The wind that blew in was still slightly cold. Song Chuyi had already changed into gauze clothing and at this moment couldn’t help but yawn. Zhou Weizhao removed the cloak from his shoulders and draped it over her, unwilling to sit any longer. He pulled her up to return to Yongán Palace. “When the time comes, I’ll have Auntie speak to Imperial Grandmother, or I’ll speak to her myself. She’ll surely agree.”
Zhou Weizhao only called two people “auntie”—Princess Rongcheng and Princess Duanhui. Both had grown up under Empress Lu’s care. Empress Lu had truly treated Princess Duanhui, this daughter, as half a daughter. But now Princess Duanhui, entrusted by the Crown Prince, was busy matchmaking for Prince Dongping. So the one who could persuade Empress Lu must be Princess Rongcheng. Song Chuyi raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid Auntie won’t be able to help you this time.” Seeing him look over, a brilliant smile bloomed on her face. “She’s going to give Little Mushroom a younger brother. Because she caught a cold, Master Hu has given her strict instructions that she must rest in bed.”
Princess Rongcheng and Ye Jingkuan had always had an excellent relationship. In the second year after their marriage, they had their eldest son, who was named Ye Meng. Somehow Ye Jingchuan gave him the nickname “Little Mushroom,” and it gradually stuck. But there had been no news since then. Now Little Mushroom was already eleven years old. Zhou Weizhao was stunned for a moment before reacting, filled with joy. “When did this happen? Uncle-in-law came to the palace just now and didn’t even tell me…”
“The Princess Consort told me when she came to the palace. She was even complaining that Uncle-in-law talked with the Princess all last night, making such a racket that the Princess couldn’t rest, which is why she caught a cold.” Seeing him happy, Song Chuyi was also happy. “Uncle-in-law only summoned the imperial physician after entering the palace. The Princess Consort couldn’t find him and didn’t have time to tell him. By now the messenger from Princess Rongcheng’s residence has probably already entered the palace.”
Crown Princess Lu only remembered after they both left that she had forgotten to tell Zhou Weizhao about Princess Rongcheng’s pregnancy. She frowned briefly, then let it go. Song Chuyi knowing was the same as Zhou Weizhao knowing anyway. She first instructed Nanny Liang and Xiangling to prepare a gift list.
Nanny Liang’s face was full of smiles. “There have been so many joyous occasions lately, all coming together at once. Miss Chonghua is about to be married soon, and now the Princess is expecting…” She smiled cheerfully, then sighed. “If only things could always be like this.”
Whether or not Nanny Liang’s words were particularly auspicious, just after finalizing the gifts for Princess Rongcheng, that afternoon Princess Duanhui entered the palace, bringing news of yet another happy occasion—Prince Dongping’s marriage had been settled.
Nanny Liang still wasn’t particularly pleased to hear about Prince Dongping’s affairs. However, Prince Dongping had indeed done several good deeds recently, so she didn’t wish for things to go badly for him. He was grown up now and truly should be getting married. How could he keep delaying like this?
Crown Princess Lu also didn’t care much. For her to let bygones be bygones was somewhat difficult, but she wasn’t someone who couldn’t stand to see others do well. Hearing Princess Duanhui speak thus, she asked, “Which family’s daughter is it?”
The matchmaker was naturally Princess Duanhui. Although the wedding would be handled with help from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department, Crown Princess Lu, as the legitimate mother, couldn’t simply wash her hands of everything, so she still needed to ask clearly.
“The seventh daughter of Minister Tao’s household.” Princess Duanhui had carefully selected from many options, finally consulting Old Madam Song and personally observing this Seventh Miss Tao’s character for a while before making the decision. “She’s quite obedient and sensible, a good girl. If we marry in someone troublesome, there will be many complications.”
Tao Dinghu and his wife could be considered good at raising their children. Their sons had been somewhat wayward in earlier years but had reformed after growing up. The daughters in the family were all well-educated and reasonable. Crown Princess Lu knew that Princess Duanhui had put her heart into this, fearing to bring back someone ambitious who would cause trouble in the future. She smiled and held her hand. “Speaking of this matter, I should thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t feel at ease entrusting this to anyone else.”
What worried her was exactly what worried Princess Duanhui—fearing to bring back someone ambitious, which would likely lead to bloodshed and chaos in the future.
Princess Duanhui waved her hand and took a sip of tea. “How can you speak of thanks? I thought about it—aside from me, there’s truly no one good to entrust with this. What I handle, at least Crown Prince Brother can rest assured about. He has changed quite a lot now…” Reaching this point, she said no more. No matter how much he had changed, what he did before was done—it couldn’t be erased with an apology. She then said to Crown Princess Lu, “When you have time, summon Madam Tao and Seventh Miss Tao for a final look. If it seems acceptable, I’ll go speak with Crown Prince Brother.”
Crown Princess Lu agreed. Nanny Liang couldn’t help but remark, “A daughter from a censor’s family shouldn’t be someone ignorant of propriety…”
The next day, Crown Princess Lu found a pretext to summon Madam Tao into the palace. Seventh Miss Tao indeed conducted herself with proper measure—she appeared to be a likable girl. Crown Princess Lu was very pleased and bestowed upon her a pair of golden hairpins with ox-watching-moon designs, even specially leading her to meet Empress Lu.
Only then did Madam Tao finally breathe a complete sigh of relief. Her husband was extremely pleased about this marriage alliance, but she had been both frightened and alarmed. Prince Dongping’s mother was already dead, the Crown Prince was ill, and he himself wasn’t particularly favored by Emperor Jianzhang. Compared to the currently ascendant Grand Prince, there was simply no comparison. Moreover, in the past Fan Liangdi had once driven the Crown Princess nearly to the point of having no way out. She was truly terrified—what if her daughter married over and was mistreated?
But she hadn’t expected Crown Princess Lu to be so easy to talk to. And not just easy to talk to—her attitude toward them was neither enthusiastically warm nor excessively cold. Overtly and covertly, she was telling them that as long as they behaved properly and kept to their place, she definitely wouldn’t make things difficult. This set Madam Tao’s heart at ease. She knew her own daughter—though she might not be particularly cunning, she was solid and dutiful. With these qualities of being dutiful, presumably Crown Princess Lu wouldn’t make things too difficult for her.
Since Crown Princess Lu had nodded her approval and Empress Lu also found her pleasing, Princess Duanhui went to tell the Crown Prince about the candidate.
The Crown Prince hadn’t expected to be able to marry back a daughter from a prestigious family for Prince Dongping. Hearing it was Tao Dinghu’s daughter, he was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought even this wouldn’t be possible. Tao Dinghu was, after all, the Left Censor-in-Chief, overseeing all censorial matters in the realm—this was a position of real power. Naturally he had no objections and immediately nodded in agreement.
That evening when Prince Dongping came in, he also discussed this matter with him. Now when he spoke, he rarely drooled anymore. He spoke his words very slowly and very clearly. “This matter is settled, so I can rest easy. In the future, you all must live well together. Over there…” He paused, his expression very complex. “They are good people. As long as you all behave properly and keep your peace, even if I’m no longer here, they won’t fail to accommodate you.”
Prince Dongping was equally surprised as him, never having imagined it would be the legitimate daughter of the Left Censor-in-Chief. He pressed his lips together, wanting to cry yet also somewhat wanting to laugh, and in the end nodded heavily.