The Winter Solstice was the most important day in the Great Ye Dynasty besides the New Year, and it was only at this time that the family could gather together. Huiyin and her younger brother accompanied their parents to pay their respects to their grandmother, Grand Dowager Xu.Needless to say, the old lady did not care for Madam Ji, and hating the house also meant hating its inhabitants—yet she was very fond of Zheng Wuheng, the only male heir in the family. Before he had even finished kowtowing, she called out, "Heng'er, come quickly to Grandmother."Zheng Wuheng, however, said, "Grandmother, I'll just sit here. I won't crowd your seat."He wasn't stupid. The old lady was nice to him simply because she saw he had grown up and would one day inherit his father's title and military authority. Just a few days ago, she had urged him to get closer to his eldest sister, saying they were all one family. Who was family with her? His second sister was his real sister. She had bullied his mother and sister all this time, and now she suddenly remembered they were family.Huiyin glanced around, then rose and said to Grand Dowager Xu, "Grandmother, this is the headband I embroidered for you. My craftsmanship is not refined, so please forgive me."In her previous life, she had truly believed that her mother had stolen Madam Xu's position as the legitimate wife, and so she had been more tolerant of her eldest sister. Even though her embroidery skills were no worse than hers, she never showed them off. Even after she became Empress Dowager and brought her own sister to the capital, it was because she feared her sister would be bullied in her fief.Now that she knew the truth, she understood that Madam Xu had woven her own trap, and with Zheng Deyin having stolen someone else's life, she naturally would no longer be the sister who yielded ground to her at every turn.Everyone could see there were two headbands. One was a brow band with a phoenix piercing peonies pattern, and the other was made of dark blue satin embroidered with auspicious cranes and clouds. Both looked intricate and elaborate, with excellent auspicious meanings.Anyone with discerning eyes could see they were well made, but Grand Dowager Xu was biased and felt that Huiyin harbored cunning intentions, deliberately using these things to curry favor with her so that she would pave the way for her with Prince Wei.Indeed, Madam Ji was merely the daughter of a commandant of Pingyang Commandery, while their Donghai Xu family had produced three generations of dukes and ministers over two reigns. They had assisted Prince Wei, who, as the emperor's own younger brother, governed the people on behalf of the Son of Heaven—the most legitimate of claims. With Hui-niang's petty tricks, at best she could, like her mother, deceive soft-eared, weak-willed men like her own son, but she could never fool a true son of an aristocratic family.But in front of her son, Grand Dowager Xu did not say much. She only remarked coolly, "These take so much effort. There's no need for you to trouble yourself."Huiyin was not annoyed. She simply smiled and said, "Doing one's best for one's elders—how could that be trouble? I also learned from eldest sister. Eldest sister made knee pads to honor Father, so I thought I would do some needlework to honor the elders."Yes, you won't let others show their filial piety, but you never stopped Zheng Deyin.When Zheng Deyin heard Huiyin mention her, she recalled her visit to her birth mother Madam Xu a few days earlier. Madam Xu had been depressed for years, but when she first heard that her daughter had become a Crown Princess Consort, she was overjoyed. A Liangdi was second only to the Crown Princess, and when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, her daughter would become an honored consort or even a noble consort. But when she heard that Huiyin was to marry Prince Huaiyin, with her own uncle acting as matchmaker, she felt it was a windfall for the Ji mother and daughter."Back then, that Madam Ji kowtowed and humbled herself before me, calling herself a concubine, but I never imagined she would secretly conceive a child with your father, leaving me, the legitimate wife, with no place to stand. Now her daughter is to be a proper princess consort, while you still have to rank below the Crown Princess…" This was what Madam Xu cared about most in her life.Deyin had no choice but to say, "Prince Huaiyin is merely a commandery prince—how can he be compared to the Crown Prince? Moreover, the Prince Huaiyin's household is fraught with undercurrents. I've heard that the prince holds someone in his heart, and she will give him plenty of trouble."Only then did Madam Xu relent: "I am trapped in confinement, yet I watch my enemy's children rise step by step—how can my heart not seethe with anger? With your words, the resentment in my heart has somewhat subsided."In Deyin's view, she and Huiyin bore no great grudge, and Madam Ji had never mistreated her—at most, she favored her own children a bit more, which was hardly blameworthy. In the future, she would marry into the Eastern Palace, and even become Empress Dowager a few years later, at which point freeing her mother would be as easy as turning over a hand.Let Madam Ji have her moment of triumph for now; there was no need to quibble.Matters succeed through secrecy, and fail through loose talk; those who achieve great things keep their mouths shut!Pulling her thoughts back, she saw Huiyin speaking thus and only smiled, saying, "Little sister's needlework is truly exquisite, though I rarely saw you embroider before. In the future, we sisters could do needlework together."This remark implied that Huiyin had never before shown such filial devotion to the old lady, and that she was only doing so now to compete with her. Huiyin, who understood perfectly well, replied with a smile, "Elder sister is right. If you'd like, do come to my quarters—it's been ages since you last set foot there."Deyin thought to herself, she's mocking me for paying lip service to sisterhood while never truly being close—just putting on airs. She looked up at her grandmother for rescue; often she didn't need to fight for anything, for her grandmother always sided with her.Sure enough, Grand Dowager Xu said, "Second girl, you are the younger one—you should be the one visiting your elder sister. How can you expect your elder sister to come to you?"Huiyin immediately replied respectfully, "Grandmother is right, this granddaughter will remember."Only then was Grand Dowager Xu satisfied. As for Madam Ji, seeing her daughter send gifts to that old crone and then be lectured by her, she naturally harbored deep resentment—not to mention Zheng Wuheng.But Madam Ji didn't understand why her daughter would offer a warm face to someone else's cold backside.The answer was that Huiyin was proving she would no longer yield to Deyin; if she married Prince Huaiyin in the future, she would never let her brothers do that woman's bidding.When Madam Ji raised this question, Huiyin smiled and said, "Mother, I've noticed lately that Grandmother has been trying to win over younger brother and elder sister. Today was just to show you clearly her scheme—she wants younger brother to fight for elder sister, and at heart she still looks down on us. I think the Empress deliberately took brides from both the Zheng and Lü families, and in the end she'll want to watch the two sides tear each other apart. Father is weak-willed, but he'll still listen to you alone—don't let Father charge into battle for her. If she truly ascends to the empress's seat and brings her mother out, where will younger brother and you go from there?"Don't say Huiyin's vision is narrow—for now, she can only care about her own family.Just yesterday, Madam Ji had received a pair of embroidered pouches from Deyin, along with thanks for helping arrange her dowry and such. Madam Ji was the sort who softened easily when treated kindly, and Huiyin wanted to reveal the truth to her today."I heard she went to see Madam Xu a few days ago. You know Madam Xu's temperament best—whether she's ever truly submitted to you."Only then did Madam Ji grasp her daughter's good intentions, and she nodded in deep agreement.After the winter solstice, the household was almost entirely occupied with preparing the dowry—fine horses and ornate carriages, servants, and trousseau items all had to be arranged. The Great Ye had always placed the utmost importance on a woman's dowry, for it was said that marriage and burial rites should be lavish and splendid.As the Zheng family held the rank of a regional lord, they naturally spared no effort in this regard.Until the New Year, Madam Ji remained the busiest person in the household. Hui-niang was constantly measured for new clothes, as her spring robes, winter padded jackets, fur coats, and skirts were each made at different tailors' shops.She also had to embroider various pieces—fan cases and sachets—and Deyin naturally did the same. The elders all knew that whether a new bride married into the imperial family or an ordinary household, while propriety was important, the gifts prepared to present to the elders also had to be proper.It was precisely at this time that Princess Xinning invited the two Zheng sisters to the capital for a poetry gathering. Though battles still raged elsewhere, the lives of the powerful and privileged remained one of extravagance—wine and meat rotting behind vermilion gates while frozen corpses lay by the roadside. Princess Xinning was the adopted daughter of Empress Dowager He and the daughter of Noble Consort Wang, married to the son of the General Who Assists the State; word had it she had been wed for several years already.In her previous life, Huiyin had clashed with this princess, mainly because of Li Heng's tactic of "if I love you, I must neglect you"—showering favor on her while treating his true love, Lu Xiao, with coldness, which riled up the often warm-hearted princess.Clearly, in this life, the one Princess Xinning truly wished to invite was not her, but Zheng Deyin. Princess Xinning had always had an excellent relationship with Li Heng, and since Deyin was about to enter the Eastern Palace, she wanted to meet her future sister-in-law and also do Li Heng a favor.The two sisters traveled to the capital together. Needless to say, the princess's residence was magnificent and resplendent. To Huiyin's surprise, she spotted Lu Xiao there. The two of them could be said to be friends forged through their shared ordeal of falling into the water.This silly girl even whispered to Huiyin: "Though it's not proper to say this, when I saw His Highness carrying you away back then, were you upset?"Huiyin pretended not to understand: "Upset? Upset about what?" Not to mention that in her previous life she hadn't been moved at that time, in this life she found it utterly revolting.Seeing that Huiyin seemed completely unconcerned, and recalling that she was already betrothed, Lu Xiao awkwardly changed the subject: "I heard you're betrothed to Prince Huaiyin—is that true?"Huiyin nodded: "You've heard correctly. My elder sister marries next month, and I marry in May, moving to Jianye. But Sister Lu, you're already the Crown Princess now—I haven't even had the chance to pay my respects to you yet."Even in her previous life, Huiyin had never disliked Lu Xiao. She truly lived up to her name—always smiling and cheerful. That someone as ruthless as Lu Wei could have such an innocent, guileless daughter was indeed a striking contrast.Lu Xiao was quite candid: "What Crown Princess? It's merely a political marriage. Li Heng seems to detest me. I married only for my father's sake."Lu Wei loved wielding power, but even more so he wished to hold the emperor hostage and command the lords, naturally wanting legitimacy in all things.At such gatherings, Deyin navigated the social scene far better than Lu Xiao. Though Lu Xiao was the daughter of a powerful minister, she was not skilled in the refined etiquette of the inner chambers, nor was she particularly adept at socializing. Huiyin, feeling that she was not the center of attention that day, quietly ate on the sidelines.Deyin also glanced briefly at Huiyin, who sat in a corner eating, while she herself was treated with great courtesy by everyone. Originally, Lu Xiao should have been the center of attention among today's guests, but she was truly clumsy and unreliable—no wonder the Crown Prince hadn't liked her in their past life? Deyin, on one hand, was reluctant to steal the Crown Princess's spotlight, and on the other, felt a pang of sympathy for Lu Xiao, but there was no way to stop people from preferring to socialize with her instead.Looking around, she also saw many of her former close friends coming over to speak with her. These women were around her age, and most were already married. Some had wed and moved to Yuzhou, while others had married her father's subordinates—each carrying their own burdens and worries.She hesitated over whether to tell her younger sister the truth that Prince Huaiyin already had someone in his heart, but on reflection, she decided against it. Perhaps, sometimes, not telling her would allow her a few more days of happiness.In early March, Deyin was about to leave in marriage, entering the Eastern Palace to become the new Liangdi.In May, Prince Huaiyin sent his Senior Administrator Guo Qishan and General of the Household Yuwen as his marriage envoys to deliver the betrothal gifts on his behalf: a hundred carts of dowry goods, twenty horses, a thousand catties of gold, along with precious vessels, fabrics, and more.The Zheng family naturally would not be outdone. After Madam Ji's husband Pei Ye passed away, she had inherited nearly all of the Pei family's wealth—some went to Pei Shuo for his marriage and residence, some helped purchase farmland, and a considerable portion was given to Huiyin. Moreover, Zheng Fang was a regional lord in his own right, so the dowry was nothing short of lavish, grand, and extravagant.Huiyin lifted her veil, stepped into the bridal sedan, and set off down a path she had never walked in her previous life.
Chapter 5
Rebirth of the Empress