Chapter 25
Chapter 25
[Prince Consort, the Princess Has Been Beaten to Death – 24]
Madam Lü had set out overflowing with confidence and entered the Princess Manor certain of victory. When she departed, she resembled a hen defeated in battle: head drooping in dejection, sparks flying from her brow.
Gao Yanyan waited at the Lü Family home, longing for Madam Lü to return yet dreading her return at the same time.
The Gao Family had fallen, while her maternal relatives came from an insignificant household. Worse still, she now bore the labels of a convicted official’s daughter and a fugitive government slave. If she failed to seize this opportunity with Lü Xiuzhen, she truly would have no hope left in this life!
As for Princess Qinghe…
They had spent two years together, and Gao Yanyan understood her better than anyone. She was softhearted, easily persuaded, and a hopelessly good person. As long as Gao Yanyan passed the first obstacle, the princess certainly would not make matters difficult for her.
Besides, had Lord Lü not said that Princess Qinghe did not like him at all? They had been married for more than four months without consummating their marriage. Since she did not like him anyway, why could she not yield him to Gao Yanyan?
To Princess Qinghe, Lü Xiuzhen was dispensable. To Gao Yanyan, he was the person upon whom the entire second half of her life depended!
Madam Lü returned with a sullen face and icy expression. At a glance, anyone could see she had lost the battle.
The instant Gao Yanyan saw her face, she guessed the meeting had gone poorly. She was still hesitating over whether to step forward, offer support, and ask what happened when Madam Lü’s vision blurred and her legs gave way. She collapsed directly onto the floor!
Gao Yanyan paled in shock. The matrons around them panicked as well. They hurriedly sent for a physician, who administered several needles. Only after they rubbed her chest and helped her catch her breath for a long time did she recover.
Madam Lü lay upon the bed, her eyes vacant. After staring blankly for a long while, she finally returned to herself. She snatched up an object beside the bed and hurled it away. The instant it struck the floor, her tears began to fall. Scrubbing them away, she said bitterly, “What does she imagine herself to be? Ten years ago, the sight of her would have sullied my eyes. She gains power overnight and now dares act so arrogant and insolent and humiliate me!”
Seeing this, Gao Yanyan dared not remain in the inner room. While no one was watching, she quietly made for the door and happened to meet Lü Xiuzhen returning. She hurriedly caught his arm, her eyes timid and tearful. “Madam has returned. She seems to have suffered a terrible grievance. She fainted as soon as she entered, and the physician had to apply several needles before she woke. Now she is weeping in her room. Lord Lü, I am afraid. Does the princess mean to leave no place for me…?”
Lü Xiuzhen was anxious, irritated, and restless. He gripped her hand and promised, “Do not be afraid, Yanyan. I will always remain beside you!”
…
After sending Madam Lü away, Princess Qinghe remained silent for a long time.
Court Lady Du stood beside her and observed her expression. She signaled for the servants to remove the tea service Madam Lü had used, then said, “Do not be angry, Princess. Consider it a chance to see her clearly.”
“One may know a person’s face without knowing their heart.”
Princess Qinghe sighed. “When I met the Lü husband and wife, I thought them both exceedingly amiable. When Lord Lü came to visit the other day, he conducted himself as a gentleman. When I heard Madam Lü was visiting today, I even believed an honored guest had arrived. I never imagined she would prove a hostile one.”
The marriage was only four months old, yet she already wished to take a concubine for her son. Even if he had married a noble daughter of a great Chang’an family instead of an imperial princess, who would behave in such a way?
It was true the marriage remained unconsummated. But why had Madam Lü said nothing of the reason husband and wife had not consummated it?
If she knew the reason and still dared visit to propose taking a concubine, then she had gone far beyond all bounds. If she did not know, then she could only be called hopelessly muddleheaded.
“Lord Lü is an upright gentleman. How did he come to have such a wife?”
Court Lady Du laughed. “Madam Lü was born to the Boling Marquis Estate, which enjoyed great splendor for a time during the previous dynasty. But the marquisate was granted only because the family produced a maternal grandson who became the Son of Heaven. The house possesses little true foundation, and its children’s upbringing is somewhat lacking.”
Princess Qinghe gave a sound of understanding and shook her head. “I still remember how gentle and considerate Madam Lü appeared before my marriage, attending to every detail. Looking back now, it truly feels like another lifetime.”
Court Lady Du shook her head. “Did the princess not say it herself? One may know a person’s face without knowing their heart. Think back to the day after the wedding, when you visited the Lü Family to pay respects to your parents-in-law. Madam Lü guided the conversation toward having you live there for an extended time. Perhaps that was not because she felt such an affinity with you after all.”
Princess Qinghe was briefly startled. Unwilling to assume the worst of someone, she hesitated. “Surely not?”
Court Lady Du said, “Would a truly considerate person begin arranging a concubine for her son four months into his marriage? Could she be certain the princess will never consummate the marriage with the Prince Consort? In this servant’s view, either she is genuinely foolish and ignorant of propriety, or some matter behind the scenes is pressing her. She knew the request would offend you but had no choice except to raise it.”
Princess Qinghe’s expression chilled. She raised her teacup but did not drink. After holding it for a long while, she set it down on the table with a sharp bang. “Send someone to investigate whether there is some hidden trick here. The Prince Consort spends extended periods in only two places, the Princess Manor and the Lü Family home. If something has happened, it must have happened at the Lü Family. Be careful. Do not alarm anyone.”
Court Lady Du said cautiously, “Rest assured, Princess. This servant knows how far to go.”
After a slight pause, she added, “If our suspicions prove true, should we allow a hint of it to reach the palace?”
“Why send word to the palace? It is not as though I cannot deal with the matter myself.” Princess Qinghe gave a soft snort and said idly, “Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?”
…
Having received her assignment, Court Lady Du dared not delay. She placed watchers around the Lü Family home, and within several days they discovered something amiss.
The Patriarch of the Lü Family had never taken a concubine. He had only two sons, both born to Madam Lü. His elder son held a post outside the capital, and his wife and children were not in Chang’an. Lü Xiuzhen had married a princess and become a Prince Consort. By all reason, there should be no pregnant woman in the inner household. Why, then, was the small kitchen preparing medicine to stabilize a pregnancy?
Surely Madam Lü had not conceived at her advanced age and found herself carrying another child?
Once the first clue was found, investigating further became simple.
Few people lived in the Lü Family’s inner household, so the sudden addition of another person naturally attracted notice. But Madam Lü knew Gao Yanyan’s identity was problematic and dared not publicize her presence. Moreover, she was Lü Xiuzhen’s concubine in all but name. With Princess Qinghe to consider, they had even less courage to let anyone know.
The order of silence was strict, and few servants attended Gao Yanyan. After repeated inquiries, Court Lady Du’s agents learned only that a young woman lived within Madam Lü’s courtyard and that the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine was meant for her. As for who she was and whose child she carried, they knew nothing.
When Princess Qinghe heard the report while dressing that morning, a wave of revulsion passed through her.
The Patriarch of the Lü Family had never taken a concubine all these years. Now that he even had a grandson, surely the old tree had not suddenly blossomed again and decided to add several women to his household?
The Lü Family’s elder son was stationed far away. If his principal wife were pregnant, they would have no reason to conceal it. If it were a concubine, she certainly would not travel all the way back to Chang’an to carry the child. Whose child the young woman bore could not have been clearer.
Princess Qinghe and Lü Xiuzhen had been married for only four months. A pregnancy detectable by pulse had to be nearly two months along. During their first month of marriage, Lü Xiuzhen had avoided consummating the marriage with her and even deliberately made himself ill. After she discovered the reason and began resisting him, he decided he wanted to consummate it, but by then she did not.
Calculating the dates carefully, less than a month had passed between her refusal and Lü Xiuzhen’s impatient affair with another woman. Yet every day he saw her in the Princess Manor, he still remembered to display his attentiveness and counterfeit devotion.
How had she managed to marry such a thing?
No wonder Madam Lü had visited several days ago to sound her out. So this was what she had been waiting to reveal!
Not long after the wedding, the Prince Consort had an affair behind her back. Rather than stop him, his mother had housed his mistress inside her own courtyard…
Good. How very good!
Princess Qinghe’s face frosted over. She slammed the jade hairpin in her hand against the table and said in a soft, gentle voice, “Prepare my carriage. I am going to visit the Lü Family and see what beauty they have hidden. I shall also ask what they mean by this. Do they take me for a dead woman?”
Court Lady Du acknowledged the order and instructed the servants to make the arrangements. Then she saw that the jade hairpin on the dressing table had snapped in two and urged, “Princess, take care not to hurt your hand.”
Princess Zhaoyang had intended to visit and chat with her elder sister. Before she even entered, she saw the servants preparing horses and a carriage outside. Judging by its trappings, the princess meant to use it. She sent one of her attendants to inquire. “Ask where my sister is going. If she is merely calling on a friend, I may as well accompany her.”
Court Lady Du came out when she heard. She did not dare disclose the truth on her own. After hesitating several times, she finally said helplessly, “This servant cannot properly speak of it. The princess herself must tell you.”
Greatly intrigued, Princess Zhaoyang entered the residence to find her sister. “Where are you going? Court Lady Du refused to say and told me to ask you.”
Princess Qinghe had been good-tempered from childhood. But no matter how mild she was, she would not remain silent when someone climbed atop her head to bully her.
Emperor Gaozu had indulged his daughters, sometimes deliberately and sometimes without thought, while Empress Miao had carefully instructed them. Princess Qinghe was considerate, but she would not swallow humiliation in silence. By the time she ordered the carriage prepared for the Lü Family, she had already placed a question mark over the marriage in her heart.
When Princess Zhaoyang asked, she made no attempt to conceal the matter and recounted the entire story from beginning to end.
Princess Zhaoyang’s expression changed violently. “Lü Xiuzhen dares behave so outrageously?!”
She rolled up her sleeves and marched outside, ordering her court lady as she went, “Muster two hundred men to follow us. We are going to the Lü Family now. If we do not show them some severity, they will think we are easy to push around!”
Princess Qinghe had been simmering with resentment, but this made her laugh instead. She rose and caught her sister. “Your temper is far too fierce. Anyone who did not know better would think your husband caused this scandal.”
“Let him dare! If Guo Yangjia tried such a thing, I would skin him alive!”
Princess Zhaoyang’s elegant brows stood on end. Then, coming back to herself, she clasped her sister’s hand in distress and said guiltily, “I blame myself for being careless. The first time I visited, I already knew you and the Prince Consort were estranged, but I did not think more deeply. Lü Xiuzhen dared treat my sister so coldly on her wedding night, then deliberately made himself ill to avoid her…”
Her anger surged again. “You ran yourself ragged caring for him and personally served his medicine. Father and Mother kept sending one thing after another here for fear you might lack anything. How did any of you wrong him? Yet he first neglected you to this extent, then tried to use force. You have been married only four months, and already he has a little wife and a child. I think he has lived long enough and is eager to die!”
Princess Qinghe could not suppress her laughter. She held a pearl earring and was about to put it on when Princess Zhaoyang stopped her.
“Why bother dressing up for this? We are not visiting to admire flowers and drink tea!”
She instructed Court Lady Du, “Muster two hundred manor guards. When we arrive, surround the Lü Family directly and do not let so much as a fly escape. Then have Lü Xiuzhen brought over. Step on two steamed buns and neither remains fit to eat. That hussy is no decent creature, and he is even worse!”