The End (4)

Empress Chen had suddenly staged a coup, but the emperor and crown prince had predicted it and Prince Ping had helped to swiftly catch all the bad guys and stabilize the situation. Of course the people would have taken note of this dramatic turn of events.

But everyone remained tense and kept their eyes to themselves, allowing the crown prince to restructure the entire government while the emperor took leave to rest. Countless officials were stripped of their positions, but nobody dared to complain.

The atmosphere in the palace finally began to relax only after the crown prince’s way of handling and reorganizing the government seemed to be working out, the situation had stabilized, and the emperor became well enough to make public appearances again. Everyone was in a celebratory mood and the palace livened up.

More officials dared to speak up and put in proposals, while the people now dared to share information with one another over a cup of tea. They now dared to talk openly and animatedly about the coup. The city of Bianliang was still the good old Bianliang that everyone knew and loved.

In a classy teahouse, Princess Changning and Old Madam Li sat in a private room with a window to chat. The atmosphere in the room was just as warm and happy as the sunshine outside.

“They’re all such wonderful children…” Princess Changning sipped a tea that she liked and her eyes twinkled in satisfaction.

Old Madam Li sipped her tea too. “So, are you going to get your son back?”

Princess Changning let out a long sigh. “I’ve never even thought that such a day would come. I can’t believe I’ve had the chance to see my own child again. If I wasn’t helping the emperor to look after the younger ones and help out when necessary, if I didn’t owe Guan Qing a favor because she saved my life a long time ago and made me feel that I had to help her when she moved to Bianliang…I wouldn’t have met Zhang’er.”

Old Madam Li said, “I think Guan Qing’s a clever young lady. I’m afraid she might have guessed a thing or two based on your reaction to him.”

“Of course. She must have guessed as much, otherwise there’s no good reason why she keeps making Zhang’er send letters to me. It’s just so that I get to see him more often… What a lovely and considerate child she is,” said Princess Changning as she rubbed her temples. “I really like Guan Qing very much, and I really thought about this a long time ago. I did think that if my poor son were still alive, I would definitely want her to become my daughter-in-law. But now that I know that Zhang’er is alive and both he and Guan Qing are in love, I feel a little… Seriously, of all the jobs to have, why did he choose to become the leader of the Green Gang? He’s become so rough, so unreasonable, so cheeky and so flirtatious – what if Guan Qing gets annoyed with him and doesn’t want him anymore?”

Old Madam Li went straight to the point, “I think what you should be more concerned about right now is whether Cao Zhang even knows about this matter, and whether he wants to acknowledge you as his mother.”

But Princess Changning really didn’t care about that. “He will find out sooner or later, and he can do whatever he wants with that information. I’ll leave it to him. I’ve already gotten over this. As long as he’s alive, I’m happy. Right now, I’m just want them to quickly get married, have a few children, and I can be at peace…”

She spoke very lightheartedly, but her heart was filled with worries.

Guan Qing was about to turn twenty, which made her an old maid in this society. Most other women had a string of children by now.

“Well, it’s not too late,” Old Madam Li counselled her, “She’s later than her peers, but if she weren’t single all these years, she wouldn’t have met Cao Zhang. If neither had waited, the two children would not have found each other. And if they missed each other, we wouldn’t have the wonderful ending we’re looking forward to. All of this is according to the will of heaven, it’s the best timing that we could hope for. In any case, she’s in very good health, so I’m more afraid that you’d have too many playful little grandchildren, you won’t be able to take care of them all!”

Princess Changning laughed merrily, “I hope that comes true! When they get married, I’m expecting a large red envelope of money from you!”

Old Madam Li laughed along with her. “Of course, of course! I’ll make sure I’ll pack more money than everyone else!”

Princess Changning looked at the kindly older woman seated with her and sighed as she grew serious again, “You’ve said so yourself, this is all the will of heaven, and it’s the best timing we could ever hope for. So…I hope you don’t get too upset about Wen Yuansi. Fate between people is difficult to predict. Perhaps someone even more suitable for him will suddenly appear soon! He’s a boy anyway, so he can get married a little later, it’ll be fine.”

Old Madam Li scoffed at Princess Changning. “Are you trying to counsel an old lady now? I’m in no hurry at all. The doctor checked my pulse yesterday and said that I’m in excellent health, so why should I be worried? My grandson is a wonderful man, so I’m sure there’s an equally wonderful woman waiting for him somewhere out there!”

“That’s the right attitude!” Princess Changning smiled merrily. She looked out at the sky, then made a suggestion, “It’s no fun just sitting here and sipping tea by ourselves. Why don’t we head to the Guans’ for tea with Old Madam Bai instead?”

Old Madam Li thought it was a good idea, and brought up another person’s name, “Let’s call Madam Gu along? I heard the Guans just invited a storyteller from the south, and Madam Gu enjoyed listening to him the last time she visited Old Madam Bai…”

Princess Changning gave Old Madam Li a knowing look.

Madam Gu wasn’t there to listen to some storyteller. It was because her son, Ji Yuanjia, had his eyes on Old Madam Bai’s youngest granddaughter, Guan Wan.

At least for Princess Changning, she was targeting Guan Qing, and Guan Qing was already of marriageable age and could get married anytime. But not Guan Wan. She was much younger and given how much the Guans loved her, they probably didn’t want her to get married too early. Madam Gu would have to wait a lot longer than her!

That made Princess Changning even happier. “Good idea! Ask her to come along!”

Madam Gu had to come! She had to come and envy her!

…

In the palace.

After the emperor appeared once in court, he washed his hands off everything. He gave his official seal and documents to his son and instructed him to take care of the country and not bother him about anything. If any officials tried to ask for an audience with the emperor, they were to be sent away because the emperor needed to rest and recover from his ill health.

He had been ill for a long time and probably wasn’t going to live for very long, which was something that everyone knew. So, the moment he put it that way, nobody dared to approach the emperor and everyone went to discuss matters with the crown prince directly.

Thankfully, the crown prince had been taught how to handle such matters before this. The sudden influx of work made him very busy and a little tired, but he was able to handle it well.

But because he was too busy, he almost couldn’t find the time to eat with his father and his appetite was also poor.

The emperor, however, was enjoying his food. “Have you learned anything during this time?”

The crown prince had a solemn expression on his face. “I feel…this is rather difficult.”

“Difficult is the right reaction,” the emperor took a bite of a piece of meat, then threw it aside. The medicine he took was affecting his appetite more and more, and only vegetables were palatable now. “The life of an emperor is both good, and not good.”

“It’s good because an emperor has unparalleled power and they can do whatever they want. But how to use this power and whether you can really do what you want, is not up to you. Even if you are standing on the highest point, you are farsighted and you know how to use your resources, you still might not be able to attain the results you want. Negotiating with others and striking a balance between everything is something you will learn for the rest of your life.”

The emperor put some vegetables that had only been seasoned with a little salt and didn’t even have oil into his mouth, but his body did not reject it at all, so he nodded slightly. “I say it’s not good because it’s actually very restrictive. On paper, you have all this land and resources, but you can barely even step out of the palace. Your entire life is going to be spent in this golden palace. You have to learn how to compromise, you have to learn how to vent your frustrations quietly when things don’t go your way. If you’re too gentle and too easy going, you’d get bullied.”

The crown prince looked hard at the emperor. “And that’s why you taught me to be heartless.”

The emperor turned to look at him. “Are you upset with me for that? That I knew a lot of things, but didn’t do anything about it and let it happen? That I could even bear to kill the woman who shared a bed with me?”

The crown prince pursed his lips for a while, then shook his head.

“The ruler of a nation is never able to be just himself at all times. You must be prepared to take the first leap, to stand on even higher ground, to look at the big picture, to do only what would benefit the country and not yourself, to do what you would not regret.”

He gently patted his son’s head. “Being a heartless person sounds scary, but it’s also very real. I’m very greedy – I want you to become a mature, good ruler, but there’s a tiny part of me that also wants you to stay true to who you are. You’ve done a good job this time. You had your suspicions, so you gave Zhao Zhi a lot of information so that he could help you, but you did not simply treat him as a tool for your own ambition. That’s very good. If you have someone else to be your mirror, you’d be able to see your faults more clearly. You need someone like this by your side at all times, to remind you at all times.”

The crown prince felt tears come to his eyes. “Father…”

“Now, now, focus on eating, don’t get emotional. I’ve already signed the marriage decree, so you can deliver it to Zhao Zhi yourself later.”

…

At Prince Ping’s residence.

Zhao Zhi sat across the table from Mother Consort Ping, separated only by a new pot of bonsai as they stared at each other.

That’s right, Mother Consort Ping.

The whole ceremony had been completed. Empress Chen and everyone tied to her organization had been gotten rid of, so there was no need to worry about anyone in the household. The whole thing about Zhao Zhi having a year of bad luck was easy to settle. The emperor, the crown prince and the Directorate of Astronomy made some recalculations and found a good date for Zhao Zhi to be made Prince Ping officially. Everything was quickly arranged, then the ceremony was held and Zhao Zhi was officially given the documents and badges that a prince should have. He was now Prince Ping.

Consort Ping also became Mother Consort Ping as a result. Calling Zhao Zhi “Prince Ping” and addressing him as “Your Highness” was no longer just something that the people in his closest circle did. Everyone did it now, and it was actually a crime if you failed to do that.

The newly coronated Prince Ping glared gravely at the unfinished bowl of medicine on the table. “You’re really alright?”
Mother Consort Ping responded in a confident voice, “I’m fine.”

“You’re fine even if you don’t finish your medicine?”
“I know my body well. I’ll be fine.”

“In that case—”

“Are you done? You’re so annoying – just leave already,” she glared at him from the corner of her eye. “I really have no idea what Song Caitang sees in you.”

That was skepticism that Zhao Zhi refused to tolerate. He immediately raised his eyebrows and looked imposing. “It’s because I’m handsome and amazing! I’m braver than most, I hold my head high even in the face of danger! There’s no one like me in the past, and there won’t be in the future!”

“Tsk,” she just scoffed disdainfully, as though she thought he was merely boasting.

Zhao Zhi went on, “If you don’t believe me, you can test it out yourself. You can personally bring a letter to her right now and say that I would like her to come over, and she’d definitely agree to come immediately. She’d make sure she looks her prettiest, she’d put on the brightest smile in the world and insist on marrying me right away!”

Mother Consort Ping turned to look expressionlessly at the auntie behind her and gave her stern instructions, “Get the carpenter to make a washboard for us. Very importantly, make sure it’s made from high quality wood and has excellent workmanship, so it won’t break even after someone has knelt on it a few times.”

The auntie smiled and said, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Zhao Zhi nearly smacked the table. “Can’t you support your son for once?!”

But her response made him calm down again, “Or…how about you repeat what you said earlier to Song Caitang?”

Zhao Zhi shut his mouth immediately.

Perhaps he was still feeling indignant about what just happened, so he pointed at the bowl of medicine on the table and also instructed the same auntie sternly, “That’s the medicine given by the doctor, but she refuses to drink it just because there are too many lotus seeds inside. That’s not good. Good medicine that can really deal with ailments are always bitter. If she continues to skip her medicine and doesn’t get well soon, I’m going to hold you accountable.”

The auntie was still smiling from ear to ear. “Yes, Your Highness.”

This time, Mother Consort Ping was the unhappy one. She slammed the table, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Zhao Zhi got up, folded his hands behind his back, and walked off, “I’d dare to do this any day.”

In the warm, brilliant sunshine of the afternoon, the prince’s young and tall figure walked past the window as he left the room, leaving his mother fuming in the room by herself.

A breeze blew in and it was warm on the face.

The auntie kept her hands folded in front of her and couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

It had been a long time since the atmosphere in this house was this jolly. She was certain it would be even better after Zhao Zhi’s wife moved in!

…

The Guans’ house was equally lively.

Princess Changning, Old Madam Li and Madam Gu had visited for several days now, claiming that they were enthralled by the new storyteller and that they had to listen to her every day. Old Madam Bai was very happy to have them in the house and was extremely hospitable to them as well.

The ladies would come very early in the morning and only leave reluctantly in the evening, as though this was their own house.

Meanwhile, Madam Zhang, despite being the mistress of the house, didn’t dare to speak at all.

She had never thought her nieces would turn out to be such impressive women. Every guest in the house was such an important person!

In fact, she was filled with regret now. She had been too shortsighted and had gone in the wrong direction. If she had known that Guan Qing would eventually marry the son of the princess and that Song Caitang would marry a prince, she wouldn’t have schemed to marry them off or sell them away. She would have served them faithfully and wait to reap the rewards later!

Sadly, the “big shot” she found after spending so much time and effort, the husband she had found for her own daughter who was so haughty that she dared not ask for too many favors, turned out to be indirectly working for Empress Chen… If not for the fact that she really had no part in this treasonous plan and she had Guan Qing and Song Caitang on her side, she might be in jail by now.

Her emotions were extremely conflicted.

But no matter how conflicted she felt inside, she still had to press on. Even though she had ruined one path with her own hands, she had to keep crawling. She still had Guan Lang to take care of!

In order to make sure he married well, she had to step in and help. For the sake of her son, she didn’t care about her pride. They could step all over her for all she cared!

So, she continued to host and laugh along with her guests, to praise her nieces to the sky without feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Guan Wan and Guan Qing were taking a break together and sipped tea at another table.

“Eldest Sis, look at this! Isn’t it pretty?” Guan Wan stretched her arm toward Guan Qing to show off her supple, fair wrist and the thin bangle with rubies she was wearing. “Madam Gu gave this to me, she said it’s a gift for coming to the house for the first time.”

Guan Qing glared at the shiny bangle and nearly ripped it off her sister’s arm. “What lousy standards you have! Haven’t I given you nice things before?”

Guan Wan found her sister’s glare a little frightening, so she quickly retracted her arm and hid it behind her back. “But…but this one is…really pretty…”

Guan Qing glared at her. “Aren’t you shy about it at all?”

This wasn’t the first time Madam Gu had given Guan Wan something like this. Did Guan Wan seriously think that Madam Gu just liked giving her things? Why couldn’t this girl put two and two together herself?!

Guan Wan blinked innocently. “Shy about what?”

Was there something wrong with accepting gifts? She had…been accepting gifts from a young age, plus this was a gift from an older person. She couldn’t possibly turn it down. That would be rude.

Guan Qing looked at her pure and simple minded sister and quietly started rubbing her temples.

She wasn’t going to give Guan Wan any hints! She wasn’t going to do that!

She was going to let Guan Wan remain as completely ignorant as possible, and better still, just never understand love or anything like that! She wasn’t going to let that little fox outside get his way so easily!

The two sisters grew up together, so while Guan Wan didn’t know what her older sister was thinking about most of the time, she had a good instinct. She knew that she was in a dangerous position right now.

Her survival instinct was strong, and it told her to shrink back and find a chance to escape.

And luckily for her, she spotted someone through the window.

She immediately got excited and tugged at Guan Qing’s sleeve. “Eldest Sis! Look who’s here!”

It was Cao Zhang.

He was dressed nicely and carrying a gift, no less. And that gift…looked like a kit for making wine, something that Guan Qing had been into recently.

Guan Qing threw a glance outside and was even more annoyed.

This gang leader had stopped behaving like a street hooligan and behaved more civilly, but he resembled a scammer more than anything else. He appeared everywhere and refused to go away if he didn’t get something in return. He was so irritating.

She slammed the table fiercely. “How can you let anyone just saunter into the inner house like this! Throw him out!”

As she yelled, her face actually reddened, a rare sight to behold.

There were guests in the front section of the house and her grandmother was hosting Princess Changning.

Then, there was this irritating gang leader here with presents to visit the family.

So while Guan Wan might be too young to understand what was really going on, Guan Qing knew well.

When it came to the topic of marriage, even the usually unbothered, self-declared independent woman Guan Qing couldn’t help but feel something in her heart.

Guan Qing was the eldest granddaughter, the Eldest Young Mistress of the house. She was the voice of authority in this household for a long time, so regardless of what sort of instructions she gave, the servants had to carry them out.

But how could they possibly catch hold of someone like Cao Zhang?

He was able to leap much higher than them, jumping onto the roof of the room, then onto the surrounding fence, then nimbly onto a tree, even. As if that wasn’t enough, he even placed his hand by his mouth and yelled for Guan Qing, “Qing’er, it’s me! Look carefully! I’m not a burglar!”

Guan Qing nearly threw the teapot in her hand at him.

How could he call her Qing’er in public like this?!

He wasn’t a burglar, but he was definitely a bad guy who needed a good beating!

“Qing’er! Qing’er! Tell them to go away! I’ve brought you something! Something you’ve really wanted—”

Guan Qing picked up her skirt and ran out, her cheeks slightly red as she snapped at him both angrily and embarrassedly, “Shut up! You’re not…you’re not allowed to yell my name like that!”

Cao Zhang’s cheerful and handsome face was illuminated by the sunshine as he grinned, “Tell them to go away then! Then we can have our little secret conversation in private!”

“Nobody wants to have a secret conversation with you!!” Guan Qing stomped her feet. “That’s nonsense!”

Cao Zhang started yelling again, “Qing’er, if you insist that I’m a burglar, then it means I have to go and greet Old Madam Bai first!”

Guan Qing’s eyes widened in anger.

But just a moment later, she relaxed and smiled.

“Sure, you can do that. Come down from the tree first.”

As she spoke, she slowly started rolling up her sleeves.

Cao Zhang felt his entire body tense up.

He was doomed. Qing’er was going to beat him up!

But her smile was so beautiful…

If she wanted to beat him up, so be it! He could take it! He didn’t mind letting his wife-to-be hit him a few times!

Cao Zhang shut his eyes and leaped out of the tree.

A few moments later, the courtyard was filled with howls and cries of pain.

…

Meanwhile, in a different corner of the house, Song Caitang sat at a little tea table beneath a tree as she drank the honey tea that Guan Wan made for her while chewing on some nuts. She was here to soak in the relaxing afternoon that she rarely had, and to watch the little show happening in Guan Qing’s yard.

Halfway through, a voice suddenly resounded in her ear.

“Things are really lively in your house today.”

It was a low, strong and confident voice. A voice like the pine trees in the moonlight.

Song Caitang couldn’t take her eyes off the chaos in front of her, so she just grinned and nodded, “Uh huh!”

“It makes me so envious. I wish I could be part of it.”

Song Caitang nodded again. “Uh huh!”

“So let’s make things lively together, shall we?”

She nodded. “Uh huh!”

“Marry me?”

“Uh huh!”

Wait, what?

Song Caitang spun around. Her guest had come very close to her and kissed her gently on the cheek.

“You’ve agreed then, you’re going to marry me.”

Song Caitang looked up at Zhao Zhi, her eyebrows curved, her smile bright and her eyes watery. “That sounds wonderful.”

In that moment, Zhao Zhi felt like his world became brighter.

But not even the blazing sunshine was as bright as the person standing in front of him.

The joy in his heart existed only because she existed.

They had lost time in the past together. But thankfully, the future ahead was much longer.