5 Weeds

◎The adult's cuffs are snagged◎

"I have come from Rong State to pay my respects to Your Majesty. On behalf of my father and mother, I extend my greetings to Your Majesty. I wish that the diplomatic relations between our two countries will last forever, and that the seas will be peaceful and the rivers will be clear, and the country will be prosperous and the people will be safe." Rong Qianyu clasped her hands together in front of her chest, knelt down and saluted the emperor and empress, paying her respects.

She had heavy ornaments on her head and her movements were a little slow.

"Good girl, please get up quickly." Bai Yi was particularly fond of her, and her doting expression was beyond words. She loved her daughter, and Rong Qianyu was also beautiful, quiet and lovable. She personally helped her up. "I heard there was an accident on the road. You must have been so hard-working."

Rong Qianyu nodded again, her expression reserved, like a plum blossom about to bloom. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. It's just a small matter. Fortunately, Lord Xue escorted me all the way here safely."

"If you have any problems in the future, just tell the Queen and don't be shy." Emperor Jiacheng Fu Kang said earnestly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am truly unworthy of it."

There is no doubt that the emperor and empress are very satisfied with this future daughter-in-law. They are a married couple who have come out of the political struggle. Their greatest hope is that their children can be safe and healthy.

"You are the Crown Princess chosen by the Queen, so you naturally deserve it."

"Why isn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here today?" Rong Qianyu looked around and asked involuntarily.

Bai Yi's expression changed instantly. He looked away repeatedly with embarrassment, and reluctantly took Rong Qianyu's arm. "Hua'er has some official business to attend to. She'll be back in a few days. I'll introduce her to you then. It's just as well if you take a few days off first."

Although she said so, considering what Xue Ji had said to her before, she would never believe that Fu Chi had official business.

"Thank you, my lady."

Fu Kang gave him a look and said sternly, "Master Xue, please read the imperial edict."

Xue Ji nodded and slowly unfolded the imperial edict. Rong Qianyu knelt down to greet him.

"By the providence of Heaven, our Emperor proclaims: Princess Yongchang Rong, the eldest daughter of the Rong Kingdom, is gentle and kind, of outstanding character and appearance, with a refined heart and a cautious and gentle nature. The Empress and I are delighted to hear of her. Considering that she is of similar age and interests to Crown Prince Hua, she is hereby betrothed to him as his wife. The wedding arrangements are now fully entrusted to the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory. When the Crown Prince reaches the age of twenty, an auspicious date will be chosen for the wedding, and he will enter the Eastern Palace. This announcement shall be made far and wide, and all shall be informed. Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, I accept your order and thank you!"

Xue Ji handed the imperial edict to Rong Qianyu, and she kowtowed to express her gratitude, and the ceremony was completed.

"I'll have to trouble Master Xue to take the princess to her residence," Bai Yi said kindly, holding Rong Qianyu's hand. "I've already ordered the Weixuan Hall to be cleaned up. You can stay there and rest for a day. I'll ask Hua'er to come back soon and welcome you tomorrow. It's just in time for us to meet."

Weixuan Hall was the former residence of the Empress Dowager. No one has lived there since her death. The Empress Dowager and the late Emperor had a deep love for each other and had many children and grandchildren, which was also a blessing for her.

Da Zhou is located in the north and the weather is colder than Rong State. However, the camellia flowers in Weixuan Hall are in full bloom, and the clusters are very beautiful.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Qianyu is truly flattered."

"Thank you for your help on the journey, Lord Xue. Now that you have come back from the long journey, you are not so busy anymore. You can take some rest when you have time." Bai Yi said with a concerned smile.

Everyone present could hear the implicit meaning behind these words.

"The fallen leaves in front of the gate of the Imperial Household Department have not been cleared yet, I..." Xue Ji was about to refuse, but was choked back by her kind eyes.

"Some things, you just give an order, and your subordinates will take care of them. Why do you need to take care of them yourself? The prince regards you as his right-hand man. My lord, you are exhausted, but who else can share Hua'er's worries? It's late autumn now, my lord, you should take care of yourself and don't tire yourself out."

Many ministers and concubines were present. Bai Yi was well-known for her integrity in the palace. She was wary of and disgusted with Xue Ji and never bothered to pretend to please him.

His own son trusted the eunuch, and eunuchs have been involved in political chaos since ancient times, but he did not shy away from it at all and obeyed this man's every word.

She embarrassed him in front of so many people and on such a solemn occasion. Rong Qianyu didn't know the relationship between them, but she also vaguely sensed some tension.

Xue Ji's words were blocked by her from both sides, and there was nothing to explain. He could only sigh helplessly, feeling very disgusted in his heart. "Thank you very much for your concern, Your Majesty."

After the crowd dispersed, he took Rong Qianyu to Weixuan Hall. There were very few people on the road, only the two of them and a few servants.

She looked into his empty, resentful eyes, knowing his loneliness, and felt a little guilty. She finally mustered up the courage to say, "It seems your situation is the same as mine. Ultimately, it's me who delayed your errand. I'm really sorry."

Xue Ji wasn't a perfect person, but he always spoke softly and politely to Rong Qianyu. He unconsciously exuded a sense of pride and arrogance, but little did he know that he was also a eunuch with a secret sense of inferiority.

He stopped and looked at her extremely sincere face silently. He was always amused by Rong Qianyu's innocence.

"Princess, why are you so polite? I'm not a jealous person, so there's no need to get hung up on such a small matter. But what the princess said on the way here, do you still mean it?"

Rong Qianyu patted her chest and assured, "Of course it counts. Have you thought it through, sir?"

"I'll come find you when I've made up my mind. In the meantime, please take good care of yourself, Princess."

Rong Qianyu's brows relaxed, and seeing that he finally agreed, she showed a rare smile, "Thank you, sir."

The two talked as they walked. When Xue Ji was with her, he seemed to become a quiet kitten, without his usual arrogance.

It was so quiet that the palace people around were surprised and dared not look sideways.

"I've said before, Princess, you are my master. Whatever you ask me to do is my duty. No need to thank me. Spring is coming after the cold autumn and winter. Spring brings vitality, but also the resurgence of the dead. Princess, you must distinguish between the spring buds and the weeds."

He whispered in her ear, "Otherwise, when the spring breeze blows next year, it will bring trouble to you and the fireflies will come back to life. Princess, you must keep a close eye on the courtyard walls then." The warmth of Xue Ji's breath touched Rong Qianyu's cold neck.

She was so frightened by the sudden close distance that she dared not move, and it took her a long time to regain her senses.

"How can I sort out the weeds? I am just looking after my own affairs. My Lord, don't worry. How can a little girl like me make decisions for anyone?"

Their eyes met, and seeing his reflection in each other's eyes, Xue Ji couldn't help but laugh again, "We have arrived at Weixuan Hall. I will take my leave first."

"Sir!" Rong Qianyu suddenly called out to him, "Sir, the cuffs are snagged. Remember to mend them."

Xue Ji looked down at his cuffs, a smug smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he hurried away.

The outside of Weixuan Hall is full of camellias. Looking upwards in the direction of the blooming flowers, one can see an imperial plaque written in cyan ink with oil-based ink, and the golden characters on it are written in gold foil. The surrounding frame is decorated with graceful reliefs of clouds and dragons①, making it appear even more noble and exquisite, and extremely favored.

"This is Weixuan Hall. It's a very elegant place."

Rong Pan was a straightforward person. When he hadn't seen the Crown Prince for a long time, he complained, "This place is nice, but on such an important day today, the Crown Prince didn't come."

"Pan'er!" Rong Qianyu signaled her to stop talking nonsense. "Don't talk nonsense. There are still many days to come. It's no good to be discouraged now."

Nanny Fang was a member of the Rong Kingdom's empress, He Wanrou, and had always disliked Rong Qianyu. She kept muttering to herself, "Miss Pan'er is right. She's not giving us face. How could a princess marry into the palace without the prince coming to see her?"

"Shut up!" Rong Qianyu scolded, "This is the Great Zhou Dynasty. Madam, don't say the wrong thing, or I can't protect you!"

"Greetings to Her Royal Highness the Princess. May you live a thousand years!" Two palace maids who were about sixteen or seventeen years old came out of the house, accompanied by a group of palace maids and eunuchs, and ran out to greet her.

"Please stand up."

The maid dressed in the uniform of a first-class palace maid said, "We are the servants assigned to Your Highness by the Empress. My name is Chunying, and she is sixteen years old. Her name is Xiaohe, and she is fifteen years old. These are the eunuchs and maids assigned to you. From now on, Your Highness will be in charge of your affairs."

"Chun Ying Xiao He..." Rong Qianyu seemed to be thinking, "This name is too light. How about I give you two names?"

"Please give us a name, Princess!" The two palace maids asked happily for a name.

Rong Qianyu didn't rush to speak. She walked to the main hall, sat down, and thought for a while.

"Yuanqing Yujie, with its propriety and rules, is as clear as the deep water and as pure as jade. It refers to a person's noble character. How about changing it to Yuanqing Yujie from now on?"

This sentence has good intentions and it also corresponds to her calm mood at the moment. If she wants to stay clean and untainted by the mud, she must exercise self-discipline and self-examination and keep her original heart.

She also reminds herself all the time not to forget why she came to the Great Zhou. She is just a floating duckweed, but she still has her own country and people behind her.

The two of them quickly expressed their gratitude, "Thank you, Princess!"

Rong Qianyu also introduced her dowry maid, "This is my dowry maid, her name is Pan'er."

"Greetings, Sister Pan'er!"

"This is my dowry nanny, Nanny Fang."

The palace maids also bowed to Nanny Fang.

"I have just entered the Zhou court alone. Many things, including etiquette and customs, differ from those of my home country. I will need your guidance in the future. I am usually spontaneous, but I am not without principles. I will not treat those who do well unfairly, nor will I tolerate those who are secretly scheming and betraying me."

After he finished speaking, everyone kowtowed in unison, "Your Highness, the Princess, and I will follow your lead!"

Rong Qianyu then gave Rong Pan a look, and Rong Pan immediately understood and said seriously, "Then everyone please withdraw first. The princess needs to rest."

After everyone saluted, Wuyang Wuyang retreated. "Are you leaving?" Rong Qianyu asked, leaning her head out.

"Let's go." Rong Pan nodded.

After everyone left the room, Rong Qianyu immediately threw herself on the bed, "Oh, finally we're leaving. I'm so tired. I've been carrying things all day, and my shoulders are sore."

With her hair ornaments made of real gold and silver pearls on her head, she was so tired after attending such a grand occasion for several hours that her whole body ached.

"Yes, this is the first time I've seen such a scene. It's a pity that the prince didn't come."

"It doesn't matter. There's still a lot of time to come. Let's just focus on the present."

The two of them were talking and laughing, looking very relaxed.

"But you will be able to see the prince tomorrow, so Princess, don't think too much and just have a good rest first."

After a few words, Yuan Qing reported at the door: "Your Highness, Tan Liangdi sent someone to deliver something."

After a while, a palace maid came in from outside. The fabric of her clothes was better than that of other palace maids, and she had a few velvet flowers on her head. But she was someone close to Liangdi after all, so her dress was still a bit shabby.

"I pay my respects to Her Highness. I am Yunzhi, a personal maidservant to Consort Tan. The young princess has caught a cold, and Consort Tan is unable to leave, so she sent me here to pay my respects to Her Highness. Consort Tan has sent some gifts, and I hope you will accept them. When the princess is better, I will come in person to apologize."

We had just settled down on the first day, but I didn't expect the attack to happen so quickly, without even a chance to recover.

Although she was reluctant, she had to pretend to be warm.

"Thank you for your kindness, Concubine Liang. I was a bit busy today and didn't have time to prepare anything. Here are a pair of jade bracelets for you as a gift. I'll come and visit you again someday."

Yunzhi was the maidservant in charge of Tan Liangdi. She was also very good at reading people's expressions. She smiled and said, "Then your highness, please rest. I will take my leave now."

"I just landed and you're here," Rong Qianyu muttered softly, "I'm tired and want to sleep for a while. Pan'er, help me change clothes."

As they took off the hairpins and rings one by one, Rong Pan comforted her, "Princess, you will be the queen in the future, and the hairpins and rings on your head will only become more, not less."

She sat sickly beside the bed, looking worriedly at the camellia in the yard, and sighed helplessly, "I am just a woman. Who can I be the master of in a foreign country?"

【Author’s words】

① The description of the plaque is based on the article "Plaque: The Soul of the Forbidden City Complex" published by China Social Sciences Network and China Social Sciences Daily.

②From "Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Chen Jiao Biography"