“His Majesty is gradually taking on the bearing of an enlightened ruler,” Dou Peng said with a smile, looking quite gratified.

For more than ten years, this court had been somewhat chaotic, and after six years under the late Emperor, it had become even harder to look upon. Dou Peng had truly feared it might “collapse in an instant.” When the current Emperor ascended the throne, he had been somewhat green at first, but now he was gradually finding his footing — and no one was more pleased about this than Dou Peng.

Chen Meng also chimed in with agreement: “After all, he was instructed by two generations of emperors before him.”

Zheng Xi thought to himself: What two generations? There was only one. The other one couldn’t teach anything at all.

But he and Xian Jing both wore politely bland smiles on their faces, nodding in a noncommittal fashion. There was a bitter feeling in Zheng Xi’s heart. If the Emperor was mediocre and incompetent, he was unhappy, because things could easily go wrong. But if the Emperor was too decisive and strong-willed, he was also unhappy, because he would then be kept under a tight rein.

Zheng Xi showed nothing on his face. Xian Jing should be more anxious than he was. He picked up another document and began reading — it was a memorial submitted by Wang Shuliang. Wang Shuliang had already received the official notice of his appointment. Since this was a return to office from a mourning period, Wang Shuliang, being a man who valued proper form, had written a memorial to the Emperor to express his gratitude.

The corner of Zheng Xi’s lips curved slightly upward: Wang Yunhe’s own sons were coming back.

He had barely had a moment of mild pleasure before he immediately ran into something vexing.

Today was Dou Peng’s duty shift, and by the time the workday dragged to a close, Zheng Xi had stepped out of the palace gates only to find Gan Ze waiting outside. Gan Ze had been promoted by him to the position of chief steward of the household, and would not ordinarily follow him about on such occasions — yet here he was at the palace gates.

A look of urgency showed on Gan Ze’s face. Zheng Xi swept his gaze over him and said: “Come into the carriage to speak.”

Gan Ze helped him board the carriage and then climbed in himself. When he opened his mouth, his voice caught slightly: “My lord, the Old Madam…”

Zheng Xi’s expression shifted at once: “What is the matter with the Old Madam?”

Zheng Xi’s heart was gripped by a sudden panic.

Gan Ze said: “She mentioned feeling a heaviness in her head when she woke this morning. A physician was summoned to examine her, and prescribed two doses of medicine, but it brought no improvement. By late afternoon the heaviness had grown considerably worse. Madam requested an Imperial Physician to come and look her over, and then sent this servant to escort my lord back to the residence.”

“Why was I not told sooner?”

“Madam said that my lord has so many affairs outside, he must not throw himself into disorder and let others notice.”

Zheng Xi pressed his hand to his chest, closed his eyes, and said no more.

The carriage returned to the Zheng residence swiftly. The visitors at the front gate had already been tactfully turned away by Yue Miaojun’s people. Zheng Xi hurried toward his mother’s quarters, and at the door he was met by Yue Miaojun coming out to receive him.

Yue Miaojun said: “Do not be alarmed — she has already fallen asleep.”

Zheng Xi looked at her and said: “If it were truly nothing, you would not have sent someone to fetch me.”

“If it were truly serious, we would not have waited until evening to find you.”

The two of them entered together. The room was hushed and still. The Commandery Princess lay in bed, half-asleep in a drowsy haze. Zheng Xi strode quickly to the bedside, watching the faint rise and fall of the blanket draped over his mother, the soft shimmer of lamplight reflecting off the silk surface of the coverlet, and at that he let out a breath of relief. He sat down at the edge of the bed and reached beneath the blanket to take his mother’s hand.

The Commandery Princess’s hand was warm and dry. Zheng Xi’s heart slowly grew calm. He withdrew his hand, tucked the blanket snugly around her, and rose to step into the outer room.

Yue Miaojun had someone bring the medical records and prescriptions for him to look over. Zheng Xi examined them by candlelight with a swift glance. The Commandery Princess had suffered from these ailments before; as one grows older, illness and discomfort come more easily — but this time it was especially severe.

Yue Miaojun said: “Perhaps you should request a few days of leave?”

Zheng Xi nodded. “That would be best. By the way, how are the preparations going for Second Son’s matter?”

“Second Son? What matter?”

“The wedding.”

“The late Emperor passed away barely over a year ago.”

Zheng Xi’s second son, Zheng Shen, had been designated as the consort-prince of Princess Gong’an back when the late Emperor was still alive. The princess’s residence had already been built, but when the late Emperor died, the wedding had been put on hold.

Zheng Xi glanced toward the inner room and said: “His Majesty has already concluded his period of mourning. The princess’s residence was built long ago — wait three more years and it will begin to deteriorate, and rebuilding it would waste the nation’s revenues for nothing. That is not acceptable.”

Yue Miaojun forced a smile: “Then I will prepare accordingly.”

Zheng Xi said: “Do not overthink things.”

“Very well.”

Zheng Xi asked his wife to stay and keep watch, while he himself went to the study. He did not write a memorial requesting leave. Instead, he sent someone to summon Zheng Yi to the house.

Zheng Yi arrived promptly, finding his way to the study with practiced familiarity. To one side, Zheng Shen called out: “Thirteenth Uncle.”

Zheng Yi gave a nod, bowed toward Zheng Xi, and Zheng Xi said: “Sit.”

Zheng Yi said: “Seventh Brother, has something changed in court?”

“What change could there be?”

Zheng Yi said: “His Majesty is growing more and more decisive.”

Zheng Xi said: “Can the Son of Heaven afford to be weak and incompetent?”

Zheng Yi gave a small, dismissive twist of his mouth: “The flavor has turned odd! These past days he is like a different man from when he was still Crown Prince — before, he was like a headless fly…”

“Mind your tongue.”

Zheng Yi said: “Well, that is the general idea — it is as though he has finally grown a head.”

Zheng Xi kept a stern face: “I called you here for serious business.”

Zheng Yi obediently placed both hands on his knees: “Please speak.”

Zheng Xi glanced at his son, then turned to Zheng Yi and said: “Second Son is not young anymore. It is time for him to wed.”

Zheng Yi frowned slightly: “How does the mourning period work out for the Princess? By rights she should observe mourning for three years, but who knows what mischief Xian Jing will get up to in those three years? If Second Son marries earlier, our connection with His Majesty will be more intimate. But to wed while the mourning period is not yet complete is also improper…”

Zheng Xi cut him off: “A’Niang has fallen ill — it is rather serious. Hearing good news might cheer her, and perhaps her spirits will lift.”

Zheng Yi was struck dumb, staring at Zheng Xi with wide eyes, a faint shade of alarm crossing his face.

Zheng Xi said: “Find someone to submit a memorial — quickly!”

Zheng Yi nodded repeatedly: “Yes!”

“Go to Mu Chengzhou’s home as well.”

“What?”

“He is the father-in-law of the Eternal Prince.”

Zheng Yi grasped the implication at once: “Very well!”

“As for matters within the household — keep it confidential. Just say it is a mild cold.”

“Understood.”

After that, Zheng Xi also sent someone to find Hao Dafang. Finally, he had Lu Chao deliver a calling card to Zhù Ying’s residence, indicating that he wished to pay a visit the following day.

With these arrangements in place, he finally had his personal effects moved to the outer room of his mother’s bedchamber to keep watch. Zheng Shen saw this and quickly said: “Father, please let me stay instead.”

Zheng Xi waved him off: “No need.”

Zheng Shen did not dare argue, and could only find a room for himself in the side wing adjoining the Commandery Princess’s main quarters and settle in for the night.

On the other side of the city, the calling card Zheng Xi had sent set off a round of speculation within the Zhù household.

Zheng Xi rarely came to Zhù Ying’s home in person. If he had business, he would usually send a note or dispatch someone to summon Zhù Ying to the Zheng residence. More often it was Zhù Ying who voluntarily made her way to the Zheng household.

Lately, Zheng Xi had been sending fewer summons, sometimes dispatching his son, and occasionally coming over himself.

This had created the impression that Zhù Ying was not closer to Zheng Xi, but rather more on intimate terms with Chen Meng — indeed, the Chen family, father and son, maintained even more frequent dealings with the Zhù household.

Zhù Ying opened the card and read it, and immediately suspected the visit was connected to recent developments at court.

She let nothing show on her face, and said to Su Zhe, Lin Feng, and the others: “Prepare the household properly tomorrow — Counsellor-in-Chief Zheng will be coming.”

Su Zhe saw that Zhao Su and the others were not nearby, and being left with the responsibility, she asked: “Has something happened?”

Zhù Ying said: “What could have happened? If there is something to discuss, it is not yet a major matter.”

Su Zhe was still unsettled. She had been quite free of late. After Yue Huan became the Minister of Rites, he treated her with the same attentiveness as Yao Zhen had — and similarly assigned her no particular duties.

Where Yue Huan differed from Yao Zhen was in treating her as a student. Su Zhe had been brought by Zhù Ying to the Yue household many times to ask for instruction, and she had also spent time at Liu Songnian’s household. Yue Huan and Yang Jing could be considered fellow disciples of the same lineage, both inheriting the scholarship passed down from Yue Huan’s grandfather. Yue Huan had heard about Su Zhe’s consultations with Yang Jing and regarded her as a junior. He had sought out books and set her coursework accordingly.

As for studying — Su Zhe enjoyed that. But Yue Huan, like Yang Jing, had a way of teaching things that would leave her feeling unsettled from time to time.

She was rather glad when court affairs gave her something to do, something to keep her occupied and spare her the disquiet.

She stayed until she was the last one remaining, and then pressed Zhù Ying further with her questions.

Zhù Ying said: “It should be a matter of court affairs. Perhaps it is related to His Majesty’s conduct these past days.”

“His Majesty does seem to be growing more and more methodical of late.”

“Indeed.”

“That is surely a good thing.”

Zhù Ying said: “That depends on how you look at it.”

Su Zhe asked with puzzlement: “When the ruler is incompetent, with edicts contradicting each other and an inability to command the respect of the officials, the court falls into disorder and the realm declines. How could it be a bad thing for the Emperor to have good method?”

“For the realm in general, it may well have some benefit — but for particular ministers, not necessarily. These days, just keep watching: watch how His Majesty gets along with the Counsellors-in-Chief.”

“But I can’t see that…”

“Read the official gazettes carefully, cover to cover — read about official appointments and transfers. Listen well — listen for signs of change in the capital. Then think it all through carefully.”

“Yes.”

Su Zhe departed full of doubts. She still could not quite grasp why an Emperor with good method might have a negative effect on things.

Meanwhile, Zhù Ying personally reviewed the arrangements for receiving guests the following day, so as to avoid any oversights.

The next day, morning court proceeded without incident.

Zhù Ying handled her official business methodically and without haste.

In the Grand Council Chamber, however, there was a matter of middling importance stirring.

Dou Peng had come across a memorial and called over to Zheng Xi: “This matter of Princess Gong’an’s marriage to your son — what is your view?”

Zheng Xi came out of his thoughts and replied: “It was already arranged as a betrothal, but was set aside when the late Emperor passed away, as the three-year period has not yet elapsed.”

Dou Peng said: “The Princess’s marriage is a different matter from others.”

Zheng Xi said: “Let us deliberate further.”

Chen Meng and Xian Jing also turned their gaze in that direction. Once Zheng Shen became a prince-consort, Zheng Xi would be considered a relative of the imperial house, bringing him into closer connection with the throne — and that was decidedly not good news for Xian Jing.

Xian Jing said: “The mourning period is not yet complete.”

Chen Meng hesitated and said: “It could go either way.”

Dou Peng passed the memorial to Chen Meng. Chen Meng changed his position: “Quite right — with so many affairs at hand, and signs of calamity besides, letting things linger too long will waste money and grain. That is not good.”

Dou Peng’s own thinking was that even if another princess’s residence needed to be built, it would not bankrupt the nation. But if they dragged things out another two years, the Minister of Revenue might no longer be Zhù Ying, and in that case, whether a new minister could handle everything as smoothly as Zhù Ying had would be another question altogether.

Two years from now, the Princess Gong’an’s younger sister would also be around the right age. The Emperor also had two brothers who seemed ready to establish their own princely households.

Better to take care of one thing while Zhù Ying was still in the Ministry of Revenue! He would gladly see all of them settled right now if he could! At present he did not need to worry, but two years hence there were no guarantees.

“His Majesty has already come out of mourning,” Chen Meng said tactfully.

Xian Jing said: “That is His Majesty’s own case.”

Zheng Xi said: “Since this concerns my own family, it is not my place to speak on the matter. Better to request His Majesty’s imperial ruling. By the way, the Ministry of Revenue is not under such severe strain, surely? I will look into it and ask Zizhang.”

The dispute was brought before the Emperor, and Zheng Xi withdrew from it. Xian Jing still felt the Princess ought not to be wed at this time. Dou Peng and Chen Meng were inclined to see it done sooner. The Emperor, for his part, was also undecided. Princess Gong’an marrying Zheng Shen would add to the strength of Zheng Xi’s faction. Once that balance was disrupted, the Emperor worried he might lose his grip on things.

The Emperor said: “I must think it over further.”

After the Counsellors-in-Chief withdrew, the Emperor sat alone, brooding. He was not eager to establish his brothers in their own princely households just yet. But the questions the Counsellors-in-Chief had raised were quite practical, and the fact that the dispute had been brought before him suggested that the Counsellors-in-Chief were broadly in agreement on the matter. Yet he did not want to be accused of treating his siblings harshly.

He found himself pulled in both directions.

Hao Dafang replaced the cup of tea that had gone cold at his elbow with a hot one, and urged him to rest a while and not strain his mind too hard.

The Emperor said: “What do you know of it?”

“Your servant understands nothing of great affairs — only that this is a family matter for Your Majesty. If it is difficult for Your Majesty to speak on it directly, perhaps you might seek the Empress Dowager’s guidance?”

At that very moment, Mu Chengzhou was standing before Empress Dowager Mu. Since being removed from his post, he had been frantically casting about for an opportunity. His daughter had been designated as the future consort of the Eternal Prince. Just like Princess Gong’an and her consort-prince-to-be, the residence was ready, but the wedding had not taken place. The difference between the Princess and the Eternal Prince was that a princess without a husband still lived in the palace, whereas the Eternal Prince had already established his household — the celebratory banquet had been held and eaten — and now lived outside the palace, living freely and at ease.

Mu Chengzhou, having been given a thorough lobbying by Zheng Yi, hoped to exploit his daughter’s marriage to secure himself a substantive official post. Once the Eternal Prince was wed, surely the bride’s father could not be left without anything to do?

Empress Dowager Mu was somewhat displeased: “The late Emperor’s body is barely cold.”

“His Majesty has already completed his mourning! There must be someone to look after the Eternal Prince’s daily needs — are we to leave it all to palace maids?”

The Empress Dowager still wavered, but she could not hold out against Mu Chengzhou’s persistent coaxing, and reluctantly consented to the matter: “I am only afraid it will be difficult to bring this up before His Majesty.”

As luck would have it, the Emperor happened to be coming to seek her counsel on exactly this point.

The Empress Dowager took the convenient opportunity: “Since the Counsellors-in-Chief have made reasonable arguments, let it be done. Oh — if only your imperial father were still alive, both their matters would have been properly arranged long ago. Watching over them from the heavens, he would be glad to see his children form their own households.”

“A’Niang speaks wisely.”

On that other side of the city, Zhù Ying waited until the end of the workday and then went home to prepare. Zheng Xi first returned home to change clothes and go to the Commandery Princess’s sickbed to pay his respects.

The Commandery Princess had regained some of her energy. Zheng Xi sat with her and spoke for a while: “I have already made arrangements to bring forward the Princess’s marriage…”

The Commandery Princess said: “How can that be right?”

Zheng Xi said: “When have I ever lost my sense of proportion? You just wait peacefully for your granddaughter-in-law to cross the threshold.”

The Commandery Princess smiled with some effort: “Once the Princess comes to wed, that is Second Son leaving home.”

“But he will be starting a family of his own.”

He sat with her and talked for a while longer. Seeing that the Commandery Princess could not hold out much more, Zheng Xi left instructions for the household to look after her carefully before changing his clothes and going to the Zhù residence.

At Zhù Ying’s end, the household had long since made ready.

Aside from the absence of dancers and music, everything was done with proper care and ceremony.

As Zheng Xi stepped through the gates of the Zhù residence, he felt a faint sense of ease. The Zhù household could be described as modest, yet it was not meager — everything that should be present was present.

Zhù Ying invited him to take a seat in the main hall. Zheng Xi pointed to the seat across from him: “Why are you still standing on ceremony with me?”

Zhù Ying sat down as well and asked: “What is it that brings you here in person?”

Zheng Xi said quietly: “A’Niang has fallen ill.”

“The Old Madam? The elderly are prone to ailments from time to time.”

Zheng Xi said: “Princess Gong’an’s wedding and the Eternal Prince’s marriage — can they be managed?”

Zhù Ying seemed to grasp something in that instant, and answered immediately: “Of course they can.”

“Good,” said Zheng Xi, a sardonic smile crossing his lips. “I expect Xian Jing will be furious.”

“They were decided by the late Emperor — what can he do?”

Zheng Xi said: “Even married couples part through divorce! He is also short-sighted — only knows to watch us, without realizing that His Majesty is watching everyone.”

“What leads you to say that?”

Zhù Ying saw him looking at her, and cooperated with an unhesitating question.

Zheng Xi said: “His Majesty is increasingly coming to resemble his grandfather.”

“Thank heaven for that — at least it is better than the era of the late Emperor…” Zhù Ying stopped herself.

Zheng Xi shook his head and said: “There is only a shadow of imitation, and even then, not quite right. My uncle always had everything in hand. Everyone simply followed his lead — that was enough. The current Emperor is still young. If His Majesty can rule by his own sole authority and judgment, what use does he have for old ministers like us?”

Zhù Ying understood Zheng Xi’s meaning at once: he did not want the Emperor to so quickly establish an authority based on his own personal capabilities and draw all power back into his own hands.

In name, everyone under heaven was the Emperor’s subject. But in practice, once “factional strife” emerged, it meant these factions had developed their own will and were no longer the Emperor’s “own people.”

In name they were all his subjects, yet in reality each acted according to their own interests — all seeking to influence the Emperor and bend him to their own designs.

When the current Emperor’s grandfather was alive, the ministers each had their own interests, loosely connected through marriage, shared origins, and teacher-student bonds, forming their own cliques — but none of these came anywhere near the level of organized factional strife. Those ministers — the Counsellors-in-Chief above all — would generally move when the Emperor said move. That was true power in hand.

During the late Emperor’s time, factional strife had already appeared. The capable men the late Emperor had worked to cultivate proved largely incapable of great achievement. Whenever the late Emperor wished to accomplish something, if even one minister — especially a Counsellor-in-Chief — opposed it, it would not get done. That was a loss of power.

And if you were a minister who believed you were in the right — would you not find a capable, decisive Emperor to be an obstacle?

When an Emperor transforms from the latter into the former, would ministers not feel a sense of loss?

What Zheng Xi wanted was for the new Emperor to still be somewhat raw, to listen more to the counsel of “old ministers,” while also possessing just enough judgment to agree with him rather than be swayed by others.

Zhù Ying felt a touch of melancholy as well. She was not particularly eager for the Emperor to build up his authority too quickly — that would make her own position precarious. The Emperor still needed to be in a state of “weak but aspiring to strength” for the situation to work in her favor.

Her position and Zheng Xi’s proved remarkably aligned, which was why she had understood him so readily.

“There is no such thing as a perfectly calibrated Emperor in this world,” Zhù Ying said, slowly.

Zheng Xi said: “Precisely — and that is exactly where they have need of the likes of us.”

Zhù Ying asked: “What is your intention?”

Zheng Xi said: “The posthumous memorial from Counsellor-in-Chief Shi has something suspicious about it. Chen Da almost certainly knows something — he is wholly loyal. These past days, have you noticed anything?”

Zhù Ying said: “Most likely it is still the old sentiments shared among those elder Counsellors-in-Chief. I was not very old at the time, and left the capital early, so I know little of it. They, I imagine, still miss the prosperity of those days.”

Zheng Xi tapped his armrest and said in a low voice: “Those days? Prosperity? They sacrificed Prince An to open the way, then sacrificed Gong Jie to carry on for another twenty years. This time, let it not be you and I who are offered up.”

Zhù Ying was mildly taken aback: “It would not come to that, surely?”

Zheng Xi said: “If something were to befall the household, a mourning leave would be unavoidable. The Princess’s marriage must be properly arranged as soon as possible.”

“This… very well!”

Zheng Xi said: “If I am on leave, you must not keep accommodating Xian’s faction! Wang Shuliang is nearly back in the capital — if you miss old friends, go and talk with a genuine one. Why bother with a counterfeit?”

Zhù Ying said: “I also have a matter to entrust to the Court of Diplomatic Reception.”

“His Majesty wished to transfer Lang Rui, Su Sheng, and others to serve as personal attendants. I said that the rank of the Emperor’s close guard is too high, that both men’s backgrounds are insufficient, that they are also of foreign origin, have been in the capital only a short time, and their characters are not yet settled — they still need instruction. That matter was therefore set aside for now. Wuzhou is your firstborn — look after it well, and do not let others pry it away.”

Zhù Ying had not known that the Emperor had harbored such intentions, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise involuntarily.

Zheng Xi said: “Take care of yourself.”

Zhù Ying lowered her head slightly.

With the main business concluded, Zhù Ying entertained Zheng Xi at home. Zheng Xi sat for a short while before saying he needed to return to tend to his ailing family member, and departed. Zhù Ying saw him to the door, watched him board his carriage, and then turned and went back inside.

With Zheng Xi gone, the household relaxed and came back to life. Lu Danqing and Su Zhe were muttering to each other: “That Counsellor-in-Chief puts on rather a large show of airs.”

Su Zhe said: “He was being quite amiable with Grandfather by his standards — that is simply the way a Counsellor-in-Chief carries himself.”

“The Counsellor-in-Chief Chen who came last time was not like this.”

Zhù Ying said: “What are you two whispering about? Little Sister will be coming by in a while — I have something for you to go and handle.”

“Yes!”

Wang Shuliang returned to the capital before Princess Gong’an’s wedding. The Wang family’s residence in the capital had already been relinquished, so Zhù Ying summoned Su Zhe and had her bring the property deed to Yang Jing’s home.

She knew Wang Shuliang would not accept the deed directly, and that Yang Jing would not accept it on his behalf either — so she had Su Zhe use her own name to lease the property to Wang Shuliang for his temporary use.

With Yang Jing as an intermediary, Wang Shuliang moved into the residence Zhù Ying had prepared for him, and the following day he had an audience with the Emperor and took over the Court of Diplomatic Reception.

After that, a strange undercurrent began to stir at court.

Zhù Ying paid none of it any mind, and first busied herself with seeing to the proper completion of the Princess’s wedding and the Eternal Prince’s marriage. Thanks to the Old Commandery Princess’s resilience, she held on until her grandson had been wed to the Princess before her condition grew worse — and against all expectation, she lasted through to autumn, still breathing. It was truly a stroke of extraordinary fortune.

Zhù Ying attended the celebratory feasts at both households, and also visited the Zheng residence to inquire after the Old Commandery Princess’s illness. Zheng Lin also came back from the Guangning Prince’s residence from time to time to visit her mother, and Zhù Ying had encountered her at the household on several occasions. Whenever Zheng Lin spoke with her about the Commandery Princess’s persistent poor health, she could not help but ask: “Third Brother’s household used to have a woman who was exceptionally skilled at treating women’s illnesses — is she still around?”

Even if Huajie had been in the capital, Zhù Ying would not have had her involved in such a matter. Huajie was three thousand li away, so she would not entertain the idea at all. She spread her hands and replied: “She is no longer here. The Imperial Physicians are the finest healers in the realm — do not worry, she will recover.”

She simply continued to send rare and valuable medicinal herbs — especially northern mountain goods — to the Zheng residence as gifts, and left it at that.

Perhaps a grandson’s wedding truly could fortify one’s spirit, for the Commandery Princess managed to hold on just like that, dragging through to the onset of winter.

Everyone worried that the elderly woman would not survive the cold when winter came — yet she continued to hold on, and by the eleventh month she was still very much alive. It was instead a young student in his prime who died at the National Academy, which, one might say, was the capricious work of fate.