Chapter 115

Chapter 115: I’m Not a Pushover

Chun Zhi said with a small grin: “It was fun.”

Huo Zheng wanted to ask what exactly had happened, but he worried she might think he was prying.

Chun Zhi looked at him and began to describe the banquet. The ladies and misses wrote poems, painted, sang, and danced. Their talents were dazzling. She said: “They egged the Song clan’s miss to show a skill. I can’t write poems, and I can’t paint. Luckily we had Wan’er.”

Though Wan’er liked to act spoiled and childish, she always came through when it mattered.

Huo Zheng squeezed Chun Zhi’s hand and said gently: “There are countless people who can write poems and paint, but there is only one you. You don’t need to know everything…”

Chun Zhi laughed and cut in: “Huo Qi, when you have time, teach me poetry and painting.”

Huo Zheng swallowed the rest of his words and nodded: “All right, I’ll teach you.”

“It’s fine not to know now,” Chun Zhi said. “I can learn.” She already knew her characters. Learning to write poetry would not be like fumbling in the dark. As for painting, talent mattered, but effort mattered too. She had never had the chance to study. At the banquet she felt no shame, only strong envy. If Huo Zheng was willing to teach her, she was sure she could learn.

After these lighter topics, Chun Zhi told Huo Zheng the whole story of Lu Jing Yun and Wang Yi Yue. She laid out the cause and the steps from start to finish. At the end she asked in a low voice: “Do you think I was too vengeful?”

“How is that vengeful?” Huo Zheng said at once. He even felt she had done exactly what she should. He lived inside the Imperial House, where many struggles could not be avoided. If you do not scheme against others, others will scheme against you. He said firmly: “Wang Yi Yue targeted you first. If she hadn’t tried to hurt you, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

He had actually worried that Chun Zhi might not know how to handle such traps if he wasn’t there. He had not expected her to be someone who repaid a grudge.

Chun Zhi said with clear eyes: “If people don’t touch me, I don’t touch them. If they hurt me, I will answer back. I’m not a pushover. I have both strength and ways.”

Huo Zheng drew her into his arms and murmured: “That’s good. But I still feel a little sorry for you. Back in Linshui Town, you wouldn’t have had to face these things.”

In Linshui Town, Chun Zhi had sold tofu, rising early and sleeping late. Her body was tired, but her heart was happy. She earned money with her own hands. No one schemed against her, and she didn’t have to fear that one wrong step would bring hate.

Chun Zhi raised a hand and touched Huo Zheng’s face: “If I found a husband as handsome as you in Linshui Town, people would still be jealous. In the Capital, noble ladies want to become the Princess Consort of Chang’an, so they target me. Among common folk it would be the same…” She paused.

“What would be the same?” Huo Zheng asked.

Chun Zhi smiled: “Someone would try to steal a lover as handsome as you. A man like you gets chased no matter where he is. I’ll just get used to it.”

Huo Zheng laughed with her: “Then I’ll thank the Princess Consort for her patience.”

Talking like this, they soon reached Song Manor. Huo Zheng helped Chun Zhi down from the carriage. Jin Yi and Luo Shang helped Song Wan’er down as well. The jolting ride had woken Wan’er, but she was still tipsy and kept clamoring for more Peach Blossom Brew.

Song An Lan came out and saw the scene. He hurried to support Wan’er and asked: “Wan’er, why did you drink so much?”

Chun Zhi said: “The Peach Blossom Brew at the Princess Royal Manor was excellent. Wan’er had several cups. I failed to stop her…”

“Wan’er is too much,” Song An Lan sighed. He knew his sister’s nature and quickly told the servants to take her back to her room.

Huo Zheng told Chun Zhi to return to the small courtyard to keep Little Xing Hui company.

The emperor was preparing to promote talent in commerce, and Song An Lan was at the top. The Song clan planned to give half their wealth as Chun Zhi’s dowry, but Huo Zheng would not let her dowry simply sink into the State Treasury. Better to teach people how to fish than to hand out fish. After taking Revival Blossom, Song An Lan’s health had improved, and since arriving in the Capital he wanted to expand the Song clan’s businesses. Huo Zheng wanted to raise the standing of merchants, let the able use their talents, fill the State Treasury, and make the people richer.

After sending Wan’er off, Song An Lan and Huo Zheng went into the study and talked behind closed doors for most of the day.

By the time the sky turned dark, the kitchen had long since prepared dinner. Wan’er had sobered up and, now hungry, waited in the flower hall for her brother and brother-in-law.

Chun Zhi spent half the afternoon with Little Xing Hui, fed him milk, changed his diaper, and then went to the flower hall.

After waking, Song Wan’er had heard from Luo Shang and Jin Shu what had happened at the Princess Royal Anyang Manor. She deeply regretted drinking too much and missing Ji Ru Zhen and Wang Yi Yue brawling.

Before Song An Lan and Huo Zheng arrived, Song Wan’er grabbed Chun Zhi’s hand and said: “Ji Ru Zhen led people to catch an affair and found Wang Yi Yue and Lu Jing Yun on one bed. It was so exciting. How did I not see it with my own eyes?”

Chun Zhi said with a straight face: “You were drunk and greedy for wine, so you missed it.”

Song Wan’er beat her thigh in regret: “If I’d seen it, I would have drawn them both, put the scenes into a book, and spread it across the whole Capital.”

“You can still draw it from imagination,” said Chun Zhi.

Song Wan’er actually thought it over, then sighed: “If it’s all imagination, that’s a bit hard.”

Just then, Song An Lan and Huo Zheng came in. Song An Lan sat by Wan’er, and Huo Zheng sat at Chun Zhi’s right.

As an elder brother, Song An Lan had already ordered hangover soup for Wan’er. As soon as he sat down, Huo Zheng ladled fish soup for Chun Zhi. They had finished discussing state matters, so at dinner neither man spoke a word about the Imperial Court or the people’s livelihood. Song An Lan gently warned Wan’er not to drink too much in the future, and Huo Zheng moved every tasty dish to Chun Zhi’s bowl.

After dinner, Huo Zheng returned with Chun Zhi to the small courtyard to see Little Xing Hui. The baby was in a sleepy phase and, full and content, lay fast asleep.

Huo Zheng sat at the edge of the bed and watched the baby for a long while. Then he and Chun Zhi stepped outside to look at the stars. The spring night breeze was light, and stars filled the sky.

They strolled through the garden. The swing set swayed a little in the wind. Song Wan’er loved that swing and often played on it. Vines had climbed the frame, and flowers bloomed along the ropes. It was almost too pretty to be real.

Chun Zhi had never sat on it before, but tonight she couldn’t help staring for a moment.

Huo Zheng noticed and asked quietly: “Do you want to sit for a bit?”

“No,” Chun Zhi said with a smile. “Only little misses swing. I’m past that age.”

Huo Zheng suddenly scooped her up and set her on the swing.