In the flower hall, all the attendants had withdrawn, leaving only Ming Tingyuan and Ming Tan seated. Ming Tan took the initiative to ask, “Father, what did you want to discuss with me?”
“Nothing much. It’s just been a while since we’ve talked,” Ming Tingyuan sipped his sobering tea and cleared his throat. “People say Lang’er resembles you, but if we’re talking about likeness, he’s more similar to Ming Heng.”
Ming Tan seemed to understand something but didn’t respond, lowering her eyes to take a sip of tea.
Ming Tingyuan paused. In his mind, this youngest daughter was the most understanding. Usually, he would start a conversation, and she would intuitively continue it.
After waiting for a while without a response from Ming Tan, Ming Tingyuan reluctantly beat around the bush for a bit longer. Finally, unable to contain himself, he asked directly, “Ah Tan, your brother’s marriage can’t be delayed any longer. He doesn’t even come home now. What should we do about this?”
Ming Tan feigned confusion, “Doesn’t my brother already have a woman he likes? Besides, whether he comes home or not isn’t up to him. He holds an important position in Quanzhou now, so how can he return to the capital at will?”
“That woman won’t do!” Ming Tingyuan dismissed the idea without a second thought. “Her family background… let’s not even mention it.”
Previously, when Ming Tingyuan was suspected of treason and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, Ming Heng was also detained in Pangshan County. He was later escorted to the capital, but Ming Tingyuan was cleared of false charges within days of their arrival.
The father and son’s relationship had been tense before, but this ordeal had brought them closer. However, the reconciliation lasted less than two days before Ming Heng proposed to marry Qinghe, a small-time constable from Pangshan County, which Ming Tingyuan strongly opposed.
Although Ming Tingyuan was a military general, he deeply valued noble family traditions. Ming Tan’s birth mother, Lady Bai, and his current wife, Lady Pei, were all well-bred ladies from prominent families. Of his two daughters, Ming Tan and Ming Chu, he preferred Ming Tan’s noble demeanor. He had never imagined that Ming Heng, the heir to the Marquis’s estate, would want to marry a constable with no family background to speak of!
“Father, if you’re dissatisfied with Miss Qinghe because of her family background, there’s no need,” Ming Tan said gently. “After relinquishing military power this time, don’t you understand? Our Jing’an Marquis’s estate has already produced a Northern King’s consort in me. Forming another alliance with a noble family might not be as beneficial as you think.”
Ming Tingyuan fell silent for a moment. “Of course, I understand this reasoning. I’m not expecting another marriage alliance like the Northern King’s household. But no matter how cautious our Marquis’s estate needs to be, surely we haven’t fallen so low as to marry such a… such a woman as the heir’s wife? What kind of example would that set?”
The more he spoke, the more perplexed he became. “Are there no suitable families in the capital? The daughter of Master Shi from Lusong Academy, and the sister of Yan Bianxiu from the Hanlin Academy – these are all from scholarly families. Aren’t any of them better than a female constable from a small county?”
“They’re all fine, but my brother doesn’t like any of them,” Ming Tan put down her teacup. “Father, do you know that when our Jing’an Marquis’s estate fell into trouble and my brother was escorted to the capital, Miss Qinghe insisted on coming to Beijing despite her family’s objections?”
Ming Tingyuan remained silent.
“Before that, she didn’t know my brother’s identity, let alone yours. But simply out of admiration for my brother, she was willing to believe that his father couldn’t possibly be a traitor. Even if our entire household were implicated and my brother was to be executed in the marketplace, she was determined to come and bid him a final farewell. Such devotion is rare. How could my brother betray that?”
“Although my brother hasn’t joined the military, he’s extremely stubborn, as you well know. Since his mind is made up, why not give in to his wishes? You might even be able to salvage some of your father-son relationship. Miss Qinghe may not have a prominent family background, but at least she’s of good character. For our Marquis’s estate, that should be enough.”
Ming Tingyuan remained silent, but his expression showed signs of softening.
Ming Tan was about to offer more persuasion when Ming Tingyuan waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about him anymore. Let’s talk about you.”
Ming Tan was slightly taken aback.
“Your mother has been worried that you and the Prince might quarrel too much and lose your affection for each other. But from what I’ve seen today, he seems to care about you quite a bit, so I’m reassured. What happened before wasn’t his fault. As the saying goes, ‘When the emperor demands a minister’s death, the minister must die.’ The Emperor has shown leniency towards our Jing’an Marquis’s estate for your husband’s sake.”
“I haven’t been quarreling with him…” Ming Tan defended herself somewhat guiltily, taking a sip of tea. She then changed the subject, “Father, there’s something I’ve never understood.”
“What is it?”
“If the Emperor is so wary of officials who wield great power, why does he trust my husband so much?”
Jiang Xu commanded 500,000 Northern Army troops, accounting for half of the Great Xian’s deployable forces, and also had many skilled fighters in the Jinyun Guard. His potential threat far exceeded that of Ming Tingyuan. Ming Tan wasn’t the only one who had this doubt.
Ming Tingyuan pondered briefly, “They grew up together. It’s normal for cousins to be close when princes are vying for the throne. Moreover, the Emperor has been in dire situations multiple times, and it was always Qi Zhi who came to his rescue. That’s more than just a one-time life-saving friendship.”
He sighed lightly, his voice very soft, “Besides, Qi Zhi is different from your father. Given the current strength of the Northern Army, what choice does the Emperor have but to trust him unconditionally? It’s been this way for a long time, not just now.”
Hearing this, Ming Tan was speechless for a while.
…
When they left the Jing’an Marquis’s estate, it was nearly dusk. Jiang Xu helped her into the carriage and placed the soft cushion from his seat behind her back.
After a moment of silence, Ming Tan couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you curious about what my father wanted to talk to me about?”
Jiang Xu paused briefly, then followed her lead, “So what did your esteemed father-in-law say to you?”
“Nothing much, just chatting about my brother’s marriage,” she rested her chin on her hand, her gaze moving to Jiang Xu’s face. “He also told me not to quarrel with you, lest you get tired of me… and send me back to the Marquis’s estate, or take several concubines and beautiful mistresses.”
“Achoo!”
— Ming Tingyuan, who had never said the latter half of that statement, inexplicably sneezed at home.
It’s no wonder Ming Tan wanted to provoke him with these words. Since returning to the capital from the Northwest, coinciding with the arrival of feudal royal families and neighboring countries to pay respects, there had been many attempts to place people in the palace, and no shortage of attempts to place people in the Northern Prince’s household.
Fortunately, Jiang Xu had learned his lesson from the previous incident in Lingzhou and handled it very cleanly this time. Ming Tan had only heard a few rumors, and there was no chance of anyone being forced into her presence to upset her. The household was now very peaceful, and even Yun Yi had moved out.
Thinking of this, Ming Tan asked another question, “By the way, where is Yun Yi now? Last time she wrote, she said she was in Tonggang, but quite some time has passed since then.”
“I don’t know, but with her skills, you needn’t worry. When she wants to return, she will.”
Hearing this, Ming Tan nodded, feeling a bit melancholic.
Yun Yi had left the capital because of Shu Jingran. Ming Tan wasn’t very clear about their situation, only knowing that over the past half year, the Right Chancellor’s wife had been quite vocal about finding a match for Shu Jingran. Shu Jingran also gained the Emperor’s trust due to his outstanding performance in port construction in Quanzhou and the aftermath in Lingzhou.
When Yun Yi left, she said, “He has a bright future and great ambitions. It’s not that I feel unworthy of him, but I don’t want to hinder him from realizing his aspirations. Besides, I have the things I want to do. Isn’t it wonderful to travel the world and wander with a sword?”
She said this with her usual candid expression. Her departure was equally carefree, carrying only a small bundle. She waved goodbye and disappeared into the endless night without looking back.
After Yun Yi left the capital, Shu Jingran seemed no different from before, yet he had become more steady. He often spoke frankly in court, and Emperor Chengkang increasingly trusted him.
After the Right Chancellor retired, Zhuo Jinwan’s father, Chief Hanlin Academy Scholar Zhou, took over as the Right Chancellor. Shu Jingran, despite his young age, already held a third-rank civil office, with the clear intention of succeeding his father to become the Emperor’s right-hand man in the future.
He never voluntarily mentioned Yun Yi, but somehow, the matchmaking efforts of the Right Chancellor’s wife quietly came to an end.
Much later, the noble ladies of the capital often discussed why the highly favored Lord Shu was still unmarried. He had once been a dashing young gentleman, the most romantic in the capital, yet he remained single to this day, without even a concubine. Could it be that he had some hidden ailment, or perhaps he didn’t like women?
Various speculations abounded, and some even sent male companions from the southern quarters to his mansion, but all were turned away.
Until that spring, when Shu Jingran reached the second rank, becoming the youngest Secretary in the history of the Great Xian Dynasty, just one step away from the highest ministerial position, a message arrived in the capital from the far south, carried on the floating willow catkins. It was scrawled with just one sentence: “The camphor tea chicken in Lingzhou is still as fragrant as before. If you want to eat it, Second Young Master Shu, I’ll bring one back for you.”
Shu Jingran smiled.
—
Setting aside future events for now, the upcoming excitement in the capital was undoubtedly the marriage of Shen Yu, the Deputy Commander of the Northern Army and Cloud Banner General, to the Sixth Princess of Nanlü.
Previously, Shen Yu had avoided the Sixth Princess of Nanlü at all costs. Somehow, after escorting a diplomatic envoy back to Nanlü, he proposed to marry the Sixth Princess at the welcoming banquet in Nanlü. At that time, the Sixth Princess already had a candidate for her husband, so the King of Nanlü didn’t give a direct answer.
With the impending war in the Northwest, Shen Yu made a promise and then headed straight for the Northwest. After recapturing Rongzhou, he exchanged his illustrious military achievements for Emperor Chengkang’s letter of proposal at the victory banquet.
With such sincerity, and the Sixth Princess herself being more than willing, the King of Nanlü naturally had no reason to refuse.
The ladies in the capital all envied this Sixth Princess. How much must he like her? As soon as the news came back from Nanlü, General Shen rushed off to Nanlü to escort the Princess himself.