Sect Leader Zhao slides the door open. He sighs the moment he saw his child sulking inside his room. This child of his has been acting like this since yesterday and seems he's not planning to get out of his bed any time soon. It's like an important thing from him got snatched away from his tight grip. He's too upset.
Zhao Yangguang enters the room and headed towards the sulking man. The sect leader sits on the edge of the bed and reaches his hand to stroke the other's hair.
"Renshu, are you sure you're not going?" He said in the most soothing voice he can. Sect Leader Zhao knows very well that this child of his is aching and devastated about the news he heard yesterday.
So, the former eighth-generation emperor of the current Dynasty, Yin Renshu, arrived two days ago in Wan Moli Hua Palace. At first, the sect leader, as well as all the elders in the sect, thought that he's just paying the sect a visit. Turns out, he wants to live here for good.
Even though Yin Renshu said to Xu Zhengming that he wants to live away from politics as well as the cultivation world, he still found himself going back to Liaodong where his shizun, and everyone else is dwelling, and is still dealing with cultivation matters in low-key. Yin Renshu isn't willing to talk about why he suddenly returned here so they didn't ask him about what really happened in the imperial palace.
If Xu Zhengming came with him, he won't settle here. They'd most probably find a place where peace dominates, where he's safe the most. But the thing is, he changed his mind at the last minute... or at least, that's what he thought.
He's still upset about this eunuch not coming with him, and then another news came yesterday that put him into a state of distress.
Actually, through this news they received yesterday, Zhao Yangguang somehow sees Yin Renshu's problem in the imperial palace. Yesterday afternoon, a letter is sent to Wan Moli Hua Palace from the imperial palace. It's from Emperor Yin Wenyan himself and the letter is addressed to Zhao Yangguang and Wang Junjie.
"Oh my." Mixed emotions are filling the sect leader while reading the letter.
He's happy for Emperor Yin Wenyan, and at the same time worried for Yin Renshu. The time he's reading the letter, Yin Renshu is also with him. They're having their afternoon tea.
Yin Renshu recognized the seal in its envelope. It's the official emblem of the imperial royal family. By then, he immediately has a feeling that it's his brother who sent this letter.
"Shizun, what does the letter say?"
"Uh... well..." Zhao Yangguang anxiously folds the letter back and puts it back inside its envelope. He's considerate of what Yin Renshu might feel so he didn't say it directly. "It seems the imperial palace will hold a coronation for a new empress sooner or later."
"A new empress? Who is it?" For some reason, this made Yin Renshu feel uneasy.
"Well..." Zhao Yangguang averted his eyes away from the other. He doesn't know how to say it!
"Let me read it myself. I might know this lady."
Rude it may seem, Yin Renshu snatches the letter from his shizun's hand. He unfolds it and he's right. It's his brother's handwriting. Very clean and seems to be written carefully.
"Wait... um..." Zhao Yangguang extends his hand, about to get the letter back but stopped halfway. He doesn't know how to say it to Yin Renshu anyway. Maybe it's better if he reads it himself...
As he's reading the letter, it slowly becomes clearer why his shizun has a reaction like that.
His brother, Yin Wenyan is marrying Xu Zhengming tomorrow night.
"Eunuch Xu... That explains why..."
That explains why Emperor Yin Wenyan is overprotective of this servant. That explains why he got mad when he learned that he wants to bring Eunuch Xu with him. That explains why his brother seems to have a shorter temper on him than usual. That's it because Yin Wenyan sees Xu Zhengming the way Yin Renshu sees this silly eunuch.
Ever since then, Yin Renshu is isolating himself in his old room in Wan Moli Hua Palace.
"No. I don't want to see anyone in the imperial palace." Yin Renshu pulls his blanket and covers his face. His voice is muffled but Zhao Yanggunag caught what he's saying. "I don't want to see him yet."
It hurts. He doesn't think he'll keep himself collected if he sees him.
"Alright. I know it's painful for you but believe me, time heals everything." The sect leader taps his arm gently, trying to console him. "It's okay to feel sad, I understand you. But make sure you'll gather yourself again, okay?"
"..."
Personally, Yin Renshu doesn't want to heal. He doesn't want to let go of these feelings that are slowly killing him. He wants to keep it even though it hurts. He thinks that if he let this pain go, he'll also let go of this person who made a special space in his heart. He doesn't want that.
Realizing Yin Renshu isn't going to talk anytime soon, Sect Leader Zhao talks again. "I don't want to slap you with the truth but Wenyan is still your brother. Even if the world goes upside-down, that fact won't change. Don't let your yesterday be forgotten just because of what is happening today. Don't let this sever your connection with him. Sometimes, we need to accept that we need to sacrifice for others' happiness. This time, Renshu, you're the one who needs to sacrifice."
It took some time for Yin Renshu to answer but still, he responded. "Mn. I understand, shizun."
Zhao Yangguang hates to see Yin Renshu like this but he really can't do anything about it. He rises to his feet. Before he leaves, he looks at his sulking child. "If you ever change your mind, see your brother in his big night."
Meanwhile, the imperial palace is very busy since yesterday. Everyone is preparing for the royal wedding. As usual, Court Lady Han, who is in charge of preparing the Union Hall where the ceremony will be held is very stressed. Why does this emperor like to hold special events on such short notice?!
The royal chef and his assistants are occupied as well. They are preparing the grandest food that they can think of. The emperor doesn't really have a specific request but he wants the food in the banquet to be extra special.
Such a big event. Even though this celebration can be considered as one of the grandest in the history of the dynasty, it's strange how the identity of the emperor's bride is not revealed yet. Everyone in the palace is curious about it and is talking about this unknown bride. Some made their own assumptions, some already had a theory, and some just listens to these made-up stories.
So where exactly is this bride? Well, he's currently in the Emperor's Hall with his future sister-in-law.
"Okay... don't move a muscle. Don't... move..." Princess Yin Xiulan murmured while she's pointing the brush at Xu Zhengming's eyes.
Her hand is slightly shaking, making it difficult for her to accurately draw a slightly curved line on his eyelid that's exactly the same length and angle of slope as the other.
Xu Zhengming, on the other hand, looks like he's about to cry. The wind is blowing gently yet it brings pain to his almond-shaped eyes. Just like what the princess told her to do, he didn't move a single muscle in his body despite the discomfort.
The brush dips from the edge of his eyes and runs about a centimeter long, and 45 degrees inclination. After the critical moment, Princess Yin Xiulan distanced herself a little from Xu Zhengming as she observes the new line she just draws, comparing it to the line in his other eye.
Unsatisfied, she stamps her feet. "Damn it! I said don't move!"
The winged eyeliner she put on his left eye is not symmetrical with the right one.
"I didn't move!" Xu Zhengming defended himself.
The thing is that they're redoing this about four times already. And Princess Yin Xiulan has yelled at him about three times now.
Princess Yin Xiulan... the first princess of the dynasty's eighth generation, the current general of the imperial army, thus, given the title as the princess general, and also the minister of two major ministries in the imperial palace. In an instant, this fierce female general turns into a makeup artist.
The emperor's first wife shall be entitled as the imperial empress. However, the fact that Emperor Yin Wenyan wishes to marry his personal eunuch, Xu Zhengming, a male on top of that, makes it difficult for them.
To avoid any conflicts, since the high-ranking eunuchs are most probably going to disapprove of this, only limited persons know the truth. Just the new emperor himself, the first princess, as well as the people in Wan Moli Hua Palace. And the rest of the world doesn't know that his majesty is marrying a man.
The first struggle they are facing for keeping this secret is how to make Xu Zhengming look like a graceful woman.
Knowing her highness, she doesn't have any knowledge of the proper ways to apply cosmetics. They can't ask for others' help too or else, they'll be exposing their top-secret by then.
Princess Yin Xiulan picks up the towel soaked in a basin of water and squeezed it, removing the excess liquid. She hates it but she wipes their progress to start all over again.
She let out a silent sigh. "Xu Zhengming... I'm sorry, I really don't know how to do it right. Bear with me for a little longer." The truth is, she's a little guilty of yelling at him over and over again when it's actually her who messed up.
"Please take your time, your highness. We actually still have a lot of time."
It's still five in the afternoon and the ceremony will start at six in the evening, so they still have about an hour to prepare. Actually, they started about a couple of hours ago but they aren't having much progress.
Xu Zhengming is already in his red robes made of the finest brocade in the entire empire. His long hair is kept in a half bun and decorated with golden hair accessories with precious jades on it. It's only just the makeup that's lacking.
But truth to be told, this beau doesn't really need cosmetics since he's already beautiful. The bridal robes and the headdress suits him very well. If he won't speak, no one can tell that he's actually a man. But for the sake of hiding his real identity, cosmetics are essential to somehow change his appearance.
"Xu Zhengming, if you don't mind me asking..." She scratches her cheek with her forefinger. Princess Yin Xiulan seems to hesitate whether to continue her question or not. But in the end, she still asks anyway. "Why did you agree on marrying my brother?"
"Um..." Xu Zhengming never saw this coming. Even though it's most likely for him to be asked this question, he really didn't think about how to answer it. The question didn't even cross his mind before.
How to answer it without making the princess upset? No matter how hard he thinks, his reason really is something others can call "irrational".
While Xu Zhengming is brainstorming, the princess is being unusually sentimental. Like a strict mother that speaks well about her child behind her son's back. "Honestly, I can see that Wen--- Renshu is happy whenever you're with him so you have my support." She nods, agreeing to her own statement. "He's kind so you don't have to worry about him hurting you."
Of course, as his sister, Princess Yin Xiulan wants her brother Emperor Yin Wenyan to finally choose himself and be happy. However, it just feels so wrong knowing her other brother, Yin Renshu likes the same person. Emperor Yin Wenyan marrying Xu Zhengming would be very sad news for Yin Renshu.
She took a deep breath and continues to speak, "Just tell me the truth. I won't go against you two as long as you won't hurt my brother."
How can he tell her? He just said yes because of the deal that he and his majesty made!
Xu Zhengming remembers everything like it's just all just happened yesterday. Two days ago, Emperor Yin Wenyan asked Xu Zhengming's hand.
"What?" Xu Zhengming actually heard his majesty loud and clear. It's just the emperor, asked him out of nowhere.
"Marry me." Even though this makes him a little embarrassed, Emperor Yin Wenyan still repeated. His majesty looks so adorable with his bashful face with red ears.
"Why?" Xu Zhengming doesn't know why he asked too but it just doesn't feel right. It seems something is amiss here, however, he can't point it out too. Or is he just imagining things?
Emperor Yin Wenyan pursed his lips and lowers his gaze. He can't look at this beau in the eye anymore. He's afraid that if he stares a little longer, the words will flow out of his mouth nonstop.
"Because I want you to be my wife?"
Wife? Although his heart starts to pound faster and is beating louder, a thought still lingers in his mind: Does the word wife can be applied to him?
"For goodness' sake! I'm a man!"
"Then..." The emperor raises his head and tried so hard to look at this perfectly chiseled face. "Then be my male wife."
"What the heck?" He (Yin Renshu) once wanted him to be his male empress. Now, he (Yin Wenyan) wants him to be his male wife. Where's the logic there?
With a bashful smile, his majesty tries to bargain with him. "I'll give you fifteen gold coins if you marry me."
"Fifteen gold coins?" Princess Yin Xiulan interrupted the storytelling. "Fifteen gold coins?! What's with fifteen gold coins? Why does he think that he can get anything with fifteen gold coins?!" She raises her left eyebrow and asks, "And you agreed just like that?"
Her reaction made Xu Zhengming chuckle. "Of course not. This beau knows his worth. There are a lot of girls out there willing to pay more than that just to marry me."
The princess calmed down a little. "You're a little too full of yourself in that part but... okay. If fifteen gold coins didn't make you agree, what did?"
"It's like this..." Xu Zhengming tries to recall the exact thing that happened once again.
He remembers that the emperor said something like this: "Honestly, I can't offer you many luxuries because it's wrong to use the empire's treasury for our own selfish desires. I can only offer you my own money and properties." Emperor Yin Wenyan took Xu Zhengming's hands as he looks at him with sincere eyes.
"But I'll do everything I can to make you happy. I can provide you the highest quality of rice paper, and a lifetime supply of ink. I'll let you choose your own robes among the ones made of the finest silk. I'll even make your meal personally if you want me to. Travel across the nation, visit the most famous wine houses in the empire... anything that makes you happy."
Xu Zhengming let out a sigh. "Your majesty, I believe money can't buy happiness so it doesn't matter if you'll give me fifteen gold coins or the whole wealth you have to me."
"I see..." The emperor got disheartened. He thought he just got rejected but it's just his assumption.
A wide wicked grin slowly forms on Xu Zhengming's lips. "But if you'll let me interact with the members of your harem, I'm good with it."
His majesty, "My... harem...?"
"That's right. If you'll let me, I'll marry you."
The harem of the eighth generation's emperor has no lesser than twenty-five women. Not bad for Xu Zhengming. And also, there's a big chance that his child will become the next ruler of the empire!
"..." The emperor thinks about it for a while. He looks so serious like he's about to make the biggest decision in his lifetime. "Alright. But you have to sleep with me every night."
"Deal."
"Xu Zhengming..." The princess looks at him with a complicated look on her face. "Are you sure you know what you just get yourself into?"
Xu Zhengming, "Of course! With a lot of women around me... my happiest days are about to come."
"..." No. He doesn't know what he got himself into.
He'll become the empress... and most probably the most favored of the emperor among the members of his harem. And most importantly his majesty asked him to sleep with him every night too! They're not just going to sleep soundly by then, right?
Just thinking of it makes the princess blush.
Then out of nowhere, a child, about ten or eleven years old came running to the emperor's hall.
"A child?" Princess Yin Xiulan looks at him from head to foot. It seems this child doesn't know where he's exactly heading to. "What are you doing here? Are you a newly hired, eunuch?"
It's only natural in their era to recruit an underage child to serve in the imperial palace so she thought he's newly hired.
"Please... please help me." The child begs at them.
"Huh? Help you from what?" Eunuch Xu turns his head towards the child.
Even though this child is very terrified to the point that he's shaking, he still managed to speak. "My parents... and my sister is in danger! She's going to kill us!"
Princess Yin Xiulan walks closer to the child. "Calm down. Who's killing you?"
"The empress dowager!"
This child. This is Empress Xue Chi's biological brother. He witnessed what the empress dowager did, and managed to escape from her personal servants. This child is the reason why the empress dowager was agitated.