Chapter 15 Springtime Promise: No Other Name Allowed on the List
Leaving the ward took some effort, but entering was simple. The guards, having seen many unruly imperial relatives, only asked a few questions about the identity of this unfamiliar face, Yue Shanling, so they could record it in the register, before opening the ward gate.
Because Fu Sui had not yet returned to the manor, the Princess's residence was still brightly lit. She reined in her horse and stopped outside the gate, turning to look at the Yue Mountain Range in the darkness.
The lights were too bright and the night too dark, so Fu Sui could only see a blurry outline, but he could still accurately delineate the figure, the two knives hanging at his waist, and his burning arms.
Fu Sui recalled the unanswered question, and the chilly wind whistling in front of Fuyou Pavilion. She raised her head high, like a proud cat, keeping her distance with an air of superiority while tentatively approaching: "General, you are a magnificent figure; you must be quite skilled at polo."
She said the same thing at Qingyuntai. Yue Shanling found it amusing; a polo match was something she was thinking about for so long.
Fu Sui couldn't see the man's expression, but could hear his deep voice: "It's been a long time since we fought, so we've become rusty."
No refusal is an admission, and Fu Sui knew how to push his luck: "General, you owe me a polo match, don't try to renege on your debt." With that, he kicked the horse's belly, and the horse leaped up the stone steps and rushed into the mansion, giving him no chance to turn back.
Gan Yizhang waited anxiously outside the hall, going over the recent events again and again. When the eunuch called him in, he hurriedly straightened his clothes, bowed his head, and entered.
The emperor rose early and held a half-day court session. He was leaning back in his chair, looking at something in his hands, while Xu Asheng served him tea.
After Gan Yizhang bowed and paid his respects, he heard the emperor ask, "Yesterday, the princess said that someone spoke rudely in the Zhuangyuan Tower. Do you know who it was?"
The students were young and impetuous, and prone to making careless remarks after drinking. Gan Yizhang had arranged for two people to spy on them at the Zhuangyuan Building yesterday. However, he wasn't the type to keep tabs on people all the time, and he wouldn't report anything to the Emperor unless it was something utterly treasonous.
Yesterday, Cai Chongmin's disrespectful remark was naturally overheard and reported. Although Gan Yizhang felt it was inappropriate, considering the difficulty for local scholars to travel to the capital for the examinations, it would be a pity to displease the emperor with such vulgar talk between men and women. He had originally intended to ignore it. Now that the emperor had asked, he had no choice but to honestly answer, "He is from Chenzhou, and his name is Cai Chongmin."
Why do you say that?
Gan Yizhang was puzzled. He wasn't Cai Chongmin, so how would he know what arrogant words Cai Chongmin was spouting? Hesitantly, he guessed as he spoke, "When the Wang woman was present that day, many people discussed the four families, and there was no shortage of admiration among them..."
"Admiration?" the emperor asked coolly.
Gan Yizhang dared not reply to such words, so he could only stare at his toes without raising his head.
There were only three people in the hall, and the silence made it seem exceptionally deep and empty. Gan Yizhang waited for a long time before finally hearing the word, "Step back."
This morning, he received a report from the night patrol that Tian Ganyou and Chen Jingyang had broken into the palace after drinking yesterday, and the Imperial Guards had caught them twice. Before coming here, Gan Yizhang had been thinking about whether to tell the Emperor about this, but now he only regretted that he could not disappear from the Emperor's sight immediately, and he had no courage to bother the Emperor with such trivial matters again.
"Wang's wives, concubines, and daughters—my sisters have to stoop so low as to serve men with their beauty." The emperor's lips curled into a slight smile, but his words were icy cold.
Xu Asheng comforted her from the side: "Those pedantic scholars spend their whole lives guarding a small house and two desks. How could they know the immensity of heaven and earth? The princess has the graceful bearing of a phoenix and the bloodline of a dragon and the marrow of a phoenix. She is naturally of noble birth and incomparable to the Wang family's daughter."
If Cai Chongmin had known that it was a princess, he wouldn't have dared to say such a thing even if he had a hundred lives. The emperor wouldn't be so easily angered by a man's lustful words; he was a scheming and ambitious man who actively sought to associate with powerful clans and suppress dissent. The Wang family's reputation was so great that even the imperial family had to avoid their sharp edge.
The emperor didn't need to explain his thoughts; he commanded without room for argument, "Go tell the Ministry of Rites that his name must not be on the list."
The sage didn't specify a time limit, so it's forever; the sage didn't give a reason, so he didn't offer any justification. Xu Asheng didn't say anything more and obediently withdrew to arrange for someone to convey the oral message.
Yao Bin thought it over and over, and finally realized that he was indebted to those who had fed him. He found an opportunity to secretly meet with Cai Chongmin and tell him about Yong'an's identity: "I hope she didn't hear what you said. That person is not a good-tempered one."
Cai Chongmin was greatly alarmed, realizing he had misspoke, and hurriedly asked around. After several days of inquiries without hearing a single word, Cai Chongmin finally felt at ease and focused on taking the exam. Only when his name was not on the list did someone convey a message to him, telling him that he no longer needed to take the exam.
Cai Chongmin was extremely frustrated and helpless. The agreement he had made with the Wang family was never followed up. He had no choice but to pack his bags and return to his hometown, never to set foot in Beijing again.
In the middle of each month, Qin An would invite the Imperial Pharmacy to his residence to examine Fu Sui's pulse, and the emperor tacitly approved of this. Sometimes the imperial physician would offer some advice on diet, and sometimes he would prescribe some conditioning formulas.
The person outside pushed open the door, and Fei Qing steadily carried in a bowl of brewed medicine: "The Imperial Physician has prescribed a new formula, Princess, please have a few sips."
Fu Sui glanced at the dark liquid, which was nothing more than ginseng and astragalus, and ordered, "Put it there."
Fei Qing agreed and placed the medicine bowl on the table.
Before long, Kouyun came in and saw a bowl of medicine on the table, knowing it was a new prescription from the Imperial Pharmacy. She touched the bowl and found it was still warm. She picked up the bowl and went to Fu Sui to feed her: "Princess, drink it quickly, or it will get cold."
Fu Sui reluctantly turned her head slightly to avoid it: "I'll leave it there and drink it myself later."
Kouyun didn't stop, but held the bowl to Fu Sui's mouth and said, "If you leave it there, the princess will just pretend she doesn't see it. If someone feeds her, she will obediently drink a few sips." Seeing that Fu Sui was frowning as she stared at the medicine, she advised, "I know the princess doesn't like drinking these bitter medicines the most, but the princess is of noble birth and should take good care of herself."
Fu Sui knew there was no escaping it today. He sighed deeply as he looked at the bowl, then leaned over and gulped it down without using a spoon. Kou Yun put down the bowl, fetched water for Fu Sui to rinse his mouth, and brought the plate of fruits and snacks closer to help Fu Sui suppress the bitterness in his mouth.
"Princess, the He family of Jiangning sent over a lot of spring bamboo shoots, so fresh and tender. The kitchen said they'll make a chicken and bamboo shoot salad for lunch and a ham soup for dinner." Dai Ling skipped in, her voice full of joy.
With a dried plum in his mouth, Fu Sui mumbled a reply.
Kou Yun, who was standing nearby, was also delighted: "What a coincidence! The other day the kitchen staff said that spring bamboo shoots taste the best, and they were just waiting for the bamboo shoots to come on the market so they could buy them. And today we have them."
Dai Ling was also surprised to hear such a coincidence and said, "The He family is quite thoughtful. Spring bamboo shoots are hard to transport and it will take a lot of effort on the way."
The He family only sends gold and silver, common items; they wouldn't send something so delicate. It's probably from Yangxian, since He Yujing remarried and moved to Yangxian.
Fu Sui casually fiddled with the preserved plums in the fruit dish, picked out a uniquely shaped one, and gnawed on it as if grinding his teeth, asking, "How many were sent?"
"There are so many, several big baskets."
"I'll send some to my cousin Xu, the Qiao family, and the Princess of Yanshan County." Fu Sui thought for a moment and then added, "I'll also send some to the Yue family." Consider it payment for taking him home.
Tian Ganyou and the Princess of Yanshan were used to receiving gifts from Fu Sui, and they didn't care about reciprocating. They would simply give Fu Sui new and interesting items in return.
The Qiao family knew that Fu Sui and Qiao Zhenzhen were on good terms, so they simply sent the gifts they received from the Princess's residence to Qiao Zhenzhen's room. Whether or not to return the gifts was up to Qiao Zhenzhen. Qiao Zhenzhen was not a stingy person, so she immediately took the bamboo shoots to the main kitchen, and that evening, a bamboo shoot soup was added to the banquet for everyone in the Qiao family.
Only the Yue family was in a dilemma.
Yue Shanling doesn't usually live in the Yue residence, and besides, Yue Shanling is a man. Fu Sui, an unmarried woman, couldn't very well name him. The servant who delivered the gifts only knew they were for the Yue Marquis's residence and knew nothing else. The gatekeeper of the Yue residence had never received gifts from the Princess's residence before, so he quickly reported the matter to Madam Zhou.
Madam Zhou was also completely baffled. She had no close relationship with Princess Yong'an, and they rarely spoke a word to each other when they met at banquets. Why was she suddenly sending food to her? After thinking it over, she decided that if it was because of those girls who had gotten married, the food should at least be sent to their husbands' homes. So she called Yue Lingling over to ask her.
Yue Lingling had last seen Fu Sui last year. After listening to Madam Zhou's words, she thought for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "Could it be because at the last polo match, the princess's maid asked my maid for directions?"
Although it was a bit far-fetched, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. The princess was so wealthy and powerful; if she suddenly remembered this little thing, it would be understandable to casually send her something as a token of gratitude. Thinking this, Madam Zhou felt a little more at ease, but then she became worried again: "How should I give her a thank-you gift?"
After much thought, she remembered that among the items Yue Shanling had brought back before was a folding fan from the west. Although it was not made of any luxurious material, it was quite different from the fans commonly found on the market. The painting was intricate and the colors were vibrant, which Mrs. Zhou liked very much.
There were only two fans, one for Madam Zhou and one for Yue Lingling. Madam Zhou was reluctant to use them and carefully kept them in a box, only taking them out to admire them occasionally.
Holding the box containing the fan, Madam Zhou looked at it again and again. In the end, she reluctantly closed the box and instructed someone to send it to the Princess's residence along with the letter she had written.
Fu Sui was somewhat puzzled to receive the invitation personally written by Madam Zhou, but she liked the fan that was sent very much, so she happily accepted the gift.
These past few days, with the imperial examinations underway, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel have been extremely busy. Even illiterate peddlers and vendors on the street have been chatting about the examinees. Qiao Zhenzhen, being at the Qiao residence, finds it inconvenient to visit often, and the Princess of Yanshan County closes her doors to visitors before and after the imperial examinations.
Fu Sui went to the Han King's mansion to listen to music, and had a meal at the Linchuan Princess's mansion. The rest of the time he stayed at home pondering ink paste.
After a few days of leisure, a palace attendant came to deliver a message, saying that the palace was holding a banquet at Qujiang Pavilion for the Shangsi Festival and invited Fu Sui to attend.
It was a tradition for officials to take a holiday and bestow rewards upon their ministers on the sacrificial festival. The emperor would occasionally host banquets for his ministers or family members to celebrate together. Fu Sui initially thought it was another family banquet for the imperial clan, but after inquiring, he learned that it was actually hosted by Consort Feng, who had invited not only female relatives of the imperial clan but also Consort Feng's mother.
Since his ascension to the throne, the current emperor has not appointed an empress, and even the former crown princess is now only a Noble Consort. Originally, the affairs of the six palaces were managed by the Noble Consort, but unfortunately, she only had two princesses, and as she grew older, she became frail and sickly, lacking energy and unable to manage the harem. Just then, Lady Feng was favored by the emperor, gave birth to a prince, and was deeply loved by him, so Lady Feng often overstepped her bounds and took over the duties.
Now, compared to the Imperial Concubine, Consort Feng holds more power and is showing signs of becoming the Empress.
Fu Sui maintained a lukewarm relationship with the emperor's women. Even though she had slightly more contact with the imperial concubine because of her good relationship with the princess born to her, she never made any effort to get close. She didn't want to associate with any of the concubines who had sons. Furthermore, at previous imperial banquets, apart from the wives of princes and princesses and their husbands, no one of her own surname attended. What was the Feng family doing getting involved? Did they really think they were the emperor's in-laws?
Fu Sui didn't want to go, and even wrote a message to Yanshan, telling her not to go either...
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