Chapter 412: Happiness and… Death
Since the military governorships had always been headed by nobles in charge of commanding troops, and these individuals were all close ministers to the emperor, it was usually the civil officials from the Ministry of War who went to deal with them. As a result, none of the officials in the four departments of the Ministry of War wanted to make the trip to the military governorships, as no one liked to curry favor with others. The Left Military Governorship oversaw the military affairs of Shandong, Liaodong, and Zhejiang, with its headquarters located in Zuo Fu Hutong, on the right side of the Chang’an Gate in the imperial city, adjacent to Zhong Fu Hutong in front, Hou Fu Hutong and Qian Fu Hutong behind it, and only separated from the six ministries on the left side of Chang’an Gate by two layers of imperial city walls.
Zhang Yue had been here several times before, so the soldiers at the gate naturally recognized him and promptly sent someone to announce his arrival. Upon entering the courtyard, he happened to see several people coming out, with his second uncle Zhang You at the forefront. As it was a formal occasion, they naturally didn’t say much to each other. He stepped aside and bowed, while Zhang You simply nodded and passed by without asking why he was there. When he reached the main hall, Zhang Yue waited for a while before someone came out to invite him in.
Since the chaos in the capital last December, to avoid awkwardness, Zhang Yue had not visited the Baoding Marquis’s residence. He usually communicated with Meng Ying only on official matters, having personally seen his brother-in-law Meng Jun off when he left the capital for Xuanfu. Although this visit was also for official business, it was such a situation where formal procedures couldn’t be followed, so after submitting the documents, he said nothing more.
Although he had anticipated this outcome, Meng Ying was still stunned upon seeing the text in black on a white background. He naturally hated this half-brother who had nearly brought disaster upon the Meng family, but now that he knew he was dead, he didn’t feel relieved—instead, he felt an indescribable bitterness. When they were children, studying and training together with Meng Xian, his elder brother had always been more outstanding than him. At that time, the two brothers were quite close. Their relationship truly strained after he inherited the title. But death extinguishes all, so what was there left to say?
Glancing at Zhang Yue with narrowed eyes, he felt emotions well up inside him. Back then, Meng Xian had planned to marry his daughter to him, and he had even considered forming another marriage alliance with other members of the Zhang family due to the Duke of Yingguo having no heirs. Who would have thought that in just three or four years, everything would change so drastically? In any case, the incident from those two months remained a thorn in the hearts of both families.
“I’m aware of this matter,” Meng Ying said expressionlessly as he placed the document on the table, then added indifferently, “Go back and inform Minister Fang. Tell him thank you for his consideration.”
Apart from the notification from the Ministry of War, the Office of Communications and the Right Military Command, which governed Jiaozhi, also received reports on the battle in Jiaonan. Although the messages were sent to the troops, Meng Xian was after all the half-brother of the Marquis of Baoding, so they were handled separately in official documents. As a result, the news spread quickly. Some noble families with good relations with the Meng family hesitated to send people to the Meng residence in Fengsheng Hutong and instead sent condolence gifts directly to the Marquis of Baoding’s mansion. Upon hearing this, Lady Gu shook her head and sighed, then ordered Gao Quan to go to the Marquis of Baoding’s mansion. She then went to the small Buddha hall to pray for an hour, unsure whether it was to mourn for another family or to pray for her own family’s well-being.
Since her father had safely passed through, Zhu Ning, who had been relieved of a great burden, spent the afternoon with Zhu Zhuo exploring the city. After sending him to his residence, she received this news as soon as she stepped outside. Even someone as open-minded as her felt oppressed at this moment, so she did not return to the palace. Instead, she took a carriage to the back door of the Meng family’s residence and ordered her attendants to knock on the door. If it had been up to her, she would have entered through the main gate openly to pay her respects properly, but since her father was still under suspicion and the turmoil in the capital two months earlier had not yet subsided, she could not act recklessly, fearing it might bring trouble to the Meng family.
After a while, a girl dressed in plain coarse cloth with white fluff flowers on her head came out from the back door. Zhu Ning, who had lifted the carriage curtain, recognized her as Cui Mo, the maid who worked for Meng Min, and was surprised. As far as she knew, since Meng Xian had been convicted, all the spies sent by the Zhao and Anyang royal families to the Meng family should have left, so why was this girl still there? Moreover, even knowing it was her who came, Meng Min still sent such a maid to meet her—could it be that she had already made her a trusted confidant?
Seeing the empty alley behind the door, Cui Mo couldn’t help but recall the food stalls and grocery shops that used to be there, as well as the last time she saw her father in this bustling place that evening. She was distracted for a moment before regaining her composure and hurriedly went to the front of the carriage, kneeling down to bow.
“Your servant greets the princess. The young lady wanted to come out in person, but feared it might cause trouble for you if seen by others. Besides, the entire household is in mourning now, so she sent me instead.”
Knowing that the Meng family could afford no mistakes at this time, Zhu Ning stared at Cui Mo for a while before asking another question: “With such things happening in the Meng family now, do you still want to stay here?”
Cui Mo was shocked upon hearing this. She bit her lip lightly before lifting her head and said, “Reporting to the princess, I received a document granting me freedom as soon as I left the Anyang Prince’s mansion. Now I’ve signed a binding contract with the Meng family. With no parents left and nothing holding me back, I belong to the Meng family in life and as a spirit after death, so I will naturally stay here for the rest of my life.”
Zhu Ning was deeply moved. Even though she didn’t know exactly what had happened to this girl, she at least understood that Meng Min had a trustworthy helper. She waved for Cui Mo to come a few steps closer, then sighed softly. “I misjudged you. Your lady seems to have better judgment. Just ignore what I said earlier. Let me apologize to you. I can’t go to pay my respects in person, so this is a small token from me—everything inside is useful. Please give it to your lady.”
Even though she knew the princess was kind-hearted, Cui Mo never expected Zhu Ning to apologize to her. She hurriedly refused, saying she didn’t dare accept it. After taking the jade-colored silk bundle, she bowed to express her gratitude. When Zhu Ning asked what Meng Min planned to do, she hesitated for a while before finally telling the truth, “After our master passed away, my lady guessed this would likely be the outcome, so she gradually prepared everything. The expenses for the funeral should be sufficient. After the funeral, she plans to dismiss the extra family members, sell this house, and move to the estate outside the city. With this money and the several hundred acres of land our family owns near the capital, and with my lady managing household affairs and supervising the young masters, once they grow up, we can consider arranging their marriages.”
“Meng Tao and Meng Fan are already quite grown up. After three years of mourning, does she still intend to continue being the head of the family?”
“Our master’s title as a third-rank official was revoked, so the young masters will be commoners from now on. My lady says we can’t rely on the Marquis of Baoding forever. If the young masters fail to succeed, our family will never rise again. As the eldest daughter, it’s her duty to urge her brothers to succeed. There’s no time to think about anything else for now. I have no other plans either; I’ll just follow whatever my lady decides.”
“…”
Though she had many things to say, Zhu Ning felt so overwhelmed that she couldn’t speak for a long time. After taking a deep breath, she finally managed to calm herself down and said to Cui Mo, “I won’t say much else. Take good care of yourselves. When you move, don’t forget to send someone to give me a message. If anything happens, even if I can’t come, I’ll still find a way to help.”
After parting with Cui Mo, the carriage left the alley. Zhu Ning didn’t want to return to the palace right away, so she instructed the driver to drive around the city at random, while she sat in the carriage, lost in thought. Judging from the current situation, Meng Min seemed to have given up on marriage—what about her? She had seen her father’s sense of relief after leaving the palace, his genuine joy when talking about her marriage, and his enthusiasm when discussing dowry matters… Although she was a princess and both her emperor uncle and father said she could make her own decisions about marriage, could she really come up with anything new within such limited options?
“Princess, we’ve arrived at Daqing Shousi Temple!”
Suddenly hearing this soft voice outside the carriage, Zhu Ning snapped out of her daze. She lifted the curtain and saw the temple’s red walls and green tiles. Unexpectantly, she remembered that Dao Yan had been the abbot here for many years. The temple had become even more magnificent now, but he had long passed away. She couldn’t help but stay there in thought. She and Dao Yan hadn’t been particularly close, but she still remembered vividly a few words the old monk had casually said. Back then, when she first met Du Wan, she thought the two shared a similar temperament and got along well. But the old monk had said right away that they weren’t the same kind of person—Du Wan could adapt to whatever came her way, while she refused to go with the flow.
“Since we’re here, it must be fate. Let’s go in and offer incense!”
Hearing her master’s concise command, the driver quickly pulled over. A maid in front got out and helped Zhu Ning down, while several guards gathered around to escort her inside. Since no prior notice had been given, Daqing Shousi Temple naturally had no idea that a noble princess was coming, let alone close its doors for her. All around, there were only crowds of pilgrims. When the group reached the main hall, they saw smoke curling inside, along with voices praying for various things—some for blessings, some for success, some for marriage, some for children… Seeing so many people, Zhu Ning simply bowed at the threshold of the hall before hearing a hesitant voice beside her.
“Ning… young lady?”
This sudden call surprised Zhu Ning. Turning around, she saw a middle-aged woman dressed simply, accompanied by an older maid. The woman seemed familiar. After pondering for a while, she remembered having glimpsed such a woman when visiting the Zhang family’s house. She quickly guessed who she was and bowed politely, addressing her as Lady Feng. Since they weren’t close, they exchanged a few polite words before Lady Feng went inside.
Seeing that thin figure mixed among the ordinary pilgrims, bowing deeply before the Buddha, Zhu Ning had no idea what the person was seeking in such a low-key manner. Once one became a wife, her husband and children took precedence over everything else. For someone as noble as Princess Yongping, who lost her husband at a young age and had her son Li Maofang imprisoned in the western palace, hadn’t she aged twenty years in just that time?
After leaving Daqing Shousi Temple, she disheartenedly ordered to return to the palace. As the carriage came to a stop outside Donghua Gate and the curtains were lifted, a young eunuch rushed forward, helping her out of the carriage with great respect, and whispered, “Princess, news has just arrived from Le’an Prefecture—the Crown Prince of the Han King… has passed away.”