The “lantern-lighting” custom referred to the practice of hanging two gauze lanterns outside the rooms of the Eastern Palace’s consorts as dusk fell.
When it was someone’s turn to attend the Crown Prince, a servant from Yuanchun Palace would come beforehand and take down the lanterns outside her room.
It was a custom passed down in the Eastern Palace since the reign of the founding emperor.
However, the Crown Prince had always been indifferent to women.
Before the Crown Princess entered the palace, he had never set foot in the rear quarters.
Even after she married him, it was more than a year before he began visiting the courtyards of Liangyuan Cao and the others, and that had only started in the past six months.
The Crown Princess arranged the nights on which the consorts attended him.
If the Crown Prince felt inclined to visit the rear quarters, the woman scheduled for that night would attend him. He had never chosen someone himself.
Today, though, he had made an exception.
By rights, Hai Shun should have been pleased.
But…
“Your Highness, it would be inappropriate for Lady Song to attend you tonight.”
He steeled himself and spoke up.
The Crown Prince strode toward the door, signaling for him to continue.
Hai Shun chose his words carefully. “If I remember correctly, according to the Crown Princess’s arrangements, Liangyuan Cao is scheduled to attend you tonight.”
Lady Song had come from Jiarong Hall. Ordinarily, even if the Crown Prince had no interest in her, he should have given the Crown Princess face for her sake.
But the problem was—
After a falling-out between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, he had deliberately raised Liangyuan Cao up as a weapon to keep the Crown Princess in check and balance the power in the Eastern Palace’s rear quarters.
If the Crown Prince went to Lady Song’s rooms tonight, he would be publicly humiliating Liangyuan Cao—and himself as well.
Luo Xun remembered.
He paused.
His calm, unreadable gaze rested on nothing in particular.
A moment later, Hai Shun thought he heard the Crown Prince chuckle softly.
Then came his usual cool, detached voice. “Then let’s see who the Crown Princess wants to attend me tonight.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
.
As soon as Hai Shun left Yongxu Court, news that the Crown Prince had made Kan’er a Zhaoxun spread through the rear quarters.
From the stewards in the various courtyards down to the lowliest servants and laborers, everyone was stirred.
Most of them didn’t know the full story.
Those with a little cunning—but not much—assumed the Crown Prince had done it to preserve the Crown Princess’s dignity.
Those with a bit more sense read something else into it.
But since this concerned the two most powerful people in the Eastern Palace, no matter what anyone thought, they wouldn’t dare say it aloud.
In Jiarong Hall,
Zheng Mingzhi sat expressionless on the carved rosewood luohan bed[1]A low, broad Chinese daybed or couch used for reclining and receiving guests. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3735914_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3735914_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); by the window, its panels decorated with the Eight Immortals[2]Eight legendary figures in Daoist tradition, often depicted in art as emblems of longevity and good fortune. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3735914_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3735914_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Her hands were clenched tight.
The room was so silent it felt oppressive.
Shuangyue and Shuangyun stood to one side, neither daring to speak.
At last, Nanny Pang, unable to bear seeing her mistress so upset, stepped forward. “Please calm down, Crown Princess. His Highness did this to show you respect.”
“Respect? What respect?”
Zheng Mingzhi snapped her head up.
“What kind of respect is this? Fine, he didn’t tell me about something this important—but the woman he promoted was from my own courtyard!
“I had only just sent someone out to attend to those few young ones, and then he sent someone with an oral decree! You call that showing me respect?”
“He’s rubbing my face in the dirt!”
“And ‘virtuous and refined,’ ‘gentle and gracious’—that wretched maid deserves those words?”
“I say he’s slept with too few women! That’s why he can’t tell good from bad and wants to bring every filthy, stinking thing into the courtyard!”
“Crown Princess!”
Nanny Pang’s roar was almost a scream.
Everyone standing in the outer room and courtyard jolted. Then, one after another, they dropped to their knees, until the whole place was kneeling.
Zheng Mingzhi was startled too.
She frowned, about to scold Nanny Pang, but then saw that Shuangyun and Shuangyue had somehow knelt as well. Both were deathly pale and trembling like leaves.
Suddenly, Zheng Mingzhi jolted to her senses.
Her face turned white. “Nanny, I—I…”
Nanny Pang forced her stiff legs to kneel beside her mistress and gripped her hand tightly, her voice lowered to a near-whisper.
“No matter how angry you are, you must always remember who you are! He is not someone we can speak about that way!”
The Zheng family’s ancestors had risen from humble origins. They had followed the founding emperor in his campaigns and been ennobled as Dukes of Fengguo, with the title to pass down through the generations.
But fortunes changed.
Not long afterward, a minister grew arrogant over his achievements and was exposed plotting rebellion. The founding emperor, already wary of the founding meritorious families, grew even more suspicious of them.
A series of purges followed.
To protect themselves, the Zheng family voluntarily surrendered their military command. They also found an excuse to submit a memorial, begging the founding emperor to strip them of their title.
In the end, the Zheng family lost its military power, but retained its title—though it was changed from Duke of Fengguo to Duke Shun.
After that, the Zheng family abandoned arms for letters. At the same time, they established an ancestral rule: “No Zheng descendant shall ever enter the Grand Secretariat[3]A senior imperial government institution whose scholar-officials advised the emperor and helped manage state papers. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3735914_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3735914_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
Now the Zheng family’s place among the founding houses amounted to little more than a name.
His Majesty had arranged the marriage between the Crown Prince and the Zheng family’s daughter for no other reason than that the Crown Prince already had a powerful family behind his mother. He didn’t need another powerful family through his wife.
In other words, the Zheng family couldn’t be relied upon.
In circumstances like these, one misstep could cost her not only her position as Crown Princess, but bring disaster upon the entire Duke’s Estate!
They had already angered the Crown Prince once before.
At the time, only because it had been so soon after the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s wedding had he been unable to depose her outright.
Otherwise, given the Zheng family’s standing at court today, it would hardly have been excessive for the Crown Prince to ask the emperor to order the Crown Princess’s death!
After what had happened, the Crown Prince had still let her remain in this position for the past year, preserving her dignity. That alone could be called merciful.
If they still didn’t know when to hold back, they would truly be digging their own graves!
Zheng Mingzhi had thought of all this too.
She had simply been so furious that she’d forgotten even the most basic rules of what must not be said.
Now that Nanny Pang had reminded her, she was badly shaken.
“I know, Nanny.”
After a brief moment of panic, Zheng Mingzhi let out a breath and steadied herself. She squeezed Nanny Pang’s hand in return and helped her up.
“I was so angry that I forgot myself for a moment. It’s all right. I know what I’m doing now.”
“That’s good. That’s good…”
Shuangyun and Shuangyue were also told to rise.
But when Zheng Mingzhi thought again of the Crown Prince making Kan’er a Zhaoxun, she still couldn’t suppress her anger.
It was true that she and the Crown Prince were at odds.
But whatever else was true, she occupied this position now; she was the Eastern Palace’s rightful mistress.
The rear quarters were hers to manage.
And yet His Highness had promoted a woman from her own courtyard without even informing her. What dignity did that leave her as Crown Princess?
“Nanny, why do you think His Highness did this? Surely he hasn’t really taken a liking to that wretched maid?”
“Impossible,” Nanny Pang said firmly.
“The royal family has no shortage of beauties. His Highness was born and raised in the palace—what kind of beauties hasn’t he seen? He couldn’t possibly be so bewitched by a woman of that sort.”
Besides, His Highness had held this position for seventeen years. If he could be so easily led astray by beauty, someone else would have taken his place long ago.
Nanny Pang couldn’t say that aloud.
But Zheng Mingzhi understood what she meant.
She thought it over.
And it did make sense.
His Highness was handsome and distinguished in his own right. How could he be the sort of frivolous man who judged people by their looks?
But that only left Zheng Mingzhi more baffled.
For the past year, she had behaved herself.
She had fulfilled her duties as a daughter-in-law to Empress Pei and Emperor Yuanlong. Although she and His Highness were not devoted to each other, they had at least treated one another with respect.
She hadn’t done anything lately to displease him.
So how could His Highness make this decision without even notifying her?
And give Kan’er the rank of Zhaoxun, no less!
If those three Liangdis knew the truth, who knew how much they’d be laughing at her in their hearts right now?
“Could this be because of the matter of entering court?” Nanny Pang guessed quietly.
According to the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty, once princes reached the age of marriage and had wed, they were expected to enter court, help their father rule, and work for the people’s welfare.
Leaving aside the Fourth Prince, who had died young, the Crown Prince’s four elder brothers—
The First Prince, Prince Xin; the Second Prince, Prince Rong; the Third Prince, Prince Rui; and the Fifth Prince, Prince Shen—all entered court to take up their duties not long after marrying their respective Princess Consorts.
Even the Seventh Prince, Prince Xuan, had secured a position as a seventh-rank administrative clerk in the rear army of the Five Armies Camp, three years after the former Crown Prince’s wedding.
But when it came to the Crown Prince, more than a year had passed since his wedding, and Emperor Yuanlong still showed no intention of letting him attend court and take part in state affairs.
The excuse was ready-made: the Crown Prince was young, hot-blooded, and unsettled in temperament. He needed to cultivate himself and temper his character before he could shoulder great responsibilities in the future.
It was utter nonsense.
But since Emperor Yuanlong had said it, who would dare contradict him?
So for the past year, the Crown Prince had been given only duties without real power, such as conducting sacrifices to Heaven on the emperor’s behalf, supervising the compilation of books, and lecturing on the classics at the imperial academy.
Until two months ago.
Someone at court had once again raised the matter of the Crown Prince entering government service. This time, Emperor Yuanlong’s attitude seemed to suggest he was considering it.
Perhaps the Crown Prince had suddenly promoted that little minx because he didn’t want anyone to seize this opportunity to accuse the heir to the throne of keeping a woman in his rear quarters without a title, letting her bear and raise his children.
“What do you think?” Zheng Mingzhi pressed her lips together. Something about it felt wrong to her, though she couldn’t say what.
After a moment’s thought, she rubbed her temples.
“That must be it. The wretched maid is lucky.”
Nanny Pang soothed her. “She’s only there to warm his bed. Didn’t we choose her because she had broad hips and a full chest and looked like she’d bear children easily? Our most urgent concern is to hope the little minx conceives soon. Once she gives birth, we’ll register the child under your name. Then won’t it be easy as anything to keep her in line?”
At last, Zheng Mingzhi’s expression eased.
“That may be so, but His Highness gave her the rank. I can’t go too far in keeping her in line.”
“What’s there to fear?” Nanny Pang said dismissively. “His Highness is cold by nature, and he’ll be busy with affairs of state in the future. How will he have time to worry about a little Zhaoxun? Won’t the affairs of the rear quarters all be yours to decide?”
At that, Zheng Mingzhi’s last trace of anger faded.
Then Shuangyun spoke from beside them.
“Mistress, tonight is Liangyuan Cao’s turn to attend His Highness…”
Zheng Mingzhi frowned, her expression darkening.
References[+]