When Princess Bao'an was 19 years old, the emperor's father helped her carefully select a concubine, Wang Zhen.
Wang Xu was the noble son of the official family after the founding of the country, and he was also a poet, painter, and the most elegant talent in the Great Song Dynasty. Being selected as a consort was originally a supreme honor in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the eyes of Wang Xu, it was a shackle. He did not lack wealth, talent, and what he lacked was a stage to show his political ambitions to help the world. However, the Song Dynasty was a dynasty that strictly guarded foreign relatives from getting involved in politics, and what he got as a consort was only restrictions and constraints, helplessness and loss of service to the country, and the stage of marrying a princess politics would never be with him.
This marriage was destined to be a mismatch, which in Wang Xu's eyes was a calamity; in Zhao Qianyu's eyes, she was deeply fortunate. She loved his beautiful and distant words, even though she knew it was not for herself, she recited them every day and treasured them. She loved his original paintings that both retained the coldness of the golden and blue mountains and waters and merged the charm of ink and wash, which were ancient and modern. She loved everything about this man, and in her eyes he had only advantages and no disadvantages.
The West Garden of Bianliang was famous for its exquisite layout and beautiful furnishings. It was the mansion of the princess and the concubine. At this time, Yingzong had passed away, but with Shenzong's brother who cared for him, Zhao Qianyu still had a good life and enjoyed all the honors.
Ever since she married Wang Shu, the woman who had been determined since she was a child had become uneasy. She never understood why her husband, who should have been closest to her, was always a little distant. The princess, who was kind and simple in nature, thought it was just a matter of time. As long as she was virtuous and generous, she would one day be able to be a husband and wife together. For this reason, she did her best to take care of her widowed mother at all costs, holding tea and giving medicine to her mother-in-law when she was sick.
The mother-in-law was moved and often praised the princess's kindness and meekness in front of Wang Xie, but Wang Xie did not care, because he wanted a woman who was interesting, charming and enchanting, and could satisfy his male vanity. The beautiful and gentle, knowledgeable Zhao Qianyu was obviously not. As for serving tea and taking care of his mother meticulously, there were many servants and maids in the family who could do it even better than the princess.
Since ancient times, there have been many talents who have been romantic, and Wang Zhen has no shortage of prostitutes and concubines. The princess is generous, and Wang Zhen has no scruples about taking a few concubines.
If he put aside his poor luck to the princess, Wang Xiang is a good person, with outstanding literary talent, excellent poetry, calligraphy and painting, warm and generous, loyal and chivalrous to his friends. Even the first person in Song painting like Li Gonglin, who has lived in the capital for ten years and has not traveled to the gates of the powerful, is also his guest.
However, when Wang Xia, Su Shi and the others gathered for a feast in the West Garden, Wang Xu's concubines could participate, but the princess could not, because the noble status of the princess would make everyone uncomfortable. In this garden bestowed by the Divine Sect, the princess, who was originally the master, could only hide on the side and listen to people's laughter, unhappy.
Even though love made the princess endure in every possible way, it did not get Wang Zhen's return, but the concubines saw that the princess was weak and could be bullied, and they became strong one by one. The princess's forbearance and grievance made the wet nurse and palace maids around her filled with righteous indignation. They advised the princess one after another, informed Shenzong and Empress Dowager about the behavior of the concubine and concubine, and asked her family to come forward to preside over justice, but the princess was worried that Wang Zhen would be punished because of this. Not only did she not listen to the advice, but she also sternly warned the people around her not to say too much in front of the emperor and the empress dowager.
Wang Xiao knew all this, but he still ignored the cold princess everywhere, and those concubines became more and more arrogant under Wang Xiao's protection. Wang Xiao himself was even more absurd, even when he slept with the princess, he also brought his beloved concubine. This humiliation made the depressed princess feel sick and weak at a young age.
Fortunately, the princess soon tied the knot, and the child brought infinite light and hope to her life. This period was the happiest time for the princess in the West Garden. Her often tight brows were radiant, and her cheeks were rosy and plump. Ten months later, the princess gave birth to a son as she wished. Wang Shu looked at the pink and tender child in the swaddle with real joy. He named his son Yanbi, which means a talented person, a minister who assists the king, and entrusted his son with the ambition that he could not complete in this life.
Ever since the princess put all her love on Xiao Yan Bi, just looking at Yan Bi's smiling face every day was the most satisfying happiness. But no one expected that such a child who was loved by thousands of people would not be blessed, and Yan Bi left the world in just three short years. The princess also couldn't afford to be sick from now on. Although she had invited the royal doctor's holy hands all over, it turned out that the medicine and stone were ineffective and did not improve.
His son died, his wife was ill, and he himself was also removed from all the officials because he was implicated in Su Shi's Wutai Poetry Case. Originally, Wang Xu should not have been dealt with so heavily, but because Shenzong realized that his beloved sister was living very uncomfortably in the Consort's Mansion, and Princess Zhao Qianyu refused to reveal the slightest bit of resentment, she suffered from not being able to catch Wang Shu's pigtails, and this time it happened to be an opportunity, so he had such severe treatment.
Unexpectedly, this caused the princess's condition even more critical. When the Empress Dowager learned that the princess was sick, she went to visit in person, and the mother and daughter held hands and wept. On the sickbed, the princess's face was withered and her bones were cut off. The Empress Dowager also saw that the princess would not be able to live in the world for a long time, so she asked the princess what was on her mind. The princess burst into tears and said sadly that she had nothing to worry about, but only hoped that the current saint would be able to forgive him and restore the official position of concubine. The Empress Dowager could only sigh after hearing this.
Knowing his sister's wish, Shenzong immediately resumed Wang Xiang's official position, and soon went to see the doctor in person. Looking at his sister, who was two years younger than him, and haggard like this, Shenzong was distressed and regretful, and blamed himself for not thinking carefully when punishing Wang Zhen, which implicated the princess. Seeing that his sister couldn't even eat, he took porridge and fed it himself, spoonfuls of porridge. After seeing that the princess could eat a little, he gave 6,000 gold and silk, and promised that no matter what the princess asked, she would just ask. The princess only smiled and said that she had nothing else to ask for, and only hoped that Wang Zhen could be safe and sound. Shenzong could only force a smile and comfort his sister.
In the early morning of the next day, the princess passed away at the age of 29. Upon receiving the news, Shenzong announced that he would be out of court for five days before the early court, and went straight to the Duke's Mansion. Along the way, he looked at the door and wept, mourning and heartbroken. After arriving at the Duke's Mansion, he saw the whole mansion, mourning everywhere, and tears could not stop flowing. The servants who had been taken care of by the princess in the past were even more sad and weeping when they saw Shenzong like this, and only a few concubines of the king were there pretending to be perfunctory. Thinking of their usual contempt for the princess, the nurse, who had always regarded the princess as her own, could no longer bear the anger in her heart. She threw aside the princess's usual admonitions, knelt in front of the Shenzong, and told all the grievances the princess usually suffered.
Although Shenzong knew that Wang Xie was romantic and had married several concubines, he did not expect that these concubines would dare to disrespect the princess, so he could not help but be completely angry. He ordered people to scold the concubines, beat them up, wailing, and after the fight he was taken directly to the army, saying he was assigned to the army. Princess Gu Nianzhi's last wish was to punish Wang Xie and demote him to Junzhou (now Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province).
In feudal society, imperial power was heaven, and no offense was allowed. At that moment, Wang Xiao truly realized the tolerance and gentleness of the princess in the past, but it was too late.