Chapter 8. General Xie is quite similar to the lover she kept in Xichuan...
Once Xue Xingtai brought up this old story, he couldn't stop talking.
"Xue Mingyao, you are just a county princess, not a princess. Even if you were a princess, you cannot do things like forcibly taking things from someone! He is a perfectly good scholar who has studied hard for ten years and has a bright future ahead of him. You insist on kidnapping him and imprisoning him, disregarding the law and doing whatever you want. Aren't you ruining him?"
“Brother, how dare you say that? I only kept him temporarily in the mansion, and I didn’t stop him from reading and writing. I even found him a lot of rare and ancient books. How did that ruin him? But you, brother, beat him up without even knowing what happened. As for the damage I caused him, I can’t compare to you.”
The thought of Xue Xingtai traveling all the way to Xichuan back then, only to treat Xie Qinglang as her lover the moment he entered the door, and then beating him until he was covered in blood, infuriated Xue Mingyao.
Why did you hit him so hard!
Xue Xingtai's momentum weakened. "I thought he seduced you..."
Xue Mingyao looked at him with a resentful expression.
Xue Xingtai realized that the topic had gone too far, and quickly brought it back, "Yaoniang, don't I know you? You can't walk away when you see a man you like. How can you possibly remain a widow with a personality like yours? Don't think I'm being crude, but you want a man but refuse to marry. Doesn't that leave you with only one option: having an affair? Although our Xue family is not a prestigious family, it was once a glorious and prosperous Prince's mansion. We can't let you act recklessly and disgrace our family!"
Xue Mingyao was annoyed by his scolding and said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless. I know what I'm doing."
"Know your limits? If you knew your limits, you wouldn't have caused that mess with Xie Qinglang!"
Xue Mingyao remained silent.
Xue Xingtai couldn't help but say again, "Look at you, even if you were really lonely and insisted on keeping a man to keep you company, you should have found someone who was interested in you and would care for you. You insisted on finding someone who was blind and looked down on you. What was the point? It's a good thing he didn't go to the capital to complain to the emperor, otherwise you would have been drowned in the spittle of the censors, and our Xue family's honor would have been ruined..."
Xue Mingyao stood up abruptly. “Brother, as a direct descendant of the Xue family, you spend all your time worrying about me. If you could use that energy to get promoted, why would you worry about the Xue family’s glory? It would also save me from running to the palace every few days, trying every possible way to please His Majesty, for fear that he might forget about our Xue family!”
Xue Xingtai's face instantly turned red with anger. "Xue Mingyao! I'm your older brother, how dare you speak to me like that?"
Xue Mingyao retorted, "Xue Xingtai! Since you're using your seniority to pressure me, you should also know that before the young duke comes of age, the Xue family's reputation is yours to uphold, not mine. The Xue family's honor rests on your shoulders, and has nothing to do with whether I find a man or not!"
The doors and windows of Xue Mingyao's courtyard were tightly closed, and the faint sounds of the brother and sister arguing could be heard continuously.
The servants in the courtyard remained unfazed, taking it all in stride. The temperaments of the Xue family's masters were just like those of the old General Xue—easily provoked, but quick to flare up and quick to calm down.
Soon after, Xue Xingtai slammed the door and left, and the courtyard finally returned to silence.
The deep blue night pressed heavily into the room through the paper windows, and the candlelight flickered, trying to drive away the cold, snowy air that was waiting to sneak in.
Xue Mingyao rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly for a while. Then she turned her head and saw a maid carrying a huge, thin leather bundle walking over. The bundle looked very unfamiliar.
“What is this?” she asked.
"It's a gift that my husband brought for you this afternoon," the maid whispered.
Xue Mingyao opened the bundle, inside which was a silver-white mink cloak.
At the beginning of winter, Xue Mingyao complained to her brother that her sable coat was old and the color was not as bright as before. Xue Xingtai casually said that he would go hunt a sable and make a coat for her.
With most of winter gone and no news, Xue Mingyao had long forgotten about the matter.
The mink fur was soft, smooth, and thick. She buried her face in it and instructed Green Branch in a muffled voice, "Have the kitchen make that braised pork skin dish that Brother likes the most tomorrow night, and send it to Brother in my name." She paused and then added, "Never mind, don't send it tomorrow night, send it tomorrow at noon."
......
After the siblings had a big fight, Xue Mingyao stayed home and lived a quiet life for a while. Once the new "Gentleman's Pursuit Incense" was ready, she chose a sunny day, put on the silver sable cloak given to her by her brother, and, carrying food and a hand warmer, went by carriage to the Duke of Ying's mansion.
The Chen family had been officials for generations, and this generation was no exception, producing many talented individuals. The second son, Chen Liangqing, was renowned for his literary talent, while the eldest son, Chen Liangzheng, was gentle, upright, and promising. He served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and also became the husband of Princess Yi'an, Zhao Ying.
There were many precedents for princesses of the Great Zhou Dynasty to establish their own residences after marriage. For example, during the Taikang era, when Princess Mingchang married into the Yan family, the emperor built her a thousand-man mansion, comparable in scale to a royal palace. This move drew much criticism at the time. Of course, there were also princesses who did not wish to be ostentatious and chose to live in their husbands' homes, serving their parents-in-law like ordinary wives.
Princess Yi'an was born to the late Empress and was deeply loved by the Emperor. When she married, Emperor Deyuan chose a compromise: he expanded the land next to the Chen residence by more than ten acres and built houses and gardens for Zhao Ying and Chen Liangzheng to live in. The new residence was adjacent to the Chen residence and connected to it, which not only allowed the princess and her husband to live in peace but also made it convenient for them to visit the Chen family.
Emperor Deyuan's original intention was to make Zhao Ying's life more comfortable, but Zhao Ying had her own ideas. After the marriage, she took the initiative to accept the identity of a Chen family wife, and visited Madam Liang, the wife of the Chen family, every day without fail.
Today, Xue Mingyao came to see Zhao Ying. She was eating roasted venison jerky at Zhao Ying's residence and waited for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn before she saw Zhao Ying return from paying her respects next door.
Xue Mingyao had asked this several times, but this time she still couldn't hold back her words, "My dear Yingying, why do you love to pay your respects to the Chen family so much? Don't you find it tiring? When I married Cen Zongjing, I found fault with everything about him. The only good thing about him was that his parents were both dead, so I only had to serve them in front of their memorial tablets."
Zhao Ying ate little breakfast with Lady Liang and was still hungry. She grabbed a handful of Xue Mingyao's dried meat and put it in her mouth. After chewing it down, she said, "The Chen family has a clean and upright family tradition, and the prince consort is a respectful, frugal, and courteous person. I am being very polite so that he will be satisfied with me."
"You are a princess, how dare he be dissatisfied with you?"
Zhao Ying smiled faintly, "You don't understand. Power and status can only be used to control a person, not to control their heart. If I want my husband's heart to be with me, I have to put in a lot of effort."
Who says she doesn't understand? Xue Mingyao understood it five or six years ago.
Was it really necessary to go to such lengths? On the fifteenth, she and Zhao Ying ate rabbit hot pot. The aroma of the meat was strong, and Zhao Ying didn't want Chen Liangzheng to know about her gluttony, nor did she want him to be displeased with her drunken state. So, she made up an excuse that the Dowager Consort had invited her to stay overnight and didn't return to the palace, instead hiding in the palace to feast with her. Although they enjoyed themselves, the next day, when Xue Mingyao watched Zhao Ying rush back to the Chen residence to pay her respects before dawn, still half-asleep, she couldn't help but sigh a few times.
This is the downside of getting married.
Xue Mingyao can be willful and reckless at home, arguing with her brother without a care in the world, but in her husband's home, she has to rein in her temper and behave properly.
Therefore, Xue Mingyao was willing to live in the Xue family mansion for the rest of her life.
"Have you gone to see Erlang recently? How did he treat you?" Zhao Ying asked with great interest.
"Not bad, they drank the porridge I brought and even lent me an umbrella." Xue Mingyao smiled and pointed to the sandalwood box on the table. "Do me a favor and send a maid to take these to Chen Liangqing, but don't let anyone see them."
The box contained the umbrella Chen Liangqing had lent her, the "copied" notes from the Southern Frontier, and an exquisite sachet embroidered with orchids and bamboo, inside which were several small, chess-piece-sized incense cakes.
She felt uncomfortable going to the Hanlin Academy to find him again, so she decided to ask Zhao Ying to pass on the message.
Zhao Ying opened the box and examined each item, and was somewhat surprised to see the sachet. Giving incense as a gift was understandable, but giving a sachet was an act of secret exchange between lovers.
Zhao Ying said, "Are you really that serious about him? I thought you were just bored and looking for something interesting to do."
Xue Mingyao, barely out of her teens, already knew how to find pleasure in men. Relying on her beauty, she mingled among the princes, holding hands with the eldest prince one day and kissing the third prince's cheek the next, finding it all very amusing to watch them blush and flutter with excitement for her.
At that time, the princes were vying for the throne. General Xue was afraid that she would cause trouble and that she would be involved in the struggle between the princes, which would arouse the emperor's suspicion of the Xue family. That's why he hurriedly married her off to Xichuan.
“The two are not contradictory,” Xue Mingyao said with a smile.
Chen Liangqing was indeed stunningly beautiful; her waist was as narrow as Xie Qinglang's, and she couldn't help but want to touch it.
and--
That annoying Xie Zhuo looked down on her, so she was determined to drag the person he admired down from his pedestal and make him suffer.
Xue Mingyao told Zhao Ying about Xie Zhuo's rude attitude towards her, "He was burning up with fever, but he still insisted on staying, afraid that I would take advantage of his inattention and tarnish the image of the pure and noble gentleman in his heart."
Zhao Yingxiu's face showed doubt. "General Xie doesn't seem like that kind of person. He comes from humble origins and is very modest. Even if he has grievances against you, he wouldn't show them, much less say such harsh and sharp words."
Xue Mingyao was also surprised, "You know him, and you know him so well? Didn't he just return to court?"
"Didn't I tell you that General Xie and the Imperial Son-in-Law knew each other?" Zhao Ying explained with a smile. "Before the Imperial Son-in-Law's wedding, he was sent to Longxi to inspect the border and investigate military and political affairs. That's where he met General Xie. Later, when General Xie returned from the Northwest, although he had made great achievements, he was still relatively inexperienced. When he was sent to lead the expedition to the southern frontier, many officials in the court were dissatisfied. It was the Imperial Son-in-Law who strongly recommended him. When General Xie returned victorious, the Imperial Son-in-Law even received a reward from his father."
"So that's how it is..." Xue Mingyao recalled the scene at the Hanlin Academy that day. She seemed to have heard the words "my elder brother" and "Brother Liangzheng" from Chen Liangqing and Xie Zhuo, but she hadn't paid attention at the time.
According to Zhao Ying, Xie Zhuo is very nice to everyone else, but he doesn't even pretend in front of her. How much does he hate her?
“You can know a person’s face but not their heart, right?” she said indignantly, then pouted, “I don’t even know what he looks like. He always wears a mask, I’ve never seen what he looks like.”
"You haven't seen his face?" Zhao Ying asked, slightly surprised. "I've seen him a few times. He's a true general with a jade-like face, and he's exactly your type."
"How could that be!" Xue Mingyao laughed. "How would you know what type I like?"
“How could I not know? Didn’t you show me a portrait of your lover in Xichuan before? General Xie’s eyebrows and eyes look three or four parts like the person in the painting.”
Xue Mingyao was taken aback. "I don't believe it. He couldn't possibly be that good-looking."
"Once he recovers and takes off his mask, you'll believe it when you see it."
As Xue Mingyao chewed on the dried meat, she thought to herself, "No wonder Xie Zhuo is hostile towards her. It turns out that people with this kind of appearance all dislike her."
"Who knows if he'll be disfigured. He's been poisoned quite severely; the last time it flared up, it was terrifying."
"Can't you wish him well?" Zhao Ying said with a helpless smile. "The Prince Consort sent someone to inquire about his condition yesterday, and he said it was nothing serious. The Prince Consort even invited him to the mansion this afternoon to admire the plum blossoms."
While ostensibly appreciating plum blossoms, the real intention lies elsewhere.
The Chen family has three daughters. Two are already married, and the youngest, named Zhelan, has fallen in love early. After a chance encounter with Xie Zhuo by Chen Liangzheng's side, she secretly fell in love and vowed to marry no one else. Chen Liangzheng admires Xie Zhuo and is naturally willing to grant his sister's wish. The reason he invited people over today is to find an excuse for him to meet his younger sister.
The two cousins chatted for a while, and before they knew it, it was noon. Zhao Ying had already arranged for the kitchen to prepare several dishes that Xue Mingyao liked, and brought out some sweet and sour plum wine to accompany the meal.
After a hearty meal, Xue Mingyao was pulled by Zhao Ying to see her newly acquired fabrics. The silks and brocades filled half the room, adorned with vibrant colors and dazzling gold and silver threads.
The coldest days of winter are over; it's time to start making clothes for spring and summer.
Zhao Ying was stumped by a piece of crimson silk. She liked the color and texture, but it was too delicate and not dignified enough to make a dress.
“That’s easy. You can use it to make a light and sheer undergarment. The prince consort will definitely like it.” Xue Mingyao casually gestured a cool undergarment design on the fabric.
Zhao Ying playfully slapped her, "I'd like to too, but the Prince Consort is a respectable man, he wouldn't like that."
"Oh dear, who's serious in bed? Listen to me, I'm a widow, and a widow's word is always right..."
As the two were chatting and laughing, a maidservant lifted the curtain and came in, saying, "Princess, Third Lady has come to see you."
Chen Zhelan just turned seventeen this year. She has beautiful eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, red lips, and white teeth.
After she entered the house, she obediently curtsied to them, saying, "Ze Lan greets her sister-in-law and the princess."
Xue Mingyao wasn't familiar with Chen Zhelan, so she simply nodded in response. Zhao Ying called for someone to bring her fruit drinks and pastries, and said with a smile, "Little sister, why are you here so early? More than half an hour earlier than the agreed time."
Chen Zhelan blushed and said shyly, "I couldn't wait, so I came a little early and disturbed you and the princess."
"It's alright, I understand," Zhao Ying said dismissively.
"When you're longing for your sweetheart, you can't wait even a moment longer," Xue Mingyao teased with a smile after hearing Zhao Ying mention the Chen family's intention to arrange a marriage between Xie Zhuo and her.
Chen Zhelan felt even more embarrassed and covered her face with a round fan.
Xue Mingyao and Zhao Ying had been chatting since morning and had quite a bit of fun. Seeing that Chen Zhelan was impatient, they thought it would be better to have Zhao Ying take her to Qingyuan as soon as possible, so they took their leave.
Unexpectedly, Chen Zhelan asked her to stay, "Princess, would you like to come to Qingyuan with us? It seems a bit contrived for just my sister-in-law and me to stroll in the garden. If you join us, the three of us will make it look more like a proper visit."
"Yaoyao, let's go together. It would be good to go admire the plum blossoms," Zhao Ying also urged.
Unable to refuse such a kind offer, Xue Mingyao agreed.
A note from the author:
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