The Emperor Chases His Wife

Chapter VI

CHAPTER VI: She Was Playing The Part Well

For the past few months, due to the persuasions of the royal officials, he had thought about annulling the engagement. He was growing old in age and he needed to ensure his kingdom's next generation would be sure.

The Crown Prince needed a strong woman at his side the Fifth Miss of Shanghai Caravan couldn't be that person. Since his son had his affections with another one of the Shanghai daughter's the Emperor didn't think it was going to be much of a big issue to change the terms of the engagement and arrange another.

The family stepped into the hall accompanied by the royal guards and came to stand before him. He observed each other the girls following behind the Great Merchant and Madam Shanghai.

The Great Merchant's daughters all had good genes and were pleasing to the eyes. As they walked in, several of the younger noble sons could be seen sneaking quick glances at them.

The officials were nodding to each other in admiration and approval. Each of the Merchant's daughters were talented and had a bright future ahead of them...all but one. Several of the court officials knew Nian's face and upon seeing her they started whispering in disapproval among themselves.

Nian was well aware of the attention on her but she ignored it as she followed after the other members of the family and came to stop in front of the Emperor.

"The Shanghai's greet Your Majesty." The entire family chorused and knelt down to kowtow three times before remaining with their heads bent.

"Please, stand up." The Emperor instructed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The family got up. Besides the Merchant and Madam Shanghai, there were seven other girls, all of them beautiful and elegantly dressed but there was one that stood out like a sore thumb.

The Emperor studied the girl. She was dressed in white robes with embroidery.

Although she paled in comparison to her other siblings she held an aura of confidence, nobility and calm which captivated anyone who looked at her.

Surely this wasn't the Merchant's good for nothing daughter?

Her eyes were as green as the forest and her black hair reached her waist with half of it held up by a single hairpin. She was s bit too skinny for her age and if she ate properly she would fill out and be quite pleasing to the eyes.

She was wearing little make-up compared to her other sister but she still could be described as beautiful. Too bad she was a good for nothing.

The Great Merchant stepped forward and placed his fist in his opposite palm then bowed his head. "Your Majesty, Shanghai Chengfeng has brought his family to greet the Emperor and the Crown Prince."

The Emperor had requested that the family be present at the Lintian Hall that day but the Great Merchant had only brought his daughters, since his sons were at the various martial schools and unable to attend. Madam Shanghai had made sure that there were dressed to the best in hopes that the Emperor would find favor in one of them.

"Yes, yes..." The Emperor spoke and began a short conversation, asking the Merchant about his wellbeing and recent travels before complimenting Madam Shangahi on her looks.

Nian felt a scorching gaze coming from her left side as she stood. She calmly looked over and saw a male looking at her intently as if he was expecting a good show to occur. She frowned. She recognized him – Zhang Qinsheng.

The Crown Prince stood at the front row in a maroon colored robe like the other court officials but his had a yellow dragons embroidered at the back of it. He wore a rectangular crown but without any tassels.

His face was pleasant to look at and contained a wild, tyrannical look. Upon seeing her, his lips were curled up in disdain but he maintained an indifferent demeanor.

The other princes and noble sons of the high ranking nobles stood in maroon robes with a dark gold hair pin holding a small section of their hair up. Behind them stood the other court officials and advisors who were also in maroon robes but instead of dark gold hair pins, they had large black cap with a matching black hair pin to hold their hair up on the inside.

On her right side were the generals and high ranked members of the Eastern Region military. They were also in maroon robes but they had black embroidery on their shoulders and lover parts of their robes which touched the ground. Like the other court official's they wore a black cap with a black hair pin.

The entire court, including the princes and noble sons, held a large strip of jade in their hand which they would hold up to signal that they had something to say to the Emperor.

Nian almost rolled her eyes at him and tuned back to the conversation between her father and the Emperor, just at the right time too, as her name was called a few seconds after.

Nian stepped forward, copying her father's gesture of greeting the Emperor and spoke. "Greetings Your Majesty, Emperor of the Eastern Region."

Her voice was as clear as air without a trace of shyness and it caught the Emperor off guard. The young girl was quite composed since entering the hall.

"Rise." The Emperor waved his hand dismissively.

Nian straightened up and looked up at him.

"You are Shanghai Nian?" The Emperor inquired. The girl before him could not be the rumored ugly good for nothing idiot. Her looks were pleasant and she held herself up gracefully. Was it an act? Was this the same person? He had to be sure.

"Yes." Nian replied.

He shifted in his seat. He had heard rumors about her being an undignified idiot but the person in front of him was quite composed and lady like in her ways. He cast a suspicious glance at the Great Merchant beside her before turning his gaze back to the girl. "How do you feel about the engagement to my son?"

Nian could feel the tension rise in the room and could feel the intense glare of the Crown Prince. Yet, she remained calm and unfazed. "Shanghai Nian feels that an engagement to such a high ranked member of society is a pleasure."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Do you still agree to the marriage?"

With a confident steady voice, Nian made her opinion known. With a sigh and a seemingly sad voice she spoke.. "Shanghai Nian believes that she is not good enough to stand by the Crown Prince's side and she'd bring him shame in the future. This daughter doesn't want to disappoint the Crown Prince any further and cause any problems for the future Emperor."

The Crown Prince gritted his teeth. Since when was this girl so cunning? She'd purposefully dropped the pawn onto his side of the chess board and was starting to corner him. Just a week ago, he'd visited her and she was fawning over him like a lovesick idiot.

Now, it seemed like she had grown a sharp tongue and a nimble mind. She was playing the part of the victim quite well and he could see a few of the court officials watching him warily.

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Qinsheng = ching-shen or kin-sheng