King Zhao
On the morning of May 12th, news of the emperor's death and the Prince of Jin's ascension to the throne spread throughout the streets and alleys. The Prince of Cheng's mansion and Yan Zhongyou's confidants were caught off guard and watched helplessly as the Prince of Jin ascended the throne.
On May 20th, after bowing and declining the throne three times, the Prince of Jin ascended the throne and changed the era name to Jinghe.
On May 21st, the new emperor bestowed titles upon his officials, restoring those who had been demoted for impeaching Yan Zhongyou. He announced in court Wei Qiao's many years of service to the state and adopted him as his son, bestowing upon him the title of King Zhao. He also ordered Wei Qiao to thoroughly investigate the case of the deposed crown prince years ago.
Wei Qiao had secretly prepared all the evidence from that year for many years. On the first day of the sixth lunar month, he arrested Wei Changsong, Prince Cheng, and all their associates, confiscating all their property and turning it over to the national treasury. On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, after the Ministry of Justice reviewed the case, Wei Changsong and the other masterminds were all beheaded at Caishikou in the east of the city.
Wei Qiao returned to his residence on May 15th to tell Xi Chun that everything was going smoothly. He then busied himself with preparations for the new emperor's ascension, leaving early and returning late every day. Only after Wei Changsong and the others had their heads chopped off on June 6th did he finally have a brief respite.
On the afternoon of the sixth day, Wei Qiao brought a pot of wine to his father's tomb to pay his respects. After many years of worry, he finally felt relieved.
Xi Chun followed Wei Qiao's advice and did not go out during this time. She spent her days reading, practicing calligraphy, or embroidering clothes in the Pomegranate Courtyard. Wei Qiao came and went in a hurry, and she rarely saw him.
That day, she had her period and went to sleep early. Wei Qiao, having avenged his great enemy, felt relieved and only wanted to share his joy with her as soon as possible. Xi Chun was half asleep when she felt someone messing with her. She opened her eyes and found it was Wei Qiao, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"You're back?" Xi Chun asked languidly, half-asleep.
"Mmm." Wei Qiao wrapped his arms around her slender waist and kissed her lips deeply. For nearly a month, he had been busy with the new emperor's ascension to the throne and the exoneration of his father, and he hadn't shared a room with Xi Chun for a long time. Now, smelling her scent, his body clamored for him to devour her completely.
His hot breath hit her face, and his kisses were domineering and passionate, making Xichun wide awake.
When he tried to take things further, she stopped his hand. He asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
“I…I’m menstruating,” Xichun explained, looking into his deep eyes.
Wei Qiao gently bit her earlobe, interlocking his fingers with hers. He was covered in sweat, feeling as if his whole body was burning with heat.
"Xichun, please help me, okay?"
Seeing his furrowed brows and his narrow, watery eyes looking at her, Xichun finally softened her heart.
Wei Qiao only let her go when the fourth watch gong sounded outside, and the two fell asleep in each other's arms.
The emperor, understanding Wei Qiao's recent fatigue, granted him permission to skip court for the next two weeks. Therefore, the following morning, after waking up, he clung to Xi Chun and refused to get out of bed.
"Don't you have to attend court today?" Xichun asked him.
Wei Qiao turned to look at her as she woke up; her eyelashes fluttered, her red lips parted slightly—she was incredibly adorable. He traced the shape of her lips with his fingertip. Xi Chun felt a tickle from his touch and turned to bury her face in his chest.
Wei Qiao was amused by her actions, put his arm around her slender waist, and gently kissed her hair.
"His Majesty granted me a half-month leave and bestowed upon me the Crown Prince's residence, which my father had built outside the palace but had never lived in, as the Prince Zhao's residence. Agui has already sent people to clean and furnish it, and we will move to the Prince Zhao's residence tomorrow."
"The Prince Zhao's residence?" Xi Chun peeked out from his arms and looked at him in surprise. She was kept in the dark in the manor and did not know when he had been granted the title of prince.
Seeing her expression, Wei Qiao realized that he hadn't told her what had happened during this time, so he took her hand and played with it while telling her the details.
Hearing that Wei Changsong had died at Caishikou and that Zhang Yunyao had committed suicide during the ransacking of her home, Xichun felt a pang of sadness.
“The Prince Zhao’s residence is much larger than this place. I’ve found two courtyards for you. I’ll go with you tomorrow to see which one you like.” Seeing her dejected expression, Wei Qiao quickly changed the subject to divert her attention.
The next morning, Xichun and Weiqiao traveled by carriage to the Zhaowang Mansion, located on Tongshun Street in the south of the city. Yan Zhongxing felt great pity for his nephew Weiqiao, who had suffered many misfortunes. Not only did he grant him the title of the only non-royal prince without enfeoffing his two sons, but he also bestowed upon him the Zhaowang Mansion, whose scale exceeded his rank.
The Prince Zhao's mansion was magnificent, occupying half of Tongshun Street. Four royal guards, dressed in blue armor and carrying swords at their waists, stood guard on either side of the two huge vermilion wooden doors, demonstrating the inviolable majesty of the royal family.
Hearing the guards at the gate greet the Prince in unison, Xi Chun finally grasped the true nature of Wei Qiao's identity. Back in Lantai County, she had casually asked Miao Wendao about the ranks of royalty, and that's when she learned of Wei Qiao's exceptionally noble birth. If it weren't for Yan Zhongyou's machinations, and his father's ascension to the throne, he would have been the new Crown Prince. Now, seeing him calmly accept the greetings from everyone in the Prince Zhao's residence, she felt a pang of unease. Facing this vast Prince's mansion, Xi Chun suddenly realized that something seemed to be growing increasingly distant between them.
The two courtyards that Wei Qiao had chosen for her, Tinglan Courtyard and Chaoxia Courtyard, were both two-courtyard houses in the mansion, located on the west side of the mansion, close to the main courtyard, Ming'an Hall, where he would reside. After spending half an hour looking around, Xichun chose Chaoxia Courtyard, which was a little further away from the main courtyard.
"Why not choose Tinglan Courtyard?" Tinglan Courtyard is closer to the main courtyard, and Wei Qiao secretly hoped that Xichun would choose this courtyard.
“There’s an apricot tree in Chaoxia Courtyard that I like.” Seeing the tree full of golden apricots, Xichun thought of the one at home in Shizi Lane and felt a sense of warmth.
Wei Qiao stepped forward and took her hand, gazing tenderly into her eyes. "If you like it, then go and see if there's anything you're missing or if there's anything you want to change. Just let A-Gui know."
"I think everything is fine, there's no need to make things worse," Xichun said, shaking her head.
"Alright, while they're packing, I'll take you to see the other parts of the Prince's mansion."
The two of them took a quick tour around the mansion. There were several courtyards on each side of the mansion, and in the center was a huge garden, which was planted with various flowers and trees such as jasmine and wisteria.
To the north of the garden lies the Moon-Viewing Pond, its surface shimmering in the sunlight. Several varieties of lotus flowers are in full bloom within the pond, and a pavilion called the Heart-Moon Pavilion stands in the middle, connected to the shore by a boardwalk. Next to the pond, beside a rockery, stands a four-story building named Moon-Gazing Pavilion. A few hundred steps west of the pond is a sizable grove of crabapple and peach trees, while to the east lies a dense, verdant bamboo forest.
After touring the entire Prince's Mansion, it was past noon. After having lunch at Wei Qiao's Ming'an Hall, Wei Qiao accompanied Xi Chun back to Chaoxia Courtyard. As they entered the backyard through the hanging flower gate next to Ming'an Hall, Xi Chun saw Zhao Yu leading a group of servants in and out of a residence right next to Ming'an Hall.
Wei Qiao noticed her gaze was fixed on that direction and explained to her, "That's Yunhe Hall. The Princess will live in that courtyard after she enters the family."
His tone was natural and intimate, and Xi Chun froze for a moment. Looking at the towering roof of Yunhe Hall, she felt a little breathless. Yes, in just over two months, the princess would enter the palace. At that time, Ming Chuqing would be his lawfully wedded wife, and she would be nothing more than a concubine.
Xichun didn't have many things, and Shuixian, along with a few maids, had already arranged them all in one day. In the afternoon, she sat on the daybed drinking the jujube tea that Shuixian had prepared, while Shuixian trimmed a pot of blooming jasmine with scissors.
Looking at the brand-new Chaoxia Courtyard, and thinking of the concubine position promised to her young lady by the prince, Shuixian felt that the future was bright. Seeing Xichun's gaze pass through the beaded curtain and look at the swing set in the courtyard, Shuixian smiled and said, "Miss, look how good the prince is to you. We just moved into this Chaoxia Courtyard yesterday, and today this swing set came with us. The prince really cares about your affairs."
Looking at the empty swing set outside, Xichun didn't reply. She knew how good Wei Qiao was to her, but she also knew that soon that goodness wouldn't belong to her alone anymore. Ming Chuqing was the wife he wanted to marry in both his lives, and Wei Qiao spared no expense in preparing a grand betrothal gift for her, hoping she would have a glorious wedding. He would surely cherish her dearly in the future.
But what exactly is she?
Narcissus placed the pruned jasmine back on the flower stand. After sweeping away the fallen branches and leaves, she glanced back and noticed Xichun's brow furrowed with an unyielding sorrow. She wondered why the young lady had become less cheerful since moving into the Prince's mansion. She didn't understand the young lady's worries and only wanted to cheer her up.
Remembering the apricot tree outside laden with fruit, he moved closer to her and said, "Miss, the apricots in the yard are all ripe. Let's take advantage of the good weather and pick some to make apricot jam." Wei Qiao's estate on the outskirts of the capital had an apricot grove. When Shui Xian was little, she often went apricot picking with her mother. Her mother knew how to make apricot jam, and she learned from her. When she entered the manor, her mother gave her a jar of apricot jam to mix with water and drink.
The apricot tree in Chaoxia Courtyard had a trunk as thick as a large bowl, and the tree was laden with apricots, though many of the fruits had been eaten by nearby birds, leaving holes in them. Xichun and Shuixian each took a bamboo basket, intending to pick two baskets, but in the end they only managed to pick one.
"These birds are so annoying. They don't even eat the apricots properly, pecking at one here and one there, wasting perfectly good apricots," Narcissus said angrily.
Xichun pointed to the basket they had picked and advised, "Don't be angry, this basket of ours is quite full too."
The main kitchen of the mansion is located in the courtyard east of Ming'an Hall and Yunhe Hall. Wei Qiao was worried that the food would get cold in the winter because of the long distance, so he specially ordered two rooms to be set up as a small kitchen in Chaoxia Courtyard, and asked Chef Wang, who was good at making spicy dishes, to cook for Xichun.
Xichun and Shuixian then boiled a basket of yellow apricots into three small jars of apricot jam in this small kitchen.
When Wei Qiao arrived, the two were in the kitchen listening to Chef Wang explain how to eat apricot jam. Chef Wang thought that using apricot jam only to mix with water was a bit monotonous, so he wanted to make them two desserts he had come up with: a sweet tofu pudding topped with apricot jam and a dish of steamed rice cakes with apricot jam filling.
At dinner, Chef Wang served sweet tofu pudding and rice cakes, which were indeed delicate, sweet, and full of apricot flavor. Wei Qiao especially liked the rice cakes, eating four pieces before stopping, and then ordered A Gui to reward him with ten taels of silver. Xi Chun also enjoyed them and rewarded Chef Wang with a few silver ingots, asking him to make some for Shui Xian as well.
After bathing, Xichun used a censer to dry her hair, and Wei Qiao came close to her side to help her comb it with a sandalwood comb. Xichun's black hair was smooth and shiny, and always had a faint fragrance, which Wei Qiao loved very much. He often played with her hair in bed.
"Should I start calling you Your Highness now?" Xi Chun suddenly turned her head and asked him.
Everyone in Prince Zhao's mansion addressed him as "Your Highness," but she stubbornly refused to change her address, as if that would maintain their equality. However, she knew in her heart that the chasm of social status between her and Wei Qiao was insurmountable. She thought this was why Wei Qiao was so determined to marry Ming Chuqing. Besides being his wife in two lifetimes, Ming Chuqing's status as a lady from a prominent family perfectly matched Wei Qiao's ideal wife.
Wei Qiao continued combing her long hair gently without stopping. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? In the future, you will still call me Your Highness in front of others. When it's just the two of us, you can call me whatever you want."
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