Chapter 53

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There were many princes in the palace, yet only five princesses were entered into the imperial genealogy. The Second Princess drowned at the age of six, while the Third Princess’s birth mother died in childbirth. The Fifth Princess’s mother was a Zhao Yi who had never been favored and, to this day, had not even been granted a title.

The new consort whom the Grand Empress Dowager had appointed for the Fourth Prince was none other than the late birth mother of the Third Princess, a descendant of the royal family of Bohai.

In truth, the Kingdom of Bohai had already existed in name only by the time of the wars at the end of the previous dynasty. After the founding of the Great Qi, its royal family willingly submitted, and Bohai was formally declared extinguished. Its king’s title was reduced from vassal king to commandery prince. He retained only the empty title and had no authority over Bohai; indeed, every successive King of Bohai was required to reside in the capital.

After three generations of hereditary succession, the title of King of Bohai had been further reduced to that of Marquis of Dinghai. Pei Meng, the late mother of the Third Princess, was the Marquis of Dinghai’s most beloved daughter. She had been granted the title of County Mistress as a child, entered the palace during the great selection in the tenth year of the Jiahe era, and was made a Zhao Yi. In the thirteenth year, she gave birth to the Third Princess and died of hemorrhaging. She was posthumously made Consort Yu and was ultimately buried in the Bohai royal mausoleum with the rites accorded to an Imperial Noble Consort.

In terms of status, this short-lived Consort Yu had clearly ranked above Consort Zhen, Chu Wenwan. The Grand Empress Dowager’s arrangement for the Fourth Prince could therefore be considered the utmost expression of benevolence.

There was, however, one point worth noting. The current heir to the Marquis of Dinghai, Pei Ye, was the Second Prince’s study companion. Even if the Bohai clan still possessed any resources, they were inevitably in the Second Prince’s hands.

After all, the Second Prince’s mother, Imperial Noble Consort Min, came from a family of illustrious lineage that had produced court officials for generations. Her paternal cousin, Jiang Wen, was the Grand Secretary and deeply favored by the Emperor. Among all the princes, his status was the most exalted. Before Consort Zhen was posthumously made Empress, and before Xue Jinan’s sudden emergence as the legitimate heir, the Second Prince had been the most natural and rightful candidate for Crown Prince.

In short, anyone with eyes and a mind of their own would know whom to choose. All the Fourth Prince could obtain was status; it was impossible for him to win the support of the Bohai clan.

In addition, the Grand Empress Dowager used the tender ages of the Fourth Princess and the Ninth Prince as a pretext to hold a small palace selection. Those chosen to enter the palace would be directly made consorts.

Everyone knew that, although the ancestral regulations forbade the imperial harem from interfering in affairs of state, the Grand Empress Dowager—the venerable Old Buddha of the court—was still alive. And while the harem’s influence over the court was not directly proportional, neither was it inversely proportional. At the very least, the families of those holding consort rank or higher either possessed noble titles or had produced a first-rank minister.

Even if one set official rank aside, becoming the Emperor’s in-law was an excellent prospect. Those entering the palace through this selection would immediately become one of the principal consorts. Would not the ranks of Consort or Imperial Noble Consort be within easy reach? And if one were to bear a prince—why, that would be a tremendous blessing!

The titled ladies who had just been harboring complaints against the Grand Empress Dowager immediately broke into delighted smiles. Those with quick minds had already begun screening suitable candidates.

The Grand Empress Dowager made arrangements for all the children implicated by Xiao Shu and Chu Wenwan, with the sole exception of the Fifth Prince. For one thing, the Fifth Prince had himself been a victim of the parasitic curse, and Consort Rong’s downfall would in fact benefit him. For another, even though the Ningguo family had lost its noble title, the Grand Empress Dowager remained, and so did the Zhong family.

The Grand Empress Dowager did not truly wish for the Zhong family to vanish entirely from the stage of history.

Taken together, these were all the arrangements the old woman had made. She had done everything possible to bring about a satisfactory conclusion. Even Old Master Chu could find nothing to criticize. He personally removed the hat symbolizing his title as Earl of Yongyi, drew the earl’s seal and register from his sleeve, and placed them atop it. Then he solemnly kowtowed and remained prostrate for a long while.

“This old servant thanks Your Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager for her grace!”

“My lord, please rise,” Imperial Noble Consort Min said, turning slightly to avoid receiving such a grand salute. She reached out to help him herself, while Chu Wenjing hurriedly moved to support him as well, but Old Master Chu evaded them both.

Bracing himself on his cane, he struggled to his feet. His back remained stubbornly straight as he spoke slowly.

“If a child is not properly raised, the father is to blame. Everything is this old servant’s fault. The fate that has befallen us now may be considered repayment for only a fraction of my sins. I blame no one… But the children are innocent. Let all future retribution fall upon me. Do not make their journey to the Yellow Springs so troubled that they cannot rest in peace.”

Old Master Chu lightly tapped his cane against the floor before him. His words sounded at once like muttering to himself and like an address intended for someone in particular.

Zhou Yushu watched his retreating figure, unable to conceal the frailty of old age in his stooped back. He pressed his lips together, lowered his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

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Everyone present assumed that Chu Wenjing had been moved by his father’s words, and tactfully allowed the subject to sink into silence.

Even Fulu thought so. The first thing he did upon awakening from his “dream” was sigh.

“Old Master Chu’s love for his daughter is so sincere that he was willing to shoulder all the blame himself, so she would not have a difficult journey to the Yellow Springs… What a fine family tradition and upbringing. And yet, somehow, a vicious person like Chu Wenwan emerged from that family. Truly, even the finest bamboo can produce a rotten shoot.”

Xue Jinan offered no opinion on Old Master Chu’s “sincere love for his daughter.” He merely said, “The Chu family’s traditions are not good.”

The real Chu Wenjing was also an idle wastrel who had learned nothing and accomplished nothing.

If one child was raised badly, one might still say the problem lay with the child. But if two children were both raised badly, then the fault surely lay in the family’s roots.

The Chu family was a house of merit and nobility. Their ancestors had helped the founding emperor conquer the realm and possessed distinguished achievements of their own. Yet they had declined within merely two or three generations. That could not be explained by the appearance of one or two wastrels alone. A clue could be seen in the fact that, despite the Chu family’s insistence on their own status, Old Master Chu and Old Master Zhou had studied under the same mentor.

The Chu family was rotten at its roots. Its family traditions had never been particularly good. If anything, Old Master Chu might have been the exception—the one good shoot grown from bad bamboo.

As for what truly lay within the Chu family, Xue Jinan had no concrete evidence with which to prove anything. The only thing he could probably establish was that Old Master Chu was genuinely upright.

Setting aside the efforts he had once made on Consort Zhen’s behalf, the words he had spoken just now, together with the fleeting change in Zhou Yushu’s expression, were enough to reveal certain clues.

Xue Jinan had no way to determine Old Master Chu’s state of mind when he spoke those words, nor could he analyze the complicated emotions passing through Zhou Yushu. But he did not need the correct answer. He merely needed to consolidate all relevant information and use character models to speculate about their reactions. When those reactions deviated drastically from the behavior logically expected of the characters, the problem was already evident.

Old Master Chu was a reserved and taciturn man who had, for once, spoken those words openly before a gathered crowd. Zhou Yushu, meanwhile, was playing Chu Wenjing—a man so upright, loyal, and filial that it bordered on stubbornness. How could he possibly remain unmoved by Old Master Chu’s words?

Therefore, Old Master Chu’s words had been meant for Zhou Yushu. Zhou Yushu had understood them and given a silent reply. In other words, there was a seventy-one percent probability that Old Master Chu knew Zhou Yushu’s true identity.

It made sense. The phrase shut-in readers most often used when criticizing reincarnation novels was, “Being reborn does not make you smarter.” When someone stood at the brink of death, they might suddenly awaken to the truth, or their temperament might change drastically, but the fundamental color of their character would not change.

“Even if humanity were truly given a chance to begin again, people would often still walk the same old path,” said a shut-in in the cultivation world who had seen everything there was to see.

After all, this was his own child. It was perfectly natural for Old Master Chu to grow suspicious. Perhaps he had refrained from exposing Zhou Yushu’s disguise because he felt guilty for failing to persist in seeking justice for Consort Zhen back then.

It was not important. Xue Jinan did not think any further about it and continued watching the livestream.

Consort Zhen’s body had already been burned to ashes, and the Grand Empress Dowager’s several edicts had all been read aloud. It was time for everyone to disperse. At that moment, the Fourth Prince suddenly stepped forward and called out to Zhou Yushu.

“Uncle!”

The Fourth Prince’s face was pale and his eyes red. He wanted comfort from a member of his family. But Zhou Yushu glanced back at him, bent at the waist in salute, and increased the distance between them. His brows lowered, his tone cold.

“Your Highness, I am unworthy of being addressed that way.”

In the Fourth Prince’s shattered gaze, Zhou Yushu withdrew indifferently and left him with nothing more than a flat, emotionless sentence.

“This servant takes his leave.”

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The Fifth Prince gave the Fourth Prince a long look. At this point, he no longer knew what the man was trying to prove. This was clearly the best possible outcome.

But this time, the Fifth Prince said nothing. He merely straightened his sleeve and turned away, leaving the Fourth Prince standing alone in confusion and helplessness, like a lost lamb that had misplaced everything.

The other princes left with their mothers. Even the Eighth Prince trotted after the Third Prince and Consort Xian, who was hurrying along with the aid of a cane. Only the First Prince took the initiative to approach the Fourth Prince. With gentle silence, he patted his back, displaying all the tenderness of an elder brother.

Tears streamed down the Fourth Prince’s face. He clung tightly to the First Prince and wept there for quite some time.

Afterward, the two parted. The livestream showed only eunuchs and palace maids clearing away the mixture of firewood ash and cremated remains and scrubbing the floor. Xue Jinan shut off the stream.

Palace of Blessings and Longevity

Consort Shu noticed that, ever since the Sixth Prince had returned from before Xuanwu Gate, he had seemed gloomy and dispirited. Along the way, he had repeatedly turned back to look behind him. Having roughly guessed the reason, Consort Shu stroked his head.

“What is it?”

Then she waited patiently for him to speak.

The Sixth Prince organized his thoughts, speaking slowly and carefully controlling his pace and pronunciation so that he would not seem quite so stammering.

“Mother, when I saw Fourth Brother, my heart felt damp and heavy, like a rainy day in spring. I think I’m very sad.”

“But I know Consort Zhen and Fourth Brother did something wrong. They bullied Seventh Brother and his mother. If I were Seventh Brother, I wouldn’t choose to forgive him either. I know Seventh Brother did nothing wrong, but—but I… I’m still so sad.”

The Sixth Prince sniffed and pouted, then asked his mother with a mournful expression, “Mother, if they fight in the Imperial Academy later, whom should I help?”

“Mother, am I too stupid? I can’t even figure out something like this…” The Sixth Prince was deeply dejected.

Consort Shu had not expected this to be what troubled him. She reached out to stroke his cheek.

“Our Ping’an can help whoever he wants. You do not need to worry about it.”

“But Eighth Brother said…” The Sixth Prince summoned his courage and explained everything to his mother with great care. “Eighth Brother said that one day everyone would fight over Father’s position. Princes like us, who have no ability and whom no one cares about, should choose a side carefully. Otherwise, the consequences would be terrible.”

“Eighth Prince said that?” Consort Shu frowned. She had not expected the usually quiet Eighth Prince to be so calculating. But then again, anyone who could keep the volatile and hot-tempered Third Prince obediently appeased must possess certain methods.

Consort Shu did not answer the Sixth Prince’s question immediately. Instead, she first asked whether he and the Eighth Prince got along well and whether the Eighth Prince ever bullied or tricked him.

The Sixth Prince shook his head. Instead, he lowered his voice and told her about the time Teacher Cen had brought an assignment. The Third and Second Princes had secretly bullied the Eighth Prince and threatened him into retrieving it.

“Third Brother is awful. Second Brother is awful too.”

“If you dislike them, then do not go near them. It is all right. Mother will not let anyone hurt you.”

Consort Shu gently drew her son into her arms and stroked his back. Her voice was soft, yet carried a faint, hidden stubbornness.

“My Ping’an only needs to grow up safe and sound.”