Liu Quiaqio, the Empress of the Jin Dynasty has given his heart, soul, and body to the emperor, he loved him to the point it exhausted him, but the cold emperor only had eyes for one person, and that person wasn't him, the warmth in his eyes when he...
Every once in a while a madam or a nobleman would get up to congratulate the two new concubines, but it was evident that Zhong Wei Ju garnered more attention. It was given since she came from a more powerful family.
Zhong Wei Ju was the second Di daughter of the Imperial Censor's mansion. She was a di daughter and was very favored at home, plus her maternal backing wasn't low. Her mother, Wan Meihui was the Di daughter of the Minister of Finance's mansion. She married the Imperial Censor and gave birth to three children, two daughters, and one son. Wan Meihui was very favored at home because of her position as the childhood sweetheart of the Imperial Censor. She didn't want to send her daughter to the harem to suffer but, both the father and daughter were eager to go so she could only comply, but she made sure to fill her daughter's dowry to warn the other concubines.
Liu Fang Juan's position also wasn't low. She was the Di daughter of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. Her father was the half-brother of General Liu and the son of the second wife of the Old Prime Minister. Since General Liu separated from his family the son of the second wife inherited the position of the Right Prime Minister, but the family's prestige started declining. So the Right Prime married the daughter of the Minister Of Steward, Zeng Xiang. Their family became stable but it didn't rise so they were just decent, with a huge title. So it was only normal for Zhong Wei Ju to be more respected.
"Please take a seat! The ceremony will now begin!" The empress announced, causing everyone to hurry and seat. He then looked at the Minister Of Ceremonies, indicating that it was okay to start. The Ministers Of Ceremonies also didn't dally and started right away.
"Zhong Wei Ju, second Di Daughter of the Imperial Censor's house has demonstrated proficiency in the five arts, has a gentle bearing, hence is deemed fit to enter the imperial harem and the family of his majesty, the son of heaven. She shall be bestowed the rank of Hereditary Consort with the title Xuilan!" The Minister Of Ceremonies declared as he beckoned some maids to bring forth the hairpins fit for the rank of Hereditary Consort. Zhong Wei Ju couldn't hide the happiness on her face as she got up gracefully to go receive the hairpins.
"Liu Fang Juan, the Di daughter of the Right Prime Minsters' mansion, has demonstrated that she has the forbearance and attitude of that of an imperial concubine, she is skillful about her wifely duties, and her duties as a woman, hence she is fit to enter and become the concubine of the son of heaven, his majesty the emperor. She shall be bestowed the rank of a Noble Lady with the title Lijuan!" After the Minister Of Ceremonies was done with his announcement Lui Fang Juan came to get her hairpins.
After the bestowing of ranks, the empress left the ceremony because of back pain, and surprisingly the emperor followed him out with the excuse of taking care of him. The guest of course had to disperse and go home, so they all got up and congratulated the concubines one more time before they all made their way to their carriages. The emperor left everything in the hand of his trusted eunuch and rushed out behind the empress.
The empress really had no back pain but he just felt really stuffed. He came outside to get a breath of fresh air. The hall also added a lot of food that he didn't like eating or smelling since being pregnant, plus the smell of wine combined with the meat just made him want to throw up. So he hurried outside to take a walk in Zhilan garden, which was pretty close to the banquet hall. The garden, just like its name was a garden of Iris Orchids and it was extremely beautiful. The empress couldn't help but smile while walking amidst the sea of vibrant flowers.
The emperor who was following behind the empress stumble upon this scene. The sunlight rays gently kissed upon the empress's skin making him look almost translucent, as his hair fluttered in the wind in the mids of the Iris Orchids. The emperor could only describe this scene in one word. Painting. He looked like a painting. A painting of a beautiful tragedy. He didn't know why he felt like that, but he felt like this person one day would disappear. He looked at the smiling empress once more and decided to walk into the garden.
"Greetings Empress," The emperor approached the empress.
"Greetings Emperor," Seeing the emperor the empress stopped smiling for once. This was the second time this happened but the emperor felt a little more heartbroken than before.
"You did a good job putting together the banquet," The emperor complimented. He wanted to compliment his beauty but he swallowed his words remembering the empress's hatred towards him.
"It was just my duty," The empress's responses were extremely dry and showed that he didn't want to continue the conversation. The emperor saw this and decided to thicken his face and continue the conversation.
"How's the pregnancy so far?" He knew that the empress seemed to really cherish this pregnancy so he thought he could prolong the conversation if he talked about it, and he was right. The empress smiled slightly but then his face returned back to its previous coldness.
"It's the same as my other pregnancies," The empress answered nonchalantly but the emperor knew he was taking shots at him. He had been absent from all his other pregnancies so it was impossible for him to know how this one is going so far since he didn't have any knowledge about his other ones.
"I don't know about the other ones would you mind telling me?" The emperor's voice became gentle by several degrees. He knew that his stupid pride should be thrown away now. He may not love the empress, but his children were another matter. He was absent from his children's life because of his pettiness so he wants to know about them. They may never forgive him, but he would still try his best. It was about time he started repenting for his selfish actions.
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