Xie Jing’s life got back on track on the sixteenth of the first lunar month, the reason being that Lu Lingzhang’s period of leisure ended there. After the Lantern Festival, he had to start the hard study days of ‘waking up at cock’s crow to study’, and Xie Jing naturally also had to enter the palace every day. After all, he had taken on this responsibility in his role as Princess Consort Zhao, and the marriage would not change that.
But there was one difference.
Lu Lingzhang’s time for finishing classes each day was not fixed, sometimes early, sometimes late, depending on whether the empress was in the palace or not. If she were present, Xie Jing would inevitably have to delay the class for a while, lest the Empress be dissatisfied with the answering of questions after leaving the study.
It was still early spring, with short days and long nights. The sky darkened early, and on the twenty-second day of the first lunar month, Xie Jing left Linhai Hall for the first time after night had fully fallen since returning to work. He regretted not having instructed an inner eunuch beforehand to send a message back to the mansion that he would be late. Looking up, he saw a vague figure standing under the palace lanterns, arms folded, looking at him.
Xie Jing was stunned and focused his gaze to see the person clearly, “Why have you come to the palace? Did His Majesty summon you? Why don’t you go inside and wait?”
But he immediately realized he had asked a foolish question; Lu Lingcong’s refusal to go inside and wait was clearly because he didn’t want to run into the empress.
“No one summoned me. I didn’t see you after dark, so I was worried that Empress Mother might have kept you for dinner again.”
Xie Jing smiled: “What were you planning to do? If you heard that she was keeping me, would you have burst in and taken me away?”
Lu Lingcong started walking: “Of course, I would stay too. The cook at Linhai Hall is much better than those in the Imperial Kitchen.”
The two walked side by side across the courtyard outside the hall, but Lu Lingcong turned and headed in the opposite direction from the palace exit.
Xie Jing asked, “Aren’t we going back to the mansion?”
Lu Lingcong looked back at him, “Aren’t you hungry? It will take a while to get back to the mansion. I’ve already let my mother know, so we can just eat nearby at her place.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Jing hesitated with his steps, falling back two paces behind Lu Lingcong. He still felt a lingering apprehension about the excessive warmth and welcome he had received that day in Mingluan Hall. While it wasn’t a bad thing, he was simply not very accustomed to it.
Lu Lingcong noticed his hesitation and stopped: “Are you… unwilling to go? If you feel uncomfortable, I can have a carriage to take you back now; there’s also food at home, it’s just a matter of reheating it. But I might have to stay and eat in the palace since my mother has already prepared it. I’ll just tell her that you and I missed each other. I didn’t think much about it just now, my arrangements were poor.”
Xie Jing felt a bit helpless. His slight hesitation and slowing down had prompted such a long explanation from Lu Lingcong, which was perhaps a bit too “thoughtful” and “understanding.”
So, he shook his head and followed, stating with certainty, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to go. I’m just worried that Mother Consort will get displeased with me for being a picky eater.”
Lu Lingcong let out a helpless laugh. “You’re no better than she is. Just don’t get annoyed by how picky she is.”
Palace servants held up lanterns to light their path as they strolled slowly down Yongxiang Alley. Lu Lingcong added, “She likes you so much she’s completely infatuated, she won’t have the time to look down on you. Besides, I told her what you like to eat, so there won’t be a chance for her to be displeased by you.”
Xie Jing nodded and said softly, “Then why are you always displeased with me?”
Lu Lingcong was just about to casually reply, “Because being a picky eater is bad for your health,” when he suddenly realized Xie Jing’s remark had a certain ambiguous implication. He glanced at him but dared not make unwarranted guesses or assume too much and did not take the bait either. Thus, both fell silent.
At the start of the second month, the Emperor and Empress led the officials to the Altar of Land and Grain to offer sacrifices to the God of Agriculture. Following custom, they personally ploughed the fields to promote farming and sericulture, remaining in the imperial suburbs for several days. However, because the two princes were not taken along, Xie Jing also did not have to follow.
Although Lu Lingzhang’s studies could not be neglected, they were at least free from the Empress’s close supervision, giving him a brief respite and a moment to breathe.
Lu Lingcong no longer only waited until Xie Jing’s class was late to go find him; sometimes, when he entered the palace to see Lady Wu, even if it was still early, he would first go to Linhai Hall to wait for Xie Jing before they went together. Furthermore, without the restrictive pressure of his elders, he didn’t just sit in the main hall to drink tea and wait; he would occasionally enter the study, leaning against the bookcase, watching with keen interest how Xie Jing taught.
To avoid distracting the teacher and student, Lu Lingcong would not alarm either of them. He would always wait until Xie Jing said, “Let us stop here for today,” before he quietly slipped out from between the bookshelves, stood behind Xie Jing, leaned down, and abruptly said, “Oh, I’ve read this one too.”
Scaring both individuals who were still engrossed in their papers.
Xie Jing pushed him away: “Your Highness has actually read a book meant for a six-year-old child; that’s truly remarkable.”
Lu Lingcong ignored his sarcasm, winked and smiled at Lu Lingzhang, and busied himself helping Xie Jing tidy the desk. Lu Lingzhang showed unconcealed joy in his eyes upon seeing his elder brother, yet he did not leave the desk, looking as if he intended to study late into the night.
Out of courtesy, Xie Jing offered a word of concern: “It is the day of Jingzhe[mfn]Awakening of Insects.[/mfn] and the humidity is heavy today. Your Highness the Second Prince should go to bed early tonight.”
Lu Lingcong, however, asked directly, “Why aren’t you going to eat? Is the book that captivating?”
“It’s not time yet. Instead of just waiting idly, it’s better to review the books.”
Lu Lingcong then bid farewell and left. Xie Jing, however, followed a step behind him while turning his head back several times. Seeing the small figure of Lu Lingzhang sitting upright at the desk, looking lonely and rather pitiful, he couldn’t help but tug at Lu Lingcong’s sleeve.
“How about,” Lu Lingcong understood, turned around, and said to his younger brother, “come over to Mingluan Hall to eat with us? Zhenzhen is also there, and it will be livelier if we’re all together.”
Lu Lingzhang was startled, as if overwhelmed by the favour, “C-Can I? But Empress Mother doesn’t allow me to disturb others without permission…”
Lu Lingcong strode back and lifted him from the chair: “Let’s go. Empress Mother is not here right now anyway. If she really blames anyone later, I’ll take the fall!”
From Lady Wu down to the sweeping palace maids, everyone in Mingluan Hall had become a champion fiercely supporting Princess Consort Zhao. Whenever they heard anyone say that the Princess Consort was eccentric or had any other faults, they would inevitably step forward to defend Xie Jing.
Upon hearing the announcement, Lu Lingzhen rushed out, taking three steps at a time. However, seeing that there was someone else following her gentle and beautiful compliant sister-in-law, she had to brake her steps, compose herself, and did not fling herself into Xie Jing’s arms directly.
Lu Lingzhang spoke before her: “Greetings, Imperial Sister.”
Xie Jing glanced at Lu Lingcong, who then gave Lu Lingzhang’s shoulder a slight push: “Go inside and sit down.”
Thus, the sister and brother went into the hall together. Lady Wu clearly hadn’t expected her son and daughter-in-law to bring a little one with them. She greeted him in a soft, gentle voice and then had a palace servant serve him a bowl of red bean soup. Lu Lingzhang sat obediently beside her, answering whatever he was asked and eating whatever he was given, which made Lu Lingzhen, who was waving the wooden short sword her older brother made for her nearby, look like a wild girl.
She grew impatient listening to her mother and Lu Lingzhang engaging in boring conversation, and after entertaining herself for a while, she happily ran off into the courtyard, taking a stance as if to declare war on Lu Lingcong.
Lu Lingcong was probably also bored from waiting for dinner and played along perfectly, shouting, “Who goes there down the mountain? Announce yourself!”
The little girl had a clear voice, and when she spoke loudly, it sounded particularly pleasant, “I am General Jianwei, Lu Lingzhen of Great Qi! Why don’t you surrender at once!”
Lu Lingcong: “How strange! We, the well water, have done no wrong to the river water[mfn]To not interfere with one another.[/mfn], why should I surrender?”
Lu Lingzhen’s eyes darted around. She glanced at Xie Jing, who sat cross-legged, leaning against the railing and watching lazily, when a sudden idea occurred to her, “Princess Consort Zhao of our Great Qi has been kidnapped by you to the mountain, and you still dare to quibble!”
Lu Lingcong burst into loud laughter. “For that, you’re far too late! Your Princess Consort has already become the mistress of my mountain stronghold. Whether you can win him back depends on your own ability!”
Only when the brother and sister actually started fighting did Xie Jing realize that Lu Lingzhen wasn’t just putting on a show with empty, threatening moves. He couldn’t understand the complex maneuvers, but it was obvious that despite the vast difference in size and strength between Lu Lingzhen and her older brother, she was not immediately at a disadvantage either. Relying on her resilience and flexibility, she cleverly dodged Lu Lingcong’s interception several times. Although it was possible that her older brother was holding back slightly, her swift and precise movements were undeniable.
In the end, however, Lu Lingzhen still suffered a narrow defeat. The wooden sword flew from her hand, and she was lifted off the ground around the waist.
“A bet is a bet. My head may be severed, and the blood may flow[mfn]A dramatic vow of compliance.[/mfn]. Speak! What do you intend to do with me?”
“There’s no need for decapitation or bloodshed; you just need to do one thing.” Lu Lingcong loosened his grip.
Lu Lingzhen felt a chill down the back of her neck, “Wha-what thing?”
Lu Lingcong tore off her beaded hair ribbons, which were already messily tangled together, and let out a cold laugh: “Today, I’m going to deal with this bird’s nest on your head! Hey, Princess Consort, hand me a comb!”
Lu Lingzhen pouted and looked at Xie Jing. Xie Jing smiled until his eyes narrowed, took his personal sandalwood comb from his pouch, and handed it to Lu Lingcong while comforting her: “Be good. It is a bit messy indeed.”
The parts of the bun that couldn’t be untied had to be cut by Lu Lingcong using his knuckle guards. Scraps of silk ribbons and netting lay strewn all over the floor. Xie Jing bent down, picked them up, and quickly braided a colorful bracelet for her to wear. Lu Lingzhen rolled up her sleeve and raised her hand to admire it, becoming happy again, and showed off to Lu Lingcong: “You don’t have one!”
Lu Lingcong scoffed, retorting, “Who cares?” But after looking around, he realized he genuinely didn’t have one, not even a simple substitute one. He was speechless for a moment, then gave up the fight: “I don’t have one. You win this round.”
With her hair combed, Lu Lingzhen rushed off to show her new bracelet to her mother. Lu Lingcong watched her nearly stumble on the doorstep from running too fast, curved his lips into a smile, and turned to Xie Jing: “You’re quite good at coaxing little ones. Did you practice this on your nephew?”
Xie Jing didn’t answer. Lu Lingcong also stopped asking. He took a long stride onto the veranda and extended his hand to pass the wooden comb back. Just as Xie Jing reached to take it, Lu Lingcong seized his forearm with a reverse grip, and then, taking advantage of the momentum, pulled him up from the railing while holding his wrist and leading him into the hall.
As they walked, he casually said, “When we go back, braid one for me too. Use silk threads, and it must have more colors than hers.”
On the second day of the third lunar month, in the main room facing the street on the second floor of Qinhuai Chun, Lu Lingcong shoved Li Qi, who was so drunk he was nearly upside down aside. He raised his hand to signal a young attendant to come over. Before he could even give an order, Li Qi stuck to him again like a plaster.
Lu Lingcong directly kicked the leg of the stool. Li Qi, along with the stool, tumbled onto the floor and finally became quiet.
“Fry a plate of those chive sprouts and dried shrimp spring rolls and serve a bowl of braised pork and bamboo shoots, put them in a stacked box and send them to the Prince’s Mansion. Hand it to the Princess Consort and pass on a message for me, tell him to settle in early and not wait for me.”
The attendant repeatedly agreed. Just before leaving, Lu Lingcong instructed once again, “Make sure to hand it to the Princess Consort!”
Not many people in the room were still sober. Lin Zhen, who was sitting below Li Qi, was known for being able to drink endlessly. He casually threw a cushion to Li Qi so he could lie down, and when the attendant had left, he asked Lu Lingcong with a smile, “Do you two even wait for each other before going to bed?”
Lu Lingcong pinched a fruit shell and threw it at him, “Stop asking for trouble.”
“Those of us who haven’t married don’t understand. We’re just curious,” Lin Zhen dodged. “Isn’t that normal? And Your Highness isn’t even willing to share.”
“There’s nothing you need to know. It’s just one more person on the pillow and one more mouth in the residence, what’s there to share?”
Lin Zhen shook his finger, “That’s not right. Getting married isn’t like redeeming a girl from a pleasure boat.”
Lu Lingcong gave him a sidelong glance: “Who doesn’t understand? And who is curious?”
“This principle should be understandable even without getting married.” Lin Zhen said profoundly, “If you truly viewed the Princess Consort as ‘just one more person and one more mouth,’ you would have simply had someone pass on a few words of—‘I’m not returning’ earlier.”
Lu Lingcong paused, took a drink of wine, and remained silent.
Lin Zhen cheekily imitated him: “There’s even ‘settle in early,’ as well as ‘hand it to him.’ Has Your Highness shown a tenth or two of that care to the Eldest Princess?”
Lu Lingcong furrowed his brow: “How long have I know my sister? And how long have I known him?”
Lin Zhen shrugged: “See? You said it yourself. How long have you known him, yet you can be this thoughtful?”
“Well, who asked him to hold the title of ‘Princess Consort Zhao’? Even if he had been redeemed from a pleasure boat, I still couldn’t treat him poorly or carelessly either. Let alone someone brought in with three matchmakers and six rituals.”
Lin Zhen neither agreed nor disagreed, merely raising an eyebrow: “Stepping back, even if you treat everyone the same, do people treat you the same way? Whether the girls in Star-Plucking Tower treat you the same way the top scholar of the imperial exam does, you know that better than anyone.”
Lu Lingcong felt that the more they talked, the less clear things became. He was being led around in circles by this boy, and too lazy to think deeply. He told Lin Zhen to shut up.
At the end of the wine table, a few people started playing finger-guessing games. Li Qi was already snoring on the floor beside him. Lu Lingcong suddenly forgot where they had planned to go for entertainment, only finding the noise overwhelmingly irritating. He couldn’t help but switch to a jujube pit and threw it at Lin Zhen: “Why are you so chatty!”
Lin Zhen struggled to swallow his food: “Why are you saying that now when it’s already too late?”
Lu Lingcong decided not to listen to his grand pronouncements anymore. Few of these profligate young men had properly married a formal wife, and even fewer were entirely pure and innocent. Among them were even many experienced veterans of the pleasure quarters. He didn’t believe anything worthwhile could come out of the mouths of these people.
He planned to go home once the drinking party dispersed. Xie Jing should still be awake. He wondered what his reaction would be upon hearing that he would be home late and then seeing him return early.
While Lu Lingcong was pondering this, he saw the attendant who had run the errand’s return while carrying a stacked food box. He was stunned. He stood up and walked to the door, asking, “Why did you bring it back? Did the Princess Consort does not want it?”
The attendant stammered a bit before explaining, “No. Your Highness ordered this humble one to hand it to the Princess Consort personally, but the Princess Consort is not at the mansion, and this humble one didn’t dare to act on my own initiative, so I had to bring it back.”
Lu Lingcong rubbed his forehead: “Not at the mansion? Do you know where he is?”
The attendant hesitated for a moment: “This humble one asked the Steward, and he said the Princess Consort mentioned in the afternoon that his dinner needn’t be prepared, that he was going to…”
Lu Lingcong, puzzled: “Say what you have to say.”
But the attendant didn’t need to say it. The curtain of the main room opposite was drawn aside, and a group of scholars stepped out. With the crisp, jangling clash of jade ornaments, who else in the snow-azure robes could it be but Xie Jing?
The room where Lu Lingcong and his group were drinking was near the stairs, so the other party had to approach them to go downstairs and thus inevitably came face-to-face with him. Xie Jing said a few words to the person beside him, seemingly thanking him with a faint smile, and then looked up, meeting Lu Lingcong’s gaze directly.
The corridor fell silent for a moment. After a pause, Xie Jing pushed through the crowd and walked up to Lu Lingcong before bowing slightly and calling out, “Your Highness.”
Lu Lingcong paused, and asked, “Are you guys having a… social engagement?”
Xie Jing hadn’t originally intended to attend this evening’s gathering. He was feeling a little spring sluggishness and planned to return to the mansion early to catch up on sleep. However, those present at the banquet were either colleagues from the Hanlin Academy or scholars who had passed the imperial examination with him, so they had some acquaintances. Furthermore, it involved the excuse of celebrating his birthday, which made it even more inconvenient for Xie Jing to refuse.
He gave a soft “Mm,” and before he could figure out how to phrase his words, someone behind him had already spoken for him: “To answer Your Highness, it’s not a social engagement. A few of us who passed the exams in the same year are simply celebrating Young Master Xie’s birthday.”
Scholars were generally not afraid of offending the powerful. This person had presumably spoken up on his behalf, feeling it was unfair that he was forced into a marriage with the imperial family and compelled to show deference to a prince. Hence, they did not address him as “Princess Consort”.
However, Lu Lingcong didn’t notice this detail at all, only saying in astonishment, “Today is your birthday? Why didn’t I hear you mention it?”
Xie Jing thought for a moment and said, “It was yesterday. I don’t usually celebrate it much, so I didn’t especially mention it. Your Highness needn’t worry about it.”
Lu Lingcong genuinely did not know which day Xie Jing’s birthday was, only remembering that it seemed to be in the spring. At the time, the Xie family had sent his Bazi[mfn]Birth details.[/mfn] directly to the palace, which was then passed from the palace to Jiming Temple to choose an auspicious date. Lady Wu had actually offered to let Lu Lingcong take a look, but Lu Lingcong, who found it troublesome, didn’t look.
“Then let me make up a congratulatory gift for you. What do you want? Something practical or something for fun? Or should I invite someone now to check out how to build that fishing platform? Or perhaps we can switch venues, and I’ll celebrate it with you again?”
His expression was undisguised astonishment; clearly, he was genuinely surprised. When he said these words, he didn’t realize that a crowd of largely irrelevant people were still standing around him.
Xie Jing merely shook his head before saying calmly, “Thank you for Your Highness’s concern. This minister lacks nothing and needs nothing. Your Highness’s kind intention is deeply appreciated. This minister will return to the mansion now. Your Highness should also return early and not drink too much wine.”
He bowed once more, took two steps back, then turned and went downstairs.
Seeing this, the surrounding scholars also bowed in salute and took their leave, quickly withdrawing completely. Only Lu Lingcong was left standing alone at the doorway, still unable to recover from his shock.
The group of drunks Inside the room behind him naturally heard the commotion and came over to look as well. Some looked confused, some teased and mocked, and one kept wanting to speak but hesitated repeatedly. He finally patted Lu Lingcong’s shoulder and whispered:
“Your Highness, I’ll be frank; don’t get angry. My cousin previously took a fancy to Princess Consort and secretly found his Bazi to have them calculated; of course, they definitely wouldn’t match as well as yours and the Princess Consort’s, but I accidentally caught a glimpse…”
Lu Lingcong gazed at the empty staircase, didn’t turn around, and simply murmured, “Say what you have to say.”
“…Actually, the Princess Consort’s birthday is tomorrow.”
