Swing inside the wall, path outside the wall; outside Prince Qin, Wang brought betrothal gifts to the door, inside the beauty… was cursing up a storm!

What kind of woman was this? Though he hadn’t seen her face, he knew she was fiery, fierce, valiant, and wild. People said, “Imperial decrees can’t be defied, but that doesn’t stop me from looking down on him.” What kind of talk was that? The Seventh Prince was deeply hurt and asked Na Jin, “Am I so unlovable? On what grounds does she look down on me? I’m neither pockmarked nor blind, I’m strong and healthy, and I’m from the imperial family’s main line. In what way am I not good enough for her? It’s truly strange. I’m as elegant as a jade tree in the wind, the finest specimen on De Nei Street, yet I keep meeting people who don’t appreciate me!”

Na Jin scratched his head and said, “Well… it’s hard to say. It has nothing to do with status. What people want is a certain feeling. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with you, but that you haven’t met someone who appreciates you. It’s like a tenon that hasn’t found the right mortise—anything fits until it does. Besides, this Fujin is Mongolian, and Mongolians are just like that. You’ll get used to it.”

“When will this end? If she looks down on me, I won’t serve her either!” The Seventh Prince patted the snow off his clothes, put down several loads of gifts, and turned to leave. He muttered, “This time I’ve made an enemy of the Empress. That former palace maid is rotten inside. Why did she set me up with such a sour person? What was she thinking? She wanted to harm me, but I’ve even cured her of not recognizing people. She should thank me.”

He left the betrothal gifts and ran off, but how could that work? Had the engagement been settled or not? Behind him, the Korchin Prince chased out from the manor gate, calling out as he ran: “Seventh Prince… hey, Seventh Prince, please wait!”

Na Jin saw that his master had no intention of stopping and whispered, “Don’t be like that. Your future father-in-law is chasing after you. That’s your wife’s father—you can’t disrespect him.”

The Seventh Prince thought about it. What could he do? Unless he left Beijing altogether, he couldn’t win this fight. Would he let the Empress find ways to deal with him every other day? He stopped, holding the horse reins in his hand, swinging them back and forth. The Korchin Prince’s surname was originally Borjigin, which had been changed to the Chinese surname Bao after Sinicization. For convenience, everyone called him Prince Bao. Prince Bao had a waist ten spans around, a true Mongolian giant. If you made him unhappy, he could kill you with one slap. The Seventh Prince felt a chill, thinking to himself: if the father looks like this, the daughter probably isn’t much better—unattractive and domineering. His future life looked bleak; his good days were over.

He didn’t dare offend Prince Bao for fear of being slapped. Since the imperial decree had been issued, they were to be relatives, so he had to put on a friendly face. He took a few steps forward, swept his sleeve, and made a respectful bow, “Greetings to Uncle Bao.”

Prince Bao quickly said he dared not accept such respect. They were both princes of equal rank, but now that they were to become relatives, they had become different generations. Not just the Seventh Prince, but Prince Bao also found it awkward. He quickly helped him up. Prince Bao knew that his daughter had been heard cursing at home. The Seventh Prince had come in good faith to deliver betrothal gifts, arriving as a guest, yet she deliberately made him uncomfortable. The fault was his own for not raising her strictly—she had been spoiled since childhood.

Prince Bao’s face was full of smiles as he warmly took the Seventh Prince’s hand, leading him back: “We’re family now. Why didn’t you come in when you arrived? Normally a girl shouldn’t be seen before the wedding night, but our family doesn’t mind. Mongolians don’t care about such formalities. Meet my daughter and talk a bit to develop your relationship. After all, you’ll be living together.”

Prince Bao chuckled while the Seventh Prince felt as if cold water had been poured over him. Forcing himself, he thought he might as well meet her—she was probably dark-skinned with a flat face. Daughters resemble their fathers, and Prince Bao’s eyes and nose are too close together, with high cheekbones and squinty eyes. How beautiful could his daughter possibly be?

As they entered, he saw the prince’s residence was quite spacious with a large courtyard containing fish tanks and pomegranate trees. Prince Bao was very fertile; the eldest princess was about to marry, while the youngest sister, just learning to walk, was held by her mother. There were others in between—a half-grown child squatting in the corner desperately memorizing books, reciting “Mencius: King Hui of Liang, Part Two,” something about “This king has an illness” and “This king loves valor.” Prince Bao walked over frowning, “Stop reciting! You’ve been droning on all day. Find something else to do!” Turning to the Seventh Prince, he gestured, “Come, come, enter, and take the seat of honor.”

The Seventh Prince said he wouldn’t dare and asked the old man to take the seat of honor while he found a place below.

Since he had come, he might as well act like a suitor. He had fallen into the pit anyway. The Seventh Prince tucked in his hands and had people bring in the betrothal gifts, offering the list with an ingratiating smile: “My mother heard about the arranged marriage and was so happy she couldn’t close her mouth. She had someone draft this list for Uncle Bao to review.”

Prince Bao received it with both hands, opened the red note, and looked at it. It was full of auspicious phrases about bringing glory to a humble home and joy overflowing the doorway, about the month of pomegranate blossoms, and the importance of the ritual of men preceding women. It was all flattery. Glancing at what followed, he saw twenty hundred taels of betrothal silver, sixty taels for hair ornaments, plus hairpins, rings, accessories, handkerchiefs, hats, snacks, and seasonal vegetables—countless items. Anyway, no fine thing could match the joy of his daughter being settled. The Empress had made a good choice this time. Although the Seventh Prince wasn’t very reliable, at least he wasn’t a bad person. With some reform, he could still be acceptable. Prince Bao smiled broadly. His precious daughter did have a bit of a temper, but her mother had died early, and she had taken over the household affairs at a young age. His daughter was capable and good at everything, though her reputation for being aggressive had spread. Those people had shallow eyes and couldn’t see her good qualities. Prince Bao had never remarried, and his concubines couldn’t manage affairs. The entire prince’s residence depended on the eldest princess to run. She was capable—the monthly silver for over a hundred people was distributed without error. That was true ability. Whoever married her would be getting a backbone for their household. They could just wait to enjoy the blessings!

“Good, good, all good. The betrothal gifts aren’t important. What matters is that you have a happy life together. I won’t say anything else,” he turned his head and called out in a thunderous voice, “Invite the eldest princess here. The marriage is settled. You’ll be family sooner or later. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Meet each other, connect heart to heart, and live in harmony. How wonderful!”

The steward acknowledged and ran out. The Seventh Prince exchanged glances with Na Jin, both tense with sweaty hands. Goodness, this was happening—who knew what three-headed, six-armed creature would appear.

Footsteps approached. He took two deep breaths. A pair of lambskin boots entered his vision. The feet weren’t large but medium-sized, with curled upturned toes topped with a fluffy ball, looking quite charming. Looking up, he saw a water-green balustrade skirt, an embroidered jacket with three inlays and three borders, and a white fox-fur collar with the yuan-bao shape that covered her chin. He could only see two full, nimble red lips, as plump as little apricots… The Seventh Prince was shocked. This was his Fujin? She wasn’t bad-looking at all, much better than he had imagined.

He hurriedly turned to look at Na Jin, who blinked, indicating she was quite good.

The Seventh Prince stood up, shuffled forward a couple of steps, and not knowing what to say, he said, “I am Prince Qin Wang Hong Tao…”

The eldest princess had quite a personality. She turned her face away and threw out a sentence, “My name is Man Ta Ge Ri.”

“Man Ta Ge Ri means ‘little round face’!” The Seventh Prince smiled, “This name doesn’t match reality—you have an oval face… Four syllables sound too formal when calling you. I’ll call you Xiao Man, with the ‘Xiao’ to make it cute and endearing…”

Before he could finish, he received a fierce glare. “Is the Prince always like this? This is our first meeting. What’s all this about ‘cute’ and ‘endearing’? Is that how one speaks?”

The Seventh Prince hit a wall, thinking this woman was too fierce. Three sentences in and she was already showing attitude. Would he end up dying under her feet in the future? He stuttered, “That’s not… not how I usually am… It’s just that we’re getting married…”

The eldest princess scrutinized him with a critical eye. The Seventh Prince wasn’t bad, with a good appearance and imperial favor. His only problem was his bad reputation—gambling with roosters and dogs aside, he had several concubines. When she had been selected for the palace, the girls who stayed as palace maids had discussed privately that among the princes of this generation, only the Thirteenth Prince and the Twelfth Prince stood out. As for the Seventh Prince, he lived too freely. Having a principal wife or not made no difference to him. Who would want to be that dispensable person? So when the arranged marriage fell on her head, it was like a bolt from the blue, making her cry all night in anger. Now seeing him in person, he was indeed as rumored—lacking cultivation and dignity, thick-skinned. She felt her fate was even more tragic. How could such a libertine be a good match?

The daughter was being temperamental, making the Seventh Prince lose face, which wasn’t good. Prince Bao quickly smoothed things over: “I like the Seventh Prince’s warmth and familiarity. Our Mongolian princesses are generous, not petty. You should leave me some face.”

Prince Bao was about to lecture his precious daughter, but she stomped her foot and said, “If you like him so much, you marry him!” Her little braid swung as she turned and left, having shown her face for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The Seventh Prince stared blankly at Prince Bao. “Uncle Bao, the eldest princess has no interest in me. You see, forced marriages don’t make good couples. Why don’t I go to the palace later to report back, and we’ll cancel this arranged marriage?”

Prince Bao was startled. “Don’t joke around! How could an imperial marriage be canceled just like that? It would be fatal! The eldest princess doesn’t understand proper behavior. She’s a young woman with thin skin. Please be understanding. After she enters your household, you can guide her. We cannot disobey the imperial decree.”

The Seventh Prince had no choice. Thinking about it, there was some logic. After she entered his household, he could teach her properly. Perhaps there was still hope. As for who would end up guiding whom later, that’s a story for another time.

Having met the person, although they parted unhappily, the trip wasn’t in vain. The Seventh Prince cupped his hands and departed from Prince Bao’s residence with more than a dozen porters.

Fine snow fluttered in the sky. He didn’t rush to mount his horse but walked along the street with Na Jin, asking as they went, “What do you think of this girl?”

“Upright.” Na Jin held up his thumb and shook it. “This servant thinks she might be good at managing a household, unlike the other mistresses in the residence who fight over food and drink. She’s the eldest princess of the Bao Prince’s residence. Her status is high, and she can control the servants below. You won’t have to worry about people blocking your door in the future. With a Fujin supporting you, being scolded by one person is better than being surrounded by three or four. Don’t you think?”

That was true. His household lacked discipline, and his secondary consorts didn’t treat him as the head of the family. Today they saw some jewelry they liked, tomorrow their brothers needed a position—when they wanted something from him, they were all coquettish and charming. But on days when all was peaceful, if he looked for them, they were indifferent, often busy playing cards, asking him to wait until their game was over.

Don’t even mention it—thinking about it brought tears of bitterness. The Seventh Prince weighed the pros and cons and felt that marrying a Mongolian Fujin had some advantages. She could intimidate people, and if words didn’t work, she’d roll up her sleeves and get physical. The household rules would improve significantly.

However, the Seventh Prince was still melancholy: “Although the eldest princess looks good, she can’t compare to our Shu’er… I don’t know where she is now or if we’ll ever find her again. Old Twelve pretended to be sick to fool people, but he surely wasn’t idle. He hasn’t given up, I know it. Didn’t the palace arrange a marriage for him? How could they not? That clever boy found a way to refuse first, which is why it fell on me!”

Na Jin saw his master was unhappy and also sighed, “Master, don’t get stuck on this. Your new Fujin may be a bit fierce, but at least she looks proper, and her family is decent. Both the palace and the garden approve, so there won’t be obstacles between you two. Not like the Twelfth Prince and Xiao Shu—even if she’s found, being together would be difficult. Think about it: not to mention others, would Noble Consort Gui in Lang Run Garden agree? Her Ladyship is still hoping to gain face by marrying into a good family. If the Twelfth Prince brought home someone like this, she would be the first to object. Just wait and see!”

“That’s true. Old Twelve’s mother has a temper like a lotus seed pod. Even though they don’t live together, when they meet, she gives him cold looks. It’s not an easy life.” The Seventh Prince looked up, squinting at the sky. The vault was gray, hanging very low, continuously sifting down snow. He sighed and in the end, didn’t mount his horse but walked back to De Nei Street from Bang Zhang Hutong.

Upon arriving home, he suddenly received news that the Twelfth Prince hadn’t been staying in Beijing at all. He had gone outside and had just returned today, bringing back a young woman. He was busy settling her in. “Seventh Prince, quickly go see the excitement!”

The Seventh Prince slapped his thigh. “So our Shu’er has been found!” Without bothering about anything else, he mounted his horse and rode straight to Prince Chun’s residence.

Arriving at Prince Chun’s residence, he entered and asked, “Where is your master?” The old fox Guan Zhaojing came up to respond, smiling and saying, “Seventh Prince, you’ve come? Our master is unwell and not receiving guests. I told you last time you came. Have you forgotten?”

The Seventh Prince raised his leg and kicked him in the ankle. “To hell with your ‘unwell’! Who are you trying to fool? Tell me, where is Xiao Shu? Is she in the prince’s residence? If you don’t tell me, I’ll search myself!”

Guan Zhaojing couldn’t get around him and had to hang his head and say, “Don’t shout. She’s in Jiu Cu Ju Hutong. This servant will take you there.”

Later he followed Guan Zhaojing and found a quadrangle deep in the hutong. From the outside, the courtyard wasn’t small—it had three sections with gatekeepers and maids fully equipped. But seeing this arrangement, the Seventh Prince was upset. He rushed in to confront Old Twelve, “What’s this? Planning to set up a concubine residence? What did we agree on before? Whoever wants her will give her the title of principal wife. What are you doing now? Is your word worth less than a bottle stopper?”

The Twelfth Prince wasn’t surprised by the Seventh Prince’s appearance but found him annoying. Frowning, he moved aside slightly, “Who’s planning to set up a concubine residence? This is to avoid gossip about the future arranged marriage. How would it look if she moved into Prince Chun’s residence without a title or status?”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? She could have stayed at Prince Qin’s residence too!” As he grumbled, he saw someone coming from across the courtyard doorway, with graceful brows and smiles. Who else could it be but his Shu’er? Separated for almost a year, she had grown even more radiant—her eyebrows naturally dark without drawing, her lips naturally red without coloring, truly a peerless beauty. But alas, the beauty was like a flower beyond the clouds. He felt infinite regret, looking again and again, still thinking she was the best. No one in this world could compare to her.

Ding Yi was pleased to see the Seventh Prince and went up to greet him, calling him master. “Have you been well all this time?”

“How could I be well?” The Seventh Prince’s nose began to ache. “Shu’er, where did you go? I’ve been worried sick about you.”

He wanted to embrace her but was blocked by Old Twelve. He clung to Hong Ce’s arm, reaching toward Xiao Shu, saying, “No matter what, you’ll always be my Xiao Shu. I’ve always remembered you in my heart!”

Ding Yi saw him wiping tears and felt sad, crying along with him, nodding and saying, “I’m fine, master, don’t worry. You look much healthier than when you were in Ninguta. Your complexion is good too. I’m really happy to see that.”

The Seventh Prince quickly disagreed, “I’m just puffy. I don’t sleep well at night, thinking of you… Why are you staying here? Why not come home? You’re still registered under my Feathered Banner, still holding a position under me! Don’t stay here anymore, in this neither-here-nor-there place. Come back to Prince Qin’s residence with me!”

Hong Ce grew impatient, disliking the way Old Seven was being overly sentimental. He turned to Ding Yi and said, “From now on, there’s no need to call the Seventh Prince ‘master.’ Your registry has been removed. The Feathered Banner no longer has you.”

Hearing this, the Seventh Prince became anxious, “What do you mean removed? How do I not know about this? What trick have you played? How dare you interfere with my banner?”

Hong Ce was unconcerned, “Go ask your banner’s commander. Last time, half of the Feathered Banner’s registry archives burned down. The list hasn’t been completed yet!”

The Seventh Prince stepped back two paces. His subordinates had made a mistake and didn’t dare report it upward, planning to quietly resolve the matter, but Old Twelve had found out. Maybe he was the one who did it—to destroy Xiao Shu’s fingerprint, he had burned half of his banner registry. He was too ruthless!

“Old Twelve, you’re something! Just wait, I’ll report this to the Emperor!” The Seventh Prince angrily walked out.

Hong Ce didn’t stop him. “Making false accusations with empty words—if the Emperor asks for evidence, can you produce any?”

The Seventh Prince stopped in his tracks. That was true. If he hadn’t mentioned it, he would still be in the dark. What evidence did he have? What could he do now? He had planned to have Xiao Shu come live at his place, but that was impossible now. He had no legitimate reason. Old Twelve had pulled the carpet from under his feet! He turned to look at the person standing under the eaves. “Shu’er…”

Ding Yi smiled and said, “Seventh Prince, don’t be angry. The Twelfth Prince couldn’t do such a thing. You’ve misunderstood him. Calm down and come in for a cup of tea. I heard the palace has arranged a Fujin for you. That’s wonderful news! I haven’t congratulated you yet!”

Now the Seventh Prince had nothing more to say. He was a man with a principal wife now and no longer had any right to compete with Old Twelve. Enough—he had been running around and was a bit thirsty. Might as well go in and rest for a while! He shook his robe and climbed the steps again.