Volume One, Chapter 31: The Past
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Yet this matter immediately caused an uproar throughout the Great Zhou court.
Although Great Zhou did not treat women as commodities the way the Rongdi did, no matter how noble a princess’s status, one day she would marry, and her children would bear another family’s surname.
In the end, it was still the princes who could inherit the throne and rule the realm of Great Zhou. Thus, sending a prince to the Rongdi and sending a princess there were matters of entirely different consequence.
Even though Emperor Shen Jianning favored peace, and most of the ministers he trusted and relied upon also advocated appeasement, the court nevertheless erupted into a bitter dispute over whether a prince should be sent to the Rongdi as a hostage—and, if so, which prince should be chosen.
Most of Shen Jianning’s consorts were daughters or sisters of court officials. Those officials were usually timid and evasive when it came to affairs of state, but the moment their own interests were involved, every one of them became valiant.
They feared that the prince they supported and cultivated ties with would become a victim of political struggle, jeopardizing their own prospects for promotion and wealth. Thus they argued endlessly in court day after day, until Shen Jianning was driven half-mad. He could neither taste his food nor sleep peacefully.
He compared his several sons again and again. In the end, on the advice of his trusted aides, he settled upon Shen Ran.
Without a doubt, it was a decision that satisfied everyone.
Shen Ran’s mother had been a dancing girl. She possessed no backing or influence at court and, constrained by her own circumstances and limited outlook, had never learned how to win over the ministers. She had obtained the position of Consort Li in the inner palace by relying on nothing more than her incomparable beauty and Shen Jianning’s favor.
Yet beauty and a man’s affection were unquestionably the most unreliable things in this world.
Especially when that man was an emperor with Three Palaces, Six Courts, and Seventy-Two Consorts.
When Shen Jianning first saw Consort Li, he had been stunned by her beauty, as though he had looked upon a celestial being. From then on, the beauties of the six palaces paled beside her, and three thousand favors were bestowed upon one woman alone. Disregarding the opposition of his ministers, he had gradually raised a lowborn dancing girl to the rank of consort. To say that he had felt nothing for Consort Li would have been impossible.
But to say that his feelings for her ran deep was equally impossible.
At the very least, no woman could ever outweigh his realm, his power, and his wealth.
Shen Jianning might have been lacking in ability, but on this point he saw matters with perfect clarity.
To Shen Jianning, the most important person in the world was himself. The second most important thing was his throne. As for everything else—if he lost a beauty, he could simply marry another; if he lost a son, it would be regrettable, but not impossible to have another. So long as he could continue fathering children, it was not a serious problem.
Even if that beauty was exceptionally lovely, seemingly impossible to replace, he had nevertheless looked upon that face for more than a decade. However well a woman who had borne children might care for herself, she could no longer resemble the fresh and tender girl of sixteen whose skin seemed delicate enough to release water at a pinch.
Weighing the two matters against each other, Shen Jianning scarcely hesitated. He ignored Consort Li’s desperate pleas and chose to sacrifice Shen Ran in exchange for a brief peace with the Rongdi.
Beauty was needed only to adorn an age of prosperity.
If his realm fell into disorder, he might not be able to keep his beauty at all.
Had not Consort Yang been the finest example?
Faced with the emperor’s merciless decree, Consort Li had no recourse beyond kneeling before him by day and weeping in her own palace at night. Then the emperor sent word that if she continued to behave without regard for the greater good, he would never set foot in her Guan雎 Palace again. After that, she did not even dare to weep and plead.
The matter was settled. Shen Jianning’s heart was set.
She could not afford to lose her son and then lose the emperor’s favor as well.
Having struggled at the bottom for so long, she understood this perfectly.
And at that time, the still-young Shen Ran had no power to resist whatsoever.
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When the realm was at peace, he was the “son of a dancing girl,” mocked and despised by everyone. But whenever the nation needed him, he became a prince of noble status, supported by the people of the realm.
For the country and its people, he was always the first to bear the burden.
This was the unavoidable fate of a prince with no backing whatsoever.
No one knew exactly what had happened to Shen Ran in the Rongdi. Xue Wu had not personally witnessed his return to court either. She had only made discreet inquiries in private and heard that most of those who had accompanied Shen Ran to the Rongdi had either died, gone mad, or been maimed. Only Wenxi and Yuanbao were more or less intact.
But Wenxi was no longer a virgin, while Yuanbao had grown frighteningly thin, little more than skin stretched over bones, as though a gust of wind might blow her away.
From that point onward, the child in Xue Wu’s memory—the child who would even seek someone’s help to bandage an injured rabbit—vanished like mist.
Shen Ran had understood the late emperor’s intentions, helping him eliminate his enemies with swift and ruthless methods. Before long, he had become Shen Jianning’s indispensable right and left hands.
Those years in the Rongdi must have been memories Shen Ran was unwilling to touch.
Hearing him mention them so casually now, Xue Wu was filled with unbearable regret. She secretly cursed herself for asking out of curiosity. She did not continue the subject. Instead, she picked up a mouthful of freshly stir-fried vegetables and held it directly to Shen Ran’s lips.
“Your Majesty, you should taste my cooking as well.”
Given Xue Wu’s usual temperament, she would never have dared such a bold and intimate gesture.
But now she only wanted to steer the conversation away from the previous subject, so she had no time to worry about anything else.
A trace of amusement rippled through Shen Ran’s eyes.
He said nothing. He merely lowered his head slightly and ate the food from her chopsticks.
Xue Wu fed him nervously, but he accepted it with perfect ease.
In the wavering candlelight, his lowered, obedient posture gave rise to an inexplicable intimacy.
Shen Ran’s greatest talent lay in his ability to control his temper at will.
Xue Wu suddenly found herself at a loss for what to do with her hands. She withdrew her chopsticks and asked in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty, how is it?”
“Very good,” Shen Ran replied with a smile. “Would you like to try some as well?”
As he spoke, he brought a mouthful of food to her lips.
At this point, Xue Wu naturally had no reason to refuse—and could not refuse even if she wished to. Smiling as well, she ate the food he fed her.
The taste was ordinary. It was certainly not bad, but in all honesty, it could not compare with the delicacies prepared by the Imperial Kitchen.
She had thought that would be the end of it, but to her astonishment, Shen Ran’s gaze fell upon another dish.
His meaning was obvious.
After a moment of silence, Xue Wu picked up another mouthful and brought it to his lips.
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As before, Shen Ran lowered his head and ate, then fed her a bite in return.
Next came the third dish, then the fourth.
After tasting every dish, Xue Wu ladled out a bowl of fresh bamboo shoot and ham soup and fed it to Shen Ran one spoonful at a time.
Of course, Shen Ran was not idle either.
He ladled out a bowl of soup as well and fed it to Xue Wu one mouthful at a time.
Had anyone else been present, they would certainly have been so shocked that their eyes nearly fell from their sockets.
At first, Xue Wu found the back-and-forth feeding deeply awkward. After enough repetitions, however, she gradually grew accustomed to it.
The two of them finished an entire bowl of soup by feeding each other.
Xue Wu said, “Your Majesty, we should have someone send the dishes to Weiyang Palace first, and eat there afterward. It would not be proper to leave them here in the small kitchen.”
Shen Ran naturally had no objection.
He nodded. “Very well. Have some sent to Zhao Yuan’shuo as well.”
Xue Wu froze for a moment, surprised that he still remembered.
The dishes had indeed originally been prepared for Zhao Yuan’shuo, but Shen Ran had suddenly arrived, and the two of them had already eaten some. Though they had taken only two mouthfuls, it was unlikely anyone would notice.
Yet she had cooked the meal herself not merely to provide food, but to express a measure of care. How could she offer that sentiment to someone after enjoying it herself first and then sending him what remained?
It was undeniably awkward.
However, in Great Zhou, it was perfectly normal for the emperor to bestow dishes upon a minister. It could even be considered an honor. Xue Wu could not say what she was thinking outright, and could only reply, “After all these years of marriage, I have never cooked for Your Majesty. I am truly ashamed. I will send something to him next time.”
Her thoughts were far too easy to read.
Shen Ran suddenly let out a soft laugh, then raised his voice and called Yuanbao, who was waiting outside.
Hearing him, Yuanbao immediately hurried in with several attendants.
He bent at the waist, held his fingers in an affected pose, and smiled obsequiously at Shen Ran. “Your Majesty.”
That habit had remained unchanged for years.
If anyone said even a few words to him about it, he would become terrified, sobbing and trembling as he imagined that Shen Ran intended to send him below to join the late emperor.
Shen Ran found the sight unpleasant but could do nothing about it. He simply pretended not to notice and ordered, “There is freshly prepared fish soup and several small dishes over there. No one has touched them. Also prepare some of the cherries just presented by the Governor-General of Anyang. Do not make an announcement. Quietly have someone deliver them to Zhao Yuan’shuo. Tell him they are the empress’s regards, sent for him to taste.”
Xue Wu: “…”