Su Rong wondered whether she should probe when Wet Nurse Zhao came the next day. She had never known until now that in Jiangning County, there was a wet nurse who had once served the Empress Dowager. It was uncertain whether the "old acquaintance" she mentioned were her own mother.
The next day, before Wet Nurse Zhao arrived, Su Rong received news from Lan’er. It appeared that the person who had secretly investigated her had gone to see Wet Nurse Zhao.
Su Rong figured she wouldn’t need to ask questions. If she did ask now, she would be inadvertently revealing her suspicions. It was clear that the person investigating her was from the palace.
When Wet Nurse Zhao arrived and started teaching Su Rong the rules just like the day before, subtly alluding to her mother, Su Rong acted ignorant. She picked up some trivial matters and talked about them.
At the end of the day, Wet Nurse Zhao suddenly asked, "I heard that Miss Seventh’s marriage contract with Young Master Zhou was set by Seventh Madame. Does that mean Seventh Madame has ties with the Duke Residence?"
Su Rong shook her head. "Probably? It was only when my mother was on her deathbed that I learned about this marriage contract. I was quite surprised. I asked my father, but he knew nothing. Then Zhou Gu came. I asked him, and he knew nothing about it too. He only said that my mom owed Duke Zhou a favor."
She didn’t mind revealing the truth. Now that Wet Nurse Zhao had explicitly brought it up, she had to spill some information.
Wet Nurse Zhao had spent a lifetime in the palace. Naturally, she knew that her inquiry might raise Su Rong’s suspicions. Seeing Su Rong looking at her, she smiled and said, "Young Miss, please don’t blame me. It’s not that I’m overly curious, but after serving beside the Empress Dowager for half my life, I do have quite a bit of interaction with the Duke Residence, which incites my curiosity. It’s been four years since I left the palace, and before I left, I never heard of any marriage agreement between Young Miss and Young Master Zhou."
"Curiosity is part of human nature," replied Su Rong.
Wet Nurse Zhao shook her head and stated, "Those who have lived in the palace know this: people shouldn’t be too curious, or they might bring about their own demise. My curiosity stems from knowing someone whom the Empress Dowager remembered until the end. You, Miss Seventh, resemble that person a great deal. When that person left, not even the effort the Empress Dowager put into searching for them yielded any results. If it weren’t for meeting you, Miss Seventh, I would have forgotten about that person. It’s been so long... nearly fifteen or sixteen years."
Su Rong mused to herself that she was fifteen years old. If she counted from the time when her mother was pregnant with her, the timeline would fit perfectly.
Wet Nurse Zhao continued, "I was wondering yesterday whether Seventh Madame is the old acquaintance I spoke of, the one whom the Empress Dowager held close to her heart. If not for this marriage arrangement with the Duke Residence, I wouldn’t have given this much thought. After all, no matter how much I ponder, the marriage contract between you, Miss Seventh, and Young Master Zhou tends to raise more questions. However, if Seventh Madame is indeed the person I am speaking of, it wouldn’t be so surprising."
"Indeed, that’s my confusion too. If my mother was just a mere concubine in the governor’s residence, how did she manage to secure this significant marital alliance with the Duke Residence?" Su Rong nodded. She didn’t expect Wet Nurse Zhao to be so straightforward. Since it was the case, she didn’t mind speaking more openly. She directly asked, "May I ask, Wet Nurse Zhao, can you tell me about the identity of the person you referred to? To be remembered by the Empress Dowager, she could not have been an ordinary person."
Wet Nurse Zhao nodded. "There’s no harm in telling you, Miss Seventh. That person was the daughter of Prince Mingrui, known by the name of Ruzhen, and given the title of Princess Zhenmin by the Emperor."
Su Rong froze. "Prince Mingrui?"
Prince Mingrui was a prince from the previous emperor’s reign who had died at a young age. She recalled Xie Yuan once mentioning that if Prince Mingrui had lived long, there would not have been such internal and external strife during the previous emperor’s reign.
Prince Mingrui was said to be both virtuous and capable, although he suffered from weak health. Despite his talents, his life was tragically cut short.
Seeing Su Rong, Wet Nurse Zhao nodded. "Yes, the elder biological brother of the previous emperor, Prince Mingrui. Because of Prince Mingrui’s weak health and multiple illnesses, he died at the tender age of twenty-two. His only child, Princess Zhenmin, was only three at the time. Prince Mingrui and his wife were very affectionate, and after the prince died, his wife committed suicide by drinking poison to follow him in death. They were buried together in the Imperial Mausoleum, leaving behind three-year-old Princess Zhenmin. To care for her, Emperor Taizong handed her over to Mingrui’s younger brother, who was the previous emperor at that time. Back then, the previous emperor was still known as Prince Ping and had just married. Thus, Princess Zhenmin was raised by the Queen of Prince Ping, who we now know as the Empress Dowager."
Su Rong nodded. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"In the year when Princess Zhenmin turned seventeen, Emperor Taizong was old, and the princes were vying for the throne, causing the situation to escalate. Emperor Taizong appointed Prince Ping as the crown prince, but that still did not stabilize the situation because the princes were too ambitious. Dawei took advantage of the situation and declared war on Daliang, leading to both internal and external threats. Nanchu was a vassal state of Daliang, but the Nanchu King was disloyal and unwilling to send troops to assist. As a result, the war was unfavorable for Daliang for a time, with border cities falling one after another. Many from the Duke Residence died in the battlefield, and the old duke, who was clearly incapable of going onto the battlefield, was forced to pick up the spear. Seeing her country in such dire straits, Princess Zhenmin sent a letter to the crown prince of Nanchu, promising to marry him. The Nanchu Crown Prince had always admired Princess Zhenmin. After receiving the letter, he persuaded the Nanchu King to send troops to help, thus alleviating the crisis in Daliang."
Wet Nurse Zhao sighed at this point in her narrative, "However, Nanchu was a small country. Even with their involvement, we could only just match Dawei in battle. At that time, the national treasury could not sustain the war any longer, and Emperor Taizong was already bedridden from illness. Therefore, Daliang took the initiative to seek peace. Surprisingly, Dawei agreed immediately, but they put forth a condition that Princess Zhenmin should marry into Dawei. Faced with such a predicament, Princess Zhenmin had already promised to marry the Nanchu Crown Prince. If she went back on her promise, the Nanchu Crown Prince would surely object. If she did not retract her promise, Daliang would have to continue fighting Dawei."
"I assume Dawei did this on purpose?" asked Su Rong.
"Indeed, they did it on purpose," confirmed Wet Nurse Zhao, nodding. "Dawei did not wish for peace with Daliang and hoped to see Daliang collapse from within. Emperor Taizong was so infuriated that he coughed blood. He berated the Dawei Emperor, declaring that they would fight if need be, but Princess Zhenmin would not marry into Dawei. After saying this, Emperor Taizong summoned several princes to his side and detained the three most ambitious princes in the palace with unexpected measures. He issued an abdication edict, passing the throne to Prince Ping."
"Subsequently, Prince Ping ascended the throne without any problem. A month after his ascension, Emperor Taizong passed away. On his deathbed, he decreed that the three princes be forever confined to the Imperial Mausoleum. Emperor Taizong cleared all internal threats for the previous emperor, hoping that after his ascension, he would be able to fight Dawei once more. Above all he was unwilling to let the only daughter of Prince Mingrui marry into Dawei."
"The previous emperor agreed. He deeply loved his biological brother Prince Mingrui, so naturally, he did not want Princess Zhenmin to marry into Dawei. In his view, although the Nanchu Crown Prince had taken advantage of Daliang’s crisis, he genuinely admired Princess Zhenmin. Hence, since Princess Zhenmin had voluntarily offered her hand in marriage to him, she should keep that promise," Wet Nurse Zhao continued, her tone changing, "Both Emperor Taizong and the previous emperor were willing to protect Princess Zhenmin. However, they forgot one thing. Princess Zhenmin was also inclined to safeguard Daliang’s stability, unwilling to let the common people suffer from warfare, and reluctant to overburden the already overwhelmed national treasury. Therefore, Princess Zhenmin sought the Nanchu Crown Prince on her own. It’s unclear how she convinced him, but three months later, the Nanchu Crown Prince stepped back. He agreed to dissolve his engagement with Princess Zhenmin, who then knelt and pleaded with the previous emperor to agree to the marriage proposal with Dawei."
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