At the end of winter in the second year of Jianxing, Yuwen Chu achieved a significant victory in Ganzhou, defeating Zhongshan Wang’s army, killing over forty thousand enemies, and reclaiming the strategic locations of Ganzhou, Minchuan, and Yunxian. The first battle was a resounding success.
The news reached the capital on New Year’s Eve, with heavy snow blanketing the city. Mingzhu was staying up with her two children. Millet was now running around and could say a few simple words, playing tangram with Zhuangzhuang. Zhuangzhuang was assembling the puzzle while Millet watched, occasionally helping to correct pieces that were out of place.
Whenever this happened, Zhuangzhuang would look up and smile at her, and she would return the smile, a silent understanding between siblings.
Mingzhu watched with great contentment. As midnight approached, Donghui came in, bringing a cold wind, smiling as she announced, “Everyone is waiting outside for Wangfei’s reward.”
Mingzhu sat up, looked out through the window, and saw a large crowd in the courtyard, all beaming with joy. At the forefront were Zhou Shuyi and Li Quanxin. They seemed to know she was watching and shouted in unison, “Happy New Year to the Wangfei and the children! May you be blessed with happiness and peace every year!”
Mingzhu took the children outside and called for Su Lan to bring red envelopes for the rewards. Zhuangzhuang wanted to help his mother. Mingzhu confidently let him do so. He wore a bright red cotton jacket with white fox fur trim on the collar and hood. With his round eyes and chubby cheeks, he ran around handing out envelopes, his laughter endearing him to everyone.
Zhou Shuyi then told Mingzhu, “There’s another group outside waiting for your reward.” These were the officials of the palace, who had heard the news of Yuwen Chu’s victory and, with their worries relieved and the festive season upon them, came to seek some good fortune.
Mingzhu sensed something was amiss but calmly had the rewards distributed, said some comforting and encouraging words, and then asked Zhou Shuyi, “Zhou Changshi, what exactly happened?”
Zhou Shuyi and the others laughed and congratulated her, “Our lord has won a great victory!”
Mingzhu almost covered her mouth in surprise but restrained herself, reminding herself to remain composed. Feeling she had maintained enough composure, she smiled and said, “This is wonderful news.” She thought she was being restrained, but her smile nearly reached her ears.
Zhuangzhuang, who often heard about battles, already understood the difference between victory and defeat. Knowing his father had won, he jumped for joy, spinning in circles, “We won! We won!”
Zhou Shuyi handed a letter to Mingzhu, “It’s a letter from the lord, just arrived.”
Holding the envelope, Mingzhu’s thoughts scattered, eager to retreat and read the letter in private. Zhou Shuyi, perceptive and efficient, immediately led everyone away. Mingzhu, holding a child in each hand, happily ran back inside, handing the children to Su Lan and the wet nurse. She carefully opened the envelope with a silver knife.
Yuwen Chu humorously described the customs and hardships of the northern lands, mentioning how the meals quickly turned cold and firewood was hard to find. He praised her drip dew pot for making tasty meals that stayed warm for a long time and spent his idle time teaching the cooks to use it better. He asked her to send a recipe for the pot’s dishes.
Mingzhu smiled knowingly. She could hardly imagine the wise and mighty, expressionless Regent walking into a tent to instruct on cooking methods. She wondered what expressions the camp cooks would have. After careful consideration, she concluded that he must be lying. There was no way he had the time to deal with such things; at most, he would just direct the people around him to do it. Yuwen Chu telling her these things was merely to put her mind at ease.
At the end of the letter, a line made her eyes well up with tears.
Zhuangzhuang, watching her closely, saw this and broke free from his wet nurse’s arms to grab her sleeve, asking, “Why is mother crying?”
Mingzhu hugged Zhuangzhuang, explaining through tears and laughter, “Your second uncle is a hero. His bravery led to our victory, ambushing in the snow for days and nights, assassinating a key enemy leader, and obtaining crucial intelligence. Despite his injuries, he fought fiercely, personally killing over ten enemies…”
Yuwen Chu hadn’t mentioned if her brother was injured, but Mingzhu imagined the toll of such fierce fighting. Her brother had finally redeemed himself with his blood. Overwhelmed, she couldn’t continue. Zhuangzhuang, not fully understanding, gently wiped her tears and patted her back, saying, “Don’t cry, mother. Be good, I’ll share my candy with you.”
Millet echoed, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
Mingzhu smiled through her tears, hugging her two children and kissing them, “Such good little treasures.”
That New Year’s was joyous and peaceful.
The next day, Mingzhu followed the custom of visiting the palace for New Year’s greetings. This year was different; although the Emperor was still in power, there was no Empress, and the Great Empress Dowager was gravely ill, unable to receive the noblewomen’s homage, leaving Empress Dowager Xu in charge.
Empress Dowager Xu felt a bit uncertain and brought along Imperial Consort Min for support. Imperial Consort Min also felt uneasy and sent a message for Mingzhu to come to the palace early to help avoid any mishaps that could be ridiculed. Mingzhu, having slept less than an hour, got up, dressed, and went to the palace. When she arrived, Imperial Consort Min had just finished dressing, while Funing had only just woken up and hadn’t risen yet.
Upon hearing the good news, Imperial Consort Min hurried to the Buddha and offered incense, asking Mingzhu to do the same. Once the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were ready, they took a warm sedan to pay their New Year respects to the Great Empress Dowager.
The Great Empress Dowager seemed to be on the verge of death for some time but was holding on. She only saw a few people like Fu Zifei, Mu Gugu, Sang Shen, and Jiang Zhouzi. Even Yuwen Guang might not be able to see her. Mingzhu and Imperial Consort Min expected that they would just kowtow outside the main hall and leave. However, Mu Gugu came out with a message from the Great Empress Dowager: “Today is New Year’s Day, the palace is busy, Imperial Consort Min should attend to her duties, and the Regent Wangfei may enter for an audience.”
Mingzhu was quite surprised and had a bad feeling, so she bid farewell to Imperial Consort Min and followed Mu Gugu inside, asking, “Do you know what it’s about?”
Mu Gugu calmly replied, “She woke up suddenly last night, asked if it was New Year’s Eve, drank half a bowl of porridge, and then stayed relatively spirited, asking when you would come to the palace, wanting to see you.”
Could it be the last burst of energy before death? Mingzhu felt uneasy and instructed the palace staff to notify Yuwen Guang and Yuwen Xin to come early to avoid any chaos later.
