Chapter 38 Disobedience (Updated and Combined)
Song Zhaohan first met with her uncle, handed over her responsibilities, and then, without even eating in the palace, rushed back to her residence.
In the morning light, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion's vermilion gate with its beast-head design was dazzling, and even the two stone lions in front of the gate exuded an aura of majesty that was impossible to look directly at.
Song Zhaohan stood in front of the mansion gate, squinting as he gazed at the familiar residence before him. Though there was longing in his eyes, his face showed little sign of a homecoming smile.
After all, the memory of leaving the Rongguo Mansion was not pleasant for him, and apart from the steward, no one from the mansion saw him off.
Song Zhaohan stared at the gate of the mansion. Before long, a voice filled with almost fawning joy reached his ears.
"Young Master, you're finally back!" The gatekeeper rushed out to greet him, his voice trembling with excitement. Several nimble servants followed behind him, eagerly offering him tea and incense.
"Good! Very good!" The doorman nodded and bowed repeatedly.
His face was beaming with smiles as he continued, "It's the old lady, the Duke, and Her Highness the Princess who have been talking about you day and night! They've been so happy to finally have you back!"
"No rush." Song Zhaohan lowered her delicate eyes, a smile playing on her lips, and said, "I'll go to Rongxi Hall first to pay my respects to the old lady, my father, and my mother. I'll also share some good news while I'm at it."
The Duke's Mansion values rules and regulations, so Song Zhaohan knew that her parents would be talking to the old lady at this time.
"Announce good news?" The gatekeeper was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "You mean His Majesty's commendation of you, right? Then we really must announce the good news to the household."
Song Zhaohan didn't answer, but took a long stride and walked straight inside.
With its carved beams and painted rafters, magnificent and splendid, the unique somber coolness of the Duke's mansion instantly enveloped Song Zhaohan.
As he passed by, the servants and young men along the way all held their breath and bowed their heads, respectfully retreating to the shadows by the roadside in perfect unison.
The Duke's mansion was so quiet that there was no sound except for the sound of Song Zhaohan's footsteps on the jade slabs.
Finally, Song Zhaohan stopped outside Rongxi Hall.
Inside Rongxi Hall, the scent of sandalwood lingered and permeated the air, its fragrance swirling among the rosewood furniture and the draped brocade curtains.
Princess Zhao Minghua sat upright on the right. She wore a brocade palace dress, her hair was styled in a high bun, and she wore a golden phoenix hairpin with pearls in her mouth. Her face was well-maintained, but there was a layer of worry between her brows. She held a string of lustrous jade prayer beads in her hand, but her fingertips were slightly white.
On the left, Duke Rongguo, Song Heng, dressed in a plain black robe with dark patterns, sat upright, holding a book in his hands. However, his gaze was not on the pages, but fixed on the wisps of smoke rising from the jade lotus petal incense burner in front of him, his brows furrowed in a daze.
The old lady's gaze didn't linger on her son and daughter-in-law at all; instead, she anxiously looked outside, her longing evident on her face.
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It wasn't until a familiar sound of footsteps approached from afar that the still water was broken.
"Grandmother, Father, Mother." Song Zhaohan appeared at the door and bowed respectfully, her posture displaying impeccable family etiquette, but her tone was rather improper, carrying a hint of frivolity.
The princess suddenly looked up, her eyes instantly filled with fervent light. She almost instinctively tried to get up, but was stopped by a look from Song Heng.
She suppressed her turbulent emotions, her voice trembling slightly, as she tried to maintain her usual composure: "It's good that my son is back. The journey to Jiangnan must have been tough. Was it a safe one?"
“Thanks to the blessings of our ancestors and His Majesty’s great fortune,” Song Zhaohan straightened up, his peach blossom eyes curving slightly as he glanced at his father’s expressionless face. “Your son has lived up to expectations and has already investigated the case of corruption in Jiangnan and reported it to His Majesty. His Majesty is very pleased.” He paused, the curve of his lips deepening, his emotions rising. “He has granted your son an official position.”
After Song Zhaohan finished speaking, Song Heng was about to ask another question when the old lady glanced at him.
"Come over quickly tomorrow so Grandma can take a good look at you." The old lady happily beckoned Song Zhaohan forward, and Song Zhaohan obediently knelt down so that the old lady could see her clearly.
"You've lost weight, even your face looks haggard." The old lady's eyes welled up with tears as she gently touched her grandson's face with her fingers. Seeing the old lady cry, Zhao Minghua and Song Heng started talking to her to comfort her.
Rongxi Hall was instantly filled with warmth.
Song Heng wanted to ask his son some questions, but the old lady glared at him and said, "How can you be so troublesome? Your grandson has come back from all that hardship, and instead of letting him rest properly, you want to ask him all these troubling questions. Get out of here and take your wife with you."
Feeling the old lady's protection, Song Zhaohan chuckled. Song Heng snorted, glared at his son, and reluctantly left with the unwilling princess.
“It’s still quieter here at Grandma’s.” Song Zhaohan said this, her smiling face revealing her weariness.
The old lady immediately felt sorry for him and told him to rest in Rongxi Hall.
Song Zhaohan was raised by the old lady from a young age and was the most beloved by her. Even after he grew up, he still had a courtyard that belonged to him alone in Rongxi Hall.
Song Zhaohan fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and was only woken up early to wash up when the banquet was held at the mansion.
Tonight, the bright lights of the Rongguo Mansion illuminated the entire mansion like a crystal palace. The main hall was even more dazzling, with bright yellow brocade covering the large round table made of rosewood. Even the bowls and plates were imperial gifts from the official kiln. The air was filled with the warm aroma of wine and food, and the elegant fragrance of wealth, creating an atmosphere of extreme luxury.
This is a family banquet held to welcome Song Zhaohan.
The emperor was unable to attend due to other commitments, and only summoned the Grand Eunuch Liu An to deliver the gifts.
Since it was a family banquet, Zhao Minghua did not have the servants serve the dishes immediately, but instead did it himself first.
Zhao Minghua first took the pot and poured a cup of the imperial wine for Song Heng beside her. Then she scooped up a spoonful of golden jujubes that were as clear as amber and placed them in the celadon dish in front of Song Zhaohan with a smile: "Han'er, try it quickly. This is a new tribute from the south. After His Majesty sent it, Mother specially saved a portion for you."
Her gaze lingered on her son's slightly thinner face, filled with heartache.
Although Duke Rongguo, Song Heng, still maintained his usual dignified demeanor, the somber look between his brows had faded considerably.
He raised his cup, recalling what the Grand Eunuch Liu An had just said, and addressed Song Zhaohan with an unusually gentle tone: "You did a good job on this trip to Jiangnan, and you even made a name for yourself in front of His Majesty. At least you didn't bring shame to your family."
Song Heng rarely smiled and spoke words of praise: "You did a very good job in this matter. Now that you have responsibilities, you are no longer a child. You must be more prudent in your actions in the future, so as not to fail the Emperor's boundless grace."
The wind and rain of Jiangnan, and the hidden scheming, all seem to be veiled by a hazy mist in this room filled with warm fragrance and intimate chatter.
As Song Zhaohan listened to her parents' words, her fingertips unconsciously caressed the sandalwood chopsticks, and a genuine smile appeared on her face.
After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly lively.
At this moment, the eldest princess put down her silver chopsticks, picked up a silk handkerchief, moistened her lips, and looked tenderly at Song Zhaohan: "Han'er, now you have gained some experience and have a proper job. Your mother and grandmother have been looking after several young ladies for you these past few days..."
Song Zhaohan paused slightly as he chewed, his eyelashes lowered to conceal the fleeting displeasure in his eyes.
The eldest princess, oblivious to the imperfections, smiled with satisfaction and continued, "We think the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jing'an is the most suitable. I've met her; she's gentle, virtuous, well-educated, and exceptionally beautiful. She's a perfect match for you. Summer is approaching, so we can hold a flower-viewing banquet at the manor. I'll invite this young lady over then..."
Her voice was soft, filled with loving concern for her son's future, but no one noticed that Song Zhaohan had already slowly tightened his grip on the chopsticks.
"Mother."
Song Zhaohan's voice rang out abruptly, not loud, but like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattering the warm atmosphere of the banquet. He put down his chopsticks, the wooden chopsticks clinking against the porcelain plate with a dull thud.
All eyes at the table instantly focused on him.
The flickering candlelight clearly illuminated the stubbornness deep within his eyes, a stubbornness that had been forcibly suppressed but was now suddenly bursting forth. Song Zhaohan raised his head, his gaze sweeping over his mother's earnest face and his father's scrutinizing eyes, finally settling on his grandmother's kind smile, and said with absolute clarity: "Your son doesn't want that so-called eldest daughter. There is already someone living in your heart."
The princess's smile froze, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart. The Duke of Rong's hand, holding his wine cup, paused in mid-air, his brows slowly furrowing.
"Oh?" The eldest princess forced a smile, trying to ease the atmosphere: "Which family's daughter is she? My son, tell me. As long as the family background and character are worthy, your mother will naturally not be the villain who breaks up the couple."
Song Zhaohan took a deep breath, met the Princess's gaze, and said decisively, "She is a girl from the Zhu family."
"The eldest daughter of Scholar Zhu? Her social standing is a bit of a stretch, but Scholar Zhu is favored by the Emperor, so his daughter is acceptable." Song Heng pondered for a moment, and even though the Princess was unwilling, she swallowed her words after he spoke.
“She’s not Scholar Zhu’s daughter.” Song Zhaohan paused for a moment before saying, “She’s Scholar Zhu’s niece.”
Dead silence.
A suffocating silence instantly enveloped the entire hall.
The air, which had just been filled with warmth and laughter, seemed to freeze instantly.
The princess was so speechless that she almost lost her balance and fell off her seat.
With a sharp clang, Song Heng lost his composure and dropped the white jade wine cup in his hand.
He suddenly stood up, causing the rosewood armchair behind him to tip backward and crash heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
"Who?" Song Heng's voice was suppressed and low, each word seeming to be ground out from between his teeth: "Say it again?"
Throughout the entire event, only the old lady remained silent.
Under his father's almost tearing gaze and his mother's sharp questioning, Song Zhaohan's body tensed almost imperceptibly, but his spine straightened even more. He first glanced at his silent grandmother, and then, facing the chilling pressure, clearly repeated: "It's her. The person I'm going to marry is Zhu Xuanning."
Song Zhaohan's voice was not loud, but it was unusually firm.
"You bastard!" Song Heng roared in fury.
"What is Zhu Xuanning's status? A mere fourth-rank scholar?"
Song Heng was furious; he was trembling with rage as he spoke these words.
"Status? Family background?" Song Zhaohan's voice suddenly rose, and anger gathered in his beautiful peach blossom eyes. The resentment and bitterness he had suppressed for more than ten years surged out like a flood breaking through the dam.
“From childhood to adulthood, I have never had control over anything! What I study, what I don't study; what friends I make, what friends I don't make; where I go, where I don't go... Is there anything I, Song Zhaohan, can control?!”
He suddenly grabbed his collar, his trembling voice filled with suppressed pain: "You think the Rongguo Mansion is too powerful and are afraid that I will not be favored by my uncle, so you disregard my wishes and want to raise me into a good-for-nothing who can only live by relying on the protection of my ancestors, the power of my parents, and the whims of my cousin, the Crown Prince!"
"Fine! I admit it! I'll do as you wish! I'll take the blame for all the Crown Prince's immoral behavior and indiscriminate indulgence, and even clean up his messes, so he can grow into the 'good-for-nothing' playboy everyone in the capital talks about!"
Song Zhaohan's gaze swept over the shattered wine glass on the ground, finally fixing on her father's bloodshot eyes with an almost desperate accusation.
"Now! All I want is to marry a woman I truly love! A woman who only sees me, Song Zhaohan, as a person! Why can't I even do that?! This time I went to Jiangnan, I worked my butt off, I tried to make a name for myself, I thought that once I had something of my own, you would understand my thoughts! You would..."
Song Zhaohan's accusations drained the color from Zhao Minghua's lips. She tried in fear to stop her son from speaking, but could not utter a sound. Meanwhile, the old lady had already fainted from anger at Song Zhaohan's outrageous words.
"Shut up!" After extreme anger and fear, Song Heng finally regained his senses and interrupted Song Zhaohan's next words, but he knew it was too late and he could only try to salvage the situation.
Song Heng coldly stared at his son before him and said, "You ungrateful, arrogant, rebellious, and disobedient wretch! Guards! Bring the family law! Drag this wretched child to the ancestral hall! I will beat him to death today!"
The heavy sandalwood doors of the ancestral hall were pushed open with a bang, and a cold, damp atmosphere, mixed with the smell of aged incense ash, rushed out.
Song Zhaohan was forcibly dragged into the ancestral hall by two strong guards, who held him firmly by the shoulders. He was then roughly pressed down onto a stool. He did not struggle, but simply raised his head slightly and tightened his jaw.
The boy's peach blossom eyes reflected the flickering candlelight; there was no fear in them, only an almost ethereal calm.
Rongguo Gong Song Heng followed closely behind and entered the ancestral hall. He immediately gagged Song Zhaohan and raised a large board to beat her mercilessly.
"You wicked child! In front of our ancestors, I'm asking you one last time! Do you know your mistake? Take back your absurd idea!" Song Heng ripped the cloth out of Song Zhaohan's mouth and said angrily.
Before he finished speaking, Song Heng continued to beat her mercilessly with the board.
"Ugh!" Song Zhaohan clenched her teeth, swallowing back the cry of pain that was rising in her throat. Only a muffled groan escaped from between her teeth, and beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on her forehead.
Blood quickly soaked through Song Zhaohan's brocade robe. His body trembled violently with each lash, but he bit his lower lip tightly. Even though his teeth dug deep into his flesh and he tasted the strong metallic taste of blood, he refused to utter a single cry of pain or beg for mercy.
Zhao Minghua was practically carried in by two trusted nannies. Her face was ashen, and her lips were trembling. When she saw her half-dead son, she rushed to him.
"Han'er! My son!" Zhao Minghua cried, gasping for breath, "Heng-ge, you're really going to beat him to death! He's our only child!"
Song Heng hesitated for a moment, and the slap did not land because Zhao Minghua shielded his son.
His chest heaved violently as he looked at his son, who lay on the ground covered in blood, and at his son who, even in excruciating pain and trembling body, still refused to admit his mistake. He felt that all his anger had been exposed.
"Princess, step aside." Song Heng's voice turned cold.
Zhao Minghua refused to give way and simply buried her face in her son's body, weeping.
Just then, a series of hurried and flustered footsteps and a servant's exclamation came from outside the ancestral hall.
"Grandma! Grandma, please slow down! You can't go in!"
"Get out of the way! Where is my Ming'er?"
The old lady had clearly just managed to get up from her illness, with the royal physician following behind her in a hurry.
She stepped inside and immediately saw her grandson lying face down on a bench in the center of the ancestral hall, his buttocks a bloody mess.
"My Ming'er! You've ripped my heart out!" The old lady staggered to Song Zhaohan's side, and the two women burst into tears.
"Get this heartless father out of here!" the old lady cried, ordering those around her to drive Song Heng away.
Song Heng closed his eyes, sighed, and held the board, refusing to leave: "Mother, don't worry about it! This wretched child, he's determined to make me die of anger today! He said he'd rather not be our child! He said being our son is too tiring!" Song Heng's voice was a little hoarse, carrying a sadness that he himself was unaware of.
Lying on the stool, Song Zhaohan, whose consciousness was somewhat hazy, vaguely heard these three words, then murmured them to herself, closed her eyes, and drooped her head listlessly.
Those three words were like knives, stabbing into the hearts of every loved one present.
With Song Zhaohan's fainting spell, the family discipline session came to a halt, but the overwhelming momentum had already reached the palace.
When Song Heng and the Princess were summoned to the palace, the Emperor was furious to hear that his nephew, who had been all smiles in the morning, had fallen into a coma that evening. He then gave the couple a severe scolding and sent the imperial physician to examine Song Zhaohan.
After seeing off the Duke of Rongguo and the Princess, the Grand Eunuch Liu An returned and saw the Emperor sitting silently at his desk sighing. He carefully stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty."
The emperor hummed in agreement, then felt a pang of guilt as he thought of the crown prince and his nephew: "To be honest, I have indeed wronged that boy Ming'er."
"Your Majesty treats the Crown Prince so well, how could you possibly wrong him?" Liu An said, choosing words that sounded nice.
The Emperor fell silent again. Recalling Song Zhaohan's habit of always cleaning up the Crown Prince's messes, he was extremely disappointed: "It was my selfishness that delayed this child's development. After Song Heng told me those heart-wrenching words about Ming'er, I was both angry and heartbroken. But upon careful consideration, I cannot blame only this couple. If I were not the Emperor, they would not have had to be so careful in trying to guess the Emperor's heart and put Ming'er under such pressure."
When the emperor confessed his mistakes, he even changed how he referred to himself, which shows that he actually cared a lot about this kinship.
But Liu An understood another meaning: the emperor was disappointed and also intended to step down.
Liu An was trembling with fear and quickly spoke to divert the emperor's attention.
The emperor had originally intended to ask Liu An which girl the boy favored tomorrow, but his attention had already shifted to other government affairs, so he forgot to ask.
After receiving the news from Yan Hengdan, Zhu Xuanning arranged a time for a welcome dinner, and she also planned to complete her transaction with Yan Hengdan at that time.
But in the evening, Yan Hengdan sent another message.
"The young master has been disciplined by the family; he probably won't be able to go out and show his face for a month or two," Po Mo whispered to Zhu Xuanning.
Zhu Xuanning was extremely shocked.
He got a promotion and became an official, but why was he punished by his family that very night?
She recalled what Song Zhaohan had said back then, her eyes widened slightly, and she pointed at herself incredulously: "Because of me?"
Po Mo's gaze was complicated. He nodded in response, his tone even lower: "That's what the Fifth Young Master Yan said. The first thing the young master did upon returning to the manor was to plead with the Princess and the Duke to marry you."
Zhu Xuanning was stunned. She opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
The girl sat there for a long time, then looked up and stared blankly out the window, saying, "I thought that person was just making a casual promise, that he would say such sweet words to any girl he was trying to win over; he was actually stupid enough to actually do it."
Zhu Xuanning disliked Song Zhaohan; he was frivolous and willful, and completely disregarded the wishes of others.
When Zhu Xuanning heard that such a person had actually petitioned his family, she felt an indescribable mix of emotions.
"Is it that serious? You can't see anyone for a month or two?" Zhu Xuanning asked softly.
"The Crown Prince has fainted. The Emperor has sent the imperial physicians over, but we still don't know his condition," Po Mo replied to Zhu Xuanning, and the room fell silent.
"Let's not worry about it. Let's wait until he's better before we talk about it," Zhu Xuanning added.
She had no interest in Song Zhaohan, and the Duke's Mansion opposed it. Perhaps Song Zhaohan would be worn down and give up. When they finally met again, she could deliver a crushing blow, which would make the deal even more satisfactory to Yan Hengdan.
Zhu Xuanning's plans were very well-thought-out, but there are many things that she couldn't possibly plan for.
Song Zhaohan was awakened by the imperial physician's needles. After waking up, he asked his family for Wei Ying. Fortunately, Wei Ying was a person bestowed by the emperor and was not punished by the Duke of Rong. However, some other servants were beaten half to death by Song Heng and thrown to the estate.
When Wei Ying was helping Song Zhaohan apply the medicine, her eyes turned red.
Song Zhaohan didn't speak to anyone all day. When Wei Ying came again the next day, he surprisingly said his first words: "Did A Ning send me a message?"
Wei Ying shook her head, and the light in Song Zhaohan's eyes dimmed.
He stopped talking and just quietly drank and applied the medicine.
His depression is heartbreaking.
The eldest princess and the old lady both came to see Song Zhaohan, but no matter what they said, Song Zhaohan did not respond or answer, only occasionally glancing at them out of the corner of her eye.
“Ming’er, you’ve disobeyed your parents for that girl and suffered so much, but she hasn’t even sent a message to visit you. Why do you keep clinging to her?” The old lady cried bitterly when she saw her grandson like this.
Song Zhaohan ignored the old lady's words and turned his back, weakly saying, "She wouldn't do that. Someone in the manor must be interfering and preventing her from doing so."
Seeing that no amount of earnest persuasion from the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could get through to the child, who was truly trapped in the situation, they could only leave crying. Not long after, news of the prince's hunger strike spread from Song Zhaohan's courtyard.
Upon hearing that Song Zhaohan had stopped eating and even refusing to drink her medicine, the eldest princess went to find Song Heng in tears.
"Heng-ge, let's just leave it at that and let Zhao-er marry that girl." No matter how much the princess disliked Zhu Xuan-ning, she couldn't bear to see her son become like this because of her.
She knew her son was as stubborn as an ox; the more they tried to stop him, the more he wanted it.
The orphan girl was still an innocent young woman whom her son had not yet won over, which made her even more of a craving for him. The princess still held onto some hope, thinking that she would marry her first, and once her son got her, he might get tired of her, and then she could leave the position of principal wife vacant.
She told the Duke of Rongguo everything. Song Heng had been unable to eat or sleep well these past few days because of Song Zhaohan's matter, but he still insisted on his opinion and refused to back down: "Absurd! If he gets a taste of the benefits from such coercion once, he will do it every time. Princess, there's no need to say anything more. I will absolutely not let that rebellious son set this precedent!"
The eldest princess had no choice but to send her trusted confidants to find several of Song Zhaohan's friends and beg them to come and persuade Song Zhaohan.
Yan Hengdan left with mixed feelings. At the mansion, he naturally encountered Yu Xuan who had come over.
Yu Xuan didn't even change out of his official robes before asking his superior for leave and hurried over.
When the two met, they were not surprised. They simply nodded in greeting and then paid their respects to the princess and the others.
"Good child, go find Ming'er to play with." The old lady said with tears in her eyes.
Then, they met Song Zhaohan.
Song Zhaohan, whom I hadn't seen for over a month, lay on the bed, thin and frail, like a withered plum blossom.
He raised his eyes, which had lost their youthful vigor, but showed no reaction when he saw Yan Hengdan, with whom he had already fallen out.
"My mother asked you to persuade me?" Song Zhaohan's weak voice was somewhat hoarse.
Yu Xuan didn't answer Song Zhaohan's question, but instead said, "I heard you've been on a hunger strike for several days."
Song Zhaohan didn't answer. Yan Hengdan, who was standing to the side, pulled up a chair and sat down. He rested his pointed chin on his hand, frowned at his friend, and curled his lips: "You're ruining yourself like this just because you want your wish to come true. Why should I advise you? My feelings for you have been severed. I only came to see your ugly behavior because of the Princess."
Yan Hengdan's words were sarcastic. He felt a sense of satisfaction as he watched Song Zhaohan's eyebrows gradually lower, but after that satisfaction, he felt a little bored.
"So much trouble that you don't even have the energy to argue with me anymore?" Yan Hengdan tilted her head, trying to stir up Song Zhaohan's emotions.
But he didn't fall for the trap. Instead, he countered, "You don't need to provoke me. Even if you say that, I will still go on a hunger strike."
Yan Hengdan was stunned and looked at Song Zhaohan seriously. Song Zhaohan let him look at her without getting angry.
"After a trip to Jiangnan and a beating, he's certainly learned a lesson," Yan Hengdan muttered to herself, which made Song Zhaohan twitch her lips.
Yu Xuan didn't try to persuade Song Zhaohan. After Yan Hengdan stopped talking, he asked, "Song Ming, do you really like Fifth Miss Zhu?"
Yu Xuan's question stirred up some anger in Song Zhaohan, who had been calm.
"What do you mean?" Song Zhaohan asked.
"If you truly love her and want to marry her, why use such radical methods to force the Princess, the Duke of Rong, and the Dowager to back down?"
Have you ever considered how difficult it will be for her to navigate this inner quarters, even if you get what you want?
You are the eldest princess's child. The eldest princess will not blame you; she will only blame Zhu Wu Guniang for your disobedience to her parents.
Serving soup, standing properly—the tricks of the inner court are endless. Can you guarantee that after you do all this, you can protect her from all the underhanded tricks of the inner court after you marry her?
When the gentle Yu Xuan uttered these words, even his soft eyebrows and eyes revealed a sharp edge.
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