Wei Yue thought silently for a while, then calmly put the wooden stick into her pocket. This website's new domain name is the initials of Kele Novel Network (k1), the largest free Chinese romance novel website, come and check it out! Read the latest novels online.
Senso-ji Temple is a sacred place, considered by the Japanese to be the most efficacious temple in all of Japan. Therefore, any fortune slip drawn here, good or bad, is treated with great respect by worshippers. If it's a "bad luck slip," worshippers will write prayers on the ema (votive plaque) to ward off misfortune; if it's a "good luck slip,"... they can give more money as offerings.
Wei Yue received an unsurprisingly "best fortune slip," but he probably won't offer any donations. However, this is some consolation; if the outcome is truly good, he won't hesitate to spend a little money, considering it an offering to Buddha.
After passing through another door, Wei Yue was led to a side hall. The monk then served him a cup of tea, said "Please wait a moment," and left.
Wei Yue knelt on the prayer mat and gave a slight bow. After the monks left, she picked up her tea and began to drink. This side hall was magnificent, with exaggeratedly colored murals on all four walls, even on the dome, seemingly depicting the story of Buddha receiving milk from a shepherdess under the Bodhi tree. The furnishings were also extremely luxurious; even the tea table in front of her was made of fine sandalwood, and judging from its exquisite and meticulous carvings, it was undoubtedly the work of a master.
However, he had no interest in seeing these things, as he had been here countless times before. In the past, whenever he came here to offer incense and explore, he would be led here to rest by the guest monk. So what might be astonishing sights to ordinary people was nothing more than commonplace to him.
Wei Yue's teacup gradually emptied.
"Why aren't they here yet?" Wei Yue frowned. She immediately understood; this was probably the work of those people in the Palace Secretariat again. The time they told her was definitely different from the time they told the princess, probably to demonstrate "royal majesty." But is it really appropriate to demonstrate "royal majesty" by being late?
Wei Yue frowned. She put down the patterned teacup.
"Why are you frowning, Gen-kun? Is the tea at Senso-ji Temple not to your liking?" A clear and pleasant voice came from beside him.
Wei Yue turned her head and saw a young girl in a white floor-length dress standing there, presumably having entered through another door. Seeing Wei Yue looking over, the girl also came over with a small folding fan, knelt down at the tea table in front of Wei Yue, and sat facing her.
"Your Highness, the Prince." Wei Yue, supporting her knees, gave a slight bow in greeting.
Unlike the customs of the Central Plains imperial family, Japanese imperial princesses are generally titled "Inner Princess," but this title is similar to most ancient Japanese customs. This title was also learned from China. For example, Princess Guantao, the aunt of Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) and mother of Empress Chen Ajiao, was recorded in some historical records as the Inner Princess Guantao.
The earliest title for female imperial heirs in Japan was "Hime-no-Mikoto" (姬命), used after the accession of the 12th Emperor, Emperor Keiko. Until the Nara period, female imperial heirs were referred to as "Imperial Princess" (皇女) or "Hime-no-Mikoto" (姬尊). Then, during the Nara period, male imperial heirs were changed from "Prince" (皇子) to "Prince of the First Rank" (亲王), and female imperial heirs were correspondingly changed to "Inner Prince" (内亲王).
It's very complicated and formal, but in general, it's still commonly referred to as "princess".
Wei Yue now directly addresses Jia Zi as "Your Highness the Inner Prince," the intention to distance herself is self-evident.
Yoshiko, being exceptionally intelligent, naturally understood the subtle meaning conveyed in those few words. Like China, Japan is a country with a high level of linguistic sophistication; the nuances of its writing and language are beyond the comprehension of Westerners. Often, the meaning doesn't need to be directly stated to achieve a subtle, indirect effect.
"Does Gen-kun really not want to form a marriage alliance with the royal family?" Yoshiko placed her folding fan on the tea table. "That would be disrespectful."
“Your Highness misunderstands. For anyone to marry into the Imperial Family is an immense blessing, and how could I be an exception? It would be a glorious event for the Genji clan,” Wei Yue said calmly. “It’s just that I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone I don’t know well. It’s a gamble, and the loser will be unhappy for life. Doesn’t Your Highness worry about that?”
“What good will worrying do? Do we have the right or the room to resist?” Yoshiko retorted. “Even if this is a gamble, we can only gamble on, because the dealer at this gambling table cannot refuse.”
“Actually, we can still put up a fight.” Wei Yue frowned, unsure of what to say.
"So, Gen-kun ran away from the wedding?" Yoshiko smiled. "He ran away to China. If something hadn't forced him to return to Tokyo, he probably would never have come back."
"Hmm?" Wei Yue raised her head, looking at Jia Zi with apparent disrespect.
How did she know that he had run away from the wedding? You know, the official explanation for his trip abroad was to choose a honeymoon destination. Even the Imperial Family and the Imperial Household Agency accepted this explanation. How did Kako know? And she was able to pinpoint it so clearly, which shows she was quite certain and it wasn't a test.
"Your Highness must know what your marriage to me signifies." Since the other party had already brought up the topic, Wei Yue no longer bothered to hide anything. "Our Genji clan is a thousand-year-old lineage, with bloodlines as noble as the imperial family. However, due to certain reasons, my family has been dormant for a long time. But now times have changed, and our Genji clan has decided to revitalize itself and reclaim its rightful place. I heard that my father and the others are preparing for the election of prime minister."
“Your Highness knows that the Imperial Family enjoys a high reputation among the Japanese people. If, at this crucial moment in the election, news suddenly breaks that Your Highness is to marry the eldest son of the Genji clan, it will certainly be of great help to our Genji clan’s election prospects. After all, the Imperial Family’s popularity is exceptionally high. In this way, our Genji clan’s position as prime minister will be almost secure.”
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