Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

The notion of being a victim of unrecognized talent was false. The idea of being noble and pure in character was false. The notion of enduring humiliation and injustice was even more false! Everything was false! So, what had she been feeling guilty about and enduring all these years?

“Father, I am tired. I wish to return to the palace and rest for a few days.”

After receiving permission, Princess Wanshou turned to leave. As her skirts swayed, a jade pendant fell from her waist. She didn’t notice, but the Prince Consort did.

Soon after, Princess Wanshou vaguely heard the Prince Consort seem to pick up something and yell something like “It’s you,” “Lantern Festival night,” “Little girl,” “Ten years ago,” “Apologize…” But as she walked further away, she gradually couldn’t hear anything.

I don’t understand how did he not see the pendent till now. From previous conversation they were married for 8 years. What a waste of marrige.

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The next day, at the court meeting, Xu Yanmiao and Princess Wanshou exchanged glances.

Princess Wanshou was dressed in official robes, her dazed face full of anxiety.

Xu Yanmiao was stunned. “Princess Wanshou?”

What was she doing here?

Princess Wanshou lowered her head slightly, raising her sleeve to half-cover her face, and helplessly said, “Father said the emperor’s word is golden. Yesterday, he appointed me as the Assistant Minister of Revenue. At the very least, I must go to the office for a few days. So, he ordered me to rise at the fifth watch.”

The fifth watch was from 3 to 5 AM.

Xu Yanmiao looked at her sympathetically.

Congratulations, welcome to the ranks of the overworked!

Then, noticing her poor complexion, he asked, “Did you not rest well last night, Princess?”

Princess Wanshou pressed her sore eyes and nodded. “I couldn’t sleep all night.”

As she said this, her heart was full of resentment.

Even if she was disappointed in the Prince Consort, it was still a legitimate broken heart. She had been in her chambers, feeling melancholic, sad, and crying to the moon, looking at the sky, unable to sleep. Suddenly, a group of palace maids barged in and said, “Your Highness! His Majesty requests your presence at the court!” She had been thrown into a mess.

After much rushing, dressing in official robes, tying her hair, and wearing the official hat, she had hastily traversed half of the palace. Out of breath, she barely made it to the court in time.

Any feelings of melancholy or sadness had vanished. She was exhausted and just wanted to lie down and sleep.

Xu Yanmiao felt even more sympathetic but didn’t say much, merely giving a silent salute.

After the court meeting started, Xu Yanmiao turned and noticed that Princess Wanshou was clearly exhausted but refused to sleep.

[This princess is really earnest, trying to stay awake.]

Xu Yanmiao couldn’t help but feel moved.

[We’re in the back of the room, so it’s quite hidden. If we’re really tired, a quick nap won’t be noticed. There’s no need to worry about missing anything, as this court meeting holds no real meaning for small officials like us who are just handling documents. If it were under past dynasties, even officials below the fifth rank wouldn’t be required to attend. The emperor only expanded the attendance because he disapproved of officials sleeping in.]

Princess Wanshou glanced at him tearfully, thinking: You’re such a good person.

Not only did you help me resolve my issues with the Prince Consort, but you also taught me how to slack off!

But as soon as that thought entered her mind, the entire court heard it. Now, she really didn’t dare to sleep.

So, during the meeting, Princess Wanshou made a valiant effort to keep her eyelids open, as for the Prince Consort… at this point, sleep was all that mattered.

Although Xu Yanmiao didn’t sleep, he expertly spaced out while waiting for the eunuch to announce the end of the meeting.

Then, both were startled awake by the same voice:

“I heard His Majesty imprisoned Prince Consort Lui yesterday for the crime of treason. I have something to report.”

“First, the Prince Consort is the husband, the princess is the wife. The husband is the head of the household. How can the Prince Consort abuse his wife and be treated as a traitor?”

“Second, if he is not guilty of treason, then the case of the Song family should be reconsidered. They shouldn’t have been exiled. This is a light offense punished severely, undermining the justice system.”

“Third…”

Other than him, several others also stood up, presenting a slew of arguments to the emperor. The main argument was that since the princess was married to the Prince Consort, she should fulfill her duties as a wife: to be gentle, obedient, and regard her husband as the head of the family, rather than turning to her paternal family whenever there were conflicts, causing her husband to be imprisoned and her in-laws stripped of their titles.

Xu Yanmiao was truly astonished.

He nudged the official in charge of the Ministry of War with his elbow, and the official silently turned slightly and took a few steps to the side.

Xu Yanmiao didn’t give up and continued to nudge, causing the official to turn and whisper, “What are you doing?”

Didn’t he just hear the imperial officials say those things? Wasn’t the emperor about to erupt in anger?

Xu Yanmiao whispered back, “Do you know who those old conservatives are?”

The official of the Ministry of War didn’t want to answer. He didn’t want to get involved in this matter at all.

But Xu Yanmiao kept pestering him until the official reluctantly gave in and muttered:

“These people are all censors from the Imperial Censorate…”

The official of the Ministry of War squinted and pointed at the first one to speak.

“He’s the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, ranked fourth, named Cui Yi. He’s quite a legend. He’s truly from a farming family. During his studies, his family often had no money for food, relying on the help of neighbors. He’s not like those so-called ‘farming children’ who are actually from scholarly families with a few tenant farmers.”

“Cui Yi… Cui Yi…” Xu Yanmiao murmured, “I should have seen this name somewhere before.”

The official’s pupils trembled, and he nervously forced out a sound: “Don’t… don’t think about it…”

But it was too late.

Xu Yanmiao paused, then suddenly had a moment of realization.

At that moment, the furious emperor, the eloquent Cui Yi, and the trembling officials who didn’t want to face the emperor’s wrath all heard a loud voice in Xu Yanmiao’s mind:

[Cui Yi! Isn’t he the one who’s henpecked? Half a month ago, he went drinking and didn’t come home. His wife was furious and threatened to beat him to death for staying out late. He was so scared that he didn’t dare to go back home, fearing his wife would catch him at the gates. He even feigned illness to avoid her, hiding in the nearby mountains and pretending to be a hermit for several days.]

[No wonder he’s shouting about the husband being the head of the household so loudly…]

[The more someone lacks something, the more they crave it.]

I laughed so hard while translating this. `The more someone lacks something, the more they crave it` what a saying.

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