Chapter 125 Can a woman...not marry?

The Empress? The Eldest Princess? Invite her to the palace for a chat?

Did she hear that right?

A question mark slowly appeared above Su Zhen's head.

Although she was in Bianjing and worried about revealing her ignorance, she wasn't stupid. She immediately turned to look at her younger brother, Su Shi. If it weren't for the fact that using the royal name to swindle people was a capital offense, Su Zhen would almost have thought this man was a fraudster or a beggar.

"Ah, it's you."

Su Shi recognized the eunuch at a glance: "Huaiji!"

Su Shi and Liang Huaiji had met before. When Su Shi, Fusu, and Miaowu were playing in the market, Huaiji had followed behind them. Since this man was here, it meant what he said was true.

He scratched the back of his head, feeling both happy and a little apprehensive: "So His Highness wasn't joking when he said he wanted to introduce my elder sister and the eldest princess, it was actually true!"

Su Shi quickly glanced at Su Zhen's face. Being summoned by both the Empress and the Grand Princess was an opportunity many court ladies coveted but could never attain. It was easy to imagine that, as long as his elder sister didn't cause any trouble, her reputation and status would rise rapidly after entering the palace. After her marriage, he anticipated that no one would dare to treat him with disrespect.

Su Shi was deeply moved by Fu Su's thoughtfulness.

But Fusu was not so kind.

No, you can't say that. He did have good intentions, but he wasn't after the good intentions of getting Su's sister married smoothly. He wanted people to get rid of the Cheng family's hellhole completely.

So the first step is to elevate his status to a level that the Cheng family can never reach. And given Fusu's identity, this couldn't be simpler.

He wrote a letter to Miaowu, informing her that Su Shi's elder sister was coming to Bianjing for a visit. "Elder sister," he wrote, "haven't you always been bothered by not having any playmates your own age? Why not go and get to know her?"

As for Empress Cao, Fusu used the excuse of "Please help look after Miaowu and make sure my elder sister doesn't suffer losses in her friendships."

Of course, it also served to distract them and prevent them from worrying about him, who was far away. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Since Su Shi's words confirmed the truth, she had no choice but to follow Huaiji into the palace. Su Zhen clutched her sleeve, almost in fear, as she looked at the sedan chair prepared for her. She had only just entered Bianjing, yet everything was so new and exciting. Was she about to enter the palace and meet the current empress and princess?

Can she... do it?

Su Shi understood his elder sister's personality, and in front of Huaiji, he smiled and comforted her, saying, "Sister, what are you worried about? This is an opportunity that so many people would never dream of. You'll meet the Empress and the Princess today, something you can brag about for the rest of your life, and you can even tell your grandchildren about it when you're old."

"Do you think I'm like you, always bragging?" Su Zhen retorted instinctively. But strangely, the tension and unease in her heart vanished like a punctured fish bladder. After straightening her skirt, she gracefully entered the sedan chair.

Su Shi originally intended to see his elder sister off, but Huaiji stepped forward and raised his hand to stop him: "Lord Su, His Majesty also has important matters to attend to and has sent me to invite you to the palace for a talk."

"Huh? Me?"

Su Shi pointed to himself in surprise.

A woman's voice came from inside the sedan chair: "Brother, hurry up, don't delay the Emperor's important business."

"She's actually taking the lead in my life now," Su Shi muttered to himself. Knowing that this was a sign that his elder sister was relaxed and no longer uneasy, the corners of his mouth still quietly turned up.

But he had no sedan chair to ride in. The empress and princess had invited Su Zhen as a guest, but Su Shi's entry into the palace was that of a subject meeting the monarch. So he followed behind Huaiji, speaking to his sister through a sedan chair curtain.

Su Shi mostly recounted amusing anecdotes about himself and Fusu. Su Zhen was unaware of these. Far away in Meishan, all she knew was the seemingly true statement that "Su's eldest son is a close confidant of the Crown Prince of this dynasty."

Only today did she realize that so many interesting things had happened between her younger brother and the Crown Prince, and their friendship was extraordinary. It couldn't be summed up by simply calling them "confidants"; "close friends" or "soulmates" would be more appropriate.

Su Zhen, with his keen intuition, discerned the unspoken meaning in Su Shi's words: "Look, His Highness the Crown Prince is so understanding; he can even befriend me, a mere subject, without regard for our social status. Could the Empress and Princess, his mother and sister, be difficult to get along with? Even for his sake, these two noble ladies wouldn't make things difficult for you."

Su Zhen felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this.

Unbeknownst to them, the two entered the palace gates together, parting ways at the fork between the outer court and the inner palace. Although Su Shi tried his best to convey the sentiment that "there will definitely be no problem," when the moment came, he still stood there, watching for a moment as the sedan chair carrying his elder sister drove away, a faint worry flowing through his heart.

On second thought, if the servants had seen what happened at the gate of the mansion, then the news that "their children are both going to the palace" should have already reached their father in the government office.

The thought of his father, who couldn't sit still and couldn't ask for leave, and could only anxiously wait in the government office, made Su Shi stick out his tongue and feel much more at ease.

Worrying about things isn't for him; leave those to his father!

Meanwhile, Su Zhen was escorted by sedan chair to the entrance of Fengyi Palace. She noticed that the person guarding the sedan chair had been replaced by someone else instead of Huaiji. A strange yet clear voice announced, "We've arrived at Fengyi Palace," startling her.

She was about to get up, holding onto the edge of the sedan chair, when she touched the cold, dry fabric and realized that her palms were already sweating. A cold wind blew in from outside the sedan chair, whistling and chilly.

Su Zhen waited until the chill subsided before lifting the sedan curtain. She had intended to heed Su Shi's advice and treat herself as a guest, taking in the sights of Fengyi Palace. But when she looked up, she saw a young girl of similar age standing at the palace gate, her features delicate and pretty, her large eyes fixed on her. The moment their eyes met, the girl smiled at her: "Are you Su Shi's elder sister?"

Su Zhen immediately guessed the person's identity from her words and actions. She nodded obediently, "It is indeed this humble person."

"It was I who invited you to the palace as a guest. You can call me Miaowu."

Miaowu scrutinized Su Zhen for a while longer: "You're much quieter than your brother."

Su Zhen was startled: his younger brother had never mentioned that he had met this princess before? When exactly did they meet...?

"However, the person I met was before he became an official. I wonder if he had become more composed then."

Before he became an official? That was when he was eight... seven. Boys and girls shouldn't sit together after the age of seven, so he hadn't overstepped the bounds. Su Zhen felt relieved, but smiled, a small dimple appearing on her cheek: "My brother is indeed mischievous. As for whether he's become more mature after becoming an official, I, as his older sister, don't know much about it."

The reason, of course, is the person who urgently summoned her to be a guest.

Miaowu smiled sheepishly: "Isn't it because she's been in the palace for too long and doesn't have any playmates? She has met a few daughters of important officials, but unfortunately, they weren't meant to be. They just stared at each other blankly in the palace, unable to connect. But Su Shi's sister will definitely be different, right?"

The result was indeed different!

In all her years, Miaowu has only ever met one person who could subtly express "blame" without being impolite, and still elicit a knowing smile from the listener. Oh right, there was another one who wasn't so polite—her own younger brother.

She curled the corners of her lips into a smile and immediately and happily pulled Su Zhen into Kunning Palace.

As for Su Zhen, although she had never witnessed the majesty of the imperial family, she was very familiar with the tea parties for young ladies. Back in Meishan, she was known as a "virtuous woman," and she had seen many people who wanted to learn from her, as well as the occasional one or two who came to cause trouble. She had a knack for getting along with women her age.

Discovering that the rumored beloved eldest daughter of the emperor, the Grand Princess, was not difficult to get along with, and that the young ladies of the past were quite curious about her, Su Zhen quickly found a way to deal with her.

She obediently let Miaowu hold her sleeve, without saying anything discouraging about the two walking side by side. When they entered the main hall of Kunning Palace, His Highness Miaowu even reminded her, "The threshold is high, be careful."

Su Zhen's legs and heart rose high together.

The eldest princess's hurdle has been overcome, but the Empress's hurdle remains. As the mother of the Song Dynasty, is she as approachable as Princess Miaowu, or like this threshold, seemingly unapproachable just by looking at her?

But what greeted Su Zhen was not a magnificent palace or a high and mighty empress dowager. Instead, it was a wave of heat, as if one were in the middle of spring, April.

Su Zhen had no doubt that if a peach tree were placed in the main hall of Kunning Palace, it would immediately blossom. The warmth felt far surpassed the silver-thread charcoal she used in Meishan, even though the charcoal she used was no ordinary material. Truly befitting the imperial family, their extravagance was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Xiao Su," a woman's voice came from afar. "I'm getting old, and I get very cold in winter, so I had the charcoal fire kept burning brightly."

The firewood used was the new honeycomb charcoal from Yunzhou, produced by Su'er, and the firepower was indeed very strong. However, this was a semi-state secret, and Empress Cao did not make it public: "It's making you hot."

She smiled as she watched Su Zhen's complexion quickly return, revealing his rosy lips and white teeth.

"How dare I, your humble daughter?" Su Zhen immediately replied, knowing that the speaker was the current Empress. "To receive such warmth in winter is like experiencing the middle of spring; it truly makes one feel happy."

"That's good. I hope you can get used to it."

From just a few moments, Empress Cao could tell that Su Zhen was not a difficult person to get along with, and that Su'er's worries in his letter were unfounded. However, was Su'er truly worried that his elder sister from the Su family was bullying his sister? Empress Cao felt that this should be questioned.

She asked about Su Zhen's situation: Where does he live? How many people are in his family? How old is he? What school does he study? Is he betrothed?

Su Zhen answered each question. When she heard that he would marry his cousin from his maternal family next year, Empress Cao paused subtly before saying with a normal expression, "She is a kind and intelligent girl."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "I think Miaowu can't wait any longer. You two go and have fun. I won't bother you any longer."

Miaowu had been waiting to speak with Su Zhen privately, so she immediately stood up to take her leave: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

After Su Zhen bowed and took his leave, she happily pulled her outside. After the two left, Empress Cao's expression became increasingly strange: "Since she is already married, it seems I was overthinking things."

"You might not be wrong," a maidservant beside Empress Cao reminded her. "The late Emperor... wasn't Empress Dowager Liu a woman who had been married before?"

Queen Cao: "..."

She sighed, propping her head up with her hand: "I had forgotten about that."

Not to mention Empress Dowager Liu, even she herself had been widowed for several years before being selected to enter the palace.

Sigh, that's the tradition of your Zhao family, sigh.

As for suspecting that her eight-year-old child had such thoughts, Empress Cao didn't even blink, finding nothing amiss. In the court and the palace, among all the officials, who would truly consider Su'er an eight-year-old child? Moreover, the Book of Rites stipulates that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. Eight years old is not early at all.

Otherwise, what else could explain why Su'er, who was far away in Yunzhou, would still write a special letter to ask her for a favor? Was he really so bored that he would rather tear down ten temples than not break up a marriage?

Fusu: Yes, it is! Yes, it is!

If Fusu knew that Empress Cao, hundreds of miles away, had misunderstood things like this, he would be shocked and would wail at his own mother: "Count upwards, don't count the Zhao family, look at the Ying family!"

Moreover, he was a new-era warrior who had experienced the baptism of socialism, a lonely man for two lifetimes, with nothing but the Song Dynasty and the Sixteen Prefectures in his heart!

Fortunately, Empress Cao only speculated. She even allowed her own son to not want to be the crown prince, so why would she interfere in his love life? Let Miaowu spend time with that young lady from the Su family. Judging from their personalities and conversations, they should get along very well.

And indeed, it turned out just as Empress Cao had predicted.

Su Zhen left Kunning Palace and followed Miao Wu to her own residence, feeling much easier to breathe. Firstly, the charcoal fire wasn't burning as brightly, and secondly, even if the Empress was approachable, she was still the Empress, and ordinary people would feel some pressure from her.

Su Zhen felt much more at ease in front of His Highness Miaowu, who was about the same age as him.

Moreover, the furnishings in her residence made Su Zhen feel like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar: "Could this be... four years' worth of 'Seeking Knowledge' newspaper?"

"Yes, yes, I've compiled them episode by episode. Do you want to watch them?" Su Zhen nodded eagerly.

Meishan was far away, and the local bookstores had limited capacity, so each issue of the newspaper had to be grabbed by the scramble. There were always times when the Su family arrived late and missed out. Since she was not yet married, she couldn't very well go to someone's house to borrow the newspaper from the head of the household, and she always felt deeply regretful.

But she didn't want to trouble her father and brother in the capital by writing a letter for a newspaper.

Miaowu: "Then you can watch whichever episode you want."

As for saying things like "take care of it" or "don't lose it," she didn't need to tell them anything. The older sister of the Su family was clearly the kind of person who was extremely considerate and meticulous; she wouldn't do something like losing something.

Miaowu found Su Zhen a well-lit and comfortable spot to sit, and then went to read a book herself. Su Zhen couldn't help but ask curiously, "What does Your Highness usually read?"

"Here you are." Miaowu lifted the book cover.

"...The Essential Techniques for the Common People?" Su Zhen was very puzzled, a big question mark popping up above his head.

Compared to this book, the works of Ban Zhao and Empress Zhangsun are probably more in line with the style of princesses.

"You know about my younger brother, the Crown Prince, and the cotton and potatoes he produced, right?"

Su Zhen nodded.

She had seen both of these things in Meishan. They had provided countless people with enough to eat and wear, sparing them from hunger and cold. Her younger brother even wrote an article praising cotton in the collection "Holding Snow."

Su Zhen suddenly realized something: "So... Your Highness, you also want to follow the Crown Prince's example?"

"Yes, it would be great if we could discover some new crops or farming tools in the books."

Having said that, Miaowu looked around and then leaned closer to Su Zhen and whispered, "Moreover, my younger brother told me that if I really invent something, he will ask Father, the Emperor, to prevent me from getting married."

“…Huh?” Su Zhen’s newspaper fell onto the table. She quickly picked it up, made sure there were no missing pages or folded corners, and carefully laid it flat on the table before she came to her senses and responded to Miao Wu’s outrageous words.

"How can a woman not get married?"

—

"Your Majesty, is there something you need from me?"

On the other hand, Su Shi was less reserved when he met the Emperor. This was partly due to his open-minded personality, and partly because they had been emperor and subject for four years and were somewhat familiar with each other through Fusu, so they were not strangers to each other.

"I have already heard from Minister Fan that you deduced from the clues that Su'er is in Yunzhou. I also sent him the letter you wrote."

Su Shi's face immediately broke into a smile.

Although he had given the letter to Minister Fan and received no reply for a long time, since it hadn't been returned to him, Su Shi guessed that the matter was most likely settled. But to receive confirmation from the emperor himself still made him extremely happy.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

"No need for thanks. It's a good thing that Su'er has such a close friend who cares about him."

Emperor Renzong never said that he was worried that his son, Su'er, was too worldly-wise at such a young age, and that there was a risk that his intelligence might be harmful. Fortunately, the Song Dynasty court was full of talented people, and he also had close friends like Su Shi, so his son was not too lonely.

Therefore, he was always very tolerant and appreciative of Su Shi. Even though he knew that Su Shi had uncovered one of the state secrets, he was not wary or cautious. Instead, he was willing to speak frankly about it.

"Then do you know what state Su'er is in now in Yunzhou?"

"I do not know, but please tell me, Your Majesty."

Su Shi's heart clenched, fearing something terrible had happened to his friend. But then he thought, if Zhao Xiaolang were in danger, would the Emperor still be sitting comfortably in the Chuigong Hall?

He must have personally led the expedition to Yunzhou long ago, right?

Why did the Emperor summon me here?

The reply to Su Shi was a letter. The emperor himself handed it to him: "Take a look at this."

What's this?

Su Shi read it with suspicion, and immediately understood the letter's origin from the salutation: it was a secret letter from Zhao Xiaolang to the Emperor about Yunzhou! Is it really okay for me to see something so confidential?

However, he quickly found the answer to his question.

In his letter, Zhao Xiaolang himself stated that the problem he was concerned about was secondary and not urgent. As for the problem itself, Zhao Xiaolang explained that it stemmed from the fact that the people of Yunzhou followed the Liao dynasty in adopting Buddhism, but Buddhism was not a religion with strong cohesion or centripetal force.

In order to ensure the submission and long-term stability of Yunzhou, it is necessary to change the local customs and traditions.

Su Shi seemed to understand something. He raised his head and tentatively asked, "So, Your Majesty, you want me to..."

"Just as you thought," the Emperor laughed. "After all, Minister Su, you are also a veteran of the 'Seeking Knowledge Newspaper' for four whole years. If we're talking about changing customs and habits, I don't think there's anyone more capable than you besides Minister Wang."

——

With the supplies provided by his father, Fusu was like a tiger with wings. The construction of the honeycomb charcoal factory in Wujia Village was completed, and the output stabilized at 2,500 charcoal briquettes per day. This quantity was enough to supply the heating needs of the entire town.

But to say it can supply the entire Yunzhou region? That's wishful thinking. Besides, a single mine has limited reserves; blindly expanding supply would be like draining the pond to catch all the fish. We must ensure the villagers have a long-term livelihood.

Fortunately, Yunzhou is so large, it has no shortage of coal mines. It's time to find the next mine and build the factory.

As a parting gift, Fusu taught the residents of Wujia Village how to make honeycomb briquettes and the ratio of coal to yellow clay. In his courtyard, he called one person from each household and explained everything in detail.

As a result, Fusu discovered that about half of the people were distracted, not looking at the coal and yellow mud in front of him, but staring intently at him.

Fusu sighed helplessly: "Why aren't you studying properly? This is your future livelihood!"

The people below remained silent and continued to watch him.

Old Wu said, "They're looking at your appearance."

"No...why are you looking at me?"

"Of course, we'll build an ancestral hall for you and sculpt a clay statue of you. If we don't look at it a few more times, how can we forget what you look like?"

Fusu initially thought Old Man Wu was just flattering him, but to his surprise, many people nodded earnestly. Even those who had been seriously studying the proportions of coal slurry were persuaded to put down their work and stare intently at him.

Fusu: "..."

Fusu: "…………"

He suddenly felt extremely exhausted: "You'd better hurry up and learn. If you don't learn, I won't teach you anymore. I mean it!"

As for building the ancestral hall… Fusu gritted his teeth. Building a house in ancient times was no easy feat; it represented the combined wealth and hard work of the villagers. Even if he wanted to, so what? Should he send people to guard Wu Family Village and prevent them from building? Or should he come back later and demolish their hard-earned achievements?

Even more outrageous things were yet to come.

Old Man Wu, seemingly lost in thought, had barely finished saying, "My esteemed guest, you are about to depart," when he suddenly covered his eyes and began to sob. Those around him, moved by his outburst, also wiped away their tears.

Fusu watched as the person closest to him broke down in tears, each tear falling onto the pile of coal dust and yellow mud.

Oh no... my honeycomb briquettes.

Su Shi, who had come from afar, looked at the courtyard filled with people and was filled with excitement at the thought of meeting Zhao Xiaolang again in a foreign land.

He stood there calming himself down, so that he could laugh at the overly excited Fusu later.

Unexpectedly, a short while later, the sound of weeping came from afar, and Su Shi was stunned.

"What's that sound?" he asked.

"Well, it must be something His Highness the Crown Prince said that moved the villagers to tears," guessed one of the attendants from the Imperial City Guard who escorted Su Shi to Yunzhou.

After all, according to the intelligence they received, His Highness the Crown Prince was quite popular in Wu Family Village.

Su Shi truly did not expect this answer.

But as he stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Hey, isn't that perfect?"

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Author's Note: My computer had a problem in the middle, and I almost didn't finish writing. Luckily, I used the universal solution—restarting! [Sunglasses]