Zhao Ai knew tonight’s interrogation was extraordinary and had been waiting with Zhang Zhibei outside the Royal Kitchen. They heard most of the mother-daughter conversation inside, and finally hearing Zhenzhen crying loudly, he quickly entered, checked Qiuniang’s pupils and breathing, understood it was too late to save her, and had Zhang Zhibei summon imperial physicians for examination and prepare for the body’s collection.
He silently accompanied Zhenzhen. After she had cried for a while, he gently suggested: “You’re too tired today. Leave matters here to me. I’ll tell His Majesty about Madam Ju’s confession tomorrow. You should go rest first.”
Zhenzhen was startled by these words, then stopped crying, gently laid down Qiuniang from her arms, wiped away her tears, stood up, and said: “I’ll go record Madam Ju’s confession now.”
Zhao Ai wanted to persuade her again, but she waved her hand and walked toward the Royal Kitchen’s main hall, leaving behind one sentence: “This is my duty.”
At noon, she submitted written records of the events she had investigated the previous day and related confessions to the Emperor. At the appointed hour, as promised, she removed her official robes, dressed in plain clothes, and knelt on straw mats before Funing Hall awaiting punishment.
The Emperor summoned her into the hall and said to her: “Although you brought the pearl hairpin before Crown Prince Zhuang Wen, you were unaware of Consort Liu’s conspiracy. Even if you bear some fault, you exposed the truth about Liu’s identity and prevented her and Madam Yu’s plot to usurp the throne, which was like removing a sword hanging over my head. Your merits offset your faults. Moreover, you are Zhang Yunqiao’s daughter. He eliminated traitors for the country and paid a great price—his future, reputation, and early death were all related to this. Your mother Liu Michu wouldn’t have died so tragically if she hadn’t revealed Qi Xiao’s conspiracy to me. Whether by emotion, reason, or righteousness, I cannot harm their daughter. So all grievances involving you are written off, and you can still live a peaceful life as an ordinary person. If you’re willing, you can also remain in the palace as a female official. However, to formally become Director of the Palace Kitchen, your qualifications are still too shallow. Start as Food Service instead.”
Zhenzhen bowed to thank His Majesty for his grace, but also requested: “I hope Your Majesty will show mercy and allow me to leave the palace to live among the common people.”
“You want to leave the palace?” The Emperor pondered briefly, then asked: “Do you want to be with Second Brother? Forgive my directness—if you hadn’t had that relationship with Crown Prince Zhuang Wen, I could fulfill your wish to be with Second Brother, posthumously grant your father a high official rank, and let Second Brother marry you as his wife. But now all the nobles and relatives know you once served Crown Prince Zhuang Wen. You and Second Brother can never be husband and wife again. However, I’ve heard something about Song Tao Sheng assisting Prince Wei in Ningguo Prefecture. With Second Brother serving as an official outside and having such a capable assistant, it could be considered fortunate. If you go with him to Mingzhou, you’ll still be Lady of Xin’an Commandery, Song Tao Sheng.”
Zhenzhen said: “I want to leave the palace not to seek marriage, but because compared to the brilliant light of the nine-layered palace, I more yearn for the yearly willow colors along the embankments. I like watching green seedlings growing luxuriantly, water wheels turning constantly. I like seeing morning light scattered on fields crisscrossed with paths, and I like watching wheat waves shimmer golden in the sunset… I was born in the countryside. Being able to ride freely on country paths, welcoming the fragrance of grass and trees rushing toward me—that’s the life I hope to have.”
“Riding on country paths…” The Emperor seemed thoughtful, gradually showing a faint smile. “Years ago, Yunqiao, Lin Yu, and I also rode together on country paths, laughing constantly in the willow breeze. Before Yunqiao became an imperial physician, he had treated many farmers among the common people. Along the way, many people recognized him and offered freshly harvested vegetables and fruits. Lin Yu and I both sighed that Yunqiao practiced medicine to help the world, accumulating great merit, while we were just scholars, useless in a hundred ways. Yunqiao then said: ‘Actually, you’re also practicing medicine to help the world, except I cure diseases and save people, while you save the nation’s fate.'”
He sighed softly, blinked, drew back his distant thoughts, and looked at Zhenzhen again: “I agree to let you leave the palace. Where will you go afterward? What are your plans?”
Zhenzhen answered: “I want to bury my father’s remains with my mother, letting him stay in Lin’an. Then I’ll take my adoptive mother’s coffin back to Pujiang and bury her not far from Shizhen Lou.”
The Emperor asked: “Did Madam Ju name Shizhen Lou?”
Zhenzhen confirmed it was so.
The Emperor was silent, then said after a moment: “Food has no fixed taste; what suits the mouth is precious—this was a principle the Late Emperor often told those around him.”
Seeing Zhenzhen speechless, the Emperor suggested: “Wouldn’t it be better to bury Madam Ju in Lin’an? She grew up in Lin’an. Burying them together here would save you from traveling between two places for tomb sweeping during Qingming in the future.”
“I think she would prefer to be buried in Pujiang,” Zhenzhen said. “She spent the most peaceful time of her life there, and there are many people who truly loved and miss her.”
“What about afterward? What will you do?” the Emperor asked again.
Zhenzhen lowered her eyes: “I’m not sure yet. Perhaps continue running a tavern, or maybe rest for a while and then record the dishes I know, writing them into a book. This way, even if I leave this world in the future, people will still cook according to my recipes, allowing these culinary techniques to be passed down.”
“That’s a good idea,” the Emperor smiled encouragingly. “Write it down, print it as a book, and sign it ‘Director of the Palace Kitchen, Lady Zhang.’ Many people will surely read it.”
“No,” Zhenzhen looked up at His Majesty and said firmly. “I will sign it: The Wu Family of Pujiang.”
After Consort Liu’s suicide, the Empress raised Princess Ruying by her side. Sympathizing with Old Lady Song’s situation, she had people find a residence not far from the imperial city for Old Lady Song to live in, granted her two maidservants, and allowed her to often enter the palace to visit Ruying.
Before leaving the palace, Zhenzhen specially went to Kunning Palace to thank the Empress. The Empress asked if she truly didn’t plan to be a female official again. Zhenzhen nodded affirmatively. The Empress sighed, dismissed her attendants, and spoke candidly to Zhenzhen: “Since becoming Crown Princess, Fengxian’s temperament has become much fiercer than before. Yesterday the Crown Prince had several dancers perform in the Eastern Palace. Xiang Li’er danced best, and he praised her a few times. When Fengxian heard about this, she called Xiang Li’er to her quarters and had people whip Xiang Li’er’s calves with whips, beating her so she couldn’t walk. She also forbade others from helping her. Xiang Li’er had to crawl out of the Eastern Palace herself before someone sent her back to the Immortal Music Academy… When I heard about this and summoned Fengxian for questioning, she was still self-righteous, saying this was to intimidate seductive people and prevent them from tempting the Crown Prince into indulging in pleasures. After she left, someone told me that during the year she returned to her family home, several of her father’s concubines died one after another—some by suicide, some by accidental death… So many people died in just one year. Isn’t this too coincidental? Sigh, I have an ominous feeling that the palace won’t be very peaceful in the future. You were sisters with her for many years. If you could stay in the palace and give more guidance, perhaps she could restrain herself somewhat. If her actions become excessive, I believe you could think of ways to help me control her.”
Zhenzhen said: “Now our status is different, and it’s no longer appropriate for me to advise her as a sister. Even staying in the palace, what I could do would be limited. The Empress is her aunt by marriage. If she makes mistakes, the Empress should speak directly, punish when necessary, and not be too gentle, lest she develop the audacity to overstep and offend superiors. I think that although she’s strong-willed, she knows how to weigh pros and cons and won’t do anything too excessive. If there truly comes a day when she stirs up huge waves, as long as the Empress calls, I’m willing to return to the palace and assist the Empress.”
As soon as Zhenzhen left Kunning Palace, an Eastern Palace attendant approached, requesting her to go to the Eastern Palace, saying the Crown Princess invited her for a chat.
Upon seeing Zhenzhen, Fengxian was all smiles, inquiring about her welfare, taking Zhenzhen’s hand and walking to the inner room before fixing her gaze and asking: “What did the Empress summon you to Kunning Palace for? Did she want you to stay as a female official?”
Zhenzhen denied it: “She only asked about my plans after leaving the palace.”
Fengxian said: “We sisters share deep affection. Now that I have good prospects, I naturally won’t forget you. You can stay by my side. Whatever we encounter, we’ll work together to solve it. If I become Empress in the future, I’ll definitely make you Director of the Palace Kitchen. You and I will jointly control this harem’s power.”
“Sisters…” Zhenzhen repeated the word and smiled faintly. “When the Crown Princess sent out that pearl hairpin, she had already forgotten we were sisters, hadn’t she?”
Fengxian’s expression changed dramatically: “What are you saying? Are you suspecting me? If I knew that hairpin was poisonous, why would I taste the one Fourth Brother handed to me, nearly losing my life from severe poisoning!”
“Yes, everyone thinks so, including me,” Zhenzhen said. “I thought so too until I inadvertently heard that you had spilled hair oil before the Fourth Prince and Princess entered the hall and had people polish the floor to a mirror shine that could trip a fly.”
“Are you going to tell His Majesty?” Fengxian laughed coldly. “This is just a coincidence.”
Zhenzhen shook her head: “I won’t say anything. Without more evidence, this can only be a coincidence. I’m leaving the palace. From now on we’ll be in different places, and there probably won’t be many chances to meet again. The Fengxian in my heart is still the sister from Shizhen Lou who cared for her younger sister. I hope the hundreds of medical books sister has read will let sister keep a physician’s benevolent heart, not just teach sister to identify poisons.”
She raised her hands to her forehead in farewell to Fengxian, then slowly stepped back, leaving the Eastern Palace under Fengxian’s silent gaze.
Back in Lin’an, Zhao Ai naturally couldn’t escape the troubles of being pressured into marriage. After the Emperor finished handling palace affairs, he personally arranged Zhao Ai’s marriage. This time, without discussion, he directly arranged the betrothal, but strangely, that family’s young lady requested to meet Zhao Ai first.
Under the Empress’s arrangement, they met by boat on Little West Lake. Zhao Ai rode a small flat boat, sitting listlessly at the bow, drifting on the lake for a long time before a pleasure boat slowly approached. Zhao Ai turned to look and saw a white-clothed youth wearing a folded cap, holding a folding fan diagonally, standing with hands behind back outside the boat cabin facing away from him. Only when the two boats were about to collide did the figure turn around and smile brightly at him: “Second Prince, how fortunate to meet! Why are you here today?”
It was Wei Qingxun.
Zhao Ai glanced at her and said irritably: “A blind date.”
“What a coincidence, so am I,” Wei Qingxun smiled leisurely.
Zhao Ai stared suspiciously at her smile, then suddenly jumped up: “It’s actually you!”
The boat was small, and his sudden movement made it lose balance, rocking violently several times. Zhao Ai lost his footing, staggered, and nearly fell into the lake.
Wei Qingxun laughingly extended her folding fan toward him: “Come to my boat. Although it’s not large, for two people to talk, it won’t be too cramped.”
Zhao Ai glanced indifferently at the attendant rowing behind him, signaling him to approach the pleasure boat, then leaped aboard himself without touching Wei Qingxun’s fan.
Zhao Ai settled himself in the boat cabin, and Wei Qingxun also slowly entered, sitting across from him: “We’re both straightforward people, so there’s no need for much small talk. I know Your Highness doesn’t want to marry any woman except Zhenzhen, and I don’t want to marry any man. But both our fathers want to force us into marriage. I thought about it—perhaps this dilemma could become a solution benefiting both sides.”
“How would both sides benefit?” Zhao Ai asked.
Wei Qingxun said: “We’ll still hold the wedding as scheduled in the future, but after the wedding, you’ll go to Mingzhou and I’ll return to Ningguo Prefecture. When we need to return to Lin’an for holidays and festivals, we’ll come back together. For palace banquets and such, I’ll definitely cooperate so people will call us ‘a virtuous couple,’ then we’ll separate again. With the marriage arranged now, there’s still a year or two before we can marry. During this time, you can freely marry Zhenzhen—I won’t interfere. I have only one requirement: after our marriage, you can never share a bed with me at any time. Even on our wedding night, when we must share a room, you cannot sleep in the same bed as me. I’ll sleep on the bed, you sleep under it.”
“Sleeping in the same bed would be fine too,” Zhao Ai couldn’t help laughing. “In my eyes, you’re more like a man than Lin Hong. I won’t touch you.”
Wei Qingxun didn’t mind and asked: “So it’s settled?”
“But there’s one problem,” Zhao Ai hesitated. “If you become my nominal primary wife, any children Zhenzhen bears in the future must call you ‘Mother’ or ‘Auntie’ and can only call her ‘Sister’…”
“No problem,” Wei Qingxun calmly fanned herself. “The children can call Zhenzhen ‘Mother’ and call me ‘Father.'”
Zhao Ai opened his eyes wide: “Preposterous! If they call you ‘Father,’ what do they call me?”
“They call you ‘Papa’—no problem,” Wei Qingxun smiled. “Your Highness, I also have property that needs heirs. Having children call me father only brings benefits, no harm.”
Seeing Zhao Ai’s silence, Wei Qingxun urged: “Does Your Highness agree or not? Where else would you find such a magnanimous primary wife? If you hesitate further, I might break off the engagement.”
“Actually, titles are minor matters,” Zhao Ai looked up, gazing at her sincerely. “If you marry me but we’re not a real couple, wouldn’t that ruin your whole life?”
“I’m not marrying you,” Wei Qingxun said seriously. “What I’m marrying, and what you’re marrying, is freedom.”
Zhao Ai pondered for a while, then said to her: “Let’s proceed as you suggest. However, I promise you that if you ever find someone you love in the future, I can give you a divorce letter anytime, letting you marry your beloved.”
“Why do you all refuse to believe that some people don’t need marriage?” Wei Qingxun said. “The life of a noble lady like my mother, predictable at a glance—nothing but competing for favor, bearing children, scheming against others or being schemed against—was never what I wanted.”
Seeing Zhao Ai listening with a darkened expression, she smiled again, picked up the wine pot from the table, poured two cups of rose dew, and handed one to Zhao Ai: “Come, this blind date went so smoothly—we should drink a toast!”