Jiang Zhuo had no memory of her mother from childhood.
Jiang Dun told her that her mother had unfortunately passed away during childbirth.
“Did I cause Mother’s death?”
“No,” Jiang Dun said, gently stroking the top of Jiang Zhuo’s head and patiently explaining. “Everyone in this world has their own fate. As long as Yaoyao did not deliberately intend to harm her mother, then her mother was not killed by Yaoyao.”
Yaoyao was Jiang Zhuo’s childhood name.
Peach blossoms, how luxuriant their glow.
Jiang Zhuo had been weak since birth, nearly unable to survive.
Jiang Dun sought medicine everywhere for her, and in the end, following the advice of a shaman physician, he went to White Horse Temple and had Jiang Zhuo acknowledge a hundred-year-old peach tree as her symbolic mother.
That was how Jiang Zhuo’s name came to be.
But why was it that she not only had no mother, but also no maternal uncles, no aunts, no maternal grandparents or any other relatives from her mother’s side?
Jiang Zhuo had been a curious child since she was young.
Whenever Jiang Zhuo asked, Jiang Dun would answer.
He said that Jiang Zhuo’s maternal grandfather’s family had few members, and that Jiang Zhuo’s mother had been the only daughter cherished in the palms of her parents’ hands.
That was how Jiang Dun explained it.
“What does ‘also’ mean?” Jiang Zhuo, who was in the middle of changing her teeth and could not even speak clearly, still insisted on getting to the bottom of things. “Who else is ‘also’ an only daughter cherished in the palms of their hands?”
“And you, Yaoyao,” Jiang Dun said, lifting the small Jiang Zhuo up with both hands and smiling as he explained. “You are also Father’s only daughter, one I hold in my palm for fear of dropping, and keep in my mouth for fear of melting.”
“But the wet nurse and the maidservant sisters all say that Father is young and his official career is promising, that you will surely marry again, and that Yaoyao will have many younger brothers and sisters.”
“No. Father will not marry again. Father having Yaoyao as his one daughter is enough.”
Jiang Dun rubbed Jiang Zhuo, who was not even as tall as his thigh, and made this promise.
Jiang Zhuo pouted, unhappy.
Her maternal grandfather’s family had few members—but what about her father’s own clan?
At every festival and seasonal visit, there were very few relatives who came to or visited the Jiang residence.
Jiang Zhuo was very lonely.
But by the time Jiang Zhuo was about nine years old, she began to understand why the Jiang family had so few relatives.
Jiang Dun did not like promoting members of his own clan. Sometimes, when relatives advanced too quickly, he would even suppress them somewhat.
Father was afraid that others would accuse him of favoritism.
“As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven—but your father is someone who attains the Dao and ascends at lightning speed alone.”
When Jiang Dun was promoted for the third time, Jiang Zhuo was just beginning her studies and reciting texts, and she loved to babble and show off the idioms she had just learned.
“It is better that one household cries than that the whole road cries,” Jiang Dun said, lightly stroking his beard. “If, for the benefit of the Jiang clan, I were to block truly capable people from serving the country and the ruler, that would be a misfortune for the family.”
“But what if the elder cousins in the clan truly have talent and learning?” Jiang Zhuo still asked curiously. “Wouldn’t Father then be burying rare talents of the court?”
“Those with true talent will not take my path,” Jiang Dun said with a smile. “Moreover, jade must be carved to become a vessel. Talent needs to be tempered—the more it is polished, the brighter it becomes. I, Jiang Dun, am willing to be their whetstone.”
“Then does Yaoyao need to be polished too?”
“Yaoyao is not jade. Yaoyao is a little peach blossom spirit born from a peach tree. Yaoyao only needs to stay by Father’s side.”
Jiang Zhuo did not understand, but she still nodded blankly.
When Jiang Zhuo was ten years old, a matchmaker came to the residence.
It was the younger sister of the Minister of Personnel who had taken a fancy to her father.
“…The Hanlin Academy is full of talent, and the Scholar has been promoted repeatedly—something rare in this dynasty. But if you wish to go a step further, you will likely still need to rely on the strength of clan connections.”
Jiang Zhuo and a group of maidservants went to eavesdrop. In the pushing and shoving, they forced the door open.
Jiang Zhuo, at the very front, was pressed down at the bottom. Afraid of being scolded, she decided to strike first and burst into tears.
“Father—Yaoyao hurts—”
Jiang Dun sighed, helped the sobbing Jiang Zhuo up, and patted the dust off her clothes.
“So this is Lord Jiang’s daughter—truly carved of pink jade, lovable at a glance,” the matchmaking woman said, squatting down with a smiling face. “Miss Wei is gentle and virtuous and very fond of children. Even if Lord Jiang does not consider himself, he should at least find a mother for Miss Jiang to care for her.”
“No need,” Jiang Dun said coldly. “My daughter will be cared for by me.”
At a banquet when Jiang Zhuo was twelve years old, she fell in love with Prince Jing, Zhao Mingjing, at first sight and immediately declared that she would marry no one but him.
From then on, whenever Jiang Zhuo went to curry favor with her father, it was all to inquire about Prince Jing’s preferences and whereabouts.
After learning that Prince Jing liked women who were gentle, virtuous, and learned, Jiang Zhuo stopped wearing bright red dresses and began to study poetry and books diligently, as well as learning music.
“What does Yaoyao like about Prince Jing?” Jiang Dun could not help but ask as he watched Jiang Zhuo nod off while reading.
“Prince Jing is of noble status and is gentle and courteous in dealing with others.” Just awakened, Jiang Zhuo was still drowsy, but she used her limited mental capacity to think. “All the young ladies who gather in the capital say Prince Jing is very good. They say that only the most outstanding young lady in the entire capital is worthy of His Highness Prince Jing. If I can marry Prince Jing, I will surely shock them all!”
“His Highness Prince Jing is a prince of the imperial family. Even if he does not inherit the throne in the future, he will still have multiple wives and concubines, with chambers full of them. What will Yaoyao do then?”
“Though there may be many concubines, there is only one position of principal wife.” Jiang Zhuo tilted her head and asked somewhat foolishly. “Wouldn’t it be quite nice to have many sisters in the inner courtyard? Lively and bustling.”
Jiang Dun sighed and said nothing more.
When Jiang Zhuo grew a bit older, she met Shen Guanzhi and also began to immerse herself in attending banquets of noble ladies in the capital.
Her channels of information expanded as well. When Jiang Zhuo first learned that her father had firmly opposed establishing Prince Jing as crown prince in court, she even went to confront Jiang Dun angrily.
“Prince Jing may be benevolent and gentle, but he lacks decisiveness and does not have his own firm convictions. With such a temperament, if he were to become the ruler of a nation, he would likely heed the slander of petty men and be led astray. He is truly not a good choice.”
“But Father! How do you expect Prince Jing to view your daughter like this!”
Jiang Zhuo felt deeply wronged.
“If Prince Jing truly likes you, he will not treat you lightly because of me,” Jiang Dun said calmly, still buried in the paperwork on his desk. “Likewise, if Prince Jing, who is not suited to be crown prince, were truly to sit in that position, then even if I did nothing, even if one day you truly married him, you would sooner or later be implicated and dragged down by him.”
Still young, Jiang Zhuo could never understand what her father meant. She only cried and made a fuss, hoping that Jiang Dun would yield and comfort her as he had when she was little.
“A-Zhuo, sooner or later you will understand. What is most precious between people is not power or status, but sincerity. As your father, I do not ask that you marry into some princely or marquis household of bells and tripods. I only ask that you live your life in peace.”
How could that be?
Prince Jing was not only gentle and well-mannered, but he also had no wife or concubines to this day.
Unlike Marquis Wuwei, who, though immensely powerful, was a lecherous libertine and therefore not favored by refined young ladies.
That Prince Jing was recognized by everyone showed that beyond power and status, his character was also extremely esteemed. How could he not be considered a man of true sincerity?
At the time, Jiang Zhuo did not understand.
But many years later, on this very day, Jiang Zhuo finally realized that it was from that time onward that her father stopped calling her by her childhood name—and that it was also from that time onward that she began to grow distant from him.