“My Lord, what on earth did Prince Shi want with you that was so important?”
Ruan Jinyu finally returned, and Qian Qi’s heart finally settled. Fortunately, the Emperor had not sent anyone to look for him in the meantime. Ruan Jinyu held a wooden box in his hand. He shifted it slightly, handing it to Qian Qi with a flat instruction: “Go and burn this.”
Qian Qi was confused but obeyed. When he returned, he didn’t see Ruan Jinyu rushing off to the Dianluo Garden; instead, the Preceptor sat back down in his room, looking entirely unhurried.
“My Lord, are you not going?”
Ruan Jinyu kept his eyes closed. “It is his consort selection; it would be inappropriate for me to attend.”
Qian Qi didn’t quite agree, but since Ruan Jinyu had spoken, he fell silent. His master always acted with measure; if he had made a decision, he had surely weighed the consequences. There was no need for Qian Qi to overthink it.
In the seventh month of the first year of the Degui Era, the four seas were at peace, and the ancient rites were followed to widely select virtuous women for the harem.
A lady of the Yuan clan was chosen as a consort and granted the title of Consort Shun…
The road to the morning court today was incredibly lively. It wasn’t just this morning; the entire palace had been buzzing since last night. During yesterday’s selection, the highest-ranking title bestowed was “Consort Shun,” whom Ruan Jinyu had just heard about. For a woman to enter the palace and immediately be granted the rank of Consort was certainly something worth discussing. The other women were all ranked beneath her, making her the highest-ranking lady in the current harem.
Aside from that, another matter was worth noting: last night, Ruan Jinyu received a letter from his grandfather’s estate. Between the lines, it mentioned that Ruan Lianjie had been successfully selected and had already entered the palace.
After the morning court was dismissed today, Ruan Jinyu went to the main hall of the Palace of Ultimate Bliss, led by a eunuch. Yan Yan was strangely quiet today. Since Ruan Jinyu’s arrival, the two had shared few words. The Emperor merely stared at the memorials in his hand as if he were too busy to lift his head for even a moment or speak a single sentence.
Thus, Ruan Jinyu quietly stayed by his side, reviewing his own documents. He assumed the Emperor simply had too much on his plate and nothing in particular to say to him. When it was time, Ruan Jinyu rose to take his leave as usual.
Yan Yan stiffened for a brief second before suddenly dropping the memorial. The bamboo scroll hit the redwood desk with a crisp, sharp snap that echoed heavily in the empty room. His head eunuch, Hong En, noticed this and lowered his head even further.
“Hong En, tell me,” Yan Yan said. “What did he go to see Prince Shi for yesterday?”
Hong En was the Emperor’s personal attendant. Since Yan Yan’s ascension, he had frequently been sent to the side hall to deal with the Imperial Preceptor. Thus, he knew more than most. However, he truly did not know the answer to this question.
Sensing that the Emperor’s mood was difficult to soothe, Hong En chose his words carefully to shield the Preceptor. “To answer Your Majesty, this servant is of shallow knowledge. However, the Imperial Preceptor did essentially watch Prince Shi grow up. Perhaps he was merely paying a visit out of habit; it could be considered within the bounds of reason.”
Hong En knew the Emperor could not tolerate Prince Shi, yet the Preceptor had visited him privately. He assumed a suspicious monarch would fear his inner circle forming alliances with his enemies. Therefore, his words were a deliberate attempt to excuse the Preceptor’s actions.
It was unclear if Yan Yan took the words to heart; his expression showed no major ripples. Just then, the Chief Eunuch arrived.
“Your Majesty, the hour has come. These are the tablets from the various palaces for tonight’s attendance. We humbly request Your Majesty to select the one who shall serve you tonight.”
The tablet eventually selected bore a name of two characters. A drop of black ink from the imperial brush blurred onto the wood, soaking into the grain until the two characters were clearly revealed:
“Si Hao”
By evening, the moon hung high in the sky, and the stars were exceptionally bright. Ruan Jinyu had originally intended to go for a walk, as the breeze was finally cool and refreshing, but as soon as he reached the palace gates, he turned back. He returned to his own courtyard.
Better not to go out after all, he thought.
He sat in the courtyard for a long while before slowly returning to his room, extinguishing the candles, and lying down. He did not sleep well that night. He drifted in and out of a daze until the next morning, when it was once again time for the court session.
The journey to court was full of “excitement,” as he heard many tales. The most interesting piece of gossip currently spreading concerned the woman the Emperor had stayed with the previous night.
Until today, because the lady of the Yuan clan had become Consort Shun the moment she entered the palace, everyone assumed she would be the one to be favored. Yet, on the very first night, the Emperor had not flipped Consort Shun’s tablet. Instead, he had chosen a mere Cai-ren (Lady of Talents) of the fifth rank. This was a resounding slap in the face to those who had been bragging that Consort Shun would rise to the highest position.
“What do you mean ‘Cai-ren’? She isn’t one anymore. This morning, His Majesty promoted her to the rank of Jie-yu (Lady of Bright Deportment). She is now Jie-yu Si.”
This news traveled until everyone in the palace knew. As a new Emperor, his every move was watched, especially now that the harem had expanded—this was the time to discern his true inclinations.
The name “Si Hao” naturally reached Ruan Jinyu’s ears. He pondered it for a long while but couldn’t place her. No household in the court seemed to have a daughter by that name. If she wasn’t the child of a court official, where did this Si Hao come from? Consort Shun’s background was clear; her father was the Minister of Justice. This Jie-yu Si’s background, however, was a mystery.
After court, Eunuch Hong En did not come to find him, meaning he wasn’t required to assist the Emperor in the library today. He was happy for the leisure and headed straight back to the side hall.
“My Lord, I heard some things today,” Qian Qi said, rushing forward as soon as Ruan Jinyu returned.
As it turned out, Jie-yu Si was not a native of the Capital; she was from the border province of Lanqi. Years ago, her father had been the local governor, making her a high-born lady of a prominent house. But fate had played a cruel hand.
Lanqi was located on the far western edge of the Kingdom of Nanyu. At that time, the barbarians of the Western Wastes were rampant and violent. Their raids coincided with a political coup in the Capital. Si Hao’s entire family perished at the hands of the barbarians. As for Si Hao herself, her mother’s sisters lived in the Capital. She happened to be visiting her cousins there at the time, thus escaping the disaster and surviving. Her aunt kept her in the Capital until the recent consort selection, when she entered the palace.