Chapter 2: The Emperor's Gift of Marriage, Qing Dou

  "How long has His Majesty been here?" Wei Zhongxian asked in a low voice.

  "It won't take long, just half a watch." Wang Tiqian was the head eunuch in charge of the imperial seal, one rank higher than Wei Zhongxian's position as the eunuch in charge of ceremonial affairs, but Wei Zhongxian was acting director of the Eastern Depot, and his power was probably beyond Wang's reach. Wang had become the head eunuch thanks to Wei's strong recommendation, so he basically obeyed Wei's every command, fawning on him excessively, with flattery in every word.

  Wei Zhongxian nodded and pulled Wang Tiqian aside, whispering a few words to him. Wang Tiqian frantically nodded his head, a smile spreading across his face.

  "Zhong Xian has arrived?" Zhu Youxiao's eyes flickered with awareness as he discovered that his most trusted person had come, and naturally put down the work in his hands.

  "Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Although Wei Zhongxian was arrogant and overbearing outside, he was extremely respectful towards the Emperor who had raised him from a young age, because he also knew that his power was given by this young ruler.

  "You and I can dispense with these empty formalities, speak up, what else is there? I'm just taking a break." Zhu Youjian sat down, and Wang Tiqian quickly handed him a cup of hot tea. Zhu Youjian took it but didn't drink, putting it aside, smiling at Wei Zhongxian.

  Wei Zhongxian took a look and felt relieved in his heart. The emperor's mood was not bad today, so he hurriedly put on a smile and said: "The Prince of Xin...".

  As soon as the name of King Xian was mentioned, Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youjian's expression changed immediately. The smile on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by a deep worry. Of the seven brothers, only he and Eldest Fifth Brother were left now. Although Zhu Youjian didn't read many books, he had always doted on this younger brother and had arranged for him to receive education from the best teachers, placing great hopes in him. He wanted to see his own unfulfilled aspirations realized through this brother. Now that things had turned out like this, he was extremely disappointed, and his wishes seemed impossible to fulfill. However, there was nothing he could do about it. He slowly asked, "Is it true that none of the famous doctors can cure Fifth Brother's... illness?" Zhu Youjian never allowed anyone to mention the word "fool" in front of him, not even himself.

  Wei Zhongxian's heart tightened, and he thought to himself: "Why is Zhu Youjian so concerned about Wang? Is it just because of their close relationship as relatives, or is there something else on his mind?" His eyes flickered with uncertainty for a moment, but then he reassured himself that the Emperor was still young, only in his early twenties, and although his health wasn't great, he wouldn't die so soon. The throne would not fall to Wang's hands after all. So, he put on a concerned expression and said: "Your Majesty, many famous doctors have diagnosed Wang, and apart from being slightly weak, there is nothing seriously wrong with him. Please don't worry too much..."

  "There's nothing serious, no one would become like this for no reason. What a group of mediocre doctors! Go, go and find all the famous doctors in the world for me, I don't believe there's no one who can cure my fifth brother's illness." Zhu Yinglong's mood suddenly turned bad.

  "Your Majesty, the king fell from the fake mountain and must have hurt his head. Once the head is injured, some abnormalities will naturally occur. Sometimes it's not something that can be cured by medicine. I, a humble servant, have a method, but I don't know if I should say it or not?" Wang Tiangui said with a difficult expression, following Wei Zhongxian's hint.

  "Come on, come on." Zhu Youxiao's face lit up with joy as soon as he heard there was a way, and he urged hastily.

  "A humble servant from the folk, in the folk if they encounter such a situation, with a long illness that won't heal, there's a method called 'Chong Xi'..." Wang Tiqian slowly explained "Chong Xi" to Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youjian.

  "Wei Zhongxian hastily opposed, saying: 'This method is not suitable for the king. The king is only fifteen years old and according to ancestral rules has not yet reached the age of marriage, and this approach may harm the king.'"

  Zhu Youxiao was also considering that the ancestral law could not be abolished, but Zhu Yinglong's approach made him feel uncomfortable as an older brother. According to Wang Taidong's words, this method only had a 50% chance of success, and he found it difficult to make up his mind.

  "Your Majesty, I think that although Prince Xin is still young, he is not a child of eight or nine years old. Among the common people, there are cases of children being betrothed in marriage. Although we cannot go against the ancestral laws, at present Prince Xin has just fallen ill and his condition is not yet severe. If we wait for another two years, his condition may worsen and he will miss the best opportunity for medical treatment. By then it will be too late to regret!" Wang Tiangan advised with great urgency, his tone extremely sincere.

  The Emperor Tianqi's heart was somewhat moved, and he himself did not know how many ancestral rules he had violated. For example, the ritual of attending court three times a day, which day could he really do it? And what he hated most were these ancestral rules. Didn't he also understand the joys of men and women early on? Moreover, getting married at 14 or 15 was not uncommon among the people.

  Weizhongxian saw that the Tianqi Emperor's face had a somewhat agreeable expression, and hastily changed his tone: "What Wang Gonggong said is not unreasonable, but if this matter were to be made known to the officials and the Empress Dowager, they might disagree. Especially those censors from the Ducha Yuan, if they were to make trouble, it would be difficult to control!"

  "This is my family affair, what's the use of their opposition? You go and deal with the officials on that side, I'll go and talk to the Empress Zhang on this side." Zhu Yubai got up and made a decision, put down his work, and went to see Empress Zhang in the Kun Ning Palace.

  The next day, the Tianqi Emperor issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites to select a consort for the Prince of Xin. Many high-ranking officials in the court submitted memorials in opposition, and some imperial censors even knelt outside the palace gate, weeping and wailing in protest. This provided Wei Zhongxian with an opportunity to get rid of a batch of so-called upright and honest officials, and the matter of selecting a consort for the Prince of Xin was thus settled.

  Zhu Yinglong, who was still thinking about how to get out of the palace, never thought that he would have his wedding two years earlier than expected due to this unexpected turn of events. He also didn't expect that his usual act of pretending to be foolish would bring him such an indirect benefit, which means that history has already undergone a small change from now on.

  After careful selection by the Shuntian Government and the Ministry of Rites, 77 virtuous women were finally selected. After the Empress Dowager personally reviewed them, Zhou Yingning, daughter of Shi Zhi, Vice Commander of the Southern Garrison, was chosen as the proper consort for Prince Xian of Xin, while Tian Shulan, daughter of merchant Tian Hongyu, and Ye Liangyi, granddaughter of Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao, were selected as secondary consorts. Originally, according to the Empress Dowager's intention, Ye Xianggao's granddaughter should have been chosen as the proper consort, but Emperor Tianqi disagreed. Liu Lao Tai Fei was very satisfied with Zhou Yingning and believed that she had a gentle temperament, was upright and strict, making her the most suitable candidate for the position of proper consort. With one stroke of the pen, Empress Zhang, although in charge of the inner palace, was forced to agree to this arrangement of one proper consort and two secondary consorts. However, she expressed deep concern about whether this so-called "auspicious marriage" would have any effect. But with Wei Zhongxian interfering from behind the scenes, supported by her husband, and also influenced by her husband's wet nurse, "Feng Sheng Fu Ren" Guest, Empress Zhang was already in a difficult situation within the palace. Moreover, the three selected women had no relationship with the Wei Party, so it was impossible to expect anything from the officials. Now that the government was controlled by Wei Zhongxian, she could only agree.

  When the imperial edict was read in the Kung Palace, Zhu Yinglong was stunned. In his impression, Zhou and Tian were his concubines, but Ye Xianggao's granddaughter suddenly replaced Yuan Shi, who should have been his concubine, leaving him shocked and wondering if history had really changed. The imperial edict was still received by Xu Yingyuan on his behalf.

  The eunuch Li Yongzhen, who was in charge of reading the imperial edict, was about to approach and congratulate Prince Xian of Xin, Zhu Yinglong, when he suddenly saw Zhu's idiotic expression. He immediately withdrew his foot in disgust, forced a smile, nodded at Xu Yingyuan, and hastily left with his attendants.

  "Congratulations, Your Highness!" Xu Yingyuan, Yan Hong and other eunuchs and palace maids all congratulated Zhu Yinglong together.

  "Great joy!" Zhu Yinglong's mouth spat out four words, his face seemingly smiling and crying at the same time, scaring the eunuchs and palace maids who were kneeling all over the floor. If he was just stunned, it would be fine, but if he was driven mad, that would be a disaster.

  Zhu Yinglong, of course, wouldn't go crazy. He had already adapted to his current identity. It's just that the things he had been worried about for over a decade were suddenly resolved all at once, and he was overjoyed. Who would have thought that Zhu Yinglong, who didn't even have a girlfriend in his previous 25 years, now suddenly had three wives? Although he had expected this outcome, it still felt surreal to suddenly possess them. He couldn't imagine how things had turned out so well - not only did he solve the problem of going outside, but he also married three women without exerting any effort and got what he wanted. Zhu Yinglong was ecstatic in his heart, but on the surface, he still didn't dare show it and maintained that silly, foolish appearance.

  Zhou was a virtuous and beautiful woman, let alone Tian. According to historical records, she had a clever mind, skin as white as snow, and a slender figure. She was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, horseback riding, and archery. However, it is recorded that she did not get along with Zhou and competed with her for favor. But Zhu Yinglong was no longer the same person he used to be, so such conflicts should not happen again. Originally, there was also a Yuan, but she was suddenly replaced by Ye Xianggao's granddaughter. Zhu Yinglong wondered how this could be, as Ye Xianggao, the chief assistant, had been forced into retirement by the eunuch party just this year.

  After the marriage of King Xin, he naturally could no longer live in the palace. The Tianqi Emperor ordered the Ministry of Works to build a new mansion for King Xin, with Minister of Works Xue Fengxiang in charge. However, due to the constant wars and the empty treasury, there was no extra money to build a new mansion. Eunuch Li Yongzhen suggested renovating the old mansion of Prince Hui Zhu Changrun as the new mansion for King Xin, since Prince Hui had already been sent to his fief in Jingzhou and his mansion in Beijing was vacant. This plan was approved by the Tianqi Emperor, who allocated silver to renovate the mansion for King Xin's occupancy after his marriage.

  Zhu Yinglong was also gradually getting used to his current identity, he knew his situation, nominally a prince under one person and above all people, but in reality not even comparable to an ordinary citizen, without freedom, without autonomy, if it weren't for the early marriage, he really didn't know what to do next!

  He was used to the rules of the imperial palace, he was used to wearing those wide robes, and he was also used to the exquisite food. The only thing he wasn't used to was that head of flowing "beautiful hair". In his later years, Zhu Yinglong had a short, tousled haircut, which was strong and upright, and he took great pride in it. But now that his body had changed and his identity had also changed, that head of "beautiful hair" became his permanent pain. According to the rules of the ancients, one's body and skin were given by their parents, and could not be cut. However, Zhu Yinglong really couldn't stand this full head of long hair. When he tied it up, his scalp would immediately start itching, and washing it several times a day was no use. Maybe it was just psychological, but he simply let it down and stopped tying up his hair, spending the whole day with his hair loose and untidy. He was reported to Wei Zhongxian, who then told Emperor Tianqi about it. What could be done about a foolish person? He could only go along with it. Therefore, the Ministry of Works was urged to repair the residence of the King of Xin, and the Imperial Observatory calculated an auspicious day for Zhu Yinglong's wedding.

  And Zhu Yinglong's shoulder-length hair became the only symbol of the imperial palace!