After Jiang Yu and Fang Mingda left, a shadowy figure hidden in the darkness finally emerged, pretending to pick up an armful of firewood before returning.
After Zhao Bai met with that Qingyun Cavalry member, she once again lifted the curtain and entered the tent, saying to Wen Yu who was dismantling her hair ornaments before the dressing mirror, “As you predicted, Chen Kingdom is still hiding something from us. It’s just that fellow surnamed Jiang and that fat fellow surnamed Fang both have very tight lips. So far we haven’t been able to figure out exactly what it is.”
Wen Yu removed her earrings and placed them in the cosmetics box, saying, “Continue watching them. The more they fear me knowing something, the more it becomes a weakness.”
Zhao Bai nodded and withdrew. Only Wen Yu remained in the tent.
The figure reflected in the bronze mirror was adorned in silk and brocade, with a jade-like lotus face, appearing like a celestial being. Only the coldness revealed between her brows and eyes made one instantly think of the cold moon hanging high on Tianshan Mountain, not daring to harbor any improper thoughts.
She removed the last ornament on her person—the carp wood carving hanging from her waist sash. However, she didn’t place the wood carving together with the other accessories on the dressing table. Instead, she pressed it under the pillow. With practiced ease, she laid down with her full head of ink-black hair spread out, her expression showing no emotions of longing or sadness, as if it were merely a habit ingrained in her bones.
Outside the main tent was silent. Occasionally Qingyun Cavalry would patrol past, but their footsteps were deliberately lightened. A candle lamp left burning in the corner of the tent illuminated stacks upon stacks of official documents on the desk that required Wen Yu’s review before being sent back within the pass.
—
Five days later, the wedding escort procession arrived at the Chen Kingdom’s royal capital. Chen Kingdom separately dispatched envoys to receive them at the city gate. Wen Yu and her group were temporarily settled in the capital’s courier station, only waiting to rest for two days. Once the auspicious day selected by the Imperial Astronomy Bureau arrived, the wedding would take place.
Zhao Bai handled matters properly. After entering the city, she had the Qingyun Guards use various pretexts to scout and gather information. Tongque was honest by nature and stayed with people to guard the courier station, directly surrounding Wen Yu’s residence into an iron barrel. All items sent by the Chen Kingdom side would be received by the Qingyun Guards at the entrance to the small courtyard where Wen Yu was temporarily staying. Naturally, the courier station servants had no way of knowing whether Wen Yu actually used the items ultimately delivered.
The next day, the Chen King’s palace sent an instructing nanny, saying she had been sent by order of Empress Dowager Jiang to teach Wen Yu the rules for after entering the palace, so that after becoming a new bride, she would understand how to serve the Empress Dowager and the Chen King, and govern the six palaces.
It was said to be teaching rules, but there was also the meaning of establishing authority and warning within it.
When Zhao Bai reported this to Wen Yu, Wen Yu was flipping through intelligence on the royal court that the Qingyun Guards had collected. Her expression was calm, only the corners of her lips carried a slightly mocking curve: “Empress Dowager Jiang wants to tell me that this is in Chen Kingdom, not Liang territory. Even though they had many concealments during the initial alliance, at present I must act according to their Chen Kingdom’s ways.”
Zhao Bai’s face showed anger: “Their Chen Kingdom is simply going too far in bullying people! This servant will go refuse them for you!”
Wen Yu nodded. In her pair of clear, unfathomably deep eyes, still not half a trace of anger could be seen: “Yes. Say that this palace has traveled a long distance, encountered an attack and been frightened, and is ill in bed. The rules of their Chen King’s palace—I’m unable to receive instruction.”
Empress Dowager Jiang wanted to brush aside the matter of the Xiling army’s surprise attack lightly and have Wen Yu recognize reality and lower her head. But Wen Yu deliberately wanted to bring this matter back to the surface again.
The instructing nanny didn’t even see Wen Yu’s face before being turned away at the door. However, she could hold her composure. She didn’t mention Wen Yu’s attack and fright at all, only saying that she had not completed Empress Dowager Jiang’s decree and could not return to the royal palace to report. She needed to temporarily stay at the courier station and wait until Wen Yu’s body was more comfortable before teaching her the rules.
Tongque knew the other party was playing deaf and dumb. After avoiding mentioning Wen Yu’s attack at this time, she was quite indignant. Wen Yu was not very surprised. The other party was an old person by Empress Dowager Jiang’s side—how could she not have some shrewdness?
When Tongque was helping Wen Yu organize the piles of intelligence reports on the desk, she couldn’t help but worry: “If their Chen Kingdom keeps dragging things out with us like this, what should we do?”
From the information the Qingyun Guards had scouted back, Wen Yu had already unraveled strand by strand the several factions with undercurrents surging in the entire Chen Kingdom court. She continued looking at the latest letters sent back by the Qingyun Guards, saying indifferently, “Then let them drag it out. The first to be unable to sit still won’t be our Great Liang.”
Tongque understood only halfway. Zhao Bai, who came in from outside carrying tea, explained: “The ones who need to complete the wedding with the Princess to have justification for sending troops are them, Chen Kingdom.”
After hearing this, Tongque became even more indignant. She pressed forcefully on a letter and said, “That Empress Dowager Jiang apparently has her heart set on dampening the Princess’s spirit. I’m afraid they won’t be quiet afterward either.”
It was roughly a case of words becoming prophecy. Two days later, that instructing nanny came again to ask how Wen Yu’s health was.
Tongque still declined using Wen Yu’s poor health as an excuse, but this time the instructing nanny insisted on seeing Wen Yu no matter what. Later on, she even relied on bringing over a dozen palace maids and servants to try to force her way into Wen Yu’s residence. This forced Tongque to lead the Qingyun Guards in drawing their swords before they could temporarily force the people back.
But that instructing nanny’s mouth was truly formidable. Seeing that coming on strong wouldn’t work, she seized on the point of Tongque leading people to draw swords and pressed the attack relentlessly, vowing to pin on her the label of contempt for their Chen Kingdom royal court.
Just as the crowd was arguing incessantly, the inner courtyard door opened. Zhao Bai, wearing black armor, white robes, and civil-military sleeves, walked out with a cold face and shouted, “The Princess is recuperating quietly here. Who is making such noise?”
The instructing nanny knew Zhao Bai was deliberately asking this question. She smiled without warmth: “This old servant, by order of the Empress Dowager, has come to teach Princess Hanyang the rules of the royal palace. The Princess has come from afar and is unwell. The Empress Dowager is kind and benevolent, so naturally she is considerate of the Princess and permits the Princess to recuperate well. But this old servant has been at this courier station for two days yet hasn’t even seen the Princess’s face. Today when seeking an audience with the Princess, I was met with drawn swords by these insolent servants. The Central Plains Liang territory most values the way of rites and music. Could it be that these insolent servants are so audacious that, taking advantage of the Princess’s poor health, they dare to act so rudely beyond the Princess’s authority? This old servant worries for the Princess’s safety and today vows to see the Princess no matter what!”
Zhao Bai indifferently swept her a glance and said, “My Princess was attacked and frightened on the road to the capital. Worried about encountering some other accident, she ordered the martial servants to hold weapons and stand guard. I hope your esteemed country will understand.”
The instructing nanny was blocked with these words again, and her expression couldn’t help becoming somewhat ugly. Only by relying on the composure practiced through decades immersed in the rear palace did she barely control her facial expression. She said, “The Princess is unwell and has not improved for a long time. The Empress Dowager is also deeply worried. After this old servant has seen the Princess, I can take word back to the palace to put the Empress Dowager’s heart at ease.”
Zhao Bai yielded not an inch: “The physician said my Princess needs quiet rest. The Empress Dowager is merciful and surely would never have my Princess receive guests while ill. What does Nanny think?”
The instructing nanny locked eyes with Zhao Bai. Not even a trace of forced smile remained on her face. The two silently contended in their gazes for several breaths. Zhao Bai’s eyes remained pitch black and coldly sharp from beginning to end, suppressing the instructing nanny until she could only reluctantly pull at the corners of her mouth and leave the words “Miss speaks correctly” before leading the crowd of palace maids to turn and depart.
After the instructing nanny had walked a short distance away, Zhao Bai suddenly called out to her again: “Please trouble Nanny to take a message to the Empress Dowager. In our Great Liang, the rites and music that my Princess now establishes are what constitute rites and music.”
The expression on the instructing nanny’s face in that instant could no longer be described with just the word “ugly.” She didn’t even leave behind another word and directly left in disgrace.
Tongque only felt that today they had thoroughly vented their grievances. She snorted heavily at the backs of the instructing nanny and her group.
Zhao Bai glanced at her and said, “Continue guarding the outer courtyard. Don’t let anyone in.”
She herself returned to the inner courtyard, removed her boots and ascended to the second floor wearing only silk stockings. Pushing open the door, she saw behind a hanging gauze curtain, Wen Yu wearing plain brocade robes, her black hair cascading to her knees and spread loose. She held a bamboo scroll in her hands and was reading it against the light. Only after hearing the sound did she ask flatly, “Have they left?”
Zhao Bai lowered her eyes at the doorway and replied, “They’ve left.”
Wen Yu put away the bamboo scroll she had finished reading. Her expression was indifferent, as if she hadn’t taken Empress Dowager Jiang’s provocation to heart at all: “Have the Qingyun Guards continue investigating. Find out the full details of all the officials in the entire Chen royal court. Compile it into a register and bring it to me. In the past ten years, how many times they’ve fought external wars, which small nations or tribes they engaged, how many troops were sent—investigate all of this clearly as well.”
After Zhao Bai received the order and withdrew, only then did Wen Yu look through the curtain toward the window outside where the sun shone brilliantly.
Empress Dowager Jiang wanted to use the same methods for dealing with concubines to establish authority over her and make her submit.
She would tear off a bloody piece of flesh from the Jiang family to tell Empress Dowager Jiang her response.
This marriage alliance was essentially a game on the surface of unanimous external facing, but internally mutually devouring each other to see who would be the final winner.
She would not become Empress Dowager Jiang’s good daughter-in-law, and Empress Dowager Jiang need not put on the airs of a good mother-in-law either.
What lay before them had always been only interests clearly delineated in the political arena. If Empress Dowager Jiang didn’t understand that contests between political enemies should take place in the court, Wen Yu rather felt she might have overestimated this opponent.
—
On the afternoon of the day the instructing nanny returned to the palace, she came to the courier station once again bearing Empress Dowager Jiang’s decree. Only this time, accompanying her was also an imperial physician.
When blocked outside the courtyard by Tongque leading the Qingyun Guards in an identical manner to the morning, this time the instructing nanny had no intention of getting angry at all. She only smiled without warmth: “The Empress Dowager heard that the Princess has been bedridden for many days and specially ordered this old slave to bring the imperial physician to diagnose the Princess.”
This time Tongque didn’t dare arbitrarily drive people away. After sending someone to ask Wen Yu for instructions, she reluctantly allowed them into the courtyard.
When the instructing nanny led the imperial physician and a dark mass of palace maids into the courtyard, her expression was quite haughty. However, when she saw Wen Yu in the main hall, she literally couldn’t catch her breath from her heart and nearly fainted from anger.
Previously she had also speculated that Wen Yu was feigning illness, but who could see even half a trace of illness in the person in the main hall, separated only by a gauze curtain, leaning against a soft couch reading a book?
Since claiming illness, she wasn’t even pretending anymore?
How many years had she followed by Empress Dowager Jiang’s side? Even the concubines who were previously favored by the late king—not one person dared to directly give Empress Dowager Jiang such face like this.
A little girl from Liang territory who had already lost her maternal clan’s protection—did she still want to rebel against heaven in their Chen Kingdom?
The instructing nanny’s face turned alternately green and white. For a long while she couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
The imperial physician, seeing this situation, was also somewhat at a loss. For a moment he didn’t even know whether he should still take Wen Yu’s pulse. Just as he was hesitating about what to do, Wen Yu behind the gauze curtain, flipping through the scroll as if no one else was present, spoke: “I heard the Empress Dowager assigned an imperial physician to come diagnose this palace. This palace feels fatigue in my body, listlessness in spirit, always weak and short of breath. I must trouble the physician for diagnosis and treatment.”
The imperial physician looked at the section of snow-white wrist that Wen Yu extended from behind the gauze curtain. Cold sweat on his forehead broke out in successive waves. How could he not know this was the two female masters of the Chen King’s palace engaging in a power struggle?
By rights he only needed to handle affairs for Empress Dowager Jiang. But from the moment he stepped into this courier station, the imperial physician felt invisible pressure surge over like tidal waves, layer upon layer. Upon reaching Wen Yu’s presence, even breathing became somewhat difficult.
They had also brought quite a few Chen King’s palace guards on this trip, but after those tall servants in the courtyard imperceptibly closed in around them, it was as if killing intent had already spread through this courier station.
The imperial physician was unwilling to lose his life here. When taking Wen Yu’s pulse, his hand kept trembling. Bean-sized cold sweat on his forehead had already slid down several beads from his temples.
Wen Yu naturally noticed the imperial physician was shaking. Her expression was calm. Looking at the pages of the book, she didn’t even raise her eyes. Her tone was also gentle, revealing no sharpness: “How is this palace’s health?”