Chapter 11: The Great Ming's Good Father-in-Law (Please Add to Favorites, Please Recommend)

Zhu Cilang was still smiling — not to hide the panic in his heart, but because he wanted to leave a good impression on his future father-in-law…

Since Wu Xiang had an unmarried daughter, why should Zhu Cilang stand on ceremony? Of course she must be taken into the imperial harem. Not only Wu Xiang's daughter — if in the future he encountered men like Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Zuo Liangyu, and Zheng Zhilong, he could not let any of them slip away either. Every last one of them had to become his own father-in-law, his venerable old taishan!

Who could blame him? Zhu Cilang had no money, no soldiers, no real power. Apart from the moral authority of his title, the only thing he had left to sell was his own body!

Fortunately, Zhu Cilang's body was still worth a great deal. Not only was he good-looking, his birth was excellent too — he was the heir to the Great Ming dynasty.

Even if those warlords wanted to play Cao Cao, they would still have to let their daughters sleep with Zhu Cilang! Didn't Cao Cao send all three of his daughters to Emperor Xian of Han?

"Your Highness need not fear. We are men who have spent our lives in slaughter — what have we to fear?" Wu Xiang answered with utmost deference. "My son and I still have several decades' worth of old household retainers, all good men who have fought the Tartar caitiffs for half their lives. They can be used to escort Your Highness and His Majesty in breaking out of the capital!"

Wu Sanfu added, "Rest assured, Your Highness. This subject is willing to guard Your Highness's side and will preserve Your Highness's safety no matter what."

Zhu Cilang nodded and gave an approving smile. "With the words of the Commissioner and his son, We are reassured. Companion Wang, what else did Her Majesty the Empress bid you tell Commissioner Wu?"

Wang Cheng'en immediately picked up the thread and said with a smile, "Her Majesty the Empress has heard that Commissioner Wu has a daughter not yet betrothed, sixteen years of age this year. Is that so?"

Wu Xiang was stunned, then stunned again. What did this mean? Why were they asking about his daughter? Could it be they wanted to arrange a match for Sanmei? Marry her to whom? Some young master of the Zhou family, the Empress's kin?

"Yes, yes… my daughter Sanmei is sixteen this year. She was previously betrothed, but unfortunately her fiancé was killed in battle in Liaodong."

Wu Xiang told a lie. Wu Sanmei's fiancé had been a son of the Zu family, and after the Battle of Songjin he had surrendered to the Qing.

"What a pity," Wang Cheng'en sighed. "But no matter. As long as she never crossed the threshold, she cannot be counted a widow."

Wu Sanmei was what was called a "widow at the gate." If she had been born into a particularly rigid scholar-official household, she might have been expected to preserve her chastity, but the Wu household did not stand on such things.

"That is only natural," Wu Xiang answered.

Wang Cheng'en glanced at Zhu Cilang, and Zhu Cilang nodded back at him emphatically. The honest eunuch gritted his teeth. "And so Her Majesty the Empress wishes for the Commissioner's daughter Sanmei to enter the palace and attend upon the Crown Prince as… as a Cairen!"

Why only a Cairen? Zhu Cilang's brows furrowed deeply. If he was going to use the honey trap, he ought to go all the way. A Crown Prince's Cairen and a Crown Prince's principal consort differed by only one rank, but the treatment of the two was as far apart as heaven and earth.

The principal consort would one day become Empress; her son would become Crown Prince; and Wu Xiang would become the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather… That was why, when Zhu Cilang and Wang Cheng'en had discussed it, the plan had been to make Wu Sanmei the principal consort.

But Wang Cheng'en had turned it over and over in his mind and felt it would not do. He feared it would never get past the Chongzhen Emperor and the assembled civil and military officials, so he had demoted Wu Sanmei by one rank.

Over on the other side, Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu were still staring blankly.

Wu Sanmei was just a wild girl from a military family, raised beyond the passes. Riding, archery, spear and staff — she was skilled in all of them, but she knew nothing of books and nothing of propriety. She was cut out to be the matriarch of a military household: if the Tartar caitiffs made a surprise raid, she could string a bow and take the field, or mount a horse and break through an encirclement.

But how could a girl like that enter the palace to attend upon the Crown Prince?

Moreover, the Great Ming had its own ancestral institutions: daughters of high officials were not selected as imperial consorts.

"Director, this subject holds the rank of Left Commissioner-in-Chief. May my daughter enter the palace?" As Wu Xiang asked, he studied the Crown Prince and saw that Zhu Cilang's face still wore a gentle smile, along with a confidence that could overcome all obstacles. To be honest, he was a little moved.

His Highness the Crown Prince truly looked like a sovereign who would restore the Great Ming!

If his own daughter followed him, in the future she would at the very least be a Noble Consort… and his own family would be imperial in-laws. With several thousand household retainers besides, would they not be able to swagger through Jiangnan? Who knew — he might even get his own grandson made Crown Prince. Then it would truly be "Wu and Zhu, sharing Jiangnan together!"

At that thought, Wu Xiang felt a twinge of resentment toward the Chongzhen Emperor. With terms this good, why hadn't he mentioned it at the audience in the second month? If Sanmei had entered the palace in the second month, the second brother's great army would have reached Beijing long ago…

"Commissioner, these are extraordinary times!" Zhu Cilang interjected. "The Zhu and Wu families should be of one heart and one mind, and weather this crisis together."

Wu Xiang still looked somewhat troubled. "Your Highness, it is only that my daughter has been poorly disciplined. Once she enters the palace, I fear she will break the rules."

"No matter," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "We shall personally take charge of disciplining Sanmei on behalf of our venerable father-in-law."

He was already calling him father-in-law… Wu Xiang truly found it hard to refuse. After all, Zhu Cilang was the Crown Prince of the Great Ming!

Wu Xiang finally nodded. "If Your Highness can look favorably upon my daughter, this old man will of course present her to the palace… It is only that when the imperial house takes a consort, there are proper procedures. With matters so urgent now, what is to be done?"

Wang Cheng'en said, "As long as the Commissioner agrees, an imperial rescript will be issued directly. With matters urgent, the rites will naturally be simplified. Once the imperial carriage reaches the auxiliary capital, a full proclamation will be issued to make up for it."

A so-called "direct rescript" was an edict issued straight from the palace, without the Grand Secretariat's draft and the Emperor's endorsement in red. In terms of legal procedure, it was problematic. One might even call it an illegitimate imperial decree!

Moreover, using a direct rescript to take a Cairen for the Crown Prince also violated established precedent and would most likely draw protests from the Grand Secretariat.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Cheng'en had not dared promise Wu Sanmei the position of Crown Princess, and had only dared offer a Cairen.

Yet even a Cairen could not be privately taken without violating the rules. Never mind a Cairen — even a palace maid had to be referred by the Emperor to the Grand Secretariat, drafted by the Grand Secretariat, endorsed in red by the Emperor, and handled by the Ministry of Rites.

Of course, the present circumstances were exceptional! Beijing was about to fall. The Son of Heaven's "southern tour" was in truth a flight for survival. How many of the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries would even manage to escape was uncertain. To insist on issuing edicts through Grand Secretariat drafts and imperial endorsements in red would hardly be appropriate now.

Still, for Wu Xiang to hand over his daughter on the strength of a single word from Zhu Cilang was impossible… at least impossible under present circumstances. Once they had escaped Beijing, there would be no problem.

So Zhu Cilang had decided to exploit the time gap: first acknowledge Wu Xiang as his father-in-law, then complete the formalities after leaving the city — as long as he could hold on to Wu Xiang and gain control of the troops escorting the imperial flight, then Zhu Cilang could choose which subjects would follow him.

In other words, if the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat did not obediently fall in line, they could all be replaced with officials from the Eastern Palace faction, and then the edict to take a consort could naturally be issued.

Wu Xiang had no idea that Zhu Cilang was acting on his own authority. He assumed the Chongzhen Emperor wanted to win him over, and so had the Crown Prince take Wu Sanmei as a Cairen. It was irregular, but they were about to escort the imperial flight — who had time for so many rules?

When Li Zicheng broke through Beijing, would they have to wait for the Emperor to issue a directive, the Grand Secretariat to draft it, the Emperor to endorse it in red, and only then flee? Would they even be able to find the Grand Secretariat people by then? And if they couldn't find them, would they just not flee?

"Good!" Wu Xiang laughed. "It is settled! These are extraordinary times, and this humble official will not stand on ceremony. As soon as the direct rescript arrives, I will send my daughter into the palace to serve."

"Excellent!" Zhu Cilang clapped his hands and laughed. "Venerable Father-in-Law is truly a man of spirit. Though your son-in-law grew up deep within the palace, all his life he has most admired men of spirit. If your daughter's temperament takes after her father's, she and your son-in-law will certainly get along. Once we reach Jiangnan, your son-in-law will raise her to principal consort, and from then on we shall truly be one family."

Raised to principal consort… that meant Empress!

Wu Xiang grinned so wide he could not close his mouth. This was heaven-sent wealth and honor! His daughter would be Empress, and his sons held military power. The Wu clan would in the future be half-masters of the dazzling world of Jiangnan.

But even as Wu Xiang rejoiced, he knew in his heart what was what. What the Crown Prince had his eye on was not his daughter's spirited temperament… They had not even met yet — what was this talk of getting along or not getting along?

What the Crown Prince had his eye on was none other than the Wu family's military strength.

His Highness the Crown Prince had the moral authority of his title, but he did not have a single reliable elite force in hand. Even if he reached Jiangnan, he would inevitably be bullied by petty men. The Wu family, however, had three thousand household retainers. They were not enough to fight the Tartar caitiffs, but against roving bandits they should be able to hold out for a while. Against the several Regional Commanders in the south… perhaps only Huang Degong's Valiant Guard Camp could match his own. The rest were not worth mentioning!

And the Valiant Guard Camp was a direct imperial force raised and nurtured by the royal house, so it would naturally obey the Crown Prince and the Emperor. With the Wu family and the Valiant Guard Camp protecting them, a northern expedition to recover the Central Plains might be difficult. But holding the line at the Yangtze and ruling the south — surely that would be no problem?

After all, the Tartar caitiffs had no navy to speak of. Otherwise, how could the pay and provisions of the Ningyuan garrison possibly have been shipped by sea?

As for the roving bandits, they were all wandering around the Central Plains and the northwest — they likewise could not get down into Jiangnan.

So escorting the imperial flight south was the Wu family's best way out. And if his daughter could become the future Empress, the Wu family would have profited enormously.

(End of Chapter)