Consort Jing Chapter 12

Thinking about it, the young emperor and Noble Consort Xu must have entrusted Xu Qiang to her hoping her marriage could be properly settled. Although Xu Qiang’s insistence on marrying only for love might seem improper under the strict norms for women of the time, the emperor and Noble Consort Xu themselves were a love match, of course they would wish for others to find the same happiness. So Meng Guqing carefully explained the whole matter between Xu Qiang and Tan Ying.

The young emperor hesitated at first, uncertain about something, but since Tan Ying had recently won his favor and had a promising future ahead and the Empress herself supported the match, he soon agreed to make inquiries. What he found out delighted him so much that by noon the next day, he came running excitedly to the Fengyi Palace, grabbed Meng Guqing, who was watching the palace maids play shuttlecock, and said with more excitement than the parties involved, “Empress, you’ve found me a fine man! Tan Ying is truly remarkable.”

Just as Xu Qiang had silently cherished Tan Ying for years, Tan Ying had not been unfeeling. They’d known each other since childhood, studied together, played together. Sometimes when he practiced with his sword in the courtyard, she would quietly stand guard nearby. How could he not know her heart? But his own situation was so bleak, his future so uncertain, how could he bear to let a pampered young lady share his hardships?

Moreover, the Xu family had shown him great kindness. Knowing they intended to send Xu Qiang into the palace, he dared not drag down his benefactors. So he buried his feelings deep. When Xu Qiang was still at home, he did everything to care for and indulge her; once she entered the palace, even though he could not serve in court, he still kept watch outside the palace walls. For him, life held no further plans, his family’s disgrace ensured any future child of his would bear the stigma of being a traitor’s descendant.

It was clear Tan Ying was deeply grateful for the emperor’s discernment. He even dared to speak openly about things that could have cost him his head. The emperor, delighted by such sincerity, felt a rare surge of chivalrous spirit. He excitedly retold the conversation to the Empress, brows dancing with animation: “He tried to act all proper at first, saying he harbored no improper thoughts. So I told him plainly, Xu Qiang isn’t entering the palace, and if he doesn’t seize this chance, the Empress will arrange her marriage elsewhere. Only then did he confess. Still, he insisted they’ve known each other since childhood, that his feelings are respectful and restrained, and that we shouldn’t overthink it.”

“Then does he want to marry Miss Xu or not? You said yourself Tan Ying is steady and capable, but I think he’s rather indecisive.” Meng Guqing couldn’t help growing anxious.

“That’s exactly what I asked him!” The emperor’s eyes gleamed, how strange, he and the Empress had thought the same. “Do you know what he said? He said that if Xu Qiang marries someone else, he’ll never marry anyone in this lifetime.”

“How devoted and loyal,” Meng Guqing praised again and again, smiling. “Then Your Majesty should grant the marriage, let this pair of lovers have their happy ending, and gain a loyal and capable man in return.”

A wise ruler wouldn’t miss such a chance. For Tan Ying, the emperor would be both his benefactor and the one who fulfilled his love. From then on, his loyalty would be unshakable. The emperor, thrilled to gain such a man, reached across the low table, pulled the Empress, who was resting her chin on one hand and watching him with a faint smile, onto his lap. Encircling her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, he laughed softly, “Then let the Empress give the decree. Without you, those two might have missed each other forever. This is all thanks to you, let them thank you properly.”

Xu Qiang, worn thin by years of longing, seemed reborn after her wish was granted. Holding the imperial edict, she laughed and cried all at once, and everyone in Fengyi Palace rejoiced with her.

When she prepared to leave the palace that day, she came to Fengyi Palace to kowtow to the Empress again. Curious, Meng Guqing walked her to the Moonlight Gate of the inner palace where a young man in a crisp martial uniform was waiting. His bearing was upright, his features clean and handsome. Seeing the Empress personally escort Xu Qiang out, he hurried to salute, and the two lovers, faces flushed, didn’t dare look at each other.

Meng Guqing watched with great interest and told Xu Qiang to visit often once she was settled. But realizing her presence was making the pair too nervous to move, she turned back, satisfied.

Her curiosity about Tan Ying didn’t end there, she even crossed the entire inner palace just to catch a glimpse of him, though she normally couldn’t be bothered to go as far as the Imperial Hall. This left Zhao Donglin quite irritated. That night, after dining with the Empress Dowager, he went straight to Fengyi Palace.

Meng Guqing was long accustomed to his unannounced visits. She now made use of the small study. Unlike her living quarters, the study housed no precious texts but a collection of ingenious folk inventions she’d gathered before entering the palace. Since they weren’t suitable for the emperor to see, she often busied herself tidying them up. When he arrived, she was polishing a Luban lock she’d once solved but since forgotten, trying to recall the solution with her maids Caiwei and Fusang.

As the eunuch announced his arrival, she closed the chest. The two maids, well-trained after being chased out once before, knew to withdraw with the tea tray and shut the doors, leaving the space to their masters. Meng Guqing invited the young emperor to sit in the pearwood armchair where she usually read. Zhao Donglin instinctively reached out his hand, he liked holding hers. Her fingers were slender and soft, calming him like no one else could.

“Has Miss Xu left?” he asked casually, trying to make conversation. He wanted to pull her to sit beside him, but the Empress disliked that. Unlike the concubines, who sometimes endured discomfort just to please him, the Empress never hesitated to express her feelings, even at the risk of angering him. Zhao Donglin’s eyes dimmed slightly. He knew what it felt like to be liked, and he could clearly sense the Empress’s restraint. He’d even tried to reason it out, the only answer he could find was the friction between them before their marriage. Fortunately, she was still here, in his harem. He had time to wait for her anger to cool.

“She went home today. I told them to decide the wedding date themselves, it shouldn’t be long.” After all, Tan Ying was already twenty.

“You saw Tan Ying today?”

“Yes. He’s quite impressive.” In this era, laborers covered a wide range of occupations, and Tan Ying, trained in martial arts since childhood, wore only a thin practice uniform even in winter. The lean, taut strength beneath it was striking, it wasn’t the bulky gym muscle of modern times, but the sharp grace of someone honed through real discipline. Who wouldn’t admire that kind of physique?

Her tone carried a hint of admiration, perhaps even a touch of yearning, and Zhao Donglin’s chest suddenly tightened. Trying to mask his discomfort, he asked lightly, “So the Empress likes Tan Ying very much?”

Meng Guqing caught the strange note in his tone. Fortunately, since Tan Ying was already taken, her admiration was purely aesthetic, and she had little patience for the emperor’s inexplicable jealousy. It was also time he understood her stance on love so he’d stop flirting with her idly. Pretending not to notice his mood, she answered evenly, “Who doesn’t like a man who’s loyal and devoted? Everyone in my palace who’s heard of their story loves them both.”

Zhao Donglin felt a pang of guilt. Deep down, he realized he didn’t measure up to the Empress’s standards. They had met too late, with too much standing between them: politics, mistrust, her lineage. Even now, he couldn’t quite put those things aside to approach her with an open heart. Yet he couldn’t deny it either, he did like her, at least a little, and longed for her to respond to him.

The tension between them hadn’t yet faded, and now this conversation struck another heavy blow. He felt briefly dejected, but the feeling soon gave way to determination. What was done was done; the past couldn’t be changed. He’d faced hardship all his life, and everything he’d wanted he’d fought for. Love would be no different.

“I hear Fengyi Palace is old and the west wing leaks when it rains,” he said after a pause. “Why not move to Yongfu Palace in the front? It’s closer to both the Huangji Hall and the Empress Dowager’s residence. Fengyi Palace is too secluded at the edge of the imperial garden; if you move forward, you can visit the other consorts more often and won’t feel so lonely.”

—What he really meant was that if she moved closer, he could see her more easily, without having to cross the entire garden.

Had he arranged for her to live in the front palace from the start, she’d have had no complaints. But now, after spending so much money and effort making Fengyi Palace cozy and exactly to her taste, she had no intention of leaving.

Moving was one thing but Meng Guqing wasn’t foolish. The emperor was only twenty. Whether it was the natural fickleness of men in power or something else, he seemed rather taken with her lately. She, however, wanted no entanglements nor did she wish to become just another ornament in his harem. If she moved forward, geographically and symbolically, she would truly become part of his inner court.

And that, she refused.

But she couldn’t say it too directly, she still had to take into account the sensitive pride of a young man. Meng Guqing smiled and said, “I think Fengyi Palace is quite nice, it’s spacious and grand, and the greenhouse is big enough for me to grow plenty of flowers. The Empress Dowager said the flowers I raise are even better than those from the Imperial Household, and told me to send some to Shoucheng Hall when they bloom well. I just planted several new kinds recently. Noble Consort Xu is now expecting and shouldn’t be disturbed too often, and as for going to the Empress Dowager’s or Your Majesty’s palace, it’s just a few more steps, I have the patience for that. I truly appreciate Your Majesty’s kindness, but since I’ve already spent a great deal of silver restoring Fengyi Palace, it wouldn’t be right to leave it empty and spend more to repair Yongfu Palace again. The Empress Dowager only said recently that the treasury is tight, and that the inner court should save where it can. How could I, for my own selfish comfort, spend more money?”

Zhao Donglin had been an intelligent child since young, and the Empress Dowager often taught him that when dealing with people, one must look at what they do, not what they say; listen to the content, not the tone. The Empress was courteous and respectful, and she had thought through every detail. But however she phrased it, the truth was clear, she didn’t want to move forward. A flicker of irritation rose in his heart.

Fortunately, he was someone who knew how to endure. He had served as a puppet to the Regent for ten years; even now, with several uncles of the regent faction still holding the military power and pushing him aside to rule alone, he endured that too. 

Being born royal didn’t mean a better life, he had less comfort than any rich young master outside, often forced to swallow his pride while others lorded over him. Since he could tolerate that, could he not also give his wife, his wife of the hair-binding ceremony, meant to be his lifelong companion, a bit of time to adjust?