The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 253
by Little PandaExtra 28
Qiao Jin, Do You Have a Wish?
The carriage back to the city jolted all the way, yet Xiao Bingying held her wife and never let go for even a moment.
When they got off the carriage, Cheng Xi’s lips were vividly red, inviting reverie.
Xiao Bingying carried Cheng Xi all the way back to their courtyard, and the moment she set her down inside, she pressed close again. Cheng Xi was kissed rather helplessly, but she didn’t dare push Xiao Bingying away so easily.
Xiao Bingying’s heart was fragile, and she knew it was all her fault.
Xiao Bingying could give her a full sense of security, but she couldn’t offer the same in return.
After bathing, Xiao Bingying carried Cheng Xi to the bedroom. Though she stayed clingy, she made no further advances.
Cheng Xi nestled in Xiao Bingying’s arms, cradled her face, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She felt Xiao Bingying’s care and love.
Restraint, too, could be love and care.
Right up to the last day of the year, Xiao Bingying never failed to pick up and drop off Cheng Xi every day.
Zhao Ningying had been out of the palace for several days, and Qu Ning’s lessons had also ended, but Qu Zhimu had brought Qiao Jin to King Long’s Mansion.
Under the pretext of her studies being poor, she claimed she needed Lord Qiao to help her catch up on lessons, and Qiao Jin had agreed.
Zhao Jiayu couldn’t sit idle. Every day she brought food and tea to the two of them, just to check on their progress, and she privately told her daughter that the betrothal gifts were already prepared.
As long as Qiao Jin was willing to marry, she would take out all the silver she’d earned from Zhu Ming’an over the years.
Qu Zhimu worried that Zhao Jiayu would act recklessly, so she discussed it with Qiao Jin overnight and went to the Qiao Residence.
Today was New Year’s Eve, and Qu Zhimu still went to the Qiao Residence first thing in the morning. The Qiao family didn’t dare slight this favored Commandery Princess. The family elders asked Qiao Jin several times, but Qiao Jin insisted it was only a teacher-student relationship.
But Qiao Jin’s older brother had heard some rumors at court. He pulled his sister aside to the corridor and asked, “Tell Gege1—what exactly is your relationship with the Commandery Princess?”
Qiao Jin’s brows furrowed slightly. “It’s exactly the relationship you see. I’m her tutor, and she’s my student.”
“Don’t try to fool me. I’ve heard all about it.” Qiao Jin’s eldest brother tugged at his sleeve, looking knowing.
Qiao Jin’s expression stayed calm. “Elder Brother, what have you heard?”
“King Long intends to bring you into his mansion to marry Commandery Princess Rong’an. Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
Qiao Jin lowered her eyes, and Qiao Ze continued, “What are you thinking?”
“What do you mean, what am I thinking?” Qiao Jin frowned. She didn’t like people always pressing her about her affairs.
“I’m talking about that Commandery Princess. Are you really going to agree to marry her? Two women can’t have children.” Qiao Ze was so anxious his eyebrows were practically flying off his face.
Qiao Jin lowered her eyes to think, but before she could come up with an answer, Qu Zhimu’s voice came from nearby.
“Tutor Qiao, weren’t we supposed to have a lesson? Why are you here?” Qu Zhimu walked over from not far away.
By the time Qiao Jin looked over, Qu Zhimu had already reached their side.
Qiao Ze and Qiao Jin both bowed with hands cupped. Qu Zhimu nodded and said, “Did I interrupt your conversation?”
Qiao Jin looked up at Qu Zhimu, and Qiao Ze smiled. “No bother. We’re done talking.”
Qu Zhimu nodded and turned to Qiao Jin. “Tutor Qiao, do you have other matters?”
“No.” Qiao Jin shook her head.
Qiao Ze chimed in at the right moment, “This subordinate official still has matters to attend to. I’ll return to the courtyard first.”
Qu Zhimu nodded. “Lord Qiao Ze, go ahead and attend to your business.”
Qu Zhimu stood in place watching Qiao Ze leave, then turned to look at Qiao Jin. Seeing that she didn’t seem to be in good spirits, she reached out to take her hand when Qiao Jin lowered her head.
Qiao Jin looked up at Qu Zhimu as she was pulled along, confusion in her eyes.
Qu Zhimu’s eyes curved into a smile. “No studying today. I’ll take you somewhere fun.”
With that, Qu Zhimu pulled Qiao Jin along. Qiao Jin followed behind her, looking down at their intertwined fingers, her heart in turmoil.
The two rode King Long’s Mansion’s carriage to the main streets of the Capital City. Though it was New Year’s Eve, there were still quite a few people about. Qu Zhimu got off the carriage and turned back to offer Qiao Jin her hand. Qiao Jin glanced down at the hand Qu Zhimu extended, hesitated for a moment, then placed her hand in it.
“Tutor Qiao, you didn’t go out much when you were young, did you?”
Qiao Jin looked at Qu Zhimu. “How do you know?”
Qu Zhimu’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “Girls from distinguished families like yours receive all kinds of training from a young age. I can also guess that Tutor Qiao is not only well-versed in letters, but skilled in needlework and embroidery as well.”
Qiao Jin fell silent. Qu Zhimu turned to a vendor carrying tanghulu2 for sale and said, “Boss, two sticks of tanghulu.”
“Ah, which ones catch your eye, miss?”
“These two. They look the sweetest.” Qu Zhimu pulled out a few copper coins and handed them to the vendor, then picked out the two tanghulu with the thickest sugar coating.
“Here.” Qu Zhimu held one in each hand and gave the other to Qiao Jin.
Qiao Jin hesitated whether to take it, but Qu Zhimu had already stuffed it into her hand.
Qu Zhimu ate one piece—sweet and tart—squinting her eyes as she chewed. When she looked at Qiao Jin, Qiao Jin was watching her.
“Eat. I bought it for you to eat, not for you to hold.”
Hearing this, Qiao Jin looked around. There were people everywhere—how could she eat in public?
Seeing her hesitate, Qu Zhimu didn’t press further and led her to a tea room.
The tea room owner was extremely respectful to her, seeming to recognize her, yet did not bow to her.
“This is a tea room opened by the Zhu family. My mother has a share in it too, so I count as a minor partner.” Qu Zhimu explained as she led Qiao Jin upstairs.
Qiao Jin nodded, still holding the tanghulu in her hand.
They entered a private room. Qu Zhimu pulled Qiao Jin to sit down and laughed, “Now you can eat, right?”
Qiao Jin looked at the tanghulu in her hand, smiled, and didn’t hesitate anymore.
Qiao Jin ate with refined elegance. Qu Zhimu didn’t stare at her deliberately. She set her tanghulu aside, poured Qiao Jin a cup of tea, and then focused on eating her own.
“I heard from my Paternal Aunt—oh, that is, Her Majesty the Empress—that girls from scholarly families like yours are steeped in literature from a young age. Boys have it easier; they only need to pass the exams. But girls, apart from studying, also have to learn all sorts of things like assisting their husbands and educating their children3. In short, anything beneficial to men, they have to learn it all.” Qu Zhimu picked up her tanghulu again and took a bite, her voice slightly muffled. “Our Quzhao Dynasty has only been established for a little over ten years. Women being allowed to take the civil service exams was decided early on, but some deep-rooted things can’t be changed overnight. So back then, Tutor Qiao probably hadn’t yet thought of taking the exam route, right?”
Qiao Jin listened to Qu Zhimu’s words and nodded.
“Eat.” Qu Zhimu noticed Qiao Jin holding the tanghulu without eating and reminded her.
Qiao Jin glanced at Qu Zhimu, then raised the tanghulu and resumed eating.
“How is it?” Qu Zhimu asked, watching Qiao Jin’s soft lips move.
Qiao Jin chewed, swallowed, and replied, “Very sweet.”
Qu Zhimu smiled. “Sweet with a hint of tart.”
Qiao Jin smiled too.
Qu Zhimu took another bite and continued, “When you chose to take the civil service exam route, you must have run into quite a lot of trouble, right?”
“Mm.” Qiao Jin gave a soft sound of assent as her answer.
Scholarly families ultimately prized continuing the family line, and girls in particular were expected to observe propriety and never overstep bounds. Every word and action of theirs was tailored to serve men.
For Qiao Jin to take the civil service exams, it certainly wasn’t her family who first suggested it. And she must have paid no small price for it.
Qu Zhimu concluded this, then asked, “The body pains you had before—were those also a lingering illness from that time?” A young lady from a scholarly family, unless naturally frail, would take utmost care of her health.
Qiao Jin froze for a moment. She looked at this girl a few years younger than her and seemed to gain a new perspective.
Everyone said this royal Commandery Princess was simple and straightforward, but right now she found her cleverness hard to fathom.
After a moment, Qiao Jin gave another soft “Mm” and said, “Back then, to force me to give up the exams, my family cut off my usual provisions. My hands cracked from the winter cold, and I had no hot food to eat. But fortunately, my mother secretly brought me food, and I made it through those difficult years.”
Hearing this, Qu Zhimu couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. She had never suffered hardship from childhood to adulthood. Even when she was imprisoned in the capital of the Jin Dynasty, her meals had still been well provided for.
The thought of Qiao Jin going without good food made her heart ache on her behalf.
“Since you were able to break through those shackles and forge a new path in life, why do you still let those inconsequential matters trouble you?” Qu Zhimu asked.
A trace of confusion appeared on Qiao Jin’s face. Qu Zhimu smiled softly and said, “I heard the conversation between you and your brother just now.”
At these words, Qiao Jin’s pupils contracted, and for a moment she felt a flush of embarrassment.
Qu Zhimu smiled. “I know you probably guessed from the very first day my Paternal Aunt summoned you to the palace. Thank you for not rejecting me.”
Qiao Jin forced a smile. “And thank Your Highness for not asking Her Majesty to directly grant us a marriage.”
Qiao Jin knew Qu Zhimu’s place in the hearts of the Emperor and Empress. If Qu Zhimu insisted on having her, she would have no way to refuse.
“You don’t need to worry about what your brother said. I do like you, but if you don’t like me, or if you have reservations, I won’t force it.” Qu Zhimu said earnestly.
There was one thing Qu Zhimu didn’t understand: since Qiao Jin knew she wouldn’t seek an imperial marriage edict, why was she still troubled?
Qiao Jin looked at Qu Zhimu, moved to the core, yet she still couldn’t take that step. Her brother’s words today were meant to tell her that her family would never agree to such a marriage.
“After tomorrow, I won’t come to your residence anymore. You don’t need to worry or feel troubled about this anymore. Be happy.” Qu Zhimu’s expression was open and bright, as if she weren’t too upset by it. “Come, I’ll take you somewhere.”
With that, Qu Zhimu pulled Qiao Jin to her feet. They left the tea room, got on the carriage, and headed straight for the city gate tower.
Qu Zhimu held Qiao Jin’s hand with one hand and held up a token with the other, showing it to the soldiers at the gate tower.
The soldiers bowed and led them up to the gate tower.
When they reached the gate tower, the soldiers had prepared a ladder for them, but Qu Zhimu didn’t take it. She stood beside Qiao Jin and laughed. “Hold on to me.”
Qiao Jin froze for a moment. Before she could react, Qu Zhimu had wrapped an arm around her slender waist and flown with her to the rooftop.
Qiao Jin was startled. She instinctively held on to Qu Zhimu, and even after they landed, she was still shaken.
“Did I scare you?” Qu Zhimu asked softly.
Qiao Jin steadied herself and said in a shaky voice, “I’m all right.” But when she looked down below, her eyes lit up.
Looking out, the entire Capital City seemed to lie beneath their feet.
“So beautiful,” Qiao Jin marveled.
Qiao Jin knew the Quzhao Dynasty’s capital was grand and prosperous, but she had never seen it in its entirety. Seeing it today left her profoundly awestruck. The capital’s buildings were complex and intricate, yet their underlying pattern was discernible. Back then, nearly a million laborers had been mobilized—not only to build the imperial palace, but also to reshape the entire capital city beyond the palace walls.
“Do you like it?” Qu Zhimu asked with a smile.
Qiao Jin turned to look at her and nodded. “Mm.”
“Come, sit down.” Qu Zhimu helped Qiao Jin sit down beside her and asked with a smile, “Tutor Qiao, what is your greatest wish in this life?”
“Call me Qiao Jin. I’m not much older than you.” Qiao Jin’s voice was gentle.
Qu Zhimu nodded. “Qiao Jin, do you have a wish?”
Qiao Jin looked at Qu Zhimu and asked in return, “Does Your Highness have one?”
“You can call me by my name too.” Qu Zhimu’s eyes crinkled with a smile.
“Zhimu.” Qiao Jin called with a smile.
Qu Zhimu’s eyebrows curved as she spoke of her wish. “My wish is very simple.”
“What is it?” Qiao Jin asked curiously.
“For my family to be safe and healthy, and for me to sleep well every day and eat the food I like.” Qu Zhimu said, her heart at ease.
Although Qu Zhimu hadn’t suffered hardship as a child, she knew that the adults around her all had. She could remember many things from a very young age. She remembered how Lin Xizhao used to wake up startled at night when Qu Sheng campaigned on the Northern Frontier, and she remembered her father being tormented by illness, her mother weeping in sorrow.
Her grandfather falling in battle, her Third Uncle losing an arm, her great-grandfather lying in a coma—she hadn’t been able to grasp the depth of those things at the time. As she grew older, she gradually came to understand that pain.
Qiao Jin listened to Qu Zhimu’s simple yet not-so-simple wish, and reflected on her own past. She had been the most obedient at home, quick to learn anything, but her family only wanted to train her into a good wife who could assist her husband and educate their children, bringing glory to the Qiao family and setting an example for Qiao family women. Back then, she had no wish.
Later, she wanted to take the civil service exams. She wanted to amaze everyone with a single cry and prove herself. But after passing, she felt utterly empty. After that, she wandered in confusion for a while, then resolved to devote herself to pleading for the common people4. Only then did she find her own path.
Qu Zhimu and Qiao Jin stayed on the gate tower in the wind for a long time. After returning to the mansion, Qu Zhimu locked herself in her room. Zhao Jiayu paced frantically outside and could only send someone to fetch Zhao Ningying.
Hearing that Qu Zhimu had locked herself in her room, not eating or drinking, with the sound of crying audible, Xiao Bingying and Cheng Xi also came over.
“Mu-jiejie, open the door.”
Zhao Ningying was extremely worried outside. She knocked for a long time, but Qu Zhimu didn’t open the door. In the end, it was Qu Yu who went to the palace and brought Lin Xizhao, and only then did Qu Zhimu open the door.
Lin Xizhao entered the room and saw Qu Zhimu with eyes swollen from crying. Heartbroken, she held her without asking anything.
Qu Zhimu cried bitterly, unable to stop her sobs. Cheng Xi worried something might happen to her, so she prepared some medicine and had her take it.
Everyone gathered around Qu Zhimu. When her crying finally subsided, Zhao Jiayu, frantic with worry, asked, “What in the world is wrong with you?”
It would have been better not to ask. At the question, Qu Zhimu started crying again. She buried her face in Lin Xizhao’s arms and sobbed, “I let Qiao Jin go… sob…”
She had let go of the person she liked. She was reluctant but didn’t want to force it. When she said she wouldn’t force it, she was so carefree and decisive. But when she was alone afterward, this was how heartbroken she was.
The author has something to say:
Qu Zhimu: “sob sob sob…”
Qu Sheng: “If you like someone, go for it. Don’t cry.”
Qu Ning: “Tsk tsk, an epic romance cut short before its time.”
Lin Xizhao: “…”
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Footnotes
- 'Older brother' — a familiar pinyin term used by a younger sibling to address or refer to an older brother.
- Tanghulu: sugar-coated hawthorn berries on a bamboo stick, a traditional Chinese street snack.
- 'Assist one's husband and educate the children' — a traditional Confucian ideal prescribing women's domestic role in feudal Chinese society.
- 'Plead for the people' — a classical phrase denoting a scholar-official's duty to advocate for the welfare and rights of the common populace.
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