Since ancient times, marriage has always been a grand occasion in one’s life. Zhao Su had never experienced it in his previous life but would be doing it for the first time now. First, the bridegroom’s family will choose a suitable maiden, and then send a matchmaker to propose to the future bride’s family. After the bride’s family has agreed, the preparations for the presentation of the betrothal gifts could be presented1. On the day of the betrothal, all the guests will convene at the bride’s family residence and be welcomed by the marriage officiant. The marriage officiant is usually the father of the bride but given Zhao Su’s elevated status as a fourth-rank court official, there was an addition of another honourable marriage officiant, the Prefectural Magistrate of Fuzhou Prefecture. It was just that none of these details had to be dealt with personally by Zhao Su, the only thing that he was responsible for was to put on the bridegroom robes, and then ride a horse over to the bride’s residence to fetch his bride. He will have to welcome his new bride out of her family’s residence whilst she is adorned with a phoenix crown2 and a red veil. Before departing, the father of the bride will impart some words of instructions and guidance to the bride, and then the bride will cry on the bridal sedan before getting married3.
Even though it was their concubine-born daughter getting married, she was getting married to an imperial court official, and would also be his legitimate wife, so naturally, the Chen family did not hold back on the preparations. However, Chen Hui’s birth mother was a lowly concubine and was not able to attend, and could only let the legitimate wife take the stage, and give advice to her daughter in her place, as well as advising her to behave accordingly once she was married.
Amongst the clamour of gongs and drums, and the decorated lanterns and coloured banners, the Chen fu-ren had a warm smile on her face as she helped put the veil over Chen Hui’s face, whilst saying: “Although you are a concubine-born today, you have been studying with your sisters since you were young. You are aware of what women can or cannot do. Once you’re over there, you must adhere strictly to the virtues of women and look after your husband and his family, and you mustn’t lose face for the Chen family.”
“Yes.” Chen Hui said very quietly, her head which had a red veil covering it dropped slightly, it was not possible to see her facial expression.
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Her voice which was as quiet as a mosquito buzzing annoyed Chen fu-ren, but taking into account that it was her wedding day, she maintained a smile: “This marriage was gifted to you by your younger sister. You need to know how to and appreciate how fortunate you are in memory of your poor sister.”
“Thank you mother for your instruction.” The hand that was holding onto the bridal veil slightly tightened its grip, the maiden under the veil bit her lip, and did her utmost to try to stop her hands from trembling.
That’s right, she was afraid.
Although, in name, this manor was her home, but for most of her years, she had lived in fear. In fact, she had spent more time in fear and trepidation than in happiness. In truth, it was more like a cage, she had never left the manor and now she was moving from one cage to another. Zhao Su was originally supposed to be her sister’s husband, she had no idea why he would decide to settle for her, who was neither talented nor beautiful.
Today, she was getting married, so Chen fu-ren chose maidservants from Chen manor who would accompany her after she got married. All the maidservants were young and pretty, making her appear even more ordinary and plain. And prior to that, Chen fu-ren had already instructed them that after Chen Hui was married, these few maidservants would actually be given over to Zhao Su’s family to serve them. To call it by its glorified name, it was actually in order to help consolidate Chen Hui’s position as the legitimate wife, just in case, her husband was bewitched by some tart outside. In reality, Chen Hui knew that the maidservants had been selected with much attention by Chen fu-ren, each one more enchanting and alluring than the next, and they were not easy to deal with either. If one of them were to gain favour then they would probably be able to surpass her status and position.
But Chen Hui did not have the courage to refuse. Since she was young until present day, the experiences that she had gone through had shaped her personality and character to grin and bear everything, swallowing up all the hurt and suffering inside. Even on her wedding day, not only was she not delighted, in fact, all she felt was loneliness and distress.
However, no one noticed her feelings, Zhao Su and Chen Hui had never even met, so naturally he was none the wiser.
Under the envious gaze of the masses, the bride rode in on a bridal palanquin carried by eight men. At this moment, the groom had already arrived back at his residence and was waiting to welcome his new bride. The bride and the groom proceeded with the wedding ceremony presided over by the marriage officiant and guests. The new bride was then led to her new chambers whilst Zhao Su stayed in the main hall attending to the guests.
He didn’t want to get so drunk on his wedding night as to not even know what his new wife looked like, so he had already asked Zhao Nuan and Chen Zhu to intervene and to help with the drinks whilst he ended up being only slightly tipsy. The banquet continued on until the curtain of darkness arrived, when he finally was able to remove himself from the clutches of the guests and arrive at his new wife’s chambers.
The room had been decorated to match the joyous atmosphere. The dragon and phoenix candles4 were burning brightly, and red silk draped across the entire room. The windows had been plastered with the “happiness” banners and cutouts of mandarin ducks. Even the bed sheets, bed curtain and covers had been changed to red, striking enough to make one feel overwhelmed.
His bride sat on the bed silently, with her head looking down and hands clasped together.
Zhao Su picked up the veil lifting stick5Â from the table and walked up to her and then slowly lifted up her veil.
The exquisitely embroidered veil was lifted and revealed the face of a mediocre looking young woman.
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She could not be considered beautiful, but one could also not say that she was ugly. Her face had been covered with thick make-up but she was still not astonishingly charming. Luckily, Zhao Su had prepared himself in advance and was not particularly shocked. In his eyes, his bride was not shockingly beautiful but that meant that she was not someone who was arrogant and relied on her beauty. If she had a good heart and personality then they would be a good match.
“Is your name Chen Hui?”
Chen Hui had been anxiously awaiting for a long while, originally thinking that the other party would have been disappointed but all she heard was this.
”Qie-shen’s name is indeed Chen Hui.”
“Okay, so from now on I will call you Hui-niang, and you can call me Shaoyong.”
Chen Hui replied worriedly: ”Qie-shen does not dare…….”
Seeing Zhao Su sit beside her, she became so nervous that she was at a loss at what to do. She wanted to move away but didn’t dare to, it was like she was sitting on a needle bed.
She couldn’t help sneakily glancing at the man beside her with the pleasant voice, he was now her support for life.
She couldn’t be considered well-read, as she only knew basic characters. The book that she had read the most was 《Admonitions for Women》, so even if she racked her brains, she wouldn’t know how to actually describe Zhao Su. She only knew that there was nothing unsightly about this man.
“Married couples should be as one, should share in honour and in disgrace, so there is no need to pay so much attention to etiquette and formalisms, don’t you think, Hui-niang?”
Their wedding night was also the first time that they had met. Chen Hui was not a peerless beauty, it was impossible for Zhao Su to have fallen in love with her at first sight. However, he truly wanted to pass his days well with this woman, even if there was no love, after a while, perhaps, there could be some emotional attachment.
“I, qie-shen, qie-shen does not know…..” As soon as she thought about having to consummate the marriage with him, Chen Hui got so nervous she couldn’t even speak. Before she got married, the wet nurse6 had instructed her on the matters of the bedroom, making her turn a shade of scarlet red.
“Did you eat before, are you hungry, should I get something for you to eat?”
“I don’t dare to inconvenience you, husband7!” Chen Hui cried out in fear.
“Don’t be so nervous. I already said there is no need for so many formalities between married couples. How did Hui-niang forget already?” Zhao Su smiled and said whilst getting up and heading over to the table to pick up some fruits. He put them on a plate and then walked back over and gave it to her. “These cakes are quite good, before when I was hungry, I sneakily ate one. If I hadn’t been pulled into drinking with the guests, I probably would have finished them all.”
As he spoke, he picked one up and gave it to Chen Hui and then took one for himself and then finished it in a few bites.
Chen Hui was feeling a little less nervous due to his casual manner, and accepted the snacks, and took a bite in a very lady-like fashion, too afraid to ruin her makeup.
Zhao Su, seeing her prudent manner, did not want to push the boundaries and wanted to help calm her nerves. So he sat slightly further away and changed the subject and talked to her about some interesting things he had heard outside, deliberating trying to ease her mind. But Chen Hui misunderstood his intentions and just thought that her looks were lacking and she was boring, therefore, making Zhao Su think that she was dull. Inside, she felt more and more panicked and didn’t know what to do, and did not listen to what he was saying at all.
Zhao Su sighed to himself secretly and thought to himself, let’s just take it slow.
He thought that women in ancient times had been taught the Confucian moral injunctions for women8 since they were little, and it would be difficult to reverse these teachings. His new bride was not an exception, but what he didn’t know was that Chen Hui had been hiding more than a decade of weakness and self-abasement which would not be easily dealt with.
Marrying Zhao Su had caused her much worry and suffering. Her own family had called her a wolf in sheep’s clothing, suggesting that she had stolen her own sister’s husband. All this made Chen Hui doubt and hate herself even more. When she saw Zhao Su’s face, on the one hand, she was secretly delighted and in adoration of him but on the other hand, she believed that she was not good enough for him. And Chen fu-ren’s words were still resonating in her ears – as soon as she thought about those beautiful maidservants outside of the door, Chen Hui immediately felt agonised.
The capital, Zhao residence.
This time, when Zhao Su left for the south, he did not take He Zizhong with him. He left him in the capital to look after the house. He Zizhong had nothing to do, so he sat in the courtyard drinking a pot of wine and relaxing. The owner of the house was not home, all that was left was the housekeeper and a couple of servants, who naturally did not dare to say anything to him, so he was left to his own devices to lay around and get drunk.
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When people drink, it is either to celebrate or it is to drown their sorrows. He Zizhong was half-Tartar and could hold his liquor, ordinary alcohol could not get him drunk so he could drink it like he was chugging water.
After drinking a couple of pots, he finally felt a little bit tipsy, and he found a random place to sit. Next to him was a tabby cat lying on its stomach, who was lying there as leisurely as he was, with its tail up.
He heard the sound of footsteps and they sounded a little unfamiliar, it wasn’t one of the servants from the house. He Zizhong opened his eyes slightly, welcoming the sun rays. He saw Zhu Yijun who had a fur trimmed cloak draped over his shoulders looking at him with his mouth wide open.
“Why are you drinking in the middle of the day?”
“Greetings to Your Highness…..” He Zizhong said lazily without getting up to greet him properly. The imperial guards behind Zhu Yijun wanted to reprimand him but were stopped.
Regarding this great man who had just done a great meritorious deed during the palace plot, Zhu Yijun did not dislike him at all. In fact, not only did he not dislike him, he was in awe of his martial skill. Zhao Su wanted to improve Zhu Yijun’s health and had once asked the Emperor to find a master who could teach the prince martial arts. Naturally, Longqing Emperor agreed, but in the eyes of Zhu Yijun, those martial arts masters could not possibly compare to He Zizhong.
He sat next to He Zizhong and picked up the empty pot to smell it and was speechless: “You finished all these?”
“It was only three pots.”
“Are you upset, so you’re using alcohol as a way to drown your sorrows? You should tell me and see if I can help you.” Zhu Yijun spoke in a mature manner that he had learned from Zhao Su.
“I usually drink alcohol like water.” He Zizhong yawned, “Your Highness, have you taken a wrong turn again?”
Zhu Yijun laughed mockingly: “I came to see if teacher had returned yet. Do you know when he will return to the capital?”
This wasn’t the first time he had come. Since Zhao Su had left the capital, Zhu Yijun had new teachers, Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng who bombarded him with work everyday, he was suffering indescribable misery. Luckily, he had an imperial decree from his father allowing him to leave the palace during his leisure time.
The more arduous his lessons became, the more he missed Zhao Su as his teacher and his gentle teaching methods. After coming to Zhao residence a few times and not seeing Zhao Su, he was rather disappointed, but still decided to come again the next time.
He Zizhong replied indifferently: “He will come back after he gets married, you have already asked me that four times.”
Zhu Yijun: “……..”
He propped up his chin with embarrassment, whilst looking into the bleak courtyard, and then he thought about his father in the palace who was too busy being entertained by his imperial consorts, and his mother who was looking after his younger brother. Whenever Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng saw him, they’d ask him about his homework, any young people would be incredibly courteous and formal, as soon as they saw him they would be respectful and reverent, it was impossible for him to have any fun at all.
Zhu Yijun continued to ponder, thinking that as a prince, he was truly tragic. Not only did he barely have any freedom, but Zhao Su, the only person that he could rely on was not there, he couldn’t help feeling sad and lonely.
“I miss Susu.” The more he thought about it, the more he thought his life was tragic. His sadness almost brought him to tears.
Originally he didn’t think there was anyone who would agree with him, but who knew that He Zizhong would: “Me too.”
Zhu Yijun asked curiously: “What do you mean, me too?”
“I miss him too.” He Zizhong thought about the last time he had followed Zhao Su home during the lunar new year. It was the first time that he had felt the warmth of a family, that kind of warmth even touched someone like him who had been wandering around since he was little.
“If he was a woman, I’d marry him.”
This way, he could accompany him home and eat the food that his mother cooked.
Zhu Yijun opened his eyes wide, and took a long while to react, before jumping up: “I won’t allow it!”
“Oh.” He Zizhong glanced at him. “You’re not a girl either, so why are you so bothered?”
Zhu Yijun heard what he said and calmed down, and mumbled: “I miss Susu……”
“When you grow up, you can go find him.” He Zizhong comforted him without expressing any emotion on his face, it was very insincere.
Zhu Yijun shook his head: “Don’t say it’s because I’m young. It would be difficult to leave the capital, if it’s my father and he wanted to travel outside the capital, he’d still be stopped by the imperial officials.”
He Zizhong concluded for him: “Being a prince is truly miserable.”
Zhu Yijun nodded with sorrow and then asked: “Why do you like Susu?”
He Zizhong said: “He treats me like an actual person, why do you like him?”
Zhu Yijun counted out one by one: “He plays with me, he teaches me a lot of things. He is different from my other teachers and will tell me interesting stories. When I’m sad, he will comfort me, and he will never tell me off for being naughty. Before at the Prince of Yu Manor, father and mother were always busy and it was usually him who would spend time with me.”
He Zizhong listened to him in silence and didn’t say a word.
If it hadn’t been for Zhao Su, this Tartar man and this future crown prince would never have been chatting together like this.
And at this moment, the 28 year old He Zizhong and the 10 year old Zhu Yijun were sitting at the side of the courtyard discussing the same person.
A light breeze brushed past bringing with it, the cold chill of winter. At this time, Zhu Yijun would never have thought that he and Zhao Su would very soon be separated again.
The first year of Longqing, the third month of the lunar year.
Not long after the wedding Zhao Su returned to the capital and made a decision that no one expected. He did not even consider what Longqing Emperor had talked to him about previously, regarding the matter of promoting him. Instead, he took the initiative to ask for a post outside of the capital. He said that since he had become a court official, he had only worked in the capital, and was not familiar with local government nor the hardships of the people beyond the capital. He requested the Emperor to grant his wish to take up a post elsewhere, as means of self-improvement as well as for the sake of the people.
Author Note:
Translator Note:
Next chapter is the end of Arc 2. Also, as MXS says she will not write much about the reign of Longqing since historical spoiler → 9.
Btw, I think some of you have seen it but I translated the weibo NYE post which is a mini-theatre about Susu + bun. Kinda weird, since in this chapter he just got married and little bun is 10 lol, but if you want a glimpse of adult bun + Susu, it’s here.