Chapter 422: Those Who Are Not Sisters Outshine Sisters; I Long for Mandarin Ducks, Not Immortals

West Chang’an Street was adjacent to the imperial city walls. With guards stationed every three steps along the path beneath the walls, ordinary people usually hurried past in a flash. As a result, the attendants of officials entering and leaving the palace often chose to rest near the Xidan Archway. Today, since the emperor had issued an order for all officials to debate at Wumen, even more people gathered here.

With so many people, horses, and carriages, it was easy to tell the differences among them. Yang Rong, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, came from a wealthy family and favored luxury. His signature carriage, adorned with blue curtains, cloud patterns, and embroidered lions, was parked to one side. Yang Shiqi, another grand secretary, was much more modest—his black-painted carriage was old and worn, and his coachman was just an old man. The carriages of several senior ministers varied in condition, while those of lower-ranking officials either had only a horsekeeper or a donkey handler.

Yet among all these carriages, one stood out sharply. It was a carriage with a green roof and red paint, twice as tall as ordinary carriages. Although all its gold and bronze decorations had been removed, the blue curtains edged with gold thread, the red curtains, and the gold-threaded car enclosures were items forbidden to commoners. Plus, there were four or five armed guards on horseback beside it, so no other carriages dared to stop nearby. As the family members waiting from various households whispered among themselves, someone experienced murmured softly, “Don’t you understand? Even without the gold and bronze decorations, it’s still a special carriage! Only princesses and princesses of princely rank can ride in it. In the capital, aside from the Princess of Anyang, who else could sit in such a carriage? So stop staring—that lady is on par with a princess. Didn’t you see how the emperor easily spared Prince Zhou just because of her?”

Zhu Ning, who was said to enjoy the emperor’s highest favor, sat there, yet her eyes never left her closest friend before her. Seeing that Du Wan didn’t look well, she complained in a low voice, “I told you I could just bring Xiao Wu to come with us. But you insisted on coming by yourself. I really wouldn’t dare take you out in a special carriage if I didn’t have to. It’s not some dangerous mission anyway. Didn’t the crown prince ask me to pass a message to Zhang Yue? You’re just overthinking things!”

Since she couldn’t fit into her old clothes after getting pregnant, Du Wan was wearing a very loose, lotus-colored long-sleeved round-neck shirt. Zhu Ning’s carriage was extremely spacious, but with so many people outside, the curtains and side curtains could only be left slightly ajar, making it still a bit stuffy inside. Hearing Zhu Ning’s words, she sighed softly and then explained, “It’s not that I’m worried unnecessarily. After I brought it up to him as you suggested, he said a few more things, and that’s when I understood.”

“How…?”

“Although those censors might mention lifting the sea ban, the main focus is still on moving the capital. Among those who initially supported the move, there were ministers from all six departments and cabinet members—all of them key officials to the emperor. Now that they’ve become targets, do you think they’ll just give up easily? So even if he steps forward, given his low rank, if he’s left alone, it’s likely the emperor’s anger won’t subside but will only grow further.”

As a member of the royal family, Zhu Ning could understand the implications as soon as Du Wan explained them, especially since Du Wan’s explanation was very clear. At that moment, her face turned pale and her voice sounded unnatural.

“If something goes wrong, wouldn’t that be a grave mistake on my part?”

Seeing Zhu Ning’s guilty expression, Du Wan quickly took her hand and pressed it gently. “The crown prince is acting for the greater good. You also have good intentions, and he should have done this anyway. After all, this is different from Qingzhou or the Jiangnan region. If dozens of censors suffer death because of this, things will get out of control. So even knowing the risks, he decides to try. If our father had advised on moving the capital, he would surely stand up among those who stayed… For now, we can only hope those officials will act sensibly and know when to back down; otherwise, bloodshed will ensue.”

Xiao Wu, who was in the same carriage, didn’t understand these court affairs, but thinking of the murder at the West Fourth Archway that day, he shuddered. Just then, a thunderclap rang out outside, followed instantly by dazzling lightning and loud thunder, and then a downpour of rain.

Due to the sudden onset of the heavy rain, those waiting under the Xidan archway from various households were caught off guard. This area near the imperial city walls had few shops or residences, leaving no place to take shelter. Seeing the guards near the carriage hurriedly putting on red silk raincoats, they quickly donned their own and remained seated on their horses, fully alert. Those who scattered began to wonder what was going on. After all, these were people from noble families—such rules were beyond ordinary people’s comprehension!

Hearing the rain pattering against the carriage roof and seeing rain seeping in through the gaps in the curtains, Zhu Ning quickly ordered Xiao Wu to lower them all. She then said to someone outside the carriage, “Send someone to Chang’an Right Gate to find out how things are going at the Meridian Gate. With such heavy rain, it should stop for a while at least!”

The sound of horse hooves soon faded into the rain, and the three people in the carriage fell silent, each lost in thought. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Xiao Wu tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes, but when no one reacted, she felt discouraged. Just as she was about to give up, Zhu Ning suddenly spoke up.

“Wan’er, besides asking me to convey a message to you, the Crown Prince also mentioned my marriage. Leaving aside other things, I agree with one of his points: I want a groom who is neither a spoiled son of nobles nor an ambitious scholar from humble origins. Though he understood my perspective, the candidates he suggested were rather poor.”

Although she was still worried about Zhang Yue, Zhu Ning’s sudden mention pulled Du Wan’s attention back. Not to mention her, even Xiao Wu perked up immediately, widening her eyes and asking, “Who did the Crown Prince recommend?”

“Who else? It’s Zhang Yue’s good friend, Fang Ling. He’s doing well in the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince likes his straightforward personality. Seeing that he’s of age, the Crown Prince has thought of pairing them together. He’s usually smart, but now he’s confused. Although the Fang family no longer holds much military power, they still come from noble backgrounds. Besides, if a second-born son marries a princess, what will happen to his father and elder brothers? Will I have to deal with these family matters in the future?”

After saying these words, seeing that Du Wan indeed no longer looked worried as before, Zhu Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief. Du Wan was now over eight months pregnant, and if she were to exert too much effort, anything might happen to her at this critical moment, and there would be no way to make amends. So, she took the opportunity to say with a smile, “That’s why I mentioned those ideas earlier. That extremely intelligent crown prince immediately realized his mistake. You didn’t see his embarrassed look… Although he’s four years older than me, I usually feel awkward calling him ‘uncle’ since I’m younger than many others. But this time, I got the chance to scold him.”

Although neither Du Wan nor Xiao Wu had ever met the crown prince, Zhu Ning’s amusing account made them both laugh. There were many princesses and princesses in the Ming Dynasty, but perhaps only Zhu Ning could act like an ‘aunt’ and scold the crown prince. After chatting and laughing for a while, the anxious atmosphere in the carriage eased considerably. Soon, the sound of horse hooves grew louder as they approached, then stopped right in front of the carriage.

“Princess, I went to investigate. It seems the emperor hasn’t given any orders, so despite the heavy rain, the officials still can’t reach an agreement. It seems we won’t know when it will end.”

“Still continuing in such heavy rain?”

Zhu Ning gasped in shock, immediately recalling how stubborn her emperor’s fourth uncle was. She lifted the carriage curtain to take a look and saw the large raindrops pattering on the muddy yellow road. Feeling the strong wind outside, which seemed to have cooled things down, she frowned even more. Since the guards outside were carefully selected from the royal household, she knew they wouldn’t agree to take shelter from the rain. So, she ordered one of the guards to wait at Chang’an Right Gate and instructed the carriage to head to Front Gate Street to find an inn to take shelter.

By now, Du Wan was no longer as worried as at first, though she spoke little throughout the journey. When they arrived, under the protection of several oil-paper umbrellas, they got out of the carriage and entered the inn. She saw that there were no customers at all, not even the shopkeeper or employees. Realizing that Zhu Ning’s guards had done their duty, she was extremely grateful.

“Sister Ning, thank you so much today. If not for you finding an excuse, I wouldn’t have been able to leave home. I didn’t expect such heavy rain to cause you so much trouble!”

“Why be polite between us?” Zhu Ning turned around and ordered her guards to find a place to change their wet clothes. She impatiently removed the bright red orangutan-fur cloak from Du Wan before smiling and saying, “I’m still waiting for you to call me Aunt Ning after your child is born. How could I not take good care of you, a pregnant woman? Ask Xiao Wu—does she hope your child will call her Aunt Wu in the future?”
Xiao Wu nodded eagerly, then carefully helped Du Wan sit down before happily going to prepare tea. Seeing Xiao Wu’s joyful demeanor, Du Wan felt much lighter-hearted. The three of them sat in the shop for some time before the guard sent to wait at Chang’an’s Right Gate rushed in, drenched in rain.
“Princess, Lord Zhang has returned!”
As soon as he spoke, Zhang Yue, completely soaked, rushed into the shop. Seeing Xiao Wu helping Du Wan stand up, he immediately scolded, “I was terrified when I first heard about it. With all this wind and rain, what if you got sick from the rain?”
Even Zhu Ning, though she laughed at that moment, felt a bit envious. Zhang Yue himself was drenched like a muddy monkey, yet he still worried about Du Wan getting sick from the rain… When would she have someone like that too? Speaking of which, what exactly was going on at the Meridian Gate today?