Unfortunately, after Thomas Foster found out who she was, not only did he not fire or dismiss her, he even had to respectfully address her as Nanny Bennett. This old woman had quite the background—she was the princess’s wet nurse. Not to mention, a mere young Prince Consort like himself couldn’t dismiss her; even the Empress, when meeting her in private, would have to respectfully call her “Auntie.”

Moreover, at this point, Thomas Foster was in no position to fire this wet nurse. Her reaction upon hearing about his amnesia was entirely in line with his usual behavior—not only was she not excessive, she was actually too kind-hearted.

Putting himself in her shoes, Thomas Foster thought that if he had married a Prince Consort like this along with the princess, he wouldn’t have been able to endure for so many years. He’d have put rat poison in the food long ago.

So what exactly happened? To explain, we have to start from the beginning.

The Prince Consort whose body Thomas Foster now inhabited was named Charles Bennett, courtesy name Jinqing. His ancestor, Benjamin Bennett, was a founding general of the Song Dynasty, holding the post of Jiedushi—a military governor, which was no small position, akin to a regional military commander.

By the time it got to Charles Bennett’s father, Kevin Bennett, the family had lost some of its edge, and he only managed to secure the post of Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards’ Cavalry. But he was wise—seeing that civil officials were favored in the Song Dynasty, he firmly refused to let his son follow in his military footsteps, steering him toward a civil career instead.

Charles Bennett himself wasn’t timid either. Not only did he have beautiful handwriting, but his painting skills were even more impressive, making him a somewhat famous artist of his time. He was also closely associated with literary figures like Su Shi, Mi Fu, Li Gonglin, Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, and others.

The other day, he had gone with a few friends to bid farewell to Su Shi. After drinking too much, he fell off his horse on the way back. As luck would have it, not only did he take a tumble, but he was also kicked in the forehead by the horse, and immediately fell into a coma.

Looking at it this way, Charles Bennett didn’t seem so bad—successful in his career, mingling with famous scholars and artists. So why was he so disliked at home, even by the family dog? Could it be that the princess, her maid, and her wet nurse were all shrews?

Actually, that wasn’t the case. Charles Bennett’s talent was undeniable, and he wasn’t the type of troublemaking official’s son who flaunted his status everywhere. He just had a bit of that unrestrained, romantic air common among scholars. In fact, in ancient times, if you weren’t a bit of a romantic, you’d be embarrassed to call yourself a cultured person.

But the thing was, he took it too far, and treated his wife—the princess—very poorly. Not in the sense of physical abuse; he probably wouldn’t dare. In modern terms, it was more a lack of communication, indifference, a kind of emotional coldness.

Worse still, he kept eight concubines at home, and after drinking, would often fool around with them right in front of the princess. If it weren’t for the princess’s efforts to protect him and keep the family’s disgrace from reaching the emperor’s ears, he would have long since been kicked out to Yazhou by the emperor to “enjoy the sea breeze.”

As for the princess, as described by Nanny Bennett, she was the very picture of virtue. Ever since her marriage, she had managed the household without a single day’s rest. When she heard that Charles Bennett’s widowed mother was ill, she even brought her into the residence to care for her personally.

She endured Charles Bennett’s indifference and all sorts of outrageous behavior again and again, never complaining to her own family, and certainly never letting her imperial brother know—just to protect her husband from punishment.

This time, because Su Shi was demoted due to the new policies at court, Charles Bennett was implicated as well. It was only because the princess secretly went to the palace to plead with the Empress Dowager that the emperor didn’t immediately announce his punishment.

But just as the princess returned from the palace, Philip Bennett brought several concubines into the princess’s room to fool around, making her so angry she coughed up blood.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Apparently not content with courting disaster, Philip Bennett then brazenly went to Su Shi’s farewell banquet. Wasn’t this a direct slap in the emperor’s face? Even if the emperor wanted to protect his brother-in-law, he couldn’t say anything now.

So who was this princess? Thomas Foster had figured it out. She was the second daughter of Emperor Yingzong of Song, and the full sister of Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu. When she married, she was titled Princess Bao’an, and as soon as Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, she was immediately granted the title Princess of Shu.

The siblings were very close. The emperor specially bestowed the residence closest to the palace—the quietest and most secluded one—as the Prince Consort’s mansion, and even built a large garden, transplanting many rare and exotic plants from the imperial gardens.

During holidays and festivals, the gifts bestowed upon the Princess of Shu were always the most generous. Sometimes, the emperor would even send people over with private funds for her, just to make sure his sister lived comfortably.

Chapter 4: The Mad Prince Consort

“This guy is just scum, so selfish!” As he listened to Nanny Bennett’s rambling, Thomas Foster could more or less sketch out a picture of Charles Bennett’s inner world in his mind.

How to put it—he was actually a victim, too. The Song Dynasty was extremely strict in guarding against imperial in-laws, and Prince Consorts were considered among them. Thomas Foster had heard about this back in his previous life in the Southern Song, and had read some historical records about it later on.

According to the rules, imperial in-laws were not allowed to participate in government or command troops. In other words, once you became a Prince Consort, a career in politics or the military was out of the question. To put it another way, once you became a Prince Consort, you could forget about any real career—painting and poetry would be the extent of your achievements.

But in ancient times, scholars aspired to govern the country, manage the family, and bring peace to the world. Only those with great ambitions could be called true scholars; no matter how good you were at the arts, it couldn’t compare to being a prime minister.

But imperial edicts could not be defied. Since the Princess of Shu had taken a liking to Charles Bennett, he couldn’t exactly refuse to marry her. If he did, his life would basically be over. After marriage, this ambitious “great scholar” David Bennett was forced to spend every day with a princess who made his life miserable. How could there possibly be any love left?