Chapter 7

Noble Consort Shu’s expression turned cold.

“I personally chose the women carefully. I intended Yun Zhi to be his principal consort, with the legitimate daughters of the Earl of Cheng’en’s household and the Jingyuan General’s household as secondary consorts. That way, he would have the support of both civil officials and military commanders.”

“And yet he asked whether I could give the position of Crown Princess to a daughter of a disgraced official who is six years older than him.”

“For two years I indulged you both. I never expected it would make you so presumptuous as to forget your place.”

Cold sweat soaked my back.

It was not that I had never secretly thought of becoming Crown Princess. I simply had not expected Zhou Hui to actually ask for it.

hurried footsteps sounded.

Zhou Hui entered the hall, still catching his breath. “Mother Consort, please don’t make things difficult for Mingyue.”

Noble Consort Shu’s expression grew even darker. “If I weren’t thinking of our mother-and-son bond, do you believe I’d beat her to death right here today?”

Zhou Hui knelt, his voice choked. “Mother Consort, without Mingyue, I could never have made it to your side.”

Only when she saw him in tears did Noble Consort Shu soften her tone. “Didn’t I already allow her to stay by your side? In the future, I can make her a Liangdi. Is that not enough honor?”

When Zhou Hui lowered his head without answering, she continued in a quiet voice, “Your Imperial Father is merely ill. He has not passed away.”

“Though the Empress is in the Cold Palace, Noble Consort Shen and the First Prince have not given up. Don’t assume your position as Crown Prince is secure.”

“After all the hardship it took to reach this point, do you really want to make a foolish mistake over love?”

I couldn’t let them go on.

I knelt forward and hurriedly told Noble Consort Shu, “His Highness the Crown Prince was acting on a whim. Please, Your Highness, don’t take it seriously.”

Behind Zhou Hui, I clutched the hem of his robe and tugged.

Only after a long while did he speak, his voice desolate. “I will follow Mother Consort’s arrangements.”

I thought that if he had stood up for me for even one moment, that alone was enough.

19

That day, after Zhou Hui left, Noble Consort Shu kept me for another quarter of an hour.

“Mingyue, you were once the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s household, carefully educated by your family. You know what you ought to do. I need not tell you.”

“I know you want to clear the Marquis’s name, but everything depends on Hui’er securing that throne.”

Sunlight fell through the window lattice and cast shadows across her face, making her expression impossible to read.

“Hui’er is only eighteen. How many women has he even known?”

“There are so many things in life we wish to hold on to, but so few we can truly keep. One day you will understand: the affections of youth are worth very little.”

Her voice sank lower and lower until, at last, it seemed like a sigh dissolving into the wind.

After that day, I deliberately avoided Zhou Hui.

The next time I saw him was at the flower-viewing banquet in the Eastern Palace to select his Crown Princess.

The candidates had already been chosen. The banquet was only a formality.

Before everyone’s eyes, Zhou Hui placed the jade ruyi symbolizing the position of Crown Princess into Chen Yunzhi’s hands.

She was the legitimate daughter of Noble Consort Shu’s elder brother, the same age as Zhou Hui, graceful in appearance, proper in manner, and measured in all she did.

The two secondary consorts were Zhao Yining, the Earl of Cheng’en’s youngest daughter, and Lu Zhaozhao, granddaughter of the Jingyuan General.

With that, Zhou Hui had the support of the Duke’s household, respected civil officials, and powerful military commanders.

Noble Consort Shu had labored painstakingly, committing the strength of her whole family to support him.

I understood all of it, and so did Zhou Hui.

Amid the congratulations, Zhou Hui looked up. Our eyes met briefly across the space between us.

I suppressed the ache in my heart and gave him a faint smile.

The tension in Zhou Hui’s face gradually eased.

The bond between us did not need to be judged by the ordinary standards of the world.

20

The Crown Prince’s wedding was set for the following March, leaving only half a year to prepare.

I was so busy overseeing the dowry gifts and wedding robes that I barely had time to breathe. I completely forgot that my period had not come.

It was only when the physician took my pulse and discovered that I was more than two months pregnant that I remained dazed and unable to understand what was happening.

My body had shown no signs of discomfort. This child had come so quietly, without a sound.

Sanhu testified before Noble Consort Shu that I had never stopped taking the contraceptive decoction. Imperial Physician Wu also explained that the decoction was not always completely effective.

Noble Consort Shu stared at me. “Tell me yourself: can this child be kept?”

Zhou Hui had been inspecting flood-control works outside the capital. As soon as he heard the news, he changed horses twice and hurried back.

His eyes were red as he stood in front of me. “Mother Consort, I beg you.”

Noble Consort Shu threw a teacup at him. “A son born out of wedlock to the imperial family—do you know how much trouble he could cause in the future?”

Zhou Hui said only those four words again: “Mother Consort, I beg you.”

That day, no matter how others advised or rebuked him, he repeated those same four words over and over.

I lost count of how many times he said them. Each word struck the gray-blue bricks of the Eastern Palace—and the deepest part of my heart.

At last, I knelt before Noble Consort Shu’s seat. “Your Highness, I, Mingyue, swear on the lives of the entire Cheng family that after the child is born, I will leave everything to your arrangements. I will never make things difficult for Your Highness or the Crown Prince.”