11 Princess Rui

Prince Rui of the First Rank was the only surviving brother of the current Emperor Yong Le. He had been instrumental in helping his brother take over the throne smoothly after the previous emperor's death, so even though the two of them did not have the same mother, they had a fairly close relationship. Of course, this was merely on the surface. Who knew how the two got along behind closed doors? Who knew if Prince Rui had any regrets or hidden ambitions? The two brothers seemed to get along fine and Prince Rui was very honorable.

The great Princess Consort Rui, his main wife, was the eldest daughter of Duke Jiang, a duke of second class. Most people dropped the "consort" part of her title and referred to her simply as Princess Rui as a sign of deep respect. Considering that Duke Jiang had been merely a count some decades back, it could be seen just how much Princess Rui's family had climbed up under the last two emperors.

Prince Rui was known to care deeply about his wife--or at least respect her--to the point where he had a rather small inner court by the standards of nobility. There were only three concubines in Prince Rui's household and hardly any bedwarmers that lasted for more than a month or two. Surprisingly, nobody in the capital really made a big deal out of this. Princess Rui was a gorgeous, elegant woman and many were of the opinion that it was only natural for her husband to treat her well.

She was the most beautiful woman of her generation, a master of art, music, and other feminine refinements. The identity of her future husband had been hotly debated before she married the prince and even now there were debates about whom between them had been the lucky one to marry up.

Even now that she was a few years past the age of 40, Princess Rui was a rare beauty. She hardly looked her age and she still had a commanding presence. Yan Qiu Yue had seen the princess multiple times at palace banquets and other gatherings, but those had been mere glimpses. They had never spoken to each other before Yan Qiu Yue was betrothed to Wei Hong Sheng, Prince Rui's only legitimate child. Yan Qiu Yue had actually quite idolized her future mother-in-law. Princess Rui had married well, was adored by her husband, and was multi-talented in her own right. She was an ideal woman who lived the way she wanted and was respected for it.

Imagine Yan Qiu Yue's feelings when she got to truly meet her idol face to face for the first time and was met with scorn and derision.

"Merely an orchid that cannot grow properly without being tied to a stick of bamboo. Yet the emperor wishes for this orchid, this crooked, undernourished thing, to be tied to a mighty pine? My heart aches. I cannot approve."

It was an insult on multiple levels and on top of that, Princess Rui was saying that they were a mismatched pairing. An orchid used to growing in a humid hothouse cannot withstand the cold winds of the mountain where forests of pine trees grow. Yan Qiu Yue felt so suppressed that for the first time in her life, she stood meekly behind her mother and didn't utter a word. It was an awkward feeling. She hadn't wanted to marry Wei Hong Sheng in the first place, but having his mother insult her to this degree didn't feel good, either.

"It can't be helped," Duchess Ning sighed as she and her daughter rode together in a carriage back to their family's estate. "Wei Hong Sheng is the only child of the prince and princess. They would naturally be picky about his wife and our family--"

"What's wrong with our family?!" Yan Qiu Yue had snapped. "Father is a duke! A first-class duke! The only way we could be any nobler would be if we were royalty! Just what is so bad about the Yan family?"

The duchess smiled wryly. She didn't bother scolding her daughter for interrupting. "There is nothing wrong with our family, of course. But your father is not ambitious. Your uncle is not ambitious. There's no benefit to them even if our family takes their side."

The words "takes their side" and "no benefit" silenced Yan Qiu Yue. Why were there "sides"? Because unlike Duke Ning, Prince Rui was ambitious. He may have given up on the throne himself back then, but the Crown Prince was known to be a rather weak-minded individual. There were many who were dissatisfied with him.

But for the alternative to be Wei Hong Sheng... Yan Qiu Yue frowned. "Does Prince Rui really think that his son would make a better crown prince?"

"Who knows what those imperial men think? It is not for us to know. I am merely trying to warn you about why Princess Rui may not approve... Why she may not treat you well."

"Don't worry, Mother. I won't allow myself to be bullied once I marry over."

The duchess sighed again. "I fear you won't have a choice if Princess Rui really finds you to be an eyesore. They might not wait until after you're married over to cause trouble."

This entire conversation had rather left Yan Qiu Yue at a loss. She realized that her way of thinking had been a little too naive. She wasn't excited about the marriage but accepted it as inevitable since it was bestowed by the emperor himself. Since she thought this way, she thought that Prince Rui's household thought of the matter the same way. It wasn't as if either side could get out of it. But if Prince Rui truly had ambitions for the throne, if they thought that Yan Qiu Yue was unsuitable or unhelpful for those ambitions... Prince Rui was part of the royal family. Those types of people were used to scheming and plotting. She could be killed without even knowing what had happened, in ways that she couldn't even imagine.

After she and her mother returned to the estate, Yan Qiu Yue went straight to her courtyard and holed herself up in her room for a long time. She thought about her upcoming marriage, about her conversation with Princess Rui and her mother. The result was that she couldn't think of any solution. She might be killed before getting married to Wei Hong Sheng. She might be bullied or treated horribly upon marrying in. Yet she couldn't get out of the marriage. Even if she tried to tell the other side that she didn't want to get married, it would only be an insult to Prince Rui and to the emperor. It was a lose-lose situation. This sunk Yan Qiu Yue into a deeply depressed state that lasted for a little over a month.

Finally, Yan Qiu Heng had barged into her room. Her sensible, logical brother had asked her "Why don't you at least meet Wei Hong Sheng before deciding that it's hopeless? Maybe you could still come up with a plan."

So the two of them switched places a few times. First Yan Qiu Yue observed Wei Hong Sheng at the pavilion. After observing him like this in his natural habitat a few times, she saw that he was a dandy and seemed to be a man who preferred coquettish, obedient women. This gave Yan Qiu Yue an idea.