Last March, when Xie Xuanying ran off to Jiangnan, the emperor issued an edict to select a prince consort. Over the course of a year, eunuchs traveled to various regions to conduct the selection, and finally returned to the capital with a group of candidates.
Afterward, the eunuchs from the Rituals Office arranged for painters to produce portraits, secretly recorded their conduct, and finally sent everything along with information on their family backgrounds to the emperor’s desk.
This was a major affair, and the palace staff could hardly avoid discussing it in private.
People came and went at the Inner Hall of Peace and Joy. Cheng Danruo also commanded respect among the palace staff. Even if she did not ask, some were willing to tell her.
Li Youyi, the adopted son of Eunuch Li, was now a frequent visitor to the Inner Hall of Peace and Joy. With his godfather’s prestige, he could easily get an errand and slip in.
“Just so you know, Auntie, the Rituals Office selected twelve young gentlemen in total. Among them, the most outstanding are Young Master Yu, Young Master Luo, and Young Master Han, all from scholarly, respectable families,” Li Youyi said, spittle flying as he spoke. “Young Master Han is handsome and talented, Young Master Yu can play a fine tune on the qin and is also skilled at painting, and Young Master Luo is accomplished in archery and horsemanship – he is the nephew of Consort Dowager Luo.”
Ji Qiu hit the nail on the head. “How does he compare to Young Master Xie?”
Li Youyi was stumped.
Huifang, practicing writing with a brush dipped in water, sighed, “There is only one Young Master Xie in this world.”
Cheng Danruo paused slightly in her motion of pounding medicine and silently agreed: beautiful face, nice waist – truly rare.
Ji Qiu asked again, “How is the prince consort to be chosen? Are there any rules yet?”
Li Youyi smiled and said mysteriously, “When the time comes, you will know.”
The palace staff had only just received the news, but Commandery Princess Jianing had already sprung into action. She knew that her father had asked the emperor to help select a spouse, and she also knew what sort of goods these candidates were.
To be honest, she looked down on every one of them.
By ancestral rule, prince consorts all came from families of farming and scholarship. The original intention was probably good – to let them serve the imperial family with peace of mind and avoid dramas like “drunken beating of the golden branch.” But what fine young men could such households produce?
To marry such a person, she could choose her fiefdom however she liked – what was the point of staying in the capital?
Commandery Princess Jianing had her own selfish motives. Even if her father’s great enterprise failed, if she could pick a satisfactory husband, she could still make great plans for the latter half of her life.
She had observed for over half a year and determined that Xie Xuanying was the most suitable candidate.
The third son of the Marquis of Jinghai’s household – not the legitimate eldest – so the criteria for his wife would be considerably more flexible. He himself was beyond reproach. Proud as Commandery Princess Jianing was, she had to admit that such a beauty was rare.
She wanted him.
Over the past six months, she had contacted Lady Jinghai several times and could sense that the marchioness harbored considerable goodwill toward her, and no small amount of appreciation as well. But the marchioness also kept her cards close to her chest, never easily bringing up matters related to marriage.
Commandery Princess Jianing had not been anxious at first, but as Princess Rong’an was about to select her prince consort, she truly could not delay any longer.
At the very least, she needed to make contact with Young Master Xie first, so that both sides could reach a tacit understanding before taking further steps.
In her calculations, the most troublesome obstacle, Rong’an, had to be dealt with by Xie Xuanying personally, to leave no future trouble.
On the eighteenth of July, she used the excuse of a short stay at her maternal grandfather’s home to leave the palace.
Princess Consort Qi came from the household of a minor sixth-rank official; her father was a registrar at the Court of Sacrificial Worship. Their residence in the capital was not large, so with Prince Qi’s household’s support, they had set up a spacious estate in the capital’s outskirts.
Commandery Princess Jianing naturally would not stay in the cramped little house – her sights were set on the estate.
This place was not far from Yan Hongzhi’s study.
Xie Xuanying was right here.
He had returned to the palace in early July to report on his duties, then worked at the Hanlin Academy for several days. He finally obtained ten days of leave and immediately left the capital under the pretext of escaping the summer heat, running off to his teacher’s study.
The study in Jiangnan was called Bennian Studio, and the one in the capital’s outskirts was called Mingxin Studio. It was deliberately built to imitate a farmhouse courtyard: low walls of yellow mud, a roof of tiles topped with a layer of straw, a fence encircling the yard, and a well in the front courtyard.
But for comfort’s sake, once inside, the floors were bluestone brick – spacious and cool.
Xie Xuanying said he was there to read, but really it was a vacation. When idle, he carved a seal, or rode out to enjoy the countryside, and when he could not sleep at night, he watched the stars and calculated the calendar.
That afternoon, the sky was slightly overcast and, for once, not hot, so he thought he would go riding for a while and bond with his beloved horse.
Who would have thought he would encounter a carriage along the way?
“Young Master Xie, please wait.” A bright-eyed young woman emerged from the carriage, her face radiant. “My carriage shaft is broken. Might I ask you to send someone to repair it for me?”
Xie Xuanying glanced over. “I am merely passing by. Please find someone else.”
“Why must you keep people at such a distance?” She smiled openly and generously, the pearls at her ears glinting. “You can hardly fail to see that this is merely a respectable excuse.”
To be honest, the broken-carriage trick was so clichéd it could not be more so, but this was the first time Xie Xuanying had seen anyone admit it outright.
He asked, “What business do you have?”
“Let us speak somewhere private.” She alighted with her maid’s assistance and made a gesture, goading him. “What, afraid I will eat you? Dare you not come?”
Xie Xuanying did not fall for her provocation, but he was genuinely curious about her purpose. After a moment’s thought, he dismounted and followed.
The two walked to a secluded spot.
“I imagine you have little patience, Young Master Xie,” said Commandery Princess Jianing, dressed in a rouge-red jacket and skirt, her eyes like cold stars. “So I will not beat around the bush.”
Xie Xuanying’s face was expressionless. “Please.”
Commandery Princess Jianing said, “Rong’an is about to select her prince consort. Do you think she will be willing to marry?”
Xie Xuanying had not expected her to bring up Rong’an. He focused his gaze and countered, “What does that have to do with you?”
“I am here to warn you.” A faint smile appeared at the corners of Commandery Princess Jianing’s lips. “If you have someone you care for in the palace, you had best be careful.”
These words struck Xie Xuanying like a thunderbolt, and he nearly thought something had happened to Cheng Danruo. But he steadied himself, unwilling to believe anyone could have guessed this matter, and forced down his alarm, frowning. “Someone I care for?”
Commandery Princess Jianing kept watching his expression, trying to discern some clue.
Yet skilled as she was at reading faces, Xie Xuanying had spent over a decade before the emperor and was even more accomplished at controlling his emotions.
He said coldly, “If you continue to speak nonsense, there is no need to waste any more time.”
Commandery Princess Jianing saw nothing amiss and immediately changed her tune. “I misspoke, but these words are no idle alarm.”
She smiled and at once threw out new content. “Do you know what was really wrong with the milk-sugar snow that Wang San-niang ate?”
Xie Xuanying slowly raised his eyelids. “What are you trying to say?”
“Do not be impatient, Young Master Xie.” Commandery Princess Jianing looked straight at his face, but after a moment was forced to retreat by the radiance of his blazing-lotus beauty and turned her gaze away.
After quite a while, she finally said, “It so happens that at Huiyuan Temple, my attendant Cai Yi once happened to see Rong’an’s senior palace maid ask the temple’s monks for a dose of raw gypsum, saying she had developed eczema. This was hardly a major matter in itself, but thinking it over carefully afterward – is it not thought-provoking?”
Xie Xuanying frowned.
If Commandery Princess Jianing alone had said this, he certainly would not have grown suspicious, but Cheng Danruo had mentioned it before – Wang Yongxu herself had said the dessert tasted “astringent.”
Raw gypsum is a cold, cooling substance, mostly used to clear heat and purge fire. If cold were added to cold, it would easily cause diarrhea.
He said nothing, and Commandery Princess Jianing grew greatly reassured. She smiled and said, “Actually, this is not Rong’an’s fault – she simply cannot let go of her resentment.”
Making Wang Yongxu have a bout of diarrhea – in her eyes, that was truly a child’s trick. But there were advantages to naivety. Had it not helped her greatly now?
“It is just that His Majesty will soon select the prince consort,” she said slowly. “Rong’an’s resentment lingers. If she cannot give up hope, I fear she will stir up more trouble.”
Xie Xuanying finally spoke, “So what do you advise?”
Commandery Princess Jianing raised her head and turned her loveliest left profile toward him. “Why do you ask what you already know? As long as you remain unbetrothed, Rong’an will cling to her fantasies.”
He said, “Oh?”
Commandery Princess Jianing bit her red lips slightly. For all her grand ambitions, she was still a young woman, and some things she would rather not say aloud if it meant being looked down upon. Yet with Xie Xuanying pressing her so, she could not continue without lowering her head.
She looked at him reproachfully and said with feigned annoyance, “Young Master Xie -what a cruel heart.”
Were it not for the matter concerning Rong’an, Xie Xuanying would already have lost patience. “Please speak plainly.”
Commandery Princess Jianing took a deep breath and steadied herself – and then actually dared to say it. “How would you like to be my consort?”
Xie Xuanying was slightly taken aback, a trace of surprise showing in his eyes. There was a reason for this: Commandery Princess Jianing’s tone was truly unlike that of ordinary women. An ordinary girl, even if she had secretly pledged her heart, would say, “I would marry myself to you,” but what she said was “be my consort.”
That single sentence was enough to show how extraordinary she was.
“I fear I must disappoint your kind regard,” he replied.
“You need not be in such a hurry to refuse,” said Commandery Princess Jianing. “I know you have misgivings about my father. But regardless of what happens in the future, I am, after all, His Majesty’s own niece. What does success or failure, right or wrong, truly have to do with me?”
Her full younger brother was not yet seven. The Prince Qi’s household had sent her to the capital merely as an advance scout, to assert the household’s presence before the emperor. Neither Prince Qi nor anyone else had ever truly placed their hopes on her.
Commandery Princess Jianing knew this perfectly well, yet she did not mind.
The difference between a commandery princess and a princess was not great – both were exceedingly wealthy and noble, and both found it hard to meddle in court affairs. Even if the Prince Qi’s household succeeded, the say she gained would be pitifully small. Of course, even if it was only a little, she would still fight for it.
But as the saying goes, do not put all your eggs in one basket.
As a woman, she had various disadvantages, but also advantages – she could still find herself a suitable husband.
“After marriage, a woman follows her husband. Though I am a woman of the imperial clan, I would not dare fail to observe feminine virtue.” Commandery Princess Jianing knew that men might like clever women, but they liked women they could control even more, so she lowered her posture at the right moment. “Rest assured, Young Master Xie.”
Those brief words both made a promise and displayed a young woman’s shyness -clever indeed.
Any other man would inevitably feel proud at having subdued such a refined lady.
But Xie Xuanying had subdued too many women; one more made no difference. So he remained unmoved and asked expressionlessly, “Is there anything else?”
Commandery Princess Jianing thought to herself that this was difficult, yet could not help but feel won over. After a moment’s thought, she adjusted her strategy. “Let me ask shamelessly – am I not your best choice?”
He said, “How so?”
“The marriage between you and the Xu family is no longer possible,” Commandery Princess Jianing said calmly. “Look across the capital – who else could be worthy of you?”
Xie Xuanying said, “In marriage, one has always married up for the bride and down for the groom.”
“Marrying down is certainly fine for others,” Commandery Princess Jianing said with a scoff, “but forgive my bluntness – Rong’an threatens her own life, and even a first-rank minister hesitates, let alone anyone else. Though you may be a prized son-in-law, in the end he cannot compare to a family’s own prospects. Would they not plan for their sons and grandsons? Even if it could be done, what meaning would there be in you marrying such a woman?”
She went straight to the point. “A good marriage alliance is the key to resolving your predicament.”
Xie Xuanying said slowly, “Predicament?”
“I am frank with you, yet you are quite stingy with me.” Commandery Princess Jianing had just lowered herself before him; seeing that he would not take the bait, she simply took the opposite approach and provoked him. “What, must I spell it out? There is nothing wrong with you, Xie Xuanying, except that you are not the legitimate eldest son of your household. Not only is the title beyond your reach – you clearly have your grandfather’s manner and are quite skilled in martial arts, yet you must go and sit for the imperial examinations. Forgive my bluntness, but the Marquis of Xie’s heart is indeed badly tilted.”
She paused briefly, then said earnestly, “If you marry beneath you, your wife will be a step below your sisters-in-law. How then will you have the confidence to stand before your brothers?”
Xie Xuanying had never considered this before. Reminded by her, he could not help but ponder: indeed, Danruo’s family background was too thin, and his eldest and second sisters-in-law were no ordinary women. In the future, if they gave her grief, what was he to do? No – if she did not wish to suffer such treatment and used that as a reason to refuse to marry him, what then?
And there was also his mother…
“Young Master Xie, I hold the position of commandery princess and am Rong’an’s own cousin by blood. In the end, it will be easier for me to accomplish things than for others,” Commandery Princess Jianing said smoothly.
“And if you have the support of the Prince Qi’s household – people when you need people, money when you need money – achieving merit and establishing a career would be no difficult matter. Would that not be better than having to watch your elder brother’s face in the future? Moreover, so long as you do not contend for the family estate, you need not turn against your brothers. Working together with one heart hereafter, the household can be at peace – would that not be best for both sides?”
Xie Xuanying admitted, “You are exceedingly eloquent.”
“I think these matters are not ones you have failed to consider – otherwise you would not have delayed your betrothal for so long.” Commandery Princess Jianing smiled slightly and asked in return, “My sincerity is full. What do you say?”
Xie Xuanying answered without hesitation, “I fear I must fail your deep affection. Please choose another good man, Commandery Princess.”
Commandery Princess Jianing was stunned, somewhat embarrassed. “Why?”
“The one I hold in my heart is not you.”
