Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Asking the Empress Mother to Grant Her Blessing

Empress Wang frowned and said: “Seventh Son, your elder imperial brothers all married noble ladies from great houses, and their wives’ clans help them a lot. Yet you want to marry a commoner girl. Do you know that one wrong step brings endless regret?”

Huo Zheng answered calmly: “Exactly because my elder imperial brothers married noble ladies, I cannot follow their path. Emperor Father is still in his prime and has not named a Crown Prince. He grows more wary of his older sons by the day. If I marry a commoner, I will be doing the opposite of my brothers.”

Over the years, the Emperor and Empress Wang had appeared harmonious yet were not of one heart. The meddling of the Empress’s clan was one of the Emperor’s greatest worries. He did not want his sons to wed into powerful houses, but the princes, eager for power, still chose reliable wife-families. Their strength grew, but so did Emperor Father’s suspicion.

Empress Wang heard how far Huo Zheng had pushed the point, and her brows knit tighter as she asked: “Seventh Son, are you refusing to heed your Empress Mother’s kind advice?”

Huo Zheng cupped his hands and said: “I ask Empress Mother to grant it.”

Empress Wang spoke with deliberate care: “I already chose a Princess Consort of Chang’an for you. She is the Sixth Young Lady of the Wang Clan. She has waited for you several years and wasted her youth. Will you wrong her for a commoner girl?”

Wang Yi Yue, the Empress’s niece from her maiden family, often entered the palace. She and Huo Zheng had grown up together, and she called him “cousin.” Huo Zheng had always treated Wang Yi Yue as a cousin. He had never thought of marrying her and had barely spoken more than a polite word to her. Now that the Empress brought it up, he did not feel he had wronged Wang Yi Yue.

Huo Zheng said plainly: “Chun Zhi and I have already bowed to Heaven and Earth, performed the Rites of Zhou, and we have a son.”

Empress Wang paused, then asked in surprise: “You even have a child with her?”

Huo Zheng replied: “Chun Zhi and I are already married.”

Empress Wang’s tone chilled as she said: “Neither I nor your Emperor Father knew of this. What kind of marriage is that? At most you are…” She stopped herself, swallowing the last words. [At most it is an unblessed union without a matchmaker.]

Softening her voice, Empress Wang tried again: “Even if that girl saved your life, giving her the rank of secondary consort is enough to repay the debt. Yi Yue is from a great house, skilled in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she grew up with you. She is your true match.”

With Yi Yue in place, the next Empress would have to come from the Wang Clan. Empress Wang had planned this since the day she adopted Huo Zheng. She would never allow him to take a commoner as principal consort and cast aside a Wang Clan noble lady.

Huo Zheng answered without hesitation: “I have no man-and-woman feelings for my Wang Clan cousin. I will never marry her.”

Empress Wang said coolly: “Not all couples begin with feelings. The one who can help you is what matters most.” She wanted to say that she and the Emperor had been forced together and had lived many years with mutual respect, which outsiders even praised as a fine story. But she knew if she used herself as an example, Huo Zheng would only resist marrying Wang Yi Yue even more.

Huo Zheng’s voice stayed steady: “If I had not met Chun Zhi, I could have married anyone. But since I have met her, I will marry only her in this life.”

Empress Wang tried a different angle: “I am not forbidding you to marry that commoner. If you truly like her, take her as a secondary consort and marry Yi Yue as principal consort. You are already twenty-five, yet your manor has not a single concubine. If you marry a principal consort and a secondary consort at the same time, no one will blame you.”

Huo Zheng said firmly: “I swore to Heaven that I would take only Chun Zhi as my wife, never marry another, and never take concubines.”

Empress Wang rose sharply and scolded: “Nonsense! You are the dignified Prince Chang’an. How can you swear such a vow for the sake of a commoner girl!”

Huo Zheng bowed his head and said: “A vow once made cannot be broken. I beg Empress Mother to grant it.”

Now, even hearing the words “grant it” gave Empress Wang a headache. She would never agree to a commoner as principal wife. The one who became the Princess Consort of Chang’an could only be Wang Yi Yue. Yet she could not say this to Huo Zheng’s face. After all, this son was not born of her body. She could not speak too harshly or press too hard. She lifted a teacup, took a slow sip to calm her thoughts, then said gently: “It is not that I will not grant you this. It is that you cannot pass your Emperor Father. If you can obtain an Imperial Marriage Edict, I will have nothing more to say.”

Huo Zheng answered at once: “Then I will go ask Emperor Father to grant the marriage.”

Empress Wang did not stop him and said: “Go and try.”

Huo Zheng bowed and said: “Your son takes his leave,” then turned and left.

Watching his back as he departed, Empress Wang sighed inwardly: [Someone else’s son never grows truly close.]

“Aunt!” Wang Yi Yue hurried out from behind the screen and nestled by Empress Wang’s side as she murmured: “Cousin, he…”

Empress Wang cut her off with a calm hand: “Let him do what he wants. You must keep your composure.”

Wang Yi Yue was clearly losing hers, but after hearing this, she forced herself to hold back.

Empress Wang continued in a low voice: “What man was not once dazzled by beauty? When the newness fades, he will turn back and see that a dignified, virtuous wife matters most.” She thought how, even at his age, the Emperor still kept a stunning Noble Consort in the palace, a gentle Consort Shu, and a row of fresh, young beauties.

Empress Wang then warned her niece: “You are to be the Princess Consort of Chang’an. You must have the room in your heart to tolerate others. Do not lower yourself to fight for favor with a commoner girl. That would only shame the Wang Clan’s family style.”

Wang Yi Yue answered softly: “Yes,” but in her heart she was burning to meet the “Chun Zhi” her cousin spoke of. [Who is she, that even a man who never cared for women would break his restraint for her? He even fathered a child with her before marriage. I will see what kind of rare beauty Chun Zhi really is.]

While the new courtyard was being set up, Chun Zhi suddenly sneezed hard. Seeing this, Song Wan’er hurried over and asked: “Sister, did you catch a chill?” She reached out and felt Chun Zhi’s forehead, then said: “No fever.”

“I’m fine,” Chun Zhi said lightly. “Maybe someone is talking about me.”

Song Wan’er laughed and said: “We sat on a boat for so many days, and we finally moved into a proper house to relax. Who would be talking about sister right now?”

“I don’t know,” Chun Zhi replied.

They soon dropped the matter and put their minds back to arranging the courtyard. It was already late in the second month. New buds had sprouted on the branches in the estate. A cat climbed over the roof ridge and darted along the eaves.

Song Wan’er pointed up and shouted with delight: “A cat! There is a cat on the roof! Jin Shu, Luo Shang, hurry and call people to catch it!”

Song Wan’er loved cats and dogs but had never kept one. Seeing a cat in the estate, she grew excited at once. The new courtyard could wait; catching the cat came first. Song Manor burst into lively commotion as a crowd chased the cat along the eaves.

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace, Huo Zheng left Empress Wang’s quarters and headed straight for the Imperial Study.