Misfortunes never come singly; prosperity fades away.
After Emperor Yongchu ascended the throne, he worked diligently to govern the country, and the court gradually stabilized. However, beneath the calm surface, personal joys and sorrows continued to unfold.
Inside the Prince Rui's residence, Su Wanqing finally reached her breaking point. For years, she had endured a marriage in name only, like guarding a magnificent cage. Prince Rui, Zhao Jingming, always harbored the image of that unattainable love, treating her only with distant politeness. She refused to be anyone's substitute any longer, unwilling to spend her life trapped in this cold palace.
She proposed a divorce to Prince Rui.
Shocked, Zhao Jingming resolutely refused. How could members of the royal family divorce? This concerned his reputation, and even more so, the dignity of the royal family.
Su Wanqing had made up her mind and would no longer pester him. She submitted a lawsuit directly to the Emperor.
Emperor Yongchu, Zhao Jingchen, was filled with complex emotions when dealing with this matter. He was well aware of the estrangement between his fourth brother and sister-in-law, and he understood Su Wanqing's suffering. More importantly, he recalled that his late wife, Xu Nianchu, had repeatedly mentioned to him her hope that women would have more choices and not be confined to the inner quarters. The late emperor had also expressed this idea during his reign, but had not had the opportunity to implement it.
After much deliberation, Emperor Yongchu made an unprecedented decision. He granted her a divorce and personally issued an edict stating that "women can also establish themselves and make a living, and their lives should not be determined by marriage." To show his support, he specially allocated a shop in a prime location from the imperial treasury for Su Wanqing as a means of livelihood and allowed her to retain her title of "Princess Rui" as a sign of his favor.
This precedent caused an uproar, but the emperor's attitude was resolute, and no one dared to openly oppose it. Su Wanqing was deeply grateful and threw herself into the business world. Relying on her talent and the remaining influence of the royal family, she surprisingly made her business thrive, truly carving out a niche for herself. Emperor Yongchu seized the opportunity to implement new policies, encouraging women to engage in commerce and education, and allowing divorced women to remarry or establish their own households. A new trend quietly emerged among the people.
However, the cruelty of fate wasfallen Prince Yi's mansion even more.
At this time, Prince Yi's heir, Zhao Huaijin (Yuanbao), was already six years old. He was intelligent and studious, and had inherited his mother's good manners. Princess Zhao Anle (Nuannuan) was also six years old, lovely and precious, and the apple of the family's eye. Life in the Prince's mansion should have been a happy and harmonious one.
The tragedy occurred without warning.
On this day, Zhao Jingyi went to court as usual. Qin Yuti returned to the Qin residence early in the morning to visit her mother, Madam Qin, who was seriously ill. The servants in the residence all performed their duties.
A maid named Qiuyue, with ulterior motives and who had long coveted the position of the prince's concubine, believed her time was ripe. She first took advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention and pushed the young princess Nuannuan, who was playing alone by the pond in the back garden, into the water! Although the pond was not deep, it was a fatal disaster for a five-year-old child.
Just then, a servant, looking for Qiuyue, arrived at the back garden and was shocked to find the princess had fallen into the water. He hurriedly jumped in to save her and carried the lifeless Nuannuan ashore. Terrified, he immediately rushed out of the manor to the Qin residence to find the princess!
Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, Qiu Yue, without hesitation, decided to take drastic measures. Taking advantage of the servants' absence and the temporary chaos in the mansion, she slipped into the study of the young prince, Zhao Huaijin. Little Huaijin was diligently practicing calligraphy. Qiu Yue feigned concern and handed the prince an old book, contaminated with smallpox, which she claimed was a "novel and unusual book." Huaijin, unsuspecting, took it and began to peruse it.
Qiuyue had already taken precautions and quickly retreated.
Soon after, Zhao Jingyi returned home from court and, as usual, went to his study to check on his son. He found Huaijin slumped beside his desk, his face flushed, unconscious, and covered in red rashes! Zhao Jingyi was terrified. He immediately picked up his son and screamed for the imperial physician!
The imperial physician rushed over, and after taking the pulse, his expression changed drastically. He knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness! The young master... the young master has... contracted smallpox!"
"Smallpox?!" Zhao Jingyi was struck dumb, almost losing his balance!
Just then, Qin Yuti received a message from a servant and rushed back to the Prince's mansion in a panic. As soon as she entered the gate, she saw servants carrying her daughter's warm but cold body... Her vision blurred, and she almost fainted. Suppressing her grief, she learned that her son was also in trouble and that imperial physicians were going in and out, so she immediately went to the study.
The couple met outside the study. One had just lost their daughter, and the other was facing the devastating news that their son had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Their eyes met, both filled with despair and panic.
“Yu Ti…” Zhao Jingyi’s voice trembled.
"...What did the imperial physician say?" Qin Yuti burst into tears.
Upon hearing the news, Emperor Yongchu immediately went to Prince Yi's residence and ordered a thorough investigation! The successive misfortunes of royal offspring are no coincidence!
The investigation quickly yielded results. The servant's testimony, the fragments of clothing belonging to a smallpox patient found in Qiuyue's room, and the clues she made in her panic—the evidence was irrefutable!
The emperor was furious! He ordered the wicked servant Qiuyue to be beaten to death with sticks as a warning to others!
However, even severe punishment of the perpetrator could not bring back the life. Despite the best efforts of the imperial physicians, six-year-old Zhao Huaijin ultimately succumbed to the dangers of smallpox and followed her sister in death amidst high fever and agony.
In just one day, Prince Yi Zhao Jingyi and Princess Qin Yuti tragically lost their two children.
Before the grief of losing her son had subsided, devastating news arrived from the Qin family—Madam Qin had finally succumbed to her grief and passed away.
The successive blows completely devastated Qin Yuti. Her health was already declining after childbirth, and now the deaths of her beloved daughter, son, and mother, compounded by immense grief, left her heartbroken and despondent. She stopped crying and spent her days staring blankly at her children's old toys and the jewelry her mother had given her, her eyes vacant and her spirits broken.
Zhao Jingyi was equally devastated, but he was more worried about his wife. He tried to comfort her and take her out to cheer her up, but Qin Yuti seemed to shut herself off, becoming unresponsive to everything around her. She quickly became haggard, and no medicine could help.
Less than six months later, on a bleak autumn night, Qin Yuti quietly closed her eyes and never woke up again.
She went to find her Yuanbao and Nuannuan, and perhaps, her mother whom she missed.
The Prince Yi's Mansion, once a place of joy and laughter, is now only a desolate wasteland. Zhao Jingyi's hair turned white overnight, and he became emaciated. He lost his child and his beloved wife. The once magnificent mansion is now a desolate tomb for him.
Emperor Yongchu was moved by his sixth brother's plight and offered him much comfort, but no amount of care could fill the void left by his loss.
Zhao Jingyi entrusted the affairs of the Prince's Mansion to the steward, and often spent entire days alone in the courtyard where his children and wife had lived. He was no longer the carefree prince who used to laugh and rant, but had become a taciturn old man with no light in his eyes.
The story seems to have come to an end here.
Of the four beauties of the capital, Shen Anci died on the battlefield, Liu Mianying died in childbirth, Xu Nianchu died young after being poisoned, and Qin Yuti died in melancholy.
The once纨绔 (playboy/spoiled prince) prince, after experiencing the loss of his beloved and the premature death of his children, has turned his heart to ashes.
The new emperor ushered in a new era, but could not bring back the lives and joys that had been lost.
The story of "April in the Human World" begins with a comical mismatched marriage and ends with a series of heartbreaking separations of life and death.
Just like April in this world, there is both the splendor of spring warmth and blooming flowers, and the desolation of evening winds and fallen petals covering the ground.
When all the splendor fades, only a long sigh remains, flowing slowly through the river of time.
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