Overestimating one's own abilities
Autumn of the twenty-fifth year of Xuanxi.
The leaves of the sycamore trees within the palace walls had been dyed with varying shades of yellow. When the wind blew, a few of them fell, swirling around and floating into the vermilion window frames.
In Xuehan Palace, the aroma of incense curled up in the air, but it couldn't dispel the cold.
Concubine Yu was leaning on the soft couch by the window, covered with a half-worn brocade quilt. Her eyes were fixed on the mostly withered hibiscus tree outside the window, and she was lost in thought.
Princess Mingzhu Ning Lingyi sat on the embroidered cushion in front of the couch, her back straight and her hands folded on her knees. She was wearing a lilac-colored palace dress, and her face was at the peak of her beauty at the age of sixteen or seventeen.
But she looked at her mother with a solemn expression.
"Mother, I have decided to recruit court officials and build up my own power."
Concubine Yu withdrew her gaze, her eyes filled with worry. "Yier, is this what a princess should do? If you only seek stability, even if you go to Beishuo in the future, you will not be without a foothold with your status as a princess. But if you get involved in the affairs of the court, you will put yourself in the spotlight."
"Safe?" A hint of bitterness curled up at the corners of Ning Lingyi's lips. "Mother, have we ever truly felt safe in this deep palace? The Crown Prince has the support of the court officials, and Prince Yong has many talented people under his tutelage, but we, mother and daughter, are trapped in this small place. Now that the war is lost, they have to use a princess like me to satisfy Beishuo's appetite. I don't want this to happen anymore!"
How could Concubine Yu not know that what her daughter said was the truth?
She was just afraid that her daughter would make a mistake.
"But Yi'er, this road is too dangerous..." Concubine Yu's voice was filled with pleading.
"No matter how dangerous it is, is it more dangerous than going to Beishuo alone and struggling to survive under the enemy chief's tent?" Ning Lingyi's eyes were burning. "Mother, have you ever thought about why, when men lose on the battlefield, it's always the women's blood and tears that have to clean up the mess? Your daughter refuses to accept this and is determined to fight for her life!"
Concubine Yu stared at Ning Lingyi in a daze, as if she was truly getting to know her daughter for the first time.
After a long time, she finally let out a long sigh.
"Yier, what are you going to do?"
Seeing her mother's attitude soften, Ning Lingyi leaned forward slightly and said, "I still have the fiefdom of Mingzhou in my hands. I want to use it as a leverage to recruit some people who can be of use to me. Even if I go north, I have someone to rely on in the capital."
"Fiefdom..." Concubine Yu pondered, "The person you're looking for must be someone who works with you and has business acumen. Such a person is not easy to find."
The brilliance that had just lit up in Ning Lingyi's eyes dimmed a little: "My daughter also knows that it is difficult. But mother, is this path also impossible for me?"
Concubine Yu was silent for a moment, then looked out the window again, gazing at the last few dead leaves stubbornly clinging to the branches. She suddenly said, "Perhaps... it might not be impossible."
"Yier, what do you think will happen if we ask the important officials in the court for help?"
Ning Lingyi was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "My daughter is about to marry a foreign prince. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a dead end. I'm afraid I'm trying to avoid it as much as possible."
"Yes, we should avoid them as much as possible." Concubine Yu repeated this sentence softly, but a strange light flashed in her eyes, "Then let them avoid it."
In the next few days, Xuehan Palace changed from its usual silence, and palace maids came in and out one after another holding gift boxes.
These gifts were sent to the residences of several powerful ministers. The words of the gifts were sincere, saying that the princess was about to go on a long journey and was worried. They hoped that the ministers would consider the royal family's face and take good care of Concubine Yu in the palace in the future.
Sure enough, within two or three days, all the gifts were returned intact.
Those old ministers who have been immersed in the court for many years are all shrewd people. How could they get involved with a princess who is about to be married at this time?
The royal family also received the gifts from Xuehan Palace. Compared to the elders, the clan members, after all, were mindful of their blood ties. When returning the gifts, they more or less attached some formalities or a few bland words of comfort, but the result was no different.
The helpless situation of the mother and daughter in Xuehan Palace, with no one to turn to for help, soon became a laughing stock circulating inside and outside the palace.
Ning Lingyi sat in the palace, listening to the palace maids reporting on the returned gifts and the taunts, both overt and covert. She couldn't help but ask, "Mother, if we knew this would be the outcome, why did we still... bring humiliation upon ourselves?"
Concubine Yu gently stroked a returned jade ruyi and looked up at her daughter. "We've become a laughing stock in everyone's eyes. You said, the whole capital knows we're going to marry, but no one is willing to speak up for us... What would your father think?"
Ning Lingyi was stunned, a thought suddenly flashing through her mind: "My father will lose face, and his heart will only feel more guilty and uneasy!"
"That's right." Imperial Concubine Yu nodded. "No matter how much your father loves you, he would never allow the princess to interfere in state affairs. But now, the more pitiful and helpless we mother and daughter are, the deeper his guilt as a father will be. This guilt may help you succeed and help you recruit court officials."
She took her daughter's hand and said, "Yier, you have to remember that if you want to succeed in the future, you don't always have to be straightforward. Seeing the big picture and going with the flow can sometimes achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Ning Lingyi held her mother's hand tightly and nodded seriously: "My daughter has learned her lesson."
The mother and daughter's request for help was like a stone thrown into a deep pool. Although it did not arouse the requested help, it did create ripples of discussion.
After several twists and turns, this topic of conversation also drifted into the Hanlin Academy.
Shen Qingyan, the newly crowned top scholar, stood by the window of the Hanlin Academy's library in a brand new blue official robe. Outside the window, bamboo shadows swayed, and the whispers of his colleagues about Concubine Yu and her daughter were still ringing in his ears.
(The following is newly added dialogue, describing the discussion among colleagues in the Hanlin Academy:)
"I heard that Xue Han Palace has been sending gifts everywhere these past two days, and even sent people to the residences of several elders."
"That's right. They were all returned intact. Who would dare to get involved with a princess who is about to be married off?"
"Empress Yu is desperate and trying all sorts of remedies. She still doesn't understand that the royal family's reputation is nothing compared to actual benefits..."
"Hush—keep your voice down. This is a palace matter after all."
He was silent for a long time, returned to the duty room, finally spread out paper and ground ink, and completed a memorial in one go.
In his memorial, he earnestly wrote: "I believe that marriage alliances are ultimately not the foundation of a strong nation. The key to national security lies in improving domestic affairs and strengthening military preparations. Now that the noble lady of the Celestial Empire has been sent to the far north, not only will it fail to permanently eliminate border threats, but it will also separate Your Majesty from your family. This not only hurts Your Majesty's fatherly love, but also damages the prestige of our dynasty. I humbly implore Your Majesty to revoke your order and choose another wise strategy to ensure national security."
When the ink dried, Shen Qingyan handed the memorial forward according to the regulations.
If this memorial can reach the ears of the emperor, even if it is as weak as an ant trying to shake a tree, it will be considered that I have fulfilled my duty as a minister and fulfilled the moral principles in my heart.
But he had no idea that this memorial could not even get out of the numerous red gates. It was presented to the East Palace and placed on the desk of the prince.
The prince casually glanced at it, then tapped Shen Qingyan's name on the memorial with his fingertips. He said to his confidant beside him, "He is a scholar with some courage, but unfortunately, he doesn't know how to deal with current events."
The firelight illuminated the prince's calm face. He whispered to himself, "If Mingzhu doesn't go, does that mean my sister should go?"
"You don't know your own limitations."
He picked up the memorial and walked to the copper beast stove next to the warm room, which was used to burn incense for heating. The charcoal fire in the stove was red, and the memorial floated and fell into the flames.
The flames greedily licked the paper, turning every stroke of the loyal advice and every word of sincerity into smoke, leaving no trace.
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, Shen Qingyan was the only one who spoke a word for the princess who was about to marry far away. Now even this tiny voice was lost in this warm room.
Is Ning Lingyi destined to walk alone into that wild land?
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