From а distаnсе, shе glanced аt thе Gate оf Shunzhen, with no соnvеrsаtiоn еxchаnged, as if nothing had ever hарpеned. Fоr а рrinсess, mаrriаgе wаs fаr morе challenging thаn fоr ordinаry girls. Sometimеs, she heаrd the impеriаl соnсubinеs sрeak оf thеir siblings outsidе thе рalаcе—thоse alrеаdy bеtrothed cоuld still meet in seсrеt whеn their fаmilies were unрrерarеd. Аftеr аll, рrivаte rеsidеncеs werе not like thе impеriаl рalасе; оpportunitiеs to meet could аlways be fоund. But for hеr, it was diffеrеnt. Aрart from her daring escape from the palace, there were essentially no chances for them to spend time together.
When Wanwan returned to the Cultivating Virtue Palace, Xiao Duo was already waiting for her under the eaves. His crimson ceremonial robe stood out starkly against the snow on the steps, almost glaringly vibrant. The peonies of Luoyang are beautiful, yet they are not mine. She sighed inwardly. Now that her marriage to the Prince of Nanyuan was settled, this sense of melancholy only grew stronger. Perhaps all brides-to-be felt this way.
She needed to restrain herself properly, just as the Empress Dowager had said. Once betrothed, she should rein in her heart.
She smiled, feeling quite composed. "What brings the Eunuch Official here?"
As dusk approached, the gloomy weather lent an air of desolation. Clad in a light fur coat, her brows and eyes seemed faint and distant, quite unlike before. Xiao Duo paused briefly before bowing and saluting her. "I heard Your Highness visited the Directorate of Ceremonial today. Was it to look for me?"
Indeed, it had been to find him, but for some reason, it no longer seemed important. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Not specifically to find you. I just wanted to take a stroll outside the palace and happened to pass by, so I went in to see if you had returned."
As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her skirt to ascend the steps, brushing past him and leaving behind a faint, lingering fragrance.
After removing her cloak, she sat on the throne to wash her hands. He followed her inside and attended to her with towel and comb, glancing at her several times as if wanting to speak but hesitating. Wanwan knew it was likely about the imperial decree betrothing her to the Prince of Nanyuan, and he sympathized with her situation. If she appeared utterly grief-stricken, it would only worry him. So she put on a calm and carefree demeanor, teasing him playfully: "I used to have many trivial matters and often relied on you to handle them for me. Now that I’m about to marry and leave, what will you do when you’re bored and idle?"
Seeing no trace of sorrow on her face, half the weight in his heart lifted, though a hint of melancholy tinged his voice: "Jinling is thousands of miles from here. After Your Highness departs, please do not linger too long. I will prepare the Princess’s Residence for you. If you find it unsuitable, you may return."
Wanwan agreed. "Yin Lou visited Jinling last time and always praised its beautiful mountains and clear waters. I’d like to see it for myself. I’ve grown up in the Forbidden City and have never known what the outside world is like. Marrying far away might be for the best. It’s just that I’ll miss this palace, and..." Her gaze lingered affectionately over the structure and furnishings of the hall before settling on him. "...the person who has always taken care of me. I lost my parents at six. Although my brother loves me dearly, I often felt lonely. Then I met you, the Eunuch Official. When you came to manage affairs in my palace, I’m not afraid to admit—at first, I was afraid of you. But gradually, I came to know you are a good person."She spoke with calm composure, recalling the past with a shy smile, yet ultimately her expression turned somber. "I had hoped to stay a few more years. I remember the Imperial Princess Huyang, whom the Empress Dowager adopted—she waited until she was twenty-three before her marriage. Why must I be hastily sent off at fifteen? The Emperor decreed that the National Mourning Day for Month, but I still feel uneasy. At least wait until the full three years have passed before sending me away. What a pity..."
She smiled, furrowing her brows and shaking her head like an elder unwilling to blame the younger generation for their hasty decisions. Xiao Duo watched her quietly, feeling guilty for his inability to keep her here. Life in this world is difficult for everyone, and each person carries hidden burdens. Despite his deep desire to protect her, when faced with his own dire circumstances, he had chosen to save himself.
The higher one climbs, the less control one has over their fate, like climbing a ladder—once at the top, returning the same way is nearly impossible. Born into the imperial family, she had long understood this truth.
What could he do? All he could offer was advice. "Your Highness has met the Prince of Nanyuan on several occasions and likely observed his calm composure and refined demeanor. On the surface, the Emperor's arranged marriage seems perfectly suitable, and I too hope Your Highness will live a happy life. However, Your Highness, your marriage is unlike others. Between husband and wife, never forget to keep a measure of caution. Please remember my words."
Wanwan's heart sank, and she nodded. "I will remember. You need not worry for me."
For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. After a brief silence, he continued, "All matters related to Your Highness's marriage will be personally overseen by me. I will ensure you suffer not the slightest grievance. I... have failed you in the past. I beg Your Highness for forgiveness."
He knelt and bowed deeply, startling Wanwan, who hurried down from her seat to help him up. "You have always taken care of everything for me all these years. How could you have failed me?" She paused, then chuckled softly. "First, the Empress Dowager wept, and now you act this way. I have merely been granted a marriage, not sentenced to death. Why must you make me so anxious? The decree states that the marriage will take place in early spring—there are still two months left. Do not make it seem like a farewell of life and death."
Her words felt like prophecies, sending a tremor through Xiao Duo's heart. He studied her carefully. Since she turned thirteen, he had dared not look at her so directly due to her status. Only today did he suddenly realize that the childhood companion had grown into a young woman.
Wanwan smiled shyly. "Eunuch Official, am I beautiful?"
He was momentarily taken aback, then nodded. "You are beautiful. Your Highness possesses a natural grace and is the most beautiful princess of Great Ye."
She laughed softly. "Of course—Great Ye now has only one princess, so naturally, I am the most beautiful."
She turned and gracefully returned to her seat, her skirts swaying. "For my wedding, keep it as simple as possible. The treasury is currently depleted and cannot bear extravagant expenses. Do not burden the people or waste resources for my sake alone. It is not worth it."
While the Emperor busied himself with alchemy and cultivating immortality, he also planned to construct the Star-Reaching Tower, over a hundred zhang tall. Yet for the one major event in her life, she requested simplicity, her heart ever mindful of the realm. The more she acted this way, the harder it was to let go. If disaster were to strike one day, he wondered how she would fare...Xiao Duo lowered his Pipa sleeves, an indescribable gloom filling his chest. How to arrange matters for her was something he had his own plans for, but it was not convenient to say more. He cupped his hands and said, "It is getting late. The palace gates will soon be locked. I shall take my leave."
She stood up. "I will see you to the gate."
This time, he did not refuse, only gesturing for her to lead the way. She stood beside him, tall enough now to nearly reach his shoulder. The distance from the hall door to the palace gate was not short, and they walked it slowly together. Over so many years, this was the first time—and likely the last.
With each step Wanwan took, tears gathered a little more. She had long wanted to make a clean break, and today was the most fitting time.
Amid the raging wind and snow between heaven and earth, she stood beneath the Imperial Seal Colored Painting, her expression warm. She pointed to the bracelet on his wrist and said, "Give this to me. I like it."
Upon hearing this, he removed the bracelet—a heavy string of one hundred and eight amber beads—and handed it to her. "If Your Highness likes it, keep it as a memento."
She gently touched the pair of Heaven's Eye Stone pendants. "I only want these."
Just a small part, not the whole. She had never been one for extremes.
He said, "Very well," took them off, and placed them in her palm. A thousand words choked in his throat, impossible to utter.
She tightly clutched the pair of pendants and murmured, "My own bracelet was missing just this—Ten-Eyed Twisted Silk. Truly rare."
A princess had seen every kind of treasure. She still remembered playing with the servants as a child, pouring out a whole box of pearls and gemstones to use as marbles on the floor, only to retrieve slightly more than half in the end. Some were lost forever; she knew they had been pocketed by others, but she never spoke of it, afraid of turning the palace into something like the Imperial Prison. Now, coveting his Heaven's Eye Stone was not for its rarity but, as he had said, to keep as a memento—for there might not be another chance in the future.
Satisfied, she called a eunuch to bring him an umbrella. "This is far enough. Take care on your way, Eunuch Official."
He bowed to her, then wound the bracelet back around his wrist, one loop after another. Without the pendants, it seemed somewhat lonely.
He stepped out of the palace gate. Wanwan watched him go, withdrawing her gaze only when he turned onto the side path, then ordered the gate closed.
There were still two months left. In two months, she would be married. Timewise, it felt somewhat rushed. Outside, everything was in chaos, but she, secluded in the Cultivating Virtue Palace, knew nothing of it. She had only heard that Yin Ge now openly came and went with The Emperor. When Xiao You mentioned it, her face was full of disdain. "It’s truly unbearable to watch. The Emperor is too hasty. He cares neither for his own dignity nor for Your Highness’s?"
Wanwan did not respond. Their disgraceful affairs were something she did not even wish to hear about.
Because of the impending grand wedding, Yuwen Liangshi had stayed in the capital a few extra days. Matters such as the rituals for the princess’s marriage were being taught by specialists. Great Ye had no precedent of a princess marrying a Feudal Prince, so the procedures for accompanying the Imperial Consort to his enfeoffment had to be devised from scratch—a tangled mess that gave everyone headaches. Even so, he managed to send small gifts to her, even going to Xiangshan specifically to gather maple leaves, inscribing poems and verses on them, behaving earnestly like someone deeply in love.Wanwan's feelings toward him were rather difficult to articulate. That day, he had endured her teasing so patiently, revealing a depth beneath calm waters. Now, he was lively and exceptionally skilled at pleasing others. Which one was the real him? It was hard to discern. However, girls often couldn't resist coaxing, and with the grand wedding just around the corner, she settled into a peaceful and tranquil state.
"I think this Imperial Consort is quite good," Xiao You remarked. "Whether good or bad, he doesn't show much fluctuation. When Her Highness ordered him to stand as punishment, he truly stood outside the Gate of Shunzhen for so long. When I went there, his lips were purple from the cold. He is a Golden Noble, after all, and it's clear he has never suffered such hardship."
Tong Huan maintained an attitude of indifference, saying, "No matter whether that Feudal Prince is some extraordinary figure, as long as he treats Your Highness well, everything can still be discussed."
The Ministry of Rites finalized the wedding procedures. The Princess would travel by water for her descent, with twenty fortune ships draped in red and adorned with colors serving as the main fleet, accompanied by eighty patrol ships guarding the front and rear. The Ten Li of Red Dowry paled in comparison to this spectacle. As for the Imperial Consort, it was not customary for him to welcome the bride in the capital. He had to return to his fief to receive the Princess Royal's descent, so the status of the Feudal Prince was evident from this arrangement.
As the wedding date drew nearer, there were almost no demands placed on Wanwan. Apart from the Nurse Matron who would accompany her after the wedding teaching her some bedchamber matters, she remained exactly as she was before.
That day, The Emperor sent someone to summon her for a discussion about the Princess's Residence in Nanjing. Since most princesses did not enter the Consort's Residence after their descent, this also highlighted the distinction between ruler and subject. Wanwan felt there was no need for such trouble and suggested reducing expenses wherever possible. The Emperor, however, was obsessed with maintaining appearances, so it was necessary for her to personally decline in order for it to be effective.
Throughout history, many emperors dreamed of attaining immortality. The current Emperor Mingzhi had turned all his hopes into reality, following a Daoist priest of unknown origin to cultivate the Dao. The Imperial Park at Western Sea had become his Meditation Chamber. He no longer resided in the Forbidden City but had moved there to spend his days concocting elixirs, filling the place with smoke and chaos. Wanwan, obeying the order to meet the Emperor, had to cross from the embankment. When she arrived at the Hall of Supreme Simplicity, she was told he was at Northern Pond learning to meditate like Lü Dongbin from the True Man. She had no choice but to wait for him there.
The decor here was quite different from that of the palace. There were no carved beams or painted rafters, no exquisite furnishings, and the curtains and hangings were plain and simple, exuding an air of Daoist elegance. It was said that the Emperor wanted to eliminate distractions, so only a handful of eunuchs were retained to serve him. Thus, when she arrived, not only were there no tea or refreshments offered, but there wasn't even anyone to greet her. She looked around but saw no chairs. Thick mats were placed against the walls. Fortunately, there were Fire Dragon Heaters beneath the floor. While His Majesty sought to return to simplicity, he did not neglect his own comfort.
Wanwan walked over and sat cross-legged on a cushion. As she settled in, she couldn't help but smile. It was actually quite interesting.
Turning to look at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, all of which were the Emperor's own work, Wanwan, who had some knowledge of poetry, began to examine them carefully. Just as she was becoming absorbed, she suddenly heard someone behind the landscape screen take a sharp breath, followed by another voice asking, "Has Your Highness awakened? Is your back sore again?"
Wanwan immediately recognized who it was and couldn't help but frown. Just as she was about to rise and leave, Yin Ge asked, "Is the Prince returning to the south today?"
A subordinate replied affirmatively, "The grand wedding is just around the corner. If he doesn't return soon to make preparations, I'm afraid it will be too late."Yin Ge gave a cold laugh, her voice drawn out and carrying a chill that could be felt even from a distance. "Now he’s finally gotten what he wanted. In all my years, I’ve never seen anyone so cunning. Not just me—even those who bore him children aren’t much better off than I am. Trading me for the Princess Royal—what a profitable bargain! Poor Princess Chang, caught in his schemes. As for me, I’m stuck with The Emperor. Now that I’m carrying a child, I no longer care for Yin Lou’s title as Consort Duan. My son will be the crown prince..."
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