Chapter 387: Relatives and Strangers

The Western Warm Pavilion in the Qianqing Palace.
Since moving here, Zhu Ning had not complained about anything else. She simply ordered the Imperial Supervision Agency to add a bookshelf against the wall and moved all her boxes of books there. Aside from taking care of Zhu Di’s daily needs, she spent most of her time reading, writing, painting, or solving ancient chess puzzles. To others, she was just a carefree princess, nothing more.
At that moment, sitting on a chair, she stared at a chess set on the small rosewood table in front of her, holding a piece of pure white yunshi stone in her hand, while her mind was on another matter. Since the emperor had summoned her father to the capital, it meant a decision had already been made—perhaps evidence of rebellion was already gathered. Yet, Kaifeng wasn’t too far from the capital. Why wait until February of the following year to bring her father there? The emperor had even told her the identity of the informant—was he really that confident in her?
“Aning.”
Hearing this call, Zhu Ning quickly snapped back to reality. She gently placed the chess piece on the board before turning around and hastily standing up to bow. Seeing that Zhu Di seemed in a good mood, she breathed a sigh of relief. After all, she wasn’t the Imperial Concubine Wang—facing such an irritable emperor every day was beyond her strength.
“I come to see you and we end up playing chess all the time. You’re almost going mad.” Zhu Di was quite skilled at Go, and he often played games with Zhu Ning in his free time, with both winning and losing. But now he wasn’t in the mood. After staring at her for a while, he suddenly smiled and said, “Those old fools, to save trouble, invited you here. Thanks to your dedication these past days. The list selected by the Imperial Clan Office and the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau was given to you long ago. Have you made a choice?”
Due to a series of incidents, Zhu Ning had long forgotten about this matter. Only now, upon Zhu Di’s mention, did she recall it. Though she wanted to flush a blush on her face, she lacked the ability to do so, so she simply said directly, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I already submitted the list of candidates to the Imperial Clan Office and the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau. As for choosing whom, that’s not something I can decide. It’s a matter of parental orders and matchmaker’s advice—there’s no reason for a woman to have a say.”
Imposing and stern, never smiling. Such was the impression the civil officials had of Emperor Zhu Di.
A leader who charged ahead into battle. Such was the view of the military generals toward this monarch.

But Zhu Di’s kind side was now fully revealed. Looking at Zhu Ning’s calm expression, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy toward Prince Zhou Zhu Tu—he also had five daughters, yet none of them could compare to Zhu Ning. His eldest and second daughters had married as princesses and their husbands were later granted marquis titles, while his other daughters were married to high-ranking nobles. According to the list sent by the Imperial Secretariat, Zhu Ning had chosen men from families that could only be considered moderately wealthy among the imperial scholars. It seemed even Prince Zhou Zhu Tu, if he were to choose his own son-in-law, would achieve better results, and from what he knew, Zhu Ning had made her choices without the slightest hesitation.

“A Ning, my daughters have all been married long ago. How about I ask my fifth brother to give you to me? Would you be willing to be my daughter? I will confer upon you the title of Princess Chenliu, so that even after you marry, you can still often stay in the palace.”

Even though Zhu Ning was usually composed, hearing such astonishing news from Zhu Di left her stunned. The previous day, she had learned from the emperor that someone had secretly accused her father, Zhu Tu, of rebellion, and she also knew that her father would be coming to the capital in February. As a daughter, she naturally pleaded earnestly for forgiveness, but Zhu Di showed no sign of anger. Back then, she had already found it strange—who would have thought the emperor would have such an idea!

This was not without precedent; when the founding emperor established the dynasty, his two nieces, the Princess of Nanchang and the Princess of Mengcheng, had both been granted princess titles. But times were different now!

In the blink of an eye, she made up her mind. Since this wasn’t in public, she didn’t kneel but instead bowed and changed her address: “If Fourth Uncle likes it, I can certainly regard you as my father, but there’s no need for a princess title. Family matters are family matters, and state laws are state laws. You surely can’t expect people to think I lack sense of propriety, right? What I do for you now is what I would do for my father at home—there’s no difference at all. Why go to such lengths over a title?”

“Good, good! Truly a good daughter! My fifth son is fortunate!”

Princess Wang hadn’t yet been buried, and the edict to move the capital had just been issued. Now, the problem arose with the eldest sons of his three sons. Even Zhu Di, who wasn’t superstitious, couldn’t completely dismiss the Imperial Observatory’s claim that the celestial signs were unfavorable for the imperial heir. His mood was worse than ever. But after just talking to Zhu Ning for a short while, he felt that much of the gloom had dissipated, and he even thought his insistence on arranging her marriage was rather pointless. Just as his mood was improving, a sharp, high-pitched voice suddenly came from outside.

“Your Majesty, Eunuch Lu, the supervisor of the Eastern Depot, has urgent matters to report.”
Zhu Di had originally planned to play a game of chess with Zhu Ning to relax, but upon hearing this, he frowned. Glancing at Zhu Ning, he pondered for a moment before smiling and saying, “Although those old folks asked you to stay here and look after things, you don’t have to stay cooped up here all the time. I even sent away the imperial physicians—why not go out and stroll? Zhang Yue just finished reporting his matters and left. He’s been too busy these days. Last night I told him to go back, yet he left and spent the night at the military camp, abandoning his wife. Since you get along well with his wife, go see her. Um… I remember the crystal frozen dessert sent by the Imperial Kitchen last day was quite good. Bring a box of it along.”
At first, Zhu Ning thought Zhu Di was just joking, but only at the end did she realize he meant it seriously. Though she didn’t like staying in the palace, she still felt uneasy and quickly shook her head, saying, “I can have someone deliver the items. You can’t be without anyone by your side. I’ll leave the palace in a few days instead…”
“I said today is today!” Zhu Di waved his hand dismissively and strode toward the door. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped, turned around, and ordered, “If you still don’t leave in half an hour, I’ll send someone to force you to go!”
Unable to resist the emperor’s sudden decision, Zhu Ning had no choice but to comply. Although she usually didn’t act arbitrarily, since she was going out today and Zhu Di had said such things, she had to take her maids to the Imperial Kitchen. After arranging Zhu Di’s meals for the day, she picked out a few snacks and packed them into two boxes, with only one compartment containing the crystal frozen dessert.
It was cold outside, and Du Wan was pregnant—how could she consume such cold foods? Not to mention, even the freshly made hawthorn cakes were declined by her. She remembered clearly that eating too much hawthorn could cause miscarriage.
Last night’s heavy snow had covered the streets and alleys of the capital with a thick layer of snow. The main roads were naturally cleared by dedicated workers, but even carriages had difficulty moving through the narrow alleys. Knowing that carriages would be hard to use today, Zhu Ning chose a sedan chair, adding several more guards due to the slippery roads. After leaving the palace, they took only the main roads, but even those were only partially cleared, making travel quite difficult. Though the four porters were the most reliable, the sedan chair still jolted along. After what seemed like an eternity, drowsy Zhu Ning suddenly heard a commotion.
“What’s causing all this noise?”

“Your Highness, there’s also a procession coming from ahead—seems to be some marquis. The road is covered with snow on both sides, making it difficult to pass, so it won’t be possible to cross for a while.”
Zhu Ning couldn’t help but lift the curtain slightly and saw clearly written on the procession that it belonged to Marquis of Fuyang. She raised her eyebrows. Marquis Li Maofang was already eighteen, long past the age for marriage. But because Princess Yongping had struggled to find a suitable match, it was only recently that a marriage arrangement with the Zhang family was made. However, after Zhang Fei lost his wife, the plan to marry during the mourning period was abandoned at the emperor’s orders, forcing Marquis Li to wait another three years.
As a princess and an elder, Zhu Ning forced the large group to make way. When they passed by, she gently lifted the curtain and saw that it was actually a princess’s phoenix sedan. Red curtains with gold trim hung in front, and faintly, she could hear the soft moans of a woman inside. Her expression darkened, and she wanted to speak up to warn them, but she held back. Princess Yongping was different from other princesses—having remained widowed since early on, she doted greatly on her son, and Zhu Ning didn’t want to meddle.
The founding emperor had established a rule that nobles, regardless of age, were not allowed to use sedans without special permission. And yet, here was Li Maofang daring to use a princess’s phoenix sedan and acting recklessly with his maids inside. If charges were to be made, “insanity” would be the only word sufficient!
After Zhu Ning’s group passed, Li Maofang, who was playing around with his maids, felt the sedan move slightly. Annoyed, he snapped, “Move aside! Sooner or later, you’ll all have to make way for me! Carry the sedan faster—my third uncle is waiting for me!”
The two groups parted ways. Li Maofang’s group left in a grand procession, while Zhu Ning continued on until she reached the Zhang family’s door. Having been there before, she recognized it immediately and was quickly welcomed in. With distinguished guests visiting the Zhang residence, the small courtyard under Zhang Yue in Xipailou Alley also had an uninvited guest.
With the help of the Duke of Yingguo, Fang Rui’s household registration had been moved here. Wan Shijie and Xia Ji, who had left their lodgings, lived here every day, taking turns tutoring Fang Rui. Being an honest person by nature, Fang Rui studied even harder, aiming to enter the Imperial Academy and be with Zhang Jiu. Now, hastily called out by someone from his hometown, he saw his elder brother whom he hadn’t seen in a long time and appeared quite confused.
“Younger brother, hurry up and pack your things—come with me!”

It wasn’t until his wrist was grabbed that Fang Rui came to his senses. After struggling to free himself, he stepped back a few steps and said, “Brother, if you have something to say, just say it clearly! I’m no longer a naive child; don’t make decisions for me in everything!”