Chapter 157: The Emperor Has No Family Matters (Featuring Zhou Yu, 0.87 Parts Daily Life)

The autumn daylight streamed through the window lattice, flooding Kunning Palace with a bright glow, yet it could not dispel the chill within.

"Her Highness the Empress! His Majesty... His Majesty is on his way to Kunning Palace!"

A young eunuch rushed into the hall, his shrill voice slicing through the silence.

Zhou Yu, who had been curled up on the heated daybed hugging a soft cushion and staring blankly into space, sprang to her feet, her dull eyes instantly blazing with startling brightness.

"Quick! Help me change, at once!"

The entire Kunning Palace seemed to come alive in an instant.

The palace maids fell into chaos, some holding phoenix coronets and ceremonial robes, others scrambling to fetch the dressing case.

"That loom — quick, move it to the back, don't let His Majesty see it!"

"Go to the warm cellar and bring me those pots of 'Yao Huang' peonies in fullest bloom!"

"Where is the Junshan Silver Needle tea His Majesty loves? Go prepare it at once!"

For a moment, footsteps, urgent cries, and the clatter of objects all mingled together.

The palace maids spun about like tops caught in a whirlwind.

Some selected jade pendants to match the Empress's phoenix robe, some traced delicate lines with tiny eyebrow brushes, and some carefully pinned kingfisher-feather head ornaments into her hair.

Rouge, lip color, eyebrow pigment... each kept in the most exquisite porcelain boxes, the palace maids' hands deft and swift.

Amidst this flurry, another young eunuch announced loudly from outside the hall:

"His Majesty has already passed the Western Prosperity Gate!"

Everyone in the hall froze abruptly, as if a pause button had been pressed.

The next instant brought even more frantic activity.

At last, when everything was settled and the eunuch's high-pitched announcement rang out from beyond the hall, one could have heard a pin drop inside Kunning Palace.

When Zhu Youjian stepped into Kunning Palace, what met him was a faint, drifting scent of sandalwood, floating in the warm air, carrying a calming fragrance.

He pushed open the hall doors, but what he saw was not the pouting or reproachful look he had imagined from Changqiu.

Zhou Yu stood silently in the center of the hall, clad in ceremonial pheasant robes, wearing a nine-dragon four-phoenix coronet, surrounded by pearls and kingfisher ornaments, her expression solemn — she had received him with the most formal grand court ceremony.

"This subject pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, ten thousand long lives to His Majesty!"

The palace maids and eunuchs filling the hall knelt in a dark, dense mass.

Zhu Youjian's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, then he waved his hand: "All of you, withdraw."

As if granted a great reprieve, they retreated in silence, leaving this vast space to the most exalted couple in the empire.

Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and forced a smile onto his face, trying to break the heavy atmosphere.

"This was meant to be a simple family moment between husband and wife. Why such solemn ceremony today?"

Zhou Yu forced herself to remain cold, turned away, and gave him a gentle prick:

"One day apart feels like three autumns. It has been half a month since Your Majesty last set foot in Kunning Palace — that makes forty-five years. Naturally, your consort must welcome you with due ceremony."

That single sentence left Zhu Youjian utterly speechless.

The smile on his face stiffened, and he stammered, not knowing what to say.

Who was to blame?

That miraculous father-in-law, of course.

When the capital's new policies had the nobility and officials all donating silver to build roads, not contributing a single cent was one thing.

But then he actually sent his steward to seize the hundred qing of land that Zhu Youjian had originally left for Wei Zhongxian's family dependents.

That was practically tearing down his reputation and credibility and trampling them underfoot.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he said one thing in public and did another in private!

Naturally, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not report this on their own initiative — wouldn't that be driving a thorn between the Emperor and the Empress?

Throughout the court, the eunuch faction dared not report it for fear of being implicated, and the Donglin faction was unwilling to report it, wishing nothing more than for the Wei clique to suffer even worse.

It was only when he himself, in the midst of a hundred pressing matters, remembered this lurking thunderbolt and specifically summoned Wang Tiqian for a targeted inquiry that he finally unearthed this absurd affair.

Sure enough, it was the same stupid and greedy character from the history books — not a bit changed.

Angry? Of course he wasn't angry; he had long expected it.

He simply used this opportunity to suppress Zhou Kui's memorial requesting an earldom, and instead only approved the title of Baron Xinle for his own uncle, Liu Xiaozu.

Even trash has its uses.

Just the thing to farm his own reputation score.

As far as the state was concerned, his conscience was clear.

But as far as the family was concerned, the matter could not be explained so neatly.

Having done this "guilty deed," he didn't know how to face Zhou Yu for a time, so he simply played the ostrich and buried himself headlong in the Western Park.

Now, the hall sank into a suffocating silence.

Though only inches apart, they seemed as distant as the ends of the earth.

Zhou Yu stood with her back to him, waiting a long while, yet heard no movement behind her.

The grievance in her heart mingled with a thread of anxiety, and she could not help stealing a glance back.

She saw Zhu Youjian standing right where he was, brows tightly knit, his face full of worry, as if troubled by some matter of immense gravity.

In that instant, the high walls she had built around her heart came crashing down.

All her reserve, all her resentment, dissolved into tears streaming down.

She could hold back no longer; a tiny sob escaped her, and she spun around and threw herself at him.

"Wuu..."

At first it was only a stifled weeping, but soon it turned into full-throated wailing, as if she meant to pour out all the grievance and all the fear and anxiety of the past half month.

Zhu Youjian sighed and gently patted her faintly trembling back.

The sobbing in his arms gradually subsided, leaving only broken, halting whimpers.

In his heart, he had already made his decision.

Grant the title first — placate the Empress, and also stop the mouths of the realm.

After all, being harsh to imperial in-laws… was also something that damaged one's reputation.

If it dragged on too long, even among the civil officials, someone would be unable to resist stepping forward to remonstrate.

Ah… for who could have known that this imperial in-law would be a ball of dung.

If it truly won't do, then later observe his conduct — if he errs, punish him; if he errs, punish him at once, that is all.

Since he had come today, he had already prepared himself to make concessions.

"There now, it was my fault." He softened his voice. "The memorial for the State Father's enfeoffment as marquis — I shall approve it tomorrow."

He thought this would be a panacea.

Who could have known that the moment Zhou Yu heard it, her body stiffened, and she began weeping even more bitterly than before.

At this, Zhu Youjian was utterly baffled.

A surge of nameless anger rose in his heart — no wonder the imperial in-laws of every successive dynasty had been so repulsive in character; public duty and private feeling, sentiment and law, were truly so hard to adjudicate!

His concessions had their limits. If she too were like her father…

Anger burning in his heart, his tone chilled by several degrees: "The State Father's petition for two thousand qing of land is truly excessive!"

"The state treasury is in dire straits now, and the new policies are about to be implemented — under no circumstances can the trend of imperial in-laws begging for grants be reopened! This matter is absolutely impossible!"

The weeping in his arms stopped abruptly.

Zhou Yu jerked her head up, a pair of red and swollen eyes staring straight at him, her gaze filled with shock and utter disbelief.

"Does Your Majesty think… that in your subject's eyes there is only that paltry private gain?"

Zhu Youjian was stunned by her question.

"Prince Xin! Prince Xin!"

Zhou Yu was trembling with fury and could not help calling out twice in succession.

In an instant, her tears welled up again, and she simply seized the sleeve of the Emperor's dragon robe and carelessly wiped the tear stains from her face.

"Yes! Your subject knows her father is senseless!" Her voice, thick with a nasal tone, suddenly rose sharply. "These past half-month, in the palace your subject has either been weaving or copying the Admonitions for Women — was that to force Your Majesty to grant him rewards?"

She lifted her tear-streaked face and looked straight into the Emperor's startled eyes, her tone full of grievance and unwillingness:

"Everyone says you are a sage sovereign descended to the world, but I too have read books! How could I not understand the principle that the state now walks a difficult path, requiring ruler, ministers, and common people to unite with utter sincerity!"

"I am angry, not because you would not enfeoff my father or grant him land!"

Her voice suddenly rose, tinged with a sob.

"But angry at you… angry that you took me for one of those women who use their charms to flatter the sovereign and shield their own family!"

"The sovereign is lord of all under heaven, and I too know of rise and fall. Was what I contended for mere wealth and rank? It was only a matter of the heart!"

Two clear trails of tears slid down her cheeks.

"You personally plow in the Western Park, toiling for the agriculture of the realm — am I then only fit to sit idle in the deep palace and reap the rewards? I too sought out a loom, wishing also to learn the work of silkworms and mulberry, to share your burdens, to do my part for all under heaven!"

The angrier Zhou Yu grew, the more unguarded her words became.

"If you think me unworthy, then depose the Empress! I, however, am absolutely not the sort of person who covets wealth and rank and begs for glory!"

At this point, she could not hold back after all and began sobbing once more.

"My father's matter — you may handle it impartially. I have never once spoken a word to plead for him. You… why did you imagine me to be such a contemptible person?"

"Must I truly cut out this heart and show it to you before you know whether it is true or false?"

She could speak no further. She spun around abruptly, threw herself onto the heated daybed, buried her face in the brocade quilt, and once again wept bitterly.

Yet this time, after she had wept for a long while, there was not the slightest sound from behind her.

Could it be… that he was truly angry?

A flutter of panic rose in Zhou Yu's heart. Her weeping gradually ceased, and she cautiously turned around.

The hall was empty.

Zhu Youjian had already quietly departed.

A vast sorrow and despair instantly engulfed her.

She collapsed back onto the daybed, feeling a chill spread through her entire body.

Zhou Yu haphazardly pulled the quilt over herself from head to toe, and in that darkness, curled into a tight ball.

He doesn't want me anymore…

In the end, he has come to disdain me…

I am going to be deposed…

Depose me then! I am not that sort of person!

No, I was not wrong! He is the one at fault! He is the one who does not trust me!

But I… cannot bear to leave him…

All manner of thoughts tangled and clashed in her mind, as tears silently soaked the pillowcase.

Just when her grief had reached its peak and she was nearly fainting away—

The quilt above her head was suddenly lifted by a gentle force.

Light streamed back in, somewhat dazzling.

Zhou Yu opened her red and swollen eyes and looked up in confusion.

Zhu Youjian stood right beside the daybed. Not a trace of gloom remained on his face; in its place was the warm, spring-breeze smile she knew so well.

In his hand he held a warm cloth, and his voice was full of apology.

"There now, Changqiu, it was my fault."

"How about we wipe your face first?"

"Wait a little. We'll take our meal together."

"After the meal, you can come and teach me how to weave again."

Zhou Yu sniffled, and seeing the tenderness in his eyes, she stayed perfectly still, letting the tears cling to her long lashes, on the verge of falling but not yet fallen.

Zhu Youjian bent down, picked up the warm cloth, and gently wiped the tear stains from her face.

The cloth covered her face, blocking her sight and shutting out the awkwardness.

Just as he was carefully wiping her cheek, from behind the cloth came a muffled voice, thick with a nasal catch.

"Then… this concubine wants to eat Tianjin crabs…"

Zhu Youjian's wiping hand paused. A scene from a film of a later age suddenly flashed through his mind.

He couldn't help smiling. "Very well, I'll grant you everything. From now on, I'll accompany you to eat crabs once every month."

Zhou Yu burst into laughter through her tears and snatched the handkerchief away. "Who ever heard of eating them every month? Crabs are only at their finest in autumn!"

She wiped her face carelessly, but when she saw a smear of rouge come off on the cloth, she suddenly grew embarrassed.

"Hurry up and go out. Wait until this consort has freshened up, then come back. Out… out, out, out…"

The hall door closed behind him with a creak, shutting all the warmth and tenderness of that room inside.

The slanting autumn sun passed through the covered walkway, casting long shadows between the vermilion pillars.

A bleak autumn wind swept past, scattering the last trace of warmth in his heart and making his mind clear and cold once more.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back before the steps, gazing up at the high, distant sky.

The sky was overcast, like grey lead, making the towering Forbidden City seem all the more oppressive and desolate.

The primacy of the eldest son of the primary consort is the foundation of the ancestral temple's security — this is the immutable ancestral institution for ten thousand generations.

Yet can the weight of the divine vessel of the realm be borne so lightly by the mere words "eldest son of the primary consort"?

In another dozen or so years, will it continue along the Ming path of the eldest legitimate son, or will it go the way of the Qing's nine dragons fighting for the throne?

When he reaches sixty, what will be in the hearts of those forty-year-old crown princes or imperial princes then?

What strata and factions will forty years of reform give rise to, and how will those people entangle themselves with the affairs of the imperial house?

His Empress, his heir, the ancestral laws and institutions he must face…

Every single matter is bound up with the realm and the altars of state; not one of them can be called a "family affair."

Zhu Youjian's expression was calm.

As the sovereign, in a certain sense, one is no longer human.

He wanted to push the dynasty forward, but the dynasty's various forces also sought to drag him back to where he started.

So it is with affairs of state, and so it is, in truth, with family affairs as well.

Zhu Youjian's hands, clasped behind his back, clenched tight.

— At tomorrow's grand court assembly, he would let all under heaven see the storm he was about to unleash!

His ambition had barely risen halfway when the door behind him suddenly opened.

The expression on Zhu Youjian's face softened in an instant. He turned around and said with a gentle smile:

"Come, Changqiu, let's eat first."

(End of Chapter)