Chapter 237: The Empress Plays Matchmaker
After the Eastern Palace joyfully welcomed its legitimate heir, it soon welcomed the Fang family daughter as a Side Princess Consort.
The Crown Prince taking a Side Princess Consort was not equivalent to an ordinary man taking a concubine. The Side Princess Consort would be recorded in the imperial genealogy, with rituals and protocols even more elaborate than those for commoners marrying a principal wife.
Although the scale wasn't as grand and lively as welcoming a principal consort, all necessary ceremonies were observed.
Yun Chu hadn't expected to receive a separate wedding invitation from the Eastern Palace.
As a divorced woman, she normally wouldn't be invited to such celebratory occasions.
Yun Chu pondered secretly - the Crown Prince was straightforward in his thinking, so it was highly likely the Empress had taken this opportunity to invite her to the palace. But for what purpose?
During the carriage ride to the palace, she turned the question over in her mind but couldn't find an answer.
The carriage soon stopped at the palace gates, where young eunuchs and palace maids came forward to escort her to the Eastern Palace.
The path was filled with people coming to offer congratulations to the Eastern Palace. Some acquaintances exchanged a few words with Yun Chu, but most kept their distance. After all, with the Yun family's troubles, everyone feared being implicated.
"Chuchu." Du Ling caught up with Yun Chu, walking shoulder-to-shoulder intimately as she whispered, "This Fourth Miss Fang previously made such a scene trying to marry Prince Pingxi, even threatening suicide until everyone knew about it. Now she's married to the Crown Prince. I wonder how she'll feel when she sees Prince Pingxi again?"
Yun Chu shook her head.
That Fourth Miss Fang could still marry into the imperial family after making such a scene showed just how influential the Fang family was at court.
If Prince Pingxi hadn't defied the imperial decree and married the Fang daughter, the Fang family would have become a powerful ally...
But he had refused the marriage.
Why had he refused...
She had a faint suspicion in her heart.
Chatting casually, the two soon arrived at the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace, residence of the crown prince, was formed by the combination of eastern, southern, western and northern palaces - majestic and magnificent. Many guests had already arrived.
Qiutong, following behind Yun Chu, presented their congratulatory gifts to the chief eunuch before they entered.
The Empress had already arrived, with many palace consorts keeping her company in conversation.
Yun Chu approached and curtseyed: "Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress and all Consorts."
"Isn't this the Yun family's eldest daughter who divorced after becoming a widow?" Consort Yuan said with a false smile. "Isn't it somewhat inappropriate for a widow to attend a wedding banquet? Did the Yun family not teach such etiquette?"
Consort Yun's expression darkened.
Since the Yun family's troubles began, Consort Yuan had been finding fault with her everywhere. For Old Eighth Prince's sake, she could endure what she must.
But she wouldn't allow Consort Yuan to bully Chuer.
Just as Consort Yun was about to speak,
the Empress spoke first: "It was I who invited Chuer here for conversation. What, Consort Yuan, must I seek your permission regarding whom I invite?"
Consort Yuan paled.
Hadn't her words just implied the Empress lacked propriety?
She hurriedly said: "This subject didn't mean that. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."
The Empress waved her hand, disinclined to pursue the matter.
The Crown Princess stood up and said to Yun Chu: "Miss Yun, please sit here."
Yun Chu walked over and sat beside the Crown Princess.
Her heart ached for the Crown Princess, who had just given birth to the legitimate heir. Before even finishing her postpartum confinement, she had to appear and manage her husband's taking of a Side Princess Consort.
How many women could achieve such magnanimity and consideration?
The expressions of many attending guests shifted slightly.
The Yun family had encountered troubles, and while the Emperor hadn't imposed real punishment, why was the Empress still being so familiar with the Yun family?
Had Yun Silin's case of treason and selling state secrets taken a turn?
While everyone was weighing these thoughts, Yun Chu was also deep in contemplation.She knew the Empress was not truly benevolent by nature, and such kindness toward her must have an ulterior motive.
Sure enough, after Yun Chu and the Crown Princess had sat for a while, the Empress claimed she needed to change clothes, and the Crown Princess pulled Yun Chu along to attend to her.
As the palace maids attended to her toilette, the Empress said gently, "Chu'er is only twenty, isn't she?"
Yun Chu bowed her head and replied, "After the new year, I'll be twenty-three by nominal age."
"Twenty-three is still the prime of a woman's youth. Wouldn't it be lonely to let your years waste away alone?" The Empress suddenly took her hand. "You often entered the palace with your mother when you were young. I've watched you grow up. When you married the Number One Scholar Xie Jingyu, it was considered a good match, but alas..."
"Indeed, what a pity," the Crown Princess interjected. "Lady Yun was the peerless beauty who captivated the capital back then. To guard an empty room alone is truly lonely... Mother, my eldest cousin is also alone now. I think he and Lady Yun would be well-matched. Why doesn't Mother act as matchmaker and arrange this good marriage?"
Yun Chu's heart sank abruptly.
The "eldest cousin" mentioned by the Crown Princess was the Crown Prince's maternal cousin—the Empress's elder brother's legitimate eldest son, Gongsun Ning.
As the legitimate eldest son of the Gongsun family, Yun Chu had certainly heard of him.
Gongsun Ning should be at least thirty this year. He had already lost two previous principal wives and kept a household full of concubines and children.
The Empress wanted her to become Gongsun Ning's third wife.
"Chu'er, if you marry into the Gongsun family, you'll have to call me Aunt from then on." The Empress wore a benevolent expression. "Today is an auspicious day. Shall I ask His Majesty to bestow this marriage upon you?"
In truth, she wasn't particularly willing for her nephew to marry a Yun family daughter.
Yun Silin had been missing for so many days—he'd probably long since died in some remote corner. Even if the Yun family ultimately avoided conviction, they had already lost power.
The Yun family, stripped of military power, wasn't particularly suitable as marriage allies for the Gongsun clan.
However, Yun Chu possessed a face of unparalleled beauty. Ever since she became a widow, her nephew had acted like a madman, pestering her daily to marry Yun Chu.
She had truly been worn down beyond endurance.
She could only invite Yun Chu to the palace and seize this opportunity to settle the marriage.
The only benefit she could see from this match was that the Emperor still remembered the Yun family's generations of merit and pitied them, which would naturally elevate the Gongsun family in his eyes.
"I beg Your Majesty to rescind this decree."
Yun Chu directly knelt on the ground.
"Thank you for Your Majesty's great kindness. This subject's daughter has lost her husband and separated—my birth chart shows weak official stars. I dare not aspire to marry Lord Gongsun."
The Empress frowned.
A woman having "weak official stars" in her birth chart commonly meant she had a tendency to bring misfortune to her husband—Xie Jingyu's death could somewhat attest to this.
She hadn't been particularly willing for her nephew to marry a Yun family daughter to begin with.
Now that Yun Chu had said this, she immediately abandoned the idea and helped Yun Chu up: "I was merely asking your opinion. Since you're unwilling, let it be."
Yun Chu breathed a sigh of relief.
She truly never expected that even after widowhood and separation, with the Yun family in such a state, someone would still eagerly play matchmaker for her.
Fortunately, the Empress wasn't particularly stubborn—otherwise, if an imperial marriage decree came down, she'd have nowhere to cry.
Yun Chu and the Crown Princess carefully attended the Empress as she changed clothes. When they emerged from the inner chamber, the Side Princess Consort happened to be entering the Eastern Palace gates ahead, and the wedding ceremony formally began.
Wedding matrons and palace maids crowded around the Crown Prince and Side Princess Consort as they entered through the main gate.All guests, regardless of gender, stood on both sides to observe the ceremony.
The Side Princess Consort of the Crown Prince could not wear the proper red color, but a slightly lighter water-red instead. She held a fan that covered most of her face.
Fang Xinyan quietly lowered the fan a little, raised her head, and looked toward the guests standing on one side. She saw the face that had haunted her dreams.
She had not become the Princess Consort of the Pacifying West, but instead became the Side Princess Consort of his elder brother.
Why had they missed each other just like this?
How fate toys with people...
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