Xie Wenzhao said, “If there truly are gods in the unseen, then let all the punishment fall on me.”
Meng Yu’s body stiffened. Then she lowered her voice and asked, “Xie Wenzhao, have you gone mad?”
The surrounding crowd couldn’t hear what the two were saying, and couldn’t even see the groom’s expression clearly. They only felt that the bride and groom must be very affectionate—with even this moment filled with whispered words.
Xie Wenzhao opened his mouth, about to say something, when the wedding matron to the side called out loudly: “Please, the bride, get into the sedan chair—”
The sound of the suona, the sound of firecrackers, and the sound of lively bustle rang all along the way—these endless sounds seemed like the beginning of a nightmare. At the moment Xie Wenzhao stepped into the marquis manor with Meng Yu, the bright red ribbons hanging at the entrance of the Marquis Manor were blown down by a gentle breeze. Xie Wenzhao felt as if he had already broken free from this mundane world—everything here had nothing to do with him. He only felt they were noisy.
In fact, even without that sentence from His Majesty, this marriage of Xie Wenzhao’s could not have been withdrawn. Neither the Xie family nor the Meng family would have agreed to him doing so.
A series of fated coincidences—he always ended up missing the right moment.
But not being able to find the person who had once played the zither in Xuzhou, and not being able to form a bond of fate with her—this, to Xie Wenzhao, was actually nothing. It only meant they were not destined. He could still seek another kindred spirit for himself. Though it might not be easy, in the vast sea of people, there would always be someone. Even if he never found her in the end, it would not leave him feeling unbearably resentful.
What he truly could not accept was Meng Yu’s deception of him.
His affection for Meng Yu had been built, from the beginning, on her being able to play a melody that stirred his very soul. Only then did he sink deeper step by step. And now she told him that the foundation of it all was false. This love was nothing more than a tower in the sky [meaning a fantasy or illusion with no basis]. Once he sobered up, the whole structure collapsed, leaving behind only ruins—nothing else would remain.
For the past few years, his entire world had revolved around Meng Yu. He had gotten married twice, and both times could be said to have been entirely manipulated by Meng Yu.
Xie Wenzhao would rather that the woman he married today were someone he had never even met before than spend the rest of his life with Meng Yu.
He must have committed too many sins in a previous life to suffer such retribution now.
At this moment, Meng Yu was still immersed in the joy of her new marriage, completely unaware of the thoughts in Xie Wenzhao’s heart. She thought she was controlling Xie Wenzhao’s heart, and that their future days would surely be filled with bliss and happiness.
However, on the night of their wedding, after all the guests had departed, Xie Wenzhao remained alone in Songxuan Hall. He thought of the night before his first wedding years ago—how Meng Yu had cried and said she didn’t want anyone else to ever play the zither for him again. Now he finally understood what her true purpose had been in saying that.
She didn’t love him—she just feared that he might not love her anymore.
At that time, she had already set her sights on the late Crown Prince. So why did she still continue to deceive him?
But thinking about this now was of no use. Everything had already settled. The dim yellow candlelight reflected on Xie Wenzhao’s side profile, and his shadow cast onto the folding screen on the other side. In his half-closed eyes was a weariness never seen before.
Xie Wenzhao now fully understood why His Majesty had shown concern about his marriage. That was a good thing—it proved that His Majesty truly cared for Meng Fu.
Although he and Meng Fu had once been husband and wife, he had never felt even the slightest heart-flutter for her, and learning the truth now would not suddenly make him fall in love with her. It was only a regret—if in the past few years he had interacted more with Meng Fu; if not for Meng Yu, this could have been a good marriage. He should have already gained everything he had dreamed of.
But even without Meng Yu, the person Meng Fu was meant to marry had still been the late Crown Prince. There had never been such a thing as a “should have been” between him and Meng Fu.
Now that Meng Fu had gained the Emperor’s favor, he ought to feel happy for her. If in the future she lived in hardship, that would be the time for him to feel heartache and deep regret.
Let it be so. In this world, how many people study bitterly for decades yet never pass the imperial examination? What was it, then, if he couldn’t marry someone he truly liked?
He should have understood this on the very day he married Meng Fu—why should a grown man be so obsessed with these matters of love?
Xie Wenzhao took a deep breath and blew out the candle on the table. The room fell into complete darkness.
Meanwhile, Meng Yu had been waiting in Lingxiang Hall for a long time without seeing anyone. She reached out and flung off her bridal veil in one motion, then asked the servant at the door, “Where is Xie Wenzhao?”
The servant held a zither in his arms and said to Meng Yu, “The Marquis said, whenever you’re willing to play the zither, he’ll come to see you.”
As soon as Meng Yu heard this, she became enraged. Xie Wenzhao was suspecting her. She stood up, snatched the zither from the servant’s hands, and slammed it hard onto the ground. Then she strode off quickly toward Songxuan Hall.
However, the servants had received Xie Wenzhao’s orders and stopped her. After busying herself for most of the night, Meng Yu still didn’t manage to see even a glimpse of Xie Wenzhao.
What made Meng Yu even more furious was that early the next morning, the second concubine in Xie Wenzhao’s rear court, Sun Yulian, was diagnosed as over three months pregnant.
Sun Yulian had originally wanted to use the child in her belly to make Xie Wenzhao promote her to official wife. In the end, she was still a step too late—she hadn’t expected Xie Wenzhao to act so quickly.
Meng Yu also hadn’t expected to receive such a “pleasant surprise.” When she first heard the news, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. She sat stiffly in her chair, endless fury surging through her. She felt as though she had been gravely betrayed. Like a madwoman, she smashed all the vases and decorations in the room. Shards scattered all over the floor. Even when several cuts appeared on her fingers, she seemed to feel nothing. She was so enraged, so hateful, it felt as if her heart was about to explode.
How dare Xie Wenzhao? How dare he?!
But she couldn’t find Xie Wenzhao anywhere. The old madam and the old marquis in the marquis manor were all beaming with joy, preparing to welcome a grandson. No one cared about her feelings at all. She had been pampered since childhood—when had she ever suffered such grievance? In a fit of anger, she ran back to her maiden home that very day, threw herself into Madam Meng’s arms, and cried a long while. Madam Meng felt heartache for her but could do nothing. Her daughter was already someone else’s wife, and she had even married up. She couldn’t interfere.
Meng Yu had thought that marrying into the marquis manor and becoming the marquis’s wife would allow her to live even more freely and delightfully than she did in the Meng family. She had had enough of Meng Yanxing nagging in her ear all the time. Yet just one night later, all her fantasies were utterly shattered. Going forward, she feared there would be even more disgusting things waiting for her.
She couldn’t accept this outcome. After all her schemes and calculations—was this all she deserved?
She had once thought she would never be like Meng Fu, suffering her husband’s cold treatment. Yet now, karma had come back around. She was even worse off than Meng Fu back then—at least when Meng Fu married into the marquis manor, Xie Wenzhao’s rear court didn’t have all these messy women.
Whenever Meng Yu thought of Sun Yulian’s pregnancy, it was like having a mouthful of swill stuck in her throat—so nauseating she couldn’t breathe, yet unable to spit it out.
At present, the happiest person in the marquis manor was none other than the old madam. Originally, she had looked down on Meng Yu, but now she thought marrying this daughter-in-law had really been the right choice. As soon as Meng Yu entered the household, Sun Yulian’s belly had shown movement—so much so that even the old marquis, who had been bedridden for years, ate two extra bowls of rice.
Upon hearing that Meng Yu had returned to her maiden home, the old madam, now that she had a grandson, was in no hurry. She simply took it as the young couple throwing a small tantrum. It wasn’t until a few days had passed and Xie Wenzhao still hadn’t gone to bring her back that she finally ordered the servants to go to the Meng residence and fetch Meng Yu home.
Meng Yu did not want to return to the marquis manor. She had never imagined that after marrying, she would have to endure such humiliation: a cold and indifferent husband, a concubine bearing a child before her, and no one caring about her feelings. But Meng Yanxing no longer indulged her. A married daughter lingering at her maiden home all day long—what sort of behavior was that? If outsiders found out, how much gossip would it stir? Ignoring Madam Meng’s attempts to dissuade him, he forced the people from the marquis manor to come take her back.
When Meng Yu once again stepped into the Xuanping Marquis Manor and saw Sun Yulian being surrounded and supported by a crowd of servants walking toward her, she felt both a surge of anger and a dense flood of regret welling up inside.
She didn’t want to be married anymore. She didn’t want to marry Xie Wenzhao. But now, everything was already too late.
March arrived, carrying soft spring breezes across the land. The snow and ice melted, and all things began to revive.
Last year, the Empress Dowager had set a half-year waiting period. Li Yue thought it was too long. He had originally hoped Xie Wenzhao would pull himself together, but he dragged his feet endlessly, and in the end, half a year still passed. It wouldn’t look good if he got married immediately after Xie Wenzhao’s wedding, so His Majesty waited another month.
The court officials began quarreling noisily again. Because many new military officers had recently joined the court, the officials’ vocabulary had expanded greatly, and now when they argued, it was especially loud—sometimes they could even match rhymes.
But His Majesty sat on the dragon throne, his thoughts having already flown far, far away.
Wei Jun’an and the others had long since realized that His Majesty had returned to being the kind of emperor who would erupt into cursing at the slightest disagreement. The gentle voice and pleasant expression His Majesty had once shown them now seemed like a dream. Perhaps because they hadn’t treasured it at the time, the dream had been very short indeed.
Liu Changlan felt the same. From the first time Li Yue returned to his usual self and scolded him, this poor elder statesman began reflecting on whether he had done something wrong that caused His Majesty to be so irritable. Now, as his colleagues around him argued until their faces turned red, Liu Changlan didn’t easily open his mouth. He simply kept his eyes obediently fixed on the ground, deciding to wait until His Majesty expressed his stance. Then he would echo His Majesty’s opinion and try to restore the camaraderie they once shared.
However, after the officials quarreled for most of the day, His Majesty on the throne still didn’t say a word. They didn’t know whether this situation was normal or not. For a moment, they all tacitly fell silent, quietly waiting for His Majesty to speak.
The great hall instantly became silent as a grave. Some of the more timid officials didn’t even dare to breathe. None of them understood why His Majesty was so silent—this matter wasn’t even that serious! Whatever His Majesty wanted could surely be discussed! Please don’t suddenly stop talking—it’s terrifying.
After quite a while, seeing that His Majesty still hadn’t spoken, Liu Changlan exchanged a glance with Wei Jun’an. Then he stepped forward and asked:
“Your Majesty, what is your opinion?”
“Me?” His Majesty came back to himself, looked at the trembling officials below the throne, and said in a light and cheerful tone:
“I’m planning to establish an empress.”
“As Your Majesty says! This humble subject also—” Liu Changlan started speaking instinctively but suddenly realized what His Majesty had said. His voice cut off abruptly. Poor Minister Liu, in that moment, failed to catch his breath and nearly keeled over. He couldn’t even believe what he had heard. He opened his mouth several times before finally managing to make a sound again and asked:
“Your Majesty, you mean to say—?”
“I’m going to establish an empress.” His Majesty, in high spirits, repeated once more.