Chapter 726: Heaven’s Will and Human Hearts

The Zhou Royal Palace in Kaifeng.
Vast white banners fluttered in the strong wind, casting a gloomy shade over the enormous palace. From within the mourning hall came incessant wails of grief, while from the outer courtyard came the melodious chanting of monks and Taoists, along with the footsteps, conversations, and sighs of the servants. All these sounds intertwined, creating a chilling atmosphere even in the midst of summer.

The mourning hall was filled with people kneeling in mourning attire. Prince Zhou Zhu Zhu had many children—fourteen sons and ten daughters—plus numerous grandchildren, so there was no space enough for them all. The married daughters were observing their mourning period for their father, and none of Prince Zhou’s sons were easy to deal with. At that moment, aside from Princess Chenliu Zhu Ning, there were no other princesses present. The many pious sons and grandchildren were terrified by the recent argument. Even then, Zhu Youzhe and Zhu Youxi, who had lost their titles as Princes of Runan and Xin’an earlier that year, still stood there with stubborn expressions and fierce looks.

“Elder brother is the legitimate heir appointed by the imperial court. How dare you two, who have lost your titles, insult him? Bring them out! Wait for the imperial envoy to decide their fate!”

“Fourth brother, don’t get too proud! Since the eldest brother has no sons, do you think you’ll inherit the title of Prince Zhou? Let me tell you—don’t think no one knows about your close relationship with Prince Zhao! If the emperor finds out, your fate won’t be any better than ours!”

“Stop spreading lies! The emperor saw through your collusion and stripped you of your titles. Elder brother only let you stay out out of respect for our sick father, allowing you to fulfill your duties as pious sons. Yet you show such ingratitude! One tries to frame the heir, the other preys on people’s minds—how could our father raise such heartless beasts?”

Seeing Zhu Youzhe and Zhu Youxi arguing fiercely, Zhu Ning, who had been kneeling silently, could no longer hold back. She suddenly stood up and shouted, “This is our father’s mourning hall! Are you not afraid of disturbing his spirit in heaven by arguing here? Have you forgotten what our father said before he passed away?”

With that shout of hers, the mourning hall finally fell silent. Yet the next moment, Zhu Youxi sneered, “Aning, there’s no need for you to put on such a righteous act as a filial daughter. Since our father doted on you, you completely forgot that I am your legitimate elder brother by the same parents, yet you wholeheartedly side with others! But don’t forget—you’re still a woman! When our father was alive, he could protect you, but now that he’s gone, who among those you protect will truly care for you? Just because we share the same mother doesn’t mean you’ll have any place in this palace!”

With his words, Zhu Youhuo naturally joined in with mocking remarks, and coupled with the Prince of Xiangfu’s furious shouts and the interference of the other brothers, the mourning hall once again became chaotic. With a pale face, Zhu Ning looked at her brothers’ true colors and slowly knelt down again, staring fixedly at the ancestral tablet in front of the hall.

When their father, Zhu Tu, was alive, he could barely keep them in check; she had managed to get Empress Dowager Zhang to intervene, bringing temporary peace to the palace. But what about in the future? What should she do then?

Prince Zhu Tu had always been kind to the elderly and the poor, generous in rewarding those close to him, and deeply affectionate toward his concubines. Thus, when this prince passed away, many of his concubines volunteered to be buried with him, and even many unnamed servants hanged themselves in secret. Soon, more high-quality wood was ordered from outside the palace, and compared to the constant arguments in the front courtyard, the back courtyard was filled with a somber atmosphere. Within a few days, the imperial court sent a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites to pay his respects. All those who died in the burial ceremony were posthumously honored, and arrangements were made for the heir to succeed to the throne. Naturally, Zhu Youhuo and Zhu Youxi were imprisoned again, and the palace gradually returned to peace.

Apart from Zhu Ning, all the other princes and princesses in the palace were already married. So now, in the vast Zhou Palace, aside from Zhu Youdun, who would succeed as the Prince of Zhou, only Zhu Ning lived among her peers. Although her relationship with her brother Zhu Youdun was good, it couldn’t compare to the deep bond between father and daughter. Moreover, with many of the servants and slaves being replaced, she found this once-familiar home strangely alien, often staying indoors under the pretext of mourning.

“Princess, Princess!”

Zhu Ning, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned her head at the sound. Seeing her nurse, Mother Ying, holding a letter, she showed a faint smile. “Is it Wan’er from Guangdong, or Minmin from the capital?”

“It’s Miss Meng Si.” Mother Ying handed the letter over. Seeing Zhu Ning use a paper cutter to open the envelope and take out the letter, she couldn’t help but advise, “Princess, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept this fate with grace. You haven’t used any of the things sent these days—how can you go on like this? Although the period of mourning is twenty-seven months, I heard from His Highness and the Queen that your marriage should be arranged as soon as possible.”

“It’s already been delayed for so many years; another ten or eight years doesn’t matter.” Zhu Ning no longer cared about her lifelong marriage. She took out the letter, scanned it quickly, and her expression grew solemn. After a long while, she sighed, “Minmin is truly lucky. Meng Tao and Meng Fan are both excellent—after the Battle of Danning, they were promoted to hundredmen, and now they’ve both become thousandmen! They say an elder sister is like a mother, and with such good brothers, one could even choose not to marry and still be happy!”

Hearing Zhu Ning say this again, Mother Ying felt her heart tremble. She had heard those words more than once these days, thinking they were just outbursts of anger. But now it seemed this noble lady truly considered it. Thinking of how intelligent Zhu Ning had been since childhood and how she had struggled in the capital, only to end up in such a situation, Mother Ying was filled with sorrow. Forgetting all notions of rank and hierarchy, she instinctively put her arms around her shoulders.

“Poor child…”

Living in the prince’s mansion, with her birth mother having died early, and though both her father and stepmother treated her well, her father was busy with many affairs, and her stepmother had little time for household matters. Naturally, Zhu Ning grew up sensible, with little memory of being spoiled as a child. It was only as she grew older, with her sisters getting married one after another and Zhu Zhu often keeping her by his side, that her personality became more cheerful. Now, feeling unsupported, Mother Ying’s words struck her heart deeply.

“Mom!”

Even when she watched her father pass away suddenly that day, even when she mourned at his funeral, even during the incense-filled Buddhist and Taoist ceremonies, she had never cried as bitterly as she did today. She no longer tried to hold back her emotions, letting her tears flow freely. After a long while, exhausted from crying, she leaned against Mother Ying’s chest, refusing to lift her head.

“Princess, I already overstepped my bounds just now, but I still dare to give you another piece of advice. Although the words of the Prince of Xin’an… Fifth Lord were biased, you really need to be prepared. The Crown Prince surely treats you well, but Fifth Lord once joined forces with Second Lord to frame him—there’s always that lingering resentment. The Crown Prince still has no sons, only a daughter who is not in good health. To put it bluntly, it’s very likely that the Xiangfu Prince will inherit the throne in the future, and things will become even more uncertain then. So take advantage of this time to arrange a good marriage so you’ll have a real support system in the future. Look at Young Fifth Lady—aren’t her husband and she getting along well now?”
“Mom, you’re thinking too simply. If a woman loses the support of her family, no matter how good her marriage seems at first, it will end up being meaningless. Young Fifth is lucky to have adoptive parents who truly care for her, and Wan Shijie is an exceptionally good person. As a princess, my status is already a hindrance. If I lose the support of the royal family, who knows what will happen to me in my husband’s household. A princess isn’t like a princess consort—she has to serve her in-laws and please her husband. She can still be divorced or separated. Why should I suffer like that?”
Before Mother Ying could respond, Zhu Ning gently shifted slightly, sat up straighter, wiped her face with a silk handkerchief, and looked at herself in the bronze mirror on the table. Seeing her swollen, red eyes, she pressed them firmly with both hands before speaking: “Second Sister married into the Xu family, which is also one of the most prestigious families. The Yi family has countless concubines. Father said she used to be the most cheerful person, but when I was young, I only saw a face forced to smile. She passed away a few years later. It’s better for a woman not to marry if she can’t trust her husband than to end up in such a situation. It might be safer to find a reliable person to depend on.”
Mother Ying knew Zhu Ning was stubborn by nature. Since she had already tried to persuade her, she could only sigh. Noticing that several parts of Zhu Ning’s coarse clothes were frayed, she took out her needle and thread to help mend them, while also chatting about other matters. Just as she was talking about her own son and daughter-in-law, the maid Yi Er rushed in.
“Princess, there’s a messenger from the capital. The Crown Prince and the Queen Consort ask you to go there.”
Although she had lived in the capital for many years, Zhu Ning hadn’t seen anyone from there since Zhu Zhu’s death. Hearing this, she frowned. “Who is it? Why do they want me to go?”
“It’s an eunuch from the palace. As for why they want you to go, I really don’t know.”

Today, Prince Zhou Zhu Youdun was erudite and skilled in calligraphy; he was well-versed in opera, painting, poetry, and more, making him a true man of refined taste. Thus, everyone in his residence, aside from the official administrators, were scholars and literati, and whenever guests arrived, conversations always revolved around these subjects. Even this time, despite being in mourning and facing an imperial envoy, his speech was filled with references to various knowledge areas. What delighted him most was that this rather aged eunuch was no ordinary person—he could even engage in a brief literary exchange with him. Eventually, he couldn’t help but speak up.

“Please forgive my boldness, Your Excellency. With such literary talent, it seems somewhat beneath you to serve as an assistant to the Imperial Secretariat.”

“Your Highness, you truly flatter me. I merely have a basic understanding of literature, which is why I was appointed to head the Inner Study Hall by the Emperor. The Emperor places great importance on poetry, music, calligraphy, painting, and chess; he felt it would be too vulgar for eunuchs in the palace to lack literary knowledge, so he established the Inner Study Hall. Since you are the head of the prince’s household, if you wish, you might encourage your subordinates to learn literature. Though they may not be companions, serving them would surely be more comfortable than serving ordinary people.”

At first, when he heard that the Emperor had established the Inner Study Hall to teach eunuchs to read and write, Zhu Youdun found it somewhat strange. But after hearing what the other man said, he gradually became interested. Leaving aside the visiting guests, even if those who served him were extremely respectful, it would be boring if they couldn’t even respond to a single word. After carefully considering the difficulties involved, and thinking that since the Emperor had established the Inner Study Hall, he wasn’t going against ancestral traditions, he nodded slightly.

“Your Highness, the princess has arrived.”

With this quiet announcement, Zhu Youdun saw Zhu Ning in simple linen clothes enter the room. Just as he was about to nod, the middle-aged eunuch beside him quickly stood up to pay respects. Zhu Youdun then explained, “Aning, this is Wang Zhen, the assistant to the Imperial Secretariat. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor sent him here. The Empress Dowager said that since you lost your mother as a child and now both your mother and father have passed away, living in the prince’s household as an unmarried woman must be lonely. Your father once mentioned this to the Empress Dowager when he was in the capital, so Wang Zhen is here to take you to the palace. I know you are always filial, but since it is your father’s last wish, you must obey.”

Zhu Ning had initially thought it might be some form of reward from the Empress Dowager and Emperor, but she never expected to be summoned to the capital. Among the dozens of princes and hundreds of princesses in the land, she had spent the longest time in the capital. Now, with such an unusual summons, if she accepted it lightly… After much deliberation, as before, she saw Wang Zhen in his plain blue robe bowing to her.

“Princess, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor both care deeply for you. Before I came to Kaifeng, the Empress Dowager earnestly instructed me, saying that Emperor Taizong regarded you as his daughter, and Emperor Renzong regarded you as his sister. Now that you have lost both parents, it would be best to live in the palace where you can be safe. The Emperor also mentioned that you could stay in the Duke of Zhou’s residence in the capital and visit the palace regularly; no one would gossip over such trivial matters.”

Hearing Wang Zhen’s advice, Zhu Ning couldn’t help but recall the chaotic scene at the funeral hall. Her father, Zhu Tu, was already dead. Staying in the Duke of Zhou’s residence meant being a princess who lived off others’ labor—why stay and cause trouble? In the capital, even choosing any ordinary temple or monastery would be better than living in such a place full of intrigues. Now, the capital had no struggles for succession, no powerful ministers dominating everything—only a wise empress, a wise emperor, and loyal officials. She could live a peaceful life there. Since she had no desire to marry, who would dare to take a interest in her?

“If that’s the case, I will follow the orders. Please convey my regards to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. The seventh day has passed, but there are still funeral preparations to be done. Once everything is settled, I will pack my things and set off.”

“I will certainly arrange for someone to report this. For now, I am here to serve you as ordered. If you need anything, just give the command.”

After Wang Zhen left respectfully, Zhu Youdun, who had remained mostly silent since the beginning, finally let out a long sigh and shook his head regretfully. His sisters had all married early, leaving only Zhu Ning. Moreover, she was so favored by the emperor that he had never been allowed to make decisions about her marriage. Now, with many people subtly asking to marry her, and him and his wife, Lady Gong, still unable to reach an agreement, the emperor had intervened—truly, it seemed to be fate.