Chapter 286: The Gentle and Kind Young Princess

Apart from Mingdi Moyu and Nanbo, who were the three family members Du Zhen took in at the Kaifeng Prefecture, almost all of the Du family’s servants were long-time retainers brought from eastern Zhejiang. Though there were only a little over twenty of them, when Du Zhen traveled across the country in the past, it was these servants who helped the Qiu family and Du Wan keep their large household running. Thus, even now, despite the great upheaval, the family remained united. Hearing that the Du and Zhang families were exchanging marriage proposals, even the servants were delighted.
“Madam has always treated Young Master Zhang like her own son; now her wish has truly come true.”
“It’s not a good story if a student becomes a son-in-law, right?”
“But the master is still locked up in the Jinyiwei prison—no news at all. Surely we can’t have the wedding day arrive while he’s still imprisoned and unable to attend?”
“The two families are only in the initial stages of discussing the marriage; it won’t happen that quickly. Young Master Zhang is a conscientious man; he surely won’t stand by idly and will find a way. Instead of worrying about that, let’s think about the dowry. Although Madam started arranging furniture last year, given the standards of the wealthy families in Beijing, it might not be enough.”
The Du family came from a scholarly background. Initially, they owned only a small amount of land in the countryside, but they sold it all before leaving, purchasing two hundred-mu estates near Nanjing and Beijing. Moreover, since the salaries in the Ming dynasty were meager, their wealth naturally couldn’t compare to that of the powerful and wealthy families. Inside the main house, two maids who had served Qiu for decades were counting on their fingers, while Qiu herself sat on the kang, listening with a smile, occasionally interrupting them with questions.
Beyond the bamboo curtain outside, Xiao Wu was eavesdropping intently. After hearing the same talk over and over, she grew impatient and quickly ran out of the courtyard. Following the path, she arrived at Du Wan’s small courtyard, pushed open the curtain, and entered the main room. There, she saw Princess Zhu Ning of Chenliu sitting at the east end of the kang, deeply focused on the chessboard with the black pieces in her hand.
“Princess, you’re here again? How could those people outside not even give a notice? They’ve forgotten the rules!”

At this moment, facing the chaotic chessboard, Zhu Ning bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. Hearing those words, she turned her head irritably: “What do you mean ‘again’? Can’t I talk to your lady? Besides, I come and go often—why do I need an announcement? Xiao Wu, your lady is about to get married. Do you want me to find her a good husband? I have all kinds of people here—sons of nobles, scholars who passed the imperial exams, sons of high-ranking officials—why not let me pick one for her?”
“I won’t marry!” Xiao Wu shook her head vigorously before stepping forward and sitting close to Du Wan, smiling as she hugged her arm. “I’ll go wherever the lady goes. After all, the old monk entrusted me to her! With her personality, if she marries into the Zhang family, she might get mistreated. With me around, I can help her!”
“Help? I hope you just don’t cause more trouble!”
Irritated, Zhu Ning threw the chess pieces back into the box before glancing at Du Wan and saying with a smile, “I did hear some rumors earlier. The emperor ordered Yuan Fang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, to send ink and jade paper to Lord Du. Although he hasn’t released her yet, it’s at least a good sign. Now that the Duchess of Yingguo is pregnant, the Imperial Concubine has sent gifts several times. The news of your families’ marriage has also reached the palace, so surely the emperor must be aware. Lord Du hasn’t committed any serious crime. If Zhang Yue can plan carefully, maybe he can get the emperor to order her release.”
Seeing Du Wan still deep in thought, holding the white chess piece, Zhu Ning guessed her thoughts and reached out to hold her fair hand. “Don’t worry too much. Instead of worrying about these trivial things, think about preparing a dowry. Although you don’t need to compete in wealth, you can’t let others look down on you, especially in a large family like the Zhangs.”
Du Wan was still thinking about those earnest words from Lady Gu. Because of them, she couldn’t say a word at that time. She spent an entire hour walking in the garden with the old lady and another half hour sitting in a pavilion. She always thought that large families had many rules, and their elders were even harder to please. But Lady Gu’s words were so well-organized that even someone as quick-witted as her had no choice but to admit defeat—everything she could say had already been said by that old lady.
She then snapped, “We’re still matching birth dates. There’s not even a hint of anything yet, and you keep talking about it.”

She jumped down from the bed and adjusted the jade-colored dress on her. Only then did she notice a leaf stuck to Zhu Ning’s head. As she reached out to help remove it, she realized it was actually a tiny jade leaf pin, which surprised her. Xiao Wu, who was nearby, also came over and was amazed by the delicacy of the jade leaf.

“What’s so amazing about such headpieces? Tomorrow when you two get married, I’ll give each of you a whole box of them!”

Zhu Ning had never paid much attention to such things. She casually pulled out the pin and gave it to Xiao Wu to play with, then said with a smile, “I heard from some eunuchs in the palace that the Queen Consort is preparing a dowry for me. There are countless boxes full of these exquisite items. In my opinion, even if the dowry is ready, I might not be able to choose wisely as the bridesmaid. The emperor has rejected three lists submitted by the Imperial Clan Office. By now, those people must be thinking about jumping into a river.”

Hearing this, Du Wan set aside her own concerns and asked eagerly, “You’ve always been favored by the emperor. If the lists prepared by the Imperial Clan Office were rejected once, they would surely try harder next time. How could they keep getting rejected? Could it be that the emperor isn’t satisfied with any of them?”

Xiao Wu added, “Exactly! Those officials can’t possibly lack basic judgment, right?”

At that moment, Zhu Ning lazily stood up. Seeing the concern on the faces of her master and servant, she couldn’t help but laugh. She gently pinched Xiao Wu’s cheek before warning Du Wan, “You’ll understand these things eventually. For now, I can’t explain. In short, it’s just like choosing livestock to marry—ensuring a life of comfort from then on, but don’t expect anything more. I’ve already come to terms with that. Fortunately, I still have some influence in the palace, so I ordered people to keep an eye on things early on. As for your situation…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chun Ying’s voice came from outside, “Miss, someone is here to see you. They say they’re the princess’s guards and have come specifically to look for her.”

“Which fool would come to the Du family to find me? Do I need permission just to visit friends?” Zhu Ning’s eyebrows furrowed in anger, but after shouting in frustration, she suddenly thought of a possibility. She quickly turned to Du Wan and said, “Sister Wan, please invite them to your garden hall first. I’ll go and find out what’s going on.”

Princess Chenliu, Zhu Ning, used to come and go frequently, yet no one had ever come to look for her before. Du Wan couldn’t help but feel puzzled. She quickly ordered Chunying to go out and pass on a message, intending to see Zhu Ning off. To her surprise, Zhu Ning waved her hands repeatedly and quickly left on her own. Xiao Wu, however, curiously approached and whispered in Du Wan’s ear, “Could it be the princess’s sweetheart?”
“You little rascal, always coming up with such baseless rumors! If the princess really had a sweetheart, given her personality, would she wait until now? She’d either discuss it with us or rack her brains to find a solution—she wouldn’t just sit idle.” At these words, Du Wan frowned, feeling uneasy. “Could something serious really have happened?”
In less than fifteen minutes, Zhu Ning rushed back in a hurry. Without waiting for the maid at the door to lift the curtain, she rushed into the room. Her golden hairpin and jade ornaments made a clinking sound as they touched the bamboo curtain adorned with copper strips. But she paid no attention to these details. She stepped forward in a few strides, sat down on the kang, and said in a serious tone, “An hour ago, the emperor ordered Zhang Yue to come to Renshou Palace to see him. The emperor is still in the cool palace right now. As far as I remember, no one has lived in Renshou Palace yet—it’s quite strange.”
Du Wan had just set up her embroidery frame and was sewing with Xiao Wu under Chunying’s guidance. Hearing this, she was stunned. She quickly stuck the embroidery needle into the frame and threw the items into the embroidery basket beside her. She asked urgently, “Was the emperor in a good mood before? Was this a sudden decision, or something else? Besides my senior brother, did he summon anyone else?”
Seeing that Zhu Ning just stared at her without speaking, she suddenly realized something and her heart started pounding nervously. “It must be the emperor summoning him alone—probably regarding the marriage between our two families.”
“Most likely. If they can overcome this obstacle, then Lord Du will be released, and everything will be settled for you.” Zhu Ning drank up the remaining tea on the kang table and then smiled. “As they say, when you think of someone, they show up. I was just about to tell you to keep an eye on Zhang Yue, and now this happens. Don’t worry. I’ll go back right away and have someone bring you any news immediately. If something serious does happen, I won’t rashly step in on my own. I’ll have to ask Princess Wang to intervene. She has a good relationship with the Duchess of Yingguo and can probably find a way around it.”

Before Du Wan could react, Zhu Ning had already gotten up and left. By the time she realized what was happening and rushed out, there was no sign of her. In desperation, she grabbed Xiao Wu and gave him a few instructions. Watching Xiao Wu chase after her, she stood under the eaves and took a deep breath.

At this moment, Zhang Yue, who had been following the eunuch around the Western Palace for a long time, began to feel uneasy. Although his rank was low, he had entered and exited the Western Palace many times and could name most of the palaces, but he had never heard of Renshou Palace before. Moreover, the path grew increasingly deserted, yet the guards around were extremely strict—every five steps there was a strong Jinyiwei general, adding a sense of menace to the narrow path.

When they reached the entrance of Renshou Hall, the spacing between guards changed from every five steps to every three steps. What he saw next left Zhang Yue completely stunned. He had always heard that Zhu Di suffered from a chronic illness, but who was that bright yellow figure practicing swordsmanship in the central open area? That silver glow seemed impervious even to water—there was not the slightest sign of old age.

Just as he stepped forward a few steps at the eunuch’s signal, the sword movement in the open area suddenly changed, and that figure lunged at him in an instant. Although he could have easily dodged at that moment, he instinctively planted his feet firmly in place, watching as the gleaming sword stopped just an inch from his nose.