruder was her personal maid from her maiden household did she swallow the rebuke on her tongue.

Before Madam Lü could ask, the maid blurted out urgently, “Madam, the Second Young Master brought a young woman back from outside!”

Madam Lü froze. “What?”

“Did the Second Young Master not say he was going on a spring outing today? Somehow, he returned with a young woman. She appears injured. The Second Young Master carried her home in his arms.”

The maid watched Madam Lü’s expression carefully and lowered her voice. “The Second Young Master entered through the side gate, and it was already dark, so no one likely saw him. This servant remembered that his wedding to the princess is near and feared another complication. I hurried here to ask what Madam wishes done.”

Her son had kept his distance from women since childhood. There had to be more to his sudden return with a young woman. Yet if word spread at this critical moment, it could cause endless trouble.

A weight pressed upon Madam Lü’s chest. She ordered the maid to seal her lips, then rose and went to her son’s courtyard to discover the truth.

It was indeed a young woman. Her tender little face had brows curved like willow leaves and lips red as cherries. Her lashes trembled as they lowered, and from every angle she looked heartbreakingly vulnerable.

Madam Lü gave her a cursory inspection, and her brows knotted. She looked at her son, who sat beside the bed feeding medicine to the young woman with complete concentration, and said with a headache, “Xiuzhen, come outside. I have questions for you.”

The young woman shuddered beneath Madam Lü’s gaze and instinctively clutched Lü Xiuzhen’s sleeve. The dependence in her eyes nearly overflowed.

“Do not be afraid. I am here. No one can hurt you.”

Lü Xiuzhen softened his voice to reassure her. Only after a smile appeared on her pale face did he pat her shoulder, rise, and leave the room.

The night was silent. Hanging lanterns at either end of the wooden corridor cast a dim glow. Madam Lü’s heart lurched in uncertainty. Pointing toward the inner room, she demanded coldly, “What is going on? Who is that woman?”
Hearing the contempt in his mother’s voice, Lü Xiuzhen frowned. “Mother, her name is Yanyan. She saved my life!”

“Saved your life?” Madam Lü laughed in anger. “Her? Do you take me for a gullible three-year-old?”

“Yes, her.” Lü Xiuzhen’s expression was solemn. “If not for her, I would have died beside a road in the wilderness years ago. How could I be standing here today?”

Madam Lü’s face changed. “She is the person who saved you at the foot of Mount Xiao?”

Lü Xiuzhen said, “She is.”

“Nonsense!” Madam Lü sneered at once. “Your eyes were injured then and you could not see. So many years have passed. How could you know it was her?”

“Am I someone who can be fooled easily?” Lü Xiuzhen argued. “She described what happened that day. Many of the details match.”

Seeing his certainty, Madam Lü’s expression eased slightly. “When you left, did you not give her the jade pendant you carried? Can she produce it?”

Lü Xiuzhen could only smile bitterly. “Mother, look at Yanyan’s present condition. How could she have kept anything valuable on her? After so many years, insisting that she produce the pendant would be asking the impossible.”

Madam Lü frowned, then released the expression. “Very well. If she is your benefactor, she is also a benefactor of the Lü Family. But an unmarried young woman cannot remain in your courtyard. I will have someone move her to my quarters and nurse her properly. That will repay her former kindness.”

Lü Xiuzhen said urgently, “No!”

Madam Lü knew at once that he was hiding something. Her expression hardened. “Xiuzhen, tell me the truth. Who exactly is she?!”

Conflict crossed Lü Xiuzhen’s face. After struggling for several moments, he dropped heavily to his knees. “Mother, Yanyan truly did save my life, but you cannot let anyone know she is in our home. They will kill her!”

Madam Lü went pale with shock. “What do you mean?”

As soon as she spoke, the answer occurred to her. When that little girl saved her son years ago, servants had accompanied her, so her family had clearly possessed some means. Now she was alone and visibly wretched. Most likely her family had committed a crime and she had escaped by herself.

Madam Lü asked in horror, “Is she a convicted household slave who fled privately?”

Unable to hide his pain, Lü Xiuzhen nodded. “Mother, I cannot drive her away. If I make Yanyan leave now, would that not be sentencing her to death?!”

Madam Lü nearly ground her teeth to powder. “Do you know what will happen if anyone learns that the Lü Family sheltered the daughter of a convicted official who fled custody? You wish to repay a kindness, so you will gamble the lives of our entire family?!”

The tendons stood out on Lü Xiuzhen’s hands where they pressed against the floor. Through clenched teeth, he said, “If Mother insists on driving Yanyan away, then drive me away with her!”