Chapter 85 A Blessed Marriage Right now, being soft-hearted is the worst thing you can do. ...
The first day of Zhengdan.
Just after the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the lights in the East Palace were lit. Shen Yujiao dragged her slightly throbbing head into the courtyard. Today's hair ornament was too heavy, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Has Yong'an not come out yet?"
Jiang Chen walked to Shen Yujiao's side and saw that the curtain of the side hall had been lifted for a long time but no one came out. He looked up at the time and thought that he was probably going to be late, so he thought of asking Mu Jin to go in and urge her.
"No rush—" Shen Yujiao reached out to stop her, then slowly stepped into the side hall.
It was still dark outside, and although the room was lit, it was still rather dim. Yong'an, dressed in an orange-red palace gown, sat by the window. Her clothes looked very festive, and she had a serene expression as she sat there, seemingly admiring the moon.
Shen Yujiao walked over, put her hand on her shoulder, and looked up following her gaze: "Yong'an, what are you looking at?"
"Moon, sister-in-law, I'm looking at the moon."
How can you see the moon without opening the window? Under normal circumstances, Shen Yujiao might have stayed to accompany her to see the so-called moon, but today is different. All the imperial family members and officials are here, and they can only be the first to enter the palace.
Thinking this, she gently coaxed, "The sun is about to rise. Let's look at the moon tonight, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Yong'an lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on the cuffs of her sleeves embroidered with intricate cloud patterns. With a faint smile, she replied, "Let's go."
The carriage traveled all the way to the main gate of the palace. Today was the first day of the month, and the palace gates were wide open. The group got off the carriages at the palace gate. Jiang Chen walked forward, as he was going to follow the emperor to the altar. Shen Yujiao held Yong'an's hand and led Chu Rou towards the inner palace, where they were going to pay their respects to the empress.
The first day of the Lunar New Year is somewhat special for the royal family. Members of the imperial family and officials must accompany the emperor and the crown prince to climb the mountain to offer sacrifices to heaven, while noblewomen and relatives in the capital must pay their respects to the empress. Last year, Shen Yujiao also went to the altar, and this year is the first time she has met the empress and received the worship of noblewomen on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The three of them arrived early, and Kunyi Palace was still relatively quiet. Princess Yong'an and Chu Rou stayed in the side hall, while Shen Yujiao moved to the inner room to serve the Empress in dressing. As soon as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law met, Shen Yujiao was startled.
The Empress looks terrible; how could she be so haggard after just one year?
"Your subject greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty have a happy new year and enjoy peace and prosperity."
The Empress saw Shen Yujiao through the bronze mirror, nodded slightly, and asked, "Has Yong'an returned?"
"Your Majesty, Yong'an is currently waiting in the side hall."
"It looks like you had a good New Year. Zhiyuan, bring the powder and apply another layer."
Instead of the usual warm greetings and cheerful conversation, the Empress didn't even ask a single question about the Crown Prince today. This unusual behavior was noticed and remembered by Shen Yujiao. Since the Empress was in a bad mood, she had to be careful with her words and actions at all times.
Wearing heavy ceremonial robes, Shen Yujiao helped the Empress to the main hall. Concubines and princesses were already waiting there. After the Empress was seated, the palace maids sang in unison at each flower gate, leading the waiting ladies of the court into the palace.
Shen Yujiao stood at the head of the crowd and bowed three times to the Empress under everyone's gaze. Then she led a group of high-ranking concubines and princesses to bow to the Empress again. After that, she no longer needed to bow, but walked to the Empress's side and accepted the kneeling obeisance of the noblewomen with her.
From this vantage point, Shen Yujiao clearly saw that Rong Jieyu was not among the crowd.
She soon learned the truth behind it all. After her miscarriage, Consort Rong fell seriously ill. In just the two days of the New Year, the Emperor promoted her to the rank of Zhaoyi to comfort her. He even claimed that if she recovered, the Imperial Hospital would reward her and promote Consort Rong to the rank of Guifei.
Therefore, although Consort Rong was still seriously ill in bed at this moment, her position as a Noble Consort was a foregone conclusion.
Princess Yong'an stood in the crowd, her face revealing neither joy nor sorrow. She seemed oblivious to the whispers around her, simply standing there obediently. She was the future beloved daughter of the Imperial Concubine, and now the adopted daughter of the Empress.
Everyone laughed that the Empress wanted to support a young beauty, but she never expected to push her to the position of Imperial Concubine. The Emperor's favor is the greatest support for a concubine. Although Consort Rong did not have a powerful family, the Emperor made it clear that he wanted everyone to see his favoritism.
Not only was Consort Rong absent today, but Consort Yao and Consort Qi were also absent. The head of all the concubines was Consort Zheng, with Princess Yongshou standing beside her, blinking her eyes like an innocent porcelain doll. Before the banquet was even halfway over, Consort Zheng sent her daughter back to the palace, saying that Princess Yongshou had caught a cold during the New Year.
If Shen Yujiao only had various guesses when she first entered the palace, then Consort Zheng's actions now undoubtedly confirmed one by one that something had happened in the palace.
Even though everyone knew a storm was brewing, they remained surrounded by flowers, each with a polite smile on their face, until a young eunuch ran up to deliver an imperial decree, shattering the facade of harmony.
Princess Yongxian is overjoyed, and Consort Han is overjoyed. His Majesty has bestowed a marriage upon the princess, and her husband is the second son of the Duke of Wen. His Majesty values the princess highly, and her future is limitless.
Upon hearing this announcement, the expressions of everyone present changed in a variety of ways. The eldest son of the Duke of Wen was appointed as the heir apparent because the current emperor valued the eldest son of the clan. However, he was not properly cared for in the womb and was weak and sickly from a young age.
The second son of the Duke of Wen was a man who showed his talent in the court. He entered the Ministry of Personnel when he first entered the officialdom, and after several experiences, he went to the Ministry of Justice. He is currently working in the Ministry of Revenue. He is favored by his father and has a lot of ability. In addition, the Duke of Wen gave him all the resources after he retired, so he is very successful in the officialdom.
The open and covert struggle between the two brothers over the inheritance has caused a great stir in the capital. Previously, due to the rising official rank of the second son of the Duke of Wen, there were rumors in the capital that the Duke of Wen wanted to appoint a new heir. However, at the end of last year, the heir's wife gave birth to a legitimate son, which further strengthened the Duke of Wen's status as the eldest legitimate son. As a result, the relationship between the two brothers has become increasingly tense.
Such a marriage was hardly a good one, but Han Zhaorong was a humble and gentle person. Upon hearing the imperial decree to grant the marriage, she immediately knelt down to accept it. When she turned her head and saw her daughter standing there with her back straight, she was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Xian'er, what are you doing? Quickly kowtow to thank your father."
Her voice was very low, but it sounded somewhat abrupt in the silence of the room. Princess Yongxian stood there with her fists clenched, her eyes bloodshot. She held her head high and refused to kneel down no matter what Consort Han said.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on Princess Yongxian, Consort Han was so frightened that she tried to tug at Princess Yongxian's sleeve, but no matter how hard she tried, Princess Yongxian refused to lower her head.
The scene was tense for a moment, and no one dared to breathe. The eunuch who delivered the decree was obviously not expected to see such a scene. He knelt in the center of the hall, and his hands supporting him on the ground began to tremble slightly.
"Alright, since this is a joyous occasion, you may return to the front," the Empress finally spoke. She dismissed the eunuch and then turned to Princess Yongxian, who was stubbornly standing in place: "If Yongxian is not feeling well, she should go back and rest."
Everyone continued to watch her. Upon hearing this, Princess Yongxian took a deep breath, then bowed deeply to the Empress, turned around, and left Kunyi Palace.
Her departure left everyone present looking rather grim, especially the princesses. They wondered why Princess Yongxian had acted this way after being betrothed. Princess Yongjia reacted the most strongly, standing to the side with a pale face.
Princess Yongxian was the seventh child, and she was the eighth. They were born in the same year. Today, the emperor bestowed a marriage upon Yongxian, and who knows, she might be the one to get married in the future. She really didn't want such a husband's family. However, things were different now. Given the current situation in the palace, she had no say in whether she wanted it or not.
Since the spring hunt, Shen Yujiao has followed Jiang Chen south and north. She hasn't seen Princess Yongjia for quite some time, but from her attire today, it's clear that she is no longer as flamboyant as she was last year.
The floral crown she wore at the Lantern Festival family banquet was the most dazzling sight of the entire event. Shen Yujiao still remembers that scene clearly. However, in just one year, Consort Yao was absent from such a grand banquet, and she could only sit to the side behind Yong'an. The Yongjia Princess, who was once the emperor's favorite and comparable to the legitimate princess, had long since disappeared.
This is royalty.
At today's banquet, Shen Yujiao braced herself and held on for the entire event. As she was leaving, she subconsciously tried to take Yong'an's hand, but she couldn't bring him back. When she got off the carriage at the East Palace gate, the moonlight poured down on the stone steps like water, as if a layer of frost had condensed in the biting cold wind. She looked up at the moon and realized with a start that the New Year was over.
She could no longer watch the moon with Yong'an. Yong'an left the small utopia of the East Palace and returned to the Kunyi Palace, where she needed to be vigilant at all times.
With the hair ornament hanging down her back, Shen Yujiao stood up straight, but the weight of the ornament made her scalp throb with pain, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Back in his bedchamber, Jiang Chen told Shen Yujiao about what had happened earlier that day—"It was Prince Zhao who proposed the marriage to the second son of the Duke of Wen to His Majesty. His Majesty praised him for having the responsibility of an elder brother, and that's why he immediately bestowed the marriage upon him."
Her suspicions were confirmed. Shen Yujiao lowered her eyes. Sure enough, the Prince of Zhao was using Princess Yongxian's marriage to strengthen his own power. No wonder Princess Yongxian refused to accept the decree. Although she was not familiar with Princess Yongxian, she knew that this girl was not like Princess Yongjia, who only coveted wealth, power and pleasure.
"Does it hurt?"
While Shen Yujiao was deep in thought, Jiang Chen had already removed the hair ornament from her head. After wearing the "princess" headdress all day, the sudden removal of the pressure made her feel somewhat uneasy, as if she were feeling a sense of loss.
"Now I finally understand why Yong'an looked at the moon through the window in the morning."
Because once back in the palace, you can't even see the moon.
In an instant, she suddenly felt like a criminal who had kidnapped a child, using sweet words to coax her away, but in reality sending her to prison. If Consort Rong were to be promoted to Imperial Concubine in the future, then Princess Yong'an would be completely put on the hot seat.
But looking at the current situation... it's hard to say whether Consort Rong will receive the imperial decree alive or be posthumously honored. Looking back, she only wanted to find a way out for her daughter, but she never expected that she would end up like this.
Whenever Shen Yujiao thought of what the Empress had said to her that day, a chill ran down her spine. She had to admit that she might have played a part in Consort Rong's current situation.
At that time, she was an outsider, and all she could think about was protecting herself. But now, she had already come to regard Yong'an as her younger sister.
“Jiaojiao,” Jiang Chen turned Shen Yujiao’s shoulder around. Seeing that she was frowning and lost in thought, he vaguely guessed what she was thinking. He said in a low voice, “It’s not your fault. Perhaps, no one expected today’s situation.”
"Moreover, judging from the way the princes acted today, things might get more exciting every day starting tomorrow."
Right now, being soft-hearted is the worst thing you can do.
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