Chapter 449: Father is One, Husband is Also One

As preparations for the northern expedition began, the Duke of Ying’s household, once peaceful, became bustling with activity. The Zhang family had a long tradition of military excellence; Zhang Yu and Zhang Fu both raised dozens of military generals and servants who served as personal guards in battle and as protectors in peacetime. Those like Peng Shisan had already been released to live as ordinary citizens, while servants who fought three times were discharged from service, with generous compensation for those who died or were injured. Now, hearing about the expedition, even the ordinary young men in the household eagerly wanted to join, so there was no shortage of volunteers. Even Lady Wang was busy for days, almost forgetting her own birthday.

Not remembering that someone else would take care of it, she still went through the motions a little today. Though it wasn’t a full birthday celebration and with so much going on outside, she ordered frugality and no banquets. But since Lady Gu sent her three granddaughter-in-laws—Li Yun, Zhao Fen, and Du Wan—to bring gifts, along with the youngest, Zhang Jing, the house remained lively. In no time, Tianci was about to turn two. Though not particularly strong, he had grown much healthier compared to his frail appearance at birth. He was now running around the main room, looking extremely happy.

Suddenly, the curtain outside was pulled back, and someone entered. Tianci, who was playing happily, stared with his round eyes for a moment before recognizing who it was. He quickly darted to his mother’s feet and peeked out. Seeing her son like this, Lady Wang couldn’t help but laugh softly before getting up to greet them.

“Sir, this child truly fears nothing but you.”

“A gentleman holds his grandson, not his son. Tianci was born into extreme wealth. If we spoil him and turn him into a dissolute youth, it will be too late to regret it! Since he already has your love, I must be stricter with him.”

As he spoke, Zhang Fu nodded to his three granddaughter-in-laws, then turned a stern face toward his son hiding behind Lady Wang. Finally, prompted by his nurse, Tianci stepped forward, knelt down in a cute manner, and mumbled “Daddy.” Knowing the floor was too cold for her son, whom she cherished after such hard work to have, Lady Wang quickly stepped forward to pull him up after Zhang Fu gave his approval. Faced with this, Zhang Fu could only shake his head. It wasn’t until his three-year-old daughter, Zhang Tian, stepped forward and politely bowed that his attitude softened considerably—he even smiled and patted her head.

Although she had ordered that everything should be kept simple, since it was a birthday, the concubines in various chambers all wanted to curry favor by bringing gifts one after another from morning till WangLady used the excuse of having guests to send them away one by one, leaving only Xiyu to serve by her side. By now it was noon. Since Zhang Fu had arrived, Xiyu went out to arrange for food to be brought in. She then set the table with dishes and utensils, busying herself for a while before everyone had a rather simple birthday meal. Yet, looking at the three daughter-in-laws, WangLady couldn’t help but keep glancing at Tianci, held by the nurse, feeling somewhat melancholic. If only this child had been born ten years earlier; by now she would have been hoping for him to get married. After lunch, Zhang Fu returned to his inner study to handle matters related to the future northern expedition. After chatting with the three daughter-in-laws for a while, WangLady instructed Xiyu to see them off on her behalf. Although she was most grateful to this daughter-in-law for Du Wan’s request that Feng Yuanming take care of Tianci, since Du Zhen’s imprisonment still had no resolution, and considering the Zhang family’s large size and the difficulties among the wives, she didn’t want to show excessive closeness in front of the other two, treating them equally without favoritism. Leaving WangLady’s courtyard, Zhao Fen cast a sidelong glance at Xiyu, finding her somewhat glaring. Since Zhang Qi had always treated her coldly and distantly, and her mother-in-law, Dong Fangshi, was usually unforgiving, she had returned to her parents’ home twice in anger but received no support from them. Now, she could only choose to ignore those in Zhang Qi’s household. Seeing the beautiful Xiyu, she couldn’t help but think of the two maids in her own room. To prevent Zhang Qi from having an affair, she kept a close watch day and night—so why was WangLady so generous? Xiyu, however, seemed unaware of Zhao Fen’s frequent scrutinizing looks. On the way to see them off, she said to the three of them with a smile, “It seems that Jiu Ge’s age is right for arranging a marriage. A few days ago, Madam mentioned that she plans to meet the old lady soon, so it’s best to settle it as early as possible. If any of you ladies have someone in mind, you might as well mention it to the old lady. After all, since we’re already acquainted, it will make things smoother among the wives once he gets married.”

Knowing it was merely an offhand remark, Du Wan and Li Yun exchanged a glance and simply agreed without taking it seriously. After all, such major matters were certainly not something for them, the younger generation, to interfere in. Zhao Fen was momentarily stunned before smirking and saying, “Our fourth brother is still just a student at the imperial academy; his future is uncertain. Moreover, our eldest uncle is still in Jiaozhi and hasn’t returned yet. If we talk about marriage now, even the most prestigious families in the capital might not agree!”
These words naturally sounded harsh to those listening. Li Yun, who had never been close to this sister-in-law, frowned. Du Wan, preoccupied with her own father, was startled by these words. Seeing Xi Yu’s embarrassed expression, she thought for a moment before saying, “Sister-in-law, don’t forget that our fourth brother is the eldest grandson of the eldest branch. Besides, times change—if marriages were based only on the present and not the future, there wouldn’t be so many beautiful stories in the world. Our fourth brother is inherently kind. Even if he faces setbacks in the imperial examinations, he may still have great opportunities in the future. He’s been at the imperial academy for not long, but he’s already risen to two higher ranks.”
“Who rose to two higher ranks?”
As the four of them walked and talked, the maids and servants trailing behind fell behind, so no one noticed that the Chuihua Gate was empty with no one guarding it. Hearing this voice, everyone turned to look in that direction and saw an old man entering with his hands behind his back, leaving them all stunned. When Du Wan regained her senses, she saw the old man wearing a black hat with a folded scarf and a robe in autumn-colored fabric with floral crane patterns. Behind him came a young man in a bright red robe with auspicious patterns. Then she saw Zhu Ning, and she no longer had any doubts. Sure enough, at that moment, Xi Yu exclaimed in shock,
“Heavens! It’s the emperor and the crown prince!”
Although both Li Yun and Zhao Fen came from noble families, hearing it was the emperor still shocked them greatly, and they hurriedly stepped aside to bow repeatedly. Even though Xi Yu had seen the emperor a few times before, she had either bowed among the crowd or dared not lift her eyes behind Lady Wang. Though she vaguely recognized him and could give a warning, she wasn’t any better at responding than others. As she frantically knelt down, she cursed the foolish servants in the outer courtyard in her mind.
How could such an important matter not be reported sooner? Was this meant to scare people to death? She was just a concubine—how would she know what to say?

When Zhang Yu married his daughter-in-law, Zhu Di had even gone in plain clothes to attend the wedding banquet. Later, when Lady Wang went to the palace to see Concubine Zhang, he met her a few times. Now, among the women kneeling and bowing by the road, he didn’t seem to see Lady Wang, and their attire didn’t quite resemble that of concubines. So he asked indifferently, “Why is it so lively in the mansion today?”

By this time, Zhu Ning had already recognized Du Wan and couldn’t help but complain about Zhu Di’s impulsive decision. Going incognito on an inspection was already absurd enough. After arriving at the Duke of Yingguo’s mansion, Zhu Di insisted on entering without announcing himself and heading straight to the inner chambers. If not for that, how would they have happened to run into these women going out? Fortunately, they hadn’t overheard anything problematic; otherwise, things would have been worse.

As she pondered how to speak up, someone else replied, “Your Majesty, today is the birthday of the Duchess of Yingguo. We three were ordered by our elders in the family to come and offer our congratulations. We never expected to have the honor of seeing Your Majesty here.”

Zhu Di was usually reserved and serious, and even his ministers trembled in his presence. Hearing the clear and steady voice of the woman, he was somewhat surprised. Thinking that since it was Lady Wang’s birthday, only a few people had come, he assumed they must be family and relatives. As he observed the attire of these married women, he began to think deeply.

The weather at the end of August was already quite cold. One could easily imagine how uncomfortable it must be to kneel on the ground. Although Zhu Ning was worried about Du Wan, considering Zhu Di’s unpredictable behavior these days, she didn’t dare to speak up rashly and could only stand there anxiously. Sure enough, moments later, Zhu Di asked, “You all, state your names!”

Since the emperor had spoken, it should be done from oldest to youngest. But Li Yun, who had always heard that the emperor was capricious, forced down her fear and knelt to reply, “I am Lady Li, wife of Zhang Chao, a thousandth officer in the Yulin Front Guard.”

Zhao Fen, though always eager to be first in everything, had her legs trembling severely and her voice shaking as she said, “I am Lady Zhao, wife of Zhang Qi, a hundredth officer in the Jinwu Left Guard.”

“I am Lady Du, wife of Zhang Yue, an officer in the Military Department’s Armory Division.”

“Are you Du Yishan’s daughter?”

Hearing Du Wan confirm it, Zhu Di suddenly understood. He stepped forward slowly and stopped a few steps away from the women. After observing them thoughtfully for a while, he said indifferently, “I have a question for you. If it were to save your father, would you be willing to put your husband in great danger? Is a husband just one person—anyone can be a husband—or should one obey one’s father at home and one’s husband after marriage?”

She never expected the emperor to suddenly pose such a harsh question. Du Wan was momentarily stunned, then quickly touched her head and said, “Your Majesty, a father is just one person, and a husband is also just one person. If he is to be plunged into great trouble just for my father’s sake, not only will I feel guilty for the rest of my life, but my father will surely be unable to tolerate it as well.”
“One should marry a virtuous woman. Zhang Yue chose you back then—his judgment was indeed good.”
After saying that, Zhu Di walked away with his hands behind his back, never looking back. Seeing Zhu Zhanji hurrying after him, Zhu Ning couldn’t say much more. She gave Du Wan a signal that Du Wan couldn’t see, so she could only stomp her foot and chase after them. By the time the group passed through the Moon Gate, Xi Yu quickly got up, helped Du Wan up beside her, and then tried to pull Li Yun and Zhao Fen along. Finding that both of them were limp, she had no time to persuade them and quickly said, “Please forgive me, ladies. Since the emperor has arrived, I must go inside to take care of things. I can’t accompany you any longer.”
Seeing Xi Yu lead the others inside in a hurry, Zhao Fen, who had come to her senses, rubbed her painful knee and sneered at their retreating figures, “After all, she’s used to kneeling—she acts as if nothing happened… By the way, third sister-in-law, you’re really lucky to earn such praise from the emperor. Tsk tsk, it seems Lord Du will be released soon, won’t he?”
Du Wan didn’t respond to Zhao Fen’s remark. Staring at the group disappearing through the Moon Gate, she took a deep breath. At that moment, she suddenly felt someone pulling at her sleeve.
“Sister-in-law, is that the greatest emperor in the world?”
Seeing the little girl staring at her with wide eyes, Du Wan gently nodded. “That’s right. That’s the greatest emperor in the world.”