“Really,” Xie Xiangrong nodded vigorously. “Although it’s not confirmed yet, I feel there’s a very good chance of being selected.”
Father Xie: “…So it’s not settled yet.”
Xie Xiangrong: “Father, this is the Prince of Qin, His Majesty’s own younger brother.”
“True, your cousin may be capable, but he’s only an earl.” Father Xie scanned through the letter rapidly, frowning.
Xie Xiangrong explained: “The middle part contains his annotations for me. Father doesn’t enjoy reading those, so I removed them.”
Father Xie’s brow smoothed, then furrowed tightly again. “Our family status is too low. Your cousin and our family are separated by a degree—relying on his recommendation alone, I’m afraid this won’t work.”
Xie Xiangrong said: “Whether it works or not, we must make a trip to the capital. After all, Cousin is acting as matchmaker, so we can’t refuse. Even if it doesn’t work out, we can still investigate Luoyang’s academies.”
“Absolutely not! I won’t allow it.” Mother Xie entered, her face stern. “How can a young lady show her face in public like that? I absolutely will not permit you to teach at an academy.”
Xie Xiangrong’s expression didn’t change, only the corners of her mouth drooped slightly, though she still wore a smile. “Mother makes a good point. Then I’ll write back to Cousin declining this matter.”
“No!” Father Xie and Mother Xie exclaimed in unison. Xie Xiangrong looked at them quietly.
Mother Xie said: “What I meant was you can’t show your face in public. But this marriage proposal is still acceptable.”
So she decided to have Father Xie take Xie Xiangrong to the capital. Of course, she would go too, but only because her daughter was going.
“Originally, you wouldn’t even need to go for marriage matters—it’s the parents’ command and the matchmaker’s word. But since it’s the Prince of Qin, the Empress Dowager might want to see you, so we’ll bring you along,” Mother Xie said. “But once in Luoyang, you must keep to propriety. Whenever you go out, wear your veil properly and don’t let strange men see you.”
Xie Xiangrong respectfully agreed, then asked: “I wonder if His Majesty wears a veil when holding court.”
Mother Xie: “How dare you compare yourself to His Majesty? The Emperor is of celestial bearing, the Son of Heaven, not an ordinary person—naturally different from us.”
Xie Xiangrong knew her mother was stubborn. Though displeased in her heart, she didn’t show it.
Xie Xiangrong looked down at the letter in her hand. Her mother was becoming increasingly unreasonable. It seemed she’d need to accelerate her plans to establish a female household.
This trip to Luoyang—if she couldn’t solve her urgent problem, she’d find a way to establish a female household in Luoyang.
Cousin and his wife had paved the road for her. She couldn’t keep blindly charging into thorns.
The Xie family trio packed their belongings and headed to Luoyang.
Yangxia wasn’t far from Luoyang—they could arrive in two days.
Xie Shi sent a telegram to Zhao Erlang ahead of time, telling him to meet them at the city gate.
Zhao Erlang eagerly went. Upon meeting, he called out: “Greetings, Teacher-Aunt!”
Xie Xiangrong: …
Father Xie and Mother Xie hadn’t yet realized something was wrong and asked Zhao Erlang: “Are you a student of Xie Shi? Perhaps one of the Prince of Qin’s subordinates?”
They should be people who studied together with the Prince of Qin, right?
Father Xie and Mother Xie discreetly assessed Zhao Erlang with slight disdain.
Xie Xiangrong: “…Father, Mother, this is the Prince of Qin.”
Zhao Erlang nodded repeatedly. “Right, I am the Prince of Qin.”
Father Xie and Mother Xie looked flustered, quickly bowing. They also refused Zhao Erlang’s form of address. “Your Highness, how can you address our daughter this way? You should call her… Fifth Lady. She ranks fifth in the clan.”
Zhao Erlang shook his head seriously and earnestly. “That won’t do. How could I lose propriety? Teacher-Aunt studied together with Teacher and both were taught by Great-Master-Uncle. I’ve calculated carefully—I haven’t called her the wrong generational title.”
Father Xie and Mother Xie: …The generation was correct, but how could they still arrange a marriage?
Zhao Erlang clearly hadn’t grasped Xie Shi’s meaning. Zhao Cai and Lü Hu exchanged glances, stepped forward to pull him aside and whispered a reminder: “Young Master, Scholar Xie is acting as matchmaker for you…”
Zhao Erlang looked over the Xie family procession, scanning around without seeing anyone of appropriate age, and whispered: “Who?”
“The Xie family young lady.”
Zhao Erlang’s eyes widened as he immediately refused: “No way, this is my teacher-aunt!”
No one had expected that Zhao Erlang, who didn’t study, would be particularly concerned about generational hierarchy. Even though they were of similar age, he absolutely wouldn’t agree.
“An aunt is an aunt. How could we arrange a match just because we’re the same age?”
He directly brought the Xie family trio back to the Zhao Mansion, had Steward Cheng take them to guest rooms, then ran into the palace to use the telegraph and send Xie Shi a telegram to complain.
It must be that Zhao Cai and the others had misunderstood Teacher. How could he do something so improper?
Xie Shi, who received the telegram: …
Thinking of his disciple’s one-track mind, he didn’t try to persuade him but instead said: “Your teacher-aunt is exceptionally intelligent and learned. She came to Luoyang this time seeking education and also a career. She just wants to be an academy teacher or a literature secretary compiling books. You host her well on my behalf.”
Zhao Erlang endured his swimming vision to look at the characters on the paper, piecing them together with difficulty to barely finish reading, then tossed it to Zhao Cai. “See? I was right. You misunderstood—you even wanted me to match-make with Teacher-Aunt.”
Zhao Cai said: “Young Master, you should ask His Majesty again. His Majesty knows about this matter.”
If it were Lü Hu saying this, Zhao Erlang would still be mostly doubtful, but Zhao Cai was very reliable and rarely made assertions. Since he said so, he must have received definite information.
Zhao Erlang grew unhappy and grabbed the telegram to run toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The guards at the Hall of Supreme Harmony said: “Today is a rest day. His Majesty isn’t at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.”
Zhao Erlang ran toward the rear palace. Finding nothing there, he ran several more places. Having wasted time and run so much, his anger inevitably mounted and showed on his face.
In his urgency, he didn’t like following the paths and took shortcuts directly. When a rock blocked his way, he simply braced with one hand and soared over it like a mountain eagle.
Beigong Tuanyuan, who was docilely carrying a gift box, suddenly turned her head, her gaze sharp as she called out: “Who’s there?”
Seeing a figure leaping over, apparently about to fly over the wall straight to the main hall, she immediately set the gift box into a palace maid’s arms, flew up, and swept a kick toward his lower body.
Zhao Erlang was startled, flipped in mid-air to avoid it, then landed steadily on the ground. Just as he was about to turn and demand an explanation, a fist came straight at his face. Zhao Erlang nimbly dodged sideways and threw a punch in retaliation.
The palace maid cried out in alarm: “Miss Beigong, this is the Prince of Qin! Stop!”
Beigong Tuanyuan had guessed his identity when she kicked, but she didn’t hold back. She pretended not to hear now, each punch and kick aimed at Zhao Erlang’s vital points.
Zhao Erlang also quickly shifted from defense to offense, though he avoided her vital points. Even so, the two fought intensely, leaping together over the wall to land before the main hall and continue fighting.
The commotion wasn’t small. Madam Wang and Lady Beigong inside the hall both heard it. Zhao Hanzhang had already glanced at Ting He earlier.
Ting He went out to stop the guards who were about to intervene, letting the two continue fighting.
Zhao Hanzhang watched with great interest. Lady Beigong secretly worried—how had her child started fighting with the Prince of Qin in the palace?
Madam Wang’s eyes lit up as she watched, her gaze intense, feeling it was far more pleasing to the eye than the sword dances and boxing displays by performers at palace banquets.