The emperor was only half convinced, and eventually put the matter out of his mind.
"Look, she happens to be twenty this year," the emperor said to the Prince of Jin. "Isn't the woman you and I see now completely different from the rumors? The more I think about it, the more unfathomable Master Hong'en seems. Even what happened between your mother and me back then... he was right about it all..."
So that was the reason behind it.
"If she hadn't borne a child, I would have intended to bestow her on you as your principal consort. Tang Mingfan and his son are both pillars of the court."
Precisely because the emperor knew Tang Baixin had suffered an undeserved calamity, he admired the way he had shouldered the responsibility and had steadfastly protected him, disregarding all counsel to the contrary.
"Now Tang Zhuyun has shed her old self and been reborn. And if nothing else, she saved Yanran. That gives me something to tell your mother, so I won't be too ashamed to face her when I meet her after death..." Tears glimmered in the emperor's eyes. "Let her be your secondary consort. I hope her good fortune will bless you and Yanran. I, too, am a father who hopes his children will live in peace and have smooth lives!"
"Father Emperor!" The Prince of Jin lifted his robes and knelt. "I am deeply grateful for your earnest concern, Father Emperor."
"Get up. I can't help myself when I think of your mother."
The Prince of Jin did not rise at once. "Father Emperor, I understand your painstaking intentions. But Tang Zhuyun has, after all, borne another man's child..."
What could he say?
Tang Zhuyun loathed him and had no desire to be with him at all.
At that moment, Wang Fu suddenly spoke. "Miss Tang grew up in the countryside with no one to look after her. It's pitiful that she went astray. Yesterday, I saw that she was genuinely fond of Miss Yanran, and rarer still, Miss Yanran likes her too. Your Highness, forgive this old servant for speaking out of turn, but a secondary consort's position is worth it to find Miss Yanran a good mother."
The emperor glanced at him and laughed. "You old rascal, it's rare to see you meddle in other people's affairs. Tell me honestly, did you accept a gift from the Tang family?"
The Prince of Jin was also shocked.
When had a shrewd old hand like Wang Fu ever spoken up for someone?
Marriage was an especially sensitive subject. If Tang Zhuyun turned out badly in the future, the emperor would blame him as well. Why had he spoken up?
Wang Fu smiled. "Your Majesty, you jest. I might accept gifts from anyone else, but never from Lord Tang. As you well know, I pay out of my own pocket to subsidize the imperial kitchens and have them make Lord Tang a proper breakfast... When you say such things, I'm even more wronged than Dou E!"
The emperor laughed and scolded him. "You old rascal, are you still trying to pull tricks in front of me? Out with it. Why are you speaking up for Tang Zhuyun? Could it be that you've eaten her food and feel obliged to her too?"
Going over to Tang Mingfan's table to cadge a meal had become a running joke, and even the emperor knew about it.
The Prince of Jin listened quietly to their conversation.
Wang Fu bowed. "No thought can escape Your Majesty's fiery eyes and golden gaze. I did indeed mean to speak up for Miss Tang, because she truly is beautiful and kindhearted."
"Oh? Let's hear it." The emperor's interest was piqued.
"Your Majesty, I made that wife of mine, who isn't fit to be seen in company, attend yesterday's Dragon Boat Festival banquet too."
"You mean your wife?"
"Indeed."
"I know about that," the emperor said. Pointing at Wang Fu, he told the Prince of Jin, "I'm telling you, never offend Wang Fu. He holds a terrible grudge."
As it turned out, Wang Fu had been castrated and sent to serve in the emperor's residence before his ascension when he was seven. He had resented his family for it and cut off contact with them.
But his parents had actually taken that step because they were desperately poor and had no other choice.
Wang Fu had not contacted his family for more than twenty years afterward, and they thought he was dead.
By then, the family's circumstances had improved considerably. With several dozen mu of good farmland, they could be considered comfortably off.
Wang Fu's mother missed her son and felt she had wronged him, so she bought him a wife-a dark, scrawny young girl who had fled a famine. She traded a dou of rice for her, and the girl later became Madam Wang.
Madam Wang knew the circumstances of the husband she had never met. Though she endured endless ridicule, she was honest and dutiful, caring for her parents-in-law and managing the household.
Later, Wang Fu's younger brother came to the capital to sit the examinations and, to his credit, made it to the palace examination. He recognized Wang Fu, whose face looked almost as though it had been carved from the same mold as their father's.
After a series of twists and turns, Wang Fu more or less forgave his family.
The entire Wang family came to the capital to visit him, naturally bringing Madam Wang along.
That was when Wang Fu first met his wife, who was more than ten years younger than him.
There was still a rift between Wang Fu and his family, but he later discovered that not only did they refrain from taking advantage of him, they considered his interests in everything. His younger brother could have stayed in the capital, yet deliberately chose to serve as a county magistrate in a place where the mountains were high and the emperor far away, lest anyone say Wang Fu had pulled strings for him. Wang Fu was finally moved.
By rights, he would have looked down on Madam Wang.
Given his current status and position, even though he was a eunuch, countless women would have wanted to marry him.
But fate was a strange thing. In time, he gradually fell for her and even begged the emperor to grant Madam Wang a court title.
So the emperor knew how important Madam Wang was to him.
Wang Fu said, "As you know, she isn't fit to be seen in company... But after she came home yesterday, she spent the whole night chattering to me about Miss Tang and how wonderful she was. This old servant has no energy left today."
"So that's why you're acting differently today. You're trying to please your wife!" The emperor roared with laughter.
"This old servant thinks Your Majesty is wise, with eyes as sharp as a torch!"
The Prince of Jin thought, Tang Zhuyun, it's not that I won't help you. You brought this on yourself with your foolish kindness.
If Tang Zhuyun had known, she would certainly have felt wronged.
She really hadn't done anything for Madam Wang! She'd only shown her the most basic courtesy!
Didn't they know that good intentions could lead to bad outcomes?!
And so the Prince of Jin returned empty-handed.
He didn't spare Tang Zhuyun either, telling her the whole story from beginning to end.
Tang Zhuyun said, "..."
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking for a wall to bang my head against."
The Prince of Jin said, "Since you brought this on yourself, behave yourself from now on. Don't let me catch you having any more improper dealings with those unsavory people! Until you find a way to break off the engagement, we share both glory and ruin!"
Tang Zhuyun slapped her forehead. "Oh no, I forgot! I'm out of medicine. What am I doing wasting words with you? I'm going to make some more!"
However vast heaven and earth might be, making money mattered most.
Business had been good on Qingfeng's side lately, and demand for the medicine was outstripping supply.
When she could make money, who cared about men?
The Prince of Jin said, "..."
Yanran happened to come out of the room, giggling. When she saw him gritting his teeth, she asked in surprise, "Father, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," the Prince of Jin said through gritted teeth.
No one knew how Meng Yulan had explained things to her family, but the matter had been put behind them for good.
When Tang Zhuyun heard that Meng Yulan had come to visit, she was naturally delighted. She went out to greet her. "Sister Meng, you're here! Come in and sit down!"
Meng Yulan exchanged a few pleasantries with her, then smiled. "Actually, I wouldn't have come to your temple without a reason today..."