Except for a few people involved, the officials in the court avoided talking about the incidents during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, whether they were paying New Year's greetings or visiting relatives. Even the imperial censors, relatives and friends kept their distance from them, and even their colleagues who had joined them in slandering Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing and his son did the same.
The several imperial censors were naturally anxious and resentful at this kind of alienated and even isolated treatment. They huddled together tightly, and at the same time hoped that the person who gave them such an idea would be able to come up with a backup plan.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the backup plan they had been waiting for finally came. Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying and Princess Yongping were born on the same day of the same month of the same year. This news, which was originally known only to a few people, spread like a whirlwind throughout the capital, and the meaning of it shocked countless people.
Although the officialdom was temporarily calm, and few people discussed the news when they met, the common people were not so aware. This kind of thing was originally beyond the law, and the law could not stop the rumors, and there were countless people whispering.
"More than three were born on the same day! I heard that Doctor Zhang from the Imperial College, the eldest daughter of Duke Zhao's mansion, and Princess Yongping were all born on the same day and in the same place! Brother, you are older. What happened on the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, the tenth year of Yongchen?"
"Hey, you asked the right question! You were young at the time so you didn't know. The common people rebelled on the Mid-Autumn Festival and the whole capital was in chaos. It's hard to say whether something messed up happened on that day... Then again, if the three children were born on the same day and were taken away by the wrong hands... Bah, brother, just pretend that I didn't say anything and forget it!"
"Brother, don't be so shy, there's no one else involved! With the caution of the palace and Duke Zhao's mansion, it's impossible to get the wrong child. In my opinion, a marriage with such a huge difference in family background is probably due to fate born on the same day. But why is it Dr. Zhang and Miss Zhu? Maybe it's Princess Yongping and Dr. Zhang?"
"Eh? That makes sense! I heard that when the emperor was choosing a son-in-law, he wanted to choose two consorts and two grooms, but when the news came out, there was only one consort and two grooms, and Princess Yongping suddenly decided not to get married... Could it be that the eldest daughter of the Zhu family, who was more domineering than the princess, snatched the consort that Princess Yongping had chosen earlier?"
When rumors like this gradually spread to various mansions, and even to the inner palace, the reactions of each family were completely different. In the mansion of Duke Zhao, while the Imperial College had not yet opened, Zhang Shou still came and went frequently, and Zhu Ying also often went to visit Wu next door, and discussed how to renovate the Luwang Courtyard.
And the Madam Dowager and Jiu Niang did not even forbid the servants to discuss the matter. Both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law knew that it was possible to forbid it openly, but they might discuss it even more harshly in private. In this case, it would be better to ignore it.
Of course, the two were so open-minded because Zhu Ying came back on the first night of the first lunar month with a beaming face, conveying Ge Yong's clear attitude of protection, and also told them Zhang Shou's words with a smile on her face. Knowing that the children were indeed in love, the two of them no longer had anything to worry about.