The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 72

At this time, the princess's entourage and ceremonial guards were already arranged outside the Inner East Gate. After leaving the Funing Palace, the princess, surrounded by hundreds of palace maids, slowly arrived at the Inner East Gate and ascended the imperial carriage.

The chariot, drawn by six red horses, was entirely crimson, adorned with pheasant feathers. The cloaks and canopies were purple, draped with red silk netting, painted red ribbons, and brocade curtains. The interior and exterior were decorated with gold and interspersed with colorful patterns. The walls had gauze windows, and the four sides were carved with phoenixes and peacocks amidst clouds, and engraved with tortoise shell patterns. A golden phoenix stood atop the top wheel, and eight phoenixes perched on the crossbeams. Inside, there were red-curtained seats, incense burners with dragon-head handles, and incense holders and fragrant ornaments. The entire chariot was resplendent in gold, as exquisitely crafted as a finely carved jewelry box.

The beautiful Mohele, supported by her maids, entered the jewelry box, and the curtain was then lowered, completing the final wrapping of the gift.

After the princess boarded the carriage, Li Wei bowed again and led the horses back to his residence. When the auspicious hour arrived, the princess's carriage set off. At the very front of the procession were dozens of street guards, each carrying sweeping tools and gilded silver buckets, leading the way by sprinkling water; this was called the "waterway." Behind them were two rows of attendants in purple robes and rolled-up turbans, carrying the princess's hundreds of chests of dowry. Following them were dozens of palace ladies on horseback, all dressed in red silk robes embroidered with gold, adorned with pearl hairpins and elaborate headdresses, riding in pairs on either side of the road, this line called the "short stirrups." Further back were dozens of palace maids and eunuchs who accompanied the princess, along with the princess and her consorts in their carriages.

The princess's carriage was adorned with red silk fans embroidered with gold, four square fans and four round fans, ten floral curtains, twenty candle holders, and one walking screen and one sitting screen. The empress personally escorted the princess in a nine-dragon-carved carriage, followed closely by Consort Miao and other ladies of the inner court in palace carriages. The procession of carriages and horses stretched for miles, drawing crowds from all over the capital as it traveled.

Previously, I had also been granted an official promotion, rising to the rank of Head Attendant. After discussions between the Emperor and Empress, it was decided that I would be given a new position—overseeing the Princess's residence, managing the palace attendants and eunuchs accompanying the Princess, and handling the specific affairs within the Princess's residence. At this moment, I was wearing a blue official robe, riding a horse beside the Princess's carriage. Perhaps because my attire differed from the brown-clad eunuchs in front of me, I attracted the special attention of the onlookers.

"This young man is wearing a green robe, could he be the prince consort?" someone asked, pointing at me.

In the Qing Dynasty, men wore official robes that matched their rank at weddings. If they did not hold an official position, they wore green robes, hence this person's conjecture.

Immediately someone retorted, "How ignorant! The Imperial Son-in-Law is a fifth-rank official and should wear a red robe. This young man has fair skin and no beard; he is most likely a palace attendant serving the princess."

The man who had asked the question stared at me with increasing curiosity and chuckled, saying, "So he's a eunuch! Look at his handsome features, what a pity..."

I ignored them, straightened my back slightly, kept my eyes straight ahead, and continued riding forward without changing my expression.

The procession moved slowly, taking more than an hour to reach the new residence of the princess and her husband. Li Wei was already waiting at the gate. When the princess alighted from her carriage, an attendant stepped forward to lead the prince to bow deeply to the princess and welcome her inside. When the princess reached the bedroom door, Li Wei bowed again and led her up the steps, inviting her to go inside to wash up.

After the princess redid her makeup, the wedding officiant invited her and her husband to sit opposite each other. Li Wei bowed to the princess again before sitting down with her. They drank together three times, bowed again, and then accepted the imperial banquet bestowed by the empress.

Nine cups were served at the imperial banquet. After each round, the Empress and the ladies-in-waiting bid farewell to the princess and returned to the palace. The princess was most reluctant to part with Consort Miao, chasing after her all the way to the courtyard, clutching her mother's sleeve and weeping uncontrollably. Consort Miao was also heartbroken, but could only comfort her with a tearful smile, saying that she could return to the palace often in the future, and that it wouldn't be difficult for mother and daughter to meet again. Urged by the court officials, Consort Miao gritted her teeth, pushed the princess away, hurriedly left, and quickly got into her carriage, without looking back at her daughter.

The princess wept bitterly, nearly collapsing to the ground. Her wet nurse, Han, rushed to support her, and I also tried to help her up, but a woman suddenly appeared and grabbed the princess from the other side before I could.

That was the princess's mother-in-law, Lady Yang, the wife of the emperor's brother-in-law.

"Princess, please don't cry anymore. Although you are now separated from Lady Miao, you are now part of my family and are just like my daughter. I will treat you well, just like your mother would," Madam Yang said with a smile.

The princess sobbed, frowning as she looked at her. Madam Yang stared at her face, shaking her head. "Tsk tsk, crying like that, even your rouge is ruined..."

As she spoke, she reached for the princess's sleeve to wipe away her tears. The princess turned her head away in disgust, but she wouldn't give up, still smiling as she said, "Your face is covered in tears. Come, let me wipe them clean for you..."

The princess dodged left and right, clearly angry. I immediately summoned several maids and ordered them to help the princess into the room to touch up her makeup. At this moment, a woman strode over, bowed to Madam Yang, and said, "According to the etiquette of the dynasty, the princess should only meet her parents-in-law three days after the wedding. It is not appropriate for Madam to speak with the princess at this time."

The speaker was Liang Quanyi, the supervisor of the princess's residence and my teacher from my youth. He had served in the front province for many years and had risen to the rank of Imperial Attendant. When a princess was to be married, it was customary to select a mature and prudent Imperial Attendant to serve as the supervisor of the princess's residence. His duties included guiding the princess and her husband's conduct, observing their daily lives, and regularly reporting to the emperor. Liang Quanyi was of outstanding character and had a good reputation. When the emperor was selecting the supervisor of the princess's residence, he felt he could not find a suitable candidate among the Imperial Attendants of the rear province, so I recommended Mr. Liang to him. The emperor readily accepted and quickly issued an order appointing Liang Quanyi as the supervisor of the princess's residence in Yanzhou.

Hearing what Supervisor Liang said, Madam Yang had no choice but to give up and retreated to the backyard, feeling rather uncomfortable. As she walked, she muttered, "These royal rules are so many. Even when a wife is being married, the mother-in-law can't even see her early..."

Compared to Madam Yang's excessive enthusiasm, the prince consort Li Wei behaved quite calmly and somewhat reservedly, obeying the instructions of Supervisor Liang and the steward in every action. Later, when he and the princess performed the ritual of sharing a meal, he was very careful even when biting into the piece of mutton, glancing at the steward from time to time, as if worried that the size of his bite might not conform to the etiquette.

Throughout the entire process, the princess remained expressionless and never once looked up at her husband opposite her.

I, along with the palace attendants and eunuchs who accompanied me, stood by the princess's side until the newlyweds entered the sleeping quarters at night, at which point we took our seats to receive the princess's wedding banquet.

The palace servants, who had been busy all day, finally relaxed, their faces beaming with smiles. They played drinking games and toasted each other. It was a scene of dazzling lights and bustling activity, with wine glasses clinking and toasts flowing freely, but I alone remained oblivious to the world around me.

I gazed in the direction of the princess's bridal chamber, yet dared not delve too deeply into the matter. To conceal my absent-mindedness, I grabbed a large cup of wine that Jiaqingzi had just filled, tilted my head back, and drank it down.

This decisive act of drinking drew cheers from the crowd. Zhang Chengzhao immediately stepped forward to offer me another cup, which I accepted without hesitation, smiling as I downed it in one gulp. This further fueled their interest in testing my drinking capacity, and almost everyone poured me a drink. I accepted every offer and drank every cup in front of me. As I turned to the side, I noticed Liang Quanyi looking troubled by the cup offered by someone else, so I went over, took the cup, and said with a smile to the person offering the toast, "Commander Liang can't drink too much, so I'll drink this for him."

And so, I had yet another reason to continue drinking. But in truth, I'm not a good drinker. Dozens of cups of fine wine poured down my sorrowful heart, finally resulting in the drunkenness I had anticipated.

How is the princess now?

Before the intense effects of the alcohol washed over me and erased my last vestiges of consciousness, I vaguely thought...

The Lonely City Closed (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Leaning idly against the twelve balustrades 5. First Night

Chapter word count: 4689 Update time: 08-08-21 17:32

5. First Night

I didn't sleep well that night. Fragments of dreams flashed through my mind, chaotic and disorganized, each image vague and indistinct, like the sketches I used to organize at the art academy when I was young. The only thing clear was the burning, frantic feeling in my heart, as if a raging fire was burning my internal organs. I ran through this chaotic dream world until a cool, damp sensation touched my burning skin.

The cool sensation lasted for a long time, little by little, like a spring of water that suddenly appeared between my eyebrows in the mountains during the height of summer.

I opened my eyes in this pleasant coolness, and a red sleeve brushed past me, followed by the princess's beautiful face.

"You're awake?" she said with a smile, then wiped my forehead with the cotton handkerchief in her hand.

After a moment of stunned silence, I quickly sat up and turned my head to look. I found myself in my own room in the princess's residence. It was still dawn, and the courtyard was silent. Apart from the princess, the only other person in the room was Bai Maoxian, the eunuch who served me, standing by the door.

I struggled to think through the throbbing headache, and gradually recalled what had happened yesterday. I was startled again, and before I could even bow, I asked, "Princess, why have you come here?"

“Oh, I wanted to see you, so I came. Xiaobai opened the door for me.” She said, throwing a handkerchief into a basin of cool water beside her, wringing it out, and then unfolding it to wipe my face, as if it were something she did every day. “Why did you drink so much? Your face is all red, you must feel terrible.”

I pressed down her handkerchief and whispered, "Princess, you shouldn't leave your bedchamber on your joyous occasion. Go back now."

"Go back? You want me to go back and guard that silly rabbit?" she said sadly. Seeing that I was speechless, she suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Do you know how I spent my wedding night?"

This question stumped me, and I lowered my head, remaining silent. She smiled faintly and lowered her voice, saying, "I had instructed Yunniang and Jiaqingzi beforehand to sleep outside my bedroom. If Li Wei was rude to me, I could call out, and they would come in immediately. However, that silly rabbit really is silly. Seeing that it was just the two of us in the room, he was even more nervous than me. He didn't know whether to stand or sit, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. I told him that I wasn't used to sharing bedding with others, and asked him to get a set of blankets and find another place to sleep outside the tent. He didn't object, took the blankets, spread them out on the floor by the window, and slept there."

"Did the prince consort sleep on the ground that night?" I blurted out in surprise.

The princess nodded: "Not bad."

I remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Why must the princess do this?"

"How can I allow others to snore beside my bed?" she replied.

This was originally a famous saying of Emperor Taizu. When he led his troops to besiege the Southern Tang, the last ruler of Southern Tang, Li Yu, begged for the preservation of his country, and this was his response. Now that the princess is quoting it in this way, it seems rather inappropriate, and I couldn't help but laugh when I heard it.