Ye Jingchuan was only twelve years old when he first met Song Chuyi.

He had originally thought himself mature beyond his years, quite different from others—and indeed, he was very different from those wastrel sons of officials in the capital. While those wastrel sons were still cockfighting and dog-walking, he had already pestered his father and uncle Yuan Hong to take him to Zijing Pass for training.

However, this training session nearly brought great disaster upon the Zhennan Prince’s Manor. In his youthful vigor, he had provoked and killed several Tartar cavalry outside Zijing Pass. The Tartar cavalry then followed his trail, discovered a vulnerability at Zijing Pass, drove straight down to Tongzhou, and nearly caused a catastrophe.

He still remembered how headstrong he had been as a youth, even foolishly imagining he could resolve the matter privately. It was truly fearless ignorance.

Fortunately, he had encountered Song Chuyi. He still remembered to this day how Song Chuyi had dissolved that great disaster into nothing, and incidentally dragged his uncle’s nemesis down as well.

But remembering was one thing—the person now by his side was not the same person.

In the dead of night, the sound of firecrackers outside continued without cease. He was getting married, and according to custom, firecrackers were to be set off at midnight. Attended by maidservants, he dressed and entered the ancestral hall to kowtow respectfully before coming out, where he ran straight into his elder brother.

Ye Jingkuan smiled with deep emotion, punching his younger brother on the shoulder. He glanced at the pitch-black ancestral hall behind him, then returned his gaze to him. “Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, you’re taking a wife too.”

Time passed just like that, without a sound. Ye Jingchuan had never dared to be unruly before his elder brother. He smiled and followed his brother out of the ancestral hall. Stepping over the threshold, he asked, “I heard… the palace wants to select consorts for His Highness the Grand Prince?”

Ye Jingkuan stopped in his tracks and looked at him with his head tilted. “Heard? Who told you that?” After thinking for a moment—it must have come from either the Princess or Lu Chonghua—he shook his head. “This matter is not for you to concern yourself with. Although you have good relationships with both Miss Song the Sixth and His Highness the Grand Prince, you must also know how to write the characters for ‘avoid suspicion.’ Our family nearly became in-laws with the Song family in the past… Anyone else can express concern about this matter, but you should meddle less.”

Seeing Ye Jingchuan frown, he continued, “You should also consider this—if your wife learns that you’re still so concerned about Miss Song the Sixth’s affairs, what will she think?”

Thinking of Lu Chonghua, Ye Jingchuan felt his heart soften. He quickly shook his head. “I didn’t mean it that way… I just wanted to ask…”

Song Chuyi had been willing to marry Zhou Weizhao precisely because of Zhou Weizhao’s virtues, and because of that affection Zhou Weizhao had once promised. But if Zhou Weizhao failed to keep his promise and that affection became impure, he deeply worried whether someone like Song Chuyi could bear it.

Ye Jingkuan nodded and picked up his words. “I understand what you mean—you just want to show concern.” He stopped and looked at Ye Jingchuan. “Since you returned from Fujian this time, you’ve progressed greatly and become much more intelligent and composed. I’m very pleased.” He patted Ye Jingchuan’s shoulder. “Father feels the same. Though we are your elders, we cannot accompany you for a lifetime. The road ahead you must walk yourself. From now on, when you think about things, you must remember to think thrice before acting. Like today’s matter—if someone with ill intent overheard it, it could stir up endless trouble. Do you understand?”

Ye Jingchuan wanted to sigh. Such a simple matter, and he wouldn’t ask anymore. He nodded at Ye Jingkuan and followed the steward out to entertain the wedding party with a midnight meal.

As for Ye Jingkuan, he mentioned it to Princess Rongcheng when he returned, still somewhat worried. “I always worry this boy has no ulterior motives. When he asked that question just now, my heart jumped into my throat. I hurriedly explained all the stakes to him clearly.”

Princess Rongcheng had always shared an excellent relationship with her prince consort. Hearing him say this, she smiled and shook her head. “I can see that Jingchuan truly likes Chonghua, with no hint of reluctance. He doesn’t seem like the type to eat from the bowl while eyeing the pot. You’re being overly suspicious.”

Having said that, since Ye Jingkuan had just brought up this matter, she sighed along with it. “It’s just that Weizhao is a bit too straightforward… He actually ran to Father Emperor saying he didn’t want side consorts…” She rubbed her temples. Even saying it again, the shock in her heart remained as clear as before. “This child is being somewhat naive. How could that be possible?”

Yes, how could that be possible? Since ancient times, which emperor didn’t have three palaces and six courts? The Emperor Wen that Zhou Weizhao mentioned merely hadn’t made things official—privately, he too had countless palace maids attending to him. Yet here was Zhou Weizhao, earth-shatteringly refusing to follow convention.

Ye Jingkuan smiled as he poured her a cup of tea. He listened to the lively commotion outside, and his expression grew gentle as well. “What’s wrong with that? If His Highness can truly do it, as long as it doesn’t affect the imperial family’s reproduction of heirs, there’s nothing bad about it.” Seeing Princess Rongcheng still frowning with worry, he asked softly, “What did Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Princess say?”

Princess Rongcheng wanted to shake her head even more. She took the tea he handed her and set it aside. “As for Mother Empress, you know how she is—afraid of making mistakes. Since Father Emperor has already agreed, how could she have any objections? As for Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law has always indulged Weizhao. Since Weizhao is so resolute about this, she cannot refuse either…”

“There you have it then,” Ye Jingkuan spread his hands. “Since the elders have no objections, what use is your needless worry? Everyone lives their own life. His Highness and the Grand Princess Consort are not impulsive people. They naturally know what consequences they’ll face. They’re not willful people either—if it truly affects their offspring, without others saying so, they’ll know what to do themselves.”

Princess Rongcheng lowered her eyes and said nothing for a long while. Only after a long time did she exhale. “Let’s hope so.”

Let’s hope Song Chuyi could bear a son in one attempt. Let’s hope the two of them could remain devoted to each other.

While Ye Jingkuan was comforting Princess Rongcheng, Li Qingzi was also mentioning this matter to Song Jue, speaking with great longing. “For His Highness to treat Xiao Yi so well is truly…”

Song Jue raised an eyebrow with some amusement as he looked at her. “Truly what?”

Li Qingzi’s face flushed red. Apart from one concubine, Song Jue had no one else by his side. After she gave birth to their son Xiao Renyi and their daughter, he had even dismissed this concubine and arranged her marriage. She bit her lip, but the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve upward. Rarely showing a playful side, she said, “Truly wonderful—just as wonderful as my husband.”