Chapter 33
On the Qingming Festival in the eighth year of Huiyuan, Nanjing.
The rain hits the screen window, making a rustling sound.
A pair of slender hands opened the vermilion curtain with a picture of a hundred children, and Wan Yuru carefully put on the embroidered shoes. The uppers of the shoes were embroidered with flowers in gold and silver threads.
Wan Yuru closed all the screen windows in the dormitory one by one. Suddenly, she heard a slight sound from the other side of the bed. She hurriedly turned around and went to the bedside to help the young man dress.
She is the eldest daughter of the Wan family, the first imperial merchant family in the Ming Dynasty. She has been a rich lady who grew up in a honey pot.
Her parents were extremely obedient and doted on her. Whenever a fortune teller passed by her house, her mother would invite him in to predict her future.
After looking at her birth date and eight characters, every fortune teller said that her fate was extremely noble and that she would definitely marry a prime minister and be honored with the title of a first-rank lady.
Three years ago, on the day before her mother passed away, her family hurriedly held a wedding for her. Her sisters and relatives were extremely envious of her because although her family was a royal merchant, she was still the daughter of a merchant. If she could marry a scholar with honors and become the wife of an official, it would be a blessing for her family's ancestors.
But she was just a merchant girl, yet she became the mistress of the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion.
Her husband Zhang Xihua was a very popular man in the capital. Many princesses, county ladies and daughters of officials wanted to become his wife, but her parents had to pay 20 million shi of wheat to buy her this good marriage.
After marriage, she was always afraid of bringing shame to the Marquis's Mansion, and was even more cautious when attending banquets of all sizes with her husband, for fear that if she drank the wrong cup of tea or an extra glass of wine, she would be laughed at for being petty by the ladies of the noble families in the capital.
But her husband was a considerate and gentle man. Not only did he teach her how to deal with various situations, he also always maintained her dignity in front of outsiders and loved her very much.
Her biggest headache was attending palace banquets with her husband. Empress Dowager Jiang and Empress Zhang were both very good people, but the emperor was abominable. The look in his eyes when he looked at her was like a poisoned knife, and he always said sarcastic words to bully her, implying that she, a stupid woman, was not worthy of her handsome husband.
Her husband always comforted her, telling her not to take the emperor's words to heart, and praised her as a kind person who sympathized with the poor and the weak. For this reason alone, it was worth it for him to marry her.
"Yuru, why are you blushing?"
Zhang Xihua watched Wan Yuru tie her belt, but her hands remained on her waist, and she was in a daze like a goose.
"My dear, I am eighteen years old this year."
"Eighteen." Zhang Xihua pretended to be confused. "Then Sister Yuxuan will be turning ten soon. I need to think carefully about what birthday gift to get her."
"My dear husband..." Wan Yuru took Zhang Xihua's hand and gently rubbed her cheek against her palm. "Ever since I finished my mourning period, my mother has asked Madam Xue to bring me all kinds of nourishing soups. I feel that if I don't give birth to a child for you, wouldn't I be letting my mother down?"
"I really can't bear to see you suffer the pain of childbirth. Your mother loves you like a beautiful lamp that will fall down at the slightest gust of wind, so I asked Mother Xue to send you some nourishing soup. If you really like children, I will write a letter back to Beijing and ask Anhua to adopt a child for you to raise. Do you want to raise a boy or a girl?" Zhang Xihua coaxed Wan Yuru in a soft voice.
"My third brother and his wife just had a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, last year. They value those two children more than their own eyes. It's a pity that my husband came up with such a bad idea to fool me. If I really raise the second wife's children, others will think I am a hen that doesn't lay eggs." Wan Yuru said with a frown.
Zhang Xihua coaxed Wan Yuru with many nice words, and Wan Yuru gave up the idea of sleeping with her.
After breakfast, someone from the Ministry of Rites came to ask Zhang Xihua, who was enjoying his day off, to return to his duty.
In the bedroom, Wan Yuru stood in front of the dressing mirror with a frown on her face, watching Zhang Xihua who was carefully putting on his official uniform.
"My dear, I heard that the ship carrying the Emperor's southern tour stopped at the ferry south of the city yesterday. Because you refused to align yourself with the powerful eunuch and sided with Prime Minister Jiang, you were banished to Nanjing by the old cabinet ministers to serve as an idle official. You've finally lived in peace for so long. Your Majesty won't drag you back to the capital to be a sitting duck in the court again, will you? You made so many enemies and suffered so much in your time as an official in the capital. You'll be hated to death if you return to the capital."
"Yuru, don't worry too much." Zhang Xihua hugged her gently. "When I'm done with work today, I'll go to the fruit shop and buy you your favorite loquats. These official affairs are not worth your worrying about me. Whether it's Beijing or Nanjing, as long as I can do something practical for the people, it doesn't matter how many people hate me."
"I am useless. Apart from money, there is nothing I can do to help you, my lord." Wan Yuru tied a cloak on Zhang Xihua herself. "There is really no warmth in your body. Hurry up and drink the medicine for today and go to work." She also ordered the maid to fill a hot water bottle to warm Zhang Xihua's hands.
Zhang Xihua frowned and drank a bowl of bitter medicine, but his hands and feet were still unusually cold.
This was an old injury caused by the beating with a stick in front of the Meridian Gate in the fifth year of Huiyuan. She was knocked to the ground in the snow and was only breathing her last. She had been on the verge of death several times and was in a coma for more than ten days before she woke up.
The cabinet group meant to beat her to death.
But Zhu Mingji insisted on keeping her life.
During the more than ten days when she was unconscious, he was almost drowned by the spit of the old gentlemen in the cabinet in the Huangji Hall. When he returned to the Qianqing Palace, he had to wash his face more than ten times, until his skin was bleeding and his hair fell out in clumps.
When Deqing told her these things, she knew that Zhu Mingji must have been extremely anxious at that time, afraid that the beating in the court was still too heavy for her, afraid that her last breath would not be enough to wake her up, and she was even more worried about state affairs and government politics.
When she entered the palace again in a red robe, Zhu Mingji saw her through the screen and the first words he said were "I'm sorry".
She said, "I kneel down and ask Your Majesty to grant me marriage. I wish to marry the eldest daughter of the Wan family in Hulufang, Taiping Prefecture."
She knew best the difficulties he faced as a king and father. There was a snowstorm in Shandong, and the national treasury was in a tight spot. Even the officials in the capital were owed three months' salary. The grain in the Taiping Warehouse was not enough to feed the army fighting against the Tatars in the north, let alone to distribute some as disaster relief food to the people in the six prefectures of Shandong.
"I don't allow it." He refused sternly.
"Throughout history, no emperor has ever condescended to borrow grain from merchants. Anyone in the world can bow their heads, but Your Majesty cannot. Once you bow your head, the backbone of our Ming Dynasty will never stand straight again."
Wan Youjin had already visited Zhang Xihua and said that the emperor wanted to borrow grain from him, but he had a better way to satisfy both parties. As long as Zhang Xihua was willing to marry his daughter, 20 million dan of grain would be the dowry.
She heard him sobbing quietly behind the screen.
"How about your majesty and I have another fight like we did when we were little? Whoever wins gets the final say."
"Erlang, you have just recovered from a serious illness and your injuries are not fully healed yet. Even if I defeat you, it would be an unfair victory." Zhu Mingji took off the Yishan crown on his head, his black hair draped over his shoulders, and there were a few horrible bald spots on the top of his head.
He didn't dare let Erlang see his half-human, half-ghost appearance.
Exhausted, he finally agreed to the arranged marriage.
"I won't drink your wedding wine."
"I kneel down to thank you for your grace."
When she looked up, she saw the figure behind the screen was also kneeling on the ground.
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
"You said the emperor cannot bow his head, but I, Zhu Mingji, can."
He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed once, twice, and three times.
"Mr. Zhang is a man of high character and integrity. I admire him deeply."
She returned the greeting by prostrating herself three times.
"Your Majesty, does the light cast by this hexagonal palace lantern draped in red gauze, hanging from the beams, resemble the light of the dragon and phoenix candles burning in the newlyweds' chambers?"
He was startled, and forced a smile, but his eyes were still filled with tears, and he responded to her softly.
"picture."
The two of them kowtowed at the same time, as if they were going to become husband and wife.
She raised the corners of her lips and listened to him say, "If I had known earlier, I would have worn that bright red robe to see you today."
She took out a red silk handkerchief from her sleeve, unfolded it and looked closely at the figure behind the screen.
"I have seen it. Your Majesty looks really good in red."
She and him.
Everything is said without words...
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