APSIL -Chapter 189 Settling the Score and the Story

The emperor knew his biological mother’s personality all too well. When he heard her final remark—“How could a golden branch and jade leaf possibly marry beneath her station?”—he could not help but laugh. The anger that had filled him moments ago vanished without a trace.

After entering Qingning Palace, he went straight to the western warm chamber. Seeing that the Empress Dowager was reclining on the soft couch, lost in thought, he walked over with relaxed steps.

“Actually, it’s not impossible for a royal princess to marry beneath her status. If those families who wish to marry into the imperial household are willing to let me personally select all the boys of suitable age, then I can choose the outstanding ones and assign people to educate them for seven or eight years. A son-in-law raised from childhood like that would still be acceptable to me.”

The Empress Dowager had originally been resting with her eyes closed, but upon hearing such absurd nonsense, she immediately opened her eyes in irritation and scolded: “Are all of you trying to anger me to death one by one?”

“I’m being serious.” The emperor spoke with a completely solemn expression. “Zhu Jing was simply too rigid and overly concerned with propriety back then. If he had been willing to raise Zhang Shou, this future son-in-law, in his own household, then Yingying and Zhang Shou would have seen each other every day since childhood. She wouldn’t have spent so many years causing trouble outside. And with Zhang Shou’s talent and learning, he would have entered my sight much earlier. Teacher Ge would have been even more delighted to show off his student everywhere.”

The Empress Dowager finally could not bear listening to this nonsense anymore. She sat upright and demanded: “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I know the empress’s temperament very well. Once she sets her mind on something, she will never stop until she achieves her goal. Moreover, she is the mistress of the entire inner palace, and the consorts and princesses must all obey her. Since she has brought up such a matter, there will surely be people in court who propose corresponding measures.”

The emperor paused, then continued calmly: “So, if the Empress Dowager hopes that Qingning Palace can remain peaceful these days, and that the court can remain peaceful as well, then please order the empress to close herself in the palace and reflect on her mistakes for one month.”

Seeing the Empress Dowager’s expression show clear disagreement, the emperor added lightly: “Of course, as her husband and as a father, I will also take responsibility. After all, those sons are not only hers—they are mine as well. However long she reflects in Kunning Palace, I shall reflect in Qianqing Palace for the same amount of time. Apart from attending court and necessary meetings with ministers, I will not visit any of the consorts. In this way, it can be considered fair.”

As soon as these words came out, the Empress Dowager’s face first became filled with anger. But when she saw that the emperor’s expression was completely serious and that he truly meant it, she was stunned.

After a long while, she finally sighed.

“Fine. I’ll do as you say.”

---

The students of Banshan Hall, despite coming from noble families and possessing complicated thoughts, were all easily guided by Zhang Shou as if they were his own limbs.

As for the students of Jiuzhang Hall—those who came from ordinary backgrounds and had experienced much more of society—the situation was even simpler.

They were delighted that, despite having only recently entered the academy, they had already received generous rewards from the emperor, with every single person receiving a share. Thus, whenever Zhang Shou spoke, every one of them treated his words as if they were imperial commands.

As for Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang, who had made a great impression at the Hall of Heavenly Proclamation that day—being personally dragged to the Ge residence by Ge Yong that evening and lectured for nearly half an hour—this matter was immediately spread around by Chu Ying, who happened to be visiting the Ge residence.

However, another piece of news also spread quickly: Zhang Shou had submitted the manuscripts left behind by the founding emperor back to the emperor, while asking several students to make copies so that he could present them to Ge Yong and several other senior scholars.

Because of this, the few censors who had originally intended to impeach Zhang Shou for being arrogant naturally had no choice but to withdraw.

Compared with that, when news leaked from the palace that the Second Prince had been punished and the First Prince had also been punished alongside him, it caused a true uproar.

However, when the new rules regarding the selection of imperial consorts were revealed, the most common reaction among the ministers was: “So that’s how it is.”

Aside from a tiny number of stubborn conservatives who strictly adhered to ancestral traditions and jumped out to object, most officials did not express any opinions at all. They simply accepted the emperor’s changes to the standards for selecting wives for the princes.

They especially supported without hesitation the requirement that future imperial consorts receive two to four years of education and training.

Rarely had the Ming Dynasty enjoyed such a long period of peace—from the reign of Emperor Ruizong to the present, more than thirty years had passed peacefully.

No one wished to see, in the future, the families of imperial consorts supporting different princes and causing another struggle for the throne.

What kind of support could an ordinary noblewoman, or even a woman from a humble family who became a prince’s wife, actually provide her husband?

Therefore, as long as the emperor cut off the princes’ ability to form connections with ministers, the empire would remain peaceful.

The First Prince might be somewhat arrogant and self-important, but as long as the system of hereditary succession through the legitimate eldest son was guaranteed, at least the country could enjoy long-term stability for a period of time.

But immediately afterward, the ministers were left completely dumbfounded.

First came the rumor that the empress, dissatisfied with the changes to the standards for selecting imperial consorts, had rushed to Qingning Palace and caused a scene.

She had even declared that if princes were only allowed to marry women from ordinary families, then princesses should likewise be married off to commoners.

As a result, she was harshly reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, who accused her of failing to educate her sons properly and ordered her to shut herself inside Kunning Palace for self-reflection.

The emperor was likewise reprimanded for failing in his duty as a father and was ordered to remain in Qianqing Palace to cultivate his character.

The emperor and empress—the rulers of the empire—had actually been punished by the Empress Dowager in the same way ordinary parents might discipline their troublesome children?

The news reached Zhang Shou on a rare day of rest, early in the morning.

Seeing Zhu Ying’s angry expression as she came to inform him, he could not help teasing her: “What? Are you standing up for His Majesty?”

“Yes. The Empress Dowager is being too biased. Clearly, it was the empress who failed to teach the children properly. What does it have to do with His Majesty?”

“Don’t forget, those children are not only the empress’s sons, but also the emperor’s.”

“When have they ever listened to His Majesty? They always act one way in front of him and another behind his back. They were taught by the empress!”

“If every father in the world could simply push all responsibility for his son’s faults onto the mother, saying she failed in education, wouldn’t that be far too convenient?”

Although Zhang Shou had a fairly favorable impression of the emperor, he still could not help arguing back.

Seeing Zhu Ying immediately glare at him unhappily, he smiled and changed the subject.

“It’s rare that I’m off today. I asked Lu Sanlang to invite Marquis Weinan, and he invited us all to drink tea at Tingyu Pavilion.”

“Tingyu Pavilion?”

Zhu Ying’s eyes immediately widened.

She did not care that Zhang Shou was going to such a supposedly elegant place, nor did she care about the strange expression “drinking tea.”

She raised her head and looked at the sky in disbelief.

“In broad daylight? Forget the famous courtesans of Tingyu Pavilion—even ordinary girls there probably haven’t gotten out of bed yet!”

Miss, could you please stop speaking about this topic in such a knowledgeable, experienced tone?

Zhang Shou covered his forehead helplessly, then sighed.

“We’re going there to discuss a new business venture. That’s why we have to go to Tingyu Pavilion. But Yingying, you going to that kind of place all the time isn’t very appropriate. I was planning to ask your second brother to accompany me, and also bring Zhang Chen…”

“Aren’t people always saying that place is just for drinking tea and listening to music? Why would it be inappropriate for me to go?”

Zhu Ying interrupted him without hesitation.

Seeing Zhang Shou’s disapproving expression, she gave a light snort.

“Fine, then do this. Bring Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu, and Zhang Lu—the three Zhang family boys. I’ll go call Princess Deyang and the others, and we’ll all…”

Before she could finish, Zhang Shou felt his scalp go numb and broke out in a cold sweat.

My young lady, are you trying to hold a matchmaking gathering in a brothel?

He immediately interrupted: “Absolutely not!”

But the moment he finished speaking, Zhu Ying burst into clear laughter.

“Fooling you! Even if I were reckless enough to do anything, I wouldn’t do something this ridiculous! I’m not going anyway. I already arranged to drink tea with someone else. I only came to tell you.”

She smiled brightly.

“Coincidentally, that Yangzhou teahouse is on the only road leading to Tingyu Pavilion. I’ll be chatting upstairs there, looking down from above, so I’ll be able to see you all.”

Without realizing it, she smiled so widely that even her pearl-like teeth showed.

“Of course, I can only see their appearances from there. If you have some way to make them say something in public, that would help everyone judge them better. Alright, I’ll go ask my second brother to meet you all at the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion. He’ll definitely be thrilled.”

Watching Zhu Ying arrive quickly and leave even faster, Zhang Shou could only laugh bitterly.

However, he had to admit that compared with constantly arranging “chance encounters” on the street, this method was indeed much more suitable.

Of course, compared with the understanding between the Lu and Liu families, the marriage problems of people like Zhang Wu—young nobles who appeared to come from wealthy families but actually lacked both status and resources—could not be solved simply because two people liked each other.

After all, arranged marriages by imperial decree were not common in this era.

Naturally, being chosen as a princess’s husband was an exception…

---

At the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion, when Zhang Shou, Lu Sanlang, Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu, and Zhang Lu—the Zhang family trio—arrived, they saw that Second Master Zhu had already been waiting there.

The moment he saw them, he greeted them with a broad smile.

Everyone was familiar with each other, and since Zhu Ying was not present, he behaved naturally—even toward Zhang Shou he was much more relaxed and playful.

“It’s broad daylight. Tingyu Pavilion usually doesn’t open at this time. Are we supposed to knock and force our way inside?”

Lu Sanlang immediately puffed out his chest proudly.

“Of course not! Watch me!”

He gave a whistle, then rhythmically clapped his hands several times.

The next moment, the tightly closed black lacquered gate slowly opened.

Only then did Lu Sanlang proudly explain: “Marquis Weinan has done favors for Tingyu Pavilion’s owner, Wan Yuanbao, so he owns thirty percent of the shares here.”

(The truth was fifty percent. Poor Wan Yuanbao, the richest man in the empire, only held ten percent.)

Everyone stared at each other in shock.

Even Zhang Chen, who had previously visited the place twice to drink tea, was astonished.

What they did not understand even more was why Zhang Shou had brought them here.

After entering through the gate and seeing Wan Yuanbao—who was even rounder than Lu Sanlang himself—come out to welcome them, then personally lead them into the most prestigious central waterside pavilion, their confusion only deepened.

Marquis Weinan Zhang Kang was equally surprised when he saw Zhang Shou bring so many people.

However, he was a deeply composed man and naturally did not reveal any unusual emotions.

Instead, he merely nodded slightly.

After watching Wan Yuanbao arrange seats for the younger generation, he smiled at Zhang Shou.

“Earlier, Lu Sanlang told me about Scholar Zhang’s idea. I am indeed very curious.”

Zhang Shou took a scroll from his sleeve and smiled.

“Count, please take a look at this story.”

Lu Sanlang immediately stood up and carried the scroll over to Zhang Kang on Zhang Shou’s behalf.

But his curiosity was too great for him to leave.

He simply stood beside Zhang Kang, and when Zhang Kang opened the scroll, he immediately leaned over.

Lu Sanlang had always been a very fast reader. After quickly scanning through the text, he suddenly looked up at Zhang Shou.

“Little Teacher… this is actually… the story of a famous courtesan from a brothel?”

It was completely unlike Zhang Shou’s usual style!

“That’s right.”

Zhang Shou smiled slightly, accepted the tea personally poured by Wan Yuanbao, took a sip, and calmly said: “This is a story that happened in the final years of a certain dynasty, in the southern city of Nanjing, a place that had become isolated and independent. It is the story of one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai—Li Xiangjun.”

“The title is The Peach Blossom Fan.”