After New Year, there was upheaval in the imperial court.

  Seventh princess Zhao Lin Lang had married Princess Consort Rui’s distantly related nephew, Zhou Yu Ran. Their wedding preparations were very rushed and they married shortly after the Spring Lantern Festival. Zhou Yu Ran had scored third place in the imperial academy’s exam two years ago and was currently working in the Ministry of Revenue. He had a dignified moral character and a handsome appearance. It was rumored that Zhao Lin Lang had personally requested Emperor Chong Zhen for this marriage. Furthermore, she had even threatened that she wouldn’t marry anyone else except Zhou Yu Ran.

  After Emperor Chong Zhen had considered this marriage for two days, he asked Zhou Yu Ran for his opinion in private. Since Zhou Yu Ran hadn’t refused, this marriage was settled just like that.

  Not long after Zhao Lin Lang and Zhou Yu Ran’s wedding, Prince Rui (Zhao Qi Qing) started having private meetings with fifth prince Zhao Zhang. They worked together with some of the court officials to accuse Zhao Jie of misconduct in order to block Emperor Chong Zhen’s intention of establishing Zhao Jie as the next emperor. Zhao Zhang and Zhao Qi Qing, each had his own ulterior motive. They were both eying the position of emperor covetously. The only reason they were able to work together was because they wanted to eliminate their greatest enemy, Zhao Jie.

  Zhao Qi Qing’s intentions were abundantly clear. His heart had been unsatisfied for a long time, from the time that Emperor Chong Zhen had ascended the throne. It had been difficult to wait for so many years, but he had finally reached an opportune time. He couldn’t make a mistake and let this opportunity slip. Zhao Qi Qing had never taken Zhao Zhang seriously. Once they finished off Zhao Jie, it would be as easy as blowing dust away to deal with Zhao Zhang. He could easily find a crime to frame Zhao Zhang with. At that time, the entire world would be his.

  While Zhao Qi Qing was daydreaming, he scarcely realized that Zhao Jie had already known about their plans like the back of his hand.

  The imperial court was as unpredictable as the clouds and waves.

  —


  During this time, Zhao Jie had been staying home to accompany Wei Luo. His days passed by peacefully and quietly.

  On one hand, the court officials, who had accused him of misconduct, felt anxious and frightened when they saw Zhao Jie’s lack of response. Did he have a trick hidden up in his sleeve? On the other hand, they continued to recklessly advise Emperor Chong Zhen as if they didn’t fear death. They had very conflicting moods during this time.

  At the current moment, Zhao Jie was sitting in his study and listening to Zhu Geng report about the recent matters. After Zhu Geng was finished, Zhao Jie’s hands were placed in front of him, with one hand over the other. His dark eyes were utterly calm without any ripples. A while later, his lips were slightly curved into a hint of a smile. He thoughtfully said, “Prince Rui, that old fox. If he wants to have a share of the power, he has to see if this prince will agree to it first.”


  Zhu Geng and Yang Hao were standing shoulder to shoulder. Zhu Geng respectfully asked, “Your Highness, what should we do next?”


  Zhao Jie smiled, “For now, let’s wait and quietly observe.” After saying this, he turned the emerald ring around his thumb and slowly asked, “Which court officials sent a petition to impeach this prince?”


  Zhu Geng said, “They’re headed by an official named Yang Tai. There’s also people from the Ministry of Revenue.” Zhu Geng also mentioned several other names. Most of them were Zhao Zhang’s followers.

  Zhao Jie nodded and said, “Continue to secretly keep a close watch on these people and report all of their actions to this prince.” Immediately after, he waved his hand and ordered, “You two can leave.”


  Zhu Geng and Yang Hao acknowledged his order and obediently left the study.

  Zhao Jie stayed in the study for a while longer before standing up and walking outside, towards the main room.

  The weather had recently begun to warm up again and some of the flowers in the courtyard had blossomed, including the flowers on the yu rui trees. The fragrance of the flowers was very pleasant.

  When Zhao Jie walked into the room, he saw Wei Luo sitting on the couch that was near the window. There were several sets of small clothing and shoes placed on the small, vermillion-lacquered that was inlayed with gold and decoratively carved with spirals. Wei Luo’s left hand was holding a golden necklace meant to bring good fortune and her right hand was holding a silver longevity lock of a Chinese unicorn carrying a baby. She was seriously scrutinizing both objects.

  Seeing Zhao Jie coming inside, she held up the items in her hand and asked, “Big brother, which one item do you think is better?”


  Zhao Jie sat down by her side, brought her into his arms, and kissed her head. “They’re both about the same.”


  Wei Luo thought his answer was too half-hearted. She muttered, “Yu Rong and oldest cousin Chang Yin’s baby was born a few days ago. I want to go over there to see their child. As the child’s aunt, I have to bring a first time meeting gift…”


  Liang Yu Rong went into labor three days ago and gave birth to a baby girl. Wei Luo thought that Liang Yu Rong would definitely feel very weak during the first two days afterwards, so she waited until today to go visit her.

  Zhao Jie’s hand rested on Wei Luo’s belly. He said with a smile, “Then, what about these clothes and shoes?”


  Wei Luo was now six months pregnant. Her round belly was like a small, half grown watermelon. When she stood in front of the copper mirror, she couldn’t see her toes anymore. Moreover, she could frequently feel her child restlessly moving in her belly. Sometimes it was flipping over. Other times, it was stretching its hands or kicking its feet. If its movement was slightly too much, Wei Luo’s belly would hurt. Sometimes, even her calves would get cramps. Wei Luo would often say, this baby is so naughty, she would definitely be giving birth to a boy.

  Wei Luo said, “These clothes were all sent over by fourth aunt. She personally stitched all of them. Since she didn’t know if we’d have a boy or girl, she made five sets for each gender. Look, fourth aunt’s embroidery skills are much better than mine.”


  Zhao Jie softly smiled and rubbed her head. “Don’t worry. Even if we can’t use them this time, we’ll be able to use them in the future.”


  They would definitely have sons and daughters.

  Wei Luo nodded. It could be counted as approving these words.

  —


  When Wei Luo went to Duke Ying’s residence in the afternoon, Liang Yu Rong looked very weak and was lying in bed in accordance to post-childbirth customs. Wei Luo only said a few words with her before leaving the room. It wouldn’t be good to disturb Yu Rong from resting.

  Liang Yu Rong had given birth to a daughter. The baby was very small with beautiful facial features. Wei Luo had only held the child for a little bit before the baby woke up, opened her bright eyes, and started crying as soon as her small mouth opened.

  Wei Chang Yin took his daughter from Wei Luo. His movements were skillful as one hand supported the baby’s neck and the other hand held the baby’s waist. It only took a few moments of coaxing before the little one stopped crying. Wei Chang Yin faintly curved his lips and said, “She’s easily scared and shy with strangers.” When he said his words, his face was full of a father’s joy.

  Wei Luo smiled, said a few congratulatory words, and also gave a red envelope and a silver and indigo longevity lock. She didn’t stay for long. She returned to Prince Jing’s residence on the same day.

  Wei Luo felt like her days were going by especially quick. Perhaps, this was because Wei Luo didn’t do anything else to do, other than keeping herself healthy for her unborn baby, after she was diagnosed with pregnancy. In the blink of an eye, it was Zhao Liuli and Yang Zhen’s wedding day.

  It was currently early summer and the weather wasn’t too hot yet. Wei Luo was wearing a charming red, gauzy top that had a pattern of butterflies and flowers in Su style embroidery. The top was paired with a pleated, pomegranate skirt. Her back and shoulders were straight to support her pregnancy belly as she entered the palace.

  When Wei Luo arrived at Chen Hua Hall, Zhao Liuli was currently sitting in front of a copper mirror with a decorative design of a pair of mythical birds and flowers. She was wearing an opulent, red wedding dress and headdress. Her hair was black and her lips were red. All the preparations had been completed.

  Seeing Wei Luo coming inside, Zhao Liuli blinked before curving her eyes into a smile, “Imperial sister-in-law, I almost thought you weren’t going to come.”


  Wei Luo said, “Today is your wedding day. How could I not come?”


  Zhao Liuli looked at Wei Luo’s belly. “You’re going to be giving birth soon. It’s really dangerous for you to come out. It’ll be better if you stay at home.”


  Wei Luo was currently only seven months pregnant. Although her belly looked big, there was still a while before she would be giving birth. Wei Luo cast an annoyed look at her and teased her, “A bride should be crying on her wedding day. If imperial mother see how happy you are, won’t she be sad?”


  Once Wei Luo said these words, Zhao Liuli immediately tried to curb her joy. She intentionally tried to look solemn, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips. Her expression went back to her previous one very quickly. She mumbled, “How am I suppose to cry when I know that I’ll be married to older brother Yang Zhen soon? I don’t even have enough time to be happy!”


  Wei Luo had never heard such honest words. She couldn’t resist laughing for a bit.

  A short while later, Empress Chen walked into Chen Hua Hall. She was also splendidly dressed. The brightly colored palanquin was already prepared and waiting outside the hall for the princess.

  Empress Chen’s heart felt reluctant as she thought of how the daughter she had worked so hard to raise would be someone else’s soon. Her eyes became red and tears started to fall down from her face as she stood in from Zhao Liuli. Zhao Liuli had only recently said she wouldn’t be able to cry, but now tears tumbled down her face too, to the point that she felt a pain in her chest.

  With great difficulty, Qiu Mama was finally able to persuade the two of them to stop crying. She hurriedly fixed Zhao Liuli’s makeup before bringing her to the brightly colored palanquin.

  Yang Zhen had already been waiting outside the palace for his bride for a long time. As soon as the brightly colored palanquin came out of the palace, it headed towards Yang Zhen’s residence while accompanied by a chorus of wind instruments. Yang Zhen’s home was located in the southwest part of the capital. The palanquin traveled through almost the entire capital as it went from the palace to Yang Zhen’s residence. On either side of the streets, the common people had come out to watch the festivity. Emperor Chong Zhen’s favorite princess was getting married and everyone joined in the celebratory and joyful mood.

  For a long time, Zhao Liuli clutched a jade ruyi as she sat in the brightly colored palanquin that kept swaying until it finally stopped. She held one end of the knotted red silk ribbon as Yang Zhen led her into his home. Yang Zhen was an orphan and only had a distantly related uncle. So, after the two of them bowed to the heavens and earth, Zhao Liuli was escorted by a group of people to the bridal chamber.

  The bridal chamber was decorated very festively in pieces of red. There was a red bed canopy, red candles, red quilt, and so on. To the extent that, when Yang Zhen used the ruyi to lift the wedding veil, Zhao Liuli’s face was also flushed red.

  Yang Zhen’s handsome face that rarely showed any expression finally showed a smile. His gaze was single-mindedly devoted to looking at Zhao Liuli. He didn’t return to his senses until the good fortune woman urged them to drink their matrimonial wine.

  A madam by the side joked with the other madams, “Our princess is too beautiful. The groom can’t look away.”


  Zhao Liuli lowered her eyes. Her lovely cheeks were bright red.

  After they drank their matrimonial wine, Yang Zhen went out to entertain the guests.

  The madams stayed in the room with Zhao Liuli and tried to talk with her. She quietly sat on the bed and would only occasionally reply with a few words.

  A short while later, after the madams had all left the room and Zhao Liuli continued to sit on the bed, her dowry servant girl, Yun Zi asked, “Your Highness, do you want take a bath and change your clothes?”


  Zhao Liuli shook her head and said, “I want to wait a little bit longer.” She wanted to wait until Yang Zhen came back.

  Yun Zi asked another question, “You haven’t eaten anything all day. Do you want this servant to go to the kitchen to bring you some food?”


  Perhaps, she was famished to the point that she didn’t feel hungry anymore. Zhao Liuli shook her head and said, “No need.”


  Yun Zi could only give up.

  Zhao Liuli leaned against the bed’s decoratively carved frame and slowly closed her eyes. Only a short time passed before she fell asleep.

  When Yang Zhen returned to the room after he was finished dealing with the guests, the sight of a splendidly dressed young girl that was serenely sleeping greeted him. Her long and thick eyelashes were lowered like resting butterfly wings, her mouth was slightly open, and her nose slightly moved as she breathed. She was probably very tired from today. She didn’t even notice when he walked to the bed.

  Yang Zhen leaned over so that there was only half an inch between their faces. He silently looked at her before he lowered his head and pressed his thin lips against her soft, pink lips. He gently sucked her lips.

  Zhao Liuli finally responded. After she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Yang Zhen’s face very close to her. Startled, she instinctively fell back and looked up. Yang Zhen followed after her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed her down on the bright red silk quilt that was embroidered with mandarin ducks.

  Yang Zhen’s breath smelled of alcohol as he hoarsely said into her ear, “Your Highness, you’re finally mine.”


  For no reason at all, the tips of Zhao Liuli’s ears turned red. Perhaps, it was because Yang Zhen had drunk wine. He was especially aggressive tonight. Although he still called her, “Your Highness”, his attitude towards her was very different.

  “Yang Zhen, let me get up first…” Zhao Liuli said. She hadn’t changed her clothes yet.

  But, Yang Zhen impatiently blocked her lips. He traced her lips with desire and devoutness. At the same time, his burning hot hand went inside her wedding dress to explore.