Yu Yichen then raised his long eyebrows and asked, "Boy or girl?"
Sun Yuan said, "They say it's a boy."
Yu Yichen frowned. It was not a good thing for the Empress to give birth to a boy at this time.
But Wang Ling was too lonely in the palace. If she had a child to accompany her, she might be less dependent on herself, learn to grow up, and learn to be a queen and a saint in the hearts of women all over the world.
In short, once she has a child as her focus, perhaps she won't keep bothering her endlessly.
For the sake of the bond they shared when they were in the Eastern Palace, he also had to give her this rare opportunity to experience the joy of motherhood.
After leaving the back gate of the Yu residence, Zhenshu went through every word she had spoken to him since she first saw him that morning, and every expression on their faces when they said goodbye. When she reached the Imperial Street, she sighed in bewilderment.
Regardless of Yu Yichen's intentions, she couldn't take things any further or give him any hints that he might think she was interested. She needed to find an excuse to stop this utterly absurd reading game. He was literate, skilled in calligraphy, and knowledgeable in music; every time they met, he brought her joy. But there was one thing he couldn't do: he wasn't a man.
Before she turned sixteen, she was determined to marry Tong Qisheng, disregarding even the splendor of the capital. On her first trip to the capital, she was lost in the Wuling Mountains, where she encountered the eccentric man she had heard so much about, losing her virginity and reputation. But in just one year, she too would have to confront this very issue.
To marry or not to marry, and to whom to marry?
When they returned to the framing shop, the problem was still unsolved.
From that day onward, although Zhenshu still had to go to the Yu residence to study on the third and eighteenth of the month, she rarely spoke another word to Yu Yichen. Even when he tried to talk to her, she deliberately avoided him.
Yu Yichen, naturally, had his own temper. He knew he had spoken somewhat frivolously to her last time, upsetting her. Therefore, he rarely spoke to her, only making sure to prepare tea, snacks, and refreshments each time. Before the weather turned cold, he had already heated the west-facing room, which was covered with long velvet, so she wouldn't feel cold when she arrived. He also had Sun Yuan drive to the east market to pick her up and drop her off each time. Zhenshu, seeing this, knew he was polite, and if she hesitated or made excuses, she would seem petty. So, until around the winter months, she never missed a single visit.
On the day of the Winter Solstice, Zhenshu and Wang Mama started chopping meat, mixing filling, and rolling out dough at dawn. The apprentices, hearing the sizzling sound of the pots and pans mixing, were all eager to help with the fire, craving the aroma of scallions and peppercorns. Zhenshu first had the apprentices clear out the large worktable on the first floor of the small building and lay down Xuan paper. Then, she and Wang Mama rolled out and wrapped dumplings as they went. By noon, they had filled a table with plump dumplings.
These teenagers were at an age where they were always hungry; they could eat a whole cow if given to each of them. Wang Ma and Zhen Shu boiled water in a pot, and plates of dumplings were brought out, only to be devoured in no time. Zhao He and Song Anrong barely touched their food; the others ate as much as they wanted.
After feeding the people downstairs, Zhenshu and Wang Ma brought the dumplings upstairs and called Su Shi to bring Zhenyuan and the others out to eat together. Su Shi looked extremely tired for some reason and only ate a few bites. Zhenyuan also refused to eat any more, finding the vinegar too sour. Zhenshu, who had been standing and making dumplings all day, was now sore and aching, and slammed her hand on the table, angrily saying, "What are you doing, not eating anything after all this time?"
Zhenxiu picked up a large bowl and stood up, saying, "Perhaps they have something else in their stomachs and can't eat it."
Zhenyi also picked up a bowl and stood up, saying, "I'm going back to my room too. You guys enjoy your meal."
Su and Zhenyuan also got up and went back to their rooms, leaving Zhenshu and Wangma alone with a large bowl of dumplings in front of them. Wangma always ate in the kitchen, and thinking that Su and the others thought she was dirty and not suitable to eat with them, she picked up the bowl and said, "Second Miss, this old servant will go downstairs to the kitchen to eat."
Zhenshu pressed her down and said, "If they don't eat, we will. If we can't finish it, we'll fry it in oil tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he started eating with gusto.
After eating dumplings and helping Wang Ma wash the dishes, Zhenshu went upstairs. It was already dark, and the women upstairs hadn't lit any lamps in the outer room, making it difficult for Zhenshu to find her way around in the dark. She went downstairs to fetch a candlestick and came back up to find Su Shi sitting in a chair wiping away tears. Zhenshu put down the candlestick and asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Madam Su pulled Zhenshu back to her room, pointing to the next room and saying, "It's truly my sin, my retribution. Your eldest sister..."
Suddenly, Zhenshu recalled Zhenyuan's expression just now, and her mind went blank for a moment before she realized, "Did Zhang Rui...do that to her?"
Madam Su, still covering her face with her handkerchief, waved her hand and said, "If it were only that, it would be fine. But she is now..."
Su pointed to her stomach, tears streaming down her face: "I'm pregnant."
Zhenshu gasped and immediately accused Su Shi, "Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on them and not let them be alone together? Men are like dogs, all they think about. How can you let them be alone?"
She pondered for a moment, then asked, "But that Mid-Autumn Festival, they went out together until midnight."
Madam Su shook her head and said, "No, it's probably something that happened at the end of October. Her period only lasted eight days until tonight, so they only calculated it then."
So, they must have been together more than once. Madam Su spent her days upstairs looking after her daughters. It was one thing for Zhenxiu to be having an affair, since she kept it a secret from others. But Zhenyuan, whom Madam Su had been watching closely, had also caused such a scene; it was simply unacceptable.
Zhenshu couldn't blame her mother like that, after all, she was feeling worse than anyone else. But this wasn't just a matter for one family or one person. Zhenshu thought for a while before saying, "It's too early. We'll be going to the temple to burn paper money for the whole year next March. Even if you pretend to be sick and don't go, you can't stay home all the time. How can you hide the birth of a child from everyone?"
Madam Su nodded and said, "I know it's difficult, so I called Zhang Rui to discuss this matter. Just these past few days, he said that Dou Wu found him a position as a councilor and that he has been working on that matter for a long time and has not yet returned."
Speaking of Zhang Ruilai, he's the most adept at flattering women. Zhenshu's influence on him is neither good nor bad, but even if there's something extremely important at this time, he should be back to discuss countermeasures. How many days does it take to become an apprentice?
Zhenshu suddenly asked, "Have you told Father?"
Madam Su clasped her hands together in a gesture of prayer and whispered, "He has always disliked Zhang Rui, but I'm in charge of my daughter, so I didn't let him interfere. Now that something like this has happened, how dare I tell him? My dear daughter, I beg you..."
Zhenshu stepped aside and said, "How can I, an unmarried daughter, tell my father these things? Besides, if we delay any longer than tomorrow, you must find Zhang Rui and make him come up with a solution."
After speaking, she left Su's room and went to Zhenyuan's door. She pushed the door open, and Zhenyuan stood there, her eyes red and swollen from crying, staring at her, her lips trembling but unable to speak. Zhenshu pushed her back into the room and asked, "Is it really January?"
Zhenyuan nodded slowly, and two more tears rolled down her cheeks. Zhenshu couldn't bear to blame her, but she spoke the truth: "It's currently the middle of the mourning period, and it hasn't been a year since Grandmother passed away. As for the third and fourth uncles' families, they're all living their own lives, and I'm sure they won't go to the government to sue us. But if Zhenyu hears about it, I'm afraid she won't let it go so easily."
Jung-won sighed, "I might as well be dead!"
☆, Chapter 60 Zhang Rui
Zhen Shu cursed inwardly: What's the use of saying such discouraging things now? When we were embracing each other, why didn't you think about getting pregnant?
But then she suddenly remembered that when she was in the Wuling Mountains, she had never thought about the possibility of getting pregnant. Of course, if the woman was the prey, she had escaped the trap by chance, while Zhenyuan had been caught in the trap. Neither of them was much more noble than the other.
Thinking of this, he advised again: "No matter what, you must ask Zhang Rui to come to our house to have a face-to-face talk with Father, and then ask his brother and sister-in-law and other respectable people from the Marquis's mansion to come and finalize the matter. Then Father and I will take some money from the shop and give it to you to go to the outside world to hide for a year or two, and then come back after you have a child."
Zhenyuan nodded and said, "My sister is so thoughtful. I'm two years older than you, but I don't know what to do when faced with these situations."
Zhenshu patted her shoulder and said, "No matter what, Zhang Rui must come to the shop tomorrow to discuss this matter with Father."
The next morning, Zhenshu personally wrote the letter for Zhenyuan, sealed it, and had an apprentice deliver it to the Zhang residence. Then, he went outside to wait at the mounting shop. Because the Song family's mounting shop was doing well and had gradually gained some fame, many of Song Anrong's old friends, or those with some skill in calligraphy or who could practice their craft, would come upstairs to write a few lines, drink some tea, and have some fruit and snacks. Nowadays, Song Anrong was very busy welcoming and seeing off guests all day long.
Early this morning, an elderly man named Zheng Zhensheng, a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the third year of the Xuanyou era, came to perform. Song Anrong, being younger, was considered his student. He waited at the door, helped Song Anrong down from his cart, and escorted him upstairs. Song Anrong personally cut square pieces and banners for Song Ansheng, brewed tea, and chatted with the old man about calligraphy and painting. Zhenshu sat behind the small counter outside, hearing the hearty laughter from upstairs. He knew that Song Anrong must be in a very good mood today, but he wondered if Song Anrong could still hold his tongue when Zhang Rui came and brought up the matter.
As she was lost in thought, Zhenyi ran out and said, "Second sister, Mother wants you to go upstairs in the backyard."
Zhenshu went inside and called Zhao He out to stand guard. She went upstairs from the inner courtyard and saw Su Shi and Zhenyuan sitting in the outer room. Originally, she had only kept it from her, but now that even she knew, she decided to be frank. Su Shi spread her hands and said, "Zhang Rui just sent a letter saying that not only can he not come today, but he probably won't be able to come for the next few days. He's currently taking a Vice Minister of State Affairs as his master, so not only can he not come, but he also told me to remember to prepare two thousand taels of silver as a gift for the master's visit. Tomorrow he'll have his servant named Mingyue come and collect it personally."
Zhen Shu slammed her hand on the table in anger and said, "How shameless!"
Zhenyuan also said, "Since he's like this, I won't count on him anymore. Mother, please rent a house for me in another town, and I'll just go and live my own life."
Su said, "He might really want to find a good master. After all, the Vice Minister of State Affairs is the chief examiner. He lets all the students who are ranked in the top three pass, so his own students will naturally have an easier time."
Zhenshu said, "If that's the case, why don't you let Mother pay the two thousand taels of silver for the teacher's visit?"
Madam Su turned her head and said, "Where would I get this money? But if he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, his parents and wife can all be granted titles. A fifth-rank Gongren would certainly be accompanied by Zhenyuan."
Zhenshu stared intently at Madam Su, noticing that she dared not look at her and instead glanced elsewhere. She understood immediately; it turned out that Zhang Rui had promised Madam Su a fifth-rank concubine position. No wonder she was willing to hand over Zhenyuan, this juicy piece of meat, to that dog Zhang Rui.
The house was filled with weeping women, and Zhenshu, no longer wanting to bother with them, went downstairs to gather her apprentices, and together they headed to Zhang Rui's house in Huazhi Lane. Upon arriving at Zhang Rui's door, Zhenshu sent one of her apprentices, Hua'er, to knock and ask if Zhang Rui was home. The woman who opened the door was Zhang Rui's second brother's wife, a tall, slender young woman with delicate features. She glanced at Zhenshu, then glared at her and said, "What do you want with Zhang Rui?"
Zhenshu curtsied and said, "He ordered a fine painting and calligraphy, which has now been framed and the money has been paid. However, the painting is still in my daughter's hands. I would be grateful if you could tell me where he is. I heard that he urgently needs the painting today, and he may have gotten drunk and forgotten to pick it up."
Seeing Zhen Shu's earnestness and the fact that she was indeed holding a scroll, Zhang Erge's wife thought he was delivering a painting. She pointed to the other side and said, "He's climbed a high branch now, and he has money to go to the brothel and live a carefree life. Send someone there to look for him; they'll definitely find him."
"Drunken World" is located in the East Market, a century-old establishment with countless top courtesans. It turns out he took the money Su gave him but didn't use it for entertainment, instead spending it on that brothel. Zhenshu gritted her teeth and thanked him, then led a few servants straight to "Drunken World." Reaching the entrance, she glanced at the signboard and was about to rush in when suddenly several pimps appeared out of nowhere and blocked her way, loudly asking, "Young lady, what are you doing here?"
The brothel did not allow respectable women to go upstairs, partly because some jealous women might come here and cause a scene, making things unpleasant.
Zhenshu took a scroll, bowed, and said, “A customer surnamed Zhang ordered a fine calligraphy and painting from our shop, saying it was a grand gift required for him to become a disciple of the Vice Minister of State. He said he wanted to become a disciple today and asked us to deliver it early this morning. As for my daughter, she is the owner of Song’s mounting shop in the alley on the left at the east end of the street. Although we have never met, we do business on the same street, so please do me a favor.”
The two pimps exchanged a glance, released their grip, and bowed slightly, saying, "So it's Manager Song, we've heard so much about you. But this place is filthy, and to preserve our reputation, it's not a place for you to go."
Zhen Shu didn't insist. She turned to the side, put the painting behind her back, and said with a smile, "In that case, please go upstairs and call Young Master Zhang down. We will wait here."
The two pimps exchanged glances. The customer had booked a room here for a long time and was entertaining prostitutes. They naturally didn't know what he was doing at this hour, but they certainly couldn't go up and disturb him. After a slight hesitation, one of them gestured and said, "Manager Song has some reputation on the street. We wouldn't dare treat an ordinary woman like this. Since it's a business matter, please go up and discuss it with him yourself. He's in the fifth private room on the left on the third floor."
Zhen Shu still clasped his hands in thanks. Several apprentices wanted to follow, but the two quickly stopped them, saying, "Gentlemen, please wait downstairs."
Zhenshu knew they were afraid she would cause trouble with her apprentices, so she turned around and told them, "You wait here, I'll be down in a bit."
She carried the painting upstairs, where the air was thick with the lingering, decadent scent of cosmetics, making her almost nauseous. She went up to the second floor first, where she saw red silk curtains and pink gauze drapes. Although there was no one in sight along the long corridor, she could occasionally hear soft moans and groans, which sounded somewhat soul-stirring.
The Drunken World brothel has three courtyards. The people living upstairs in the first courtyard are considered the lowest-class prostitutes in the brothel. Because they are young and beautiful, some people have favors, and they all live in private rooms in the back courtyard.
Zhenshu went up to the third floor and started counting the rooms one by one from the left. Because there was a small door between the two large doors in the row, she was unsure whether to count the five rooms according to the large door or the small door. She hesitated for a while in front of the two doors, and was afraid that she would startle the strange lovers by knocking on the door. So she listened to one of the doors to see if she could hear Zhang Rui's voice.
There seemed to be several men inside the room. The voices inside sounded somewhat familiar to Zhenshu, but they didn't sound like Zhang Rui. She was frowning as she listened when suddenly the small door opened, and a hand pulled her inside. Zhenshu instinctively tried to pry the hand away, but instantly realized it was Yu Yichen.
No one but him would have such cold hands.
She followed him into the house. It was probably a small room where the maids brought water for washing. Although it was cramped, it contained a bathtub and other items. There were two doors inside that led to two rooms on the left and right.
Yu Yichen stood with his hands behind his back on the door, which was half-open, and the voices of the people inside could be heard very clearly.
A man said, "Eunuchs, rootless men, have taken control of the capital region and the Censorate, and now they've even become General of Martial Might. That's bad enough, but now that it's a fait accompli, I've heard that His Majesty wants to appoint him as Deputy Protector-General of the Imperial Guard. The real power of commanding the nation's military is currently held by Du Wu. If this eunuch were to take the position of Deputy Protector-General, how would any man in the country have the face to go back to his wife and children?"
There was more than one man in the room. Another man chimed in, "Now that the tail is gone, he should just stay in the palace and wash the ladies' feet and polish their mirrors. He still has the nerve to stand in the imperial court and insult my master's face. I, Tong, cannot tolerate this."
Zhen Shu gasped, thinking to herself: How come there's Tong Qisheng here?
She knew these people were cursing Yu Yichen. She turned to look up at his face and saw that he was neither sad nor happy, and was still standing there with his hands behind his back listening.
At this moment, it was Zhang Rui who spoke up. He said, "Although we are just students, we are all eager to serve our country and eliminate treacherous officials. As long as Master gives the order, I will sneak into the Yu Mansion tomorrow to take Yu Yichen's head."
Or perhaps it was their master, presumably the very same Wang Canzhi who snorted twice and said, "The Jade Mansion is not easy to enter. Some of my colleagues who were captured and taken to his mansion have all come out alive. I've heard that his courtyard doesn't even have a main house, which is obviously because he knows he has no roots and cannot live in a main house, and he feels ashamed and resentful. He has a room where, upon entering, you'll find eighteen kinds of cruel torture instruments, and on the walls are some strange lantern figurines that I don't know where they came from, all of them people who died from various tortures, their shapes are vivid and their expressions are extreme. Some people are so frightened that they wet their pants before they even get close to him. As for his torture chamber, no one has ever come out alive, so I, Wang, don't know what it's like. But he is definitely not a eunuch who can be killed easily."
Chapter 61 Pregnancy
Upon hearing this, Zhenshu recalled the day she first entered the Yu residence and saw its furnishings. His residence had no main house; the room in the back courtyard was filled with elegant objects. Even the somewhat frightening figurines on the walls were far from what these people described. She sighed inwardly: "While he may indeed be a eunuch, or his actions may be wrong, what these people are saying is far too harsh."
Overwhelmed with sadness, she leaned over and hugged Yu Yichen from behind, standing on tiptoe against his back and whispering, "I know you're not what they say you are."
Yu Yichen slowly turned around and embraced her, sighing in her ear, "Perhaps I am just as they say, eunuchs and court officials are mortal enemies. It's either them or me who dies."
At this moment, Zhenshu was only concerned with the injustice he had suffered and did not think too deeply about it. She tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "You should be careful and protect yourself."
Yu Yichen held her tightly in his arms, listening to the deep, lively heartbeat within her chest, greedily consuming the vibrant warmth of her youthful life, feeling the tenderness emanating from her full breasts, wishing he could crush her into the very blood within his own being. Since entering this profession, he had witnessed countless old eunuchs treat women like dirt, torturing them to the point of inhuman cruelty when they were unable to control their desires. He, who had remained calm for so many years, suddenly felt that same urge, that urge to meld this woman into his very being.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he said softly, "They are the Confucian scholars of this country, the backbone of the nation. If I let them kill me that day, they would be doing a service to the people. As for me, I will be remembered with infamy for eternity."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "What kind of backbone are they? They're just a bunch of pedantic scholars. Although I don't know anything about court affairs or politics, I know you're a good person."
Yu Yichen turned her head so she looked up at him, resisting the urge to bite her tender lips, and shook his head, saying, "But if they can't kill me, I will kill them eventually."
Zhenshu glared at the half-open door and said, "Even if they are killed, they deserve to die."
What good people could Tong Qisheng and Zhang Rui be?
Seeing her face, both coquettish and reproachful, indescribably cute and charming, Yu Yichen feared he would go crazy if he looked at her any longer, so he pressed her head against his chest and said, "If you think like that, it proves you are also a bad person. Coincidentally, I am also a bad person."
Zhenshu found his words amusing and couldn't help but chuckle. The men outside, who were discussing matters, heard some noise coming from the prostitute's inner room. Tong Qisheng pointed to the curtain and asked the prostitute, "Who's in there?"
The prostitute quickly put her arm around him and said, "She's just a little maid who comes to deliver water, what's so interesting about her?"
Tong Qisheng pulled the prostitute into his arms and said, "We're all brothers, so whatever happens between us will be shared. What's the big deal about washing? Come on, let's drink..."
Soon the room became lively, with some playing drinking games and others drinking, creating a noisy atmosphere.
Yu Yichen suddenly asked Zhenshu, "Would you like to see them?"