According to custom, Ming Yi’s coming out to greet him was already a gesture of respect towards a worthy person. For Ji Bozai to come as well was an unparalleled honor. Zhou Zihong knew in his heart that Ji Bozai must have come only because of Ming Yi, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
For so many years, Ming Yi had not returned to Chaoyang City. Though she held the title of Chaoyang City Lord, she was more like another lord of the Six Cities, managing Chaoyang’s affairs while also assisting the Six Cities. Ji Bozai had not been the least bit stingy with her, withholding neither power nor status from her.
Even so, Ming Yi had still not married him.
Zhou Zihong had thought that Ming Yi’s initial choice to settle was because she still had feelings for Ji Bozai. But later, he wondered if it wasn’t because she had feelings for Ji Bozai, but rather because she had no one in her heart, and thus chose to marry for convenience.
He had also lost his senses, actually quibbling with her over such trifles and missing the chance to be with her. If he had been more open-minded earlier, perhaps now…
Could Ming Yi’s refusal of Ji Bozai’s proposal mean that she still had feelings for him?
Zhou Zihong looked towards the figures ahead, his heart filled with faint hope.
Lady Xu glanced at him from the side, her vermilion lips slightly pursed.
The group was led by palace servants to the guest hall. Ming Yi pulled Lady Xu aside and gave her some detailed instructions before leaving with Ji Bozai.
Watching the two of them walk away, Lady Xu couldn’t help but envy them: “I’ve never seen an emperor so devoted to a woman.”
Zhou Zihong didn’t even look up: “One always has to pay for the frivolities of youth.”
Though he said this if given a choice between a man who didn’t love her and a reformed rake who loved her deeply, she would choose the latter.
Lady Xu sat down, removing the cloth package cushioning her belly, and let out a long sigh.
Ming Yi had long since liberated the women of the Six Cities. Now, women were free to marry as they chose. If their marriages were unhappy or their husbands unfaithful, they could easily separate.
Women like her, who stubbornly clung to the man they loved for seven years, were probably a rare minority now.
Lady Xu was grateful to Ming Yi for granting her freedom as well. Despite seven years without bearing a child, as long as Zhou Zihong didn’t separate from her, she could still be with him. But when she saw this man, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of bitterness.
She had known from the beginning that Zhou Zihong liked Ming Yi.
Years ago, after a fleeting glimpse of him on the street, she had begged her father to arrange a marriage. Her father had looked very displeased, saying that Zhou had once been the City Lord’s son-in-law, and marrying him would inevitably lead to gossip.
Lady Xu didn’t fear gossip. She just wanted to know why this exceptionally handsome scholar always looked so worried.
She wanted to smooth the furrows between his brows, to do happy things with him.
However, Zhou Zihong was very cold toward her. No matter how many famous matchmakers she sent to propose marriage, they were all turned away.
Lady Xu didn’t give up. After trying various methods for two years, she finally went to him in person, blocking his path to ask why he was unwilling to marry anyone else since he was no longer a noble son-in-law.
Zhou Zihong had looked at her then as if she were a blade of grass or a flower, saying calmly, “I don’t want her to settle, so naturally, I don’t want to settle either.”
Lady Xu didn’t understand, but she felt that he was different from other men she had met. He lacked that annoying self-confidence and that sense of entitlement that oppressed others. So, she was determined to marry him.
Thus, when she heard that His Majesty was injured and City Lord Ming was staying in the palace day and night to care for him, Lady Xu seized the moment to find Zhou Zihong.
Sure enough, he was drunk, mumbling something about how he should have done this earlier, should have let go earlier.
Lady Xu leaned close to him and said, “If you want to let go, shall I help you?”
Zhou Zihong stared at her, asking through bleary eyes, “What’s so good about me that you’ve pursued me for two years?”
Lady Xu counted on her fingers: “At the polo match, you looked frail, but you helped me beat that ruffian from the Song family.”
“In the court debate, you protected my father.”
“During the Chaoyang riots, you single-handedly persuaded three thousand rioters.”
“When the Women’s Yuan Academy was under siege, you led the rescue.”
She clasped her hands together, her eyes bright as she looked at him: “I remember clearly everything you’ve done, but what touched my heart the most was that first glimpse of you on the street.”
“Do you know, Lord Zhou? Some people only fall in love once in their lifetime. When they fall in love at first sight, that’s it. Even if you don’t marry me, you’ll remain in my heart forever.”
To remain in someone’s heart forever – this was truly a great temptation.
Zhou Zihong couldn’t resist this temptation. He pulled her close and took her earlobe between his lips.
Afterward, he felt regretful. It was truly the most chaotic night of his life. The next morning, when he woke to find someone in his arms, his face turned pale with shock.
Lady Xu’s face was also pale, suggesting the night had not been easy for her, but her eyes were still full of joy as she said, “Given your character, you’ll surely marry me.”
She was right. He would indeed marry her, though he never dared to send the wedding invitation to the palace.
“It’s alright,” Lady Xu had said. “We have a long life ahead. You might think of her for a year or two, but after three years, four years, five or six years, you’ll surely see me.”
She had spoken with such confidence then, but seven years had passed, and that youthful courage seemed to have been completely worn away.
Sitting on the soft couch, she stared blankly at her dispirited husband, suddenly feeling tired.
She hadn’t originally planned to come this time. She had begged him for a long while, saying she wanted to see the City Lord’s grace and elegance. Only then did he allow her to come.
Upon meeting Ming Yi, she found she didn’t even dare to resent her.
Half of her good life now was given by Ming Yi. That woman’s eyes weren’t full of romance; she had a kind of compassion that encompassed the world. Even though in others’ eyes, she meddled in politics, monopolized power, and bewitched the emperor, in the eyes of those who benefited from her, she was still a deity, a faith.
Zhou Zihong collected his thoughts and turned to see her still sitting barefoot on the wooden edge of the soft couch. He couldn’t help but frown: “You’ve just recovered from a cold. How can you mistreat your body like this?”
Lady Xu came back to her senses, curling her feet back under the blanket, and forced a smile: “My husband cares about me after all.”
“I just fear that if you fall ill, the entire Xu family will come to our house to take care of you,” he said, pursing his lips.
Lady Xu was frail and the only daughter in her family. Her parents loved her like the apple of their eye. Whenever she fell ill, the whole family would come to take care of her, making quite a scene. Her parents were also very dissatisfied with him and never failed to criticize him on each visit.
He didn’t like that.
Hearing this, Lady Xu finally darkened her expression: “Next time I fall ill, I’ll just go back home to stay. My husband needn’t speak like this.”
This was the first time Lady Xu had snapped at him. Zhou Zihong paused, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Thinking she might be in a bad mood from being away from home, he decided not to argue with her.
His mind was fully occupied with thoughts of giving the jade Guanyin he had personally carved to Ming Yi.