Chapter 641
Wheat Fields and Fishing Lights
The main hall of the Zhang family was quiet, with only the occasional crackling sound of the silver charcoal in the charcoal brazier.
Prince Fu sat opposite Chen Ji, his thumb slowly stroking the rim of his cup, neither of them in a hurry to speak.
What does the Crown Prince care about most?
that power.
It goes without saying what the Prince of Fu wanted to seize, but this is not something a vassal king should say.
Zhou Kuang stood under the eaves outside the threshold and turned to look at Prince Fu: "Your Highness, we have already returned to the capital. Be careful what you say."
Prince Fu smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? The most arrogant person in the entire capital is sitting right across from me. He dragged an imperial censor to death in the street and trampled the Duke of Cheng's mansion with his horse. He can get away with it all. His fate must be stronger than Mount Tai. Walking at night with someone with such a strong fate means you have nothing to fear. It's like warding off evil spirits."
Chen Ji subtly changed the subject: "Your Highness, are you returning to the capital by imperial decree to celebrate the New Year?"
Prince Fu leaned back in his chair: "No. Fifteen days ago, His Majesty sent an imperial edict to Jinling, ordering me to return to the capital to marry Miss Qi Zhaoyun, the second young lady of the Qi family."
He lowered his head and chuckled: "My mother has been gone for less than a year, and I am about to get married. I know what Your Majesty means. You have brought down the Qi family, so I must quickly form an alliance with them through marriage to become their support and inherit their estate... But ordinary sons have to observe a three-year mourning period for their mothers, while I can only observe a hundred days. Once the hundred days are up, I will become a marriage object to help Your Majesty balance the court."
Chen Ji said softly, "Please accept my condolences."
Prince Fu looked at the snow on the roof tiles outside the door: "Funeral is the height of grief. To grieve is to accept the change. Everyone who sees me says 'please accept my condolences.' I'm tired of hearing it and I can't help but grieve myself. It's a pity I'm so weak. If I were stronger, she wouldn't have been harmed by such a villain."
Chen Ji remained silent.
Prince Fu smoothed the wrinkles on his robe and smiled, "Let's not talk about these things. I came to see you today just to congratulate you, catch up, and tell you about my experiences in the south. Don't worry, I don't want you to join me in rebellion."
Chen Ji: "I would like to hear the details."
Prince Fu raised his head and slowly recalled, "I saw a lamp in Zhenjiang. That night I stayed at Jinshan Temple, and I couldn't sleep, so I opened the window to let in some fresh air. The river was pitch black, and I couldn't see anything except the sound of the wind and the water. But right there in that darkness, a fishing light suddenly appeared. I saw an old man squatting at the bow of the boat, pulling in his net. There were only a few palm-sized fish in the net, and he carefully picked them one by one into his basket, as if he were picking up some treasure."
Chen Ji originally thought the other person was going to talk about the pleasure boats and painted barges on the Qinhuai River, but that wasn't the case.
Prince Fu continued, “This is the first time I’ve seen golden wheat fields stretching to the horizon outside Handan City during my trip out of the capital. It was dusk when I passed by, and the wind blew, making the golden wheat waves roll and rustle. An old farmer was sitting on the edge of the field, eating his dinner from a rough porcelain bowl. I sent Zhou Kuang to ask him what he was eating. Zhou Kuang returned and told me that it was a bowl of coarse rice, a dish of pickled vegetables, and two small fish about the thickness of a finger. The old farmer ate with great relish.”
Prince Fu looked down at Chen Ji: "Outside the capital, I saw real people. No wonder when my uncle went south to quell the rebellion and returned to the capital, he told me to be a good emperor in the future. Ha, back then there was no crown prince yet, he thought I would be the crown prince."
Prince Fu's uncle?
Chen Ji then remembered that the other person was referring to Prince Jing.
At that moment, a piece of silver-threaded charcoal collapsed in the charcoal brazier, scattering a few sparks that briefly shone in Prince Fu's pupils before going dark.
Prince Fu walked to the charcoal brazier, bent down, picked up a piece of fresh charcoal with fire tongs, and carefully placed it into the brazier: "I didn't know how to do this before, it was all done by the servants. Now that I've gone out for a while, I've learned it all. I used to look down on others for writing stories of lovesick men and women, and I would write about abandoning the pen to join the army and marching north. But I've found that I'm no better than them. I don't even care about the living."
Chen Ji looked at Prince Fu and suddenly remembered how the prince looked at the Fragrant Hills Villa before he left the capital.
At that time, Prince Fu was like a sharpened knife, sharp as it was, but it was unclear where he would cut.
Today, the blade of the Prince of Fu is stained with the frost of wind and frost, with mud, with the light of fishing boats and the waves of wheat.
Prince Fu dropped the fire tongs and looked at Chen Ji: "I watched the dragon boat race in Jinling. Twelve men rowed a boat on the Qinhuai River, with dragon heads carved on the bow and dragon tails on the stern. They looked very impressive. But when they reached the middle of the river, the two boats collided and sank. The dragon heads sank first, then the bodies, and finally the tails."
Prince Fu smiled and said, "At that time, I was thinking that even dragons can sink... I wouldn't dare to listen to what I just said, even if I told others, such as Zhou Kuang. His Majesty would dare to listen, but I wouldn't dare to say it. So in the end, I can only talk to you, the number one madman in the capital."
Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't dare to listen either."
Prince Fu laughed and got up to leave: "If you don't dare to listen, then I won't tell you."
He stopped at the threshold, turned his face to the side, half of his face reflected in the snow: "Chen Ji, do you remember, you promised me something?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "I remember, I will lead His Highness's horse once."
Prince Fu smiled, and this time his smile held a hint of his youthful appearance: "It's good that you remember."
……
……
Prince Fu left the Zhang residence and mounted his horse.
The snow on Xuanwumen Street was crushed into gray-black mud by the carriages and horses. Zhou Kuang rode closer and whispered, "My lord, it's time to go to the palace. His Majesty must know that you have arrived in the capital."
Prince Fu held the reins without moving. He looked towards the Meridian Gate, then turned his horse north, saying, "No rush." Zhou Kuang was taken aback, then quickly followed, "Your Highness, where are we going?"
Prince Fu did not answer.
He rode his horse into Fuyou Street, where the mansions on both sides of the street were more and more magnificent than the last.
A vermilion gate, stone lions, and a forest of flagpoles bearing the inscription of official rank.
Prince Fu stopped his horse in front of the Qi family's gate, where the gatekeeper was dozing off in the doorway.
Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves, the gatekeeper hurriedly came out to greet him, bowing respectfully at the foot of the stone steps: "I was unaware of His Highness Prince Fu's arrival; I have failed to greet you properly."
Prince Fu did not dismount. He looked down at the gatehouse and said gently, "Please ask Miss Qi to come out. I will leave after saying a few words."
The gatekeeper was taken aback, then turned and ran inside.
Zhou Kuang rode closer and lowered his voice: "Sir, this is against the rules."
Prince Fu looked at the slightly ajar vermilion gate of the Qi family's residence and said, "I know."
Zhou Kuang took a deep breath: "Sir, please don't do anything rash, don't ruin the Grand Secretary's overall plan."
Prince Fu remained unmoved: "It's alright."
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, footsteps came from behind the Qi family's main gate.
Qi Zhaoyun, dressed in a white mink coat, stood in the crack of the door for a long time with her hands tucked into her sleeves before finally deciding to push the door open.
The vermilion gate opened, and Prince Fu looked Qi Zhaoyun up and down, feeling that the other party was so thin that he would fly away with a gust of wind.
Qi Zhaoyun stood inside the threshold, performed a curtsy, and said softly, "Your Highness, may you be well."
Looking at Qi Zhaoyun's thin appearance, Prince Fu sighed and said, "No need for formalities. I am returning to the capital by imperial decree to marry you. The palace has chosen an auspicious day, which happens to be the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. After the wedding, I still need to return to Jinling to oversee the salt tax."
Qi Zhaoyun said in a low voice, "Why is Your Highness telling me all this?"
Prince Fu calmly said, "I have come today to ask if you are willing to marry me."
Qi Zhaoyun was taken aback.
Prince Fu looked at the vermilion walls of the Forbidden City: "When others look at the Forbidden City, they see its magnificent splendor and imposing grandeur. But what I see is only the sky at the four corners, endless palace paths, and gates from which I can never leave. Once you enter the Forbidden City, you can never come out again. On New Year's Day, the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and other holidays, people outside are reunited with their families, but you can only stand at the foot of the palace walls, looking at that small patch of sky above them. You have no family left. There are many people in the Forbidden City, but none of them are your family."
Qi Zhaoyun clenched her sleeves tightly.
Prince Fu's voice was very soft: "When I was a child, I would go to pay my respects to my mother every day. She would always sit by the window, embroidering a butterfly with needle and thread. She embroidered that butterfly for many years, unraveling it and embroidering it again and again, but she could never finish it. I asked her, 'Mother, why don't you finish embroidering it?' My mother said, 'If I finish embroidering it, I will have nothing to do.'"
Prince Fu sighed and said, "Later I learned that it wasn't that she couldn't finish embroidering, but that she really didn't want to finish it. Because once she finished embroidering that butterfly, she would really have nothing left... I have seen what the suffering in the palace is like, and I don't want others to suffer like that, so I have been reluctant to get married. I came to the Qi family today just to tell you about the suffering in the Forbidden City, and you can decide for yourself after you have heard it."
Qi Zhaoyun lowered his head and remained silent.
Prince Fu gripped the reins tightly, and his black steed snorted, exhaling a cloud of white mist: "If you are willing to marry me, I can grant you one wish: in the Forbidden City, you will not have to compete or fight with anyone. If you wish to embroider butterflies, then embroider slowly. Once you finish, I will find you new patterns. If you feel bored, I will build you a ladder at the foot of the palace wall. You cannot go out, but you can climb to the top of the wall and look at the sky outside. The sky outside is bigger than the sky inside… That is all I can do."
Prince Fu took a deep breath: "If you do not wish to marry into the inner palace, then tell me, and I will go to Renshou Palace to ask His Majesty to annul the marriage. As for whether the marriage can be annulled, that is up to my ability."
Qi Zhaoyun was stunned: "Your Highness, how can I make such a decision?"
Prince Fu looked at her and sighed, "I suppose we are both powerless to change our fate. So, I will take it as your willingness to marry me. We met before at the palace banquet, but we never spoke. I don't know what kind of person you are, and you don't know what kind of person I am. But that's alright. Before we enter the Forbidden City, I will take you to the south to see the wheat fields and fishing lights."
Before Qi Zhaoyun could speak again, Prince Fu turned his horse and rode away.
Zhou Kuang and the others hurriedly spurred their horses to catch up. He whispered to Prince Fu, "Your Highness, why didn't you discuss such a big matter with us?"
Prince Fu glanced at him sideways: "What do I have to discuss with you? I'm not going to marry you."
Zhou Kuang was speechless.
Prince Fu smiled and said, "Enter the palace." (End of Chapter)