Volume One, Chapter 16: The Imperial Academy on the Brink of Chaos

At first, everything seemed normal. Zhu Xiaozhi still carried the excitement of fleeing Fanyang, carefully admiring every mountain, field, and lake along the way.

But after half a day, she began to vomit from motion sickness.

The massive migration caravan did not slow for her discomfort. She could no longer worry about the whereabouts of the women left behind. Dazed, she was dragged into her sedan chair by her eldest sister, leaning against her as she inhaled the scent of soap pods, enduring the jolting ride to Chang'an.

Zhu Shiyue and Zhu Jizhen had already been promised in marriage in advance—the elder sister to a military general, the younger to a civil official. Though from a modest family, they were well-off enough to be received with great ceremony, carried by eight men in a grand sedan chair straight into the Princess’s Mansion.

By custom, Zhu Xiaozhi was supposed to stay at the Sixteen Residences until marriage, but the Empress Dowager had purged the princes here, leaving a bloodstained atmosphere. She had no choice but to establish her own residence first.

Following Pei Zai’s advice, the Ministry of Rites arranged for her and Zhu Xianzhi to lease houses in Chongren Lane, so that the siblings could look after each other.

Though Zhu Xuanli held the title of emperor without real power, the Changle Princess and others who supported his ascension ensured he had ample prestige. The Zhaoyang Princess’s Mansion alone was as large as a soccer field.

When Zhu Xiaozhi had gone to school, the playground was too small to hold sports events, so they had to borrow fields from other schools. Now, seeing the spacious courtyard and the neatly lined servants, she briefly tasted the joy of a grand household in ancient times.

She had barely settled on a stone bench in the Water Pavilion when servants, without her asking, handed her a bunch of washed and peeled grapes to her lips.

A cool breeze stirred. Zhu Xiaozhi bit into the juicy, fresh, and sweet fruit, imagining the house filled with capable people to assist her. Raising her hand with sparkling eyes, she declared,

“I shall fill the harem!”

The servants exchanged uncertain glances. Finally, amidst subtle signals, they chose a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen, about the same age as the original Zhu Xiaozhi.

Her face was round like a disk, with a small braid twisted into a plait hanging by her cheek. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly, blinking her big, round eyes innocently.

“Your Highness, you... you have not yet been married. Taking on a male companion now might not be appropriate...”

Zhu Xiaozhi tilted her head in puzzlement.

“What is a male companion? Some kind of food? Sounds like it wouldn’t taste very good.”

The girl covered her mouth and coughed again, then spoke surprisingly plainly.

“It is... a man who lives with Your Highness, but is neither a lawful consort nor a servant, who attends to you at night and keeps you company intimately.”

Zhu Xiaozhi was bewildered by the euphemistic description. After a while, she realized and smiled somewhat helplessly.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant gathering retainers, filling this big courtyard with people, creating some warmth and camaraderie. Retainers can be of any gender—as long as they are capable, no one is to be turned away.”

What a joke—it was the nation’s demise, no time to keep male favorites!

The urgent task was to learn from mature statesmen, recruit loyal and talented individuals to advise her, and swiftly grow strong enough to rival the various factions as a master strategist.

Unfortunately, though she could foresee the course of events with her "Heavenly Eye," her knowledge came only from sparse historical records, lacking a keen political instinct. She had to rely on others to point her direction.

She ordered her servants to bring paper and brush and furrowed her brow, copying the names of notable figures from her memory for this period. After a long while, she managed to jot down only a handful of crooked names.

After all, history praised this era mostly for its poets and literati.

The renowned politicians who could turn the world upside down were still infants asleep in their cradles, only to emerge during the reform period of the new dynasty thirty years later.

She wondered if these pawns, barely mentioned in history, could help her, a princess of a fallen kingdom, turn her fate around.

“You all go inquire—where are these people now? If any are struggling, invite them to serve as retainers in the mansion.”

The same girl who had been pushed forward before glanced briefly at the list and returned the rice paper in front of Zhu Xiaozhi.

“Your Highness, many on this list are sons of the great noble families. They are well provided for at home and unlikely to lower themselves to serve as your retainers.”

“Several names are too common—there are at least ten people with the same name in Chang’an alone.”

Zhu Xiaozhi stared at the girl’s high-arched neck and slightly upturned lips, suspicion rising.

“How do you know so much about the noble families’ sons?”

The servants around nudged each other, chattering to explain,

“Wei Niang used to be the cleverest girl serving the Princess.”

The girl called Wei Niang looked even prouder, her vermilion lips curving as if ready to take flight, and she spoke fluently of the background.

“Your Highness is new here and unfamiliar with the noble families in the capital. The Princess specifically sent me to serve you.”

“That kind and gracious Princess must be the Changle Auntie who helped my father ascend the throne?”

“Exactly.”

It was said that the Empress Dowager hesitated until she was too ill to speak, torn between choosing a nephew of the same surname or a son of another family as heir.

No one knew what the Changle Princess told her mother on her sickbed, but within fifteen minutes, she emerged from the Ganlu Hall with an edict naming her own brother as successor, stepping out as the undisputed victor.

When Zhu Xiaozhi read history, she had been harsh on the useless Zhaoyang Princess but always admired her grandmother, the Empress Dowager of a different surname, and her aunt, the Changle Princess.

The former decisively discarded her husband and sons to reign as emperor herself. The latter supported her brother’s rise and, through winning over officials, participated in governance. The feudal rites had never restrained these women’s ambitions.

“I have long admired her reputation. Seeing is believing. Wei Niang, could you introduce me to the Changle Auntie?”

Wei Niang blinked her big, doe-like eyes and gently shook her head.

“The Princess is busy with state affairs. Even His Majesty rarely sees her. If she wished to meet you, she would send someone to invite you.”

Zhu Xiaozhi deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping down and resting her head on her soft arm.

“Then at least I can meet some of these noble sons on my list, right?”

Wei Niang examined the names again, frowned, and shook her head.

“These young men are all studying at the Imperial Academy. You probably wouldn’t be able to meet them.”

Her words stirred a thousand thoughts. Zhu Xiaozhi frowned, then suddenly sat up with a start, nearly choking on a grape seed.

“Why not I also study at the Imperial Academy?”

Incidentally, to save her family and resolve the crisis of a fallen kingdom, she needed to learn more about the rites and systems of this era. The Imperial Academy was a good place for that.

Wei Niang’s eyes widened further, and her mouth gaped in rare indignation.

“Your Highness, the Imperial Academy is a government school, where the sons of official families study earnestly. Even though you are a princess, you... you cannot just enter at will...”

“Not even during the Empress Dowager’s time were there any precedents of women attending the government school.”

If a girl suddenly appeared among the teenage boys at the Imperial Academy, wouldn’t it cause chaos?