The Fifth Prince, Xiao Jiashan, is the only son of Empress Zheng.
The Emperor currently has thirteen princes. The First, Second, Fourth, Eighth, and Eleventh Princes all died young. Now, among the princes of marriageable age, only the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Princes remain.
The Fifth Prince had long been betrothed to Miss Wen Yanyu of the Wen family. This marriage was arranged back when Duke Zhen was still alive, personally decreed by Empress Dowager Zheng.
The Sixth Prince was engaged to his cousin, but since she is still in mourning, their marriage must be postponed for another year.
The Third Prince is the Emperor’s most beloved son. At the age of fifteen, he was granted the title of Prince Qin.
With the First and Second Princes gone, Prince Qin is now the eldest.
Years ago, the Emperor wanted Prince Qin to marry. But because he doted on this son too much, and since Prince Qin was cold, withdrawn, and unpredictable, he had no intention of marrying. The Emperor indulged him in everything.
At last, in recent years, the Emperor could no longer tolerate it and forcibly arranged a marriage for him, granting the daughter of the Minister of Rites, Wei Ruxuan, as his bride.
Under normal circumstances, Wei Ruxuan should marry into Prince Qin’s household later this year.
Half a month later, Marquis Anqing’s third branch, Shao Hong, and his wife escorted Miss Wen Yanyu of Duke Zhen’s household to the capital, accompanied by the eldest grandsons of the first and second branches, Shao Junliang and Shao Junshou.
Because Miss Wen was frail and could not endure the long journey, she fell ill upon arriving in the capital.
At this very moment, Wei Ruxuan lay in the arms of the Fifth Prince, Xiao Jiashan, clinging to his arm coquettishly: “Your Highness, I already belong to you. When will you marry me?”
Xiao Jiashan had once been utterly bewitched by Wei Ruxuan, his very soul half-stolen away. But when the passion faded, he suddenly remembered something, and his face turned pale.
Heavens! He had committed the unthinkable—he had slept with his Third Brother’s woman!
If Xiao Chengji, that madman, discovered he had been cuckolded like this, would he kill him?
The thought of meeting Xiao Chengji at tonight’s banquet made Xiao Jiashan break out in a cold sweat.
Wei Ruxuan smiled sweetly, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and said shyly: “Your Highness won’t abandon me, will you?”
These past days, Wei Ruxuan had secretly hired a reformed courtesan to teach her how to seduce a man.
The woman had spent many years in the brothels, so she understood these matters all too well.
As a prince and the Empress’s legitimate son, Xiao Jiashan was always surrounded by proper, respectable women. He would never dare set foot in a place like a brothel.
That was why Wei Ruxuan’s methods over these past days had bewitched him completely, making him forget all moral principles.
Faced with Wei Ruxuan’s questioning, Xiao Jiashan felt a storm of conflicting emotions. He had never met a woman as beautiful and captivating as Wei Ruxuan. Compared to her, all the concubines in his household were lifeless, like wooden dolls—none could compare. If he could marry Wei Ruxuan, he would, of course.
But—
To steal his brother’s wife… if such a scandal were to spread, how disgraceful would it be!
Xiao Jiashan hurried to rise: “I—I must return to the residence, I have matters to attend to—”
Wei Ruxuan grabbed him tightly: “Your Highness, are you trying to shirk responsibility? Or is it that you wish to marry the Wen family’s daughter as your consort instead?”
At the mention of this, Xiao Jiashan flared with anger: “That sickly weakling? Impossible! I would rather die than marry such a woman!”
The marriage between Xiao Jiashan and Wen Yanyu had been arranged more than ten years ago.
Back then, the Duke Zhen’s household was at the height of its power. Empress Dowager Zheng often summoned Madam Shao, the Duke’s wife, to the palace. When Madam Shao was pregnant with Wen Yanyu, Xiao Jiashan was only three years old.
At that time, Empress Dowager Zheng had smiled and said that if Madam Shao’s child turned out to be a girl, she would be married to the Fifth Prince as his principal wife.
Xiao Jiashan’s mother, then still Consort Zheng, had not yet been elevated to Empress and was overshadowed by Consort Bo. Faced with such a prestigious marriage, how could Consort Zheng refuse?
With the Empress Dowager’s word as law, once Madam Shao gave birth to a daughter, Consort Zheng eagerly sought the imperial decree, and thus the marriage between the Wen family and the Fifth Prince was settled.
No one could have foreseen that the once-glorious Duke Zhen’s household would lose all its men on the battlefield.
“Unlucky! Truly unlucky!” Empress Zheng took a deep breath, barely restraining herself from snapping the hairpin in her hand.
The palace maid attending to her whispered softly: “After all, it was the Empress Dowager herself who arranged this marriage. Now that Miss Wen has already entered the capital, if Your Majesty were to go back on it at this time, I fear—”
Before she could finish, the jade hairpin was hurled to the ground, breaking cleanly in two.
“That wretched girl, born of a mother but raised without one—who knows what calamity she might bring if she enters the household!” Empress Zheng ground her teeth in hatred. “Perhaps it was she who brought death to her father, her mother, and her brother. The Wen family is nothing but a brood of short-lived ghosts!”
The palace maid trembled in fear but forced a faint smile: “Your Majesty, later we must still go to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.”
Empress Zheng swallowed her anger. After being dressed and groomed, she left her chambers and soon arrived at Shoukang Palace, the residence of Empress Dowager Zheng.
The Zheng family had produced two empresses, a source of immense glory.
The current Empress Dowager was Empress Zheng’s own aunt. Her hair was completely white. Though summer had just begun and the people of the capital had already changed into light clothing, the Empress Dowager’s body was frail, and she still wore a spring robe. In her old age, she delighted in tending flowers and plants. At that moment, she held a pair of scissors, carefully trimming the branches of a potted “Snow-in-June.”
Empress Zheng cautiously approached: “Mother.”
The Empress Dowager ignored her, continuing to fuss over the leaves. Beside her, Nanny Zhao, who had served the Empress Dowager for many years, desperately signaled to Empress Zheng with her eyes.
Empress Zheng pretended not to notice, raising her voice slightly: “The young lady of the Wen family has already arrived in the capital. The Shao family said she fell ill from the long journey. Yesterday I sent imperial physicians to examine her, and they all said her health is poor. I was thinking, without someone attentive by his side, it will be difficult for Shan’er—”
At last, the Empress Dowager lifted her drooping eyelids.
Empress Zheng forced a smile: “Perhaps we could select two more secondary consorts from noble families to marry into Shan’er’s household together?”
Before the Empress Dowager could reply, a eunuch’s voice announced from outside: “The Fifth Prince, Xiao Jiashan, has come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.”
Though Xiao Jiashan’s bearing was not as distinguished as Prince Qin, Xiao Chengji, he was still strikingly handsome. He was considered one of the most outstanding young men among the capital’s nobility.
Seeing her son arrive, Empress Zheng was instantly pleased and beckoned, “Shan’er, quickly come and bow to your imperial grandmother.”
The Empress Dowager set down her silver scissors on the tray: “No need. You reek of powder and perfume—where have you been carousing?”