Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress-Chapter 1960 - 1967-1968: Princess Zhao Hua (Part 4)
Chun Qiu said, "I also heard that Princess Zhao Hua was not very willing to see people before. It’s said that she found a disreputable son-in-law, who before marrying the Princess, already had a wife. To climb the dragon and the phoenix, he falsely claimed he was unmarried and thereby married Princess Zhao Hua. Later, when the Retired Emperor learned of this, he was furious and almost killed the son-in-law, but since Princess Zhao Hua was already pregnant with the son-in-law’s child, he had to let it go. However, after that incident, Princess Zhao Hua seldom saw people, probably too ashamed to face them."
Cai Wei nodded after hearing this and said, "I have also heard something about this matter, but due to many palace affairs, I had forgotten. Now that you’ve brought it up, I remember. Since she has arrived, let her wait for me in the Five West Chambers of the side room, and I will meet her shortly."
"Yes."
Chun Qiu curtsied and then withdrew.
On each side of the rear hall of Shouxian Palace are five side rooms. The five eastern rooms are places for the three children to learn and play and can be barely considered their martial arts training grounds. The five western rooms are for entertaining guests, where she often receives the noble ladies and royal consorts, princesses, and county princesses who come to the palace to pay respects.
Shouxian Palace is their shared home, and she does not want outsiders to invade their lives, so the five western side rooms serve their purpose here.
Besides these, more than a dozen surrounding rooms are set on both sides of the sleeping chamber, small in size and simply furnished, where the palace maids and eunuchs residing in Shouxian Palace live.
Cai Wei brushed her hair again and changed into a yellow phoenix robe before holding Chun Ying’s hand and heading to the West Ear Room.
Upon entering, she saw Princess Zhao Hua sitting uneasily in the middle room of the hall, twisting a handkerchief as if pondering something.
Seeing Cai Wei, Princess Zhao Hua immediately pulled back her thoughts, stood up, and curtsied to Cai Wei, saying, "Zhao Hua pays respects to the Empress Dowager, wishing the Empress Dowager peace and happiness."
Cai Wei scrutinized her and found this Eldest Princess to be a rare beauty, reportedly resembling her mother greatly. Otherwise, with her mother’s lowly status, it would have been impossible to climb onto the Retired Emperor’s dragon bed and bear two children in succession.
Princess Zhao Hua married not to a noble but to a second-ranked scholar named Chen, reportedly chosen by the Princess herself. She then requested the former emperor for marriage and married him.
However, surprisingly, this Scholar Chen already had a wife at home and had been married for more than three years, but he did not disclose this initially.
Once the matter was exposed, the Retired Emperor was enraged and wanted to immediately execute the newly appointed son-in-law captain. However, the Princess Zhao Hua was already married and had just become pregnant, so she tearfully pleaded with the Retired Emperor, who finally spared this son-in-law captain.
Although he was spared, Scholar Chen was thoroughly abandoned by the Retired Emperor, only given the title of son-in-law captain without any actual power, and could no longer dream of an official career.
As for his first wife, the Retired Emperor decreed her to be demoted to a concubine, for irrespective of who first married Scholar Chen, the dignified princess of the Great Jin Nation could not serve as another’s concubine.
This probably explains why the Eldest Princess Zhao Yang stopped going out after getting married. Furthermore, another reason was her fear of retaliation from Jin Guifei and The Prince after her younger brother, the King of Chu, offended them in his youth, thus faking illness to stay in the mansion for more than a decade... 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
Later, after Nangong Yi ascended the throne, he ordered the pardon of the King of Chu, which slightly eased Princess Zhao Hua’s mood.
However, another decree was issued, mandating that future sons-in-law had to be chosen from commoners or low-ranking officials, and families whose members were selected could not enter officialdom, to prevent dukes and aristocrats and minor officials from exploiting imperial ties to commit misdeeds and undermine the regime. Consequently, the son-in-law captain became merely an honorary position with only a salary.
