The Empress was also troubled by this matter. With Song Mozhu and Yu Youce, she found no one satisfactory. Hearing the Emperor’s words, she sighed inwardly. It seemed that they could only choose the best among the less desirable options.
“I will ask the Zongrenfu and the Ministry of Rites to submit a list tomorrow,” the Empress said, her tone filled with resignation.
The Emperor, feeling somewhat pleased, remarked, “San Fuma told me that Song Yichun is interested in marrying his second son to Princess Shang. What do you think?”
The Empress had long had plans for the marriages of several princesses, especially for Princess Jingyi. Upon hearing this, her brows furrowed. “The previous engagement with Yantang fell through. Although we don’t know much, there are still traces to follow. Now, they are pushing for the second son of the Song family… Our daughters are not unworthy of marriage! It would only invite ridicule.”
The Emperor thought carefully and agreed that it was indeed somewhat distasteful. He waved his hand irritably and said, “Then let’s drop this matter! You should pay more attention to Jingyi and Jingfu and settle their marriages sooner.”
The Empress smiled in agreement, and they discussed the marriages of the two princesses for a while before leaving the Qianqing Palace.
At that time, Duke Ningde had already left the palace, and the Empress did not dwell on the matter. However, when she and the Emperor went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager that evening, the Empress Dowager greeted them cheerfully. With a smile, she said to the Emperor, “A few days ago, Consort Miao was unwell, so I allowed her niece to visit her. That’s when I learned that both of her nieces have reached marriageable age. I noticed that the sixth girl was quite beautiful, resembling a young Consort Miao. I thought of introducing her to someone. What do you think of the second son of Duke Ying’s family?”
Both the Empress and the Emperor were taken aback. The Emperor cursed Song Yichun in his heart. Did he think the royal family was a vegetable garden, where one could come and go as they pleased? First, he approached Shuanglan to propose his second son to Princess Shang, and now he was trying to curry favor with the Empress Dowager. What on earth did he want? Did he think he could fool him?
Without thinking, the Emperor replied, “No! The second son of Song Yichun is not suitable.”
The Empress Dowager’s expression immediately soured. It was precisely because he was unsuitable that she wanted to match Consort Miao’s niece with the second son of the Song family. If he were suitable, would she even bother?
“What do you mean by that?” After enduring for decades in front of the late Emperor, the Empress Dowager was not willing to tolerate any longer now that it was her son’s turn to rule. Her temper had become increasingly fiery, and she exploded, “Is it so difficult for me to arrange a marriage?”
The Emperor suddenly remembered the rift between the Empress Dowager and Consort Miao and realized he had misspoken. However, he couldn’t bring himself to tell the Empress Dowager that Song Yichun wanted to marry his second son to Princess Shang, and he had almost agreed to it. Instead, he used the Empress’s words to placate her: “Earlier, we wanted to match Song Yantang with Princess Fuyuan, but Song Yichun quietly arranged a marriage for his son. This shows he is quite assertive. I think we should not meddle in their family’s affairs.”
If the news got out that Consort Miao’s niece was to marry Song Yichun, and if Song Yichun were unhappy and arranged for his second son to marry someone from a higher family, that would be quite amusing!
The Empress Dowager found the situation increasingly interesting and became more determined to arrange a marriage between the Miao family girl and Song Han. “I will summon Song Yichun to the palace to speak with him. I refuse to believe he won’t listen to me,” she decisively declared. “This matter is settled; I will have Song Yichun come to the palace tomorrow.”
The Emperor was furious, feeling a deep pain in his liver. However, the Empress sensed something was amiss. She recalled that when she had come to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager in the morning, the Empress Dowager had said nothing. How could it be that after Princess Ningde visited the palace, the Empress Dowager suddenly thought of this?
Could this matter be related to Princess Ningde?
She exchanged glances with the Emperor, and once they exited the Cining Palace, she quietly said, “Mother has never liked Consort Miao. Why would she suddenly think of marrying a Miao girl?”
The Emperor, who had been flustered earlier, now calmed down and also found it strange. However, he was too lazy to deal with the petty schemes of women and instructed the Empress, “Just find out what exactly happened.”
The Empress complied and quickly inquired about what Princess Ningde had said during her audience with the Empress Dowager. Soon, she learned of Princess Ningde’s intentions and the situation regarding Song Han.
The Empress’s face turned red with anger as she broke a fan in her hand with a snap. The palace maids were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground. The hall fell silent, and one could hear a pin drop.
After taking several deep breaths to calm herself, the Empress ordered someone to summon Princess Ningde into the palace.
Since Princess Ningde dared to act as a matchmaker in front of the Empress Dowager, she must have had her plans. When the Empress asked her about it, she appeared unfazed, though her face showed a look of shock. “How did the story get twisted like this?” She explained to the Empress that Song Mo had a cousin who looked exactly like Jiang Shi and had come to Beijing to seek refuge with Song Mo after becoming a widow. “Since Jiang Yan and Song Han share the same birthday, we joked that perhaps Mrs. Jiang gave birth to twins.
The Duke disliked having a daughter, so he kept the son and sent the daughter to the Jiang family to raise. I never expected it would be spread so disgracefully.” She added, “Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have mentioned it as a joke to Consort Shi. Now that it has been twisted like this, what should we do?” She continued, “The Duke Ying’s family has few descendants. If Mrs. Jiang did give birth to twins, it wouldn’t make sense to send a daughter to be raised by someone else. This is such a simple truth; how could anyone believe it?”
The Empress was half-convinced and said, “Then bring that Jiang Yan into the palace for me to see.”
Princess Ningde respectfully replied, “Yes,” and then began to complain about how the people in the capital had no sense of propriety in their speech.
The Empress, already shaken by the news that Song Han might be an illegitimate child, had no interest in listening to Princess Ningde’s complaints. She seized the opportunity to serve tea and send her off.
Princess Ningde awkwardly left the Kun Ning Palace.
The Empress then went to the Qianqing Palace to inform the Emperor of the situation.
The Emperor was dumbfounded and after a long pause said, “Could it be a rumor? Even if Song Yichun is foolish, he wouldn’t confuse bloodlines and turn the truth upside down!”
The Empress also found the situation too bizarre and replied, “But Princess Ningde has always been cautious and steady in her actions. How could she make something out of nothing?”
The Emperor felt somewhat at a loss and began to blame the two parties involved: “This Song Yichun has never been at peace. Look at the things he has done since he inherited the title; I feel embarrassed for him. And Princess Ningde, why would she say such things to Mother? Now, Mother wants to arrange a marriage for this second son of the Song family. If this is true, wouldn’t it be a slap in our faces?”
As soon as he finished speaking, both the Empress and the Emperor froze in shock.
Was Song Yichun trying to use the royal family’s authority to protect his second son’s life?
Suddenly, both of them began to view Princess Ningde in a new light. What if she had learned the truth and, unable to stop Song Yichun from marrying his second son, had to resort to this method to make them aware of the happenings in the Song family?
The Emperor exploded with rage, “This scoundrel has lost all conscience! I wondered why he had been so displeased with Song Yantang; it turns out he wants to favor his concubine over his wife! Fortunately, I promoted Song Yantang; if I hadn’t intervened, wouldn’t he have been harmed by him? How could someone as kind-hearted as the late Duke have such a son with such a vicious heart? He must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, thinking everyone else is as rotten as he is… Send my decree: he must hand over the seal of the Wujun Dudu Mansion and go guard the imperial tomb for the late Emperor!”
He had already convinced himself that Song Han was an illegitimate child!
Wang Ge was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his legs trembled as he replied, “Yes,” and prepared to retreat.
However, the Empress said, “Wait a moment,” and advised the Emperor, “Song Yichun is one of the top figures among the meritorious officials. If you want him to hand over the seal of the Wujun Dudu Mansion to guard the imperial tomb for the late Emperor, there should be a reason, right? Are you going to say it’s because Song Yichun confused bloodlines? Where’s the evidence? Just because that Jiang Yan looks exactly like Mrs. Jiang? I think we should take this slowly. Let’s settle the marriage of Song Yichun’s second son first. Fortunately, no one knows that Song Yichun wants to marry his second son to Princess Shang. It would be better to let Mother arrange the marriage. This way, we can appease Mother while also warning Song Yichun.”
The Emperor understood the Empress’s intention and said, “Tomorrow, remember to reward Princess Ningde with some rare treasures. If it weren’t for her, we would have foolishly married our daughter to Song Han, and that would have truly been a laughingstock!” He also instructed the Empress to visit the Cining Palace immediately, “Please apologize to Mother on my behalf. Just say that as long as Mother is happy, I will agree to anything.”
The Empress smiled and replied, “Yes,” and then went to the Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager immediately smiled broadly and said, “I know the Emperor is a filial son,” and had the chief eunuch of Cining Palace invite the Emperor over for dinner. She also discussed Song Han’s marriage with the Empress: “Which girl do you think is suitable?”
Since the Empress wanted to make amends for the Emperor’s mistake, she had inquired about the situation in Consort Miao’s family before coming. Hearing this, she smiled and said, “Mother has eaten more salt than I have rice; how could I possibly consider things as thoroughly as you? Your ideas will surely be correct.”
The Empress Dowager was even more pleased to hear this and said, “Then let’s marry the sixth girl from the Miao family, An Su, to the second son of the Song family!”
Miao An Su was the sixth miss of the Miao family, the legitimate daughter of Consort Miao’s eldest nephew. It was said that she was not only beautiful but also kind-hearted and very filial. To pray for her sick grandmother, she had hand-copied a hundred copies of the Lotus Sutra to give to passersby.
To the public, it seemed remarkable that a family that once only ran a grocery store could marry their granddaughter into the prestigious Duke Ying’s family. However, for the Miao family, marrying their carefully nurtured daughter to a second son who could not inherit the family estate was not necessarily a joyous occasion.
The Empress smiled and nodded, personally calling in the female officials to draft the imperial decree.