Chapter 1410: Where Has Papa Gone?

"This slave will not marry Galdan — she would rather die than marry him! This slave wants only to stay by His Majesty's side; she would willingly be a beast of burden, and she will go nowhere!"

The speaker was, of course, A'nu, kneeling at Emperor Zhu's feet, chest thrust out, so aggrieved she was on the verge of tears. Did he look down on her body, or what? He would not even give her a chance to warm his bed, yet he had bedded several of those foreign women who had come with Princess Nisha. And now, to top it off, he wanted to marry her off!

So the moment Jin Boguo and Jin Xuanye had left, Fan A'nu refused to accept it, and with tears welling in her eyes she knelt before Zhu Cilang and began to plead.

Zhu Cilang looked at this somewhat stubborn little girl and truly did not know whether to laugh or be angry. Still, he could not blame this woman who had been raised at his side. In this day and age, slave girls and maidservants were expected to serve as bed-warmers. Had not Fan A'nu's own mother risen from slave girl to Selected Attendant? Fan A'nu was far more loyal than her mother, serving Emperor Zhu with all her heart — so why could she not be promoted to Selected Attendant?

"The Hanlin academicians and the female diarists may withdraw." Zhu Cilang did not immediately set about persuading Fan A'nu; instead he dismissed the Hanlin academicians and female diarists from the audience hall of the Hall of Imperial Supremacy — the latter being the female officials responsible for keeping the Qijuzhu. A great enlightened sovereign like Zhu Cilang could not afford to leave a stain upon the Qijuzhu!

Once the "idle bystanders" had all left, Emperor Zhu put on a solemn expression and said to Fan A'nu with deep sincerity: "A'nu, We know you are loyal, and that is precisely why We are sending you far away to the Western Regions, to keep watch over Galdan for Us. Besides Galdan, you must also keep watch over the territory of the Western Regions for Us.

A'nu, of all the many maids and palace women around Us, you are the only one who can accomplish these two tasks for Us! This burden of a thousand catties can only be carried by you. You are the slave We trust most — do not disappoint Us!"

This was, in fact, the truth. Of the maids and palace women around Zhu Cilang, apart from the Rajput beauties brought by Princess Nisha, all the rest were old matrons — were they to go to the Western Regions to be Galdan's wife or his stepmother? As for those Rajput beauties, they were beautiful enough, but they were not as reliable or as devoted as A'nu!

Besides, those "Bollywood beauties" and Galdan did not move in the same circles at all — how long could beauty alone hold Galdan's attention?

But this Fan A'nu was different: she was an educated woman who had finished elementary school, and she and Galdan, a student of the Imperial Academy, would have common ground!

Moreover, A'nu and Galdan had known each other since childhood. When A'nu was little she had even called Galdan "Brother Monk" — so affectionate, you could almost call them childhood sweethearts!

In addition, because Fan A'nu had long moved within the core of Ming power, she had absorbed by osmosis no small familiarity with politics, statecraft, and palace intrigue. Sent to Galdan's side, she would never come out the loser!

Hearing Zhu Cilang put it this way, A'nu knew she had no choice but to go to the Western Regions — to Emperor Zhu, affairs of state would always outweigh matters of the heart!

And her loyalty to Zhu Cilang was genuine — from childhood she had been indoctrinated by her mother Kong Sizhen (Kong Sizhen did it both to demonstrate loyalty and for her daughter's future prospects), and she regarded Emperor Zhu as her heaven. Her earlier flirtations with Emperor Zhu had not been out of romantic feeling, but out of loyalty: she felt she had some beauty, and therefore ought to serve the Emperor.

Now that Emperor Zhu was entrusting her with a weightier responsibility, how could she push it away?

Yet the moment she thought of how hard it would be to see Emperor Zhu again after being married off far away, Fan A'nu's eyes brimmed with tears. Still, holding back her tears, she declared her resolve: "Whatever burden Your Majesty lays upon this slave, be it a thousand catties or ten thousand, this slave will surely carry it. But this slave is only a woman, and fears she cannot handle the errand Your Majesty has assigned. Should that happen, this slave fears that even being ground to dust would not atone for her crime."

Truly loyal indeed. Zhu Cilang thought to himself: it seems sending you to Galdan's side was the right decision!

"A'nu, you need not worry about failing to keep Galdan in check, still less worry that Galdan will treat you badly." Zhu Cilang smiled. "You are Our slave, and you will marry Galdan under the name of Our adopted daughter. He will not dare fail to hold you in high regard! Of course, you must not rely on Our favor to bully Galdan. The reason We are sending you to marry Galdan, rather than one of Our own sisters, is precisely because We feared Galdan would be bullied."

"This slave understands. This slave will not bully Galdan." A'nu nodded. "But she will not let Galdan bully her either!"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "Good. From today on, you need no longer attend upon Us. First go and learn a few tricks from Kou Baimen. In addition, We will arrange for someone to teach you Mongolian."

At these words, A'nu could no longer hold back her tears, and they streamed down her face. "This slave cannot bear to leave you. Let this slave attend upon you a while longer. This slave promises to study hard with Lady Kou, and to study Mongolian hard as well."

Zhu Cilang nodded and said, "Then so be it. The journey of Jin Boguo and Jin Xuanye will take several months before they can meet Galdan, and it will be about a year before Galdan comes to Yingtian Prefecture to marry you. Time is not exactly ample, so you must study well!"

"This slave will surely work hard!"

Jin Xuanye's Grace-Perpetuating Marquis residence was located on the outskirts of Pukou, on a remote and quiet street. It was called a marquis residence, but it had none of that "once past the marquis's gate, the sea runs deep" air about it — it was merely a three-courtyard compound. Not the least bit luxurious, even a little shabby, and somewhat in disrepair.

Of course, Zhu Cilang had not particularly shortchanged Jin Xuanye as a marquis; he had simply given him the standard treatment for a Ming marquis — one marquis residence, two thousand mu of good farmland, and the corresponding primary and secondary school admission quotas.

The land for the marquis residence could be chosen within certain limits: if built in a busy district, it could only be built smaller; if built on the city outskirts, it could be larger. There was also a choice in how the residence itself was built. One could have the Imperial Clan Court (Zhu Cilang had expanded the jurisdiction of the Imperial Clan Court, placing the ennobled nobility under its management as well) build it according to standard specifications, or one could receive the construction funds and build it oneself.

Jin Xuanye's marquis residence had been built by Bumbutai, who took the money from the Imperial Clan Court and built it with painstaking frugality — hence it was especially plain, with poor materials, and looked rather shabby.

But this could not be helped. Originally, after Shunzhi submitted to the Ming, he had been enfeoffed as Prince Gong, and a princely residence had been built to princely standards, with enfeoffment lands granted and an additional sum of reward silver. So Bumbutai and Fuquan (Shunzhi's eldest son) had lived quite comfortably. But later Shunzhi rebelled and revived the Great Qing, which infuriated Emperor Zhu, who confiscated Prince Gong's residence and transferred it to Jin Boguo. Bumbutai and Fuquan were driven out, and they were not even allowed to take the silver coins stored in the cellar — all of it went to Jin Boguo. Had Ajige not taken out his private savings to rent a house for the grandmother and grandson, they would have nearly ended up sleeping in the street. Later, when Xuanye was enfeoffed as Grace-Perpetuating Marquis and granted land and a house site, Bumbutai's family was finally properly settled.

But the old lady, having known poverty, no longer dared to spend freely, and so she saved every coin she could.

Of course, however shabby it was, it was still a marquis residence, and far better than the homes of ordinary commoners. In the rear courtyard of the marquis residence, in a spacious Buddhist chapel, Bumbutai was chanting sutras when she heard that Xuanye was going out to look for his father — and she immediately flew into a rage.

"Your father died long ago, burned to death in a sea of fire, reduced to ashes! Where are you going to look for him?"

"Grandmother," Xuanye said, glancing left and right to make sure no one else was present before lowering his voice, "many people outside are saying that my Ama did not die — that he faked his death and escaped."

"Nonsense! That is nonsense!" The old lady grew frantic. "What are you trying to do, get yourself killed? All we have left are these few broken tile-roofed rooms, and you still want to stir up trouble — do you really want our whole family out on the street? Do you know how much your aunt has had to endure in the palace just so that we, grandmother and grandson, have a place to settle down? You, you—"

"Grandmother," Xuanye said, seeing how agitated the old lady had become, and hurriedly explained, "your grandson knows what is at stake. Your grandson will not act rashly. Besides, would His Majesty not know whether my Ama is dead or not? The fact that he is letting your grandson go out most likely means he intends to use me as bait to lure my Ama out!"

(End of Chapter)