A Qing princess in the Republican era
From the turn of the new century, the Qing empire has been heralded with ominous impediments one after the other. Their miserable defeat at the boxer rebellion only marked the beginning. Inside the walls of the forbidden city, the power struggle between the emperor and the empress dowager was growing ever intense. Outside the walls, nationalists and revolutionaries were clamoring to overthrow the dynasty. The times have gone tumultuous wherein causes of celebration were fleeting. In 1905, a most welcome news from the inner court came. It has been more than a decade since the emperor married and accepted concubines, but he still did not have a son to inherit the throne. With much anticipation, the emperor looked forward to the birth of a prince. However, much to his disappointment, the child was another daughter. In 1912, despite the edict of abdication being issued, the future of Aisin Gioro Wan Li, once known as Gulun Gongzhu Wan Li or Princess Wan Li of the first rank, was still looking bright. Bound by an internal verbal agreement between her mother and the new president of the republic of China, she was promised to marry the 3rd son of the president, Yuan Kezhen, upon reaching adulthood. However, not everything goes as planned. With the assassination of the president and the short-lived restoration of the Qing dynasty, Wan Li had to escape the forbidden city. Wan Li was a princess, but she was still a maiden born in imperial China. Growing up, she was mostly educated only with the moral principles and social code of behaviour called the three obediences and four virtues. Her personality was gentle, kind, shy, and meek. Instilled to her were traits and beliefs of an ideal wife leaning on dependency to a powerful and influential husband. How was she to survive without the privilege of her birthright during the extraordinary times of the republican era? -- This novel will have at least 3 major arcs. (Yes, I have written that far… at least inside my head. Haha!) 1. Wan Li's childhood in the palace/ forbidden city (qing dynasty until early republican era) Age: 0-12 2. After Wan Li escapes the Forbidden city (early republican era/ Warlord era) Age: 12-16 3. Wan Li in Shanghai. (Republican/ Warlord era) Age 16 onwards — What to expect? This novel will have romance, a lot of it later on but it doesn’t revolve entirely on that. There will be politics. Very necessary as it’s what propels the story forward. Character growth, definitely. For the better or the worse, all there but remember each character would be as human as can be. Drama, face slapping, some darkness, adventure, betrayal, all of it will be in this novel. R-18? There will be but definitely not in the early chapters. Oh and this will have a happy ending, though the roads reaching that would be bumpy. — Cover art: the pictures were grabbed from pinterest then edited by me. Important note to readers: Many events in the novel were based from historical facts. Again, many but not all. Some characters were inspired from historical figures. Take note: INSPIRED. Thus, they definitely have different attributes whether looks or personalities. In this regard, please do not assume that they’re one and the same. The characters here were created by me, so if they’re kinda evil or too kind, don’t think that the real historical figure was. Again, though this is historical, it’s still a work of fiction. So a lot of things and reasons leading to certain factual events may have been romanticized by the author (me).
Chapter 3: The birth of Princess Wan Li III
"Huang shang, please pardon nubi, but the birthing quarter is…" Before Lady-in-waiting Yang could continue further, she has been mercilessly slapped by Eunuch Wu.
"How dare you stop his majesty!?" Eunuch Wu exclaimed.
Lady Yang's eyes widened as her mouth fell agape in shock. Never have she been treated by Eunuch Wu with such disrespect. Even at the time when Emperor Gongxu and Empress Ruyi have been at odds, all the servants have been cordial to each other. Was this the stance of the emperor? But the relationship between…
Before she could think further, she has been taken away by the eunuchs from the emperor's entourage.
With no one blocking the door of the birthing quarter, Eunuch Wu immediately opened it, keeping his head in a bow, avoiding looking at what was happening inside. "Please, Huang shang."
Inside the room, the Six occupants unaware of what just happened outside looked towards the door only to see the emperor.
Empress Ruyi who was just screaming her lungs out earlier did not know if she should be happy or mortified.
Meanwhile, the five birth attendants were too shocked as never has there been a precedent of an emperor entering the birthing chamber of his wife while she's giving birth. If there was, they have never been made aware of it. Regardless, years of practice made them all prepare for a kowtow.
Emperor Gongxu observing their actions spoke first.
"Zhen does not need you to kowtow in ceremony. Continue with what you're doing and take care of Fengwan." He instructed. The use of the empress' name done deliberately. Although he despised her secretly, he needed her to have a safe delivery. He can shred all pretenses once his son comes out of her womb.
The birth attendants followed his instructions, but they still bowed their heads and greeted "Wansui! wansui! wansui!"
Emperor Gongxu although being able to somehow see the process of childbirth from his position still did not feel complacent. What if one of the birth attendants was sent by the empress dowager to…
On the way to there, he saw that there were palace guards patrolling the area. It was very alarming for supposedly, no men, aside from himself and the eunuchs, were allowed inside the inner court. He was tempted to interrogate and punish them, but time was of essence.
Thus, when they all kowtowed to the ground when they saw him with his entourage, he just briskly passed by without giving any acknowledgement.
"Ah!!!!"
Fenwang's scream of agony pulled Gongxu out of his reverie. Without further ado, he took a step inside.
--
"Zhuzi, one more time… one… two… three… push!" The birthing attendants chanted in the room to encourage the Empress.
"Ah!!!!" Empress Ruyi let out another scream as she put more effort in pushing the baby out. Her initial embarrassment from her husband, the emperor, seeing her undignified appearance long gone.
"Zhuzi! The head is crowning!" The midwife announced with joy, the child's position was correct.
"Fengwan, you heard that? Just a little more. Our child is coming!" Emperor Gongxu who has replaced one of the birthing attendants on holding the empress' hand earlier said with excitement.
Fengwan who had no doubts that she looked like a sweating pig that moment turned her head to look at Emperor Gongxu. As their eyes met, all she saw was the unbridled joy and gentleness in his. Her heart turned soft, and tears caused by the pain of childbirth was replaced by that of longing.
Although she knew that his sincerity towards her was but an illusion that would end after their child was born, she has grown to love him.
"Zhuzi, ready? Please take a deep breath and…" The midwife instructed.
"Fengwan…" Emperor Gongxu whispered.
Fengwan gave a sad smile at Emperor Gongxu. She wanted to say it once while he was still listening. "Zailiang, I love you."
Then, not waiting for his reaction, she faced forward and took a deep breath.
"one… two… three… push!!!" The birth attendants chanted.
Emperor Gongxu, courtesy name Zailiang, was caught off guard by the confession. However, he had no time to delve on her words as all his mind could think of was the safe delivery of his son.
With a silent prayer for the safety of their child and that she would trade her life for a son, Empress Ruyi strengthened her willpower to push. "Ah!!!"
"The baby's coming out, the baby's coming out!" the midwife cried excitedly.
Then, finally…
"Wah… wah… wah…" the cries of a newborn filled the room.
Hearing the sound, Emperor Gongxu immediately dropped empress Ruyi's hand. His son is here. his son is…
"Gong xi, huang Shang! Gong xi, Niang niang! It's a healthy baby girl…" the midwife finally announced with a smile.
--
TBC
Glossary:
Nubi- A deprecatory first-person pronoun by Manchu female officials when addressing the emperor (and the imperial family). A term that can be translated to 'slave' or 'lackey'.
Zhuzhi- 'master', used by empress to call the emperor, used by palace maids to call the empress, etc.
Gong xi- congratulations