The sly flower and the bored butterfly

It is happening

　　' At least I will look pretty' was the only thing running in my head when I was getting dolled up for my ' grand wedding'. The bridal robes and Phoenix coronet were beautiful. It was wonderful how all the thread and embroidery crisscrossed at the right places , each fiber went up and down and assembled into this stunning piece of garment.There were several maids by my side, some were adjusting my clothes and some were combing my hair. A'xi finally removed her tools from my face and asked me to look in the mirror.

　　I did look good. I don't remember feeling this beautiful before. A'xi had a satisfied smile on her face. She was happy with my response and her work. It is ironic how I was prepared to look heavenly on my way my doom. My red robes had delicate gold embroidery. It made me feel graceful and elegant.Grandmother had sent me a couple of gifts and a letter, she warned me to be careful in the palace and to take the Empress Dowager as an ally. She of course wished me good luck with the emperor.

　　There was something bothering me about the emperor. He was popular figure in the capital even though he spent more than half of his life in the southern borders. There were many people who opposed his coronation because of the fact that he wasn't accustomed to the capital. And his frequent visits to the brothel and ahem.......places.

　　But he still got coronated because the third prince who opposed him was found to be involved in a illegal salt trade. It was of course not a coincidence. The prince and his family were kept under house arrest. None of the ministers spoke for some time and the ministers supporting the present emperor told the late emperor to announce him as the heir to stop incidents like this and to establish order in the country.

　　He still has plenty of political enemies. From what I know he has a reputation in the southern borders for being a cough, cough ...' ladies man'. Well rumors are rumors but smoke doesn't start without fire. I should have paid more attention to digging information about him. I have a feeling that he will be one of those suspicious monarchs that our dynasty has seen before. Someone cruel and cold. Perhaps he will ignore me forever and favor his concubines more.

　　He is still the master of harem, if he doesn't even look towards me then I may be bullied. I naturally prefer to be the one holding the whip. I wonder how many concubines will he keep. So, I currently don't have any information about the imperial harem. How smart you are, hui ying. How smart. You are entering the dragons lair without knowing anything about the dragon.
　　" My lady, the imperial sedan has arrived."

I took a final glance at the mirror and put on the veil which was as decorated as my clothes. A'xi held my hands and guided me out of the room. I could hear my mothers voice, she came and held my hands. I could only see her silhouette but I was sure she was smiling a tense smile.

　　" Ying' er." Her voice cracked. " When you were small I couldn't take care of you, when I finally got the chance to take care of you, your marriage proposal came"
" But I won't be a sad mother, Ying' er marriage is a new beginning. Take it well." With that said she hugged me and took my hands. I felt my father take my hands, he silently reminded me of the ways of palace.He gave me a final hug and I heard someone announcing my arrival.

　　This is really happening. I am really getting married to an unknown man, whose family and himself can get me killed. This is overwhelming. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my neck and my hands got sticky. Slowly, I stepped out side of the doors. Outside there was a huge crowd. All the commoners were on their knees. My arms was supported by two senior palace maids. A'xi was still on my side. Nanny An was next to the magnificent sedan. I sat on the sedan chair. The chair was slowly lifted and moved forward.

　　I passed through several important gates of the city before finally reaching the imperial palace. Then our pace became more slower than ever. We stopped at almost every two steps while paying respects to the ancestors . And I was frequently reminded by a very tensed A'xi to keep my back straight. These robes weighed more than what they looked like. I am sorry towards the ancestors for my lack of sincerity but I cannot bear this.

　　After I do not know how much time, we finally made it to the place where the wedding will take place. I burned incense and paper, it went on for sometime and I lost track of what I was doing. By now my head was starting to feel heavy. My head ornament was very heavy and I wasn't pleased about it. Finally I finished burning the incense stick. Two court ladies held my arms and guided me forward. My hands were in front my chest the entire time.

　　I was surprised I didn't stumble or trip on my own clothes. Maybe the ' training'from the empress dowager and the  nanny An was helpful after all. Someone announced my arrival and I saw him.

　　I couldn't see him clearly due to my veil but I could make out his frame and red robes. He was definitely taller than me, had a straight back, wide shoulders. I couldn't see more details. He came forward and took my hands. He had feminine looking hands, they were slender but the callous in his palms gave away his years in war. I was seeing him for the first time but I didn't know that he had already seen me.

　　We took each other's hand and went forward. We did the three bows, to the heaven, ancestors and parents, and finally to each other. After that I was formally the empress of my nation and a married woman. When I finally thought the marriage ceremony was over, I was wrong, terribly wrong. After the three bows everything was a blur.

　　I remember a brief tea ceremony, coronation and other things. It was already late and I was escorted to the bridal chambers, the palace of rising Phoenix. The place was more red than I would like. Maybe they decorated it with red curtains, quilts and cushions because of the marriage. I heard a knock on the door and A' xi asked for permission to come in.

　　She was followed by several other maids. They were carrying the nuptial wine. They did a their courtesy and stood in line. A'xi inspected everything and the maids went out. A'xi smiled at me. " Today is your majesties first night with his majesty, has your majesty planned?" I frowned. " What do you mean?"
She giggled turned around to leave. " Your majesty, please don't remove your veil or sleep until his majesty arrives."

　　I was aware about this but my head, shoulders,back and feet are all in pain. And I don't even know when will the emperor come. He can choose to not come at all. Everything has its limits. How can they expect me not to fall asleep the moment I see a bed after putting me in these clothes for the entire day. But I still waited to honor the traditions. After a while, my body decided that it needed to sleep at once so I finally
gave in. I removed the veil.

　　I was undoing my hair since I cannot sleep with so much hair ornaments in my head. Why is is this so difficult? It didn't look this complicated when they were tying my hair. I was lost in my hair when someone announced that the emperor had arrived.My eyes were red and puffy by now. And my entire being looked like a mess. A'xi opened the door for him and he entered. The first thought that I had was ' Beautiful.' He was bewitching.He had delicate fox like features. His eyes were raised and skin was smooth. Tall and lean.

　　His eyes were particularly striking. They looked somewhat mischievous.Whatever I had imagined him as was a distant thought." How impatient,my empress. Were you longing so much for zhen that you decided to remove the veil yourself?" His voice snapped me from my thoughts. What did he say? Longing for him? It didn't take me even a blink of eye to realize that I disliked this husband of mine. " Please don't tease Chen qi, your majesty." Did I just make that absolutely eye roll worthy statement?

　　Yes of course. He merely smiled. We proceeded with the wine ceremony. I am actually surprised that he came here. I thought he would be sleeping in the arms of his concubine. That being said, how many concubines does he have again?I felt someone pull me towards them. Suddenly I was standing very close to the emperor with his hands touching the tip of my face. Wh-Why did he??He isn't going to sleep with me, is he? Well I won't let that happen.

　　  He ran is fingers near my hair line. " It is a pity that Zhen came late. You must have looked exquisite." He tucked a loose strand of my hair on my ear. " However you  still look captivating." He turned around and proceeded to leave. What? Is he making fun of my hair and how I look? Soon after he left, A'xi came in with other maids following her. Her face had visible disappointment. She knew me enough to not speak any ' comforting' words. She merely helped me with my hair.

　　Others also followed her suit. As they helped me go to bed, I noticed some frustrated faces. I also saw a few faces with pity on them. But the most exciting faces had triumphant smiles.
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If anyone was confused then Emperors address themselves as 'Zhen.' Thank you for reading ~