Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 3: What to do if you and your spouse are still not very familiar with each other after six months of marriage?
"Your Majesty, the Princess Consort has arrived," the little eunuch announced in a high-pitched voice.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Empress Yi'an," Zhou Yufeng said, bowing.

"No need for formalities!" Zhu Youjian's face showed a hint of helplessness. What does it feel like to be unfamiliar with your spouse? He certainly had. Although Zhou Yufeng was the same age as him, in his eyes she was just a little girl who knew nothing and lived in constant fear in the palace.

Although Zhu Youjian didn't want her to be empress, it didn't mean he disliked her as a person; he simply felt she wasn't up to the responsibility. Empress was a title, managing the three palaces and twelve courtyards—a lot to do. If an empress didn't behave well, the entire harem would be in chaos, causing the emperor distress as well.

Being an emperor is not a game, is it? If it's made like the TV series "Empresses in the Palace," how troublesome would that be!

"Please rise, sister, there's no need for such formalities," Zhang Yan said with a smile.

"Sit down," Zhu Youjian said, patting a chair next to him.

Zhou Yufeng hesitated before sitting down, only placing half of her bottom on the ground, not daring to sit fully.

"Relax, why are you so nervous? We've been married for half a year," Zhu Youjian said, brushing Zhou Yufeng's hair aside.

The little girl's face flushed instantly, and she stammered, "My sister-in-law is here."

Watching this scene, Zhang Yan felt a pang of envy, followed by doubt. She had assumed the Emperor's refusal to let her sister manage the harem stemmed from his dislike of Zhou Shi; after all, she had been the one to bring the two together, and if they were estranged, she, as the sister-in-law, would also bear some responsibility, causing her unease. However, it now seemed that this wasn't the case. The Emperor actually doted on her sister. Did he truly believe her sister was incapable of the task?
Zhang Yan decided that she would still have to take care of this younger sister when the time came. Even if the emperor made her think that she was in charge of the harem, it would only be temporary. In the end, the control of the harem would still fall to the empress.

"But what can I really teach her?" Zhang Yan sighed inwardly. Zhu Youxiao hadn't treated her badly, but the late emperor loved Ke Shi more than she did. Although the rumors circulating outside that the emperor had an affair with Ke Shi were untrue, he had indeed given his wet nurse extraordinary power. To Zhang Yan, Ke Shi was comparable to the Empress Dowager.

Therefore, she was not happy as empress. Due to Madam Ke's interference, she couldn't even fully control the harem. However, this Lady Fengsheng has now been dismissed and sent home by Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian didn't have much ill will towards her, but he wasn't familiar with her. Madam Ke was his brother's wet nurse, not his. It was improper for her to stay in the harem, and he found her unpleasant to look at. So, after giving her some money, he sent her home.

The Zhu family came from humble beginnings. While most powerful and wealthy families practiced separate dining, the Zhu family preferred to eat together at one table, just like ordinary people. Old Zhu was a contradictory person; he established some systems that seemed to be for the benefit of the common people, but perhaps they were simply driven by a selfish desire to maintain his rule. Decades are enough time to change people's perceptions of many things, to turn black into white, and to change one's mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang has been dead for over two hundred years, and the purpose behind his strange rules is now impossible to ascertain. In any case, his so-called ancestral precepts were selectively followed by civil officials, used specifically to manipulate the emperor. Zhu Youjian shared their views; he too preferred selective adherence to these so-called ancestral rules, choosing only those that benefited him.

Zhu Youjian still had a good appetite, but Zhou Yufeng and Zhang Yan had little appetite. They pecked at the rice in their bowls for a long time like sparrows, but the rice didn't even get dented.

Generally, during an emperor's enthronement ceremony, if his principal wife is present, an empress is simultaneously appointed, as seen with Empress Ma of the Hongwu Emperor and Empress Zhang of the Renzong Emperor. However, after Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he bestowed an honorific title upon Zhang Yan but did not appoint Zhou as empress.

Zhou Yufeng hadn't noticed anything wrong with this, but recently her father had been writing to her frequently, urging her to have the emperor appoint an empress as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications. More importantly, her father wanted to ask for a title and wanted her to whisper in the emperor's ear.

However, Zhou Yufeng found it difficult to talk about, because she wasn't actually very familiar with the emperor. She was just trying her best to play the role of a princess, afraid of being disliked by Zhu Youjian. But she found that Zhu Youjian had changed a lot recently. He used to be a very serious and rigid person, which made her feel very repressed after marrying into the royal family. They said they would live in harmony and mutual respect, but only she could understand the true feelings behind it all.

However, the current emperor has become quite comical, even finding her too serious. What's the reason for this? Zhou Yufeng was furious. "Zitong, I intend to let my sister-in-law take charge of the harem," Zhu Youjian said softly.

Zhou Yufeng was taken aback by what she heard, then softly hummed in agreement before lowering her head to continue eating. However, tears rolled into her bowl, making the food too salty to swallow.

Zhu Youjian was still mindlessly gnawing on a large pig's trotter when Zhang Yan reached out from under the table and kicked him. He looked up in surprise, still holding the trotter in his mouth.

Zhang Yan was furious and kept glancing sideways at Zhu Youjian, who then realized that the little girl was actually crying.

"No, why are you crying?!" Zhu Youjian was completely bewildered.

"What's wrong? Don't cry, sweetie." Zhu Youjian wiped Zhou Yufeng's face with his sleeve.

However, his actions caused Zhou Yufeng to burst into tears instantly. The more she wiped away her tears, the more she cried. She said in a trembling voice, "Does Your Majesty intend to depose me? But I don't understand what I did wrong."

"Huh?! I didn't say I was going to do anything to you." Zhu Youjian was both amused and exasperated.

However, Zhou Yufeng did not believe it at all. She neither conferred a title upon her nor said that she would let her sister-in-law continue to manage the harem. This was clearly a sign that she had no intention of making her empress.

These two are both tight-lipped; they clearly have a lot to say, but they just won't say it out loud, which makes Zhang Yan anxious.

She disregarded whether it was presumptuous or not and asked, "Emperor, when do you plan to bestow a title upon my sister?"

"So that's what it was about." Zhu Youjian suddenly realized, but he didn't answer. Instead, he pretended to be dead, acting as if he didn't understand.

Zhang Yan's face darkened, and she adopted the authority of a sister-in-law, saying sternly, "When I selected Sister Zhou as your princess consort, it was with your consent. She is your principal wife, and according to custom, she should be made empress after you ascend the throne. Even if you favor other women, you cannot break the law. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian shrank back, as if he were being suppressed by his own bloodline. He hadn't expected that Empress Zhang, who usually seemed so gentle and weak, could have such a domineering side when she was angry.

Zhou Yufeng was deeply moved to see that her sister-in-law had gone to such lengths for her. However, she was also afraid that the emperor would punish her sister-in-law in his anger, so she dared not cry and looked up at the two of them with great nervousness.

Fortunately, the worst did not happen. Zhu Youjian tapped the table with the tip of his chopsticks and said solemnly, "Eat first."

(End of this chapter)