Favoring Qie Over Wife (27)

On the thirty-seventh year of Hongwu Emperor's reign, there was great trouble at court. In particular, the head of the Ministry of War was very vocal with his opinions and often argued with His Majesty.

The northern barbarians had once again attacked the border and a few of them managed to enter and raid distant villages. How or where these invaders passed the barrier, it was not worth inquiring into, as some friend or ally can always be found to open the gates for the right kind of profit. Because of this matter, the entire empire was under a perpetual state of terror, making the common people feel antsy and nervous. These northern barbarians were held in check mostly by force of arms; but if these forces were to weaken slightly, they would no doubt be caught in either having the fish to die or the net to split. [1]

Memorandum after memorandum were thrown at His Majesty by all court officials, each of them practically saying one thing. The persistent wheedling of the Head Minister of War was also because of this very same reason.

What they all want was simple.

To drag his Imperial Third Highness back to court!

It was the eighth month of the Lunar calendar now, and Zhao Cheng had not attended his official duties for three weeks. He had a temporary position in the Ministry of War which was mandatory to all imperial princes, but everyone had long since held him up as a strategist and general that could lead even the most hopeless of battles to victory. They were very anxious for him to return, wanting to give their problems for him to solve. The situation was so dire, naturally they need an able person to whom they could pass on this hot potato.

Hongwu Emperor himself wanted his own son to return. Among the imperial princes fighting for the throne, he knew he was the most capable. He was wary of Zhao Cheng's talents, but he could not deny them. If Zhao Cheng was to handle the northern border, he would surely bring great results.

After thinking about it for a bit, Hongwu Emperor lifted his hu ink brush and started writing out an imperial decree.

...

Back in the zhengfang, Zhao Cheng burned the writing paper that his subordinates sent him using an oil lamp, his face cold and dark.

His outer gown was loosely tied, his headpiece was missing, and his silky black hair was unbound. He tapped his fingers against the armrest of the chair he was sitting on as he contemplated, his eyes landing on the girl sleeping on the bed in front of him from time to time.

It was already beyond the time to light the lamps [2], but Zhao Cheng made no moves to return back to his study or visit Bai Mei Lien. The mamas, the taijians, and the rest of the servants who Zhao Cheng ordered to wait in the outer rooms did not bat an eye at this. From the time Song Jia had her accident and did not wake up, Zhao Cheng slept, bathed, and ate in the zhengfang. He did not leave her side for a second, constantly taking care of her. Even the duties that were supposed to be left for Ruolan and Minglan were snatched by him.

There was a bandage wrapped around Song Jia's head, and her face looked pale and wan. She seemed like she could break with a single touch, and the eyes that were closed constantly flitted, as if she was trapped in an endless nightmare.

Zhao Cheng reached out and wiped her sweaty forehead with a wet cloth. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked even worse than the patient he was taking care of, his whole body becoming thinner in this short period of time. Usually a husband was given a grace period of three days to take care of his ailing wife, but Zhao Cheng had exceeded this grace period by a large margin. He continuously ignored the constant stream of messengers that went to the wangfu to tell him to go back to court and even closed the main gates of the estate.

It was only when Prime Minister Li and his wife visited that the wangfu once again saw guests inside their walls. There was a very big fight that happened after that, as the normally calm Prime Minister Li harshly scolded Zhao Cheng in front of the servants. It was the first time he acted out of the boundaries of his own status. Seeing his own daughter looking like she could meet King Yama at any time, Prime Minister Li lost his composure. If he had not been held back by his crying wife, he would have surely thrown a punch at Zhao Cheng, that darn brat.

There were only a few people that knew of this incident in the entire capital. Zhao Cheng suppressed the leak of information not because he didn't want to be blamed by the common people as a husband who managed to hurt his own wife, but to protect Li Jia. The circumstances of that day made it difficult for him to hide that Li Jia had been meeting with another man dressed in entirely inappropriate clothing. If this got out, compared to Zhao Cheng staining his own spotless reputation, Li Jia would be branded as an adulterous wife with a strong possibility of being publicly tortured.

The unfair laws of this patriarchal era where men could have limitless concubines while wives had to remain faithful to the husband even in mourning were definitely not in favor to women. It could be significantly seen in cases where women who were subjected to rapè were judged to be guilty, making them suffer through a series of punishments.

[1] Life and death struggle

[2] 5-6 pm