The wedding procession grew ever more distant. Ji Shi wiped her tears and entered the house, her eldest son Pei Shuo supporting her as he comforted, "Mother, don't grieve. As long as Sister is well, that is what matters most.""The Grand Dowager knew full well that your sister was to marry into Jianye, and the entire Xu family serves Prince Wei. She didn't even offer a word of advice. I don't expect her to treat me well, but Huiyin is her own legitimate granddaughter." Ji Shi shook her head. This marriage was entirely the product of her husband's opportunistic maneuvering.The Emperor was frail and sickly, and the Crown Prince also obeyed the He family. Empress He used the Lu and Zheng families to counterbalance each other, thereby achieving the He family's dominance. The Lu family wanted to treat the Zheng family like dogs, and the He family wanted to swallow up the Zheng army. By marrying into Prince Huaiyin's household, wouldn't the south be protected from a pincer attack?Although Ji Shi relied on Zheng Fang, she always felt that Zheng Fang's actions were erratic. Her own son, Zheng Wuheng, was a man of firm resolve, but at only fifteen, he was too young to command respect. These were words she could only share with her eldest son.Pei Shuo had followed his mother into the Zheng household since childhood. Though Zheng Fang treated him well, he had heard his fair share of gossip. But in the end, his current standing depended on the Zheng family, so of course he hoped the Zheng family would prosper. Thus he said to Ji Shi, "Mother, rest assured. Your son will do his utmost to assist Younger Brother.""You two brothers have always been close since childhood; I have no worries there. It's only your sister, married far away. I have met the Crown Prince—he seems gentle and refined as jade—but as for Prince Huaiyin, I know nothing of him." Though Ji Shi had spoken well when persuading her daughter to marry, now that her daughter was truly wed, she was worried again.Pei Shuo consoled his mother: "Xuzhou is not too far. If I have the time in the future, I will visit Sister on your behalf."Only then did Ji Shi nod, and she added that Lady Xin had just given birth and should take good care of herself, and so on.Unlike the worries of Ji Shi and her son, Grand Dowager Xu was none too pleased: "Ji Shi is truly biased. When both daughters married, Huiyin's dowry was clearly larger than Deyin's."And her son was a muddle-headed fool who managed nothing, letting Ji Shi take all the advantages—even raising the son from her previous marriage. Now her daughter was already a princess consort, while Deyin was only a Noble Consort, unable even to visit her in the palace.So she deliberately withheld information about Prince Huaiyin from Ji Shi and her daughter, and refused to let the Xu family help. Let her see how she would manage to stand alone in that place.**The wedding procession left Jizhou city in just three or five days. Huiyin brought with her over a hundred accompanying servants and maids. She had specifically asked Ji Shi to find two female physicians to keep by her side—a lesson she had learned in her previous life.Throughout the journey, arrangements were handled by a man named Yuwen Dang, a Colonel of the Imperial Guard. He was said to be the foremost subordinate of Prince Huaiyin, Li Cheng. The man was tall and burly, with eyes like copper bells, a fierce and valiant general. He seemed to be in a hurry to return.Huiyin's personal attendants included her wet nurse, Nanny Nan, and four senior maids: Leyun, Fugui, Qiufeng, and Dongshun. At present, only Nanny Nan was serving in the carriage. Nanny Nan had watched over Huiyin since she was a child; her own children had all died young, so she treated Huiyin as her own daughter.Thus, she was very happy for Huiyin: "I wonder if we're going to Xuzhou or Jianye? If the wedding is in Xuzhou, it would be closer, and you could meet the young master sooner."Under the red bridal veil, Huiyin curled her lips. Seeing him sooner wasn't necessarily a good thing. She had no real impression of Prince Huaiyin. Li Cheng had lost both parents in his teens and inherited the princedom. He was decisive and forceful, immediately choosing to throw in his lot with his uncle. He was bound to have people who had followed him since childhood, and those bonds of loyalty were not something an outsider bride could easily step into right away.But she didn't mind. Nothing in the world was truly difficult—only the heart could fail to try."Mother, I heard you're from Qingzhou, is that right?" Huiyin asked.Nanny Nan smiled. "Yes, that's right. Back then, the Marquis was fighting in Qingzhou, and just as you were born, they needed a wet nurse. The Lady found me. Come to think of it, you stayed in Qingzhou for a time too, then went to Xiaopei, and then Yuzhou. You were probably too young to remember much of it. By the time you were old enough to remember, you were already in Jizhou.""Now we've left Jizhou. I reckon we'll be stopping at the post station in Qingzhou to rest," Huiyin guessed.Nanny Nan said happily, "If that's the case, then wonderful! You can freshen up properly. The journey has been so tiring."Huiyin yawned, leaned back against the bolster, and said coaxingly, "Mother, I want to eat some ginger-salted plums.""Alright, I'll get them for you." Nanny Nan doted on the girl she had nursed since infancy.…When the procession reached Qingzhou, Yuwen Dang personally stepped forward beside the carriage and said, "Your subordinate Yuwen Dang pays respects to the Princess. Please rest at the Qingzhou post station for two days. Once we have reorganized the carriages and horses, we will set out again for Xuzhou."Yuwen Dang came from a distinguished family, and his father had been loyal and brave. He held Zheng Fang in utter contempt—not only had Zheng Fang been Lu Ji's dog and then turned on his master, but now he kowtowed to that traitor Lu Wei as well. But this marriage had been arranged by Prince Wei on behalf of Prince Huaiyin. Prince Huaiyin had always despised Zheng Fang's character and had no liking for it at all, yet Prince Wei needed to win over Zheng Fang if he was to deal with Lu Wei."Very well, I shall follow the General's arrangements." Huiyin tried to keep her voice as low as possible.Not for any other reason—her voice was simply too sweet. When others heard it, they thought she was putting on a coquettish tone, as if she were deliberately speaking that way.Yuwen Dang watched as she descended from the carriage, supported by her maidservants and attendants. Her bearing and manner were dignified and proper. He did not dare look too long and simply ordered the soldiers to stand guard.Once inside the post station, Huiyin had Nanny Nan take out silver to treat the escorting soldiers to wine and meat. She herself removed her hairpins and jewelry, shed her formal robes, and felt an entire weight lift off her—even her neck could move freely again.She also bathed and freshened up. The food at the Qingzhou post station was nothing special, but at least it was hot from the wok, far better than the pastries they had eaten on the road. No matter how good pastries were, they grew tiresome.This was the first time she had traveled far from home since growing up! She heard this room was the best one in the post station. The bedding and mat in the inner chamber had already been laid out, but Huiyin had no desire to sleep. Outside, a fine drizzle had just begun to fall. As the light rain drifted down, she opened the Book of Judicial Memorials that she usually read.She was a bride now and could not go out, so she could only pass the time with a book.As dusk fell, the Chief Administrator Guo Qishan and Yuwen Dang were dining together. The table held only a few meat dishes and a bowl of soup. Guo Qishan picked up a piece of kidney and could not help asking, "Here in Qingzhou territory, we must be extra careful.""Mmm. Loose on the outside, tight on the inside. If someone wants to throw their life away, I won't show any mercy." Yuwen Dang did not take it seriously at all.Now the governor of Qingzhou, Ma Kui, had not yet openly broken with Prince Wei, but the man was greedy, having risen from banditry, and it was said that in Qingzhou, officials and bandits were one and the same. Word had it that not even a dog passing through Qingzhou would be spared. Now that the bride's dowry included wealth, grain, and gold and silk in abundance, how could the Ma family not be tempted?They had come by sea originally, but the waves had been too rough, so they had switched to the overland route. This time, sending Yuwen Dang to escort the bride was precisely to ensure safety.Guo Qishan nodded. "With the Colonel of the Imperial Guard's word, this old man can rest easy."After two days of rest, Yuwen Dang took the opportunity to send men out to scout the terrain, and he now had a clear picture in his mind. Huiyin once again changed into her wedding dress, covered herself with the red veil, and boarded the carriage.Ma Kui, the governor of Qingzhou, naturally coveted those riches. In his territory of Qingzhou, he was practically a man who plundered and pillaged, stopping at nothing. Huiyin had heard a little of this reputation. She had heard that her father's army had initially been the same way—after winning a battle, they would want to loot and seize goods—until her mother married her father and persuaded him that if he wanted to be a true leader and genuinely earn the people's devotion, he must love the people. Because the Zheng family treated the common folk of Jizhou with great kindness, Zheng Fang had been able to put down roots there, no longer like before, when he would fight a battle and then flee.Huiyin was somewhat worried, but she hadn't expected that as they set out on the road, there was another bride being married off as well. Word had it she was being married far away from the capital to Wu Commandery, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and her dowry was so lavish that it couldn't even fit in the carriages.One family alone would have been one thing, but with two traveling one after the other, Ma Kui, who had initially been somewhat wary of Prince Huaiyin's army, immediately decided to send his men to do the deed. He said fiercely, "If you bring it back, I'll reward you handsomely. But if you get caught, then die on your own—otherwise, your families…"Birds of a feather flock together. Ma Kui's men were all bold, desperate outlaws. In this chaotic age, they would kill for a single meal, let alone for so much gold, silver, and jewels.Yuwen Dang's party continued forward, and the bride behind them, perhaps seeing their grand procession, also followed along, taking shade under the trees.However, as they advanced further, they found that a bridge ahead had collapsed.The scout soldier said, "Colonel of the Imperial Guard, it seems we'll have to take the small path.""No, not the small path. The small path is thick with forest—someone could hide in there and we'd never know. Have the princess take shelter from the rain at the nearby Dizang Temple for now, and we'll repair this bridge." Yuwen Dang smiled.The bridal procession behind them also offered to help, and the bride from that party went with Huiyin into the Dizang Temple to take shelter from the rain. The temple's abbot specially set aside a clean room for them. The two brides sat to one side, while their attendants quickly struck up a conversation."Our young lady is the daughter of Boss Hu, who runs a wine shop in the capital. Our wine is offered exclusively to the palace.""So it's the Hu family that supplies the imperial tribute! When our marquis went to the capital this year, he was even rewarded with some of your wine."…"Cough, cough. Miss Hu, my surname is Zheng. May I ask how old you are?" Huiyin struck up a conversation.Miss Hu smiled and said, "I am sixteen this year.""Then I shall call you little sister. Truly, we are fated to meet," Huiyin said.The two chatted quietly. Once the attendants had left, Miss Hu pulled off her own veil and said to Huiyin, "Sister Zheng, there's no one here now—why don't you take off your bridal veil and be more comfortable?"Unexpectedly, this Miss Hu was a forthright young woman. Huiyin also removed her own bridal veil and looked up to see the other woman. She thought to herself, what a beauty—a face like a full moon, eyes like stars, lovely in appearance yet carrying a hint of spirited valor. She couldn't help but show admiration.Hu Yanyan, seeing this daughter of the Zheng Marquis, was equally struck by her beauty. Her face was like a peach blossom with dew, her eyes like autumn waves rippling, her lips like cherries parting over white teeth. She appeared charming and delicate, and especially when she spoke, her voice made even Hu Yanyan, a woman, feel her body go weak. She was truly a breathtaking beauty.Huiyin took her hand and said, "You're younger than me. If you don't mind, just call me Sister Zheng. Who are you marrying? Have you met him before?"At this mention, Hu Yanyan's eyes dimmed. "Of course not. Our family is in the tribute wine business—the wine is brewed from grain, and the better the grain, the better the wine. The family I'm marrying into is the largest rice merchant in Wu Commandery. This match was made for the sake of my family's business. I heard he originally had a childhood sweetheart he was about to betroth, but to ally with our family, he abandoned her.""Sister Hu, as the saying goes, it takes a hundred years of shared fate to cross the same river, and a thousand years to share a pillow. What you hear with your ears isn't necessarily true. Perhaps you and he are the best arrangement in this world. Besides, I see a certain boldness between your brows—you seem like someone who can take charge. Since his family values you so highly, you may yet accomplish something of your own." Huiyin smiled and consoled her.Hearing this, Hu Yanyan felt enlightened. "My mother died early, and my father is always busy. He just told me to marry and didn't say much to me. Sister, you're truly kind—you always look on the bright side.""Only that way can life pass happily." Huiyin thought of her past life, where she had always looked forward to the dawn of victory, staying optimistic, and the more setbacks she faced, the less she let them bother her.Hu Yanyan said enviously, "Sister is the daughter of a marquis and marries into a princely household. I've heard that Prince Huaiyin is skilled in both civil and martial arts, extremely talented in music, and handsome and gifted—truly a hero matched with a beauty.""Actually, I'm just like you." Huiyin also felt a hint of loneliness.Seeing her melancholy, Hu Yanyan couldn't bear it. "Sister Zheng and I have such a bond. I'm marrying into Wu Commandery, and you'll likely be in Jianye in the future—they're close. Why don't we exchange tokens, so we can keep in touch later?"Huiyin had been wary at first, but thinking that Hu Yanyan was marrying a rice merchant, and that grain would be useful in times of war, she realized this could be a valuable connection. So she took a Phoenix-and-Luan Jade Pendant from her waist and gave it to her. "This is a jade pendant from my dowry. I have another one in my possession. If you ever need anything, just send someone with this token to find me."Hu Yanyan also took a jade plaque from her bosom and said, "This is the betrothal gift from my husband's family. With this plaque, you can draw a hundred dan of rice from any Ruyi Rice Shop in the realm without reporting it.""This is too precious." Huiyin declined. Though they had hit it off at first sight, they were still new acquaintances, and she couldn't accept something so valuable.Hu Yanyan smiled. "Sister is the Princess Consort of Huaiyin. If I told my father, he'd surely praise me for my capability. Don't refuse."Only then did Huiyin nod and accept it. With this little episode, the two chatted and laughed together, and time passed quickly.Just after the midday meal, Yuwen Dang came to report: "Just now, several hundred bandits came to raid the dowry. Rest assured, Your Highness, they have all been wiped out.""General Yuwen, you have worked hard on the journey.""You flatter me, Your Highness. This is merely my duty."Huiyin then asked, "May I ask if we have suffered any casualties?"Yuwen Dang paused for a moment before replying, "Two have been struck in vital spots and are being treated. Twenty others have sustained injuries."Huiyin said with concern, "I have brought quite a few medicinal herbs with me. If they need anything, they can simply ask for Nanny Nan by my side. Moreover, the soldiers have truly worked hard—I will contribute ten thousand coins as compensation for the fallen and wounded. I shall trouble General Yuwen with this."Yuwen Dang had originally held some prejudice against Zheng Fang, but hearing this Lady Zheng speak with such clarity, act so generously, and choose her words so thoughtfully, he could not help but nod inwardly: "Then on behalf of the soldiers, I thank Your Highness.""It is nothing worth mentioning." Compared to how they had protected her safety, what did this amount to?Yet Yuwen Dang raised an eyebrow. Ten thousand coins was a considerable sum, yet the princess was willing to give it to ordinary soldiers without the slightest hint of reluctance—this could not help but raise her in his esteem.
Chapter 6
Rebirth of the Empress