Chapter 329: The Imperial Consorts
The autumn rain fell in fine droplets, creating ripples in the lotus pond beyond the lattice window.
Zhu Junan, wrapped in a cloak lined with Luzhou silk and gray squirrel fur, sat upright in his chair, reading a book.
Wispy trails of incense curled from the gilded crane-shaped burner.
After reading for a while, he couldn't help but look up, only to see two eunuchs standing with hands folded outside the study. Unable to resist, he asked, "Has Lord Chen not arrived yet?"
Feng Chengshan, standing beside him, smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, there's no need to worry. Lord Chen is currently discussing matters with Lord Zhang and will be here shortly."
Zhu Junan turned to Feng Chengshan. "What matters? He agreed to meet me at noon."
Feng Chengshan, his face pale and hands respectfully folded, said, "This old servant does not know. Should I go and urge Lord Chen? However, the Grand Secretariat is currently in session, and if I were to barge in with a message, I fear it might disrupt their discussions on matters of state... Since Your Majesty only wishes to consult Lord Chen briefly, waiting a little longer shouldn't be an issue. What do you think?"
Zhu Junan's grip on the book turned his knuckles white.
After a long pause, he forced a smile. "Since Lord Chen is in discussion with Lord Zhang, I shall wait a while longer."
Feng Chengshan had someone bring in a bowl of red date, fritillary bulb, and snow fungus porridge for Zhu Junan.
Zhu Junan picked up the bowl, took a sip, and frowned. "Why is it so sweet?"
Feng Chengshan replied, "This was personally prepared by Consort Zhuang for Your Majesty. It was just delivered moments ago! The fritillary bulbs are as small as pearls—truly excellent. Your Majesty has been coughing lately, so this is perfect for you."
Zhu Junan was nearly fifteen this year.
For an ordinary prince, he would likely already have several concubines by now. Some might even have children already.
However, since ascending the throne, Zhu Junan had only once selected Imperial Concubine Candidates. He had little interest in the affairs of the inner palace, and his harem was sparse. Consort Zhuang was Zhang Ju Lian's niece. After being selected, her status rivaled that of the one consort and one concubine his mother had arranged for him, and she even seemed to hold a superior position.
These servants were all too eager to curry favor with her!
Zhu Junan disliked Consort Zhuang—not because she was unattractive, but because she constantly sought to meddle in his affairs, questioning every little thing. It annoyed him greatly, but he dared not voice his displeasure. Moreover, the Empress Dowager had warned him: allowing maternal relatives to monopolize power was a grave taboo. Zhang Ju Lian's influence was already too great. If he were to gain control over the harem as well, Zhu Junan would truly become a puppet.
How humiliating it was to sit on this throne! Zhu Junan felt deeply aggrieved. He couldn't even summon a minister at will!
The sweetness was unbearable. After one sip, he set the bowl aside and returned to his book.
Within a quarter of an hour, Chen Yanyun arrived—and unexpectedly, Zhang Ju Lian accompanied him.
"Your Majesty, forgive this humble official for the delay. Minister Zhang and I were deep in discussion and lost track of time," Chen Yanyun said with a cupped-hand salute.
Zhu Junan's delicate face brightened with a smile. "My matter is trivial—there's no harm in asking later! I didn't expect Minister Zhang to join us. You've been scarce lately, Minister Zhang. It's been a while since I last saw you."
Zhang Ju Lian rose and saluted. "If Your Majesty misses this humble official, you need only send for me. Today, I also wished to see how far Your Majesty has progressed in your studies. I heard you were reading The Annals of Lü Buwei recently?"
Third Master Chen also took his seat, sipping tea as he listened to Zhang Ju Lian instruct Zhu Junan on his reading.Just yesterday, he had been overseeing the trial of Xie Sixing and his associates with the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Xie Sixing and a few others were sentenced to beheading, while the rest were exiled. Today, Zhang Julian had summoned him precisely to discuss this matter. Although over a dozen lives were at stake, it was ultimately a minor case, and Zhang Julian need not have concerned himself with it. Yet, he had spent half an hour discussing it with him. By the time he arrived at Zhu Junan’s place, it was already late.
Zhang Julian stood beside Zhu Junan, his temples graying, his thick eyebrows extending into his hairline, exuding authority without the need for anger.
"...'It is said that the Yellow Emperor once instructed Zhuan Xu: Above is the vast heaven, below is the great earth. If you can emulate them, you shall be a parent to the people.' This speaks of the ancient times of peace, when rulers followed the ways of heaven and earth. Does Your Majesty understand what this means?"
Zhu Junan’s face flushed. "I’ve only just begun studying this a few days ago. How could I possibly understand its meaning?"
Zhang Julian smiled. "When I first taught Your Majesty to read, you were just like this—unable to grasp the meaning. How can one study well without understanding? Isn’t that so? This passage uses the Yellow Emperor’s teachings to Zhuan Xu as an example. Above is heaven, below is earth. If one governs according to the principles of heaven and earth, the nation will prosper, and the weather will be favorable."
Zhu Junan could only nod.
Zhang Julian withdrew his hand and sipped his tea, then turned to Chen Yanyun with a smile. "It seems you haven’t taught him well enough!"
Third Master Chen rose again, smiling modestly. "Compared to my teacher, I fall far short."
Zhang Julian replied mildly, "You’re being too humble. When you earned the title of Third Scholar, your reputation shook the entire Northern Metropolitan Region."
As he lowered his gaze, he noticed a bowl of white fungus soup on Zhu Junan’s desk. "This soup has gone cold. Why hasn’t Your Majesty drunk it? Does it not suit your taste?"
Zhu Junan dared not speak the truth. "This was made for me by Consort Zhuang. Of course, I enjoy it... It’s just that I ate an extra half-bowl of rice at noon and have no appetite now."
Zhang Julian chuckled. "Though Consort Zhuang may not match the beauty and talent of other consorts, she is gentle-natured and skilled at making soups. It’s best if she serves Your Majesty diligently. Last time, she even sent word to her mother, saying she and Consort Jing had become fast friends, but their palaces are too far apart, making it inconvenient to converse. If Your Majesty finds Consort Zhuang’s service satisfactory, perhaps you could arrange for her and Consort Jing to reside together..."
Consorts of different ranks naturally had separate residences.
He was angling for his niece to be promoted to consort!
Third Master Chen lowered his head to sip his tea.
Zhu Junan took a moment to process this, then paled. He said with difficulty, "I’ll discuss this with the Empress Dowager first."
Zhang Julian quickly replied, "This humble official merely spoke offhand. If Your Majesty feels she is unworthy of promotion, please do not grant it out of consideration for me. I should not interfere in the affairs of the inner palace... I was merely thinking of my niece and momentarily overstepped. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!"
Zhu Junan nodded. "I understand. I do not blame you, my loyal minister."
Yet his tone carried a subtle shift.
Zhang Julian, however, seemed not to notice, maintaining an air of utmost deference.
Third Master Chen observed the veins standing out on the back of Zhu Junan’s hand and knew he was struggling to contain himself.
After all, he was still young—how much patience could he truly have?
Chen Yanyun’s thoughts turned to Gu Jinzhao’s words. These past two days, he had been preoccupied with Xie Sixing’s sentencing and hadn’t yet dealt with Fourth Master Chen’s matter. But he had already ordered his men to investigate. If Chen Yanwen was indeed colluding with the Directorate of Ceremonial, it must have been at Zhang Julian’s behest...He disliked being controlled by others, no matter who they were.
If Zhang Julian truly went that far, he wouldn’t need to hold back any longer.
Zhang Julian was already old. His actions in recent years had grown increasingly muddled, and the infighting among his subordinates had worsened.
But Zhang Julian had once been his teacher, and as the saying goes, "Once a teacher, forever a father." Zhang Julian had shown him kindness.
He couldn’t bring himself to act ruthlessly just yet.
Chen Yanyun was also weighed down by his own concerns.
……
Gu Jinzhao watched as Chen Xuanyue practiced his calligraphy.
His Academy Style Calligraphy was rather unsightly—crooked and slanted, as if blown over by the wind.
After observing for a while, Gu Jinzhao shook her head helplessly. "I thought your poor handwriting was just an act. Turns out it’s really this bad… When Third Master returns, I’ll have him find some copybooks for you to trace."
Chen Xuanyue sighed. "Aunt, I just can’t do it. Maybe I’m not cut out for this!"
"Trying to slack off?" Gu Jinzhao saw right through him and gathered his practice materials. "Practice makes perfect. If you work hard, you’ll improve."
Chen Xuanyue groaned in misery and flopped backward onto the Arhat bed.
Changsuo was rolling around on the Arhat bed, amusing himself. Ever since he learned to roll over, he often played like this—and always demanded an audience.
Seeing Chen Xuanyue suddenly collapse beside him, Changsuo seemed curious. He rolled over to stare at him and even tugged at Chen Xuanyue’s hair with his tiny hands.
Chen Xuanyue caught Changsuo’s hand, pulled him into his arms, and grinned. "Little Changsuo, want Ninth Brother to play ‘fly-fly’ with you?"
"Fly-fly" meant spinning in circles—Changsuo’s favorite game.
Changsuo seemed to understand and giggled at Chen Xuanyue.
Gu Jinzhao stopped him. "You’re not strong enough yet. Don’t play that with him!"
Chen Xuanyue insisted, "Aunt, I’ve been training for a while now—it’s fine. I won’t lift him too high."
It was true. After training with the master at Crane Extension Tower for over half a year, he had grown much taller, nearly matching Chen Xuanxin’s height.
Chen Xuanyue sat cross-legged and lifted Changsuo, playing with him for a while. Changsuo laughed gleefully, utterly fearless and thoroughly entertained. Once tired, he nestled into Chen Xuanyue’s arms, clinging to his neck while looking around.
Sweat beaded on Chen Xuanyue’s forehead as he smiled at her. "See? You should believe in me!"
Gu Jinzhao didn’t bother arguing and had a maid bring warm water to wipe his face.
Chen Xi arrived.
She had also grown taller, dressed in a short pink cherry-blossom jacket and a pale twelve-panel Xiang skirt. Her delicate, doll-like face was as lovely as a flower.
The moment she arrived, she took Gu Jinzhao’s hand and pouted pitifully. "You’ve been away these days—I didn’t even know where to go for fun!"
Gu Jinzhao asked how her guqin practice was going and whether her embroidery skills had improved under the new seamstress’s guidance.
After their conversation, Chen Xi sat on the Arhat bed. Noticing Chen Xuanyue playing with a brush while holding Changsuo, she whispered, "Ninth Brother, what are you doing?"
Chen Xuanyue glanced up at her and raised a brow. "What’s the matter?"
For some reason, Chen Xi suddenly felt shy. Her cheeks flushed as she mumbled, "Just asking…"
Chen Xuanyue turned away indifferently. "Why bother asking?"Chen Xi was stunned. She felt there was something different about Ninth Brother. It seemed he wasn't foolish anymore... but that feeling was so strange, and she didn't know why.
Changsuo waved his chubby little hands at Chen Xi, babbling incoherently.
Gu Jinzhao went to fetch a book and called Chen Xi over: "What were you talking about with your Ninth Brother?"
Chen Xi shook her head without speaking. Gu Jinzhao thought her expression looked odd—had she discovered something about Chen Xuanyue?
It wasn't good for Chen Xuanyue to keep pretending to be foolish. Gu Jinzhao wanted to find an opportunity to reveal the truth about Chen Xuanyue. She just wasn't sure when the right time would be, especially since it involved Chen Yanwen. She thought it best to wait until Third Master Chen had resolved Fourth Master Chen's matters first.
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