Upon returning to Prince Hui's Manor, Zhao Sui first instructed Eunuch Cao to make a trip to Xiangshan Temple to offer a sum of donation money. He then estimated that his imperial father had finished his afternoon nap before heading into the palace.
When the father and son met each other's eyes, Emperor Yongchang saw the unconcealable joy beneath his son's reserved expression, while Zhao Sui noticed the teasing look in his imperial father's eyes.
Zhao Sui knelt down and said, "I beg Imperial Father to make the decision for your son."
Emperor Yongchang asked his son to rise, saying, "This girl has earned your favor, yet she could still rationally weigh the difference in our social standings and keep it a secret from her family. When suddenly faced with Us, she remained calm, neither haughty nor humble. Based on these two points alone, she has already surpassed most young ladies from prestigious families in the capital."
He had only seen Yao Huang once, but that single meeting allowed him to see her many merits. If Yao Huang had been terrified and trembling at the sight of the Emperor, no different from an ordinary commoner, Emperor Yongchang would likely have been unwilling, even if the young girl was stunningly beautiful. At most, he would have reluctantly agreed for his son's sake.
All parents in the world consider social standing when contemplating their children's marriages, and Emperor Yongchang was no exception. However, he knew better than anyone that social status never dictated a person's talent or intellect. Prestigious families merely provided excellent conditions for their children's upbringing; how much they actually learned still depended on their own talent and character. Commoner families lacked these conditions, but were there not plenty of great talents and even emperors who emerged from the common folk?
As for his daughters-in-law, Emperor Yongchang did not have overly high expectations for their talents. Skills in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were merely icing on the cake. He valued their character far more. Internally, they should live in harmony and love with his sons; externally, they should be able to distinguish right from wrong, be benevolent to the people, and treat the worthy with respect. At the same time, their maiden families needed to be law-abiding people who wouldn't abuse their power as imperial relatives to tyrannize the commoners, or worse, harbor greater ambitions.
His son liked Yao Huang, so the young couple's affection after marriage would certainly not be an issue. Yao Huang was calm in the face of trouble, sharp-minded, knew when to advance and retreat, and answered fluently. She almost outshone some local prefects who came to the capital to report on their duties. She was exactly the kind of clever person Emperor Yongchang liked best. Furthermore, Yao Zhenhu and Luo Jinhua had a clean and simple family background, and Yao Lin's straightforwardness was perfectly in line with Jiang Qu's description of Yao Zhenhu. There would absolutely be no threat of foreign relatives interfering in state affairs.
Therefore, Emperor Yongchang was willing to grant his son's request and bestow a marriage upon him.
"However, Yao Zhenhu's official rank is still too low. You might not care, but I do not want the ministers and the common people to suspect that I do not value you."
"Just wait a while. I will find an opportunity to promote Yao Zhenhu."
Officials had to rely on political achievements to please him if they wanted a promotion, but as the emperor, wasn't it easy for him to promote a subject if he insisted on it?
Emperor Yongchang promised his son in a relaxed tone.
This matter was beneficial to the Yao family. Even though Zhao Sui was anxious to give Miss Yao a clear marriage edict as soon as possible, he could only cooperate with his imperial father.
Before Emperor Yongchang could figure out an opportunity to promote Yao Zhenhu, just two days later, an urgent battle report arrived from the north. The Wu Kingdom had led three hundred thousand iron cavalry in a massive invasion southward. The north was in a state of emergency!
Emperor Yongchang's heart sank. He immediately summoned the civil and military ministers to discuss the matter. Because this was the largest-scale war with the Wu Kingdom in over a decade, to be safe, the capital needed to dispatch one hundred thousand troops to reinforce the north.
The chief commanders of the four major capital camps, led by Duke Zhenguo Li Qian, all stepped forward and requested to lead the troops into battle.
Prince Hui, Zhao Sui, walked in front of the four generals. Meeting Emperor Yongchang's gaze from the dragon throne, he said, "Imperial Father, your son is willing to lead the troops to reinforce the north. Furthermore, only if your son goes can we boost the morale of the border army soldiers to resist the enemy."
The more troops the Wu Kingdom deployed, the easier it was for the border army to feel fear. At this time, if the emperor guarding the capital sent a prince to the front lines, it would show that the emperor had confidence in this war; otherwise, he would never dare send a prince to take such a risk. At the same time, it would tell the hundreds of thousands of border troops that in the face of a formidable enemy, the royal descendants were willing to live and die together with the soldiers, fighting side by side. The emperor would not disregard the life of any single soldier.
The logic was sound, but human hearts are always biased. Emperor Yongchang could not bear to let his most highly regarded second son take such a risk.
However, the usually reticent Prince Hui always became eloquent whenever he requested to go to battle. In front of the civil and military officials of the entire court, if Emperor Yongchang refused, it would be an admission that he valued a prince's life more than the lives of the common people's sons.
Prince Hui had to go. The four major capital camps each had over fifty thousand soldiers. Emperor Yongchang selected the strongest forces, the East Camp and the South Camp, to accompany Prince Hui on the expedition.
Zhao Sui tried to dissuade him once during the court assembly but failed. After the assembly was dismissed, he chased after his imperial father to the imperial study, pleading to be allowed to lead the soldiers of the West Camp and North Camp to reinforce the north. His reasoning was that if the Wu Kingdom's iron cavalry broke through the northern defense line, having the one hundred thousand troops of the East and South Camps guarding the capital would be safer.
Emperor Yongchang said, "I will leave Li Qian behind. With him here, you need not worry about my safety or that of the capital."
Zhao Sui said, "But..."
Emperor Yongchang looked at his son with a sharp gaze. "You don't want to take the East Camp because you're actually afraid that if something happens to Yao Zhenhu on the battlefield, Yao Huang will be heartbroken, aren't you?"
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes.
Emperor Yongchang sneered. "When you volunteered to go to the battlefield, why didn't you think that I would worry about you too? Mothers among the common folk often scold their sons for forgetting their mothers once they marry a wife. I see you haven't even married a wife yet, but you've already forgotten me, your father! Let me tell you, either neither you nor the East Camp goes to the front lines, or you take the East Camp with you. It will be a good opportunity for me to see if Yao Zhenhu actually has the ability to shake tigers, and if he has the qualifications for me to promote him!"
"Right, I will bestow the marriage upon you first..."
Zhao Sui hurriedly said, "Imperial Father, marriage is a major event. Your son does not wish for it to be handled too hastily. I entreat Imperial Father to wait until your son returns in triumph before issuing the marriage edict."
Emperor Yongchang gritted his teeth, pointing at his son kneeling on the ground and scolding, "Do you take me for an old fool? Do you think I can't see that you are afraid..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Emperor Yongchang abruptly turned away.
He was the emperor, usually sitting high above all others, but his heart was also made of flesh. His son worried about this person and that person, but never thought that he, too, would be afraid.
Zhao Sui looked at the dragon patterns on his imperial father's robes. After a moment of silence, he said, "Do not worry, Imperial Father. Your son will return. When your son returns, I will trouble Imperial Father to arrange a grand and glorious wedding for me."
With the great army about to depart, Yao Zhenhu had been busy at the military camp for a day and a night before finally finding the time to rush back to Changshou Alley.
The news had already spread throughout the capital. Yao Huang accompanied her mother to help pack some clothes, shoes, and socks for her father. Yao Lin had also taken a leave of absence from his martial arts academy, waiting to bid his father a reluctant farewell.
Yao Zhenhu spurred his horse all the way home. The moment they met, he saw that both his wife and daughter had red rims around their eyes, and his daughter threw herself right into his arms.
Yao Zhenhu smiled and patted his daughter's head, saying nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of? You know your father's abilities. I can fight, but I don't know how to flatter my superiors, so I've been stuck in the capital camps with little chance of promotion. I've been hoping to go to the battlefield and achieve military merits for so many years, and this year it has finally come. You have no idea how happy your father is. You should all be cheerful too, and think more about the good things, like your father earning merits and getting promoted."
Yao Huang sobbed, "I don't care about being the daughter of some high-ranking official. I just want you to return safely, Father."
Yao Zhenhu said, "Then you should pray to the Bodhisattva for your father more often. Didn't Master Zhao give you a bracelet blessed by the abbot of Xiangshan Temple? Turn it a few times every day when you have nothing to do; it will definitely work."
Mentioning this made Yao Huang want to cry even more. She hadn't yet told her father that Prince Hui had proposed to her, thinking she would give him a direct surprise once Emperor Yongchang issued the marriage edict...
Yao Zhenhu pushed his daughter into his son's arms to be comforted, then pulled his wife into the east room for a private talk. Luo Jinhua knew about her daughter's good news, but she didn't dare tell her husband at this time, fearing that he would be even more desperate to earn military merits just to win face for their daughter.
Yao Zhenhu only stayed at home for half an hour before hurriedly leaving with his bags.
When the army set out, Emperor Yongchang was going outside the city to see them off. The main streets in the city were cleared, and commoners were strictly forbidden from gathering and causing congestion. Moreover, the hundred thousand soldiers were all outside the city, and the commoners were not allowed out of the city gates. Since she couldn't go out to see her husband off, Luo Jinhua sat despondently at home with her daughter, shedding streams of tears from time to time.
Outside the window, the sun rose higher and higher; the army had surely departed long ago.
Luo Jinhua pulled herself together. Since she had married a man serving in the military, she had long prepared herself for him to go to the battlefield. Aside from living their lives well and hoping for the imperial army to win so her husband could return sooner, the mother and her two children could do nothing to help him from the capital.
Yao Huang understood this reasoning too, but she simply couldn't bear to part with her father.
The neighbors all came to comfort the mother and daughter. Yao Huang sulked alone in the west wing, leaving her mother to entertain the guests.
Just as Luo Jinhua saw off two kind neighbors, she saw a carriage turn the corner at the end of the alley. Feeling restless, Luo Jinhua simply stood at the door to watch the commotion. Unexpectedly, the carriage actually stopped right in front of her house. The carriage door opened, and a wealthy-looking elderly woman with a kind face, wearing fine cotton clothes, stooped to step out.
Luo Jinhua asked, "And you are?"
Nanny Liu smiled, "Are you Madam Luo?"
Luo Jinhua nodded.
Nanny Liu approached her and whispered, "This old servant is a managing nanny from Prince Hui's Manor. I have come on the Prince's orders to deliver a few gifts to Miss Yao."
Luo Jinhua opened her mouth wide, staring dumbfounded as two young maidservants carried down two long and two short boxes—four in total—from the carriage, and stood respectfully behind the nanny, who looked much more like an official's wife than she did.
Recovering her wits, Luo Jinhua led Nanny Liu and the two maids straight to her daughter's room in the west wing.
Yao Huang was sitting listlessly on the heated brick bed. Upon learning that the three strangers her mother brought in were actually from Prince Hui's Manor, Yao Huang didn't pay it much mind. She even felt that Prince Hui had chosen a poor time to send gifts. Her mind was entirely occupied with her father's safety, and she was in no mood to think about anything else.
It wasn't until Nanny Liu sent the two young maids out and revealed that Prince Hui had also led troops to war that Yao Huang suddenly began to cry again.
Great, her father had gone to the battlefield, and the handsome young man she had only just met had gone too!
How could a fourteen-year-old girl not cry encountering such a thing? Nanny Liu comforted her softly, "Don't be afraid, Miss. Our Prince won battles in the southern borders when he was just eighteen. This time going north, he will surely send back a string of victorious reports. Just wait for the good news, Miss."
Yao Huang wiped her tears and nodded. She had to think positively; the more she thought of good things, the more likely they were to come true.
After coaxing the young girl, Nanny Liu left a letter and the four boxes and departed, refusing to let Yao Huang see her out.
Taking advantage of her mother's absence, Yao Huang quickly opened the four boxes, first checking if there was anything that would be inconvenient for her mother to see later.
The two long boxes contained mounted scroll paintings. One depicted Yao Huang in a red dress, riding on a tree-lined official road and looking back over her shoulder. The other painted several stalks of Yao Huang peonies.
Yao Huang didn't look too closely and continued to check the two smaller boxes. One box contained a thick stack of banknotes, and the other contained... a golden waist token belonging to Prince Hui.
Her vision blurring, Yao Huang opened Prince Hui's letter. There weren't many words. The general idea was that he would do his best to look after her father. If he returned in triumph, he would marry her as his princess consort as promised. If things went against his wishes, he hoped to grant the girl he liked a lifetime of wealth and freedom from worry, and that waist token might protect her a few times from being bullied by the powerful.
When Luo Jinhua returned from seeing Nanny Liu out, she saw her daughter lying on the quilt, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yao Huang naturally wouldn't touch Prince Hui's box of banknotes; she didn't even count the exact amount.
But she liked to unroll the three paintings Prince Hui gave her every day. Her favorite turned out to be the Yao Huang peony painting, because Yao Huang had written her own name countless times and felt the two characters were completely ordinary, yet the characters "Yao" and "Huang" inscribed by Prince Hui faintly possessed an agile, ethereal beauty.
Separated by thousands of miles, the person Yao Huang missed the most was still her father. However, during every festival, Nanny Liu from Prince Hui's Manor would send a holiday gift. There were gifts for her mother and brother, as well as silks, jewelry, or cosmetics for her. Having received so many, even after two whole years had passed, the sixteen-year-old Yao Huang actually still remembered His Highness Prince Hui, whom she had only met four times when she was fourteen.
When spring arrived again, Luo Jinhua accompanied her daughter on a trip to Jinxiu Garden.
Yao Huang stood in front of the Yao Huang peony flowerbed, staring blankly at the willow trees and grass inside for a long time. If it weren't for Nanny Liu and the various gifts she delivered on Prince Hui's behalf, and if there wasn't indeed an extra painting of a beauty in her home, Yao Huang might really have thought that the scene from two years ago was merely a dream.
But she couldn't clearly remember Prince Hui's appearance anymore. All that remained was a handsome silhouette and his habitual gesture of lowering his eyes.
At the end of the month, Luo Jinhua received a letter from her husband in the north.
Yao Zhenhu's handwriting was usually mediocre, but this letter was written exceptionally messily, with every character exuding an uncontrollable joy.
"Jinhua, I've earned a great merit! General Cen, Marquis Weiyuan, was trapped by the enemy army, and Prince Hui led us to his rescue. We were heavily outnumbered, and in the end, only Commander Jiang, Battalion Commander Li, and a dozen or so of us were left to escort Prince Hui and General Cen out of the encirclement. I even took an arrow for Prince Hui! The wound isn't serious, so don't worry. The key is that I saved Prince Hui! Even Commander Jiang's merit isn't as great as mine!"
"Now the enemy army has been beaten into fear by us and is constantly retreating. Just wait, we will win and come back soon!"
There were so many typos. Luo Jinhua felt a lingering fear as she read, yet she couldn't help but laugh. After finishing this page, she noticed that on the next page, her husband started getting amorous. Luo Jinhua quickly flipped it over, refusing to let her daughter, who was standing nearby, see it.
Yao Huang wasn't as skilled at reading her father's handwriting as her mother, so she didn't catch sight of anything she shouldn't have.
In short, her father had earned military merits, Prince Hui was safe and sound, and this war that had lasted for two years was finally coming to an end!
