Chapter 19
Chapter 19
[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 18]
To outsiders, Emperor Gaozu’s words might have sounded amusing and even absurd. To Princess Qinghe and Princess Zhaoyang, however, they were the most loving words imaginable. Both bowed to the floor and said through tears, “Thank you for caring for us, Father.”
“That is enough.” Emperor Gaozu was also saddened. He sighed softly and said in a gentle voice, “Your father has said everything he wished to say. There is nothing more.”
Princess Qinghe and Princess Zhaoyang remained kneeling and performed a solemn grand salute.
Empress Miao watched with a tender smile and offered her own instructions. “Even after you marry, do not forget your birth family. Your roots will always be here. Come back often. Ignore the remonstrating officials when they spout nonsense about distinctions between inner and outer courts or the inviolability of the palace gates. Jiaojiao, your temper is quick. Remember to change that after you marry. Turn your words over in your mind several times before letting them out. A kind word warms three winters; a cruel one wounds even in the sixth month. Jingrou, you have always been gentle. I fear nothing except that you will suffer in silence. When something happens, do not bury it in your heart. Speak to the people around you. Jiaojiao’s Princess Manor is so close to yours. You sisters should visit each other often.”
The two princesses again offered the Empress solemn salutes and answered respectfully, “Yes. Your daughters will remember.”
Everything that needed saying had been said. The remaining arrangements could proceed in their proper order.
On the fourteenth day of the tenth month, the Duke of Xing’s Estate and the Lü Family petitioned for the marriages in accordance with the rites of the dynasty. Emperor Gaozu granted permission.
On the fifteenth day of the tenth month, edicts were issued marrying Princess Zhaoyang to Guo Yangjia and Princess Qinghe to Lü Xiuzhen. A special act of grace also elevated Han Zhaoyi to Consort Xian of the Han Clan.
On the nineteenth day of the tenth month, Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Qinghe married on the same day. Gold and rouge filled the court, while red wedding processions stretched for ten li. The splendor and ceremony could hardly have been greater.
Neither Empress Miao nor Consort Xian of the Han Clan slept well that night. Sleep simply would not come. They rose early and personally watched their daughters change into wedding robes, dress their hair, and arrange their ornaments.
Near the end of the noon hour, Guo Yangjia, Prince Consort to Princess Zhaoyang, bade farewell to the Duke and Duchess of Xing. Lü Xiuzhen, Prince Consort to Princess Qinghe, bade farewell to his parents. After worshipping at their ancestral temples, both men set out for the palace.
Emperor Gaozu received his two sons-in-law in Taiji Hall and inevitably gave them a mixture of encouragement and warning. After bidding the Empress farewell in Fengyi Palace, the princesses proceeded to Taiji Hall and listened to his instruction beside their Prince Consorts. By the time it ended, dusk was near. Each husband and wife left the palace together for their Princess Manor, where they performed the auspicious wedding rites and drank nuptial wine according to custom. The following day, each couple would pay respects to the husband’s parents together.
The wedding ceremonies had lasted all day, and it was their wedding night besides. Princess Zhaoyang rose late the next morning. She opened her eyes blearily to see that her Prince Consort was already awake. He had lifted one edge of the bed curtains and was studying her face gently in the light outside.
Luan Jiaojiao covered her face. “What are you staring at?!”
Then she remembered Empress Miao’s warning to speak more courteously. She moved her hands aside, pinched her voice into a false sweetness, and asked, “Husband, am I pretty?”
Guo Yangjia turned his back to laugh, his shoulders shaking.
Mortified into anger, Luan Jiaojiao threw back the quilt, covered his head with it, and began hitting him. “What is so funny?!”
Husband and wife played for a long while before finally rising. The moment sounds carried outside, the waiting servants entered. Some tidied the bedding, some brought warm water for washing, and other maids delivered robes and clothing, helping the princess and Prince Consort dress.
Luan Jiaojiao held out her arms while a maid dressed her and told her husband, “I heard the Duke of Xing enjoys strong wine, so I had two jars prepared in advance. I did not know what Aunt likes, so I chose several bolts of Sichuan brocade instead, along with some toys for the younger brothers and sisters.”
Guo Yangjia smiled. “The princess is the new bride. My family should be giving you greeting gifts. Why prepare all this?”
Luan Jiaojiao gave him a sidelong glance. “I saw the list of betrothal gifts. It was far too generous. Uncle and Aunt put their hearts into it. There are only two of us in our residence, and we will never lack food or clothing. I would feel ashamed to accept so much without returning their kindness. In another two years, when the younger ones begin discussing marriages, we should send them exceptionally generous gifts.”
The maid helped her into her outer robe, then half knelt to fasten her belt. Guo Yangjia motioned for the maid to withdraw and bent to do it himself. “With a princess so virtuous, this husband has no way to repay her. I can only perform these trifling tasks in the hope of pleasing her.”
Luan Jiaojiao lifted her chin and accepted his service with delight. “Courtesy demands reciprocity. Uncle and Aunt treated me with such generosity. As a Daughter of the Emperor and child of the Son of Heaven, how could I be petty and let others look down upon me?”
Guo Yangjia said nothing. Once he finished tying her belt, he smiled and pinched her cheek.
Princess Zhaoyang and her husband suited each other well. The atmosphere around Princess Qinghe was not bad either, though compared with the first couple’s intimacy, there was greater distance and courtesy.
After rising that morning, Princess Qinghe managed to exchange only a handful of words with Lü Xiuzhen. Most of the time, she spoke while he gave a cool nod or answered with a faint “Mm” or “Oh.”
After several repetitions, Princess Qinghe understood that he disliked talking. Husband and wife ate breakfast in silence, then set out for the Lü Family to meet Lü Xiuzhen’s parents.
A married princess held a different status from an ordinary bride and did not need to bow to her parents-in-law. Even so, Princess Qinghe considered them her husband’s parents. Madam Lü had also treated her very generously before the wedding. In the end, she bent her knees and offered the ordinary courtesy of one family member to another.
Lü Xiuzhen watched coldly and assumed she was buying people’s loyalty. He remained entirely unmoved. Madam Lü, on the other hand, hurried to help Princess Qinghe upright, repeating, “You must not do this.”
The greeting gifts had been prepared long ago. After the two sides exchanged them, everyone sat and made conversation.
Lü Xiuzhen soon grew impatient. He went to the front hall to speak with his father. Princess Qinghe sensed her new husband’s distance, and pain inevitably pierced her heart. She watched his tall figure disappear from sight, a trace of melancholy appearing on her face.
Madam Lü saw it and took her hand with great affection. “Xiuzhen has been this way since childhood-cold on the outside, warm within. No matter how much he cares, he never says it aloud. Princess, please do not be angry with him.”
Princess Qinghe relaxed a little. “I will not.”
Madam Lü asked many more gentle questions. Did she feel uncomfortable after leaving the palace? Had any servant in the Lü Family displeased her? If so, she need only tell Madam Lü and every one of them would be dismissed. Finally, she had someone bring a pair of jade bracelets and personally placed them on the princess’s wrists. “My mother gave me these when I married. They were carved entirely from warm jade and are especially good for nourishing the body…”
Princess Qinghe was deeply moved by her mother-in-law’s care and regard. She rose to offer thanks, but Madam Lü caught her arm. “We are one family. What need is there for ceremony?”
Then tears began to fall. “Sons always want to fly away, the farther from their mothers the better. Daughters are different. They truly understand a mother’s heart. I always longed for a daughter but never had one. With great difficulty I raised two sons, only for the elder to take a post far from home and for Xiuzhen to be chosen by His Majesty to marry a princess, preventing him from returning casually. Fortunately, the princess is gentle, virtuous, and considerate. Having a daughter-in-law like you makes me happier than gaining a daughter!”
How could Princess Qinghe fail to feel grateful after hearing such heartfelt words? She smiled. “If you do not object, the Prince Consort and I will return to visit whenever we have time.”
Madam Lü wept. “You are my own son and daughter-in-law. What could I possibly object to? Forget visiting when you have time-if you could live here often and keep me company morning and evening, I could ask for nothing more!”
Princess Qinghe was tenderhearted. As Madam Lü spoke, an agreement almost rushed straight to her lips.
At precisely that moment, the female official beside her laughed softly. “Madam Lü, the residences are not far apart. The princess and Prince Consort can return to visit you, and you may stay at the Princess Manor for a time as well. His Majesty cherishes the princess, so the residence is exceptionally spacious. There is certainly room for you.”
Then she looked toward Princess Qinghe and continued with a smile, “The princess’s wish to live often with the Lü Family naturally springs from filial devotion. But to outsiders, would that not make Princess Zhaoyang appear unfilial by comparison? You and Princess Zhaoyang are close sisters and would never care about such a thing. Yet if the story spreads and petty people hear it, who knows what they might turn it into?”
Following Madam Lü’s line of thought, Princess Qinghe had seen nothing wrong with living at the Lü residence.
First, she got along well with Madam Lü, and each could keep the other company. Second, this was the home in which Lü Xiuzhen had lived for twenty years. His attachment to it ran deep. Perhaps living here would make him happier and benefit their marriage. After hearing the female official’s explanation, however, she immediately saw the impropriety.
She and Jiaojiao had married on the same day, and their Princess Manors stood side by side. If she went to live with her husband’s family while Jiaojiao remained in her own Princess Manor, what would outsiders make of it?
If abandoning her Princess Manor to stay with the Lü Family demonstrated filial devotion, then by contrast, would Jiaojiao’s choice to live in her Princess Manor with her husband not become a sign of unfilial conduct?
Something entirely proper might invite suspicion. Guo Yangjia could even begin to think Jiaojiao inconsiderate for insisting that he live with her in the Princess Manor.
And if Princess Qinghe considered the matter more deeply, what would happen when her younger sisters married after she established such a precedent?
If they lived in their Princess Manors, they would appear less filial and understanding than their elder sister. If they did not, and suffered mistreatment in their husbands’ homes, how could she face them?!
Her father was the Founding Emperor, and she was the first Grand Princess of the Great An Dynasty. If she set a harmful precedent that injured her sisters and generations of imperial daughters to come, would that not be a terrible crime?
Cold sweat rose on Princess Qinghe’s back. She looked gratefully at the female official and told Madam Lü, “Court Lady Du’s words truly show mature and prudent judgment.”
She did not suspect Madam Lü of concealing malicious intentions. She regarded the invitation only as a mother’s loving impulse. Holding Madam Lü’s hand with tender reluctance, she said gently, “Whenever Mother has time, please come stay at the Princess Manor. You may live there for as long as you wish. My days are largely empty. I would be glad to talk with you and take walks together.”
Madam Lü had deliberately guided Princess Qinghe with every word. Success was nearly hers, only for a female official to ruin everything with a few sentences.
Displeasure rose in her heart, but not a trace appeared on her face. She said repeatedly, “I was confused. I thought only of seeing more of Xiuzhen and the princess and imagined how lively it would be to gather the whole family together. I nearly caused a grave error. Truly…”
Princess Qinghe had never viewed the matter in a complicated light. Seeing Madam Lü blame herself only deepened her guilt. She offered several gentle words of comfort, and Madam Lü smoothly changed the subject.
While mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked happily in the rear residence, Lü Xiuzhen sat in the front with his brows tightly drawn, his entire body radiating a chill that warned strangers away.
Seeing this, the Patriarch of the Lü Family dismissed the servants and asked his son in a low voice, “Are you and the princess not getting along?”
Lü Xiuzhen thought of Gao Yanyan living outside alone in bleak misery, then remembered the magnificent Princess Manor and Princess Qinghe’s unmistakable aura of privilege. His frown deepened. “You could say that.”
“What happened? The princess does not look arrogant to me,” the patriarch said. “This is only the first day. Why are you already unhappy?”
Lü Xiuzhen sneered. “You may know a person’s face without knowing their heart.”
“What a way to speak! You truly have no restraint on your tongue!”
The Patriarch of the Lü Family’s expression changed, and he rebuked his son several times. Lü Xiuzhen, however, remained impervious to both soft words and hard.
His father had no solution. Afraid that too much interference would provoke greater defiance, he stopped and offered only a warning. “The life belongs to you and your wife. How you live it is your affair. But one thing is certain: in three days, you must enter the palace to report. Do not give the palace any hold over you. If His Majesty assigns blame, I cannot bear it-and neither can you!”
Only then did Lü Xiuzhen reluctantly answer, “Yes.”