Palace of Tranquillity.
"Mistress! Sister Qiu'er! You're back at last!"
From a distance, Zi Hua could see a figure waving madly at the doors of the eastern palace. It was none other than Yue'er, trembling with excitement.
"Hurry! Eunuch Fu from the Dragon Palace is waiting inside!" she exclaimed, grabbing Zi Hua's other arm and tugging her along.
She nearly stumbled. "What's going on? Who is Eunuch Fu?"
"He's the godson of Head Eunuch Ming, who serves His Majesty directly," Qiu'er answered, footsteps quickening. "He's often sent to run errands involving high-ranking consorts, though..."
When they entered the main courtyard, Zi Hua was nearly blinded by the amount of treasure chests and servants milling about.
"W-what is all this?" she stuttered.
A baby-faced eunuch scuttled forward and cupped his fists at her. The golden scroll he was holding gleamed under the sun.
"Greetings, Lady Beauty Yang. This servant is Fu Xiao, first-rank eunuch of Dragon Palace," he said. "I come bearing an imperial edict, please accept it."
Zi Hua and her servants knelt facing west, the direction of Dragon Palace, and Eunuch Fu unrolled the long, long scroll.
"By the mandate of the Emperor of Heaven and Earth: 'Lady Beauty Yang Zi Hua is virtuous, kind, and faithful to her duties as an imperial consort. Gratified, I hereby promote her to Upper Sixth-Rank Noble Beauty and bestow her one thousand taels of gold, five thousand taels of silver, one 'Hundred Mountains and Ten Li River' folding screen, one pair of white rhinoceros horn sculptures, one pair of xiangrui ceramic vases, ten bolts of Jin Silk, ten bolts of Shu Brocade...'"
After rattling off a long list of precious objects, Eunuch Fu finally stopped to breathe.
"That is all. Congratulations, Noble Beauty Yang; you are the first consort of your batch to be promoted," he finished.
Zi Hua got up from her knees shakily—not because of weakness, but rather shock at the gifts she had never even heard of in her life. Was it... normal to be granted so many treasures? She hadn't heard of Bai Nan Feng receiving so many presents the other day...
"I accept the imperial edict. Thank you for your troubles, Eunuch Fu," she said in a daze.
Beside her, Qiu'er gave Eunuch Fu an inconspicuous pouch. He weighed it subtly and grinned from ear to ear.
"It's no trouble at all. His Majesty specifically appointed me to bring you this auspicious news," he revealed. "Now then, I will leave you to celebrate. Have a good day, Noble Beauty Yang."
"You too, Eunuch Fu."
When Eunuch Fu and the Dragon Palace servants left, the eastern chamber servants surrounded the treasure chests in the courtyard, tittering with admiration while getting to work moving them to the storeroom.
Chun'er broke away and bowed before Zi Hua, beaming. "Congratulations on your promotion, mistress!"
"Thank you," Zi Hua chuckled dryly. There wasn't much she could say without sounding conceited.
"Would you like me to choose some decorations from the rewards for your bedchamber?" Chun'er offered. "The pink quartz bonsai would go beautifully with the painting from Madame Ye."
"No need. I'd actually like to be alone for awhile."
"Alright, mistress..." Chun'er visibly deflated, but Qiu'er and Yue'er immediately dragged her off to help with the unpacking.
Meanwhile, Zi Hua trailed into her quarters aimlessly.
In the span of two days, her world had repeatedly tilted between reality and surreality. On one hand, the man who owned her heart was the same as the one she had married; on the other hand, he was nothing like the future she had envisioned.
Most men took wives and concubines, but the emperor had a whole harem. And the number of women would only grow. In time, would there still be space for her?
She was confident he liked her right now—he'd said so himself last night. But what if... What if?
He was "Zhen", but he was also "His Majesty". And she was...
Yang Zi Hua, daughter of Upper Fifth-Rank Deputy General Yang.
The girl from Xiping.
Plain. Unruly. Mediocre.
Despite her unruffled and optimistic front, deep down, she was not oblivious to the criticism; the disapproving stares and the mocking whispers.
And it hurt.
Like a dull throb at the back of her mind, it surfaced during moments of self-doubt like this.
***
Two years ago. Yang Manor.
A fat woman wearing a flamboyant red sash reached for the last cookie with her pudgy fingers. When she bit down, her face scrunched so that her eyes were practically squeezed between her cheeks.
She swallowed with some difficulty and looked to the burly man sitting at the head of the hall.
"Lord Yang, I must say, your manor's snacks leave... something to be desired," she smacked her lips, washing down the dry crumbs with a cup of tea. After a sip, her frown deepened. "This tea isn't even in season! And it's so watery!"
Opposite her, Zi Hua and Zi Hao exchanged an annoyed glance.
'Says the woman who invited herself in, insisted on being served snacks, and polished every single one off.'
Their father was much better at masking his impatience, though they could tell from the slightest tick in his square jaw he was near his limit.
"Madam, could you state the purpose for your visit now?" Yang Guo said. "I don't recall the Yang Family requested your service. Or sent an invitation, for the matter."
Zi Hua and Zi Hao cheered silently. 'Tell her to leave, Father!'
The woman wiped her hands, seemingly remembering she wasn't here for snacks and tea. "I came on behalf of the Zhu Family," she explained. "Their youngest daughter was recently widowed—twenty-two with one baby girl, by the way—and they are seeking a new match. I told them it would be hard, of course, what with her age and the pesky little detail of a fatherless child. But then they said the other party's age, appearance, and condition didn't matter, as long as he was a military officer. So here I am."
She finished with a fluorish, as if she expected the Yangs to gasp in awe and accept this wonderful proposal immediately.
But Yang Guo glowered at her. "I believe I had made it clear to all the local matchmakers that I have no desire to remarry. I'd sooner spend my remaining days serving the empire on the battlefield."
"Haha... What an admirable resolution, Lord Yang."
Sensing his stubbornness, the matchmaker quickly changed targets. "Well, what about your children, then? Your son is twenty this year, and your daughter sixteen, if I am not mistaken?"
"Madam is very invested in our family affairs, it seems," Zi Hao piped up, sarcasm radiating off him in waves.
"I nearly mistook you for a distant relative, except we've never met in my life!" Zi Hua chirped, temper flaring at the way the woman perused them like meat at a market.
The matchmaker scowled, but smoothed it over in an attempt to act like a kindly elder. It only made her large face, tiny eyes, and thin lips look more malevolent.
"What a funny joke, Young Lady Yang," she gritted her teeth. "I have the perfect match here for you: Zhang Han, the eldest son of Merchant Zhang. He's twenty-six, unmarried, and the legitimate son, so he will undoubtedly inherit his father's trading company one day. If you marry him, you will be his only legitimate wife and have more wealth than most young ladies can even dream of. It will be gold bars for breakfast, luncheon, and dinner!"
Before Zi Hua could protest, Zi Hao shot to his feet. "How dare you humiliate my sister this way!" he shouted, trembling with rage. "Zhang Han is a renowned scoundrel who squanders his inheritance in brothels. As for why he's unmarried—no sane lady would want to preside over his army of concubines and heaven-knows-how-many mistresses! Are you a matchmaker, or a swindler who delights in ruining innocent young women's lives?!"
The matchmaker exploded as well.
"Lord Yang, is this how you educate your children?" she demanded. "If there was a lady of the house, they wouldn't be so rude to guests!"
Yang Guo's face darkened. "You are absolutely right. But that is only if you area guest here."
"I-I am saying this for your own good!" the matchmaker sputtered. "Wise words are often unpleasant to the ears!"
"I see no wisdom in barging into my home and critiquing my children!"
"Without proper ladylike education, your daughter will never marry into a good family! Do you want her to spend the rest of her life in regret when she inevitably squanders her youth and ends up as a nun?! Look at her now—dressed so casually with that unruly hair, terrible posture, disgraceful manners, and—eek!"
Bang!
The matchmaker's rant cut off with a strangled squeak.
Yang Guo clenched the armrest so hard Zi Hua could hear the wood creaking.
"My daughter will marry who she wants, when she wants. And if she doesn't want to marry, so be it," he growled. "Leave at once—and never show your face here again!"
"W-why, you...! Ungrateful brute! The lot of you!"
Flustered and fumbling for threats, the matchmaker was ultimately forcefully escorted out of the manor under Yang Guo's livid supervision.
Left in the empty foyer, Zi Hao patted Zi Hua's head, part doting and part comfort.
"Hua..." he sighed. "Don't take what that woman said to heart. She doesn't know you like we do."
She lowered her head. "I know."
Zi Hao scrambled for a more convincing attempt: "Your worth isn't determined by marriage, just like how a soldier's worth isn't necessarily determined by his merits. Every soldier plays his part in the grand scheme—you just have to find a role you're comfortable with in life, too. And no matter what it is, Father and I will support your decision."
His trademark military metaphor brought a smile to Zi Hua's face.
The horrible matchmaker, society's expectations, tradition...
It felt nice to know her family didn't care about those. That she could rely on them forever, and vice versa.
"Thanks, Brother," she laughed. "You're the best!"