Chapter 181
Chapter 181
[Rebellion Beats Harem Intrigue – 2]
The emperors had experienced enough to remain calm. Only Zhu Di suffered such a violent shock immediately upon arrival that his entire worldview tottered.
Zhu Yuanzhang patted his son’s head. “Small matters. You will get used to them.”
He called to Liu Che outside the space. “The white silk appeared. Prepare yourself. I will read it.”
Liu Che sneered. “What scene have I not witnessed?”
A moment later, he stared. “I truly have never witnessed this!”
His brow furrowed tightly. “The Zhou Family has three daughters. The eldest is Crown Princess, yet the Crown Prince becomes obsessed with a brothel woman, neglects his lawful wife, and ultimately makes the prostitute Empress? The second is Marchioness of Weining, yet her husband divorces her for a trained courtesan from Yangzhou? The youngest throws an embroidered ball, chooses a beggar, then waits eighteen years in a cold cave while he joins the army, fakes his death, and marries a foreign princess-only to gain eighteen days as Empress before dying suddenly? What?!”
Liu Che scratched his head. “Did the Zhou Family blow up the capital or offend some god? How did every bizarre man beneath Heaven land on their daughters?”
Emperor Gaozu considered. “They are probably the villain family. Their daughters became Crown Princess and marchioness, so the family must be powerful and its men highly placed. If the Crown Prince and Marquis of Weining are protagonists, they need equally powerful antagonists. Their wives’ natal family fits perfectly-strong enough to serve as villains, and disposing of the lawful wives clears space for the beloved women…”
“They still have a youngest daughter,” Liu Che said.
Li Shimin glanced sideways. “Zhi’er, you forgot: she willingly shares hardship with her beggar lover and breaks with her father by striking palms three times. In the original tale, that is abandoning darkness for light. She is not in the villain camp.”
Liu Che laughed in anger. “If I raised a daughter in luxury, then she fell for a beggar and insisted on marrying him, I would not strike palms-I would strangle her! She ate delicacies at home so long she thinks shit outside smells sweet. Did her father cherish her for years so she could become a beggar’s wife? What happens to her sisters’ dignity? Can they still live? Absurd!”
Ying Zheng unusually agreed. “That is reasonable.”
Liu Che had just entered this world and did not know his identity, but by experience he was probably tied to the Zhou Family.
His consciousness fully returned. He shuddered and stumbled from the brief separation of mind and body, only avoiding a fall when someone caught him.
It was a young eunuch in palace dress. “Grand Commandant Zhou, are you well?”
Grand Commandant!
Zhou!
Two vital clues. Liu Che’s mind raced.
The host shared the surname of the unfortunate Crown Princess and Marchioness of Weining and was inside the palace. His carefully trimmed beard suggested age. He was likely their elder-perhaps their father.
After years as emperor, Liu Che recognized the inner palace immediately. Concealing his thoughts, he glanced at the attendants and asked casually, “How much farther?”
The eunuch knew Grand Commandant Zhou was the Crown Princess’s father and had no reason to conceal anything. “Just ahead, perhaps several minutes. Her Highness has prepared a banquet. If the Crown Prince is free, he will attend.”
As expected. Liu Che let him lead the way toward the Eastern Palace and the eldest Zhou daughter mentioned on the silk.
Two maids waited outside and bowed to the master. They had clearly accompanied the Crown Princess from the Zhou household. Seeing palace servants treat them respectfully, Liu Che nodded slightly.
For now, the Crown Princess lived fairly well.
Inside the main hall, the maids dismissed the servants. Beyond a pearl curtain sat a young woman in splendid robes and dazzling ornaments, radiating nobility.
Guessing she was the Crown Princess, Liu Che began to bow, but she stopped him. “We are family. Why such ceremony, Father? Today should be a reunion with your daughter bowing to you, but marriage into the imperial house has bound me with rules.”
She ordered the curtain raised, gave him a seat, and invited him forward.
He had expected a numb woman worn down by marriage or an abandoned wife full of palace resentment. Instead, Eldest Miss Zhou was dignified and composed, showing no decline. She never mentioned her marriage, asking only about family affairs and prospects.
“Father, has your health been well? Old wounds from your campaigns trouble you, and these cloudy days must make your joints ache. Remember the Imperial Physician’s salve. I have medicinal wine for you to take home.”
She continued, “I hear Sixth Brother went to Yunnan. Third Uncle has only that son; it was difficult to let him go. Our family survives because every generation has men rooted in the army. The examinations offer advancement, but are less secure than military command…”
Seeing him distracted, she smiled. “Father? Why are you silent?”
Realizing she was no ordinary woman concerned only with household rivalry, Liu Che discarded his condescension. “Do not discuss only the family. What about you? Are you well in the Eastern Palace? How is your relationship with the Crown Prince?”
She smiled. “When the Zhou Family prospers, the Crown Prince and I prosper together.”
That answer held layers.
Liu Che looked at the maids. “How does the Crown Prince treat her?”
They bowed. “Master, that concerns our lords. How could servants comment?”
Far from angry, Liu Che was pleased. Their discipline proved the Crown Princess capable and strict. Unexpected pride rose within him. “A pity you are a woman. Otherwise, whether commanding armies or governing as minister, how would you lose to any man?”
Her restrained smile broadened. “Father said the same before my marriage. Why repeat it today?”
The host’s memories suddenly opened.
The Zhou Family of Runan had produced three dukes across four generations. The host, Zhou Dingfang, was its current patriarch.
He married his maternal cousin, loved her deeply, and raised three daughters with her. After Madam Zhou died several years ago, he grieved and never remarried, devoting himself to the daughters she left. Despite lacking a son, he neither took concubines nor sought another heir.
Perhaps that was one reason the emperor chose a Zhou daughter as Crown Princess.
Madam Zhou had been beautiful, and all three daughters were striking. Eldest daughter Zhou Wan resembled her father: bold and as talented as any man. Second daughter Zhou Jing was clever, capable, and heroic. Only youngest Zhou Xuan, motherless young and spoiled by father and sisters, knew little hardship, though she was not willful.
The daughters were famous. Zhou Wan became Crown Princess. The next year, the old Marquis of Weining sought Zhou Jing for his heir. Only Zhou Xuan remained unmarried.
Liu Che frowned. “The Zhou Family’s position is dangerous. The full moon wanes; a brimming vessel spills. Its power is at its peak. Fortunately, the senior branch has only three daughters, otherwise…”
He darkly told the emperors, “Zhou Dingfang refusing to remarry or take concubines was not merely love. He considered the political situation. If this powerful family produced a horde of sons, it would either ascend in one step or meet disaster.”
Li Shimin scoffed. “He cannot choose sons or daughters. If Madam Zhou bore a son, should he strangle him for politics? Why is it hard to admit he loved his wife and wanted no one else?”
Liu Che snapped, “You did not do it. Why are you proud?”
“I am not proud, but I did not belittle him.”
Liu Che reconsidered. He was over forty in another man’s body; children no longer mattered. If the host had accepted it, why could he not?
Still troubled and unsure where to begin, he looked at Crown Princess Zhou Wan and felt a strange familiarity.
“Father?” she asked.
His face changed.
“Damn. Surely not! The more I look, the more she resembles someone!”
The emperors asked, “Who?”
“Maybe I am wrong. It feels right and not right…”
Emperor Gaozu demanded clarity. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di joined in, but Liu Che could not answer.
Only Ying Zheng remained calm. “You are not mistaken. She resembles Lü Zhi.”