The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 71

Upon seeing this, the Empress asked, "Has Huirou also heard of Su Shi's literary reputation?"

The princess said no, perhaps because she couldn't explain the details at the moment, so she simply gave a reason: "I find him pleasing to the eye."

These words immediately drew laughter from the palace servants. She was too lazy to argue, and with no selfish motives in her heart, her expression was quite calm.

The Empress smiled and looked at Su Shi, saying, "This Su Shi is quick-witted and his writing style is similar to that of Scholar Ouyang. He has a younger brother named Su Zhe, who also passed the imperial examination today. The two brothers are already quite famous in the capital. Your father was overjoyed after reading their palace examination essays a few days ago and specifically told me, 'Ouyang Xiu truly has a discerning eye. This year's imperial examinations have selected many talented scholars, among whom are two brothers named Su Shi and Su Zhe, both of whom are capable of serving as prime ministers. Su Shi's essays are especially commendable. It's just that I am getting old and may not be able to use these two talents anymore, but leaving them to future generations is not a bad idea.'"

The princess asked curiously, "Since Father likes him so much, why doesn't he appoint Su Shi as the top scholar?"

The Empress said, "I don't know either. You'll have to ask your father for it yourself later."

Later, the princess indeed asked the emperor about this matter, and the emperor smiled and sighed, "It turns out this was a misunderstanding. The examination papers for the palace examination were first reviewed by the examiners, and then submitted to me for approval according to the rankings suggested by the examiners. Initially, Ouyang Xiu reviewed the palace examination papers and greatly admired Su Shi's article, intending to place him first. However, at that time, the papers were anonymous, and he did not know who the author was. He also felt that Su Shi's writing style was exactly the kind he liked, and worried that the article was written by his student Zeng Gong. If he were to be selected as the top scholar, it might cause controversy in the future, so he suppressed it." Secondly, Zhang Heng's essay was ranked first. While reviewing the papers, I felt the second-ranked essay was better than the first, but then I thought, since Scholar Ouyang had made this decision, he must have his reasons. Unless there was a major problem, I should respect his opinion. Therefore, in the end, I followed Scholar Ouyang's suggestion and ranked Su Shi second, thus unfairly placing him second. Unexpectedly, after the names were announced, the successful candidates entered the hall to express their gratitude. I saw Ouyang Xiu staring at Su Shi with a bewildered expression. When I asked him why, he quietly told me the story. We looked at each other speechlessly, both feeling quite regretful…”

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Princesses of the dynasty were initially given a two-character name, but upon their descent or the ascension of a new emperor, or when they were granted a promotion, their titles were changed to reflect the name of their country, with increased privileges and stipends. In June of that year, the current emperor bestowed upon Princess Fukang the title of Princess of Yan. At this time, Ouyang Xiu was the Hanlin Academician most favored by the emperor. After being appointed to oversee the imperial examinations, the emperor entrusted him with an important task, appointing him concurrently as Vice Minister of Rites, leading the scholars of the Imperial Academy to draft the ceremonies for the princess's investiture and wedding.

The reason for revising the wedding ceremony is that the current emperor wants to marry off his daughter with an unprecedentedly grand scale and solemn ancient rites. The details of the princess's investiture ceremony must be carefully designed, as no princess in the previous dynasty had ever undergone such a ceremony.

Therefore, the princess's investiture ceremony inevitably drew criticism from the ministers, especially after the current emperor promoted Consort Miao to the rank of Virtuous Consort, who declined the investiture ceremony, but the current emperor granted her request.

Hanlin Academician Hu Su advised, “Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have repeatedly promoted the two Grand Princesses of Chu and Wei, but you have never held a formal investiture ceremony. Now, to do the same for the Princess of Yan would be to overstep the bounds of the Grand Princess. Moreover, the Consort Xian has also received a special promotion. If you do not hold a formal investiture ceremony, it would be a discrepancy between mother and son, with one ceremony being performed and the other not. If this is recorded in history, future generations will criticize you, saying that Your Majesty is biased towards personal feelings and has diminished your virtuous character.”

This time, however, the emperor did not heed his advice and still ordered the preparation of the princess's investiture ceremony, openly displaying his favoritism towards his daughter to the world.

Soon it was the day of Dingyou in July, the day the princess of Yan was to be formally appointed.

According to the newly established ceremony, all officials would present their congratulations in the Wende Hall. Wang Yaochen, Vice Minister of Revenue and Councilor of State Affairs, and Tian Kuang, Vice Minister of the Privy Council and Vice Minister of Rites, would serve as envoys to present the imperial edict and seal from the Wende Hall to the Inner East Gate. Before this, the Inner Palace Attendant would go to the Yifeng Pavilion to request the princess to wear her headdress and ceremonial robes. The envoys would then announce at the Inner East Gate that the imperial edict was being issued to the princess and that the imperial edict and seal would be presented. The Inner Palace Attendant would then bring the imperial edict and seal into the palace, kneel and present it to the princess, who would then bow in gratitude and receive the edict and seal. She would then be promoted to a higher rank and receive congratulations from the ladies of the inner court. Afterward, she would go to the Emperor and Empress Hall to pay her respects to her parents.

That day, the ladies of the palace arrived early outside Yifeng Pavilion, lining up in order to wait for the princess to come out and receive her investiture in the courtyard. The palace attendant also arrived in the pavilion on time to invite the princess to wear her clothes, jewelry, and ceremonial robes. However, the princess did not appear for a long time. The attendant was surprised and called out twice more, but she did not respond.

Consort Miao was in charge of the inner court ladies in the courtyard and could not leave without permission, so she looked at me and asked me to go in and take a look.

Before I entered, I asked the maids standing by the princess's door. They said that the princess had already dressed up, but for some reason, she lay down lazily and refused to put on her ceremonial clothes and hairpins.

The princess, dressed in a plain gauze undergarment, lay on the bed with her body turned inward. Her hair, carefully styled by the hairdresser, remained perfectly neat.

I called her softly, but she didn't turn around. She just said sullenly, "I don't want to go through the wedding ceremony. Go out and tell them to disperse."

I naturally refused, saying, "If the princess wishes to be exempt from the investiture ceremony, she should have declined beforehand. Now that all the officials and noblewomen are in place, it is impolite for the princess to remain indoors."

"Do you think I didn't try to refuse before? It's just that Father wouldn't agree no matter what." She turned her head to look at me, her eyes dull and lifeless. "I just don't want to go out. You can let them go, I don't care anymore. At worst, you can write an apology letter for me and give it to Father later."

I smiled and said, "I am merely a palace attendant who serves the princess; drafting memorials is not within my duties."

"Eh? Didn't you once ask me to promote you to Hanlin Academician?" The princess rose, curtsied to me, and said, "Please ask Liang, the Imperial Academician, to draft a letter of apology for me."

I followed up on her words by saying, "The princess's decree is unreasonable. I dare not draft a memorial on her behalf. I respectfully return the letter and hope the princess will forgive me."

She clapped her hands and laughed: "You've even picked up those bad tempers of the court officials!"

I just smiled and remained silent. She persisted, then suddenly said, "Didn't you say that writing for me was a joy? You also said you were willing to do anything I wanted you to do..."

Since I said those words to her that night, our relationship has undergone a subtle change. We seem closer than before, but we both tacitly stop discussing it. This is the first time she has mentioned my words from that day. As those words resurface, the warmth of our embrace in the rainy night feels like a spring breeze caressing my heart. That tranquil joy is like a pleasant intoxication. Fortunately, my remaining rationality still reminds me to resist her advances.

"Oh? Did I say that?" I asked casually.

“Of course, you definitely said that!” she immediately affirmed.

I smiled faintly: "When did I say that?"

“That night, it was raining, and I was crying. Then you came in…” She paused slightly, probably realizing something, and stopped talking. A blush was faintly visible on her fair, porcelain-like face.

I deliberately ignored her unusual behavior and said casually, "Really? I don't remember."

Then he turned and called over Xiaoyan'er and Jiaqingzi by the door, and instructed them, "Help the princess change her clothes."

"Did I say I wanted to change my clothes?" the princess retorted, displeased.

I replied with a smile, "The edict of investiture for the Princess of Yan was written by Ouyang Neihan. I guess the princess will be interested in going out to hear it."

"They're just empty compliments, what's so great about them?" The princess sighed. Even so, she allowed the maid to help her to the dressing table, where she was given a nine-phoenix crown adorned with nine floral ornaments, a dark blue robe with wide sleeves, white jade pendants, and a pair of pure red sashes...

Finally, she put on those layers of elaborate clothing, looked at herself in the mirror, and suddenly laughed at me in the mirror: "Look at me, don't I look like Mohele who was manipulated by everyone on Qixi Festival?"

I was speechless.

She turned to face me and said in a calm tone, "They also treat me like a clay idol, wrapping me up into a big, colorful gift, and then they're going to give me to that silly rabbit."

The Lonely City Closed (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Leaning idly against the twelve balustrades 4. Surrender

Chapter word count: 2890 Update time: 08-08-21 17:32

4. Surrender

On the day of Wushen in the eighth month of the second year of Jiayou, Princess Yan was married. At dawn that day, Qiuhe personally did her elaborate makeup, using snail-shell ink to draw her inverted eyebrows, attaching gold and jade ornaments to her cheeks, and two crescent-shaped pearl ornaments to her temples. Her cheeks were painted with slanted rouge, and her forehead was painted with pale yellow. After each stroke was completed, a carefully crafted mica and South Sea pearl flower was added between her eyebrows. Including the time spent on putting on the nine-phoenix crown and gold foil to her temples, the headdress alone took two hours. A considerable amount of this time was also spent concealing the unusual marks around the princess's eyes.

The princess sat motionless obediently until she was fully made up, dressed in her ceremonial robes and adorned with a gold belt and jade rings. Only then did her gaze find me beyond the maids and palace servants, and she asked, "Does it look good?"

Her makeup was flawless and exquisite, but the heavy hairpins and multiple layers of ceremonial robes made it difficult for her to move and her posture was stiff, making her the most gorgeous Mohele I had ever seen in my life.

"Is it pretty?" I smiled at her and said, "Of course."

The wedding ceremony for the princess, drafted by Ouyang Xiu and the scholars of the Imperial Academy, followed ancient customs. The groom's family was instructed to display gifts such as geese, coins, jade, and horses outside the Inner East Gate, which were then escorted into the palace by palace attendants. At dawn, the groom, Li Wei, arrived on horseback and dismounted inside the Donghua Gate. The official in charge of ceremonies led him inside and made him stand outside the Inner East Gate, bowing and facing west, to await the princess.

The princess first went to the Funing Palace to bid farewell to her father. The emperor quietly wiped away his tears, but still smiled and repeatedly comforted the princess: "Don't cry, don't cry. Qiuhe did a beautiful makeup for you today. Don't cry and ruin it."