The reason the Prince Consort’s residence was chosen here was probably because the emperor followed the princess’s wishes. The Princess Royal of Shu never liked lively places since childhood. It’s said that the north, east, and south sides of the imperial city are all quite bustling, but she couldn’t be allowed to live too far from the imperial city, so this was the only option.

The appearance of Dongjing Bianliang City was learned by Thomas Foster from the few male grooms in the residence. Originally, Charles Bennett had two attendant servants, but Nanny Bennett thought they didn’t protect their master well enough, so after asking for his opinion, she dismissed them all.

The groom’s surname was Li, with no given name, and as the eldest at home, he was also called William, William Thompson. His family had lived here for generations. According to him, Bianliang had taken shape since the Five Dynasties period and had once been the capital of Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou. Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou expanded the Luo City, which became the predecessor of Bianliang’s inner city.

This city has three layers: the outer city, the inner city, and the imperial city. The outer city, also called Luo City, was newly built in the Song dynasty; the inner city, also called the old city, was renovated on the basis of the Later Zhou’s Luo City. The imperial city used to be the official residence of Li Mian, a military governor in the Tang dynasty, and after several generations of imperial renovations, it finally became the current imperial city.

Three major rivers run through the city. The northernmost is the Wuzhang River, later renamed the Guangji Canal. It can accommodate barge traffic and is an important waterway from Dongjing to the eastern and western capitals.

The middle river is called the Bian River, originally the Tongji Canal excavated by Emperor Yang of Sui. It allowed grain and goods from Jiang, Huai, Lake, and Zhejiang to be transported north, with a huge number of barges every year.

Currently, the court is digging a diversion canal to bring water from the Luo River into the Bian River to replace the Yellow River water. This will eliminate the problem of silt accumulation, so there will be no need to dredge it every few years.

To the south of the city is the Cai River, which is half man-made, sourced from the Wei River and connected to the Ying River. It also allows barge traffic to Chen Prefecture, but its volume is much smaller than the Guangji and Tongji Canals.

There is also a small river, the Jinshui River, north of the Prince Consort’s residence. It originates from Zhulong Spring at Huangdui Mountain in Xingyang, with sweet and clear water. It enters the imperial city from the northwest corner and eventually flows into the Guangji Canal. Besides the royal family, the people along its course also drink from it.

But except for the Jinshui River, the other three rivers were only known to Thomas Foster by name, never seen in person. It didn’t matter, though, since the northern border was not under serious threat at the moment, and Bianliang City wouldn’t be endangered anytime soon. Thomas Foster, or rather Charles Bennett, had plenty of time to see them for himself.

Speaking of the northern border troubles, not only did the groom have no concrete idea, but no one in the residence—including the princess—had anything to say about it, let alone any details. It seemed that from top to bottom, inside and out, no one in the Song court truly believed that foreign invasion would ultimately lead to the country’s downfall.

“William, is this thing usable?” One can’t just look and ask questions; Thomas Foster had actually done some practical things these days, such as designing some fitness equipment specifically for the princess.

The Princess of Shu’s health was much like her personality—too frail. Coupled with nearly ten years of psychological torment from the original Charles Bennett, she was somewhat depressed and sickly, spending her days alone in an empty room, with no appetite, making her even weaker.

In this state, dietary supplements alone were useless. Charles Bennett didn’t know how to make medicinal or therapeutic meals, but he did know how to cheer people up. As long as the mood improved, appetite would follow, and with better appetite came more energy and interest in things—a mutually reinforcing process.

The princess had indeed been happy these days. In her own words, except for the two days of her wedding, this was the only time in ten years she had truly smiled from the heart.

It was true. Ever since she saw her husband sleep in her room for two consecutive nights, really not going to the concubines or out to banquets and social visits, but staying home obediently all day, the princess immediately went with her nursemaid to Xiangguo Temple to fulfill a vow. When she returned, her face was beaming with joy.

On the third night, she absolutely refused to let Charles Bennett sleep in her bed, insisting that Charles Bennett should “share the rain and dew” and also stay a few nights in the concubines’ rooms, for fear of being called a jealous wife by outsiders.

Chapter 7: Badminton

This time, Thomas Foster didn’t just go along with things. He had met all eight concubines, and honestly, apart from being younger and more elaborately dressed, their quality was really quite average.

Who knows what the previous Prince Consort was thinking—since they were already brought into the house, couldn’t he have chosen more carefully? At the very least, they shouldn’t be inferior to the princess.

Given this quality, Thomas Foster really found it hard to be interested; he’d rather sleep holding the princess. Besides, the original Charles Bennett’s body wasn’t in great shape either—just running half a lap around the courtyard left him out of breath. Wanting to sleep with several women at once wasn’t impossible, but it was too much, and would only shorten his life.

To help the princess recover her health as soon as possible, and to find something fun for himself, Thomas Foster spent less than half an hour devising a complete fitness plan for the princess and himself, and even came up with a very grand excuse to persuade her.

Exercise for health, protect the child!

As soon as she heard that better health meant she could have children, the princess, even though she’d never drunk milk since childhood, pinched her nose and closed her eyes to force down a bowl of hot milk and a boiled egg every morning, as if taking medicine.

And it wasn’t just the princess drinking it—her two young maids, a nursemaid, and even the eight concubines and their personal maids all had to drink it.