Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 237
Chapter 237 - The Empress Plays Matchmaker
After the Eastern Palace was blessed with a legitimate son, it soon welcomed a daughter of the Fang family as a side consort.
The Crown Prince taking a side consort was by no means equivalent to an ordinary man taking a concubine. A side consort's name would be entered into the imperial genealogy, and the formal protocol and rules involved were far more intricate than an ordinary wedding in the civilian realm.
Although the scale and grandeur could not compare to the taking of a primary consort, every required element was present in full.
Yun Chu had not expected that she would personally receive an invitation from the Eastern Palace.
She was currently a divorced woman, so logically speaking, she would not be invited to such a major, joyful occasion.
Yun Chu mused silently to herself. The Crown Prince was a shallow-minded person, so it was extremely likely that the Empress was using this opportunity to invite her into the palace. But what was the objective?
Riding in the carriage toward the imperial palace, she pondered it over and over, yet could not arrive at an answer.
The carriage soon pulled up at the palace gates. Young eunuchs and palace maids came forward to greet her, leading her toward the Eastern Palace.
Along the way were guests coming to offer their congratulations to the Eastern Palace. Some who were well-acquainted with Yun Chu stopped to exchange a few words, but most kept their distance from her. After all, trouble had befallen the Yun family, and everyone feared becoming entangled in controversy.
"Chuchu." Du Ling caught up with Yun Chu's steps, walking side-by-side with her in a close, familiar manner as she whispered, "This Fourth Miss Fang previously threw temper tantrums and threatened suicide just to marry Prince Pingxi, making it known to everyone far and wide. Now, she ends up marrying the Crown Prince instead. I wonder what her mood will be like when she sees Prince Pingxi again in the future?"
Yun Chu shook her head.
After causing such a stir, Fourth Miss Fang was still able to marry into the imperial family, which clearly demonstrated the Fang family's standing in the imperial court.
If Prince Pingxi had not defied the decree, marrying the Fang family daughter would have made the Fang family a tremendous pillar of support...
Yet he had refused the marriage.
Why did he refuse...
She held a faint, unspoken guess in her heart.
As the two chatted idly, they soon reached the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace was where the heir apparent resided, comprising the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest palaces combined into one massive complex. It stood majestic and grand, and by now, many guests had already arrived.
Qiu Tong, who followed behind Yun Chu, handed the congratulatory gift to the chief eunuch before stepping inside.
The Empress had already arrived, surrounded by numerous imperial consorts chatting with her.
Yun Chu walked over, dropping to her knees in greeting: "Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress and all the honored Imperial Consorts."
"Isn't this the eldest young lady of the Yun family who got divorced after becoming a widow?" Consort Yuan spoke with a fake smile. "For a widow to attend a wedding banquet, I fear it is somewhat inappropriate. Did the Yun family fail to teach you proper etiquette?"
Consort Yun's expression darkened.
Ever since trouble struck the Yun family, Consort Yuan had been looking for opportunities to cause trouble for her at every turn. For the sake of the Eighth Prince, she endured whenever she could.
However, she would not allow Consort Yuan to bully Chuchu.
Just as Consort Yun was about to speak,
the Empress took the lead in speaking: "It was Our House that invited Chuchu to come chat with Us. What, Consort Yuan—must Our House seek your permission before inviting someone?"
Consort Yuan's face turned pale instantly.
Wouldn't her words just now imply that the Empress lacked proper etiquette?
She hurriedly said, "This humble consort did not mean that at all. I beg Her Majesty the Empress to grant forgiveness."
The Empress waved her hand, not bothering to pursue the matter.
The Crown Princess stood up and said to Yun Chu, "Miss Yun, come sit here."
Yun Chu walked over and sat down beside the Crown Princess.
She felt a pang of sympathy for the Crown Princess, who had only just given birth to the eldest legitimate son; before her postpartum confinement period had even ended, she was forced to come out and manage her husband taking a side consort.
How many women could display such broad-mindedness and consideration?
The expressions of many present guests changed slightly.
Trouble had befallen the Yun family, yet setting aside the fact that the Emperor had not issued an actual punishment, why was the Empress still so close with members of the Yun family?
Could there have been a turn of events regarding Yun Silin's alleged treason?
While everyone was deliberating in their hearts, Yun Chu was also pondering.
She knew that the Empress was not truly a kind and generous person in the absolute sense; treating her like this bound to mean she had something to gain.
Sure enough, after Yun Chu and the Crown Princess sat for a brief moment, the Empress claimed she needed to change her attire, and the Crown Princess pulled Yun Chu along to attend to the Empress.
Allowing the palace maids to comb her hair and adjust her robes, the Empress spoke gently, "Chuchu is only twenty, yes?"
Yun Chu lowered her head and replied, "After the New Year, I will be twenty-three by nominal age."
"Twenty-three is still the prime of a woman's life. Isn't it lonely to waste one's youth away all alone?" The Empress suddenly took her hand. "When you were young, you often entered the palace with your mother, so Our House can be considered to have watched you grow up. Back then, marrying the top scholar Xie Jiyu was considered a good match, but what a pity..."
"It is indeed a pity." The Crown Princess picked up the thread. "Miss Yun was once the number one beauty whose radiance crowned the capital. Guarding an empty room all alone is truly lonely... Imperial Mother, Eldest Cousin is also currently single. To my eyes, he seems quite well-matched with Miss Yun. Why doesn't Imperial Mother play matchmaker to bring about a good marriage?"
Yun Chu's heart sank abruptly.
The "Eldest Cousin" mentioned by the Crown Princess was the Crown Prince's direct maternal cousin—which was to say, the Empress's elder brother's eldest son, the eldest legitimate son of the current State Duke, Gongsun Ning.
As the eldest legitimate son of the Gongsun clan, Yun Chu had naturally heard of him.
Gongsun Ning had to be at least thirty years old this year, having already buried two primary wives, with a house full of concubines and children.
The Empress wanted her to become Gongsun Ning's third primary wife.
"Chuchu, if you marry into the Gongsun family, you will have to address Our House as Aunt from now on." The Empress looked benevolent and kindly. "Today is an auspicious day; how about Our House requests the Emperor to bestow a marriage upon you two?"
In truth, she was not particularly willing to let her nephew marry a woman from the Yun family.
Yun Silin had been missing for so many days, and had likely died in some obscure corner long ago. Even if the Yun family was not ultimately convicted of a crime, they had lost their influence.
A Yun family that had lost its military power was not very suitable to be an in-law to the Gongsun clan.
However, Yun Chu possessed an extraordinarily gorgeous face. Ever since Yun Chu became a widow, that nephew of hers seemed to have lost his mind, pestering her every single day to marry Yun Chu.
She was truly pestered to the point of having no other way out.
Thus, she had no choice but to invite Yun Chu into the palace, taking this opportunity to settle the marriage.
The only benefit she could see from this marriage was that the Emperor still held in mind the generations of merit earned by the Yun family; taking pity on the Yun family, he would naturally hold the Gongsun clan in higher regard.
"I beg Her Majesty the Empress to rescind this command."
Yun Chu dropped directly to her knees on the ground.
"Thanking Her Majesty the Empress for her deep favor, this humble daughter is a widowed and divorced woman whose astrological chart indicates a weak husband star. I dare not aspire to climb higher to marry Lord Gongsun."
The Empress knitted her brows.
A woman's astrological chart having a weak husband star meant, in common terms, that she possessed an omen of bringing misfortune to her husband. The death of Xie Jiyu served as a piece of evidence.
She had originally been quite unwilling to let her nephew marry a Yun family woman.
Now that Yun Chu put it this way, she immediately abandoned the thought, helping Yun Chu up: "Our House was merely asking for your thoughts. Since you are unwilling, then let the matter rest."
Yun Chu let out a sigh of relief.
She truly had never expected that even though she was a widowed and divorced woman, and even with the Yun family in such a state, someone would still rush to play matchmaker for her.
Fortunately, the Empress was not an unreasonable, stubborn person. Otherwise, if an imperial decree bestowing a marriage came down, she wouldn't even have a place to cry.
After Yun Chu and the Crown Princess meticulously attended to the Empress changing her robes, they walked out of the inner chamber just as the side consort entered through the main gate of the Eastern Palace, officially beginning the wedding ceremony.
Wedding attendants and palace maids crowded around the Crown Prince and the side consort as they walked in from the main gate.
All the guests, regardless of gender, stood on both sides to observe the ceremony.
The Crown Prince's side consort could not wear primary red, wearing instead a slightly paler shade of water-red, holding a fan in her hand that covered most of her face.
Fang Xinyan quietly lowered her fan by a fraction, raising her eyes to look toward the guests standing on one side; she caught sight of that face that haunted her dreams.
She had failed to become the Princess of Pingxi, yet had become his elder brother's side consort instead.
Why had they missed each other like this?
Fate truly toyed with people...