Looking at the blood-soaked handkerchief, she felt a sense of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Finally, the truth had been revealed, and she could marry him.
She couldn't sleep all night, feeling as if all the joints in her back were shattered. Tossing and turning until dawn, she heard Su's screams and cries outside. Zhenshu vaguely guessed that it must still be related to what happened last night. She quickly dressed and went downstairs. She saw Su, Song Anrong, Zhao He, and several others in the courtyard. Su was grabbing Song Anrong's sleeve. Song Anrong was holding a sword and was about to go out. Zhao He was also trying to persuade him to leave.
Seeing her come downstairs, Madam Su waved and said, "Zhenshu, come quickly and persuade your father. He's going to fight that eunuch to the death."
Zhenshu rushed over and blocked Song Anrong's path, loudly advising, "Father, what are you doing?"
Song Anrong pointed at Zhao Hewen and asked Zhen Shu, "Your Uncle Zhao said that when you went to Liu Family Village last time, you went and returned with that eunuch after leaving the city, and you even stayed together along the way. Is that true?"
Zhenshu glanced at Zhao He and saw him nod silently. She knew that he had probably said these things last night to persuade Song Anrong. Song Anrong must have been even angrier after hearing this, fearing that Yu Yichen had used some evil magic to deceive her, which was why she was going to fight to the death. She quickly advised, "Even if I marry him, I will just move in quietly. I will still come to our shop during the day to work at the counter as the manager. If he really doesn't want me one day, I can just come back to this house myself, right?"
Seeing that Song Anrong had stopped and was looking at her, she simply raised her voice and said, "It's me who's offering myself up to marry him, not the other way around. Wouldn't you make yourself a laughingstock if you went like this?"
She practically begged to marry a eunuch, which shows how spoiled she was.
Song Anrong held the sword behind his back, sat down behind the counter in the mounting shop, and said angrily, "Fine, I'll wait here from today onwards. If Yu Yichen dares to come and propose marriage, it's either him or me who will die."
Zhenshu had a terrible headache and a dull ache in her back. Madam Su rushed over and asked, "How's the kick to your back? You wouldn't open the door when I came last night. Come to the kitchen now and I'll take a look."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "No need, I'm fine."
She went into the kitchen to fetch water, and Madam Su quietly followed her in. Taking advantage of her inattention, she untied the belt of her outer garment, lifted her inner garment from the back, and saw a large bruise on her chest. She was both angry and distressed, and exclaimed, "What if this causes serious injury? I must take you to see a doctor."
Zhenshu covered her clothes and said, "Mother, don't call me that. I'll be fine soon."
Nannan's wet nurse was also a busybody. She had just left Nannan with Zhenyi and was hiding in the kitchen watching the commotion when she caught a glimpse of the scene and gasped, "No wonder I went to the second young lady's room this morning to get Nannan's clothes and saw that she had vomited so much blood. So that's why her back is so bruised."
Startled, Madam Su asked, "How much blood did you vomit? I'm afraid you might have injured your internal organs and developed tuberculosis, lying in bed in a state of limbo, which would be a real problem."
After saying this, Jian Zhenshu had already taken the copper basin outside. He followed her out to the counter in front and pointed at Song Anrong, saying, "Good kick! He's the only one in the family who can generate income. If we kick him to death, we won't have to live either. It'll be clean once everyone is dead."
Song Anrong had just overheard the wet nurse in the inner kitchen talking about bloodstains, and knew that he had kicked Zhenshu too hard last night, hurting her. He felt a deep regret. However, he couldn't just watch her ruin her life's happiness, so he sighed helplessly outside.
Nannan's wet nurse was a resident of the area around the East Market and knew the locals well. She had made an excuse to leave early in the morning, and the news that the young manager of Song's framing shop was going to marry the Grand Eunuch Yu Yichen spread like wildfire throughout East Street. Shopkeepers whispered among themselves, shop assistants ran around spreading the news, shopkeepers' wives whispered amongst themselves, and even customers at the market started discussing it. The bolder young shop assistants and the idle shopkeepers gradually gathered in front of the framing shop, eager to see for themselves what a woman who had ever been willing to marry a eunuch looked like.
Of course, most people on East Street knew Zhenshu, and since she always showed her face in public, there was an unspoken understanding between them when they talked about her. A woman, after all, still needs to protect her reputation; those who indulged their daughters like Song Anrong eventually caused scandals and trouble.
Seeing that some people kept coming in today, making excuses to wander around, and then leaving, Zhao He noticed that Song Anrong was sitting firmly behind the counter with a dark face and a sword standing behind him like a gatekeeper. Knowing that he couldn't do business today, Zhao He wrote a notice, posted it on the door, and then put the door down, advising Song Anrong to go upstairs to rest.
Song Anrong hadn't slept all night and had a headache and dizziness. He pointed at Zhenshu and said to Zhao He, "Make sure you keep an eye on her and don't let her go out again."
Zhao He responded and stood outside the door of the small building.
Zhenshu didn't go out either, but stayed upstairs playing with her daughter. Zhenxiu, on the other hand, had gone out sometime earlier. When she came back upstairs, tears were still on her face. She pointed at Zhenshu and scolded her angrily, "It's all your fault! Why did you have to provoke the eunuch? Now Tong Qisheng has heard about it and said that our marriage is off and there's no need to talk about it anymore."
Upon hearing this, Madam Su also came out from the inner room and hurriedly asked Zhenxiu, "You went out to look for Tong Qisheng just now? Where did you find him?"
Zhenxiu intercepted Tong Qisheng at the entrance of Zui Renjian. Upon meeting him, she immediately ordered him to use this incident to greatly humiliate the entire second branch of the Song family. Then, in a fit of pique, she went back to her room and cried. Madam Su sighed and looked at Zhenshu, saying, "It's no wonder your father beat you. Look at me, I spent so much money to bring in a Jinshi son-in-law, and you ruined it all with just one sentence."
☆、84|82.81.1
Zhen was in a state of utter confusion, her mind buzzing. But now that things had been done, she could only move forward. Her only fear was that Yu Yichen would indeed come to propose marriage, which would likely cause Song Anrong to erupt in anger again. Moreover, he had heard many gossips and become the butt of jokes in the East Market, and she worried that he wouldn't be able to bear it. She wanted to go downstairs and find someone to deliver a message to him, telling him not to come for the time being.
Having made up her mind, she wasn't afraid of Zhao He. She went downstairs, pushed open the door, and called out to Uncle Zhao, "I need to go and deliver a message to Yu Yichen."
Zhao He pointed to the people pacing back and forth in front of the front gate, who were watching them, and said, "If you go out now, people will probably burst out laughing."
Zhenshu lowered her head and smiled bitterly, "If you really want to marry him, I don't care."
Zhao He opened the door and said, "Come back early, or your father will be angry if he can't find you when he wakes up."
Zhenshu agreed and went out the door. She had only taken a few steps to the shop entrance when the shop assistants and apprentices from various shops surrounded her with strange laughs. However, they did not dare to approach her, but just stood at a distance, laughing and shouting. Zhenshu ignored them, and had a group of people follow her to the place where the messengers usually took orders. She delivered the letter and a few copper coins to the person who usually sent her letters, and then turned back.
She had just turned around when someone behind her called out, "Song Zhenshu!"
Zhenshu turned around and saw it was Tong Qisheng, but she ignored him and continued walking. Then she heard Tong Qisheng say again, "Are you really going to marry a eunuch?"
The crowds surrounding them were even larger than those during the Lantern Festival. Zhenshu stood in the center of the crowd, and with a surge of courage from who knows where, she nodded and said, "Yes."
Tong Qi, his face flushed with anger, pointed to his lower abdomen and said, "Although I am not talented, I am still a real man. What do you want from marrying a eunuch? Do you want him to buy you new clothes and jewelry and feed you delicacies, or do you want him to make you a noblewoman? Let me tell you, he won't be arrogant for long. One day, we scholars will pull him down from his position, crush him until he can't rise again, and make him infamous for eternity!"
He pointed sharply at his lower abdomen towards the surrounding crowd, tilting his head back and pouting with a suggestive grin, which elicited a loud burst of laughter from the crowd. Zhen Shu felt a tightness in her chest, a surge of heat rising within her. She suppressed her nausea and calmed herself, taking a few steps toward him. Suddenly, she kicked him in the groin, and after watching Tong Qi writhe in pain on the ground, she coldly said, "Even if you were a real man, I wouldn't marry you. If he were a eunuch, I would still marry him. That's it."
After speaking, she swallowed a mouthful of hot liquid, turned around and left. The onlookers had never seen such a fierce woman before. They were all stunned and obediently made way for Zhenshu to leave.
Nannan's wet nurse, having soothed the child to sleep, was also standing in the crowd. She quickly returned to the small building and recounted the events of the street to Su Shi, Zhenxiu, and Zhenyi in detail. Zhenxiu listened, gave a cold laugh, and went back to her room. Su Shi sighed again, "It's my bad luck. She's always been stubborn. I almost beat her to death back then to stop her from binding her feet, so how can I do anything about it now?"
After being closed for several days, the shop eventually reopened. Zhenshu spent her days eating and working in silence, neither going out nor speaking to anyone. Song Anrong, after enduring several days, finally couldn't bear it any longer. He also noticed that Zhenshu was growing thinner and her spirits were declining. Finally, he cornered her in the inner room of the shop and said, "You cannot marry him."
Zhen Shu remained silent, then took the framed painting and carefully rolled it up.
Song Anrong added, "Even if you have some contact with him now, and that contact continues until you both grow tired of each other, you still cannot get married."
Zhenshu then stopped what she was doing, swallowed the nausea in her chest, and looked up, saying, "I'm going to his residence in a few days."
Song Anrong sighed, nodded in agreement, and turned to leave.
Zhenshu lowered her head, pursed her lips, and chuckled to herself, thinking: I've finally taken another step forward.
In high spirits, she turned and went upstairs, where she saw Zhang Rui, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, sitting with Madam Su in the outer room, the two whispering to each other. Zhenshu walked over and asked, "When are you going back to Liu Family Village?"
Zhenyuan is due to give birth in July, and it is now mid-June, yet Zhang Rui still refuses to go back.
When Zhang Rui saw that it was Zhen Shu, he hurriedly got up and asked her to sit down before saying, "Good sister, there is a great thing happening now. If we do it well, our whole family will have wealth and honor. Please listen to what I have to say."
Upon hearing this, Zhenshu knew he wanted money again, so she quickly waved her hand and said, "Just tell Mother, I'm busy here."
Zhang Rui tugged at Zhen Shu's sleeve and said, "No, dear sister, just listen to me for a few words, just a few words, okay?"
Zhen Shu stood up helplessly and said, "Speak."
Zhang Rui then said softly, "Now that the Marquis of Beishun's mansion has fallen, the position of Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture has been vacant. My master, Wang Canzhi, has connections with the Emperor, and with just 200,000 taels of silver, he can take over the position. All of us Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) are scrambling to get into the capital; it's all about who has more or less money. If my dear sister can help me raise some, I'll ask..."
Zhenshu interrupted him, saying, "I remember that Lady Zhang, the wife of the Marquis, is your distant great-aunt, right? You used to get to school by tagging along with Dou Wu. Now that their whole family is in prison, instead of trying to save them, you're eyeing the Marquis's official position. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Zhang Rui laughed, "A new emperor brings a new court; everyone has to think about themselves, right? What's so difficult about releasing them after I take control of Yingtian Prefecture? I already have 100,000 taels of silver prepared at home; all I need is for my dear sister to contribute a little more..."
Zhenshu was too lazy to listen to his nonsense and waved her hand, saying, "We run a small business. Even if we sold our whole family, we wouldn't be worth that much. You should find someone else."
After saying this, he went downstairs again. Zhang Rui twisted Su's sleeve and said, "Mother, you have to think of a way for me."
Zhenxiu was about to go downstairs when she passed by Su Shi and said with a smile, "If his family can prepare 100,000 for him, why not prepare more and give him 200,000? If his family really had 100,000, would he still be here groveling?"
Zhang Rui simply knelt down in front of Madam Su and twisted his body. Madam Su sighed and rubbed her head, saying, "Now I don't manage the money, and I can't persuade them. What should I do?"
Ultimately, she still wanted a son-in-law from a high-ranking family so that she could also become a fourth-rank concubine.
Inside the main hall of the imperial palace, only Li Xuzhe and Yu Yichen were present. Only when they were alone could Li Xuzhe let go of the airs he had deliberately cultivated since ascending the throne and truly relax. He paced back and forth, smiling, and repeatedly praised, "Well done! You did a very good job."
Yu Yichen frowned and said, "Du Wu served as the military governor for two dynasties. When I went on the expedition to supervise the army, I learned that the soldiers on the border only knew Duke Du and not the current emperor. Those arrogant soldiers said the same thing to me several times."
This was indeed the truth. The court had appointed a eunuch as the military supervisor, and the soldiers who had endured years of hardship on the frontier naturally looked down on this eunuch who was dressed as a woman and had many lackeys. The several clashes between Yu Yichen's troops and the frontier soldiers were all due to the soldiers' cursing and open provocation.
Du Wu, as the Protector-General, not only failed to mediate, but also allowed his soldiers to repeatedly exonerate them.
"They only know the Duke of Du, but not who the current emperor is," is a common saying among the soldiers on the frontier.
Li Xuzhe had heard this countless times since Yu Yichen returned, and each time he would tremble with anger: "What do you suggest we do?"
Yu Yichen said, "I would like to ask Your Majesty to make the decision."
Li Xuzhe paced back and forth for a long time before saying, "I think you handled Dou Hou very well. It would be good to also accuse Du Wu of treason, arrest him first, and then plan for the future."
"But," Li Xuzhe said with some trepidation, "how can we get him to bring in some Tartars, and also catch him red-handed?"
Yu Yichen smiled faintly, her gentle brows furrowing as she looked at the troubled emperor. She said softly, "There's no need to actually summon the Tartars. We can find some commoners to cause trouble and frame them. In that case, Du Wu's failure to protect the country will be a serious crime."
"Good! Very good!" Li Xuzhe clapped his hands and said, "Let's do it this way. Find some people to pretend to be Tartars. This time, choose a county that is close to the capital and plunder it. Although it will hurt the people, one county is worth one country. I hope Heaven knows my good intentions."
Yu Yichen's smile deepened, and he gave Li Xuzhe, who was looking at him, an approving look, and cupped his hands, saying, "Your subject obeys."
He left the Chuigong Hall, where Mei Fu, Mei Xing, Xu Xiu, and several others were waiting. Yu Yichen gave instructions to everyone before leaving the palace. Mei Xun, who was waiting outside, frowned and asked after Yu Yichen finished explaining his tasks, "Are you really going to contact Sun Yuqi again?"
Yu Yichen said, "Of course. How could we use fakes? Only the Northern Barbarians would do something so ruthless that it would cause a sensation throughout the court."
Only by creating another overwhelming force, like the one that caused Emperor Chengfeng's death, can we break the deeply entrenched power of Du Wu. As for Du Wu, we must subdue him in one fell swoop.
The weather grew hotter, but Zhenshu felt increasingly cold. She suspected that Yu Yichen's cool aura had affected her, making her more sensitive to the cold and causing her to cough constantly. Early that morning, she put on a long robe and tied her hair up high with a wooden hairpin, then went alone to the Yu residence. Yu Yichen was waiting at the back gate, personally opening it for her. When he opened it, he simply smiled at her. Zhenshu, who had become famous throughout the capital in just half a month, now felt quite arrogant upon seeing Yu Yichen. Moreover, she was panting and pale as she walked. She grabbed his hands, jumped onto his lap, and asked him to carry her. Then, she whispered in his ear, "I told my father."
Yu Yichen nodded and said, "Yes, I know."
Zhen Shu gestured with her hands and opened her mouth, laughing, "The whole East Market has witnessed a huge joke."
Yu Yichen nodded and said, "I know too."
He had heard Mei Xun's account of everything that had happened at the framing shop three times over. As for the farce at the East Market, he had stood far away from the crowd, watching his young shopkeeper stand fearlessly in the center, coldly observing the man's disgraceful behavior. The man was saying something that caused the crowd to burst into laughter. His young shopkeeper strode over and kicked the man in the groin; the man fell to the ground, rolling around.
She turned and left, her back view as fearless as a hero.
He stood at a distance and laughed loudly, a feeling of joy and satisfaction he had never experienced before filling his chest at that moment.
After having breakfast together, the two lingered in bed for a while. Seeing Zhenshu fall into a deep sleep with a contented expression, Yu Yichen carefully got up, took his robe, put it on, and quietly went outside the bedroom.
Sun Yuan stood respectfully with his hands at his sides in the small hall on the second floor. Yu Yichen walked over, tying his belt, and after a long silence, said, "Keep a close eye on Miss Song and don't let her go into the front yard."
Sun Yuan bowed and replied, "Yes."
Yu Yichen still had a furrowed brow. He tied his clothes and went to the balcony. After a long while, he said to himself, "I can't let her come here again."
He had intended to gradually lure her into seeing his true colors and make her his woman, a natural-born eunuch's wife. But now, it seemed her kindness and sense of justice far exceeded his expectations. She was fighting with her life on the line, and he could no longer respond to her with his current demonic demeanor.
☆、85|84.1
For the first time in his life, Yu Yichen looked back on his life and felt ashamed of it—a feeling more terrifying than regret. Being a eunuch and unable to give her happiness only brought him regret, but being the demon in her heart made him feel utterly ashamed. It was a ridiculous and absurd feeling; whenever it surfaced, it made him feel incredibly desolate, leading him to want to deny his own life.
He dismissed the absurd thought, tightened his grip, and strode downstairs. He pushed open the two heavy doors and stood for a long time in the wide passageway under the gaze of the expressionless terracotta warriors holding lamps. He then turned back and locked the door himself. Only then did he push open the other door and go inside.
Zhenshu slept soundly until after noon. Feeling a tightness in her chest, she had no appetite. She sat on the small balcony for a while, drank some tea, then went downstairs and wandered aimlessly in the garden. It was the height of the day, and as she walked towards a cool, shaded area, she suddenly heard a faint scream coming from upstairs, a sound that seemed to indicate great pain.
Since the first time she entered the Yu residence through the main gate, she had never gone to the front courtyard. At this moment, Yu Yichen was nowhere to be seen, and the courtyard was deserted. She walked back and forth, but still couldn't find any way to the front courtyard. Both ends of the small building were blocked by the thick wall that was as high as the building itself.
Zhen Shu returned to the building and walked to the two vermilion doors that Yu Yichen had led her through. She pushed them, but they wouldn't budge. Feeling a little anxious, she suddenly heard the faint sound of a lock clicking from inside the vermilion doors. She hurriedly hid behind a screen facing the entrance. After a short while, she saw Mei Xun come out of the door and go upstairs.
While Mei Xun was upstairs, she quietly pushed open two large doors and went inside. The two doors at the other end of the passageway were unlocked. She pushed them open and went out, and there was the main hall where she and Yu Yichen had listened to the music that day. She had naturally walked the same path out of the main hall before. She had come from the left and left to the right. Walking out of there, she found herself in the main hall where she had taken off her shoes and entered when she first came here.
She hesitated for a long time in the main hall before turning around to the right. The right side was also a large, spacious room, but the walls were covered with vividly colored paintings depicting people suffering immense pain and covered in blood, being tortured—some branded with irons and copper, others bound by chains and spikes. Zhenshu couldn't bear to look any longer and quickly walked past the room. Further in was another room, displaying many of the torture instruments that had appeared in the paintings of the outer room. Though just objects, they were still terrifying to behold. She swallowed hard, pressed her hands to her chest, and slowly walked forward, vaguely remembering that when she had come from the left, she had passed through about three rooms. She figured there was another room ahead, but she wondered what was inside.
She glanced back at the chilling instruments of torture filling the room, and as soon as she turned around, a fierce tiger with its head hanging in front of her suddenly appeared, startling her so much that she took several steps back and almost fell to the ground. She looked closely and saw that it was a fake tiger hanging from the beam. Because she had seen a real tiger and even hit one a few times, she knew what a real tiger looked like.
Zhenshu carefully touched the tiger skin and knew it was genuine, probably skinned from a dead tiger. Its appearance was terrifying, and upon closer inspection, the seam under the throat seemed somewhat familiar. She walked around the tiger and further inside, where she saw various birds of prey and wild beasts displayed, all as lifelike as the tiger. In this deathly silent room, it was truly enough to terrify anyone.