21 Bait and Switch

Yan Qiu Yue was feeling extremely restless. She'd spent the last few months feeling apprehensive about her marriage and then just like that, by no fault of hers nor Wei Hong Sheng's, it was canceled.

...Well, technically speaking it wasn't canceled but put on hold. The tentativeness made the circumstances even harder to bear somehow. She just wanted to know what would happen to her, whether it was favorable or not. Not knowing was the worst.

"Yue'er, I've heard something rather disturbing." Yan Qiu Heng said. The two of them were out dining together. She'd been so listless that it scared her younger brother, who insisted on dragging her out of the estate to lighten the mood. He'd ordered a table of her favorite dishes and glared at her until she'd had at least one bite of everything.

"Something disturbing, you say?" She had trouble imagining anything worse than what she'd already been through these past months, but perhaps she ought not to underestimate the whims of fate.

"The latest rumors from the palace are that your engagement won't be canceled, but your partner will be switched instead."

Yan Qiu Yue pondered this for a moment. If her partner were to be changed, it would have to be to that Tian Ao fellow. After all, he was the true son of Prince Rui. The emperor and Prince Rui had been pushing that young man into the spotlight more and more this past week. Plus, there was the fact that her marriage had not been canceled, but temporarily shelved. Perhaps the emperor had planned for this all along. After all, the investigation of Tian Ao and his origins had been going on for a long time. It probably predated her engagement. It was possible the Holy One predicted that all of this would happen. It was easier for him to conveniently re-interpret his previous edict than to force her to marry a newly arrived Tian Ao. That made it a matter of her marrying into the Prince Rui household. It seemed that that wouldn't change no matter what.

When she thought of these events as being immutable, somehow that actually made Yan Qiu Yue feel better. She could accept something that she had no control over. Besides, Tian Ao didn't have the reputation that Wei Hong Sheng had. Perhaps this would be a better match.

She wanted to think this, but somehow the image of Wei Hong Sheng's easy smile popped into her head and just wouldn't leave. Yan Qiu Yue frowned. "My partner has never truly been up to me. What does it matter if I marry Tian Ao over Wei Hong Sheng?"

"You really think that it doesn't matter? Yan Qiu Heng raised an eyebrow. "You will have to spend the rest of your life with this man. You have no preference?"

"...I don't know much about Tian Ao. We have attended some of the same gatherings, but it's not as if I ever had a chance to speak with him. I'm not even sure I know exactly what he looks like," she admitted.

"Apparently his foster father is an up-and-coming merchant in Northern Xi. They are quite wealthy and Tian Ao was being trained to follow in his father's footsteps. By all accounts, he sounds like a bright, noble young man."

"It's not like you to be so complimentary." Yan Qiu Yue laughed. "Don't tell me you've been bribed by that wealthy Tian Ao to say this!"

Yan Qiu Heng stared at her, a little horrified. "You still dare to joke in this situation? I merely want you to be able to make the best of all this!"

"I know, I know. I was only teasing. Well, if this Tian Ao makes money instead of gambling it away, that alone makes him better than Wei Hong Sheng!"

"Elder Sister... You really have no feelings for Wei Hong Sheng?" Yan Qiu Heng's voice sounded somewhat suspicious.

"What do you mean by that line of questioning?"

"It's just... Lately... You've exuded a sort of warmth when talking about him. Or sometimes you'll space out for a moment and a smile will be on your face. I know it's not the latest copy of 'Inspector of the Whistling Pines' that has you feeling this way. I already heard from Third Brother that you apparently hate the current developments."

"Heng'er, it's complicated." Yan Qiu Yue sighed. "I can't straightforwardly say that I hate him. I believe I was just beginning to resign myself when this all happened. But I certainly won't admit to any feelings beyond that. I was hoping that...maybe after we got married, I could get to know him better and put him on the right path. That would be good for us both." She turned then to gaze outside of the window, her expression complex. "Now it seems I won't be able to do that."

"I'm afraid his status will be greatly lowered. Since he's not a legitimate son, there's almost no way he can maintain his position as the shizi. The only reason they let him keep that title for so long was that he had no competition. But with a legitimate son in the family now who's known for being diligent and intelligent?"

Yan Qiu Yue nodded gravely. "Will he rise from this or sink ever more heavily into his vices?" Suddenly, she felt that she ought to answer that question for herself, too. She'd started to resign herself to her marriage to Wei Hong Sheng, but now an alternate path lay before her.

"Have you met this Tian Ao, Heng'er?" she asked her younger twin. Yan Qiu Heng shook his head. He at least knew what Tian Ao looked like, but they'd never interacted.

"The Crown Prince is holding a banquet for him tomorrow night, is he not? Younger generation of noblemen only?"

Yan Qiu Heng nodded. "The Holy One wants very much for this Tian Ao to assimilate back into noble society. They've been having banquets or gatherings almost every day to get him used to things." At this, he smiled a bit ruefully. "I hear it's not going too well. It doesn't seem like he wants to be Prince Rui-shizi."

"If even you know this, the emperor must, as well. I hope that this doesn't lead to problems..." One could not simply be stubborn in the face of the monarch's wishes. If Emperor Yong Le wanted Tian Ao to attend parties and schmooze with noble families, Tian Ao would have to do so happily or risk angering the emperor. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Yan Qiu Yue grinned.

"You want a peek at your future husband again, don't you?"

"You make it sound so indecent when you phrase it like that..."

"But am I wrong?"

"It would be nice to...at least see him face to face. Then I might know better what to expect." Yan Qiu Yue wondered if Wei Hong Sheng would also be attending the banquet. He was supposed to be under confinement still. It wasn't a strict punishment, but Wei Hong Sheng had dutifully stayed in his courtyard these past days and not even a peep was heard from him. No one knew how he was handling the current state of his family and the government...

Somehow, no matter how long she thought on it, Yan Qiu Yue's heart couldn't decide whether or not she wished for him to be there.