Chapter 62: Dropping By

Without a doubt, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was an auspicious day.

Ma Xun rose early in the morning, and the entire estate was filled with a joyous and festive atmosphere.

As Ma Xun dressed and began to wash up, Xu E said with a cheerful smile, "My Lord, the bride's family will be sending people over shortly."

Despite nearly a century of Mongol Yuan rule, many traditional customs had been lost or simplified, but the current Ming dynasty was steadily restoring traditional ritual systems.

The Liu family was soon to send people to decorate the bridal chamber, which was one of those time-honored traditions.

He Da came running in a fluster, shouting, "Lord Uncle, someone from the palace is arriving!"

Ma Xun was slightly taken aback. "Who is coming? I wasn't informed."

"The streets are being cleared," He Da said anxiously. "Lord Uncle, could His Majesty be coming in person?"

Ma Xun felt a trace of panic as well. "Um, should we set up an incense table?"

Ma Xun looked at He Da, He Da looked back at Ma Xun, and both immediately turned their gazes to Xu E.

One of them was ignorant of these court rituals, while the other was unsure if they knew them well enough.

Xu E quickly instructed, "There's no need to set up an incense table. If an imperial decree had been sent from the palace in advance, then we would need one. Since no decree has arrived ahead of time, we don't need to set one up, but the entire household must prepare for their arrival."

Both Ma Xun and He Da breathed sighs of relief, as these matters were truly beyond their expertise.

Such was the state of the Ma estate: He Da was solely in charge of security and guarding the household, while Xu E managed the daily administration, the martial and the civil working in seamless coordination.

Ma Xun figured there was a high probability that Zhu Yuanzhang or Empress Ma Xiuying was coming, or perhaps both of them. Earlier, when Zhu Shuang and the others had visited, they had simply been escorted over by guards.

Only when Empress Ma Xiuying or Crown Prince Zhu Biao came were the streets cleared in advance, with guards lining the route.

It was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and everyone was currently on holiday.

Just as expected, imperial guards quickly took over security both inside and outside the Ma estate, and Ma Xun hurried to the front gates.

Two magnificent carriages appeared. From the first carriage stepped Crown Prince Zhu Biao, followed by Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma Xiuying. From the second carriage spilled a cluster of children, all familiar faces.

Ma Xun hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Your subject Ma Xun respectfully welcomes Your Imperial Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang said cheerfully, "Rise, everyone rise."

Empress Ma Xiuying also smiled and said, "You've been moved in here for quite some time, yet this is your brother-in-law's first visit. And he still had the nerve to say he would take care of you—is this how he takes care of someone?"

Zhu Biao chimed in playfully, "Mother is right. In this entire family, Father is probably the only one who didn't even know where his uncle lived."

Zhu Yuanzhang paid no heed to the teasing; in this entire world, there were only a handful of people whose teasing would never provoke his anger.

Upon entering the estate, the very first order of business was not anything else, but leading Zhu Yuanzhang's entire family to the ancestral shrine.

After offering incense, Empress Ma Xiuying asked, "Has still no one come to find you?"

Ma Xun sighed and replied, "I've sent people to search, looking all the way from Ningbo to Funing, but who knows if they'll find anything."

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly consoled him, "Your elder sister has also been sending people to help you look, asking along every road. They are bound to find something."

This was a rather helpless situation. Ever since Ma Xun returned to Suzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma Xiuying had constantly dispatched people, both openly and covertly, to search for clues.

Ma Xun's own life trajectory was easy enough to trace, and many people in those places still remembered him. However, few people remembered Old Master Ma, as that was more than a decade ago, to say nothing of Ma Xun's biological mother.

Emerging from the ancestral hall, Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile, "Do you want to receive your official title tomorrow, or wait a bit longer?"

Ma Xun inquired, "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there's a difference! Tomorrow is your minor wedding, a day of great celebration," Zhu Yuanzhang said happily. "Before the dynasty was founded, I conferred titles on Tiande and a few other dukes, and since the founding, only your eldest brother-in-law and the Marquis of Yihui have been elevated to the marquisate."

The Marquis of Yihui, Liu Jiezhu, was the landlord who had originally provided a plot of land for Zhu Yuanzhang to bury his parents and elder brother. Consequently, Liu Jiezhu had been posthumously honored as the Marquis of Yihui, bestowing noble privilege upon his descendants.

A neighbor, Foster Mother Wang, had provided money and gifts, enabling Zhu Yuanzhang to be sent to a temple as a young novice monk. Therefore, after achieving success, Zhu Yuanzhang specifically commanded Foster Mother Wang's son, Cao Xiu, to change his name to Wang Wen, taking the surname of Mother Wang, and even placed Mother Wang's spirit tablet within the imperial mausoleum to enjoy the incense and sacrifices of the royal family.

The descendants of Liu Jiezhu and Foster Mother Wang had served as officials guarding and administering the Ming Imperial Mausoleum generation after generation, bound to the Ming dynasty forever.

Ma Xun thought carefully before saying, "I think I'd rather wait a little longer. It wouldn't do for me to be enfeebled as a duke before my eldest brother-in-law; that wouldn't be appropriate."

Empress Ma Xiuying looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said proudly, "Would my younger brother ever be that ostentatious? Let him wait a bit longer, and we'll receive our titles together."

"I was just thinking about doubling the joyous occasions," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a laugh. "Though come to think of it, Younger Brother indeed might not want to be enfeebled so early. Otherwise, he'd end up being the youngest Duke of all."

"Second Brother is the youngest," Zhu Biao teased with a smile. "By then, Uncle will be a Duke, and Second Brother will also be a Duke."

In terms of actual age, Ma Xun was certainly the youngest, but in terms of generational ranking, Li Wenzhong was the youngest.

Historically, the peerage of the Duke of Cao was also quite unique, with Li Zhen and Li Wenzhong being simultaneously enfeebled as Dukes of Cao.

Suddenly, a few brays of a donkey broke the harmonious atmosphere. Wangcai, in a rare display, was trotting along in small steps.

"Let them fuss, it's fine," Ma Xun quickly stopped Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma Xiuying. "Wangcai is getting lazier by the day, doing nothing all day except eating and wandering around the courtyard. I've scolded it many times, but it refuses to run even when told."

Zhu Yuanzhang joked, "If you had the heart to give it a few lashes with a whip, it would start running for sure."

Empress Ma Xiuying gave Zhu Yuanzhang a sideways glance. Anyone close to the family knew that Ma Xun cherished Wangcai dearly; how could he ever bear to whip it?

Zhu Biao looked toward the front gate, growing somewhat anxious. "Why haven't they arrived yet? Could they have missed the auspicious hour?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was also slightly displeased. "Being joined in marriage with Younger Brother is their good fortune; how can they not take it seriously?"

"What are the two of you fretting about? Has the time even arrived yet?" Empress Ma Xiuying said with an amused smile. "Scholarly families value etiquette. How could they casually knock on the door before the proper time?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ma Xun, then bantered with Empress Ma Xiuying, "Your family is a prominent clan steeped in scholarly tradition—why did your younger brother keep running off to the Liu family before things were official?"

Empress Ma Xiuying first glared at Ma Xun, uncharacteristically unable to refute Zhu Yuanzhang. Her younger brother simply hadn't lived up to expectations!

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately looked triumphant. Scholarly families didn't always strictly adhere to rituals, after all.

Before long, He Da came running over. "Your Majesty, the bride's family has sent people."

"Let them in," Empress Ma Xiuying urged. "Quickly now, all of you be on your best behavior."

Liu Lian was also somewhat nervous. He knew that the Lord Uncle was favored by the Emperor and Empress, but he hadn't expected both monarchs to be present at the Uncle's estate right before the wedding. Nor could it strictly be called the Uncle's estate anymore—this was the Xu Princely Mansion.

"Your subject Liu Lian pays his respects to the Emperor."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately prompted, "Enough of that. You all go and decorate the bridal chamber."

As if granted a pardon, Liu Lian, led by Xu E, headed toward the bedchamber to begin decorating the new rooms.

Shortly afterwards, Xu E returned and reported, "It looks alright. They probably know the master's personality, as the rooms aren't extravagantly decorated."

Empress Ma Xiuying smiled. "That's good. I was worried she might truly be a spoiled young miss."

"If you ask me, we should find Younger Brother another one who is well-built for childbearing," Zhu Yuanzhang immediately offered his counsel. "What does that young lady look like? Does she look like someone who can bear many children?"

Empress Ma Xiuying snapped in annoyance, "Are you more anxious about this than I am? Would we let her through the door if she couldn't bear children?"

Zhu Biao and Ma Xun were long accustomed to this; the devoted couple before them frequently bickered, neither willing to concede an inch.

Only then was Zhu Yuanzhang reassured. "That's fine, then. I just feared a delicate miss who would be all frail and weak."

Liu Shuning was by no means a purely delicate and frail young lady, and at this time, people no longer considered skin-and-bones slimness to be the ideal figure.

"When the groom goes to personally welcome the bride, have Second and Third tag along, and your elder sister will come over tomorrow to help out," Zhu Yuanzhang said triumphantly. "By then, your eldest brother-in-law will also be here, and even people like Prime Minister Li will have to behave themselves."

It seemed that Li Shanchang's days as Left Prime Minister were numbered; his retirement to his hometown had become a foregone conclusion.