My Cold-Hearted Wife Chapter 99

In the corner of the Hall of Light, a Western clock stood ticking away, its steady rhythm pleasantly soothing to the ear.

From above came the emperor’s voice, inscrutable in its mix of anger and something else. “She feels wronged, has she? Go on then – tell me what she has to say for herself.”

“Please allow me to explain.” Cheng Danruo’s gaze remained fixed on the golden bricks before her. “When I was young, I once quarreled with a neighbor’s child. She had a brass butterfly hairpin – very beautiful. I asked to borrow it to wear, but she laughed at me and called me a country girl. Being young and foolish, I quarreled with her, and we both came off the worse for it. The neighbor, enraged, came to our door demanding that my mother apologize. By then I was already very frightened, but my mother did not scold me – instead, she had a furious row with the neighbor.”

Her voice was neither soft nor lovely, but her words were clear and her delivery fluent. The emperor had initially been dismissive, but as he listened, it suddenly occurred to him that she was about the same age as Rong’an.

At that, he found himself somewhat interested, and did not speak to rebuke her.

Eunuch Shi, standing nearby, noticed this and silently swallowed the reprimand that had risen in his throat.

“When the neighbor came to our door, this humble servant already knew I was in the wrong. Had my mother scolded me, it would have been what I deserved – but she defended her child instead,” Cheng Danruo said. “To a child, nothing matters more than a parent’s love. The princess has misunderstood Your Majesty, and that is why she felt so deeply wronged, so utterly unable to find peace.”

The emperor mused. “Misunderstood?”

“Yes,” Cheng Danruo said. “Your Majesty went to great lengths to choose a good husband for the princess, wishing her a smooth life of peace and joy.”

Having said this, she suddenly felt it might seem like an attempt to read the imperial mind, so she added, “In all the world, what daughter would not envy such a father?”

The emperor’s face remained expressionless – such flattery was, after all, nothing remarkable.

“But the princess, in a moment of impatience, failed to recognize that deep fatherly love. She mistook being promised to Young Master Han as her father refusing to help her – and that is why she felt so bitterly wronged.”

This sentence was the key to the entire chess game. Had Cheng Danruo not personally overheard the argument between father and daughter the night before, she might never have thought of where to break the deadlock.

As she thought this, she glanced from the corner of her eye toward the throne above.

Sure enough, the emperor’s expression had completely softened, and the clouds had cleared from between his brows.

Eunuch Shi, standing in attendance, could not help but glance at her, secretly marveling. Only he knew that last night, after the emperor returned, he had tossed and turned all night, and finally spoke a heartfelt word to him.

“Rong’an has wounded me deeply,” the emperor said. “She has utterly failed to live up to the affection I have shown her.”

And now, today, this little female official was telling him that the princess had misunderstood His Majesty – that what the princess felt most wronged about was her father refusing to help her.

Would the emperor believe it?

Of course he would.

He thought of the night before, when Princess Rong’an had asked him: You are the emperor – can you not make an exception for me?

Compared to a daughter defying him, threatening to die for a man, as a father he would rather believe she was heartbroken because she thought her parents did not love her – that was why she had gone on a hunger strike.

He thought again of when his daughter was small. Whatever she liked, she would plead, “Father Emperor, I want it,” and every time he would say, “You are my most precious child. Whatever I have is yours.”

Rong’an… did she think I no longer love her, that I would not stand by her side – and that was why she felt so wronged?

In the silence, Cheng Danruo spoke again.

“The princess’s heartache lies in feeling wronged, and the source of that sense of injustice lies in not knowing that her father’s love is deeper and farther-reaching. Therefore, to cure this heartache, the most important thing is to make the princess understand that Your Majesty has given her the very best – Young Master Han is good enough.”

This matter must, from beginning to end, have nothing to do with Xie Xuanying.

The emperor wore a thoughtful expression.

He had to admit that Cheng Danruo had offered a new line of thinking: since Young Master Xie was impossible in any case, then even without Young Master Han, there would be others – Rong’an would never be satisfied.

But what if Young Master Han was good enough?

After all, the marriage had already been granted, and the decree had been sent to the Six Ministries. The emperor did not wish to break off the engagement, and he hoped his daughter would be happy.

If his daughter could come around, that would be for the best.

“Do you have a plan?” he asked.

Cheng Danruo’s tone was slightly abashed, as though somewhat embarrassed. “I… I would not dare speak recklessly…”

The emperor said with displeasure, “What are you hemming and hawing about?”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty.” Her knees had already gone numb, but Cheng Danruo still strove to keep her back straight. “I am fairly confident about diagnosing the illness, but as for the marriage matter…”

She tightened her throat, making her voice thinner and more girlish. “I can only speak in vague generalities.”

Hearing the change in her voice – finally sounding like a girl, one who knew shame – the emperor could not help but laugh a little despite himself. She was, after all, just a young woman, so he said indulgently, “No matter.”

Cheng Danruo said, “In selecting the princess’s husband, Your Majesty could not have been more thorough, more meticulous, or more devoted – and yet the princess remains unmoved. Could the reason lie precisely there?”

This was something the emperor cared about too. He asked, “How so?”

“The consort is the princess’s consort – but is he truly a fitting match for Princess Rong’an herself?” she hinted tactfully.

By rights, as an emperor who had ruled for over a decade, his thinking should no longer be easily swayed by others; being led by the nose by ministers had only happened in the early days of his reign.

But Cheng Danruo’s words were very persuasive.

She herself was about the same age as Princess Rong’an, and the emperor thoroughly did not understand the thoughts of young girls – so on first hearing, it was hard not to believe her.

Moreover, this was a sentiment common to all humankind.

Why did he favor Consort Chai? Because the consort always chatted with him about family matters the way ordinary couples did, occasionally complaining and acting coquettish – whereas Consort Zhuang, Consort Shun, and their like trembled with fear, always treating him as an emperor rather than a husband.

Of course, more importantly, the emperor was willing to believe it.

He had expended great effort and care in choosing the consort – how could he admit the choice was poor? The consort must have been chosen correctly; the problem lay only in Rong’an being stubborn, mistakenly believing the consort had come for the princess rather than for her as a person – and that was why she had interest in no one.

Everything made sense now.

The stifling gloom pent up in the emperor’s chest had largely dissipated.

He smiled. “You are all young girls – it must be so.”

“I overstepped.” Cheng Danruo bowed her head. “I beg Your Majesty to pardon my presumptuous speculation about the imperial will.”

Reading the imperial mind was a Schrödinger’s crime – if one truly could not understand the thoughts of those above, one might as well pack up and go home to farm.

The emperor, seeing that she was young and the daughter of a minister, would not have treated her like an ordinary palace servant or a slave to begin with. Moreover, her words today had dispelled the doubts and anger in his heart and repaired the bond between father and daughter – so he certainly would not truly blame her.

“Rise,” he said, calling her up, and then asked, “Since you can diagnose the illness, can you cure it as well?”

As it happened, Cheng Danruo’s legs had gone numb from kneeling, and she could not even stand steadily. At his word, she simply collapsed back down. “I am untalented, but I will do my utmost.”

“Good. I hope you will not disappoint my expectations.”

With the emperor’s permission, whatever Cheng Danruo wished to do became much easier.

Especially since everyone in the Xiefang Palace, from top to bottom, was filled with the fear of the fox mourning the hare after Cui Jing’s death, trembling with dread. Everyone was desperate to try every trick they knew to get Princess Rong’an to speak and eat normally again.

The only rather tricky obstacle was the wet nurse.

She genuinely doted on the princess and had several times wanted to plead with the emperor to grant the princess her heart’s desire. So at first, when she heard Cheng Danruo’s instructions, she did not agree.

“The princess is the daughter His Majesty loves most – what grudge could last the night between father and daughter?” The wet nurse dismissed it carelessly. “You are overthinking.”

“Indeed, between flesh and blood, even a broken bone leaves the sinew connected,” Cheng Danruo first affirmed, but then said, “His Majesty has known countless people. Since he chose Young Master Han, he must feel Young Master Han is more suitable. The princess is young and cannot see it for the moment – it is all the more important that you explain it clearly to her.”

The wet nurse did not respond.

Cheng Danruo, betraying nothing in her expression, raised the stakes step by step. “Yesterday His Majesty said the decree has already been issued – she must marry him whether she will or not. If the princess cannot come to terms with it, and in the future the husband and wife are at odds and father and daughter estranged, how will she live her days?”

The wet nurse was silent for a while, then said bitterly, “It is the princess I feel for. However good Young Master Han may be, can he be better than Young Master Xie?”

Can you all just let that poor unlucky fellow Xie Xuanying go?

Apart from being beautiful, what wrong has he ever done?

Cheng Danruo rubbed her temples and said sternly, “The princess is already the most honored and precious person there is. Even without Young Master Xie, she is still the most noble legitimate princess of the Xia dynasty – would you not agree?”

“That is so.” The wet nurse nodded repeatedly. “The princess is the sole bloodline of Her Majesty the Empress. Apart from His Majesty, our princess is the most honored of all.”

As she spoke, pride naturally showed in her brows and eyes.

“Forgive my presumption, but let me speak plainly – what does the Jingyang Palace amount to? Her father is nothing but a schoolteacher. How could he compare to the late Empress, descendant of a duke? And among all the young men in the world, apart from Young Master Xie of the hereditary noble house, who could be worthy of our princess?”

Cheng Danruo’s heart gave a sudden leap, and she raised her eyes.

The wet nurse noticed nothing and went on, “I have seen the Xu family girl too. She may be a standout, but she cannot match the princess’s innate nobility – she is a notch below in the end!”

Cheng Danruo drew a deep breath and concealed her agitation. “Let me ask you just one thing, between husband and wife, is it face that matters, or substance?”

“What do you mean by that?” The wet nurse’s eyes turned sharp, wary and probing.

“If it is face you want, then with Young Master Xie as her husband, of course all would envy her – but why do you not think of the princess? How much suffering has she endured for his sake?”

Cheng Danruo pressed on. “She has lost her appetite for him, fallen ill and suffered for him, grown estranged from His Majesty for him. Let me put it bluntly – it is fortunate that Young Master Xie is a man. Were he a woman, what family would take such a daughter-in-law? The household would never know peace.”

This was something the wet nurse had never considered, and she hesitated.

“Moreover, Young Master Xie and the princess are first cousins – her parents-in-law would be her own uncle and aunt. In another family, the princess would not have to endure the hardship of morning and evening salutations, but the Xie family…” Cheng Danruo, having found the right pulse, continued unhurriedly, “To observe the rites of ruler and subject would inevitably seem heartless and invite criticism; to observe the rites of family – would that require the princess to bow her head?”

The wet nurse had been a palace maid of Empress Xie. Later she was released to marry, and only after raising her own children did she return to serve as the princess’s wet nurse – so she had her own experience of marriage.

She had suffered no small amount at the hands of her mother-in-law, and she well knew that whether life was lived well or not could not be judged by outward appearances alone. However fine a husband’s conditions might be, if he spoke coldly to his wife and beat her, life would be bitter enough to wring juice from it.

So she softened. “What you say is not without reason.”

“It is not that what I say has reason – it is that His Majesty already thought of it long ago.” Cheng Danruo betrayed nothing in her expression. “Think back on what His Majesty said yesterday – were those not the words of a wise and enlightened sovereign?”

The wet nurse was at once speechless. She was wary of Cheng Danruo and did not deeply trust her, but the night before, she had heard the emperor’s words with her own ears.

How could the emperor possibly harm the princess? Even the emperor had said so -perhaps that was simply how things were.

A wise and enlightened sovereign would not err; the one in the wrong was surely herself, this old palace nurse.

The wet nurse finally yielded. “His Majesty’s words are most true. I was muddled.”

“You were simply beside yourself with worry.” Cheng Danruo considerately excused her, then added, “The princess is still young and has grown up deep in the palace – must she not rely on trusted old hands like you to support her? Right now the princess is soon to leave the palace to marry, and hereafter she cannot always be at His Majesty’s side in attendance. If her heartache is not resolved as soon as possible, and the bond between father and daughter not repaired, then in the future when she leaves the palace…”

She struck at the heart of the matter. “The Second Princess is already seven almost eight -just at the age of innocent loveliness.”

Nothing was more effective than that.

The wet nurse said at once, “I understand.”