Chapter 105
After the group had gone some distance, Meng Ru stepped out from behind Meng Huaizong, hesitating as though she wanted to say something.
Meng Huaizong deeply regretted that he had never concerned himself with his younger sister in those years. In the hands of their grandmother and mother, she had been left to waste her time, becoming ignorant and incapable of seeing even what was right in front of her. Yet she still dreamed of standing out wherever she went, leaving behind in Yingcheng an endless subject of gossip.
Meng Huaizong sighed inwardly. What else could he do? If he could set her straight even a little, then a little was better than nothing.
“If you have something to say, say it. Be more straightforward.”
“Brother, weren’t you the one who taught me to think three times before speaking?” Meng Ru muttered softly. Only then did she ask, “Grand Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Xu were both daughters of military families. Why was it different when it came to His Majesty?”
She took pride in the fact that her father was the Earl of Zhongyuan, commanding troops and defending Shanxi, while her elder brother Meng Huaizong was even more capable. At such a young age, he had already become a fourth-rank military officer, and now he had been transferred to Yingcheng to command a unit of the imperial guards. Among the military families of Great Ying, there were few like the Mengs, with both father and son receiving such important appointments.
The importance and influence of the Meng family in the army could be seen from how highly the Li family had regarded and courted them before.
With that in mind, Meng Ru had always believed that aside from marrying into the Li family, whose gates were difficult to enter, there was no other family she could not win over—not even Prince Wei.
Even after the emperor ascended the throne, she had felt that, compared with Grand Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Xu, she was the one with the greatest chance of becoming empress.
Although Meng Huaizong’s supervision had already made her abandon that ambition, she still wanted to know where she had fallen short.
“Other than the late emperor, both Emperor Gaozong and His Majesty married the women they loved.”
“But in the end, there was still Grand Empress Dowager Li…” Meng Ru fell silent under her brother’s stern gaze.
Once again, Meng Huaizong was grateful that after being transferred to Yingcheng, he had not grown close to the Li family. Though Chief Minister Li’s branch had not taken part in the attempt to force the palace, the military had its own channels of information. He knew that the Li family’s second branch had persuaded the two imperial guard commanders to join them, and that behind them stood the encouragement and tacit approval of Chief Minister Li’s branch.
Had the coup succeeded, Prince Kang and the Li family’s second branch would ultimately have worked for nothing. The ones who stepped forward to take charge would certainly have been the branch of Chief Minister Li.
After Prince Wei ascended the throne, Meng Huaizong breathed a tremendous sigh of relief. Of all the late emperor’s sons, only Prince Wei was least likely to indulge the Li family’s wishes. He no longer needed to find a way to transfer himself back to Shanxi. He had truly had enough of the chaos in his father’s inner household.
Meng Ru looked up at her brother again. “Brother, what do you think of me marrying Cui Su?”
When she met Meng Huaizong’s incredulous look, she gained a little self-awareness herself. “I understand. I’m aiming too high.”
Meng Huaizong did not want her entertaining any illusions, so he spoke bluntly. “The Cui family’s main branch is not a family that places much importance on social standing. Cui Su has already made it clear that he does not want to marry young. He will not consider marriage before the age of twenty. From what he has said, he will have the final say in his own marriage, and neither the Cui family’s main branch nor Empress Cui will interfere. He has achieved distinction at a young age, so the woman who catches his eye will have to be outstanding in both talent and beauty. An ordinary girl should not even consider it.”
This time, Meng Ru took his words to heart. With her merely average looks and talents, she had not the slightest chance.
Yingcheng was not the military camp of Shanxi. Her ability to bring prosperity to a household and bear children held no particular advantage here.
After they left Central Avenue and reached the area around the Temple of Confucius, they saw many people carrying floating lanterns to the Wuyang River, where they set them afloat and made wishes for blessings and good fortune.
The section of the Wuyang River beside the Temple of Confucius prohibited the construction of pleasure houses, so it had become the place where people released lanterns during the Ghost Festival and the Lantern Festival each year.
The emperor asked Cui Lanyin, “Shall we go?”
Cui Lanyin shook her head. “I’ve gone in previous years.” What occupied her mind was the lantern competition aboard the pleasure boats.
The emperor immediately understood. “Then shall we go to your Yunlai Restaurant?”
“We could rest there for a while.” Cui Lanyin still tried to hide her true intention. “There are too many people here. I’ve already run into two groups of acquaintances, and there will probably be even more here. I don’t mind it myself, but I’m afraid…” Her eyes dropped to the candied hawthorn skewers in the emperor’s hand.
The emperor casually passed the candied hawthorns to Buyan. “There. Problem solved.”
Cui Lanyin knew he had been teasing her on purpose. She tugged him forward more quickly. “Why are you talking so much? Let’s go.”
As he allowed her to pull him along, the emperor suddenly asked, “How many times have you met Meng Huaizong?”
“Only once, at the banquet I held in my residence before I came to the Eastern Palace…” Cui Lanyin answered without much thought. Then, realizing what he was asking, she turned to him in surprise. “How did you know?”
Instead of answering, the emperor asked, “Did he express his desire to marry you again?”
He could even tell that? Since she had done nothing wrong and had nothing to hide, Cui Lanyin simply told him, “He had someone ask Princess Yongjia about me. Once the rumors came out about my keeping a lover, there was no further word from him.”
The emperor did not continue asking. He merely snorted. “Second Miss Cui certainly has quite a few former lovers.”
Cui Lanyin did not want him pinning that label on her. She caught his hand and began counting on his fingers. “Have you forgotten that six young ladies once moved into the Palace of Blessing and Tranquility all at once? Wasn’t Meng Ru among them? Back then, they even stood by the table and waited on you during your meal. Did I ever bring that up against you?”
“Is that so?” Whatever she had said seemed to please the emperor. He raised a hand to the tip of his nose, trying to hide the smile at the corners of his mouth, but Cui Lanyin pulled his hand down.
“Remember this: you have no grounds to criticize me.”
The emperor nodded solemnly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll remember.”
After walking another two streets, they arrived near the examination compound. From a distance, they could see Yunlai Restaurant brightly lit, with a steady stream of guests entering.
Ever since Zhang Gui had received word from Geng Dayou that the empress would be coming to the restaurant for a late-night meal that evening, he had been so nervous that he had barely slept for the past two days, terrified that some detail might have been overlooked.
He had repeatedly cleaned the private room with the finest view of the Wuyang River no fewer than three times. Every corner and crevice had been scrubbed until not a speck of dust remained.
He had even screened the guests who came to reserve private rooms. Anyone he thought might disturb the empress’s peace and quiet was turned away.
Zhang Gui knew very well that he had become someone of importance in Yingcheng. Because of the empress, even members of princely and noble households now addressed him courteously as “Shopkeeper Zhang” when they came to Yunlai Restaurant.
Even the Delicacies Pavilion occasionally had troublemakers causing a scene, yet since the day Yunlai Restaurant had opened, not a single such incident had occurred there. Now that Second Miss Cui had become empress, no one dared raise their voice in the establishment.
Half the private rooms at Yunlai Restaurant had been reserved since half a month earlier. The remaining rooms had not been left empty because no one wanted them; Zhang Gui had kept them aside to curry favor with the main branch of the Cui family.
Only on the tenth day of the month, after confirming with the Cui residence that the rooms were not needed, did Zhang Gui begin releasing the rest for reservation.
The moment he announced their availability, every room was taken before noon.
The private room with the best view of the river, however, had been reserved for Princess Yongjia. The Heir of Prince Jing had originally insisted on that particular room, but after hearing that Princess Yongjia had reserved it, he silently accepted another one.
Zhang Gui naturally understood. Had Princess Yongjia remained as she once was, the Heir of Prince Jing would never have yielded to her. But now that she was close to the empress, even he was willing to make way for her.
Once the empress announced that she would be coming, Princess Yongjia relinquished the room without a second thought. Zhang Gui rearranged the guests in the rooms nearby, and every one of them cooperated without even asking questions.
Zhang Gui had finally experienced the pleasures of being a person of influence. Everyone in the residence envied Geng Dayou for having received an official position, but Zhang Gui was perfectly content with his current circumstances. He repeatedly reminded himself to cherish his good fortune and remain within his proper bounds.
From the moment the lanterns were lit, Zhang Gui had been waiting outside the door. He had been wondering who the Empress would be arriving with, since it was not Princess Yongjia.
When he looked up and saw a group of people approaching, he recognized them—and immediately began to tremble from head to toe.
Fortunately, the trembling made him forget to drop to his knees with a thump. Otherwise, he might have disturbed the Emperor and Empress’s pleasant mood.
Zhang Gui had never imagined that he would one day have to receive the imperial carriage. Normally, he was an exceedingly capable and sociable man, but now he could hardly get a word out. Moving as stiffly and awkwardly as if his hands and feet were not his own, he led the Emperor and Empress upstairs to a private room.
Only after they had entered did he clumsily step forward and bow. “May Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress enjoy perfect health.” He then held his breath and stood to one side.
The Emperor pulled Cui Lanyin down beside him. “What is the Empress treating me to? Surely all the most expensive and best dishes are to be served?”
Cui Lanyin gave him a radiant smile. “Who was the one who said he wanted to come? Shouldn’t the person who arranged this be the one paying?”
The Emperor spread his hands. “Your Majesty, you know very well that all my private funds are in your hands. If you won’t pay, I’ll have no choice but to drink the wind.”
“Even brothers must keep clear accounts.” Cui Lanyin turned to Buyan with a smile. “When we return, take something from my uncle’s private treasury to cover tonight’s expenses.”
“So that was what you were waiting for.” The Emperor looked at her with an amused sidelong glance. “You won’t allow me to keep even a little private fund of my own?”
He also instructed Buyan, “There’s no need to go to such trouble. When we return, tell Qian He to hand over the keys to my private treasury to the Empress.”
Cui Lanyin had only been joking in passing. She had not expected him to offer her his entire private treasury.
She hurriedly waved her hands. “Don’t. I’ll pay for tonight, all right?”
The Emperor did not insist. Instead, he explained, “I kept it because I thought that whenever I did something to displease you, I could take something out to make you happy. And once we have a daughter, I can’t always be asking you for money, can I?”
Cui Lanyin rolled her eyes at him. “You certainly plan far ahead.”
She turned to Zhang Gui. “Serve all the house specialties. I won’t have anyone saying I’m stingy.”
Zhang Gui smiled and agreed. Once he had withdrawn, he first took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine sweat from his brow. As he was heading away, someone suddenly came out of the private room beside them and put an arm around his shoulder.
“Old Zhang, is it really His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress?”
Seeing that it was the Prince Jing’s Heir, Zhang Gui gave a slight nod and reminded him, “You mustn’t make a racket tonight.”
“I wouldn’t dare, even with a borrowed courage!” the Prince Jing’s Heir replied. Then he asked, “Do you think I should go pay my respects?”
Zhang Gui shook his head. “Since His Majesty and Her Majesty are traveling incognito, they clearly don’t want to be disturbed.”
“I’ll take your word for it, Old Zhang.” The Prince Jing’s Heir quickly released him. “Go on and attend to your business. Don’t worry about us here.”
Zhang Gui truly had no time to spare for anyone else. He hurried downstairs to make the arrangements.
Inside the private room, the Prince Jing’s Heir sighed emotionally to the group of friends who had been listening with their ears pricked up. “His Majesty truly dotes on his Empress. He was even willing to bring her to a place like this.”
“Didn’t the Empress often come here to dine back when she was Second Miss Cui?”
“It’s different today. During the day, you can’t see a single person across the river, despite the place’s reputation.” The speaker pointed out the window. “Tonight, though, they’ve all come out of hiding. Once the wine takes effect, what sort of uninhibited behavior won’t we see?”
Everyone turned toward the pleasure boats on the Wu-Yang River. Under the sea of lantern light, every boat was illuminated as brightly as day, leaving nothing hidden from view.
The delicate, lilting voices of women speaking in the Wu dialect drifted over without end, soft and coquettish enough to make one’s bones go weak and limbs grow numb. Someone suddenly came to his senses. “But in the end, was it His Majesty who wanted to come, or was it the Empress?”
The people in the room looked at one another. That was indeed the question. But if the Emperor had wanted to come see the sights, why had he brought the Empress along? And she was pregnant, no less!
Zhang Gui first had people carry in some freshly baked pastries. While he was still arranging them, Liansheng, who had been quietly helping at his side with her head bowed, suddenly knelt before the Empress. Her voice choked with emotion.
“Liansheng never imagined that I would live to see Second Miss Cui again.”
That beautiful voice, coupled with such a tearful tone, naturally stirred sympathy in everyone who heard it.
