The Child Emperor

Chapter 34: Night of the Wedding

In the morning, at the Ancestral Temple, Han Ruzi met the Empress, Cui Nuan styled Xiaojun, for the first time. She was accepted the appointment as Empress at her home, and officially became the Empress. The luxurious Imperial robes were unable to disguise her thin body, and the phoenix crown atop her head looked like it was about to fall. They truly evidenced that she was but a child.

Her face was headed by a beaded veil. Han Ruzi could not see what she looked like.

In truth, the two of them did not have the chance to look at each other. They stood in a row beside each other, separated by seven to eight steps. They raised their heads to look at the spirit tablets, listening to the decorum officials recite ceremonial prayers to the ancestors in a ritualistic cadence. They stood stiffer than a puppet in the midst of such solemn atmosphere.

The next time they met was at the Cishun Palace. The Emperor and Empress paid their respect to the Empress Dowager. It was no different than at the Ancestral Temple; they were surrounded by a large entourage, and they complied with the procedures as instructed to them by the decorum officials. The Empress Dowager made an appearance but did not speak; her female attendant spoke on her behalf, speaking some words of encouragement to the Empress.

The Empress had some other ceremonies to attend after that, while the Emperor proceeded to the Hall of Diligent Administration where he received the congratulations of the nobles and officials. It was smaller in scale than his own ascension, but the gifts he received were plenty and direct — gold and silver, the quantity dependent on the person’s noble rank or official position. Even if the person could not attend personally, his gift must be sent, and the decorum official would read out everyone’s gifts.

Han Ruzi sat there bored. If he ever became a true Emperor, he would surely go take a look at these gold and silver to see if they truly existed. As he was, he did not even know where the Emperor’s coffers were located.

In the second batch of congratulators, Han Ruzi heard the name of Marquis Junyang. He swept a glance, and saw a large-built man with a magnificent beard. He looked anywhere between the age of forty and seventy, and was someone who stood out amongst the ranks of Marquises.

Han Ruzi could not think of any young noble in his entourage who bore a resemblance to this man.

The Hall of Diligent Administration was rather small, so each group of officials entering was not too big. The congratulations went on for a very long time. Han Ruzi had nothing else to do, so he quietly practiced breathing against the flow. The pain in his stomach was long ago, and he could sense a flow of qi in his body. This might make Meng E happy.

In the evening, the Emperor returned to the Tai-an Palace, where the final ceremony was to be held: sharing a meal with the Empress. And then it would be time for consummation.

The Empress arrived, and sat at her seat squarely and seriously, while the Emperor entered his seat in the center position. As usual, the decorum official would loudly announce every move of the newly wed. Han Ruzi received a wine cup from a female attendant, knocked it against the Empress’s cup, and then forced himself to drink from it.

Nobody cared whether the Emperor could drink alcohol and everything proceeded as the rules required. A good Emperor would never change the rules on a whim, let alone a puppet Emperor.

With three cups of wine in their belly, the Emperor and Empress symbolically ate from a few dishes which had various symbolic meaning. The meal was then withdrawn, but the ceremony had not yet ended. Ten middle-aged female attendants took turns to scatter flowers and fruits on the newly-wed, singing some strange folksong. After that, two male and one female shaman came forth and used even stranger songs to get rid of evil spirits. Finally, one male decorum official and one female decorum official, each representing the Emperor and Empress respectively, made solemn vows to the various gods. It sounded like the Empress had more vows to keep.

Han Ruzi had only one vow to keep in his heart, which was not to touch the Empress at all.

The sky turned dark and the candles were lit. The long and arduous ceremony was finally over. The female attendants escorted the Empress into the bedroom and then withdrew. They stood in two columns as they welcomed the Emperor into the room.

The moment the door of the bedroom closed, Han Ruzi suddenly understood. He was afraid of this moment. The more he suppressed his fears in the day, the greater the terror he felt now. Cui Xiaojun was unlike the servant-girl who wanted to “teach” him the way of husband-wife relations. She was the official Empress, who had officially married the Emperor.

They were truly husband and wife!

Han Ruzi did not know why he was afraid. The Empress was a lot thinner than the servant-girl Dong Qing E.

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Only after standing at the doorway for a while did Han Ruzi realize that Dong Qing E was standing next to the Empress, eyeing the Emperor with confusion.

The Emperor was confused as well. “Why… did you remain here?”

“This servant… is helping the Empress remove the phoenix crown.”

Han Ruzi breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, the phoenix crown atop the Empress’s head was large and heavy. She would not be able to remove it by herself.

“May I?” asked Dong Qing E.

“Erm… yes.”

Dong Qing E carefully assisted the Empress in removing the crown, which was placed on a plate. She then helped the Empress and Emperor get out of their heavy ceremonial robes, and folded them carefully. She then brought the phoenix crown out with both eyes.

From now on, there would be no one else to help the newly-wed with their jobs.

Most of the candles in the room had been blown out, leaving just one by the bedside. The candle flame swayed, lighting the bride’s face dimly. Han Ruzi stood where he was for a while, before striding to the front of the bed, facing the Empress.

This was a girl with a pale complexion, a few strands of her head hung on the sides of her head. Her eyes were large, her gaze looked lost. It was unclear if she was frightened or cold.

After looking at each other for a while, the Empress lowered her gaze.

An awkward feeling grew like a vine, gradually strangulating Han Ruzi’s neck, forcing him to say something to reduce the tension. He opened his mouth for a while before finally saying, “Are you tired?”

“Mm,” said the Empress quietly, without raising her head.

Han Ruzi kept his mouth open, and was preparing to say something else, when something unexpected happened — he hiccupped.

It was light and short, and Han Ruzi quickly shut his mouth to hold his breath. Before long, a second hiccup escaped his throat through his eyes. And from then on, they became uncontrollable, coming one after the other. The more he tried to hold them back, the more frequent his hiccups came.

The Empress raised her head and looked at the Emperor in confusion.

“I’m hic sorry hic… I might hic… be a little hic…”

The Empress pressed her lips together into a smile. “Your Majesty is too nervous.”

Han Ruzi shook his head vigorously. He knew what had happened. It was all because of the pill that Meng E had gave them. It had caused a stomach ahead the other day, and now it brought on the hiccups. “I hic… will be hic… better hic… in a while.”

“There is water on the table…”

Han Ruzi hurriedly turned and ran to the table, picking up a teapot and pouring a cup of water. He drank the water in small sips, but it was of no use. Once, he nearly spat out the water in his mouth. He decided to quietly practice breathing against the flow — as he had thought, it helped a little. The hiccups did not stop, but they grew less frequent.

A hand rubbed his back lightly. Han Ruzi jumped up in shock and hurriedly moved away. He said to the Empress, “Don’t come here.”

The Empress’s right hand remained lifted. She said confusedly, “Yes, Your Majesty. Does Your Majesty not need help?”

Han Ruzi shook his head. Once he became nervous, the hiccups grew worse. He pressed one hand against a table, and shut his eyes, focusing more on breathing against the flow. He tried to chase after the qi in his body, and the hiccups grew fewer and fewer, only coming on occasionally.

He opened his eyes and saw the Empress still standing by the side, yawning profusely.

“Sorry.” Han Ruzi felt bad. “You must be exhausted hic. Go to bed.”

“Your Majesty should rest as well.”

“I hic… wish to stand for a while. You go first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”The Empress walked to the side of the bed and lifted a small portion of the blanket. She got on the bed and lay there without moving.

Han Ruzi blew out the last candle, and fumbled his way to the couch in the dark. He lay on the couch without a pillow or blanket, but he did not mind. In the midst of the silence, he thought he could hear a very soft sigh. It was not a sigh of disappointment or regret, but one of relief.

The young Empress was as nervous as him.

Han Ruzi had things on his mind, so he did not sleep well. He woke up early the next day, and tip-toed to the bedside. Under the dim light of dawn, he met a pair of eyes which were slightly panicked.

The Empress did not sleep well either.

The two of them stared at each other for a while. Han Ruzi whispered, “Someone will come get us out of bed soon. I must hic…” The hiccups had not completely ended.

The Empress nodded her head lightly as she moved further into the bed. She seemed to have slept rather still, the blanket not having been moved much in the night.

Han Ruzi went into bed, thinking about his promise to Prince Donghai. He soon found that his hiccups were getting worse.

A knock sounded. “Your Majesty, it is time to get out of bed.”

After the second knock, Han Ruzi said, “Come in.”

Many servant-girls started streaming into the room. The Emperor and Empress began their puppet lives once again. They were dressed, brought to different rooms to bathe, dressed, and smoked with fragrance. Once they were neat and tidy, they went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager together.

The Empress paying respects to the Empress Dowager on the first day of her marriage was an event that called for quite a bit of ceremony. The courtyard of the Cishun Palace was filled with servant-girls and eunuchs. The Emperor and Empress knelt outside the door. The Emperor stayed while the Empress entered alone to receive the teachings of the Empress Dowager.

Han Ruzi hoped that the Empress would learn as little as possible from the Empress Dowgaer.

There was no sign of Prince Donghai in the crowd.

The newly-wed Emperor had to go listen to affairs of state, to symbolize that the people was paramount. There was news from Guan-dong: the war was going as well as expected, but the rebel forces were not fully cleared up. There were several cities within the Princedom of Qi that were loyal to Prince Qi — they held on tenaciously despite assaults. Most importantly, the chief rebel, Prince Qi himself, had not yet been captured. Ever since his defeat at Luoyang, he had disappeared. Grand Tutor Cui Hong had to dispatch large amounts of forces to track Prince Qi down. Many clues were obtained, but they all led to no result.

As usual, Han Ruzi did not remain long in the Hall of Diligent Administration. In the fifteen minutes that he was there, he kept hearing an unfamiliar name: Chunyu Xiao. It did not sound like he was an official, nor a local lord. Instead, it sounded like he was Prince Qi’s chief strategist, and even a sense that he was some kind of seer.

When a eunuch invited the Emperor to return to the palace, Han Ruzi could not help but ask the Chancellor, “This Chunyu Xiao… hic… Who is he?”

The Emperor seldom asked questions, and to ask a question with a hiccup was unprecedented. The Chancellor was momentarily stunned, and the eunuchs around the Emperor were also rather nervous. Only after nobody appeared from the side-chamber to stop matters from proceeding did Yin Wuhai bow deeply and speak tremblingly. “Chunyu Xiao is a fate seer of Guan-dong. It was he who incited Prince Qi into rebellion. It can be said that he is the mastermind of the rebellion. Your Majesty need not worry. Chunyu Xiao will be brought to justice.”

Fate seer. It was the first time Han Ruzi was hearing of such a thing. He did not really understand, but he did not ask further.

The Empress was not at the Tai-an Palace — she had been taken to somewhere unknown and did not return for the entire morning. Han Ruzi was relieved, and with nothing else to do, continued practicing breathing against the flow to resist the urge to hiccup.

In the afternoon, Grand Consort Shang-guan arrived to supervise a group of eunuchs and servant-girls tidy up the matrimonial room. She only had a short period of time to speak to the Emperor in private.

“Treat the Empress well. She will be useful in the future.”

Han Ruzi was not concerned about the “future”. He asked softly, “Who was the one who stuffed me with the message?”

The Grand Consort did not really want to answer. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Zhang Yanghao. He was chosen by Luo Huan-zhang.”

That was one question down. Han Ruzi asked further, “You said that the Empress Dowager is responsible for the death of the Thoughtful Emperor. Do you have proof?”

That was why the Grand Consort had come. She replied frankly, “Yes. Zuo Ji is proof. If Your Majesty is able to get Zuo Ji to submit to you, you will learn the truth.”