Later, the princess asked the servants in the mansion and learned that the woman from Suiping who had married Rong Heng earlier had a fondness for wontons.
After she left, the cook in the general's mansion made wontons once. Rong Heng glanced at them and ordered them to be taken away, saying that they should not be made again.
The cooks remembered this at the time, but later, for some reason, they made it again.
Rong Heng then chopped off the man's hands and ordered the steward to replace all the cooks in the kitchen.
The new cook remembered the taboos of the household, but when the princess said she wanted to learn them, they assumed the general knew beforehand, so they taught her without worry.
Surprisingly, despite the huge incident, Rong Heng did not punish the servants. He simply moved out of the East Courtyard and stayed alone at the Qingyuan Lake Viewing Pavilion in the mansion thereafter.
The princess, maintaining the decorum expected of a princess, did not argue with Rong Heng, but silently endured the situation. Having lived in the palace for so many years and witnessed so many concubines rise and fall in favor, she had long understood that arguing with a man who did not love her would not yield good results, but would only make her a laughingstock.
For many years afterward, the princess would occasionally drift into a daze and recall that snowy evening, then begin to wonder if things would have been different if she hadn't served Rong Heng that bowl of wontons.
But there are no "what ifs." What has already happened is like a boat overturned on water—irreversible and unchangeable.
The two grew increasingly distant, and Rong Heng almost never set foot in the backyard again. More and more handsome young men with delicate features began to enter and leave the General's mansion, and rumors started circulating that Princess Duanhua was unfaithful and keeping male lovers. Rong Heng remained indifferent, treating these stories told by the guards as mere whispers in the wind, since no one dared to gossip about him in front of him.
As for his male concubines, he occasionally encountered them in the mansion. He disdained to give them a second glance, only instructing his guards to deal with them afterward. As for those who kept to their duties, serving only in the east courtyard and never wandering around or looking around, he ignored them.
This was his last vestige of affection for the princess.
A few years later, he gradually won over some civil officials, forced Chang Beiqiu to commit suicide, and gradually eroded the civil official group headed by Chang Beiqiu. His power was close to that of the Grand Secretary. Although he was not famous, he was sometimes so powerful that it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was at the height of his power.
Even after the crown prince ascended the throne, he still had to rely on his power. In order to consolidate their relationship as ruler and subject, she even considered marrying one of his sisters.
Despite wielding astonishing power and wealth, Rong Heng felt increasingly empty inside.
He lived for nearly thirty years. It was always thought that he loved power and wealth, so he worked hard for it. He was eager to make a living and exhausted himself. Later, he rose to the highest position in the court. Under him, all the civil and military officials had to rely on him; above him, even the emperor had to show him respect.
He got everything he wanted. He was unstoppable and never lost.
But now, looking back on the past thirty years, he only feels lonely.
He couldn't help but think of Zhu Jiayu.
I remember her carefree and innocent smile in Suiping City, her resolute gaze despite her exhaustion during the march, the way she embroidered, the way she ate wontons, her gradually silent and thin appearance later on, and her carefree and detached look as she climbed the city wall.
He remembered the little girl born into a merchant family in Suiping. When she heard that he wanted to become a general, she followed him through thick and thin, fighting on all sides. When she learned that he wanted to go to Yujing, she accompanied him through arduous journeys.
When she thought back to their days of hardship, she recalled how they had slept together in a dilapidated mountain temple, their pillows resting on the frost of the night, their bellies filled with the wind and snow; and how, in their days of glory, she had also shared elegant conversations with him in the Imperial Garden, where they had been guests at a banquet of jade flowers, their wine bowls filled with the essence of spring.
He remembered how she always stood by his side, falling into the deepest abyss, until later, climbing the highest mountain.
But now, wherever he looks, there is her, yet he can only remember her, but cannot see her.
After so many years, he finally understood that he had deeply loved this person and had long cherished her memory after her death.
But he was the one who drove her to her death.
Realizing this, Rong Heng could no longer hold on, and a mouthful of blood spurted out as he fainted on the Guanchao Tower.
When I woke up again, it was three days later.
He gradually stopped attending court and instead painted day after day on the Guanchao Tower. The people in his paintings were dressed in armor, cloth, or brocade skirts, sitting, lying down, walking, or standing, with different expressions. The only thing they all had was a beautiful face, the only gorgeous color in the sky and the sea.
Later, he began to learn jade carving.
One year, when he and Zhu Jiayu went to the full moon celebration of the young lady of the Yun family, Zhu Jiayu heard that the little girl's mother had given her the nickname Ali, and had specially commissioned a craftsman to carve twelve pear blossoms of different shapes and colors from Kunshan jade to put in the little girl's storeroom. Zhu Jiayu was somewhat envious and a little disappointed, and said to him:
“My mother originally wanted to learn jade carving so she could carve a small fish for me. But she passed away before she could learn it.”
Her bright eyes were curved, yet moist.
He cruelly said, "Don't spoil such a good day."
He closed his eyes, and it seemed as if he saw her pause for a moment, then nod gently, her bright eyes dimming.
He gave a wry smile, opened his eyes, and ordered his servants to search for the finest jade in Kunshan, Lantian, Nanyang, and Xiuyan, and to invite the best craftsmen to the Grand Commandant's residence.
He wanted to carve a fish for his deceased wife himself.
This fish has been carved for many years.
Over the years, he forced Zhu Jiayu's personal maid to hand over her late mistress's notes. The notes contained many things, such as how Zhu Jiayu had helped a little girl who was being beaten by her stepfather in Suiping, and how she had helped a farmer's wife herd ducks when they marched to Chongmei River; and how she had given her silver to a scholar who had lost his travel money the year they went to Yujing. After finishing the thick notebook, he left Yujing and, following the place names recorded in the notes, relived his deceased wife's life.
He also ordered people to inquire about the whereabouts of those minor figures.
The little girl, who had been brutally beaten by her stepfather, married a farmer, had two children, and lived a good life; the old peasant woman, who no longer fed chickens and ducks, was taken to the city by her son; the scholar, who had passed the imperial examinations, returned to his hometown after many twists and turns, and was known for his integrity and honesty, and was loved by the people…
Among these people, some still remember her, while others have long forgotten her.
But they all seem to be doing well.
Zhu Jiayu, who deserved to live a better life than anyone else, is no longer here.
Rong Heng sometimes wondered, they were clearly husband and wife, so why had he never known these things? Then he thought, it was perfectly natural. Just like he never knew whether Zhu Jiayu truly loved him.
If she didn't love him, why would she have gone through thick and thin with him, sharing both trials and tribulations? But if she did love him, why did she leave so resolutely, so cruelly leaving him alone in this world, all alone?
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