The Return of the Pampered Wife

Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Rank and Status

"Xiaojie, is this really a good idea? Chen Wu Luan is scheming and xiaojie may be harmed in the future, not to mention xiaojie may be made fun of for being unable to marry in properly." An Er's large eyes were clouded with concern.

Ru Huo looked up briefly before going back to the book in her hands. "You are too anxious. Right now, I am Chang Le Gongzhu of First Rank, the di daughter of the Prime Minister, grand daughter of General Song and if worst comes to worst, the master of Man Yue pavilion."

She was wearing a white dress with purple embroideries and designs, clearly of expensive fabric. Half of her hair was coiled up into a voluminous bun, secured with a few silver hairpins and a purple callistephus. From her ears hung silver earrings decorated with white jade here and there. Her eyebrows were drawn beautifully, her cheeks were rosy and pearl powder enhanced her face to be even clearer and flawless.

An Er nodded before returning to the task of brewing tea. The high quality carriage the Empress sent proved to be top notch; although they were moving through the busy streets, the carriage itself barely swayed, making it possible to even brew tea. The interior was made and decorated elegantly with acacia wood and pure white jade. The seats were cushioned with silk cushions and there were even some compartments for books, tea, snacks and extra clothes. The outside was equally luxurious; the top of the carriage had a white jade phoenix to symbolize that the owner of the carriage was a gongzhu.

As the carriage pulled up closer to the Huang Taizi Fu, the streets were busy with carriages as nobles waited to get off. However, seeing Ru Huo's carriage, other nobles quickly cleared their way to let Ru Huo off first. According to rank, although she was young, Ru Huo should be prioritized.

Ru Huo stepped off the carriage and turned to look at the entrance of the Huang Taizi Fu. An Er followed closely behind her and the guards bowed toward her once they noticed her arrival. An old housekeeper hurriedly greeted her and escorted her in. Out of nervousness, the old housekeeper was unable to say anything as Ru Huo followed behind leisurely, glancing at the scenery; stopping now and then to identify flowers. Once they arrived at the banquet hall, he let out a sigh of relief as a first rank yatou immediately came to assist her to her seat.

Although Ru Huo's identity was high as a di daughter of the Prime Minister and would have been seated near the front anyway, Huang Taizi Fu greeted her with the identity of a first rank gongzhu and arranged her seat to be one of the highest. On top of the podium, Ru Huo glanced down at the luxurious seat before sitting down gracefully. As other guests filled in, they greeted Ru Huo with a kowtow before retreating to their seat once they assessed the situation. Had Ru Huo been in a seat fitting of a di daughter of a Prime Minister, they would have provoked her, however, it was clear that the huang taizi valued her dearly to use her identity as the Chang Le gongzhu.

"Chang Le Gongzhu, it's been a while, ah!" Ru Huo turned her head once she heard the familiar sweet voice. She immediately stood up and bent her knees slightly toward the familiar gongzhu.

"Ru Huo greets the Pin Yang Gongzhu!" Gu Mo Li laughed at the formal greeting and waved her hand.

"No need! No need! You too are a first rank gongzhu, ah!" Ru Huo relaxed once she heard those words and sat back down in her seat. Gu Mo Li glanced at the nobles who were bent at the knees waiting for her dismissal and waved her hands once more before sitting down.

"Today, although it is a mere ce fei marrying in, it is the neighboring country's gongzhu, we cannot ignore such an occasion. However, as such, none of the wangye are attending, even if they are of illegitimate birth. Why, you should understand." Ru Huo looked at the serious face of Gu Mo Li in shock but nodded after assessing the situation. Although ce fei usually could not marry in with a ceremony; let alone with nobles attending, this was the face given to Northern Yue, not a favor towards Chen Wu Luan. As such, wangye were not required to attend; that would give the impression that Southern Xu was attempting to curry favor with Northern Yue.