CH 63

T/N: I’m very sorry for the unannounced hiatus of all my translations. Real life has been quite tough with my job, sickness and moving (I have been pretty inactive online these months). I did not get enough time to translate but I am back. You guys have my heartfelt gratitude for waiting for me. To those who asked if I’m ok, yes, fortunately I am xD and to those who asked if this novel is dropped or on hiatus, no, I don’t have plans on dropping it or vanishing again, at least not for now. Thank you so much =3=

-With love and apologies, An 

Yun Yanze stood beside the lofty palace wall and watched the figures of Yun Duqing and Ming Jiuzhu from a distance. The night breeze carried the sound of their joyous laughter over to him; even the sound of firecrackers could not conceal their joy.

The joys and sorrows of the world were like this.

He sat down at the foot of the wall and looked up at the fireworks bursting in the sky. His mind was blank.

These splendid fireworks had covered up his mother’s death. And yet, he didn’t even have the courage to see her for the last time.

“Yanze, you must study hard and become the most outstanding prince.”

“You must be obedient so that your Father Emperor likes you.”

“Yanze, you are Mother’s only hope. You must become the crown prince and then the most respected man in Da Cheng.”

“I really hate it ah, really hate it ah…”

The sound of firecrackers had stopped. When he came back to his senses, Yun Duqing had already left. Ming Jiuzhu, who held a palace lamp in her hand, was followed by several palace maids and eunuchs.

“Xianzhu, there seems to be someone over there.”

A eunuch noticed him: “This slave will go over and take a look.”

“Don’t go.” Jiuzhu stopped the little eunuch. She looked at the vague figure at the foot of the wall. It was impolite to bother those who chose to spend this joyous night alone. “Let’s go. That person should not be bothered now.”

Watching the young girl and the eunuchs leave, Yun Yanze stood up. He looked up at the fireworks still blooming in the sky, turned around and blended into the night.

In Qianyi Pavilion, Zheng Lanyin held the piece of piece of white silk in her hand and looked at the fireworks in the sky outside the window. She was still not willing, but the robust eunuchs didn’t care. They dragged her forward and wrapped the white silk around her neck.

She reached out to pull the white silk in fear, with tears and snot streaming down her face. She no longer possessed her past grace and dignified aura.

“Zheng Meiren.” A eunuch said in a peculiar tone, “You better be on your way. If you keep struggling like this, you will bring trouble to the Fourth Prince.”

“Which one of you dares to kill me? I am the birth mother of the Fourth Prince!” Zheng Lanyin seemed to have found her confidence: “None of you lowly b*stard slaves can touch me.”

The eunuch didn’t get angry at being called a ‘b*stard slave’. He and another eunuch exerted force, tightly strangling the white silk around Zheng Lanyin’s neck. Seeing her struggle getting weaker and weaker, he sneered, “Forgot to tell Meiren just now, His Majesty not only stripped the Fourth Prince of all his titles, but he will also hold a ceremony tomorrow to worship the ancestors and confer the title of Empress upon Guifei niangniang!”

Zheng Lanyin’s eyes widened. Her struggle increased for a bit before she finally drew her last breath with open eyes.

“Even at death’s door, she wanted to use the Fourth Prince as a way to escape punishment. He is really unfortunate to have such a maternal family and birth mother.” The eunuch checked Zheng Lanyin’s breath. “Dead. Take her away and report the completion.”

“Gonggong! Gonggong!” Bai Shao rushed into the room and took out silver, stuffing it into the hands of the eunuch. “Gonggong, wait a moment. Please let this slave tidy up Milady’s appearance.”

The eunuch flicked the silver in his hands a couple of times with a smile that was yet not a smile. “You are certainly a loyal servant. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, gonggong.” Bai Shao bowed to them and then walked towards Zheng Lanyin’s lifeless body.

The eunuch sneered. The once prestigious court lady was now no different from a drowning dog.

Ming Jingzhou and Shen-shi waited outside Zhuque Gate for a while before they saw their daughter coming towards them in small, quick steps, followed by a few cautious and respectful eunuchs holding lanterns.

“Be careful, don’t fall.” Shen-shi reached out to support Jiuzhu and smelled the faint scent of firecrackers on her. She sat down beside her. “Did you have a good time with the His Highness Chen Wang?”

Seeing her daughter nod, Shen-shi wasn’t surprised at all. As expected, Chen Wang held her daughter back in the Palace.

“Sit tight. We’re going back home.” She lowered the curtain, blocking the sight of the eunuchs outside.

The wheels of the carriage rolled on the path, making a clattering sound. Jiuzhu recalled what happened at the New Year banquet and couldn’t help but ask Ming Jingzhou: “Father, the Fourth Prince’s maternal family and mother committed so many crimes, so why are so many people still pleading for him?”

“They are not pleading for him, but for their own future.” Ming Jingzhou didn’t deliberately hide anything from his daughter just because she was young. “What is your opinion about the Fourth Prince?”

Jiuzhu shook her head. “His appearance is pretty good, knows when and how to advance or retreat, observes rules and is graceful. But I don’t like him.”

“Is it because you recognized the Zheng family’s steward to be the one who harmed you?”

“No.” Jiuzhu continued shaking her head. “I felt he was somewhat strange when I saw him for the first time.”

Even though she didn’t know the reason herself.

“In one’s life, there will always be one or two people whom you don’t like at first sight or cannot forget.” Shen-shi touched her daughter’s head. “No need to fret over such trifles. If you like someone, get closer to them. If you don’t like them, keep your distance. There’s no need to make things difficult for yourself.”

Jiuzhu smiled: “Daughter understands.”

Sometimes, one couldn’t force it if there was no predestined affinity.

“In the eyes of those lords, the Fourth Prince scrupulously adheres to etiquette, has a benevolent disposition, and values the scholars. For them, he is the best candidate for the throne.” Ming Jingzhou smiled meaningfully, “Huai Wang is close to the military officials. An Wang and Jing Wang are mediocre while Chen Wang’s temperament…”

Jiuzhu looked up at him.

“Chen Wang has a free-spirited temperament and is not within the scholars’ control.” Under his daughter’s gaze, Ming Jingzhou replaced ‘domineering’ with a more tactful term: ‘free-spirited’. He knew some of the thoughts of the scholars, but he was loyal only to the Emperor. Even if he knew what these people were planning, he had no intention of participating.

“So they don’t really think highly of the Fourth Prince but because they think… he is suitable?”

“Perhaps the Fourth Prince just wants them to think that he is the most suitable candidate.” Ming Jingzhou answered his daughter’s question: “So long as people are alive, they will inevitably have selfish motives.”

He, too, was the same.

Jiuzhu fell silent for a moment. “But if the Fourth Prince’s true nature is not what they had imagined, won’t they regret it?”

“Jiuzhu, do you know? There was once an emperor who, when young, was proper in speech and conduct, humble and kind, maintained distance from women, and was diligent and frugal. His every word and action could have been said to be perfect. However, once he ascended the throne, he carried out large-scale construction work, indulged himself in beauties and became ruthless and unrestrained.”

“What… happened later?”

“The country was destroyed.” Ming Jingzhou saw his daughter’s stunned expression: “Never forget the past; it can guide one in the future. What Da Cheng needs is a truly benevolent and wise monarch like His Majesty, not a lunatic wearing the mask of a gentleman.”

“Does Father think the Fourth Prince is such a person?”

“I don’t know.” Ming Jingzhou smiled: “But I do know that Daughter doesn’t like him.”

Jiuzhu’s eyes widened. Is it important whether she likes him or not?

“Why?” Ming Jingzhou looked at her.

“Nothing really. I just feel…” Jiuzhu took a deep breath, “Will it be too rash?”

“No.” Ming Jingzhou smiled, “This is something a father should do.”

The most important thing was that the Emperor was still young and healthy. So, there was no need to find a successor yet.

Jiuzhu rubbed her face. Was this the happiness of being unconditionally trusted by her father?

She lifted the curtain of the carriage window. Outside, there were a few night stalls that had not closed yet while children playing with firecrackers had gathered together. She also saw lion dancers1T/N: Lion dance (舞狮 / wǔshī) is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which the dancers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually done during the Chinese New Year and other traditional, cultural and religious festivals. It is mostly performed by two dancers, one of whom handles the head while the other handles the tail of the lion. holding lion heads in their arms, sitting at the stalls and eating noodles.

In the midst of the fireworks in this mortal realm, they enjoyed this peaceful New Year’s Eve.

Such prosperity was not easy to attain. So why do people, for their own selfish interests, overlook the struggles of the common people?

“Master, Zheng Lanyin is dead.”

“Dead? That’s good, she should have died long ago.”

“Before she died, His Majesty went to see her.”

“That’s just how His Majesty is. His heart is clear as a mirror2Mirror [明镜] – It is used as a metaphor for something beautiful, bright and flat – such as a lake., but he still remembers the past. If it wasn’t for her involvement in poisoning Side Consort Wang3T/N: Just a reminder, this Side Consort Wang was killed by Zheng Lanyin after they quarrelled. It was mentioned in chp 62.2 and she gave birth to a daughter for Emperor Longfeng (mentioned in the latter part of chp 62.1). and plotting against Chen Wang at the imperial horse farm, His Majesty wouldn’t have let her die such a disgraceful death.”

There were many ways for a woman in the palace to die silently, but His Majesty personally issued the decree for Zheng Lanyin’s execution.

Decrees like this were supposed to be transcribed and preserved to be passed down for the future.

“For a person like His Majesty to give her such a humiliating end, shows how stupid she was. It might have been better if had succeeded in killing Chen Wang back then. But instead, Chen Wang didn’t die, and it simply alerted His Majesty, making him increasingly suspicious of the princes. Say, isn’t she just useless?”

“Master, what do we do now?”

“Wait, of course.”

“The temptation of the throne is too great. There will always be people who lose their reason to attain this position.”

“But, if Ming Jiuzhu and Chen Wang get married, Chen Wang’s chances of winning will be even greater.”

“Get married?”

A scoff.

“It is said that when husband and wife are united, they are unbeatable. But what if bitterness creeps its way in?”

On the first day of the first month of the fourteenth year of Longfeng, Emperor Longfeng accompanied his guifei, Su-shi, to offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple and chant prayers. Subsequently, he disclosed the imperial notice to declare that Su-shi would become the Empress.

Although there was opposition, Emperor Longfeng remained resolute in his decision and proceeded to hold the coronation ceremony on the fifteenth day of the first month.

After fourteen years, the imperial harem finally ushered in its first master of the Longfeng reign.

On the day when the imperial notice was posted, Jiuzhu was confined to her courtyard, busy learning wedding etiquette with the nanny sent by the Ministry of Rites.

Every step, every gesture, even the way she lifted her left foot and right foot, was to be strictly controlled. As the daughter of the Assistant Minister of Rites, Jiuzhu studied hard to avoid embarrassing her father.

“Xianzhu’s bearing during the salutation is really beautiful,” praised the nanny. “You have learned the rules the fastest and the best among all the Wangfei-s.”

Jiuzhu didn’t quite believe those words.

Ever since His Majesty accompanied niangniang to the ancestral temple on the first day of the lunar new year, she had noticed that many people’s attitudes towards her had undergone a tremendous change.

When she went to hang out with the other young ladies, she was always the one making the decisions regarding the tea they would drink or the refreshments they would eat.

When she went out to buy things, the shopkeepers practically wanted to give her half of their items for free.

Every day, she received more invitations than snowflakes in winter, and almost every one of those explicitly requested her mother to accompany her to the events.

Even the imperial princesses and junzhus would affectionately call her ‘meimei‘. It was somewhat intimidating.

“Young Miss.” Chunfen came in holding an invitation. “This is an invitation sent by Princess Roude.”

“Princess Roude?” Jiuzhu thought for a moment. “Is she the one in front of whose Prince Consort’s Aunt’s husband’s residence the Fourth Prince was stabbed?”

Chunfen nodded. “That’s her.”

“Why did she come?” Jiuzhu flipped the invitation. “Now that the princesses all live in the Palace, it is not easy for them to leave. Why waste her time on me?”

“Will you meet her?” Chunfen noticed that her Young Miss seemed indifferent and reckoned that she might not like this Princess.

“I will meet her,” Jiuzhu sighed. “Since she is already here, I cannot just shut a Princess out of the door.”

“Young Miss… do you not like this Princess?” Chunfen asked.

“En,” Jiuzhu nodded confidently. “I heard that this Princess once angered His Highness in public.”

Chunfen: “……” 

Wasn’t it Princess Roude who lost face before everyone because of Chen Wang?

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