Days In Quest Of Honor

Life with Royalty, End of Freedom (7)

   The snow that blanketed the surroundings in winter had already started to thaw. The sunrays reflected brightly in the pale surroundings.

It was early in the morning and a young man in Imperial robes strode in front of the rear palace. It was the residence of Imperial Consort, Sang Jiu.

The servants outside the quarters kneeled and greeted the man outside the gates. He seemed hesitant when suddenly someone patted his shoulders. It was none other than the Crown Prince, Xia Xiaowen who somewhat tried to console his first brother, Xia Huang.

One of the servants spoke up while trembling. She was the personal maid of Sang Jiu.

" Your Highness, this subordinate asks for forgiveness on behalf of the Imperial Consort. Please have mercy!!!"

Xia Huang sighed as he ordered the servant to stand up.

" Its alright...anyways I am not here to punish anyone but... *sigh*"

Even before he could finish speaking an eunuch greeted him as he conveyed the message that the emperor requested for an audience with both the princes.

Xia Huang took one last glance past the gates and somewhat in a dejected way left the back palace.

Xia Xiaowen stood there for a while before departing. After all it was well known in the entire palace that the first prince never really got along with his wife.

And the reason why the servant started trembling with fear on seeing him was that, although Xia Huang returned back after almost two years, Sang Jiu never even came out once to greet him, let alone ask how he was faring.

That was an extremely disrespectful behaviour towards one's husband and also a humiliation to the status of the first prince as per the societal norms of ancient China...

On reaching the court room where the Emperor usually gave audience, both the princes bowed and greeted the Emperor. General PeiZhi and Minister Han were already present in the hall. All other officials were ordered to leave the hall.

"Rise"

The Emperor looked back at both the princes and continued.

" Two days from today an Imperial Banquet will be held. Xia Xiaowen..., as the Crown Prince it's time for you to choose the Crown Princess."

Xia Xiaowen clenched his fists under the long sleeves on hearing those words.

" I know you don't want to marry right now but, as the future ruler, you must never allow your people to criticize you. Otherwise the entire ministry might fall. After all it's the law of the court to find flaws in every matter."

Xia Xiaowen didn't reply for a long time. Xia Huang on the other side stayed completely silent while remembering the time when he and Sang Jiu were forced into the marriage. All he could do was hope that at least his brother could find a better match.

Noticing the silence, the Emperor continued speaking, " I have made sure to get the perfect match for you. I know you value knowledgeable people who are not bound by social norms, are bold to voice out wrongs, and hence...", He looked back at Minister Han as he announced, " Han Baozhai will be the one to become the future Empress."

Minister Han could already guess why he was summoned to the court early in the morning and also the reason why the other officials were made to leave. The other officials were made to leave as it was a well known fact that to be the Crown Princess, one must pass certain tests conducted by the head maids of etiquette. And to directly announce Han Baozhai as the candidate, the entire thing would be too biased. So in the end, the Banquet was just a facade with the condition being that one must be a scholar and should have performed well in events hosted previously as the welcoming ceremony for the princes. All the conditions in the end were in favour of Baozhai.

The whole thing was more or less a planned private meeting in which one had no choice but to agree.

Minister Han bowed, " I cannot thank the Emperor enough for his benevolence!"

" In the Imperial Banquet all the scholars of this year's examination have been invited. Xia Huang, you might as well take in a new concubine and leave Sang Jiu. After all, her existence itself is a humiliation to the royal family at this stage."

The words brought in a tinge of pain in Xia Huang's heart. Although he had never really been together with Sang Jiu, he could more or less understand why she hated him and also the royal family so much. Anything related to royalty was never as simple as it seemed after all.

And the marriage couldn't even be called a marriage as after all, they never consumated on their wedding night. If this news ever got out, the first prince would end up becoming the new topic of gossip while Sang Jiu would be loathed by all and humiliated. After all whatever might have been their relationship, he truly cared for his wife and definitely respected her choices and feelings.

*****

It was already noon by the time Minister Han left the court room. PeiZhi left earlier and accompanied Xia Xiaowen to look after official matters.

Han Baozhai on the other hand sat in a refined way on her desk. The incense burner filled the room with agarwood aroma. It had been almost an incense stick of time since she sat holding onto her brush. Her vacation was short and her deadline for finishing the novel she was working on was near. On top of that, the thought of attending the banquet was killing her.

Out of ideas and in a frustrated mood, she walked straight out of her house and went for a walk in the evening.

She felt guilty for leaving when she hadn't even fully recovered and so in the end she had no choice but to inform her mother and finally coax her. Staying stuck at home all day made her even more sick and it felt suffocating, so being left with no other choice she decided to sneak out once more.

The streets bustled as people celebrated the return of the princes. Many rouge shops sold vibrant rouges for young maidens. Kids ran around playing with their toys and many girls were found buying assorted trinklets. The lanterns gleamed with the arrival of dusk. Soon the weather started to get chilly.

Han Baozhai sighed as she lamented on the fact that she was late to get out of the house for her short walk. In the end she couldn't find any inspiration for her novel and was worried about the fact that her mother would be angry if she returned late after nightfall. After all it wasn't some modern era in which women could return home anytime they wanted to. On top of that, one was greatly judged by the society and as a noble it greatly influenced her family's reputation.

As she walked back in a dejected manner she thought of visiting the Imperial garden and sitting there for some time while watching the moon. It was easy for her to enter as the Imperial scholars all had access to tokens which allowed them to enter the Imperial grounds. And this area was always popular among the scholars and nobles and never actually used by the Imperial family.

But then she saw the figure of a lone man sitting alone with a few jars of expensive liquor. To her surprise, that figure belonged to none other than the one whom she had defeated in the swords fighting tournament which was held two days prior.

He was none other than the first prince, Xia Huang, but that fact obviously, was unknown to her.