Жан Чунь

Глава 43

The princess replied, "My health is deteriorating. I get tired easily from walking around, and I don't want to go out unless necessary. You should come to my residence more often."

Pang Di felt extremely distressed when she recalled the confinement order Wang Pang had placed on her. Not knowing how to tell the princess, she remained silent.

The princess asked no further questions. She took a brocade box from the maid behind her and said with a smile, "Is today your birthday? I hope this gift will please you and ease your worries a little."

Pang Di was quite surprised: "How did the princess know my birthday?"

The princess smiled but did not answer, only urging her to look at the gift quickly.

Upon opening the brocade box, I discovered a scroll of ancient calligraphy inside. Taking it out for a closer look, I was surprised to find that it was the masterpiece "Famous Concubine's Calligraphy" by the famous calligrapher Lady Wei!

Note: In reality, Wang Anshi had already been dismissed from his post as prime minister again and was not in court during the "Wutai Poetry Case". However, Song Dynasty notes record that "the emperor was making a decision based on Wang Anshi's opinion", which shows that Wang Anshi had expressed to Zhao Xu his hope to be lenient towards Su Shi and had greatly influenced Zhao Xu's decision.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gift

This is a world-renowned calligraphy masterpiece, which countless scholars and literati have longed to see but have yet to obtain. Now, the princess has presented it to him as a birthday gift. Pang Di naturally refused to accept it, saying, "I appreciate the princess's kindness, but this gift is too much for me to bear. The princess's personal visit is the best gift she could give me, so there is no need for any other gifts."

The princess smiled and said, "I heard that your calligraphy has the style of Lady Wei, which is very elegant and peaceful, graceful and beautiful. It is a perfect match for Lady Wei's calligraphy to be collected by you, and the gift of the 'Famous Concubine' to a famous concubine is also a beautiful story."

“My writing is nothing more than random scribbles; how can it be compared to Lady Wei’s masterpiece? Princess, you should take this generous gift back and give it to someone more worthy of it later,” Pang Di firmly declined.

The princess shook her head and said gently, "To be honest, this gift was sent to me by someone else. I have already promised to deliver it, so I won't take it back as usual. If you really don't want to accept it, you can return it to him yourself later."

"Someone else?" Pang Di hesitated for a moment, then realized who it was. Her face flushed slightly, and she said softly, "Could it be His Highness Prince Qi?"

At Su Shi’s residence in Hangzhou, she copied Su Shi’s poem “Drinking on the Lake After Rain” at Huang Zheng’s request. Zhao Hao praised it after reading it, saying that it was “clear and gentle, elegant and graceful, with the style of Lady Wei”. Su Shi also compared it to the “Famous Concubine’s Calligraphy”. Zhao Hao probably remembered it from then on, so he asked his sister to give her the “Famous Concubine’s Calligraphy” on her birthday.

The princess nodded and said, "He really went to great lengths to get this calligraphy. First, he inquired about its whereabouts everywhere, and then he offered a lot of money to buy it, but people just wouldn't agree. Later, he asked many people for favors and agreed to exchange it for other treasures he had collected for many years before he finally got his wish."

Pang Di sighed, “In that case, I dare not accept it even more. As a woman, how could I accept such a generous gift from the Prince of Qi without any reason or merit? Wouldn’t that cause trouble and damage His Highness’s reputation?”

"Don't overthink it," the princess advised. "He told me he had no other intention than to say that you were unhappy and didn't want you to be so down on your birthday, so he gave you something you might like. His purpose was simple: he just wanted to make you smile."

A warm feeling welled up in her heart, and Pang Di smiled faintly. However, the deep, melancholic look in her eyes was no longer the shy demeanor of her youth.

“But,” she asked, “how did His Highness Prince Qi know my birthday?”

The princess smiled and said, "I asked him that question too."

Zhao Hao went to the princess's residence yesterday to ask her to deliver a gift to Pang Di. The princess laughed and said, "What's the meaning of giving someone a gift out of the blue?"

Hao told her that tomorrow was Pang Di's birthday, and given how things had turned out between her and Wang Pang, Wang Pang probably wouldn't celebrate with her. She was a sensitive person, and on such a special day, she would likely feel even more sentimental. So he hoped that his sister would give her the "Famous Concubine's Calligraphy," since she was versed in Lady Wei's calligraphy and would surely like the gift. "I have no other intention than to bring a smile to her face," he said.

"But how do you know when she was born?" the princess asked again.

Upon hearing this, Hao lowered his head, his eyes flickering, and his face flushed slightly, his expression quite unnatural. Only after the princess pressed him repeatedly did he reply, "I checked the records from when my mother selected my consorts..."

The princess was both surprised and amused: her younger brother had always been passive in matters of the heart, so reserved he was almost dull. The fact that he was now searching through old documents from years ago showed that he was genuinely interested in Pang Di and wanted to know more about her. And the fact that he thought to give her a gift on her birthday clearly indicated that he had already developed feelings for her.

"It's like you've suddenly had a breakthrough," the princess said with a smile.

"Sister, don't misunderstand!" Hao quickly explained, but he seemed even more flustered: "She is already a wife, how could I have any improper thoughts? I just feel that, as you said before, her current misfortune is somewhat related to me, and I feel guilty, so I hope to do something to make her less depressed."

“I understand, no need to explain.” The princess smiled gently at him knowingly.

Hao smiled sheepishly and then pleaded with the princess, "Sister, please don't tell her that the gift is from me. Just give it to her in your own name. Otherwise, she will definitely refuse to accept it, and it will also be bad for her reputation if word gets out. If Wang Pang finds out, he might make things difficult for her again."

However, the princess did not grant his request. She only vaguely agreed at the time, but told Pang Di the whole story in a roundabout way. She thought, how could she not let the person she cared about know about her brother's painstaking efforts and feelings?

“We are both people who have lost our husbands and loved ones,” the princess said sincerely, holding Pang Di’s hand. “I completely understand how you feel. Because I know so well what it feels like to be neglected, I especially understand the pain you are going through now, and I sympathize with you and feel sorry for you even more. The gift I gave you to my brother is not to set you up or to get you to do anything improper, but simply to let you know that there is someone in this world who cares about you, who has been silently watching over you, and who hopes that you live a happy and joyful life. So please don’t refuse this gift. It represents someone’s pure love for you, without any shameful desires or ulterior motives. Please don’t consider it an immoral thing and return it.”

Pang Di remained silent for a long time, only sighing as he looked at the "Famous Concubine's Calligraphy".

As the princess rose to take her leave, she lingered, holding Pang Di's hand and gazing at her intently for a long time. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she said, "Such a lovely girl, how did she end up like me? I'm hopeless in this life, but you're different from me. You're much stronger than me. If there's a chance to improve your situation in the future, why don't you try?"

Pang Di didn't quite understand what he meant, so he just smiled calmly as an answer.

She insisted on going downstairs to personally see the princess to the gate, and the princess did not refuse, but smiled sadly and said, "Very well, I don't know if we will ever meet again after this parting."

Pang Di immediately sensed the ominous nature of her words and quickly offered words of comfort. The princess nodded and walked hand in hand with her.

Upon returning to his residence, Wang Pang immediately headed towards the Star-Asking Tower after hearing that the princess had visited Pang Di.

When he entered Pang Di's room, Pang Di was carefully examining the "Famous Courtesans' Calligraphy" on the table. He was not surprised to see him come in, as if he had expected it. He just looked up at him and said expressionlessly, "What a rare guest. Green Sleeve, serve tea."

Green Sleeves timidly agreed and was about to pour tea when Wang Pang waved his hand and simply said to her, "Get out!"

Green Sleeves quickly withdrew. She was becoming increasingly afraid of this capricious son-in-law, never daring to disobey his orders, and secretly marveling at how her mistress had the courage to argue with him so frequently.

Wang Pang glanced at the "Famous Concubine's Calligraphy" and asked, "Did the princess send this to you?"

“It was brought by the princess,” Pang Di replied. “But to be precise, it was sent by the Prince of Qi.”

Wang Pang rushed over, grabbed the "Famous Concubine's Calligraphy" and reached out to tear it.

“Tearing it up won’t change anything!” Pang Di said coldly. “I have already felt the sentiment he wanted to express. You can tear up the calligraphy, but you can’t erase the friendship and emotion he brought me.”

"Ha, you've become more and more brazen." Wang Pang slammed the "Famous Concubine's Letter" to the ground and sneered, "Openly using an object to express your feelings right under your husband's nose!"

Pang Di looked directly at him, unfazed by his angry gaze, and said, "We are indeed in love, and this gift was meant to convey our friendship. He cares about me a lot. While you're busy vying for power and neglecting me upstairs, he remembered it's my birthday and asked the princess to bring me his gift, hoping it would bring a smile to my face. I'm truly touched, and I consider him my best friend. Aren't you afraid I'll hide anything from you? Fine, then I'll tell you the truth. Is this what you wanted to know?"

He was so angry that his heart and lungs felt like they were about to burst, and his body trembled slightly involuntarily. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He barely managed to suppress the urge to beat her up. Then, he slowly took out a string of beads from his sleeve and held it out in front of her for her to see.

It was a string of pearls, each one lustrous and translucent, varying in size and strung into an exquisite shape. The entire necklace shimmered with a soft green light, clearly a top-quality piece of jewelry.

“I went out today to pick out a suitable gift for you,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you don’t deserve it!”

As the word "match" fell, the beaded chain was suddenly ripped off, and pearls of all sizes dripped down, bouncing lightly on the floor with a clear, crisp sound.

He continued vehemently, "I really don't understand why, since you've already fallen for someone else, you've repeatedly pretended to my father that you wouldn't remarry, while simultaneously staying in my house as a virtuous and faithful wife and having an ambiguous affair with your lover!"

"You're a real jerk!" he concluded, then slammed the door and left.

Pang Di's tears welled up again, unavoidably. She hadn't meant to say those things to anger him, but seeing him storm in, looking accusatory, and trying to tear up the "List of Famous Concubines" without explanation, she too became angry and deliberately admitted her friendship with the Prince of Qi to provoke him. Who would have thought he had gone out specifically to prepare a gift for her? Returning to see the Prince of Qi presenting the gift, and then hearing her say those things—his anger was unimaginable. But why did he have to say such cruel things to hurt her? Didn't he know it was the most serious slander and harm? They clearly loved each other, so why did they hurt each other, living such a difficult and painful life?

This time, Wang Pang didn't choke her, but the intense pain in her heart was just as suffocating.

Cai Bian

Wen'er couldn't understand why her brother and sister-in-law's relationship had deteriorated so much. Before, although her brother was cold towards her, he was still respectful, and occasional small gestures showed that he cared for her. Especially during their time in Jiangning, they seemed to have rediscovered their former harmony. But since returning to the capital from Jiangning, her brother's personality seemed to have drastically changed. He frequently lashed out at Pang Di or made sarcastic remarks, which was truly incomprehensible. If it were her, she thought, she would have divorced him long ago.

As before, she went to Pang Di to inquire about the reasons for their deteriorating relationship and actively offered suggestions on how to improve their current situation. However, Pang Di seemed indifferent and refused to utter a single related word. So she turned her attention to her brother, trying to entice him to the Star-Asking Tower, saying things like, "The moon is beautiful tonight, brother, why don't you go up to the Star-Asking Tower to admire the moon?" "The exquisite lotus flowers in my sister-in-law's room are blooming in three colors; you've probably never seen anything like it before, have you?" "Wasn't my sister-in-law's zither broken? Why do I keep hearing music coming from upstairs? Isn't that strange?"

But Wang Pang never paid any attention to her. No matter what she said, he would not respond. He would just keep reading and writing with a cold face and continue compiling his "New Interpretations of the Three Classics".

In a fit of anger, Wen'er decided to make up something really scary to scare him: "You've driven my sister-in-law crazy! Last night she tried to hang herself, but luckily I arrived in time and saved her. She's still unconscious..."

Wang Pang slammed his pen down and turned to her angrily, saying, "Are you very free? Looks like I have to find something for you to think about to kill time!"

The next day, Cai Jing, a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, sent a matchmaker to propose marriage between his younger brother Cai Bian and Wang Anshi's youngest daughter, Wang Wen.

Cai Jing had always wanted to curry favor with Wang Anshi, but Wang Anshi didn't pay much attention to him. Therefore, he tried his best to ingratiate himself with Wang Pang, and the two had some private dealings. Wang Pang had a lukewarm impression of Cai Jing, but he greatly admired his younger brother, Cai Bian. Seeing that Cai Bian and his sister Wen'er were the same age, he wanted to arrange a marriage between them. Recently, he was annoyed that Wen'er frequently bothered him, trying to meddle in his affairs with Pang Di: other girls her age were locked away in their chambers, yearning for love, while she was idly doing these things that gossipy women loved to do. So he immediately signaled Cai Jing to ask him to propose marriage for his brother, thinking that marrying Wen'er off would bring some peace and quiet, and even if the matter didn't work out, it would give her enough time to think things over.

Cai Jing was naturally happy to facilitate the marriage and hurriedly sought a matchmaker to propose. Although Wang Anshi was slightly surprised, he was quite satisfied after carefully investigating Cai Bian's situation. He summoned Wen'er and said to her, "This Cai Bian is mature beyond his years, very diligent and studious, and very steady. He is also about your age, making him a worthy person to entrust your life to. Your father admires his calligraphy the most. If he continues to hone his skills, in time, his achievements in calligraphy will surely be no less than those of Su Shi, Mi Fu, Huang Tingjian, and others. Just for his calligraphy alone, you wouldn't be at a loss marrying him."

Wen'er was very unhappy and said, "If I were to marry just to see a few good characters, I might as well marry a printer who prints famous calligraphic works. Besides, if I get tired of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, I can switch to Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. I can always find something new and have a rich source of characters. Cai Bian doesn't even have an official title yet, and his brother is just a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat. My father is the prime minister. How can he marry his daughter to a commoner?"

Wang Anshi said displeasedly, “How can you judge a person by their appearance? When your mother married me, I was just a commoner. I never imagined I would become a prime minister. I see that Cai Bian is still young, but his writing is already very impressive, and he is exceptionally talented. He will definitely pass the imperial examination and have a bright future. I remember on the road to Jinming Pond, red skirts vied for the green-robed young man. Rather than waiting for him to pass the imperial examination and then competing with other high-ranking officials for this green-robed young man as a son-in-law, it is better to arrange this marriage now. You will have a good home, and it will also put my and your mother's minds at ease.” The top scholar wore a red robe, while the successful candidate in the imperial examination wore green, hence the term “green-robed young man” for successful candidates. In the Song Dynasty, marriage values emphasized the importance of a talented man and a beautiful woman. High-ranking officials liked to choose suitable candidates from among the scholars who had passed the imperial examinations as their sons-in-law. At that time, it was fashionable for many high-ranking officials to gather around and choose a son-in-law whenever the list of successful candidates was announced. During the Qingli era, Yan Shu, the Chancellor, took a liking to his son-in-law Fu Bi, who later rose to the position of Chancellor, through this method. Fu Bi's son-in-law was Feng Jing, the top scholar in the imperial examination who had achieved the highest rank in all three levels and later became a Vice Chancellor.

Wang Pang chuckled from the side, "For my sister, Cai Bian's other two advantages are even more important. One is his handsome appearance. Last year, when the Emperor was selecting concubines, he felt that the women to be chosen were all rather unremarkable. The Emperor was very puzzled and asked the eunuch in charge of the selection why. The eunuch replied that there were originally many more beautiful women to choose from, but when Cai Yuandu came to the capital from Xianyou, all the ladies in the city turned out, pushing and shoving each other just to catch a glimpse of him. As a result, 80,000 beautiful women were trampled to death, which directly led to a decline in the attractiveness of the women to be chosen..."

Yuandu was Cai Bian's courtesy name. Upon hearing this, Wen'er was quite curious about Cai Bian's appearance and wanted to laugh, but she tried her best to hold it in, rolling her eyes and saying, "He's just a pretty boy, is that worth mentioning?" She then asked, "What else?"

Wang Pang replied, "Secondly, he has a good temperament and a good temper. This is especially important! Just imagine, you are so domineering, unreasonable and willful, how many people in the world can tolerate you? If you were to marry a more forceful man, I'm afraid you would have been divorced eighteen times in less than half a month."

"Pah, pah, pah!" Wen'er spat, "If the man I married dared to disobey me, I would have killed him long ago, instead of waiting for him to divorce me!"

Wang Pang spread his hands and said, "That's even worse. After you murder your husband, you'll inevitably remarry and try to scam your parents out of more dowry, won't you?"

Wen'er angrily came over and punched him, and Wang Anshi couldn't help but laugh and say, "You're getting more and more outrageous. Peng'er, speak more seriously."

So Wang Pang said seriously, "I'm being serious. My sister has a strong personality and wants her husband to obey her in everything. Tell me, how many men in the world can do that? I see that Yuan Du has a good temperament and firmly supports the new laws. Many of his political views coincide with mine. If my sister marries him, the two of you will have no disagreements on family matters or national affairs. There won't be any problems like what happened between my sister Yu'er and that good-for-nothing Wu Anchi. What's wrong with that?" He then turned to Wen'er and smiled, "In front of Brother Yuan Du, I lied and praised you to the skies, saying you were so virtuous and gentle that people were fooled into proposing marriage. I was worried that Yuan Du would regret it after marrying you and discovering your hideous face, and would come after me to kill me. I've risked my life to find you a good marriage. My sister, please don't let my good intentions go to waste!"

Wen'er sneered, "Thank you for your kind offer, brother, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you." Then, looking at her father earnestly, she said, "Father, this is a matter of great importance to my life, and you must be careful. I hope you can promise me that you will not easily give me away to anyone before I agree, otherwise I would rather die than accept it!"

She had always longed for Zhao Hao, considering him her ideal marriage partner, and therefore disdained ordinary suitors. However, she also knew that Zhao Hao disagreed with her father and brother politically, and her brother had now completely turned against him, making it difficult to get them to agree to a marriage alliance with the Prince of Qi. Moreover, she thought with some melancholy that even if her father and brother agreed, she didn't know if the Prince of Qi would reciprocate. Although she had many clever schemes she could use to help Zhu Xichan seduce Emperor Zhao Xu, it seemed unlikely to work on her dull-witted younger brother. But with hope still burning in her heart, she refused to readily agree to the marriage arranged for her by her father and brother. As a woman, many things in life are beyond her control, so on matters concerning her life's most important destiny, she insisted on making her own decision.

Wang Anshi shook his head and said, "Marriage has always been decided by parents and matchmakers. There is no reason for a daughter to make her own decision."

Wen'er retorted, "If Father also firmly believes in such outdated ideas, then what's the point of reforming anything?"

Wang Anshi was taken aback, then burst into laughter, stroked his beard, and nodded, saying, "Wen'er is right!"

As expected, Wang Anshi did not agree to the Cai family's marriage proposal for the time being. He doted on his youngest daughter and did not want her to suffer any injustice. He was also willing to respect her opinion on marriage and was determined to wait for her own consent before arranging the engagement. Moreover, he felt deeply guilty that his eldest daughter, Wang Yu, had married the wrong person and was living such an unhappy life after marrying into the Wu family. He regretted that he had hastily arranged this marriage for her. Therefore, he believed that it was essential to spend more time observing Cai Bian to see if he was truly suitable to be Wen'er's husband.

Wang Pang disagreed, believing that his father had spoiled Wen'er too much and shouldn't abandon the marriage based on her temperament. He continued to maintain close contact with the Cai family, only saying that his parents doted on Wen'er and wanted to keep her by their side for another year or two, but were hesitant to agree for the time being for fear of delaying Cai Bian's search for a spouse. However, he assured Cai Bian that if he could wait, the matter would surely be settled. Cai Jing readily agreed, saying that his brother would wait no matter how long it took and would never seek another woman from another family.

After that, if Wen'er bothered him again with the matter of Pang Di, he would joke about Cai Bian to tease his sister, or deliberately tease her by saying, "Zhang Bian and Li Bian will come to propose to you again tomorrow." Every time, Wen'er would get so angry that she would turn around and leave, ignoring him.

However, Wang Pang soon had no energy left to deal with his sister's affairs. A conspiracy orchestrated by Lü Huiqing aimed to assassinate Wang Anshi, and Wang Pang immediately mobilized all available resources to devote himself to this political struggle.

Note: Whether Cai Jing's official position in the eighth year of the Xining era was Zhongshu Sheren is yet to be verified; I wrote this based on my memory. If any reader knows, please let me know.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tilting

Although Lü Huiqing only held the position of Vice Chancellor during Wang Anshi's dismissal, he effectively sidelined and sidelined Han Jiang, the Chancellor, and practically wielded absolute power, reaping the benefits of governance. Unfortunately, this period of prosperity was short-lived. Less than a year later, Emperor Zhao Xu recalled Wang Anshi and reinstated him as Chancellor. Although Lü Huiqing's official position remained unchanged for the time being, the situation was entirely different. He could no longer use the same methods he had employed against Han Jiang to seize power from Wang Anshi. Thus, he returned to a position of subordinate assistant to Wang Anshi. Now, ambitious and unwilling to accept the status quo, he was preoccupied with figuring out how to overthrow Wang Anshi and assume the position of Chancellor himself.

In the spring of the eighth year of the Xining era, a treason case occurred in Yizhou. Lü Huiqing was surprised to find that one of the people involved had been in contact with Wang Anshi. He then instructed Deng Wan, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Fan Bailu, the Director of the Censorate, to interrogate the prisoner strictly in order to extract a confession about the prisoner's interactions with Wang Anshi and thus implicate Wang Anshi.

The case itself was not complicated. It was a case of Zhu Tang, a commoner from Yizhou, accusing Li Feng, the former registrar of Yuyao, of treason. Li Feng's confession implicated Zhao Shiju, a member of the imperial clan and the Right General of the Feathered Forest Guard, and Xu Ge, the investigating magistrate of Hezhong Prefecture. However, when Fan Bailu investigated and interrogated Zhao Shiju, he discovered that Zhao knew Li Shining, a Taoist from Bashu, who had visited Wang Anshi's residence many times, and Wang Anshi had even presented him with a poem.

Li Shining had cultivated Taoism for many years, possessing an ethereal and immortal air. He was proficient in the art of guiding qi and nourishing life, as well as the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams. His predictions of human affairs, fortunes, and misfortunes were remarkably accurate. When Emperor Renzong was alive, he even specially invited Li Shining to the palace to explain the ways of health preservation. Later, Emperor Renzong presented Li Shining with a poem to express his gratitude. Princes and ministers in the capital also frequently invited Li Shining to their homes to treat illnesses, prepare medicines, and divine good and bad fortune. Wang Anshi was merely one of them. Each time Wang Anshi invited Li Shining to his residence, it was because his wife and children were unwell, and he hoped Li Shining could prescribe a good remedy and impart some knowledge of health preservation. He never discussed matters of "treason" with Li Shining, nor even minor political affairs.