Held in the Lonely Castle Chapter 20

 

 Held in the Lonely Castle  

 Chapter 20

Translated by : DANMEI HEAVEN

   Cao Lang

As Lady Gao's wedding approached, the princess's marriage also became a major topic in the palace. She was now ten years old, the age when marriage discussions could begin. These past few days, the concubines visiting Lady Miao's quarters would almost always mention the princess after a few words about Lady Gao's dowry and ceremonial procession, asking Lady Miao, "Which family's son has the emperor chosen as the consort?"

Lady Miao could only shake her head: "I'd like to know too, but who can guess what the emperor is thinking? Anyway, we can't expect him to pick a top scholar."

The customs of our dynasty differ from those of the Sui and Tang. Marriages no longer consider family prestige, and intermarriage between scholars and commoners has gradually become the norm. Because our dynasty especially values scholars, all the high-ranking officials are scholars. Many ministers and powerful officials come from humble origins but can rise to the ranks of respected ministers through the imperial examinations. Therefore, from noble families down to wealthy gentry, everyone loves to marry their daughters to scholars. Even during the announcement of the examination results, families with marriageable daughters often wait at the gate to vie for the scholars in green robes.

If the prime ministers of our dynasty have daughters, they also mostly choose sons-in-law from among the young scholars, even marrying their daughters to the top scholars. For example, the former deputy chief councilor Xue Kui married his two daughters successively to Wang Gongchen, who had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, while another son-in-law was Ouyang Xiu, who passed the same year as Wang Gongchen.

But the emperor cannot choose a top scholar or scholar as a son-in-law. Because in previous dynasties, relatives of the imperial consorts often interfered in government affairs, leading to chaos, the ancestral rules of our dynasty treat imperial relatives especially strictly, not granting real power to them, only supporting them with generous salaries and high titles, without giving them the opportunity to manipulate power. If someone in the imperial relative's family was already an official with real power before marrying into the imperial family, they usually had to be dismissed first and then given a nominal title. Top scholars and scholars are future candidates for ministers and thus cannot marry into the imperial family. Facing the court full of young talents, the emperor once joked to the consorts: "They say the emperor's daughter is not worried about marriage, but I think that's not necessarily the case. If I were to choose a scholar in green robes as a consort, he would rather die than comply, and the censors would scold me for ruining his future."

Nowadays, when the imperial family marries off daughters, they mostly choose from the "declining old families" indicated by the late Emperor Zhangxian Mingsu Empress Liu, that is, families whose ancestors were founding heroes but whose descendants are no longer high officials or ministers. Or, families of commoner ministers who have been out of power for three generations can also be considered, but the premise is that no one in their family holds high positions in the current court.

Of course, even if the selection range for consorts is narrowed to declining old families and commoner ministers, there are still outstanding young men worthy of being the princess's match.

Once, Lady Miao tentatively probed the emperor's intentions in choosing a son-in-law, and the emperor said: "When the thirteenth returns to the palace to pay respects and the relatives come to congratulate, I will let you meet someone."

After the wedding, the groom returns to his bride's family to pay respects to his parents-in-law, called "paying respects." If he goes the next day, it is called "revisiting to pay respects." Lady Gao left the palace as the "empress's daughter," using half of the princess's ceremonial procession to go from the palace to her husband's home, so the thirteenth military training commissioner would return to the palace the next day to pay respects, and on that day, the imperial relatives would enter the palace to congratulate. Judging from the emperor's words, it seemed the consort would be chosen from among the relatives.

Later, Lady Miao told Lady Yu about the emperor's reply, and Lady Yu smiled: "Could the person the emperor mentioned be the eldest son of the Cao family? I heard the empress say that on that day, Cao Lang would bring his two sons into the palace, and the eldest son is the same age as the princess, a perfect match in talent and appearance."

Lady Miao was overjoyed, clasping her hands and saying, "Amitabha, if it's Cao Lang's son, that would be wonderful!"

"Cao Lang" refers to the grandson of Cao Bin, a founding hero of the Great Song, and the younger brother of the empress, Cao Yi. He has a gentle and easy-going temperament, is skilled in music, good at chess and archery, and excels in poetry and calligraphy.

Moreover, he is extremely handsome. The empress's temperament is like an orchid in a deep valley, fragrant even when no one is around, but in terms of facial features alone, she is not the stunning type at first sight, while Cao Yi's beauty cannot be ignored by anyone. His skin is fair, his hair an unusual dark blue with a hint of red, and people say he looks like an immortal. Although his features are delicate, he is not weak. He is agile in horseback riding, archery, and sword dancing, with a bold and unrestrained demeanor.

Since his youth, he often attended banquets in the palace, and the concubines and palace maids were all delighted to see him, vying to lift the pearl curtains to catch a glimpse of Cao Lang. When I first saw this spectacle, I thought, even the beauties described in "A New Account of the Tales of the World" could not compare.

Though he belongs to the empress's family, he shows no arrogance. His eyes are clear, as if empty of all desires. It is said that when the emperor first spoke with him and found that he enjoyed reading Laozi and Zhuangzi, speaking only of purity, nature, and governing through inaction, the emperor was very pleased and gave him many rewards. Cao Yi was neither surprised nor overjoyed, only bowing in thanks. Therefore, the emperor often praised him to others, saying, "Cao Lang's good temperament and beautiful demeanor can be recorded in the national history in the future."

Cao Yi was just over thirty, with two sons, the elder named Ping and the younger named You. Cao Ping was only ten years old, but even at such a young age, his literary and martial skills already resembled his father's. He loved reading history and literature, wrote excellent calligraphy, and was especially skilled in archery, able to hit the target even in the dark after extinguishing candles. This was well-known in the palace, so Lady Miao was overjoyed, hoping he would be chosen as the consort.

In the early summer of that year, the thirteenth military training commissioner and Lady Gao were married by imperial decree. Since it was the "emperor's son" marrying the "empress's daughter," the event was naturally grand, with the people of the capital flooding the streets, thousands competing to see the ceremonial procession.

The next day, the thirteenth military training commissioner brought his new wife back to the palace to pay respects, and the imperial relatives also brought their families into the palace to congratulate. The empress received the relatives in the water pavilion of the rear garden, with a pearl curtain hanging in front of the imperial seat, and Lady Miao and the princess sitting behind the curtain beside the empress.

Because of the marriage discussion, I paid more attention to Cao Yi and his sons. Although Cao Yi was the empress's younger brother, the empress showed no special treatment toward him, still separated by the pearl curtain, with a distance of about twenty feet between them, exchanging only pleasantries. The empress asked, and Cao Yi answered from outside, his demeanor gentle and elegant, his voice not loud but clear, audible to everyone inside and outside the curtain.

Cao Ping and Cao You came with their father. Because the two boys were young, the empress summoned them inside the curtain and gently asked about their studies. The two boys answered calmly, their speech and demeanor showing great poise. Lady Miao had been paying close attention to the two young masters. After the empress finished speaking, she called them to her side, scrutinizing them left and right, her joy evident, and ordered the maids to bring out the gifts she had prepared for them, but the empress stopped her.

The empress smiled slightly: "They are young boys, jumping around all day. Giving them gold locks and jade pendants would only be a waste. Just give them some candy."

Then she ordered the rewards for the two nephews to be presented—really just candy, two milk sugar lions, a much thinner gift than those given to other children.

Lady Miao then asked the two boys for their birth dates. Seeing that Cao Ping was two months older than the princess, she told the princess to call him "brother." The princess nodded and called him "Brother Cao," and Cao Ping immediately bowed, still respectfully calling her "Princess." The princess smiled and called Cao You "Brother Cao's younger brother," and Cao You cleverly called her "Princess Sister." The listeners all laughed, the atmosphere very harmonious. At that moment, I thought the princess's happy marriage had been decided.

After the thirteenth military training commissioner and Lady Gao paid their respects to the emperor in the front hall, they came over. The empress kept them in the water pavilion to chat. Seeing that there was still some time before the banquet, and I was the closest in age among the surrounding eunuchs to the two young masters, she asked me to take them to play in the garden for a while.

That day, the rear garden was prepared for archery, polo, and ball games for the imperial relatives to enjoy. The ball game field was fluttering with colorful flags, and the two young masters stopped to watch. Seeing their interest, I had someone bring several sets of mallets of different sizes for them to choose from and enter the field to play.

At first, they didn't compete in teams but just casually hit the balls. I silently observed and found their skills quite proficient, clearly having played this game often. After a while, they grew bored and asked if I could play. Having played many times over the past two years, I said yes, and they suggested I join them to form teams. Seeing only the three of us in the field, I said, "If we want to compete, we need at least one more person."

"Let me!" Suddenly, someone outside the field spoke. I turned to see it was the princess.

Without waiting for our answer, she ran into the field, stood beside me, and smiled at the Cao brothers: "Brother Cao and his younger brother on one team, me and Huai Ji on the other."

Cao Ping hesitated, but Cao You, being younger and less restrained, clapped and cheered: "So Princess Sister can play ball too!"

The princess confidently smiled at him, as if everything was under control, then said to me, "Pick a mallet for me."

I asked her softly, "Does the princess know how to play this game?"

She also lowered her voice: "You can teach me."

It was difficult to make her give up when she was full of enthusiasm for something. Thinking again, although the Cao brothers were boys, they were still young, and this sport didn't involve physical contact between players. Palace women occasionally played it too, so I finally agreed and picked a mallet for her.

If playing in teams, each team would score a point if they hit the ball into the corresponding hole within three strokes, and the winner would be determined by the total points. The princess's initial performance was naturally disastrous. With one swing, she didn't even touch the ball, and a large patch of innocent grass was scraped away. Later, she did hit the ball, but she stared wide-eyed without seeing where it landed—because it landed behind her...

With such play, the game couldn't proceed, so the three of us gathered around her, each offering basic techniques, correcting everything from her stance, grip, swing, to the angle of contact with the ball. Fortunately, the princess's comprehension was decent, and soon she improved somewhat.

Raising her arm, extending the mallet above her right shoulder, swinging down, the mallet's face squarely hitting the agate ball, sending it flying, the mallet following through upward, retracting behind her head in a smooth arc... After doing all the movements correctly, the princess made a perfect shot, the agate ball flying like a meteor, landing near the hole.

We all cheered, and the princess was delighted, running over happily, then swinging again with the same posture, too fast for me to stop her. Since the ball was close to the hole, this time there was no need to swing, just change to a pushing stroke...

As a result, with one swing, the agate ball spun through the air again, flew over the hole, and headed straight out of the field.

I felt a pang of dread, seeing where the ball was heading—a path where people were coming and going.

The princess seemed to realize this too, hurrying over, and I quickly followed to check. She reached the edge of the field first, where there was a small hill. She stopped, looking down the slope at the path outside the field, as if seeing something, standing motionless.

I hurried over with the mallet, stopping behind her, quickly scanning below. Sure enough, someone seemed to have been hit by the ball, rubbing his forehead and looking up blankly.

It was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, not tall but sturdy, with a simple face like a farmer's child, slightly dark skin, and rosy cheeks. His slightly thick lips were now half-open as he stared blankly at the princess for a long time before shifting his gaze to me.

I couldn't immediately guess his identity. His appearance was very different from the aristocratic sons like the Cao brothers, but he wore an expensive patterned silk robe, and since he was in the palace today, he must belong to the imperial relatives.

"Young master, did the ball just now hurt you?" I asked him.

He seemed to take some time to process my words, rubbed his forehead again, then pointed to the ground beside him, stammering, "The ball landed there, then bounced up and hit my head... It's fine, it's fine..."

"Put your hand down and let me see," the princess now spoke, with a commanding tone, "Is it bleeding?"

The boy shook his head, obediently lowering his hand. The princess leaned in for a closer look and relaxed: "Good, it's just a little red."

Seeing me also relieved, the princess laughed without restraint, pointing at the boy: "Look at him, like a silly rabbit."

Only then did I notice the boy was wearing a cloth hood with wing-like flaps standing up like a court hat, but being made of cloth, they looked particularly thick and wide, somewhat resembling rabbit ears.

I didn't respond to the princess's comment, bowing slightly to the boy to explain the ball game situation and apologize on the princess's behalf. But he seemed uninterested in my words, instead staring intently at the mallet in my hand.

His focused expression made me glance down at the mallet. The lower part was hook-shaped, resembling a long-handled wooden spoon, adorned with gold trim and jade at the top, quite eye-catching.

"Brother, why not come up and play with us?" Cao Ping suddenly said. He had also come over with his younger brother, standing beside me, looking down at the boy on the slope with a gentle gaze.

The boy silently scrutinized the Cao brothers and me, then the princess, hesitating. He was standing in a windy spot, and after being blown for a while, he sneezed, producing some clear snot, which he immediately wiped away with the back of his hand.

The princess's brows furrowed slightly.

Then a eunuch hurried over, calling to the boy, "Young Master Li, so you're here! Madam Li is looking everywhere for you, to take you to see the empress and Lady Miao..."

The boy said "Oh" and was led away by the eunuch. Reluctant to leave, he kept looking back.

The princess turned to us, "Never mind him, let's keep playing."

Cao Ping had excellent manners, completely giving up his own enjoyment to focus on teaching the princess, so the princess was in high spirits. Even during the evening banquet, she frequently turned toward Cao Ping's seat, smiling slightly.

But Lady Miao's demeanor was now very different from earlier, her face darkening. Amid the banquet's singing, dancing, and toasting, she showed no joy, keeping her head down, no longer paying attention to the Cao brothers.

After the banquet, returning to Yifeng Pavilion, Lady Miao had the maids take the princess to her room and sat blankly in the hall. Lady Han, seeing her expression was off, cautiously asked, "Why is my lady unhappy?"

At these words, Lady Miao's tears immediately gushed out like a breached dam: "How can I be happy? The emperor wants to marry the princess to his paper-money-selling uncle's family!"

Hearing this from the side, I was also stunned, never expecting this outcome.

The "paper-money-selling uncle" refers to Li Yonghe, the younger brother of the emperor's birth mother, Empress Zhangyi.

The emperor was raised by Empress Zhangxian Mingsu Liu and Empress Zhanghui Yang, but his birth mother was Liu's maid, Lady Li. Back then, when Empress Liu was a concubine of Emperor Zhenzong, she dominated the harem but had no sons. Once, Emperor Zhenzong visited Empress Liu and found Lady Li beautiful, with fair skin, and had her serve him. Lady Li thus became pregnant and gave birth to a prince. Empress Liu took the child to raise, claiming it as her own, while Lady Li remained silent among the late emperor's concubines, keeping the secret until her death without acknowledging the emperor.

When Lady Li was critically ill, Empress Liu instructed the emperor to promote her to consort. When Lady Li entered the palace, her younger brother Li Yonghe was only seven years old. Growing up in poverty, he made a living in the capital by carving paper money, one of the despised lowly professions. Later, Empress Liu sent someone to find him among the commoners and gave him some official posts.

Only after Empress Liu's death did Prince Yan tell the emperor the truth about his birth mother. The emperor was grief-stricken, not holding court for days, issuing a sorrowful edict blaming himself, posthumously honoring Lady Li as empress dowager, and richly rewarding Li Yonghe, promoting him in rank and title. Now, Li Yonghe's official title is military governor of Zhangxin and concurrent chief councilor. Though it's a nominal title with no real power, the salary and treatment are the same as a chief councilor's, showing the emperor's deep affection for the Li family, surpassing all other imperial relatives.

However, the imperial-bestowed nobility did not elevate Uncle Li's status in the hearts of the palace maids. Many still privately referred to him as a paper-money seller, often mentioning his "sudden wealth" with disdain. When he and his wife entered the palace, their inappropriate behavior and speech often drew criticism.

"Today, the emperor ordered Uncle Li and his wife to bring their second son, Li Wei, to see the empress and me inside the curtain," Lady Miao said tearfully to Lady Han. "That child is thirteen, with a silly look. The empress asked what books he's reading now, and he first said 'The Thousand Character Classic,' then after thinking for a long time, added 'The Classic of Filial Piety.' His speech was slow, but the emperor liked it, actually praising him for 'answering gracefully,' gave him a seat, and rewarded him with food. He knelt to thank him, and the emperor praised him again for being well-mannered, saying he 'behaves commendably.' I noticed a red swelling on his forehead and asked what happened. He said he bumped into a locust tree while walking in the rear garden..."

Lady Han was astonished: "He can bump into a tree while walking? This child is really dull."

Lady Miao grew even more upset, continuing: "The emperor asked me what I thought of Li Wei. I thought, it's not easy for such a dull child to grow up, so I might as well say something nice. So I smiled and praised him to the emperor, but the emperor was overjoyed and said, 'So you like him too. That's perfect. I want to choose him as the consort and marry Hui Rou to him.'"

Lady Han shook her head and sighed: "Heavens, after all the emperor's careful selection, he ended up choosing someone from such a family... Does the empress agree?"

Lady Miao said: "At first, I thought the emperor was joking, but when I asked repeatedly, he became serious and said he really meant it. At that moment, even the empress was stunned. I think she wasn't too willing either, but seeing the emperor so serious, who dared say more?" After a pause, Lady Miao began to sob again, "Hearing this, my heart felt so stifled. During the banquet, I happened to hear Uncle Li's wife loudly discussing with Lady Cao beside her, beaming, about how much money her family made in business this year. Lady Cao had good composure and just smiled. But, heavens, thinking that the uncle's wife would be my future in-law, I wanted to dash my head against the palace wall!"

Lady Han also sighed, shedding tears with Lady Miao. After a while, she added hopefully: "Perhaps the emperor just said it on a whim. When he comes to his senses in a few days, he won't mention it again."

Perhaps, after a few days, no one would mention it again. I also hoped so.

Li Wei was definitely not a good match for the princess. I reached this conclusion not because I despised the Li family's status. From Lady Miao's words, I guessed Li Wei was the boy the princess's agate ball had hit that day. Their incompatibility was already evident in the princess's slightly furrowed brows. So now, we could only hope it was just the emperor's passing fancy.

But in May of that year, on the day of Bingzi, we received the emperor's edict: Li Wei of the Eastern Head Office was appointed General of the Left Guard and Imperial Son-in-Law, selected to marry Princess Fukang.

The palace's reaction was predictable.

"They privately snicker that in the future, the palace won't need to send anyone to buy paper money for rituals, as the Li family will naturally contribute," Lady Miao once tearfully complained to the emperor. "I just can't understand why Your Majesty chose this son-in-law. The eldest son of the Cao family is talented and handsome, and his age matches the princess..."

At that time, the emperor was setting up a chessboard, sitting alone and contemplating. Hearing Lady Miao's words, he picked up a chess piece with two fingers and slowly placed it on the board.

"Do you insist that all imperial relatives must be surnamed Cao?" he said lightly.

(To be continued)